SOFTWARE/DATABASE UPDATE - C&EN...
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SOFTWARE/DATABASE UPDATE a professor of chemistry at the University of Science & Technology of China, and appealing for his release. No reply has been received. Last week, ACS again wrote Li. This time, it expressed concern in general about the welfare of chemistry students and professors in China, many of whom "have been denied the opportunity to study and teach for the past three years," and some of whom remain imprisoned. ACS urges "prompt and unconditional release of those in prison," and asks that students and faculty "be permitted immediately to return to their university studies and professional activities." Meanwhile, the American Association for the Advancement of Science last month issued a "Directory of Persecuted Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals," listing more than 300 persons worldwide on whose behalf AAAS is working. The directory includes 17 Chinese cases. Among them are Peng Rong, a biophysics student at Beijing University, and Ma Hongliang, a student at Xian Institute of Metallurgy, sentenced to two and four years, respectively, for protest activities—charged officially with "counter-revolutionary activity." Besides writing letters to Chinese officials, AAAS refers each case to a scientific society in an appropriate discipline for further action. The Committee to End the Chinese Gulag also is trying to advise U.S. scientists on how to help beleaguered Chinese colleagues—in particular, dealing with visits to China, reception of Chinese visitors, and decisions about attending conferences in China. In April, it issued an eight-page set of guidelines, "On Behalf of Political Prisoners in China: How to Raise Human Rights Cases." The guidelines stress that "the significance of raising specific prisoner cases repeatedly over time cannot be overstated." This proved very important in aiding scientists in the former Soviet Union, Argentina, and other countries, the committee notes. "Visiting China, or receiving Chinese visitors here, provides an excellent opportunity to raise specific prisoner cases, and add to the international chorus of protest." And it lists "a number of steps that can be taken without putting a host or visitor in jeopardy." Richard Seltzer
• Chemical Patentlmages (MicroPatent, $2750 annual subscription, Circle 301) is a comprehensive collection of U.S. chemical patents on CD-ROM discs. Listings include full text and all structures, formulas, and diagrams.
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• Vibrational and Electronic Energy Levels of Small Polyatomic Transient Molecules Database, version 2.0 (National Institute of Standards & Technology, $390, Circle 303) contains data on more than 1300 transient molecules with three to 16 atoms. Searching is faster and formula entry requirements more flexible than in an earlier version. It runs on IBM PCs. • Enpro (Simulation Sciences, lease pricing on request, Circle 304) is an environmental process simulator for IBM PC 80386 computers. The program models the design and operation of wastewater treatment plants, including various physical, chemical, and biological processes used therein. • Receptor (Tripos Associates, pricing on request, Circle 305) locates the 3-D arrangement of essential functional groups necessary for biological activity. The program's fast conformational searching algorithm can be used to find the common, active arrangement of these functional groups. The program is an add-on to Sybyl that runs under X-Windows on Silicon Graphics Iris workstations. • Chemvision (Molecular Arts, $299, Circle 306) is a 3-D molecular visualization program that runs on IBM PCs under Windows. The program displays and renders 3-D molecular structures, moves and scales molecules, handles chemical queries about molecules, and produces presentation-quality output.
• Introduction to HPLC (Phenomenex; $145 per program, $595 for all five programs; Circle 309) is the first in a series of instructional programs that run on IBM PCs in a Windows environment. HPLC operations are demonstrated with color action sequences, and an interactive "electronic chromatograph" shows changes that occur when parameters are varied. Four other programs in the HPLC series cover methods development, equipment, troubleshooting, and separation modes. • Crysmet, a crystallographic database produced by the Canadian Institute for Scientific & Technical Information, is now available on the STN International on-line network (Circle 310). The file contains data for over 21,000 metals and intermetallic compounds that have appeared in the journal literature since 1913. • Standard Drugs File, a Derwent database that contains information and coordinates for approximately 30,000 3-D structures, is now available from Chemical Design (yearly subscription $16,000 and up, Circle 311). The database can be searched using Chemical Design's ChemDBS3D program, and is also available in a version for searching by MACCS3D. It runs on IBM PCs, Apple Mac lis, UNIX workstations, and VAX computers. • For information on these items, see Reader Service Card JUNE 15, 1992 C&EN
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