No abstract

Advances in science are the combined result of the efforts of a great many scientists, and in many cases, their willingness to share the products of their research. These products include data sets, both small and large, and unique research resources not commercially available, such as cell lines and software programs. The sharing of these resources enhances both the scope and the depth of research, while making more efficient use of time and money. However, sharing is not without costs, many of which are borne by the individual who develops the research resource. Sharing, for example, reduces the uniqueness of the resources available to a scientist, potentially influencing the originator's perceived productivity and ultimately his or her competitiveness for jobs, promotions, and grants. Nevertheless, for most researchers-particularly those using public funds-sharing is no longer optional but must be considered an obligation to science, the funding agency, and ultimately society at large. Most funding agencies, journals, and professional societies now require a researcher who has published work involving a unique resource to make that resource available to other investigators. Changes could be implemented to mitigate some of the costs. The creator of the resource could explore the possibility of collaborating with those who request it. In addition, institutions that employ and fund researchers could change their policies and practices to make sharing a more attractive and viable option. For example, when evaluating an individual's productivity, institutions could provide credit for the impact a researcher has had on their field through the provision of their unique resources to other investigators, regardless of whether that impact is reflected in the researcher's list of publications. In addition, increased funding for the development and maintenance of user-friendly public repositories for data and research resources would also help to reduce barriers to sharing by minimizing the time, effort, and funding needed by individual investigators to comply with requests for their unique resource. Indeed, sharing is an imperative, but it is also essential to find ways to protect for both the original owner of the resource and those wishing to share it.

Four studies examine the role of short-term storage in the processing of grammatical cohesion devices (reference and conjunction) during reading. They demonstrate that short-term storage carries specific information that resolves reference and conjunction relations demanded by text. They also show that during reading, if short-term storage is unimpaired, these linkages produce smooth, efficient performance. If, however, short-term storage is cleared of its contents with a distractor task, reading is disrupted. The extent of the disruption is determined, in part, by the linkage demands of the text. It is theorized that this occurs because resolution of linkage takes place in short-term storage. Both indirect and direct evidence is also obtained that short-term storage is carrying higher-order thematic information. The first three studies demonstrate that a range of distractor tasks produces the basic results. The fourth study compares the effects of different distractor tasks and permits the specification of different types of information held in short-term storage during reading. A linear model of the process is fitted to the data. It assigns time values to four factors that determine the rate of reading.

Background Maternal anemia and several complications of pregnancy can affect fetal iron acquisition. Aim Because it is unknown whether the effects of demographic and maternal risk factors are summative, we examined cord iron status in newborns with multiple risk factors for acquiring iron deficiency (ID). Methods Cord blood indices from healthy control newborns with and without risk factors for newborn or infant ID were studied. Results Newborns with greater risk factors had poorer erythrocyte and storage iron status. Poorest status was seen if mothers with comorbid obesity and diabetes delivered large-for-gestation newborns. Findings highlight the importance of identifying risk factors.