Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : Mar/Apr 2003

MEDLINE® RELOAD 2003 on Dialog DataStar™

The MEDLINE reload on Dialog DataStar was completed on January 12, 2003. The database is reloaded every year because the National Library of Medicine reindexes relevant documents from the whole database with changed medical terms.

Generally, the NLM does not retrospectively index all MEDLINE citations with new MeSH® headings when they first appear. Therefore, searching for a new MeSH term may effectively limit retrieval to citations indexed after the term was introduced. However, changed or deleted terms are usually applied to the whole database during the NLM's end of year processing.

The 2003 changes are summarized as follows:

• MeSH changes: A total of 1,251 new descriptors were added to MeSH 2003.
  
  93 descriptors were replaced with more up-to-date terminology, 20 descriptors were deleted, and more than 1,727 see references were added. Lists of all new descriptors and of deleted and replaced descriptors are posted on the NLM's MeSH Web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/changes2003.html.
  
  The MeSH changes affect the following subject areas:
  
  • Bioethics
  • Plants and Phytotherapy
  • Chemical Actions and Uses
  • Organisms
  • Crustacea
  • Anatomy
  • Integumentary System
  • Genetics
  • ADP-RiboseTransferases/NAD Nucleosidases
  • Lectins
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins
  • Peptide Hormones
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Integrins
  • Ephrins and Eph Receptors
  
  
  
• Age Groups: After many years, the Tree arrangement of age groups and other descriptors formerly grouped with age groups have been changed for 2003 MeSH. They now are:
  

  Adolescent
   Adult
      Aged
      Aged, 80 and over
      Frail Elderly
      Middle Age
   Child
      Child, Preschool
   Infant
      Infant, Newborn
      Infant, Low Birth Weight
      Infant, Small for Gestational Age
      Infant, Very Low Birth Weight
      Infant, Postmature
      Infant, Premature
  
   2002
   Child (partial array)
      Adolescence+
      Child, Abandoned
      Child, Exceptional+
      Child, Hospitalized
      Child, Institutionalized
      Child of Impaired Parents
      Child, Preschool
      Child, Unwanted
      Disabled Children
      Homeless Youth
      Infant+
      Only Child
      Etc.

  
  
  
• A new subheading, ethics (abbreviation ES), has been added with 2003 MeSH.
  
  
• The publication type, Electronic Journals, has been deleted.
  
  
• New Quick Subheadings: In response to customer requests, Dialog DataStar has introduced some new Quick Subheadings.
  
  For fastest results on Dialog DataStar Classic, precede your query with QS:
  
  1_: QS BREAST-NEOPLASMS WITH QD
  
  The entire list of Quick Subheadings is now as follows:
  
  

  QA - Quick anatomy (AH BS CY PA UL EM AB IR) 
  QB - Quick embryology (EM AB) 
  QC - Quick chemistry (CH AG AA AI CS) 
  QD - Quick diagnosis (DI PA RA RI US) 
  QE - Quick etiology (ET CI CO SC CN EM GE IM MI VI 
       PS TM) 
  QG - Quick surgery (SU TR) 
  QI - Quick microbiology (MI VI) 
  QL - Quick complications (CO SC) 
  QM - Quick metabolism (ME BI BL CF DF EN PK UR) 
  QN - Quick analysis (AN BL CF IP UR) 
  QO - Quick organization (OG EC LJ MA ST SD TD UT) 
  QP - Quick pharmacology (PD AD AE PO TO AG AI CT 
       DU PK) 
  QS - Quick statistics (SN EP EH MO SD UT) 
  QT - Quick therapy (TH DH DT NU PC RT RH SU TR) 
  QU - Quick therapeutic use (TU AD AE CT PO) 
  QW - Quick epidemiology (EP EH MO) 
  QX - Quick toxicology (PO TO AE CT) 
  QY - Quick physiology (PH GE GD IM ME BI BL CF DF 
       EN PK UR PP SE) 
  QZ - Quick cytology (CY PA UL) 

  
  
  
• The structure of a Dialog DataStar record remains the same in 2003 as in 2002.
  
  
• MeSH headings in Alerts profiles: Customers who are using MeSH terms in their Alerts profiles are encouraged to check that the Headings are still valid against the 2003 MeSH. MeSH 2002 is still available in MV02; MeSH 2003 is available in MVOC. To adjust Alerts to the new MeSH 2003, please compare MV02 with MVOC and change your search strategy where necessary.
  
  

Consult BASE (BASE-MEDL) and print the chapter entitled MEDLINE Reload 2003 for a complete list of changes. If you have further questions, please consult your nearest Knowledge Center.

Note: The Dialog reload on MEDLINE is scheduled for Spring 2003.

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