Author Archives: Marina

Formatting Citations in OneSearch

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While EndNote is the most obvious tool to view a citation formatted in a specific style, not every situation needs the complexity of EndNote. Sometimes you may just need to copy and paste a citation into a document or email.

Many databases and search engines (ex. Google Scholar), give you the opportunity to view a citation in a variety of style formats (AMA/JAMA, APA, NIH, etc.). You simply view the citation in the needed style, copy it as plain text and paste it into your document or email.

MSK Library’s search and discovery tool OneSearch can also provide citations in several popular style formats for a wide variety of print and electronic resources available through the MSK Library.

Follow the steps below to copy and paste citations from OneSearch.

  • Click the double quote icon (“) in the upper right corner immediately above the citation
  • In the pop-up window, use the scroll bar to view all the citation styles available and click the one you want to use. The citation will instantly be reformatted to that style.
  • Copy and paste the citation into your document or email.

Note: This will only provide the citation in plain text, it will not create an in-text citation.

Converting Breast Cancer Cells into Fat, Painkillers Role in Cancer Survival, and More…

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Below are highlights of recently published cancer research publicized in the news:

  • Scientists from the University of Basel, Switzerland, used new combination therapy with MEK inhibitors and the anti-diabetic drug Rosiglitazone in mouse models of breast cancer. The therapy inhibits cancer cell invasion, dissemination, and metastasis formation in mouse models of breast cancer forcing the trans-differentiation of breast cancer cells into adipocytes, or fat cells. For more, see study published in Cancer Research.
  • U.S. researchers found that regular use (6 months or more) of NSAID, or painkiller medications such as aspirin, was consistent with prolonged disease-specific survival and overall survival in head and neck cancer compared with nonregular NSAID use. The findings were reported in Journal of Experimental Medicine.
  • Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University found a way to stimulate macrophages ability to engulf and eat cancer cells by overcoming hindrances caused by inhibitory activity of CD47 protein. CD47 is a ‘don’t-eat-me’ signal that suppresses the phagocytic activity of macrophages. Read more about this in Nature Immunology.
  • An international group of authors established molecular hallmarks of tumor hypoxia across multiple cancer types. Hypoxia is an adverse prognostic feature correlated with tumor aggressiveness. The group quantified hypoxia in 8,006 tumors across 19 tumor types. Established patterns may offer insights into what categories of patients may benefit most from anti-hypoxia therapy and provide the basis for developing therapeutic agents targeting tumor hypoxia. The study was published in Nature Genetics.

Search Google and Google Scholar with Boolean Operators

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Then:

Historically, Google and Google Scholar allowed for conducting very simple straightforward searches. Just put a word or two in the search box and you’ll get the search results. This approach had a great appeal to the public and even its perceived limitations could not spoil that attitude.

On the other hand,  bibliographic databases (such as PubMed) with their multiple tools for refining  search results, often were perceived cumbersome and somewhat outdated in terms of design. Still, neither Google nor bibliographic databases could fill each others niche. Users want flexibility, including the ability to conduct both simple and complex searches; the simplicity of Google with the complexity of Boolean search operators and ‘nesting’ .

So how did Google create such a simple search interface?  Behind the scenes, the space between the search terms was executed by Google as a Boolean search operator “AND”. Savvy users also knew to search for either term at once by using the pipe character | (for example, cancer | tumor); the pipe character made Google use an “OR” between the search terms behind the scenes. A minus sign could be used as a NOT operator. Most of such searches worked best when done one at a time.

Now:

While the features mentioned above are still valid, now Google and Google Scholar also allow employing proper Boolean Operators typically used in bibliographic databases. Moreover, “nesting” technique (or using parentheses around the “OR” search statement) is also possible.

Example:

“carcinogenesis model development” AND (Asmari OR Amararathna)

This search strategy finds documents with the phrase “carcinogenesis model development” (with or without characters such as ‘period’ embedded) authored by EITHER Asmari OR Amararathna.

As mentioned, historical Google syntax is also valid:
“carcinogenesis model development” (Asmari | Amararathna)

Currently, the Boolean operator “NOT” does not work in Google and Google Scholar.

Note: Only capitals should be used for the Boolean Operators in Google.