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The following report on data activities
in Canada was presented to the 19th General Assembly of CODATA
at Chambéry in September 1994. To obtain further details on
individual items or to submit information on other Canadian
data activities for inclusion in the next report (September
1996) please contact:
Secretariat CNC/CODATA CISTI, Builiding M-55,
Room 275, National Research Council
Montreal Road Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6,
Telephone: (613) 993-3294,
Fax: (613) 952-8246
Internet: codata@nrc.ca
1. Molecular Biology
Since 1989 the Molecular Biology Database System has been
available for online use on the Canadian Scientific Numeric
Database Service (CAN/SND) operated by the National Research
Council of Canada (NRC). Recently moved to a powerful new
UNIX platform, the system is available via packet-switched
networks and the Internet worldwide. Some of the features
offered are:
2. Databases
- EMBL - European Molecular Biology Data Library
- GenBank - Genetic Sequence Data Bank
- SWISS-PROT - Swiss Protein Sequence Database
- NRL-3D - Naval Research Laboratory
- CRYSTPRO - Brookhaven Protein Data Bank
- OMIM - Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man
- GD - BHuman Genome Database - Johns Hopkins
- FLYBASE - Drosophila
3. Search & Analysis Systems
- GCG - University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group
- STADEN - Staden Package
- Phylip - Phylogenetic Analysis Package
- ReadSeq - Sequence File Format Conversion Program
- Prosearch - Prosite Database Pattern Search Program
- LINKAGE - Lathrop and Lalouel
- PIR - Protein Identification Resource
- FASTA - Lipman-Pearson Search Algorithm
4. CODATA Hybridoma Data Bank
The latest release is searchable online on the CAN/SND
service. Searches may be made on various indexes (author,
source, reactant, distributor,etc.) and boolean operations
may be used to refine and enrich the query.
5. Sulfolobus Genome Data
A group of workers at the University of Ottawa (Dr. R.
Charlebois, Department of Biology), Dalhousie University
(Dr. F. Doolittle, Department of Biochemistry) and the NRC
Institute for Marine Biosciences (IMB, Dr. M. Ragan), under
a grant from CGAT (Canadian Genome and Analysis Technology
Program) have begun work on the genome of the sulfolobus
bacterium. The IMB is responsible for most of the data handling
and analysis.
6. Indices of Available Fungal Cultures
Produced by the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, these
indices are lists of cultures available from culture collections
and include the following details of each culture: binomial
name, accession number, substrate, place of origin of the
fungus as well as details of its maintenance and toxicity.
Cultures covered include at least seven Canadian collections,
with an aggregate of about 14,000 cultures, as well as those
available from the International Mycological Institute in
the UK with about 9200 cultures.
7. Fungal Metabolites
Also produced by the Nova Scotian Institute of Science,
this database, with coverage from 1789 to 1993, includes
the binomial names of the producing organisms, the name
(trivial or systematic) of the metabolite, its molecular
formula and a literature reference giving details of the
method of isolation of the metabolite
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1. MEDLA Molecular Shape Database
The Molecular Modeling Group in the Department of Chemistry,
University of Saskatchewan has developed a substantial molecular
shape database of standard and distorted sets of molecular
electron density fragments. The database is designed to
be used with the Molecular Electron Density Assembler (MEDLA)
method for building molecular electron densities of small
and large inorganic and organic molecules along with various
polymers including polypeptides and proteins.
2. Database for Non-Carcinogenic Toxicity of Poly-Aromatic
(PAH) Molecules
Leadership is being given by the Universities of Waterloo,
Montreal and Saskatchewan in collecting data on toxic effects,
other than those related to cancer, of PAH molecules. Examples
of such effects are those of photo-oxidized products of
PAHs on plants, fish and other species.
Crystallography
1. NRC Metals Crystallographic Database (CRYSTMET)
Work was completed on adding retrospective entries to
the database making it exhaustive in coverage to 1913 and
containing over 52,000 entries. The database may be licensed
for private or multiple use and it is also available online
via the CAN/SND and STN services.
2. Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD)
Through an exchange agreement between NRC and the FIZ
Energie, Physik, Mathematik (Karlsruhe) the ICSD continued
to be made available online on the CAN/SND system and CRYSTMET
continued to be made available online on STN.
3. NIST Crystal Data File (CRYSTDAT)
Under an umbrella arrangement between the two organizations,
NRC and NIST continued to collaborate on the production
and enhancement of the Crystal Data File known as CRYSTDAT
on the CAN/SND system. This collaboration has produced software
tools to address some of the research needs of materials
science, particularly in the areas of materials design and
identification. Crystal Data now contains over 180,000 entries.
4. Brookhaven Protein Data Bank
NRC continued to be one of the many sites offering network
access to this important data collection.
5. Online Access
The CAN/SND system continued to offer public, international
online access to the complete suite of crystallographic
databases both via the Internet and the X.25 packet-switched
networks. The databases available online are:
- CRYSTDAT - NIST Crystal Data File
- CRYSTINInorganic Crystal Structure Database
- CRYSTMET - NRC Metals Crystallographic Database
- CRYSTOR - Cambridge Structural Database
- CRYSTPRO - Brookhaven Protein Data Bank
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1. Standards
In the area of geoscience standards, the Canadian General
Standards Board (CGSB) Committee on Geomatics has adopted
both the Spatial Archive and Interchange Format (SAIF) and
the Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard (DIGEST)
as National Standards of Canada.
The Surveys and Resource Mapping Branch, British Columbia
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, submitted a series
of four papers on behalf of Canada for consideration by
the International Standards Organization (ISO) Database
Language Multimedia Working Group. Included in this submission
was a framework for the development of Part 3 of the Spatial
Query Language/Multi-Media (SQL/MM) based directly on the
SAIF standard. This proposal was accepted and will be the
basis for future ISO work regarding spatial/temporal data
management in SQL/MM.
The Committee on Geomatics working group on feature cataloguing
has taken the FACC (Feature Attribute Coding Catalog) as
a starting point for features and attribute coding and has
harmonized the National Digital Topographic Database and
the provincial topographic database objects through a one-to-one
relationship. Work is currently being done to standardize
directory information describing geo-referenced data sets.
Future development in the area of standards is being driven
by the concept of Open GIS using virtual data models for
access.
2. Database Access
Within the Canadian government, the GIS Division of the
Surveys, Mapping and Remote Sensing Sector has developed
a federal multidatabase management system that provides
interoperability between different GIS. Known as the Delta-X,
the implementation is based on the assumption that each
underlying DBMS is based on a client-server architecture
and each client workstation is connected to a network that
is configured with access to at least one DBMS server. A
client, besides being able to query and access a server
database, is typically configured as a geographic information
system's workstation. Furthermore, as a front-end to the
Delta-X, a spatial data browser facilitates the access to
metadata of various databases, e.g., information on specific
datasets, ownership, geographic coverage, format, availability,
etc.
Access to sources of geographic data has improved within
the federal government. The thematic map databases of most
departments have been converted to digital format and are
stored and structured using geographic information systems.
Cross-indices between thematic databases are being developed.
Data describing Forestry, Agriculture and Environment across
Canada can now be used in an integrated way at national
scales.
3. Digital Chart of the World (DCW)
The DCW is a huge vector base map of the world at 1:1000000
scale including cartographic, attribute and textual information.
It comes on four CD-ROMs with extraction, display and query
software (VPFVIEW). Developed for a multinational project
involving the Canadian Directorate of Geographic Operations
(DND), the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency and the equivalent
groups in Britain and Australia, it includes data on 17
thematic layers including political boundaries, ocean coastlines,
cities, transportation networks, drainage, land cover and
elevation.
4. New Projects related to High-Speed Network Developments
The Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research,
Industry and Education (CANARIE) is a government supported
not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion and
advancement of networking and networking technologies in
Canada. Phase 1 of the CANARIE implementation plan (June
1993 to March 1995) includes upgrading the National Research
and Development and Education Network, establishing a national
high-speed testbed network and initiating product and service
developments that would utilize that network. Geoscience
projects that have been approved under this program by Canadian
industry include "Chartnet" and the "CARIS wide-area data
browser".
Chartnet will be an integrated suite of software
systems and processes for the collaborative production,
maintenance and distribution of electronic charts in a high-speed
wide area network (WAN) environment. Electronic chart products
are derived from very large databases of spatial/temporal
hydrographic source data. The lead contractor for this project
is Nautical Data International Inc.
The CARIS wide-area data browser will involve
the development and testing of spatial data and delivery
software for broad-band wide area networks. This will improve
the collection, management and distribution of geographically
related information in electronic form. This project will
examine the effects of broad-band communication services
on the delivery of digital property mapping and image data
to end users. The lead contractor for this project is Universal
Systems Ltd., in partnership with telephone companies and
universities in eastern Canada.
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Global Change
1. GCNet (Online Global Change Information)
GCNet (formerly the Global Change Network) was developed
at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) to serve
as a single point of contact for global change researchers,
scientists and users of remote sensing information. It is
a free online system that directs users to pertinent international
datasets and other up-to-date information. The following
information is now available through GCNet:
Directory Service
Users can access a centralized directory of scientific
data sets which identifies Canadian and International data
sets pertinent to global change research. Directory access
is done through the Master Directory which is part of the
International Directory Network (IDN). IDN nodes are currently
located in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia,
the United Kingdom and the United States.
Data Centre Links
Permits users to link to other data centres world-wide
and access their inventories, bulletin boards or information
networks. This feature is part of the IDN directory service.
CCRS Image Inventory
This option invokes the CCRS Query program, which permits
searches of the LANDSAT, MOS, NOAA and SPOT satellites'
raw image inventories. A products catalogue of NOAA geocoded
and composite products processed on the GEOCOMP system is
also available. Results can be viewed on screen, mailed
via Internet, NSI/DECNet or sent by surface mail. An ERS-1
image inventory will also be available soon.
CCRS Bulletin Board
The CCRS Bulletin Board PlaNet contains detailed information
about CCRS activities and profiles Canadian Companies, regional
centres and educational institutions involved in remote
sensing.
SMRSS Products and Services
Users can scan a complete list of products and services
offered by the Surveys, Mapping and Remote Sensing Sector
(SMRSS) of Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. This includes
detailed information such as product descriptions, prices
and order contacts in Canada for all digital products normally
used in the geomatics field.
RESORS
This option provides users with information on how to
get an account of the CCRS document retrieval service, RESORS.
RESORS is a unique online bibliographic database that provides
rapid and precise access to information on the technologies
and applications of remote sensing world wide.
2. Hydrologic Data
Hydrologic data (quality and quantity) are collected by
various federal, provincial agencies and industries but
the quality and quantity data are managed differently. All
stream flow information is managed by the federal government
using a relational database HYDAT; these data are published
annually on CD-ROM.
The water quality data are generally managed by the agency
that collected them. Environment Canada and all provinces
have water quality databases. Under Federal/Provincial Agreements
some data have been transferred between agencies. The ENVIRODAT
database is used by Environment Canada to manage these types
of data; some provinces have expressed interest in using
the ENVIRODAT system.
With the reorganization in Environment Canada the hydrologic
databases and climate databases are now managed by the Climate
Information Branch, Atmospheric Environment Service. Over
the next four years they are planning to integrate the data
models and distribute the databases to improve access.
3. Databases for Environmental Analysis: Government
of Canada
An inventory of over 370 Government of Canada Databases
useful for environmental reporting. It lists the purpose,
contact information and included variables for each database.
The book includes a diskette copy with keywords for automated
searching.
4. SEDTEC (Sediment Treatment Technologies Database)
2nd ed.
This database documents 210 treatment technologies worldwide
for the treatment of organic and inorganic contaminants
in soil, sludge and sediment. It includes established, pilot
scale and demonstration technologies in eight categories
(Alternate Heat, Biological, Chemical, Incineration, Extraction,
Fixation/Stabilization, Other and Pre-/Post- Treatment).
The data were submitted by the developers/vendors of the
technologies.
5. Materials Properties Data - Ageing of concrete structures
in a nuclear environment
Atomic Energy of Canada and Ontario Hydro are collaborating
with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna
on the development of a database for nuclear concrete structures,
in particular on the processes associated with ageing. The
ageing of nuclear structures is of special interest because
of its impact upon the safety and reliability of operation
of nuclear facilities, including the nuclear power plant
concrete containment designed to separate the reactor and
other systems from the outside environment. The proposed
database represents the first time this aspect has been
addressed in particular.
Data, which are being gathered via a world wide IAEA survey,
will be screened and processed by an international panel
of eight experts. When completed, the database will be accessible
to all nuclear utilities around the world. Its use will
help the industry to control and manage ageing, thereby
reducing its effect upon nuclear structures, and also to
design future stations with greater insight.
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1. Astrophysics
The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) was established
in 1986 as one of three worldwide distribution centres for
data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Since then, the CADC
mandate has expanded to include the provision of online
astronomical archives and data distribution facilities for
data from both ground- and space-based sources to the Canadian
astronomical research community. Through collaboration with
such centres as the Space Telescope Science Institute, the
Space Telescope - European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF)
and the European Southern Laboratories (ESO), it has installed
a variety of accessing and archiving software packages,
the most prominent ones being STARCAT and PREVIEW. Heavy
use is made of the high-speed CA*net foraccess and data
transfer. In addition CADC provides access to the Star Guide
Catalogue, Calibration Database and SIMBAD and maintains
an archive of data obtained from the Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope.
2. Thermodynamics - Facility for the Analysis of Chemical
Thermodynamics (F*A*C*T)
F*A*C*T is a Canadian thermochemical database system which
contains thermodynamic properties on over 4000 inorganic
stoichiometric compounds (5000 phases) including aqueous
and gaseous ions. The public system is accessed via X.25
networks with host computers at McGill University, École
Polytechnique de Montréal and CISTI (NRC, Ottawa).
The Committee, which met annually during this biennium, experienced
some changes in sponsorship, structure and membership. The
Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information
assumed responsibility for the Committee and established a
secretariat to administer and fund its activities. Professor
Hugh King succeeded Dr. John Rodgers as Chairman and two new
members, Drs. Paul Mezey and Roger Tomlinson, replaced Drs.
David Brown, Alan Beck and Andrew Zolnai whose terms had expired.
Distribution of the CODATA Newsletter to over 400 addresses
in Canada continued with inserts of particular interest
to the Canadian community being added to several of the
issues. Practical support was given to the June 1994 W.
B. Pearson International Symposium on the Impact
of Structures on Materials Science and organizational
input was given to a symposium on geophysical data to take
place at the 1995 IUGG meeting in Boulder, Colorado. Liaison
was initiated with the Data Information Systems Panel of
the Canadian Global Change Program.
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