[Nmrshiftdb-users] NMRShiftDB status report

[Christoph S. <c.s...@un...>]

***
PRE-SCRIPTUM A: Please consider making feature requests and bug reports=20
using the feature and bug trackers on SourceForge=20
http://sourceforge.net/projects/nmrshiftdb

PRE-SCRIPTUM B: Consider posting to this mailing list. The list is open=20
for any discussion regarding NMRShiftDB.
***

Dear NMRShiftDB User,

status reports like this one are preceded by a news update, followed by=20
a general section, which will be updated and reposted on a regular=20
basis, as soon as this is justified by a certain number of new=20
registrants or an important update of NMRShiftDB.

CURRENT UPDATE

NMRShiftDB does now have about 75 registered users with 5 to 7 users=20
constantly connected.
Meanwhile, NMRShiftDB has been moved to a new 2-node failsafe cluster=20
with a greatly improved performance. This cluster is kindly hosted and=20
supported by the Max-Planck-Institute of Chemical Ecology in Jena,=20
Germany (http://www.ice.mpg.de).
The group that develops NMRShiftDB has moved to the Cologne University=20
Bioinfomatics Center (CUBIC, http://www.cubic.uni-koeln.de/steinbeck),=20
where we will soon install our first external mirror.


GENERAL REMARKS, CAVEATS, HINTS

- NMRShiftDB is an open-source, open-content database for organic=20
molecule and their NMR data. Currently we support proton and carbon 1D=20
NMR spectra. Support for proton spectra is incomplete, however, due to=20
missing possibility for entering multiplicities and coupling constants.

- Up to date, NMRShiftDB is not complete, not comprehensive and not=20
stable. Please consider making detailed bug reports using the bug and=20
feature trackers at http://sourceforge.net/projects/nmrshiftdb

- We feel dedicated to the ideas of the open-source movement and we thus=20
need your support but even more we need your patience with the initial=20
imperfections of NMRShiftDB.

- NMRShiftDB will only grow through contributions by the community. If=20
you are interested in contributing spectral assignments, either from=20
your own work or from the literature, please contact me or the=20
NMRShiftDB administrator to organize the reviewing process.
We urge you to consider contributing. One structure + spectrum +=20
assignment per month is better than nothing, one per week is better than=20
one per month, etc. :-)


USAGE

General usage of NMRShiftDB should be straightforward for everyone=20
familiar with other spectral databases.

Two important points should be stressed here:

- Please send comments, bug reports, feature requests or just a "hello"=20
to the nmr...@li... mailing list  (The lists=20
homepage with archive is=20
http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/nmrshiftdb-users).

- Please consider using the bug tracker and feature tracker at=20
http://sourceforge.net/projects/nmrshiftdb to file feature requests and=20
bug reports.


CONTRIBUTIONS

Please email to c.s...@un... if you want to discuss=20
potential contributions.

With a growing number of people willing to contribute structures and=20
spectra, we need a better organization of the reviewing process.
NMRShiftDB's architecture provides support for so called "review=20
groups". Theses groups are to organize contributors in small clusters,=20
whose members review each other's contributions.

If a workgroup in an academic or industrial environment decides to=20
contribute to NMRShiftDB, the members of this group could, after=20
registration on NMRShiftDB, form a review group to facilitate the=20
exchange of data neccessary for reviewing.

Please be aware of the fact that anonymous peer review is no issue in=20
NMRShiftDB - instead, reviewer and submitter need to work closely=20
together in order to ensure data quality.
This can, for example, be done by faxing or e-mailing each other the=20
original data (for example copies of the paper from which the data was=20
taken).
The reviewing will become even easier if you augment your source with=20
handwritten notes, marks, etc., that highlight the data which have been=20
entered. Often, measurement conditions, solvents, and other interesting=20
data are nastily hidden within the text. :-)
So, as soon as you contribute your first few data sets, you will be=20
assigned to a review group. If you want to form a review group with=20
colleagues from your laboratory, in order to facilitate the exchange of=20
the underlying material, that's fine. Just send us an email=20
(c.s...@un...).


SPONSORING

Last but not least we would like to point your attention to the=20
possibility of sponsoring NMRShiftDB by either

* providing money for people entering data from the literature in order=20
to keep NMRShiftDB growing - any amount is welcome -

or

* providing money for new hardware, which will be used for installing=20
NMRShiftDB mirrors. These mirrors will be installed in institutions,=20
which are willing to collaborate with us and which should be=20
geographically and network-topologically distinct from our institut in=20
order to provide the highest possible availability of NMRShiftDB.

or

* installing an NMRShiftDB mirror on your site, which will be available=20
under whatevernameyouchoose.nmrshift.org. This comes down to buying a=20
reasonably well equipped standard PC, hooking it up to the internet and=20
installing Linux and the NMRShiftDB software. Of course you will get all=20
the help you need from our side.

If you consider sponsoring the project please contact us=20
(c.s...@un...).

Best regards,

Christoph Steinbeck


--=20
Dr. Christoph Steinbeck (e-mail: c.s...@un...)
Groupleader Junior Research Group for Applied Bioinformatics
Cologne University BioInformatics Center (http://www.cubic.uni-koeln.de)
Z=FClpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne
Tel: +49(0)221-470-7426   Fax: +49 (0) 221-470-5092

What is man but that lofty spirit - that sense of enterprise.
... Kirk, "I, Mudd," stardate 4513.3..