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SIGNAL is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study (no. NCT02481674) established to evaluate pepinemab, a semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D)-blocking antibody, for treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD). The trial enrolled a total of 265 HD gene expansion carriers with either early manifest (EM, n = 179) or late prodromal (LP, n = 86) HD, randomized (1:1) to receive 18 monthly infusions of pepinemab (n = 91 EM, 41 LP) or placebo (n = 88 EM, 45 LP). Pepinemab was generally well tolerated, with a relatively low frequency of serious treatment-emergent adverse events of 5% with pepinemab compared to 9% with placebo, including both EM and LP participants. Coprimary efficacy outcome measures consisted of assessments within the EM cohort of (1) a two-item HD cognitive assessment family comprising one-touch stockings of Cambridge (OTS) and paced tapping (PTAP) and (2) clinical global impression of change (CGIC). The differences between pepinemab and placebo in mean change (95% confidence interval) from baseline at month 17 for OTS were −1.98 (−4.00, 0.05) (one-sided P = 0.028), and for PTAP 1.43 (−0.37, 3.23) (one-sided P = 0.06). Similarly, because a significant treatment effect was not observed for CGIC, the coprimary endpoint, the study did not meet its prespecified primary outcomes. Nevertheless, a number of other positive outcomes and post hoc subgroup analyses—including additional cognitive measures and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography imaging assessments—provide rationale and direction for the design of a phase 3 study and encourage the continued development of pepinemab in patients diagnosed with EM HD.

Background Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, a class of drugs that stabilize HIF and stimulate erythropoietin and red-cell production. Meth...

SIGNAL is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study (no. NCT02481674) established to evaluate pepinemab, a semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D)-blocking antibody, for treatment of Huntington's disease (HD). The trial enrolled a total of 265 HD gene expansion carriers with either early manifest (EM, n = 179) or late prodromal (LP, n = 86) HD, randomized (1:1) to receive 18 monthly infusions of pepinemab (n = 91 EM, 41 LP) or placebo (n = 88 EM, 45 LP). Pepinemab was generally well tolerated, with a relatively low frequency of serious treatment-emergent adverse events of 5% with pepinemab compared to 9% with placebo, including both EM and LP participants. Coprimary efficacy outcome measures consisted of assessments within the EM cohort of (1) a two-item HD cognitive assessment family comprising one-touch stockings of Cambridge (OTS) and paced tapping (PTAP) and (2) clinical global impression of change (CGIC). The differences between pepinemab and placebo in mean change (95% confidence interval) from baseline at month 17 for OTS were -1.98 (-4.00, 0.05) (one-sided P = 0.028), and for PTAP 1.43 (-0.37, 3.23) (one-sided P = 0.06). Similarly, because a significant treatment effect was not observed for CGIC, the coprimary endpoint, the study did not meet its prespecified primary outcomes. Nevertheless, a number of other positive outcomes and post hoc subgroup analyses-including additional cognitive measures and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron-emission tomography imaging assessments-provide rationale and direction for the design of a phase 3 study and encourage the continued development of pepinemab in patients diagnosed with EM HD.

Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, a class of compounds that stimulate endogenous erythropoietin production.We conducted two randomized, open-label, noninferiority phase 3 trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vadadustat, as compared with darbepoetin alfa, in patients with anemia and incident or prevalent dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (DD-CKD). The primary safety end point, assessed in a time-to-event analysis, was the first occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE, a composite of death from any cause, a nonfatal myocardial infarction, or a nonfatal stroke), pooled across the trials (noninferiority margin, 1.25). A key secondary safety end point was the first occurrence of a MACE plus hospitalization for either heart failure or a thromboembolic event. The primary and key secondary efficacy end points were the mean change in hemoglobin from baseline to weeks 24 to 36 and from baseline to weeks 40 to 52, respectively, in each trial (noninferiority margin, -0.75 g per deciliter).A total of 3923 patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive vadadustat or darbepoetin alfa: 369 in the incident DD-CKD trial and 3554 in the prevalent DD-CKD trial. In the pooled analysis, a first MACE occurred in 355 patients (18.2%) in the vadadustat group and in 377 patients (19.3%) in the darbepoetin alfa group (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.11). The mean differences between the groups in the change in hemoglobin concentration were -0.31 g per deciliter (95% CI, -0.53 to -0.10) at weeks 24 to 36 and -0.07 g per deciliter (95% CI, -0.34 to 0.19) at weeks 40 to 52 in the incident DD-CKD trial and -0.17 g per deciliter (95% CI, -0.23 to -0.10) and -0.18 g per deciliter (95% CI, -0.25 to -0.12), respectively, in the prevalent DD-CKD trial. The incidence of serious adverse events in the vadadustat group was 49.7% in the incident DD-CKD trial and 55.0% in the prevalent DD-CKD trial, and the incidences in the darbepoetin alfa group were 56.5% and 58.3%, respectively.Among patients with anemia and CKD who were undergoing dialysis, vadadustat was noninferior to darbepoetin alfa with respect to cardiovascular safety and correction and maintenance of hemoglobin concentrations. (Funded by Akebia Therapeutics and Otsuka Pharmaceutical; INNO

Current clinical practice guidelines for anemia management in non–dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) recommend the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) as standard of care. Vadadustat, an investigational oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitor, stimulates endogenous erythropoietin production. The PRO2TECT program comprises 2 global, Phase 3, randomized, open-label, active-controlled, sponsor-blind clinical trials to evaluate safety and efficacy of vadadustat vs darbepoetin alfa in adult patients with anemia associated with NDD-CKD. Patients recruited into the ESA-untreated NDD-CKD trial (N = 1751) had hemoglobin

Summary Background Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) is a lysosomal storage disorder characterised by progressive neurodegeneration. In preclinical testing, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins (HPβCD) significantly delayed cerebellar Purkinje cell loss, slowed progression of neurological manifestations, and increased lifespan in mouse and cat models of NPC1. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of lumbar intrathecal HPβCD. Methods In this open-label, dose-escalation phase 1–2a study, we gave monthly intrathecal HPβCD to participants with NPC1 with neurological manifestation at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. To explore the potential effect of 2-week dosing, three additional participants were enrolled in a parallel study at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC), Chicago, IL, USA. Participants from the NIH were non-randomly, sequentially assigned in cohorts of three to receive monthly initial intrathecal HPβCD at doses of 50, 200, 300, or 400 mg per month. A fifth cohort of two participants received initial doses of 900 mg. Participants from RUMC initially received 200 or 400 mg every 2 weeks. The dose was escalated based on tolerance or safety data from higher dose cohorts. Serum and CSF 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol (24[S]-HC), which serves as a biomarker of target engagement, and CSF protein biomarkers were evaluated. NPC Neurological Severity Scores (NNSS) were used to compare disease progression in HPβCD-treated participants relative to a historical comparison cohort of 21 NPC1 participants of similar age range. Findings Between Sept 21, 2013, and Jan 19, 2015, 32 participants with NPC1 were assessed for eligibility at the National Institutes of Health. 18 patients were excluded due to inclusion criteria not met (six patients), declined to participate (three patients), pursued independent expanded access and obtained the drug outside of the study (three patients), enrolled in the RUMC cohort (one patient), or too late for the trial enrolment (five patients). 14 patients were enrolled and sequentially assigned to receive intrathecal HPβCD at a starting dose of 50 mg per month (three patients), 200 mg per month (three patients), 300 mg per month (three patients), 400 mg per month (three patients), or 900 mg per month (two patients). During the first year, two patients had treatment interrupted for one dose, based on grade 1 ototoxicity. All 14 patients were assessed at 12 months. Between 12 and 18 months, one participant had treatment interrupted at 17 months due to hepatocellular carcinoma, one patient had dose interruption for 2 doses based on caregiver hardship and one patient had treatment interrupted for 1 dose for mastoiditis. 11 patients were assessed at 18 months. Between Dec 11, 2013, and June 25, 2014, three participants were assessed for eligibility and enrolled at RUMC, and were assigned to receive intrathecal HPβCD at a starting dose of 200 mg every 2 weeks (two patients), or 400 mg every two weeks (one patient). There were no dropouts in this group and all 3 patients were assessed at 18 months. Biomarker studies were consistent with improved neuronal cholesterol homoeostasis and decreased neuronal pathology. Post-drug plasma 24(S)-HC area under the curve (AUC 8-72 ) values, an indicator of neuronal cholesterol homoeostasis, were significantly higher than post-saline plasma 24(S)-HC AUC 8-72 after doses of 900 mg (p=0·0063) and 1200 mg (p=0·0037). CSF 24(S)-HC concentrations in three participants given either 600 or 900 mg of HPβCD were increased about two fold (p=0·0032) after drug administration. No drug-related serious adverse events were observed. Mid-frequency to high-frequency hearing loss, an expected adverse event, was documented in all participants. When managed with hearing aids, this did not have an appreciable effect on daily communication. The NNSS for the 14 participants treated monthly increased at a rate of 1·22, SEM 0·34 points per year compared with 2·92, SEM 0·27 points per year (p=0·0002) for the 21 patient comparison group. Decreased progression was observed for NNSS domains of ambulation (p=0·0622), cognition (p=0·0040) and speech (p=0·0423). Interpretation Patients with NPC1 treated with intrathecal HPβCD had slowed disease progression with an acceptable safety profile. These data support the initiation of a multinational, randomised, controlled trial of intrathecal HPβCD. Funding National Institutes of Health, Dana's Angels Research Trust, Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, Hope for Haley, Samantha's Search for the Cure Foundation, National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation, Support of Accelerated Research for NPC Disease, Vtesse, Janssen Research and Development, a Johnson & Johnson company, and Johnson & Johnson.

When qualitative research methods are used, data analysis may be completed by an individual or a group of two or more people. Researchers accustomed to completing independent data analysis may be surprised by the large amount of additional time and effort that working with a research group requires. Collaboration adds complexity to the work of data analysis and formulating findings, making a collaborative qualitative study more labor intensive (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Additional coordination and iteration are required for the qualitative coding process for creating themes, analyzing for meaning, and drawing conclusions. When members of a research team are geographically separated and working in a virtual environment, data analysis may be more challenging. However, the collaboration provides several benefits that derive from the additional perspectives provided by multiple researchers. In striving for consensus in the findings, the nuances in meaning brought by multiple researchers adds richness to the analysis by prompting deeper analysis. Inter-coder reliability (ICR) can be used to drive towards consensus but was found to be more suited for identifying nuance and significant meanings in the qualitative data. This paper explores the experiences of two geographically separated researchers who applied Constant Comparative Method (CCM), based on grounded theory. The researchers applied action research to formulate a deliberate 10-step method for coding data, creating meaning, and structuring an exploratory model that represents findings. Collaboration was facilitated through synchronous online video discussions and email exchanges to work through analysis activities between the two researchers. Literature Review Literature on qualitative research, and specifically on the CCM methodology used by the researchers performing this study, reveals a diversity of positions that reflect the richness of qualitative research (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). There are supporters and opponents to qualitative research in general and CCM in particular. This review begins with a basic explanation of the approach that differentiates qualitative research from quantitative; then explores the methods used in qualitative research to address issues common to quantitative researchers involving validity and reliability. Finally, the review will focus on the literature concerning advantages, disadvantages, and potential roles of ICR measures in CCM. Inductive Approach The original purpose of qualitative methods was to design a structured approach for generating new theory that purports to explain an experience or phenomenon for which current understanding is inadequate. Qualitative research uses inductive reasoning (i.e., developing explanations from information) rather than the deductive (i.e., using theory to predict outcomes based on information) to draw conclusions from data. It explores a deliberately selected set of data, such as interviews, observations, or video/audio logs, to identify patterns that can be linked causally in a model or theory (Thomas, 2003). Models generated by qualitative theory can be tested using quantitative methods to provide further support for the theory. Quantitative research uses existing theory to generate a question or hypothesis that can be tested empirically (Curry, Nembhard, & Bradley, 2009). Grounded Theory Grounded theory is a qualitative research method developed to facilitate discovering patterns in data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). It uses a systematic approach to review participant views collected from an experience in order to allow patterns and themes to emerge over multiple passes through the data. Strauss (1987) further elaborated on the data analysis methodology, creating CCM, in which the researcher developed codes while reviewing transcripts or other verbatim data to identify constructs, and iteratively compared texts identified with the same code to ensure they were representative of the same construct. …

The Combined Analysis of Psychiatric Studies (CAPS) project conducted extensive review and regularization across studies of all schizophrenia linkage data available as of 2011 from the National Institute of Mental Health-funded Center for Collaborative Genomic Studies on Mental Disorders, also known as the Human Genetics Initiative (HGI). The authors reanalyzed the data using statistical methods tailored to accumulation of evidence across multiple, potentially highly heterogeneous, sets of data.Data were subdivided based on contributing study, major population group, and presence or absence within families of schizophrenia with a substantial affective component. The posterior probability of linkage (PPL) statistical framework was used to sequentially update linkage evidence across these data subsets (omnibus results).While some loci previously implicated using the HGI data were also identified in the present omnibus analysis (2q36.1, 15q23), others were not. Several loci were found that had not previously been reported in the HGI samples but are supported by independent linkage or association studies (3q28, 12q23.1, 11p11.2, Xq26.1). Not surprisingly, differences were seen across population groups. Of particular interest are signals on 11p15.3, 11p11.2, and Xq26.1, for which data from families with a substantial affective component support linkage while data from the remaining families provide evidence against linkage. All three of these loci overlap with loci reported in independent studies of bipolar disorder or mixed bipolar-schizophrenia samples.Public data repositories provide the opportunity to leverage large multisite data sets for studying complex disorders. Analysis with a statistical method specifically designed for such data enables us to extract new information from an existing data resource.

Three populations of navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), consisting of recombinant inbred lines, were grown at two locations for 2 years and were used to study canning quality. The traits measured included visual appeal (VIS), texture (TXT), and washed drained mass (WDM). Genotype mean squares were significant for all three traits across populations, although location and year mean squares were higher. We found a positive correlation (r = 0.19 to 0.66) between VIS and TXT and a negative correlation (r = -0.26 to -0.66) between VIS and WDM and between TXT and WDM (r = -0.53 to -0.83) in all three populations. Heritability estimates were calculated for VIS, TXT, and WDM, and these values were moderate to high (0.48 to 0.78). Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers associated with quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the same canning quality traits were identified and studied in each population. Marker-QTL associations were established using the general linear models procedure with significance set at P=0.05. Location and population specificity was common among the marker-QTL associations identified. Coefficient of determination (R2) values for groups of markers used in multiple regression analyses ranged from 0.2 to 0.52 for VIS, 0.11 to 0.38 for TXT, and 0.25 to 0.38 for WDM. Markers were identified that were associated with multiple traits and those associations supported correlations between phenotypic traits. MAS would offer no advantage over phenotypic selection for the improvement of negatively associated traits.

Objectives: Linkage analysis can help determine regions of interest in whole-genome sequence studies. However, many linkage studies rely on older microsatellite (MSAT) panels. We set out to determine whether results would change if we regenotyped families using a dense map of SNPs. Methods: We selected 47 Hispanic-American families from the NIMH Repository and Genomics Resource (NRGR) schizophrenia data repository. We regenotyped all individuals with DNA available from the NRGR on the Affymetrix Lat Array. After optimizing SNP selection for inclusion on the linkage map, we compared information content (IC) and linkage results using MSAT, SNP and MSAT+SNP maps. Results: As expected, SNP provided a higher average IC (0.78, SD 0.03) than MSAT (0.51, SD 0.10) in a direct ‘apples-to-apples' comparison using only individuals genotyped on both platforms; while MSAT+SNP provided only a slightly higher IC (0.82, SD 0.03). However, when utilizing all available individuals, including those who had genotypes available on only one platform, the IC was substantially increased using MSAT+SNP (0.76, SD 0.05) compared to SNP (0.61, SD 0.02). Linkage results changed appreciably between MSAT and MSAT+SNP in terms of magnitude, rank ordering and localization of peaks. Conclusions: Regenotyping older family data can substantially alter the conclusions of linkage analyses.

Background Efforts to uncover the risk genotypes associated with the familial nature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have had limited success. The study of extended pedigrees, incorporating additional ASD-related phenotypes into linkage analysis, offers an alternative approach to the search for inherited ASD susceptibility variants that complements traditional methods used to study the genetics of ASD. Methods We examined evidence for linkage in 19 extended pedigrees ascertained through ASD cases spread across at least two (and in most cases three) nuclear families. Both compound phenotypes (i.e., ASD and, in non-ASD individuals, the broad autism phenotype) and more narrowly defined components of these phenotypes, e.g., social and repetitive behavior, pragmatic language, and anxiety, were examined. The overarching goal was to maximize the aggregate information available on the maximum number of individuals and to disaggregate syndromic phenotypes in order to examine the genetic underpinnings of more narrowly defined aspects of ASD behavior. Results Results reveal substantial between-family locus heterogeneity and support the importance of previously reported ASD loci in inherited, familial, forms of ASD. Additional loci, not seen in the ASD analyses, show evidence for linkage to the broad autism phenotype (BAP). BAP peaks are well supported by multiple subphenotypes (including anxiety, pragmatic language, and social behavior) showing linkage to regions overlapping with the compound BAP phenotype. Whereas 'repetitive behavior’, showing the strongest evidence for linkage (Posterior Probability of Linkage = 62% at 6p25.2-24.3, and 69% at 19p13.3), appears to be linked to novel regions not detected with other compound or narrow phenotypes examined in this study. Conclusions These results provide support for the presence of key features underlying the complexity of the genetic architecture of ASD: substantial between-family locus heterogeneity, that the BAP appears to correspond to sets of subclinical features segregating with ASD within pedigrees, and that different features of the ASD phenotype segregate independently of one another. These findings support the additional study of larger, even more individually informative pedigrees, together with measurement of multiple, behavioral- and biomarker-based phenotypes, in both affected and non-affected individuals, to elucidate the complex genetics of familial ASD.

Li and Tiwari (2008) recently developed a corrected Z-test statistic for comparing the trends in cancer age-adjusted mortality and incidence rates across overlapping geographic regions, by properly adjusting for the correlation between the slopes of the fitted simple linear regression equations. One of their key assumptions is that the error variances have unknown but common variance. However, since the age-adjusted rates are linear combinations of mortality or incidence counts, arising naturally from an underlying Poisson process, this constant variance assumption may be violated. This paper develops a weighted-least-squares based test that incorporates heteroscedastic error variances, and thus significantly extends the work of Li and Tiwari. The proposed test generally outperforms the aforementioned test through simulations and through application to the age-adjusted mortality data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute.

Human geneticists are increasingly turning to study designs based on very large sample sizes to overcome difficulties in studying complex disorders. This in turn almost always requires multi-site data collection and processing of data through centralized repositories. While such repositories offer many advantages, including the ability to return to previously collected data to apply new analytic techniques, they also have some limitations. To illustrate, we reviewed data from seven older schizophrenia studies available from the NIMH-funded Center for Collaborative Genomic Studies on Mental Disorders, also known as the Human Genetics Initiative (HGI), and assessed the impact of data cleaning and regularization on linkage analyses. Extensive data regularization protocols were developed and applied to both genotypic and phenotypic data. Genome-wide nonparametric linkage (NPL) statistics were computed for each study, over various stages of data processing. To assess the impact of data processing on aggregate results, Genome-Scan Meta-Analysis (GSMA) was performed. Examples of increased, reduced and shifted linkage peaks were found when comparing linkage results based on original HGI data to results using post-processed data within the same set of pedigrees. Interestingly, reducing the number of affected individuals tended to increase rather than decrease linkage peaks. But most importantly, while the effects of data regularization within individual data sets were small, GSMA applied to the data in aggregate yielded a substantially different picture after data regularization. These results have implications for analyses based on other types of data (e.g., case-control GWAS or sequencing data) as well as data obtained from other repositories.

"Welfare Mothers" Welcome Reform, Urge Compassion* The welfare system in the United States has undergone enormous restructuring. Previous research suggests that welfare recipients were highly dissatified with the welfare system. This study expands previous treatises by focusing on their views of welfare reform. Based on in-depth interviews with 47 recipients of AFDC, flow called TAVF we examine their level of support towards three specific reforms: (a) time limits on benefits; (b) work requirements; and (c) family caps," which limit or deny additional benefits for children born to mothers already receiving assistance. We found that recipients were eager for welfare reform. The were most likely to embrace work requirements, and least likely to support time limits and family caps. They urged compassion and flexibility to meet individual needs and were critical of adopting models based on popular stereotypes about women on welfare. The data are interpreted in light of Individualistic and Feminist Welfare State theories. Key Words: AFDC, poverty, TANF welfare, welfare reform. Welfare has been one of the most vexing social policy concerns in the United States. It's principal program, Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC), now called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) has been accused of fostering long-term dependency, family break-ups, and illegitimacy (Armey, 1994; Murray, 1984, 1988). Welfare recipients are stigmatized (Goffman,1963; Jarett, 1996; Seccombe, James, & Battle Walters, 1998), and are largely viewed as being lazy and unmotivated, looking for a free ride at the expense of the American taxpayers. Many people believe that poverty is a result of their own lack of drive, thrift, or human capital (Davis & Hagen, 1996; Feagin, 1975; Hunt, 1996; Smith & Stone, 1989). This individual perspective-which suggests that poverty is the result of individual flaws or inadequacies rather than a result of idiosyncrasies within our larger social structureholds widespread appeal within the population, even among welfare recipients themselves (Seccombe, 1999). Attempts to reform welfare, AFDC in particular, have a longstanding history (Abramovitz, 1996a; Gordon, 1994; Trattner, 1989). Both Republicans and Democrats have tried to reconstruct welfare, or end it altogether. President Clinton signed sweeping welfare reform legislation, which became federal law on July 1, 1997. PL 104-103 abolished AFDC, and replaced it with a new program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Considerable latitude was turned over to individual states to implement reform within federally mandated parameters. Some of the key features include a lifetime welfare payment of no more than five years, with the majority of recipients being required to work after two years. Twenty-five percent of recipients in each state must be working by the end of 1997; by the year 2002, 50 percent must be employed. States are free to apply more stringent policies, and many have elected to do so (Gallagher, Gallagher, Perese, Schreiber, & Watson, 1998). This research provides insiders' accounts on several of the reforms implemented in our welfare system. Although recipients' dissatisfaction with the welfare system has been well documented (Berrick, 1995; Edin & Lein, 1997; Rank, 1994; Schein, 1995; Seccombe, 1999), their views on welfare reform measures are not well understood. Based on in-depth interviews with women who receive welfare, this research examines the support or opposition towards three reforms in particular: (a) time limits on welfare; (b) work requirements; and (c) "family caps," which limit or deny additional benefits for children born to mothers on welfare. Conceptual Framework Feminist welfare state theorists are concerned with the ways in which the welfare system and welfare reform efforts perpetuate gender inequalities and poverty among women (Abramovitz, 1996b; Gordon, 1994; Harrington Meyer, 1996; Nelson, 1989; Orloff, 1993; Quadagno & Fobes, 1995; Miller, 1992). …

KAREN SECCOMBE Portland State University DELORES JAMES University of Florida* KIMBERELY BATTLE WALTERS Azusa Pacific University* Welfare reform is in the forefront of the political and social agenda in the United States. This research examines the ways that women on welfare interpret welfare use. From in-depth interviews with 47 women who received cash assistance in 1995, we examined the theories behind their accounts of the stigmatizing of welfare recipients and why they, and other women, use the welfare system. Although the respondents tended to blame the social structure, the welfare system itself or fate for their own economic circumstances and welfare use, they often invoked popular and mainstream individualist and cultural "victim-blaming" theories to explain other women's reliance on the system. Many women believed popular constructions of the welfare mother as lazy and unmotivated and evaluated their own situation as distinctly different from the norm. The hegemony of the individual perspective is a strong and stubborn barrier to dealing constructively with poverty and welfare reform. I've had people who didn't know I was receiving assistance, and everything was just fine. But when people find out you're receiving assistance, it's like, why? Why did you get lazy all of the sudden? Leah, a 24-year-old mother Key Words: AFDC, inequality, policy, poverty; TANE welfare. Approximately 39 million people are poor in the U.S., according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1997a). Within this large segment of the population are the approximately 3.5 million families, mostly mothers and their dependent children who receive cash welfare assistance, which until recently was called Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). President Bill Clinton signed monumental welfare reform legislation, which became federal law on July 1, 1997. P.L.104-193 abolished the AFDC program and replaced it with a new program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Turning many of the details of welfare law over to the states, it sets lifetime welfare payments at a maximum of 5 years, and the majority of adult recipients are required to work after 2 years. Twentyfive percent of recipients in each state must be working by the end of 1997. By the year 2002, 50% must be employed. Other changes under this reform include child-care assistance, at least 1 year of transitional Medicaid, the identification of the children's biological fathers, and the requirement that unmarried recipients who are minors must live at home and stay in school in order to receive benefits. AFDC and TANF are virtually synonymous with the word "welfare" in the minds of most people. In the larger sense of the word, "welfare" could also encompass schools, parks, police and fire protection, as the term, "welfare state," popular in most of Western Europe, implies. However, in the U.S. welfare generally brings to mind the cash assistance programs of AFDC and TANF, and therefore, "welfare," "AFDC," and "TANF" are used interchangeably here for ease of discussion. Although welfare was originally created to serve primarily White widows and their children, welfare's recipient base has shifted over the years to mostly divorced and never-married women with children. Many people think that cash programs provide benefits to a large number of never-married, young, African American women and their children, a stereotype that has undoubtedly contributed to the growing sentiment against welfare (Pivan & Cloward, 1993; Quadagno, 1994). Yet, African Americans constitute only 36% of recipients (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, 1996). AFDC is criticized as an extravagant and costly program that is spiraling out of control and is responsible for a sizable component of our federal deficit, but it approximates only 1% of federal spending (Congressional Digest, 1995; U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, 1996). …

Ninety-eight percent of the navy beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown in the US are processed. Thus, new cultivars considered for release must meet industry standards. Canning quality behaves as a classical QTL which precludes its selection and evaluation in early generations. Such delays add a measure of inefficiency to a breeding program. Indirect selection for canning quality using molecular markers could increase efficiency. RAPD markers are more useful than RFLP's, in Phaseolus, due to a simpler protocol and a higher level of polymorphism within genetically related cultivars. Three populations of RIL's, derived from crosses between cultivars with standard and sub-standard canning quality, were screened to identify markers associated with canning quality. Material for evaluation was grown at two locations, in three replications and processed, in the Food Science Processing Lab, following industry standards. Quality traits measured were: processed texture, color and appearance. Associations of putative markers with canning quality were identified using ANOVA and Mapmaker programs