Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of references and citations to books, articles, publications, etc., generally on a single subject or specialized subject area. Databases can operate through automated files, libraries, or computer disks. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, FACTUAL which is used for collections of data and facts apart from bibliographic references to them.

Discussion of lists of works, documents or other publications, usually with some relationship between them, e.g., by a given author, on a given subject, or published in a given place, and differing from a catalog in that its contents are restricted to holdings of a single collection, library, or group of libraries. (from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

A computerized biomedical bibliographic storage and retrieval system operated by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. MEDLARS stands for Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System, which was first introduced in 1964 and evolved into an online system in 1971 called MEDLINE (MEDLARS Online). As other online databases were developed, MEDLARS became the name of the entire NLM information system while MEDLINE became the name of the premier database. MEDLARS was used to produce the former printed Cumulated Index Medicus, and the printed monthly Index Medicus, until that publication ceased in December 2004.

Acquisition, organization, and preparation of library materials for use, including selection, weeding, cataloging, classification, and preservation.

The premier bibliographic database of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. MEDLINE® (MEDLARS Online) is the primary subset of PUBMED and can be searched on NLM's Web site in PubMed or the NLM Gateway. MEDLINE references are indexed with MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS (MeSH).

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

Activities performed in the preparation of bibliographic records for CATALOGS. It is carried out according to a set of rules and contains information enabling the user to know what is available and where items can be found.

Activities performed to identify concepts and aspects of published information and research reports.

The use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Formerly called statistical bibliography. (from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Organized activities related to the storage, location, search, and retrieval of information.

Integrated set of files, procedures, and equipment for the storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

Systems where the input data enter the computer directly from the point of origin (usually a terminal or workstation) and/or in which output data are transmitted directly to that terminal point of origin. (Sippl, Computer Dictionary, 4th ed)

An optical disk storage system for computers on which data can be read or from which data can be retrieved but not entered or modified. A CD-ROM unit is almost identical to the compact disk playback device for home use.

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

Copies of a work or document distributed to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending. (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983, p181)

Terms or expressions which provide the major means of access by subject to the bibliographic unit.

Development of a library collection, including the determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of needs of users and potential users, collection use studies, collection evaluation, identification of collection needs, selection of materials, planning for resource sharing, collection maintenance and weeding, and budgeting.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

Databases devoted to knowledge about specific genes and gene products.

A bibliographic database that includes MEDLINE as its primary subset. It is produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. PubMed, which is searchable through NLM's Web site, also includes access to additional citations to selected life sciences journals not in MEDLINE, and links to other resources such as the full-text of articles at participating publishers' Web sites, NCBI's molecular biology databases, and PubMed Central.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

Organized collections of computer records, standardized in format and content, that are stored in any of a variety of computer-readable modes. They are the basic sets of data from which computer-readable files are created. (from ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.

Services offered to the library user. They include reference and circulation.

Controlled vocabulary thesaurus produced by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. It consists of sets of terms naming descriptors in a hierarchical structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity.

A microcomputer-based software package providing a user-friendly interface to the MEDLARS system of the National Library of Medicine.

Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.

The field which deals with illustrative clarification of biomedical concepts, as in the use of diagrams and drawings. The illustration may be produced by hand, photography, computer, or other electronic or mechanical methods.

Published materials which provide an examination of recent or current literature. Review articles can cover a wide range of subject matter at various levels of completeness and comprehensiveness based on analyses of literature that may include research findings. The review may reflect the state of the art. It also includes reviews as a literary form.

Books designed by the arrangement and treatment of their subject matter to be consulted for definite terms of information rather than to be read consecutively. Reference books include DICTIONARIES; ENCYCLOPEDIAS; ATLASES; etc. (From the ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Process of teaching a person to interact and communicate with a computer.

Discussion of documents issued by local, regional, or national governments or by their agencies or subdivisions.

Databases containing information about PROTEINS such as AMINO ACID SEQUENCE; PROTEIN CONFORMATION; and other properties.

The portion of an interactive computer program that issues messages to and receives commands from a user.

Auditory and visual instructional materials.

The use of automatic machines or processing devices in libraries. The automation may be applied to library administrative activities, office procedures, and delivery of library services to users.

A research and development program initiated by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE to build knowledge sources for the purpose of aiding the development of systems that help health professionals retrieve and integrate biomedical information. The knowledge sources can be used to link disparate information systems to overcome retrieval problems caused by differences in terminology and the scattering of relevant information across many databases. The three knowledge sources are the Metathesaurus, the Semantic Network, and the Specialist Lexicon.

Research carried out by nurses, generally in clinical settings, in the areas of clinical practice, evaluation, nursing education, nursing administration, and methodology.

The profession of writing. Also the identity of the writer as the creator of a literary production.

Databases containing information about NUCLEIC ACIDS such as BASE SEQUENCE; SNPS; NUCLEIC ACID CONFORMATION; and other properties. Information about the DNA fragments kept in a GENE LIBRARY or GENOMIC LIBRARY is often maintained in DNA databases.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

A system containing any combination of computers, computer terminals, printers, audio or visual display devices, or telephones interconnected by telecommunications equipment or cables: used to transmit or receive information. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. Cost effectiveness compares alternative ways to achieve a specific set of results.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

A quantitative measure of the frequency on average with which articles in a journal have been cited in a given period of time.

A concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.

Organized services to provide information on any questions an individual might have using databases and other sources. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

Software designed to store, manipulate, manage, and control data for specific uses.

A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

A field of biology concerned with the development of techniques for the collection and manipulation of biological data, and the use of such data to make biological discoveries or predictions. This field encompasses all computational methods and theories for solving biological problems including manipulation of models and datasets.

A measurement index derived from a modification of standard life-table procedures and designed to take account of the quality as well as the duration of survival. This index can be used in assessing the outcome of health care procedures or services. (BIOETHICS Thesaurus, 1994)

The procedures involved in combining separately developed modules, components, or subsystems so that they work together as a complete system. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

Partial cDNA (DNA, COMPLEMENTARY) sequences that are unique to the cDNAs from which they were derived.

Databases devoted to knowledge about specific chemicals.

The systematic study of the complete DNA sequences (GENOME) of organisms.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The arrangement of two or more amino acid or base sequences from an organism or organisms in such a way as to align areas of the sequences sharing common properties. The degree of relatedness or homology between the sequences is predicted computationally or statistically based on weights assigned to the elements aligned between the sequences. This in turn can serve as a potential indicator of the genetic relatedness between the organisms.

Use of sophisticated analysis tools to sort through, organize, examine, and combine large sets of information.

A process that includes the determination of AMINO ACID SEQUENCE of a protein (or peptide, oligopeptide or peptide fragment) and the information analysis of the sequence.

An infant during the first month after birth.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

A multistage process that includes cloning, physical mapping, subcloning, determination of the DNA SEQUENCE, and information analysis.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.

Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.

The process of pictorial communication, between human and computers, in which the computer input and output have the form of charts, drawings, or other appropriate pictorial representation.

Databases devoted to knowledge about PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS.

A specified list of terms with a fixed and unalterable meaning, and from which a selection is made when CATALOGING; ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING; or searching BOOKS; JOURNALS AS TOPIC; and other documents. The control is intended to avoid the scattering of related subjects under different headings (SUBJECT HEADINGS). The list may be altered or extended only by the publisher or issuing agency. (From Harrod's Librarians' Glossary, 7th ed, p163)

The addition of descriptive information about the function or structure of a molecular sequence to its MOLECULAR SEQUENCE DATA record.

Specific languages used to prepare computer programs.

The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup.

The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.

Software used to locate data or information stored in machine-readable form locally or at a distance such as an INTERNET site.

Specifications and instructions applied to the software.

The determination of the pattern of genes expressed at the level of GENETIC TRANSCRIPTION, under specific circumstances or in a specific cell.

The genetic complement of an organism, including all of its GENES, as represented in its DNA, or in some cases, its RNA.

Methods for determining interaction between PROTEINS.

The sequence of PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in nucleic acids and polynucleotides. It is also called nucleotide sequence.

Collections of facts, assumptions, beliefs, and heuristics that are used in combination with databases to achieve desired results, such as a diagnosis, an interpretation, or a solution to a problem (From McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed).

The influence of study results on the chances of publication and the tendency of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or strength of the study findings. Publication bias has an impact on the interpretation of clinical trials and meta-analyses. Bias can be minimized by insistence by editors on high-quality research, thorough literature reviews, acknowledgement of conflicts of interest, modification of peer review practices, etc.

Lists of persons or organizations, systematically arranged, usually in alphabetic or classed order, giving address, affiliations, etc., for individuals, and giving address, officers, functions, and similar data for organizations. (ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of specialized information, especially of a scientific or technical nature (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983). It often involves authenticating or validating information.

Computer-based systems for input, storage, display, retrieval, and printing of information contained in a patient's medical record.

Computer processing of a language with rules that reflect and describe current usage rather than prescribed usage.

The creation and maintenance of medical and vital records in multiple institutions in a manner that will facilitate the combined use of the records of identified individuals.

A large collection of DNA fragments cloned (CLONING, MOLECULAR) from a given organism, tissue, organ, or cell type. It may contain complete genomic sequences (GENOMIC LIBRARY) or complementary DNA sequences, the latter being formed from messenger RNA and lacking intron sequences.

Complex sets of enzymatic reactions connected to each other via their product and substrate metabolites.

The science concerned with the benefit and risk of drugs used in populations and the analysis of the outcomes of drug therapies. Pharmacoepidemiologic data come from both clinical trials and epidemiological studies with emphasis on methods for the detection and evaluation of drug-related adverse effects, assessment of risk vs benefit ratios in drug therapy, patterns of drug utilization, the cost-effectiveness of specific drugs, methodology of postmarketing surveillance, and the relation between pharmacoepidemiology and the formulation and interpretation of regulatory guidelines. (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 1992;1(1); J Pharmacoepidemiol 1990;1(1))

The degree of similarity between sequences of amino acids. This information is useful for the analyzing genetic relatedness of proteins and species.

The complete genetic complement contained in the DNA of a set of CHROMOSOMES in a HUMAN. The length of the human genome is about 3 billion base pairs.

A set of statistical methods used to group variables or observations into strongly inter-related subgroups. In epidemiology, it may be used to analyze a closely grouped series of events or cases of disease or other health-related phenomenon with well-defined distribution patterns in relation to time or place or both.

A multistage process that includes the determination of a sequence (protein, carbohydrate, etc.), its fragmentation and analysis, and the interpretation of the resulting sequence information.

Any method used for determining the location of and relative distances between genes on a chromosome.

The protein complement of an organism coded for by its genome.

Theory and development of COMPUTER SYSTEMS which perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Such tasks may include speech recognition, LEARNING; VISUAL PERCEPTION; MATHEMATICAL COMPUTING; reasoning, PROBLEM SOLVING, DECISION-MAKING, and translation of language.

The genetic complement of a plant (PLANTS) as represented in its DNA.

The systematic study of the complete complement of proteins (PROTEOME) of organisms.