The NERC Science Information Strategy Data Citation and Publication project aims to develop and formalise a method for formally citing and publishing the datasets stored in its environmental data centres. It is believed that this will act as an incentive for scientists, who often invest a great deal of effort in creating datasets, to submit their data to a suitable data repository where it can properly be archived and curated. Data citation and publication will also provide a mechanism for data producers to receive credit for their work, thereby encouraging them to share their data more freely.

Systems of information organization are commonly understood to be human designed and human implemented, and are often synonymous with classification systems. This is true across all sorts of technologies, from library classification systems like the Decimal Classication (DC), to new systems like user-driven tagging. However, there is a broader view of information organization systems that encompasses biological systems of information (like the genetic code and the immune system) in addition to these human-engineered systems. Understanding the evolutionary principles and possible trajectories of all these systems – artificial and natural – will contribute to our understanding of human designed systems by presenting a much more general picture of the essential features of functional information systems.

Objective To evaluate an immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) IRT/IRT1 up arrow/DNA algorithm, aimed at improving sensitivity while decreasing cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier identification.Study design New technologies allow the measurement of the second IRT level solely in infants with an elevated first IRT level. Specimens with an elevated second IRT level undergo mutation analysis. We tested the projected efficacy with retrospective data from Colorado.Results All known infants with CF would have been identified with our proposed IRT cutoff points, and 3 would have been missed with our mutation panel. Two of 3 missed cases would have been identified by using a failsafe method ( IRT >99.9th percentile), yielding a sensitivity rate of 99.7% (95% CI, 98.4-99.9). Estimated reduction in carrier detection was 80% compared with IRT/ DNA.Conclusion IRT/IRT1 up arrow/DNA appears to improve cystic fibrosis newborn screen sensitivity while decreasing carrier identification, providing an alternative to IRT/ IRT in states that obtain 2 blood spots. (J Pediatr 2009; 155: 61822).

Scientific data problems do not stand in isolation. They are part of a larger set of challenges associated with the escalation of scientific information and changes in scholarly communication in the digital environment. Biologists in particular are generating enormous sets of data at a high rate, and new discoveries in the biological sciences will increasingly depend on the integration of data across multiple scales. This work will require new kinds of information expertise in key areas. To build this professional capacity we have developed two complementary educational programs: a Biological Information Specialist (BIS) masters degree and a concentration in Data Curation (DC). We believe that BISs will be central in the development of cyberinfrastructure and information services needed to facilitate interdisciplinary and multi-scale science. Here we present three sample cases from our current research projects to illustrate areas in which we expect information specialists to make important contributions to biological research practice.

Data management and integration are complicated and ongoing problems that will require commitment of resources and expertise from the various biological science communities. Primary components of successful cross-scale integration are smooth information management and migration from one context to another. We call for a broadening of the definition of bioinformatics and bioinformatics training to span biological disciplines and biological scales. Training programs are needed that educate a new kind of informatics professional, Biological Information Specialists, to work in collaboration with various discipline-specific research personnel. Biological Information Specialists are an extension of the informationist movement that began within library and information science (LIS) over 30 years ago as a professional position to fill a gap in clinical medicine. These professionals will help advance science by improving access to scientific information and by freeing scientists who are not interested in data management to concentrate on their science.

Data management and integration are complicated and ongoing problems that will require commitment of resources and expertise from the various biological science communities. Primary components of successful cross-scale integration are smooth information management and migration from one context to another. We call for a broadening of the definition of bioinformatics and bioinformatics training to span biological disciplines and biological scales. Training programs are needed that educate a new kind of informatics professional, Biological Information Specialists, to work in collaboration with various discipline-specific research personnel. Biological Information Specialists are an extension of the informationist movement that began within library and information science (LIS) over 30 years ago as a professional position to fill a gap in clinical medicine. These professionals will help advance science by improving access to scientific information and by freeing scientists who are not interested in data management to concentrate on their science.

Background Since the publication of the first draft of the human genome in 2000, bioinformatic data have been accumulating at an overwhelming pace. Currently, more than 3 million sequences and 35 thousand structures of proteins and nucleic acids are available in public databases. Finding correlations in and between these data to answer critical research questions is extremely challenging. This problem needs to be approached from several directions: information science to organize and search the data; information visualization to assist in recognizing correlations; mathematics to formulate statistical inferences; and biology to analyze chemical and physical properties in terms of sequence and structure changes. Results Here we present MultiSeq, a unified bioinformatics analysis environment that allows one to organize, display, align and analyze both sequence and structure data for proteins and nucleic acids. While special emphasis is placed on analyzing the data within the framework of evolutionary biology, the environment is also flexible enough to accommodate other usage patterns. The evolutionary approach is supported by the use of predefined metadata, adherence to standard ontological mappings, and the ability for the user to adjust these classifications using an electronic notebook. MultiSeq contains a new algorithm to generate complete evolutionary profiles that represent the topology of the molecular phylogenetic tree of a homologous group of distantly related proteins. The method, based on the multidimensional QR factorization of multiple sequence and structure alignments, removes redundancy from the alignments and orders the protein sequences by increasing linear dependence, resulting in the identification of a minimal basis set of sequences that spans the evolutionary space of the homologous group of proteins. Conclusion MultiSeq is a major extension of the Multiple Alignment tool that is provided as part of VMD, a structural visualization program for analyzing molecular dynamics simulations. Both are freely distributed by the NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Bioinformatics and MultiSeq is included with VMD starting with version 1.8.5. The MultiSeq website has details on how to download and use the software: http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~schulten/multiseq/

Multiple Alignment is a new interface for performing and analyzing multiple protein structure alignments. It enables viewing levels of sequence and structure similarity on the aligned structures and performing a variety of evolutionary and bioinformatic tasks, including the construction of structure-based phylogenetic trees and minimal basis sets of structures that best represent the topology of the phylogenetic tree. It is implemented as a plugin for VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics), which is distributed by the NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Bioinformatics at the University of Illinois.

Studies examining the effect of student mobility on achievement test scores were reviewed. Other risk factors, such as low family income and ethnic minority status, were often found to influence mobility equally. Scores from selected grade levels in an urban, midwestern school district were collected, using a nationally normed, standardized test and state assessments in reading and mathematics. Low achievement scores were associated more highly with internal mobility (students moving within the school district) than with external mobility (students moving into or out of the school district). However, mobility was determined to be confounded with family income and ethnic category membership and have less effect than either of those 2 factors. Implications for state-level policy decisions were considered.

This study examines relationships between two measures of general ability (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and Educational Ability Series) andthree measures of academic achievement (teacher grades, Wide Range Achievement Test, and Science Research Associates Achievement Series). These data indicate comparability of the group-administered with the individually administered measures of general ability. The correlations between the measures of general ability and achievement are uniformly strong. Teacher-assigned grades also are adequately and equally well predicted by both measures. The implications for assessment practices are discussed.

Recent assertions that tests of intelligence and achievement measure identical constructs contradict the current use of such tests to verify discrepancies between ability and achievement in the identification of children who may experience learning disabilities. This situation poses fundamental challenges to many measurement-related practices that concern school psychologists. To address these issues, the present study examined the constructs measured by such tests and the amount of functional overlap between them. Scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the SRA Achievement Series were collected from 160 children (80 girls, 80 boys), aged 9-12, selected from a small, urban school district in the Midwest. Data initially were submitted to a principal factor analysis with Varimax rotation, which yielded four factors subsequently labelled Verbal Comprehension, Numerical, Written Language, and Performance. Canonical variates were extracted for the purpose of examining redundancy between the intelligence and achievement batteries. These indicated a functional overlap that accounted for 31.0% of the variance of the WISC-R subtests and 47.2% of the variance of the combined WRAT and SRA subtests. Results were interpreted to offer cautious support for current approaches in diagnosis.

The PPVT-R and the WISC-R were administered to a sample of 35 students, grades 1 through 8, who were nominated for possible participation in gifted programming. The correlation between the PPVT-R and Full Scale IQ was .27, which probably was affected by the restricted range of ability assessed. The PPVT-R showed modest incremental effectiveness beyond informal referral procedures in predicting toward a WISC-R criterion score.

The construct validity of the Burks Behavior Rating Scales was investigated by the multitrait-multimethod matrix procedure. Correlations between parent and teacher ratings of 38 children referred for psychological evaluations supported the convergent and discriminant validity of 9 of the 19 scales. Analyses of teacher-teacher correlations for 40 referred children supported the validity of 16 scales. The construct validity of three previously derived broad-band factors labeled Neurotic, Immature, and Hostile-Aggressive was not supported. Results were discussed in terms of the differential validity of the Burks scales. Caution was urged in interpreting scores on scales labeled Poor Intellectuality and Excessive Suffering, as well as scores on the three broad-band factors.

Recent studies of job burnout in numerous work settings, as well as studies showing discrepancies between the real and ideal work functions of school psychologists, share the possible interpretation that they involve role conflict as a contributing factor. In 1971, Lyons demonstrated significant relationships between role clarity and job-related tension, propensity to leave, satisfaction and turnover in a sample of nursers. These correlations were particularly strong for nurses high in need for clarity. The present study tested the generality of some of Lyons' findings in a sample of school psychologists. Job-related tension and propensity to leave the job were more highly correlated for those psychologists high in need for clarity than for those who were low. Correlations between other variables were also similar to Lyons' results, including the low relationships of propensity to leave and tension with need for clarity. Neither tension nor propensity to leave were related to organizational size or to respondent characteristics (age, sex, tenure, etc.). The involvement of conflicting expectations and individual variables in creating and responding to role strain are discussed.

Scores from Koppitz' scoring system for the Bender-Gestalt and Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for a group of 86 elementary students referred for psychoeducational evaluation were correlated with Wide Range Achievement Test scores, controlling for WISC-R IQ. Although zero-order correlations of the visual-motor measures with achievement were of moderate magnitude (.33 to.48) and were all statistically significant (p .05). It was suggested that visual-motor ability may not offer a unique contribution to the prediction of achievement.

Scores on the WISC-R and the WRAT from a referral sample of 250 children, ages 6 through 11, were factor analyzed using a principal factor method with varimax rotation. Results offered support for interpretation of WISC-R scores in terms of Verbal and Performance scales, and for interpretation of WRAT scores as a separate achievement factor. The contention that achievement and intelligence tests measure identical constructs is challenged.

Correlations of WPPSI IQs with concurrently administered subtests from the WRAT were compared with analogous WISC-R/WRAT correlations in a group of children referred by regular classroom teachers for school psychological services. Although the magnitudes of all correlations were reduced, due to restriction of range, the comparisons indicated no significant differences in the magnitudes of the correlations of the WPPSI and the WISC-R with the WRAT. These results support the use of the two instruments as equivalent predictors of achievement.

Clarification is made of several points raised in a recent critique of a study of Ysseldyke, et al. Although the deceptive nature of the task presented to the subjects may have contributed to spuriously poor performance in simulated decision making, a more fundamental flaw is seen in the focus on individual rather than group performance in evaluating the efficacy of diagnostic teams. It is suggested that the authors' original study does not provide adequate support for their otherwise commendable conclusions.

93 students 6 to 11 yr. old and referred for evaluation because of learning or adjustment difficulties by their classroom teachers were administered Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration and Koppitz's version of the Bender-Gestalt test. Previous research with retarded samples indicated the two tests were highly correlated while one study using normal subjects yielded significant differences between the tests. The present study indicated significant mean differences between the tests and significant but moderate correlations between the measures for each of three age ranges between 6 and 11 yr. In general, Beery's test gave higher standard scores for this sample of referred students; examiners are cautioned not to use the tests interchangeably with similar populations.

A recommendation that Mazes be substituted for Coding in the assessment of giftedness with the WISC-R was investigated by including both subtests in the evaluation of 50 children referred for verification of eligibility. Scaled scores on Mazes were significantly higher than those on Coding for the group, although the proportion of children meeting the established criterion was similar under inclusion of either subtest in the computation of Full Scale Scores. These data offer general support for the selective inclusion of Mazes in this type of assessment.