Learn R this summer with CDABS

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Amy Yarnell

The Center for Data and Bioinformation Services (CDABS) will be holding two R workshops in July. The sessions will be held in-person at the HSHSL on July 24th and July 25th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm . Space is limited so register now!

R is an open-source programming language that is ideal for working with statistics and data. Here at CDABS, we love R for many reasons: It’s free, flexible, and friendly! In this series, we will focus on the Tidyverse, a collection of R packages designed for data science. The Tidyverse makes data manipulation, exploration, and visualization simple and intuitive. These packages provide excellent tools for cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing data, all while writing readable and maintainable code. Sign up for one or both sessions, but be advised that the second session will require a minimal familiarity with R.

See full session descriptions below and register here:

July 24 Data Wrangling with R — Introduction to the Tidyverse

This session will introduce participants to the basics of getting started with R and RStudio and introduce the workhorse package dplyr.  Participants will get hands-on experience wrangling real datasets.

Topics covered include:

  • Navigating RStudio
  • Key R concepts and terminology
  • Importing data from external files
  • Subsetting and filtering data
  • Split-Apply-Combine analysis workflow

Prerequisites: none

July 25 Data Visualization in R with ggplot2

Learn how to use ggplot2, a robust Tidyverse package  used to create high quality graphics for exploring and communicating your data. We will go beyond basic graphs and learn how to customize and annotate our graphs for more effective storytelling. Participants will have the best experience if they attended session one in this series or have some previous experience with R and the Tidyverse.

Topics covered include:

  • Visualization best practices
  • Grammar of graphics – ggplot2 layers, aesthetics, and geoms
  • Choosing an effective graph type for your data
  • Customizing labels, axes, legends, and more
  • Choosing a color palette and themes

Prerequisites: Session one in this series, or familiarity with navigating RStudio and basic concepts in R.

Questions? Contact: Amy Yarnell, data services librarian at data@hshsl.umaryland.edu.

The Center for Data and Bioinformation Services (CDABS) is the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library hub for data and bioinformation learning, services, resources, and communication

Sign up to get DABS delivered to your email or RSS feed.

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Fresh Data Alert: Check Out These New Datasets Published in the UMB Data Catalog this June

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Amy Yarnell

Woman sits at computer monitor. The UMB Data Catalog is on the screen.

Every month, we will be highlighting new datasets added to the UMB Data Catalog. The UMB Data Catalog facilitates discovery of data by providing a searchable and browsable collection of records describing datasets generated by UMB researchers. Sharing a record of your data in the Catalog is also a great way to demonstrate compliance with data sharing policies!

The latest records showcase datasets from the fields of neuroscience and physiology, molecular biology and malaria studies, and library science and education.

Congrats to our UMB researchers on these publications!

Title: Genotyping Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes using amplicon deep sequencing
Description: A genotyping method that detects distinct gametocyte clones and estimates their relative frequencies was developed to understand the dynamics of gametocyte production in polyclonal Plasmodium falciparum infections using a specific marker and amplicon deep sequencing to genotype mature gametocytes.
Authors: Jimmy Vareta, Natalie A. Horstman, Matthew Adams, Karl B. Seydel, Robert S. McCann, Lauren M. Cohee, Miriam K. Laufer, Shannon Takala‑Harrison
URL: https://datacatalog.hshsl.umaryland.edu/dataset/221

Title: Differential nanoscale organization of excitatory synapses onto excitatory vs. inhibitory neurons
Description: Confocal and DNA-PAINT super-resolution microscopy was used to compare scaffold protein organization in excitatory principal neuron synapses and parvalbumin-expressing interneuron synapses.
Authors: Poorna A. Dharmasri, Aaron D. Levy, Thomas A. Blanpied
URL: https://datacatalog.hshsl.umaryland.edu/dataset/222

Title: Increasing student engagement using an Amazing Race-style competition
Description: Evaluations of the “Amazing Race: Drug Information Edition,” an orientation activity designed to introduce first-year pharmacy students to library and drug information resources.
Authors: Emily F. Gorman
URL: https://datacatalog.hshsl.umaryland.edu/dataset/223

Thanks to Metadata Librarian, Eva Greitzer for creating and compiling these records!

Want to see your data listed in the UMB Data Catalog? Submit this form to get the process started.

Questions? Email us at data@hshsl.umaryland.edu.

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HSHSL Closed for Juneteenth

Posted on June 17, 2024 by ebrown

In observance of Juneteenth, the HSHSL will be closed on Wednesday, June 19. This special day marks the end of slavery in the United States and celebrates African American freedom and achievements. We join in honoring this significant day in our nation’s history.

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700 Books Donated to the Maryland Book Bank

Posted on June 11, 2024 by ebrown
Larry from the Maryland Book Bank unloads UMB’s donation.

The 2024 HSHSL Book it Forward campaign has successfully wrapped up! Thanks to the UMB community’s incredible generosity, we donated 700 children’s books to the Maryland Book Bank. This organization is committed to expanding equitable access to books in under-resourced schools and communities, helping all children to thrive.

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New Exhibit: This Lead is Killing Us, June 10 – July 12

Posted on June 7, 2024 by ebrown
This Lead is Killing Us

The HSHSL is hosting a traveling banner exhibition exploring the story of citizen action taken against the environmental danger of lead. Lead exposure can cause neurological problems and even death. Despite this, lead has been pervasive in many aspects of American life, especially in Baltimore City, for over a century.

Historically, industries such as mining, battery manufacturing, smelting, and enameling included lead in their production processes, impacting factory workers and consumers. Manufacturers added lead to household paints and gasoline, endangering families’ health and polluting the air through exhaust fumes. To protect themselves against the dangers of lead poisoning, scientists, families, and individuals challenged industries, housing authorities, and elected officials.

The exhibit begins on the library’s first floor with the majority located on the second floor. Sources of lead in everyday items and our environment are on display, as well as a detailed map of lead concentration in Baltimore City neighborhoods.

Look for our announcement of upcoming programming, featuring a documentary on lead in Baltimore and a group discussion.

The National Library of Medicine produced this exhibition and companion website.

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Update Blackboard Permalinks to Library Resources by June 30

Posted on June 3, 2024 by ebrown

Are you using permalinks to library resources in your Blackboard course? Please be aware that, due to the HSHSL’s transition to a new library system, permalinks taken from OneSearch will stop working on June 30 unless you update them. Here are the steps to create new permalinks from OneSearch.

Permalinks in OneSearch

  1. Start at the HSHSL homepage (www.hshsl.umaryland.edu)
  2. Locate OneSearch, select Title from the drop-down and enter the title of the resource you are looking for. Hit the Enter key or click Go!
  • Next, find the title you are looking for on the results page. You will see several icons near each record’s title. Click on the link icon.
  • A new box will open containing the permalink. Look for the Copy the Permalink to Clipboard option.
  • You now have a permanent link back to the item in OneSearch.
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1807: Selected Works from UMB’s Art & Literary Journal

Posted on May 28, 2024 by ebrown

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), is proud to announce the unveiling of a captivating art exhibit in the Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HSHSL). Running from June 10 to July 28, the exhibit promises a journey through diverse artistic expressions sourced from the fifth milestone issue of UMB’s award-winning art and literary journal, “1807.”

Curated by the UMB Council for the Arts & Culture in collaboration with the HSHSL, the exhibit will transform the library’s Weise Gallery into a vibrant showcase of creativity. Visitors can expect to see a variety of different types of art, including photography, paintings, images of varied and visual arts, and the written word. In a grand display, select written pieces will be printed on large sheets of vellum and hung from the ceiling within the gallery space.

This curated collection provides a rare opportunity for patrons to engage with the rich tapestry of talent within the UMB community. Featuring contributions from faculty, staff, and student artists, the exhibition celebrates art and literature, inviting viewers to explore the depths of imagination and expression of our UMB community.

” Whether it’s the evocative brushstrokes of a painting, the intricate details of a photograph, or the emotive power of the written word, there is something to captivate every visitor. We are thrilled to showcase the exceptional creativity and talent of our UMB artists,” shares Jennifer Litchman, senior vice president for external relations and founder, UMB Council for the Arts & Culture.

All members of the UMB community and the public are encouraged to attend and experience the beauty and diversity of the artwork on display. The exhibit promises to be a testament to the richness of artistic expression thriving within UMB.

“Our constituency at UMB is diverse, and the final selections that were published in issue five were also very assorted,” said  Dana Rampolla, director of integrated marketing, Office of Communications and Public Affairs,  and creative director and managing editor of 1807. “1807 and this exhibition not only celebrate the talents of our contributors but also fosters our core values of equity and innovation.”

Don’t miss your chance to be inspired by these and other incredible works on display throughout the year in the HSHSL

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PubMed FindIt Button Not Working

Posted on May 28, 2024 by ebrown

The yellow FindIt button in PubMed that links to full-text is not functional at the moment. As we work to resolve the issue there are two options:

  1. Use another full-text link in PubMed (for example, from the publisher)
  2. Use the Medline (Ovid) database from our A-Z list of databases.

We will let you know when the issue has been resolved.

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Research Consultations at the HSHSL

Posted on May 28, 2024 by ebrown

Meet online or in-person with an HSHSL librarian for assistance in finding literature for your research papers, projects, grant applications and more. Consultations focus on using library databases and developing strategies to make your search more efficient and effective. http://bit.ly/HSHSLResearchConsult  

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HSHSL Closed May 25 – 27 for the Memorial Day Weekend

Posted on May 24, 2024 by ebrown
flags with text Memorial Day, Celebrate, Honor, Remember

The HSHSL will be closed for the Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!

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