Background knowledge of germplasm helps corn (Zea mays L.) breeders develop inbreds and predict hybrids. The background of ‘Minnesota 13’ is still not generally understood. We provide an explanation for the mystery and provide conclusive evidence for Minnesota 13's origin from plant breeding records at the University of Minnesota, whose archives contain corn breeding nursery books. We also cite Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station annual reports, bulletins, and other pertinent sources. A seed lot collected in 1888 designated as University No. 13 and reported as being improved by Prof. Willet Hays and Andrew Boss in an 1890 bulletin was later destroyed by a seed house fire. They collected a new seed lot in 1893 and the same designation, No. 13, was again used. We show that this second seed lot was common corn grown in the St. Paul, MN, area. We also review the improvement of Minnesota 13 and its influence on the history of corn growing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and France. We diagram and discuss the background of Pioneer Hi‐Bred Inbred PH207 and the importance of Minnesota 13 as 13% of the documented background of U.S. hybrid corn.

Purpose: Early exposure and surgical mentorship can augment interest in surgery. We evaluate the effect and feasibility of offering education and mentorship opportunities in surgery to premedical students at our institution through an undergraduate surgery interest group (USIG). Materials and Methods: We conducted a 1-year assessment of our USIG and reviewed its organizational structure, funding resources, media promotion, and educational activities. Our USIG hosted introductory-level surgical skills workshops, guest lectures by surgeons, and various facility tours. To assess participants' interests, as well as the influences on them to pursue a surgical profession, we analyzed pre-and post-event questionnaires. Similar questionnaires were completed by medical students in our medical student surgery interest group to compare any differences in perception between premedical and medical students. Results: Our USIG currently has 378 undergraduate student members, with a higher proportion of women than in our medical student surgery interest group (P < 0.003). Neurosurgery was the most popular career choice among undergraduate participants. Participants reported the highest satisfaction with suturing and high-fidelity trauma surgery skills workshops. Undergraduate participants indicated that their intrinsic interest in the sciences is the highest motivation to pursue a surgical profession. Resident lifestyle and social obligations of a surgical career were actually positive influences for undergraduate participants; in contrast, medical students viewed those variables as negative factors. Conclusion: Our USIG was met with enthusiasm by premedical students and faculty alike. Participation strengthened premedical students' interest in pursuing surgery and increased their understanding of the surgical profession. Early mentorship may positively influence premedical students' perception of surgical careers. USIG is economically feasible and timeefficient; we encourage other academic institutions and educators to consider investing in similar interest groups.

No abstract

For years scientists in fields from climate change to biodiversity to hydrology have used older data to address contemporary issues. Since the 1960s researchers, recognizing the value of this data, have expressed concern about its management and potential for loss. No widespread solutions have emerged to address the myriad issues around its storage, access, and findability. This paper summarizes observations and concerns of researchers in various disciplines who have articulated problems associated with analog data and highlights examples of projects that have used historical data. The authors also examined selected papers to discover how researchers located historical data and how they used it. While many researchers are not producing huge amounts of analog data today, there are still large volumes of it that are at risk. To address this concern, the authors recommend the development of best practices for managing historic data. This will take communication across disciplines and the involvement of researchers, departments, institutions, and associations in the process.

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the importance and complexities of working with historical analog data that exists on university campuses. Using a case study of fruit breeding data, we highlight issues and opportunities for librarians to help preserve and increase access to potentially valuable data sets. Methods: We worked in conjunction with researchers to inventory, describe, and increase access to a large, 100-year-old data set of analog fruit breeding data. This involved creating a spreadsheet to capture metadata about each data set, identifying data sets at risk for loss, and digitizing select items for deposit in our institutional repository. Results/Discussion: We illustrate that large amounts of data exist within biological and agricultural sciences departments and labs, and how past practices of data collection, record keeping, storage, and management have hindered data reuse. We demonstrate that librarians have a role in collaborating with researchers and providing direction in how to preserve analog data and make it available for reuse. This work may provide guidance for other science librarians pursuing similar projects. Conclusions: This case study demonstrates how science librarians can build or strengthen their role in managing and providing access to analog data by combining their data management skills with researchers' needs to recover and reuse data.