The "how" and "whys" of research: life scientists' views of accountability.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate life scientists' views of accountability and the ethical and societal implications of research. DESIGN: Qualitative focus group and one-on-one interviews. PARTICIPANTS: 45 Stanford University life scientists, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty. RESULTS: Two main themes were identified in participants' discussions of accountability: (1) the "how" of science and (2) the "why" of science. The "how" encompassed the internal conduct of research including attributes such as honesty and independence. The "why," or the motivation for conducting research, was two-tiered: first was the desire to positively impact the research community and science itself, and second was an interest in positively impacting the external community, broadly referred to as society. Participants noted that these motivations were influenced by the current systems of publications, grants and funding, thereby supporting a complex notion of boundary-setting between science and non-science. In addition, while all participants recognised the "how" of science and the two tiers of "why," scientists expressed the need to prioritise these domains of accountability. This prioritisation was related to a researcher's position in the academic career trajectory and to the researcher's subsequent "perceived proximity" to scientific or societal concerns. Our findings therefore suggest the need for institutional change to inculcate early-stage researchers with a broader awareness of the implications of their research. The peer review processes for funding and publication could be effective avenues for encouraging scientists to broaden their views of accountability to society.

Diagnosis of spatiotemporal chaos in wave envelopes of a nematic electroconvection pattern.

In this paper we report and analyze complex spatiotemporal dynamics recorded in electroconvection in the nematic liquid crystal I52, driven by an ac voltage slightly above the onset value. The instability mechanism creating the pattern is an oscillatory (Hopf) instability, giving rise to two pairs of counterpropagating rolls traveling in oblique directions relative to the unperturbed director axis. If a system of nonlinear partial differential equations shows the same set of unstable modes, the pattern above the onset is represented in a weakly nonlinear analysis as a superposition of the traveling rolls in terms of wave envelopes varying slowly in space and time. Motivated by this procedure, we extract slowly varying envelopes from the space-time data of the pattern, using a four-wave demodulation based on Fourier analysis. In order to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics, we apply a variety of diagnostic methods to the envelopes, including the calculation of mean intensities and correlation lengths, global and local Karhunen-Loève decompositions in Fourier space and physical space, the location of holes, the identification of coherent vertical structures, and estimates of Lyapunov exponents. The results of this analysis provide strong evidence that our pattern exhibits extensive spatiotemporal chaos. One of its main characteristics is the presence of coherent structures of low and high intensities extended in the vertical (parallel to the director) direction.

Development of computational models for the purpose of conducting individual livestock and premises traceback investigations utilizing National Animal Identification System-compliant data.

Many of the efforts surrounding the development of the National Animal Identification System have encompassed the identification of livestock production and handling premises as well as individuals or herds of animals, whereas little effort has been directed toward the ultimate goal of animal traceback within 48 h. A mock data set representative of the Colorado cattle population was created for modeling of cattle traceability. Using this data set, algorithms were developed to complete rapid and accurate traceback and traceforward of animals or premises or both. On July 19, 2005, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, conducted a test exercise pertaining to homeland security. The exercise team randomly identified animal number 926,583 (of the 2 million total animals) as a potentially infected animal of interest and requested a traceback of this animal. Traceback was accomplished in 215 s, and 540 primary coresident animals were identified. However, due to animal movements, the number of coresidents (animals exposed, directly or indirectly, to the animal of interest) expanded with coresidency level (level 1 = direct contact; level 2 = direct contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest; level 3 = direct contact with an animal that had contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest, etc.) to more than 1.2 million coresidents at level 4, and more than 90% of all animals identified as a coresident at some level. In addition to the coresidency results, the premises containing the coresidents were identified and sorted by the number of coresidents. Because of animal movement, all 19,391 premises included in the data set had coresidents at some level. This exercise demonstrated the capability of the developed algorithms to complete rapid traceback and the complexity of the resulting animal traceback output.

The F(p) Infrequency-Psychopathology scale with chemically dependent inpatients.

This study examines characteristics of Arbisi and Ben-Porath's (1995) MMPI-2 Infrequency-Psychopathology scale, F(p), in a sample of individuals admitted for inpatient treatment of chemical dependency. The F(p) scale, designed to detect deviant response biases in settings characterized by high base rates of psychopathology, was found by Arbisi and Ben-Porath (1995) to have good construct and incremental validity with psychiatric inpatients. Comparisons of the F(p), Infrequency (F), and Infrequency-Back (Fb) scales' means and relationships to indices of psychopathology in the current study provide evidence supporting the F(p) scale's validity in populations of chemically dependent inpatients with and without concurrent psychiatric diagnoses.

MMPI-2 critical item norms in chemically dependent inpatients.

The present study investigates the frequency of critical item endorsement for two MMPI-2 critical item sets in a population of inpatients being treated for chemical dependency. Base rates of endorsement in the current study are compared to the results of previous studies using the original MMPI, and relationships between item endorsement and various demographic and diagnostic variables are explored. Implications regarding the utility of critical items in chemically dependent populations are discussed.

Codetype agreement between MMPI-2 and estimated MMPI profiles in chemically dependent inpatients.

The extent of codetype agreement between the revised version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) and estimated MMPI profiles was examined in a sample of 121 inpatients being treated for chemical dependence, primarily alcoholism. Rates of codetype agreement among the entire sample and various subsamples are comparable to those reported elsewhere derived for different samples and using different methods. Implications for MMPI-2 codetype interpretation are discussed.

Traveling the information superhighway.

What is this highly publicized but somewhat mysterious information superhighway, and what are its implications for health care? This article will spell out how the concept of the information superhighway will dramatically change the flow of information, and how it could effect virtually every household, every business, and every hospital in the United States.

Children with special health care needs program: urban/rural comparisons.

The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe both the urban and rural clients who received services from the Indiana Children with Special Health Care Needs program (CSHCN) including both demographic and clinical characteristics; (2) conduct a health care needs assessment of the CSHCN program clients in both urban and rural areas; and (3) measure the perceived quality and adequacy of the CSHCN program services. A survey instrument was developed and mailed to all 6,459 families who participated in the Indiana CSHCN program from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991. Of the 2,722 questionnaires used in the analysis, 1,624 clients (59.7%) resided in urban counties and 1,098 (40.3%) resided in rural counties. The most frequently noted conditions for program eligibility were asthma, ear infections, hearing impairments, heart defects, and convulsions and seizures. Asthma had greater prevalence among the urban clients while cleft lip/palate, epilepsy, and heart defects were more common among the rural clients. The majority of program clients perceived their medical needs as being met. However, significant numbers of clients perceived unmet needs for mental health services, support groups, information about community services, resources to pay for uncovered medical expenses, and respite care. Of the 23 listed services, five were reported at significantly lower rates by rural clients as not being met: regular medical care, recreation, child care/day care, parent support group services, and speech therapy. Quality of medical services was generally perceived as being "excellent or good," while services related to information about community programs, child's rights in school, resources available to pay for uncovered medical expenses, as well as communication between the treatment center and the child's school were more often rated as "fair or poor." A smaller proportion of rural clients rated physician care and availability of staff nurses as fair or poor. A larger percentage of the rural group reported that access to treatment center location was fair or poor, compared to the urban group. Overall, the evaluation of the Indiana CSHCN program has shown that the non-medical care component seems to be in need of change, especially in the area of information and communication. Attention needs to be focused on providing more family support such as respite or child care and support groups, better information and communications, and improved availability of mental health services to better enable the CSHCN program to meet its objectives.

The 20 questions task with families of schizophrenics: divergent findings.

The study attempted to replicate and extend the results of an earlier study by Wild and Shapiro (16), establishing the utility of Mosher and Hornsby's (8) 20 Questions Task as a means of differentiating families with schizophrenic patients from those of psychiatrically hospitalized but nonschizophrenic individuals. In the current study, Wild and Shapiro's original design was expanded and revised by (a) diagnosing patients using Research Diagnostic Criteria rather than hospital diagnoses and (b) including families with schizophrenic daughters and/or one-parent families, in addition to intact families with schizophrenic sons. Families were comparable on age, intelligence, and socioeconomic variables. The results failed to replicate those reported by Wild and Shapiro, and indicated that the 20 Questions Task was sensitive to differences in family constellation and offspring gender as well as offspring diagnosis. The findings suggest that forms of familial communication deviance detected with the 20 Questions Task may not be unique to families of schizophrenics, thus highlighting the need to expand research on family communication deviance in families with schizophrenic offspring to families with varied family constellations and characteristics.

The Family Rorschach with families of schizophrenics: replication and extension.

Using a modified version of procedures outlined by Shapiro and Wild (9), this study evaluates the use of a Family Rorschach technique as a means of distinguishing families of schizophrenic patients from those of psychiatrically hospitalized, nonschizophrenic individuals. The patients were diagnosed using Research Diagnostic Criteria, and families were matched for age, intelligence, and socioeconomic characteristics. Results showed that the families with schizophrenic offspring scored significantly lower (that is, they had more communication and attentional difficulties) than those with nonschizophrenic offspring; offspring gender and family constellation had little effect on scores. Subsequent analyses indicated that lower scores were not simply a reflection of the psychoticism of the patient. These findings suggest that families of schizophrenics have interpersonal communication difficulties that compromise their ability to maintain a shared focus of attention. The findings are consistent with the suggestion that deviant patterns of family communication in interaction with genetic vulnerability in an offspring may result in the development of a schizophrenic disorder.

Tectonics of the Middle America trench offshore Guatemala

A geophysical and geological survey conducted over the landward slope of the Middle America Trench offshore Guatemala has revealed lanward - dipping reflectors which are associated with high compressional wave velocities, large magnetic anomalies, and basic/ultrabasic rock. Multifold seismic reflection data reveal that the edge of the continental shelf is a structural high on which Cretaceous and younger sediments of the shelf basin onlap and pinch out. The upper part of the continental slope is covered in most places by a 0.5 to 1.0 km thick sediment apron with seismic velocities of 1.8 to 2.6 km/sec. Immediately beneath the sediment apron an irregular surface is the top of an interval with velocities of 4.3 to 4.7 km/sec. Within this interval landward - dipping reflections are traced to about 6 km below sea level. Above this zone of dipping reflectors two positive magnetic anomalies are observed as well as a positive gree - air gravity anomaly reported by other workers (AU)