The October issue of PLoS Medicine is dedicated to social medicine. PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science.

Presentations from the October 12 panel discussion Challenges of world population in the 21st century: the changing age structure of population and its consequences for development are available on the United Nations Population Division Web site.

NCES is moving to a new Center-wide system for making data available to the general public. The ECLS-B data are now available without a restricted-use license in a data analysis system, or DAS. The ECLS-B DAS can be accessed here: http://www.nces.ed.gov/dasol/tables/#household Also, below is some information specific to the ECLS-B that users should know. NCES is working on getting this information on the web, but it is not up yet.

The ECLS-B DAS application currently contains 9-month variables that are available in the 9-month-2-year restricted-use data file (NCES 2006-044). Data from later waves of the ECLS-B (i.e., 2-year, preschool, and kindergarten collections) will be added in the future. Some variables that are not analytically useful in the context of the DAS have been omitted. Users are strongly encouraged to review the description screens for the variables they are interested in examining, because this screen has important information about the variables, including: an explanation of the variable, the questionnaire item to which the variable pertains, the respondents who were asked the question, the variable’s range of values, and weighted frequencies for each value. For composite variables, this screen also contains detailed information about how the variable was created.

In addition to reviewing the variable description screens, users are strongly encouraged to use the DAS in conjunction with the ECLS-B questionnaires, which can be accessed here: http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/BirthInstruments.asp. Variables appear in the DAS in questionnaire order (after the composite variables), by questionnaire section. Reviewing the questionnaires will help users better understand the flow of the interview, the groups of respondents who answered specific questions, and the context in which specific questions were asked. This is particularly important as some of the skip patterns are complex. The label for each variable begins with the questionnaire item number, which makes it easy for users to locate the question to which each variable pertains.

A handful of variables have been transformed to be compatible with the reporting capabilities of the DAS. For example, the values for the variable indicating child’s assessment age (in months), which are reported to one decimal place in the restricted-use data file, were multiplied by 10 to be reported as whole numbers in the DAS. All such transformations are thoroughly described in the variable’s description screen. Please note that as a result of these transformations, estimates produced from the DAS will differ from estimates in published NCES reports and elsewhere that are produced from the restricted-use file.

The Key Indicators Survey (KIS), a new tool from MEASURE DHS, is designed to collect population-based data comparable to the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for sub-national areas. The tool includes six questionnaires and guidance manuals.

The following grant announcements are new this week on the Population Research Institute Funding Announcements web page.

Funding for Faculty Investigators

Basic and Translational Research in Emotion (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Biobehavioral Methods to Improve Outcomes Research (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Development, Application, and Evaluation of Prediction Models for Cancer Risk and Prognosis (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) - Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

Health Disparities in NIDDK Diseases (R01) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) - Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

Parenting Capacities and Health Outcomes in Youths and Adolescents (R01) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Recent HIV Infection: New Prevention Challenges and Opportunities (R01) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Research on Improving Health Care for Obese Patients (R01) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Research on Mind-Body Interactions and Health (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Research on the Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality (R01) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Research Project Grant (Parent R01) - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Risk Factors For Psychopathology Using Existing Data Sets (R01) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health (R01) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Human Genome Research Institute - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Structural Interventions, Alcohol Use, and Risk of HIV/AIDS (R01) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy (R01) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Cancer Institute (NCI) - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Library of Medicine (NLM) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Women’s Mental Health in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period (R01) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

The NCHS has released the following new data for the NHANES dataset.

Wave 2001-2002:
Surplus Specimen Data–Antibody to Human Herpes virus 1 (Ages 6-13) (PDF) (Surplus Sera) (SSHSV1 B)

Wave 1999-2000:
Surplus Specimen Data–Antibody to Human Herpes Virus 1 (PDF) (Surplus Sera) (SSHV1)
Surplus Specimen Data–Perfluorinated Chemicals (PDF) (Surplus Sera) (SSPFC)

Wave III (1988-1994):
Series 23A–Insulin Like Growth Factor (PDF) (IGF-I)

If you are a PRI Associate and would like to use this data, please contact us, at library@pop.psu.edu, for acquisition.

The November 2006 issue of NIH Extramural Nexus focuses on electronic grant submissions.

The NCHS has released new data and updates for the NHANES dataset. The following files have been added or updated on PopNet Unix as well as SodaPop.

2003-2004 Wave:
Laboratory Procedures Manuals New

2001-2002 Wave:
Laboratory Procedures Manuals New
Lab 11 C-Reactive Protein Data for bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) (variable name: LBDBAP) were added. Updated PopNet Unix

1999-2000 Wave:
Laboratory Procedures Manuals New
Lab 21 Volatile Organic Compounds Data was updated to correct errors in identifying the results that were below the limit of detection, and in the fill values used for results that were below the limit of detection. PopNet Unix

Wave III (1988-1994):
Lab 25A Surplus Sera Laboratory Component: Racial/Ethnic Variation in Sex Steroid Hormone Concentrations Across Age in US Men. New PopNet Unix

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced that it will emphasize efforts to improve health care quality in under-resourced settings that primarily serve low-income populations in its grants portfolio for fiscal year 2007. For more, see the AHRQ notice.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it will allow applicants to identify more than one Principal Investigator (PI) on most research grant applications submitted in February 2007 or later. For more information, see the NIH notice.