For studies including animal experiments a literature analysis is essential to prove that no alternatives to the use of animals are available, the adequate animal model / methods are used and the 3R principles (reduce, replace, refine) are implemented. This information is requested in Form A (Application for licence to perform animal experiment): i.e. section 20, 25, 26, 35, 38 and 39.
In order to conduct a profound literature analysis, appropriate search techniques, search strategies and literature databases are irreplaceable.
Search techniques
With database specific search techniques a well-founded literature search is possible. The most common search techniques are listed here.
For searching 3R literature, these literature databases are recommended. Certain literature databases are only accessible within the IP range of the UZH.
You can also download this guide as a flyer. The guide was created by the Main Library in collaboration with the Office for Animal Welfare & 3R of the UZH.
The history of vaccination starts with smallpox. In 1796, Edward Jenner introduced the cowpox vaccine, which was adopted rapidly all over Europe. The Medical Collection of the University of Zurich keeps various objects allowing us to trace its history. Numerous vaccination lancets and needles are stored in boxes. Dr. Martin Trachsel, research associate, guides us through the material history of vaccination technology.
Interview: Ursula Reis
What is the earliest vaccination instrument in the collection and what do you know about its use?
Martin Trachsel: There is no easy answer to this question. Regular lancets were probabely in use long before there were specific vaccination instruments. Lancets are small, often retractable knives, which were primarly used for bloodletting. The tip is typically double-edged, like a small lance. There are plenty of lancets in our collection. Only on closer inspection, I discovered that some of them were probably intended for vaccination.
Vaccination techniques differed, but they all involved making one or more fine incisions in the skin. Lancets are very suitable for this purpose. The vaccine was applied on those small cuts. Some lancets – which I assume were produced as vaccination instruments – have a small slot or a hollow, which was probabely meant to hold the vaccine to ease its application.
Another indication that instruments were used for vaccination is the presence of a cover for the blade. Obtaining the vaccine remained a difficulty for doctors until the end of the 19th century. The vaccine was taken from a child vaccinated about a week earlier that had developed a pustule as a standard reaction to the vaccination. The watery fluid inside the pustule – called lymph – was used as vaccine. It was either vaccinated immediately arm-to-arm, i.e. with both children present, or the vaccine was dried.
With a vaccination instrument that had a protective cap or sleeve, the lymph could be dried straight on the blade and used later. In our collection, we have a case containing four lancets with screw-on lids. Presumably, it was intended to keep a small supply of vaccine.
How has vaccination changed, and what were important developments?
Martin Trachsel: As of the middle of the 19th century, it was discovered that the lymph could be kept longer if it was mixed with glycerine solution. The vaccine prepared in this way could be stored in glass tubes or flacons. The longer preservation time meant that the vaccine could be stored and kept available in larger quantities. It became possible to vaccinate entire troops, which first happened in the Franco-German War of 1870/71 on a larger scale.
Various types of vaccination lancets were still in use, often with handles made of tortoiseshell, horn or ivory. Sometimes the instruments were also called needles, but the naming was not consistent. Some instruments had removable tips. Several specimens in our collection have burnt tips. We assume that they were sterilised in the fire.
Another important driver of technical development were safety concerns. There were repeated reports of diseases that were transmitted with the humanized vaccine, especially syphilis. At the end of the 19th century, animal vaccine was introduced, which was grown on the skin of cattle under controlled conditions and went through some bacteriological testing.
When asepsis definitely became established, the old lancets were replaced by new models that could either be sterilised in large numbers or were intended for single use. From the turn of the century, the Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute marketed its Lancy-Vaxina vaccine with sterile vaccination lancets supplied with it. Each brass container contained a glass tube fused on both sides, filled with glycerinised lymph for 2-3 applications, and a lancet with a detachable tip.
What is known about the origin of the instruments in the collection?
Martin Trachsel: Unfortunately, we know little about the origin of some of the objects. The core of the medical collection has existed since the interwar period and has been rearranged several times. Systematic inventories have only been carried out since 1978. The instruments that were taken over from the surgical clinic of the former Cantonal Hospital are relatively well documented. The situation is different with the holdings from private physicians’ estates.
Some of our vaccination instruments were probabely donated to us by a country doctor from Thurgau. However, he practised in the 1930s and many instruments date from the 19th century. It remains unclear how they came into his possession. Sometimes a stamp on the instrument helps us to determine the maker or we find an illustration in our collection of historical instrument catalogues. Occasionally we find what we are looking for in the more contemporary specialist literature. All too often, however, the research remains without a clear result and we have to rely on comparisons and assumptions.
Vaccination technique 1911 «The technique is extremely simple, but requires the same scrupulous asepsis as any operation. The day before, the child should be given a bath; before the vaccination, the affected area is washed with cotton wool and ether. Usually, four shallow incisions about 1 cm long are made on the outside of the right upper arm, with the upper part of the body undressed, using an vaccination lancet on which a little vaccine has previously been allowed to flow out of the capillary; the distance between the incisions should be 3 cm. The incision should be made so lightly that only a red scratch is visible; any bleeding should be avoided. Rubbing in the vaccine is not necessary. It is best to let the vaccine dry for 10 minutes.» Source: Emil Feer, Lehrbuch der Kinderheilkunde, 1911, S. 554 (translated from German).
The Data Services & Open Access team of the Main Library is hosting an introduction to Open Science practices. The focus will be on Open Access and the support structures available to researchers at UZH.
This event is aimed at UZH researchers who have little or no prior knowledge of what Open Science is.
During the event, participants will learn about:
the different open science practices during the research cycle
the different pathways to Open Access (incl. hybrid Open Access and read-and-publish contracts)
the support services (infrastructure) available at UZH
the financial support for Open Access publications
There will be plenty of time and space for questions.
Dates: 31 May 2021 12:30-13:30 (English) 1 July 2021 12:30-13:30 (German) 25 August 2021 12:30-13:30 (English) 09 September 2021 12:30-13:30 (German)
How much water will I have available to irrigate my fields in the summer of 2085?
What is the electricity production from hydropower along the Rhine in 2085?
How much glacier area is there in the catchment area of the Aletsch glacier in 2085?
How many tropical nights will Basel have in summer 2085?
Will there still be enough snow for profitable winter tourism in 2085?
Answers are provided by the new platform «Hydro-CH2018: Scenarios till 2100» with the two chapters Climate scenarios and Hydrological scenarios. The platform was developed by the Hydrological Atlas of Switzerland (HADES) and is structured analogously. It is based on the research results of the projects Hydro-CH2018 and CH2018. Currently included in “Hydro-CH2018” are precipitation and temperature scenarios, estimates of glacier development and the resulting runoff scenarios for selected catchments until 2100.
Data from Hydro-CH2018 and CH2018 also flow into the less complex Hydro-CH2018 web atlas. Various climate variables are available for measuring stations, large regions or whole Switzerland. Depending on the selection criteria, you get access to graphics and the corresponding data via the web atlas.
If you are a regular PubMed user, a personal NCBI account is highly recommended.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information NCBI will change the login option to NCBI personal accounts beginning June 1, 2021. In the future, NCBI will no longer manage login credentials.
Therefore, all existing NCBI accounts must be linked to a third-party account (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or ORCID account) before June 1, 2021. You may also choose to link the NCBI account to the UZH account (via SWITCHaai):
go to your account settings and choose linked accounts
search for zurich and select
successful linking
Affiliates of the University Hospital Zurich will also have the option to link the NCBI account to the USZ account (via SWITCHaai). However, this option is still in process and unfortunately not available at the moment. Therefore, all USZ employees should link their existing NCBI account to a third-party account, at least temporarily, so that personal data (saved searches, saved collections, personal filters, etc.) are not lost.
Several third-party accounts can be linked and these can also be unlinked at any time (1 linked account should remain).
Swiss companies have been exporting vaccines for a long time. There was a final peak in 2001, when fear of bioterrorist attacks suddenly brought the smallpox vaccine Lancy Vaxina back into demand.
After the attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, the Swiss company Berna Biotech experienced a sudden increase of demand for its long established smallpox vaccine Lancy Vaxina. Various European countries bought large batches to protect their population in case of an emergency. The Swiss government also bought 3 million doses dry vaccine. Fortunately, Berna Biotech was able to fall back on stockpiled vaccines. Since smallpox was officially declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980, the demand had fallen sharply.
Smallpox vaccine Lancy-Vaxina for 2-3 vaccinations. Liquid vaccine in a glass tube, packed in metal sleeves. Around 1900. Medical collection of the University of ZurichSingle dose of dried smallpox vaccine Lancy-Vaxina for the British Market, 1980. Wellcome Collection, London.
Swiss Serum and Vaccination Institute in Berne
The Lancy Vaxina vaccine has an astonishingly long history. As early as 1883, the entrepreneur Charles Haccius founded the first Swiss company for the industrial production of smallpox vaccine, the Institut Vaccinal Suisse, in Lancy near Geneva. The institute produced “animal vaccine”. This means that the smallpox vaccine was not – as was previously the norm – obtained from the blister of a vaccinated child, but vaccine material was grown on the skin of cattle.
Shortly after its foundation, the company was also active internationally. In 1883, the vaccine was already exported to Lesotho, then Basutoland. In 1898, the Institut Vaccinal Suisse merged with the Bernese company Häfliger, Vogt & Co, which produced diphtheria vaccines. Together they founded the Swiss Serum and Vaccination Institute. For vaccine production, the company rented an annex to the Institute for Hygiene and Bacteriology at the University of Bern. In 1910, the company exported its products to Italy, Russia, Germany, the USA and the Belgian Congo. While liquid vaccine was preferred in Europe, dry vaccine was used in the tropics for climatic reasons.
Institut Vaccinal Suisse in Lancy near Geneva, around 1885. From: Schweiz. Serum- und Impfinstitut Bern, Annual Report 1972.
Serial vaccine production on cows
The Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute continuously purchased young cattle, which was held in barns on the Institute’s premises. For vaccine production, the calves’ belly was cleared of animal hair, cleaned and disinfected. The animals were fixed on a vaccination table lying sideways so that the vaccination field was easily accessible. With a lancet, regular lines were scratched on the animals’ skin and the vaccine inserted. Finally, the site was covered and the animal brought back to the barn for monitoring.
After 5-6 days, the vaccination pustules were fully developed and filled with a yellowish, sticky serum. The pustule contents were scraped out with a spoon and mixed with glycerin. This mixture was triturated into an emulsion in the Institute’s laboratories and filled into sterile glass tubes. Before the vaccine was released, it was examined bacteriologically and tested in animal experiments on rabbits and guinea pigs. Calves used for vaccine production were slaughtered and examined for diseases such as bovine tuberculosis.
Animal vaccine production on cow skin, Museum of Wax Moulages, University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich.
Vaccine pustules on rabbit (animal experiment), 1911. Museum of Wax Moulages, University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich.
During the last Swiss smallpox epidemic of 1921-1926, the Lancy Vaxina vaccine was used extensively. In 1923, the Federal Council enacted a compulsory vaccination programme for affected localities and population groups. Those who had not yet been vaccinated received an emergency vaccination. Another Swiss animal vaccine used was produced in Lausanne. In 1898, Emil Felix and Jules Flück founded the Institut Vacciogène Suisse, which also remained an important supplier for decades. In contrast to Germany, where state institutes ensured the supply of vaccine, private companies carried out production in Switzerland.
Small vaccination manual by Emil Felix and Jules Flück. Lausanne, 1903. Main Library – Medicine Careum.
In later years, smallpox occurred only sporadically in Switzerland. The last case of the disease was reported in 1963. Vaccinations were discontinued in the 1970s. Today, the Swiss government still hoards the Lancy Vaccina doses purchased in 2001 for emergencies. The pioneering company Berna Biotech however was sold in 2006 and now belongs to Johnson & Johnson.
Last week the first issue of the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media was published on the UZH publication platform HOPE. The journal publishes quantitative descriptive social science. It does not publish research that makes causal claims. The journal focuses on evidence that speaks to some substantive question or trend about digital communication processes and media.
The journal has an international editorial team with UZH participation of Eszter Hargittai from the Department of Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich. The Advisory Board and the Editorial Board of the Journal are also very international.
Before submitting a new contribution, a letter of inquiry of max. 500 words should first be submitted on what is being described, how the sample is constructed and how it pertains to digital media. Only after feedback from the editorial team, a detailed submission can be made.
We wish all the best for this journal.
HOPE stands for Hauptbibliothek Open Publishing Environment
HOPE provides a platform to researchers of the University of Zurich for publishing in Open Access journals. This service is offered by the Main Library of the University of Zurich based on the infrastructure of the Zentrale Informatik. For management and publication of scientific journals, the open-source software Open Journal Systems (OJS) is used.
Open Access indicates that a publication is accessible on the internet without technical and legal obstacles. In 2016, Swissuniversities – the governing body of the Swiss Higher Education Institutions – developed a national strategy for Open Access in cooperation with the Swiss National Science Foundation. The aim is for 100% of publicly funded scientific publications to be available in Open Access by 2024 at the latest.
The monitoring of Open Access takes place at very different levels. On one hand, a distinction can be made between the monitoring of publication output, i.e. the publication performance, and the costs incurred. On the other hand, monitoring takes place simultaneously at supranational, national and institutional levels.
Compared to the monitoring of publication output, there are many hurdles in monitoring costs. Costs are often handled decentrally by individual institutes. In some cases, costs are also split between different institutions, which makes monitoring even more difficult. The international initiative OpenAPC collects data sets on the paid OA costs of individual institutions in order to increase transparency in cost monitoring and makes them available via Github: https://github.com/OpenAPC/openapc-de
There are various approaches for monitoring publication output, the precision of which depends on the respective data sources. At the University of Zurich, for example, the institutional repository ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive) serves as the basis for the Academic Report. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the vast majority of publications are recorded in ZORA.
Open Access Monitor @ UZH In June, UZH’s own Open Access Monitor will go live at www.oamonitor.uzh.ch. The monitor is based on the powerful search engine Elasticsearch, and the visual implementation is done using Kibana. Thematic dashboards enable complex evaluations from the perspective of the institutes and clinics as well as the researchers at UZH.
The screenshot of a dashboard below shows that filters can be used to display, for example, the OA share of a particular institute in the publication year 2020. Using Kibana Query Language, complex search queries can also be carried out via a search slot.
The following screenshot shows another dashboard. This dashboard makes it possible to find out with which publishers and in which journals UZH authors Gold Open Access have published most frequently at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zurich in the past.
The go-live of www.oamonitor.uzh.ch will be communicated through various channels.
Tools for monitoring Open Access The renowned university ranking “CWTS Leiden Ranking” of Leiden University, which compares almost one thousand universities annually, has taken Open Access into account as indicator type in 2019. The Leiden Ranking is based on the Web of Science database.
The University of Zurich is not only listed in the Leiden Ranking but also in the Open Access Monitor Germany, which is operated by the Research Centre Jülich. Sources include Web of Science and Dimensions.
Since both the Leiden Ranking and the Open Access Monitor Germany only take journal articles into account, the OA share is of course higher compared to ZORA publications. In contrast to databases such as Web of Science etc., ZORA takes into account a number of different publication types. In addition, ZORA covers all disciplines at the UZH. This includes subjects that are hardly represented in commercial databases due to their publication tradition and which also have a very low OA share. This shows that, at least at the institutional level, the OA share is strongly dependent on the underlying data sources.
Authors can check their OA share at http://www.snsf-oa-check.ch. The prototype provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation makes it possible to search by author name. Since the Dimensions database serves as a source, publications by authors from the humanities and social sciences tend to be underrepresented.
Most research funders, including the SNSF, will ask you to submit a data management plan (DMP) when applying for a grant. Even though the DMP is not part of the scientific evaluation of your proposal, it can still be rejected, or you can be asked to make revisions. Avoid the most common mistakes below, and make sure this does not happen.
Mistake #1: Insufficient Information on Data Sharing
Solution: Name the repository in which you are going to share your data. Make sure the repository you choose is compliant with the FAIR data principles: F (findable): is a unique identifier (e.g. a DOI) assigned? A (accessible): are the citation information and (meta)data publicly accessible? I (interoperable): are the metadata in a machine readable format? R (reusable): can you submit intrinsic and submitter-defined metadata; can you upload or choose a license? If you work with sensitive data, describe the concerns and explain why this data cannot be shared.
Mistake #2: Insufficient Information on Documentation
Solution: Explain how the data will be documented. Excel files with numbers and variables have little to no meaning without proper documentation. Metadata are important because they enable your data to be read and reused properly. Identify the types of information that need to be captured to make sure your data is understandable and reusable; and check whether there are metadata community standards in your field of research. You can use software tools to manage metadata, or text files (e.g. README).
Mistake #3: Placing Embargoes on Data
Solution: Do not place an embargo on data underlying a publication. Non-sensitive data have to be available on a repository at the time of publication of a research paper, regardless of whether you expect further publications based on the same data. Note, however, that you are only required to share data directly underlying a publication. Any additional data can also be shared, but in this case, an embargo is permissible.
Mistake #4: Lack of Structure
Solution: Make your DMP easy to read and understand. Work with tables and/or bullet points wherever possible and avoid writing full paragraphs when describing your data(sets). Your DMP needs to make sense as an independent document; the expert reviewing your DMP and the expert reviewing the science part of your proposal are not the same person.
swisscovery is the new research platform of the Swiss Library Service Platform (SLSP), that allows access to the entire scientific media stock of Switzerland. In addition to books, e-books, journals, databases and other media can be searched. To use swisscovery services, please register at the registration platform. Our FAQ blog will guide you trough the registration process (only in German).
After signing in you
get access to more than 470 scientific libraries in Switzerland,
request books from libraries, directly or via interlibrary loan,
use e-media licensed by your library and access free titles,
manage your account, your loans and your requests.
How do I search a book?
Perform the search in your institution view “ZB / Universität Zürich (without CDI)”.
Tweak your results with filters – proposed in the left-hand column – to narrow down the results.
How can I borrow a book?
For loan, please login, if not already done. If the book is available for loan, you can check it out on site, pick it up at another library (UZH-Kurier is free of charge, others check the rules of the library) or choose mail delivery to your home or work address (CHF 12).
How can I find and use an E-Book?
Make sure to be connected to the UZH network via VPN to use e-media off campus. Alternative: employees of the university hospitals get access to the e-resources via EZproxy. See our FAQ blog “Zugang von ausserhalb zu den E-Ressourcen der UZH” (only in German).
Perform the search in your institution view “ZB / Universität Zürich (without CDI)”.
Tweak your results with filters – proposed in the left-hand column – to narrow down the results.
Click on the full text icon to get the full display view.
What do I see in my library account?
From this page you will be able to consult your loans, requests, fees, messages and many other functionalities. To modify your address or other information of your account, go to the “My edu-ID page” on https://eduid.ch/ and update your edu-ID account.
What can I do if I don’t find anything in my library?
