The Internet resources

The Internet resources have provided great impetus to an advancement of bioinformatics and computational biochemistry. They contribute greatly in the collection and dissemination of biochemical information. The Internet resources of biochemical interest and their uses to acquire biochemical information are described. 

Proteomics is concerned with the analysis of the complete protein complements of genomes. Thus proteomics includes not only the identification and quantification of proteins, but also the determination of their localization, modifications, interactions, activities, and functions. This chapter focuses on protein sequences as the sources of biochemical information. Protein sequence databases are surveyed. Similarity search and sequence alignments using the Internet resources are described. 

Computation proteome annotation is the process of proteome database mining, which includes structure/fold prediction and functionality assignment. Methodologies of secondary structure prediction and problems of protein folding are discussed. Approaches to identify functional sites are presented. Protein structure databases are surveyed. Secondary structure predictions and pattern/fold recognition of proteins using the Internet resources are described. 

The Internet Resources section of the TEEIIP Website covers topics such as Arsenic and Human Health, Biological Warfare, Chemical Warfare, Children s Environmental Health, Environmental Justice, September 11th World Trade Center Disaster Lingering Airborne Hazards, and Pesticides Used for West Nile Virus Control. For each topic, TEHIP provides numerous links to a variety of related Websites and other electronic resources. 

Include the Internet resources consulted and copies of any reports or articles used in preparation. Note that hydrogen storage is also discussed in Chapter 8. 

Edcfy-cufrent NDT inspections using spatial data (sampled scans) ha >e many benefits. They separate the two conflicting aspects of an inspection scanning and signal interpretation. An instrument/display (client/server) based NDT inspection based on sampled scan data aides in the training and certification of inspectors. It can be used over the Internet or in-house Intranet networks to train or examine inspectors at multiple or remote sites. This saves travel time and resources as defects, instrumentation and teaching can all be consolidated Samples can be maintained and distributed from a central certification body providing more control andflexibility. 

Given the enormous number of resources for chemical information available, many researchers do not have the time to learn the details of the variotis systems, and they end up searching in only a few resources with which they are familiar. This is a dangerous approach Knowing that both fee and non-fee resources are available on the Internet and both hold the desired information, it is prudent to search non-fee systems first and then use proprietary databases to fill data gaps [49]. 

Metadatabases are databases which describe other databases in a comprehensive and stnretured way [51], A prominent example is the DAIN Metadatabase of Internet Resources for Environmental Chemicals kctp //wwMmz.uni-ka el.de/dain) which in 2002 comprised more than 700 entries. This metadatabase is documented in Chapter V, Section 10 of the Handbook, on Databa.scs on Enviromnental Information", It supports the user in finding the right database(s) for their purposes. 

It is well known that the resources available on the Internet are in constant flux, with new sites appearing on a daily basis and established sites disappearing almost as frequently. This also holds true for the dedicated tools used in biochemical and biophysical studies. New tools are constantly becoming available, and established tools, obsolete. Such rapid change makes it difficult to stay current with the state-of-the-art technologies in the areas of bioinformatics and computational biochemistry and biophysics. 

Environmental RouteNet provides a single gateway to the world s foremost databases and information sources available on the Internet. The sendee includes searchable links to hundreds of carefully-screened environmentally-related resources, selected and indexed by the editors at Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. In addition, the site provides access to proprietaiy environmentally-related databases and to daily updates of environmentally-related news stories, regulations and legislation, plus much, much more. 

LIMS as rented service— The application service provision provider (ASP) is a means of obtaining access to software applications without the need to acquire expensive licenses and hardware or employ high-cost support resources [7]. The application is hosted on a third-party site with system maintenance, backup, and recovery provided by a third party. Products and services can be rented for a contract period on a fixed cost per user/per month basis. The advantages of obtaining LIMS in this fashion include reduced cost in initial investment and reduced requirement of resources for maintaining the LIMS. The continued security and integrity of the data transferred over the Internet is a major concern for this type of LIMS. 

It is worth noting that the past few years have witnessed tremendous development of web-based information resources. Notably, the PubMed search tool [4] has made the investigation of any life sciences topic much easier. It offers keyword and author (as well as structure and sequence) searches and covers a wide range of medicinal chemistry-related journals. This resource, coupled with e-journals, affords the medicinal chemist the tools to keep up with any research topics of interest. Because of the public nature of the Web, now a chemist can sometimes find critical journal articles on the Web that do not show up until much later in traditional literature sources. It is not uncommon that scientific meeting presentations can be found on the Web. Indeed, the Internet tools we have all become familiar with also have made the professional life of the medicinal chemist much easier. 

Information resources on dietary supplements are available on the Internet, via textbooks, and through Medline searches. The reliability and credibility of some resources is lacking. Pharmacists need to evaluate the information and to choose reputable sources. The following should be evaluated to determine whether the resource is reliable and credible [54]. 

ChemIDplus. Published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, ChemIDplus [62] is a web-based search system, http //chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/ chemidplus/, that provides free access to structure and nomenclature authority files used for the identification of chemical substances cited in National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases. ChemIDplus also provides structure searching and direct links to biomedical resources at NLM and on the Internet. The database contains over 349,000 chemical records, over 56,000 of which include chemical structures, and is searchable by name, synonym, CAS registry number, molecular formula, classification code, locator code, and structure. 

The Internet, for many professionals, has become a favorite, convenient source for free information. The Internet is a vehicle to access a diverse array of information sources, including federal and state government documents and regulations, statements, opinions and guidelines from associations and organizations, and pharmaceutical industry documents. While the Internet is indeed powerful, it is a retrieval mechanism and the WWW site itself is the resource to be considered for relevance to the current search. The convenience of WWW resources can be quickly overshadowed by the time invested in the search and following linkages. 

Even brief searches, without a significant increase in the time to complete the search, can benefit from a watchful eye for new gold mines of information. Resources available on the Internet are particularly dynamic and continue to challenge our effort to... 

A significant aid in the preparation of the second edition was the tremendous resources now available on the Internet for searching references to virtually any subject or key word within the scientific literature. For this reason, adding endless references to each chapter probably only would increase the size of the book by hundreds of pages, but add very little real value. Far better is for the reader to make use of pertinent Internet databases to search for key words, structure names, or reagent acronyms which can provide lists of hundreds or even thousands of additional references or links regarding any bioconjugation technique of interest. 

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