Dear Colleague

We are pleased to offer our Dialog sci-tech searchers an easy way to get the full PDF of technical reports from NTIS. Read the feature story to learn more about this time-saving new option. In addition, in this issue we bring you up to date on the new Inspec archive and thesaurus on DataStar, changes to World News Connection, as well as search tips and industry news.

In each issue we also want to focus on a specific topic related to engineering or high tech. This issue includes the first half of our feature on biometrics, a subject increasingly in the news. If you have a special topic you want to see highlighted in the newsletter, please send us your suggestions.

Ron Rodrigues, Senior Content Specialist, Engineering Market

Click to NTIS Technical Reports in PDF Format
With just a click of the mouse, you now have access to approximately 400,000 reports in PDF format from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Report links are available in NTIS (File 6) through DialogLink 5 and other Dialog Web-based products.

To order, click the link at the top of the record and fill out the order form that displays. The report can be downloaded directly or sent to a recipient by e-mail.

File 6 contains summaries of U.S. government-sponsored research, development and engineering, plus analyses prepared by federal agencies, their contractors or grantees. The reports come from 240 agencies such as NASA, DOD, DOE, HUD, DOT, and Department of Commerce. NTIS also provides access to results of government-sponsored research and development from countries outside the United States.

New Inspec® Archival Backfile on DataStar, File Labels and Coverage Updated
A new archival backfile (IN68) for Inspec is now available on DataStar containing the entire content collection of the Science Abstracts Journals, the precursor to the Inspec® database, back to volume one. This collection covers the time period of 1898 to 1968, and includes all aspects of physics, electrical and electronic engineering, and computing and control engineering.

The archival backfile of more than 873,000 records includes the original value-added indexing and classifications, the nearest equivalent current Inspec Thesaurus terms and Inspec Classification Codes, conference proceedings, books, journals, reports and dissertations, and abstracts varying in length from a half page to several pages, which are longer than the abstracts available today. IN68 is available either on a purchase basis (i.e. ownership in perpetuity), as a site license or transactionally.

To accommodate the addition of the archival backfile, the following changes have been made to the Inspec file labels and coverage:

• INZZ: 1898 to date (previously 1969 to date)
• INYY: 1969 to date (new file)
• INSP: 1987 to date (no change)
• IN86: 1980-1986 (no change)
• IN79: 1969-1979 (no change)
• IN68: 1898 to 1968 (new file)

Inspec on DataStar Reloaded and Enhanced with Interactive Thesaurus
Inspec® (INZZ,INSP) on DataStar has been reloaded and now includes an integrated thesaurus that can be accessed through the interactive thesaurus functionality or in its own file, IVOC. The thesaurus contains approximately 9,000 terms and is specifically tailored to help retrieval in Inspec's main areas of coverage in physics, electrical engineering, electronics, communications, control engineering, computers and computing, information technology, production, manufacturing and mechanical engineering.

In addition, some major functionality changes have been introduced that allow for more effective display of data supplied by Inspec. Also affected is the order in which paragraphs are displayed and how the information is displayed within them. Some paragraphs have been renamed and in some cases removed. For more information, see BASE–DataStar Database Guides (BASE) or the summary of changes document.

Expanded and Enhanced Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPI^SM)
Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPI^SM) (Files 350, 351, 352) is being reloaded with expanded content and many enhancements designed to save you time and effort. In addition to the distilled expert analysis reflected in DWPI enhanced titles and abstracts, now available are original patent filing details, multiple patent images, easy cut-and-paste patent family data, and much more.

Three areas of enhancement include new content such as details from original patent filings in different countries or granting authorities and multiple images; new indexing for inventor name and country codes; and new display options. Check the Dialog Web page for more details.

World Textiles Now Updating Weekly
World Textiles™ (File 67) is now updating weekly. In addition to being a leading source on textiles, technology and applications as reported in technical, scientific, economic and commercial journals and statistical publications, World Textiles covers subjects such as protective materials, dressings, medical equipment, medical clothing, textiles finishing and washing, etc. World Textiles also includes unique coverage of the related patents and patent applications from the USPTO, European and British patent offices.

Focus on Biometrics: Part 1
Security has become increasingly important in our daily lives whether it relates to Internet usage, air travel, immigration, industrial products or terrorism. Face and iris recognition, fingerprint technology, voice verification are all part of biometrics technology used to keep us safe. Industries, such as high tech and telecom, industrial manufacturing, the government and military, retail, health care, the financial sector and travel and transportation are also interested in biometrics. Using Dialog, you can uncover information about all facets of biometrics including R&D, market analysis, company data, industry news, conferences and more. This article focuses on some of the Dialog databases that can help you in your R&D research and industry analysis on biometrics.

R&D
What research is being done on biometrics technology? What areas are the main focus of new development? Using DIALINDEX® (File 411) on Dialog, you can easily scan the entire engineering category of 40 databases, including Inspec® (File 2/INSP), Ei Compendex® (File 8/COMP), PASCAL (File 144/PASC), JICST-Eplus—Japanese Science & Technology (JIST) and SciSearch®: A Cited Reference Science Database (File 34,434/SCIN) for R&D biometrics articles and conference proceedings. For example, a quick search yields the following titles: “Fingers have the touch [fingerprint biometrics],” Security Protocols - 11th International Workshop, Revised Selected Papers, and ”Utilization of Biometrics Authentication Technology for Airport Security.”

News and industry databases (e.g., Dialog NewsRoom (File 990/NEWS), Dialog Global Reporter (File 20/REPO), Gale Group Promt® (File 16/PTSP)) complement information retrieved for R&D and market analysis. And, the good news is that all this information on biometrics is available on Dialog using the techniques, special features and indexing that Dialog is known for.

Focus on Biometrics will continue in the next issue of Dialog Engineering & High Tech News where we'll cover Market Analysis and Trade and Professional Association resources for biometrics.

Valuable Resources from Thomson Scientific:

Introducing Techstreet®, the Industry Codes and Standards Superstore
Now get free and immediate access to one the world’s largest online databases of industry codes and standards. At www.techstreet.com, The Online Standards Superstore, you can search and order documents for overnight delivery or immediate download. Free online tools make it easy to find and manage standards information. Unlimited standards tracking automatically sends free e-mail alerts when any document is updated, revised, amended or withdrawn, with no purchase necessary. Find out more about Techstreet from Thomson Scientific.

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