Here are some highlights of what’s new with the PubMed search interface and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Browser in 2017:
- PubMed’s new “Best Match” Sort Option
If you have searched PubMed this year, you may have noticed a prompt (displayed only once per session by the search engine) to try out PubMed’s “Best Match” Sort Option. The Relevance sort has been renamed “Best Match” so that the PubMed Sort Options now include: Most Recent, Publication Date, First Author, Last Author, Journal, Title and Best Match.
From PubMed Help:
“The retrieved by best match sort order for search results is based on an algorithm that analyzes each PubMed citation that includes the search terms. For each search query, “weight” is calculated for citations depending on how many search terms are found and in which fields they are found. In addition, recently-published articles are given a somewhat higher weight for sorting.”
- Changes to the 2017 MeSH Browser
Every year, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) updates the MeSH browser to better accommodate the current literature being indexed in the MEDLINE database. Among the 2017 MeSH Headings newly added to the MeSH Browser, one that will no doubt be useful for cancer research in particular is the:
New MeSH Descriptor: Margins of Excision
From the MeSH Browser:
“The edges of tissue removed in a surgery for assessment of the effectiveness of a surgical procedure in achieving the local control of a neoplasm and the adequacy of tumor removal. When the margin is negative or not involved by tumor (e.g., CANCER) it suggests all of the tumor has been removed by the surgery.
Year introduced: 2017
Tree Number(s): A10.830, C23.149.625”
| Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms [C23 | ||||||
| Morphological and Microscopic Findings [C23.149] | ||||||
| Margins of Excision [C23.149.625] | ||||||
A 2017 qualifier update was also made this year, when “three qualifiers (radiography, radionuclide imaging, and ultrasonography) were replaced by a new qualifier diagnostic imaging.”
New Qualifier: Diagnostic Imaging
From the MeSH Browser:
“diagnostic imaging [Subheading]
Used for the visualization of an anatomical structure or for the diagnosis of disease. Commonly used imaging techniques include radiography, radionuclide imaging, thermography, tomography, and ultrasonography
Year introduced: 2017(1967)
Tree Number(s): Y04.010″
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