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Background Brucellosis, as a serious zoonotic infectious disease, has been recognized as a re-emerging disease in the developing countries worldwide. In china, the incidence of brucellosis is increasing each year, seriously threatening the health of humans as well as animal populations. Despite a quite number of diagnostic methods currently being used for brucellosis, innovative technologies are still needed for its rapid and accurate diagnosis, especially in area where traditional diagnostic is unavailable. Methodology/Principal findings In this study, a total of 22 B cell linear epitopes were predicted from five Brucella outer membrane proteins (OMPs) using an immunoinformatic approach. These epitopes were then chemically synthesized, and with the method of indirect ELISA (iELISA), each of them displayed a certain degree of capability in identifying human brucellosis positive sera. Subsequently, a fusion protein consisting of the 22 predicted epitopes was prokaryotically expressed and used as diagnostic antigen in a newly established brucellosis testing method, nano-ZnO modified paper-based ELISA (nano-p-ELISA). According to the verifying test using a collection of sera collected from brucellosis and non-brucellosis patients, the sensitivity and specificity of multiepitope based nano-p-ELISA were 92.38% and 98.35% respectively. The positive predictive value was 98.26% and the negative predictive value was 91.67%. The multiepitope based fusion protein also displayed significantly higher specificity than Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen. Conclusions B cell epitopes are important candidates for serologically testing brucellosis. Multiepitope fusion protein based nano-p-ELISA displayed significantly sensitivity and specificity compared to Brucella LPS antigen. The strategy applied in this study will be helpful to develop rapid and accurate diagnostic method for brucellosis in human as well as animal populations., Author summary Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonosis in the world and has caused tremendous economic losses in agriculture and animal husbandry in many countries. Developing rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic methods is very important for early detection and treatment of brucellosis patients. In this study, a novel diagnostic technique, nano-ZnO modified paper ELISA, was established. The antigen used in this technique was a fusion protein containing multiple B cell epitopes, which were predicted from Brucella major outer membrane proteins such as Bp26, Omp31, Omp16, Omp2b and Omp25. Comparing to traditional LPS antigen, this multiepitope based antigen displayed considerably higher sensitivity and higher specificity in laboratory. With the strategy described in this paper, more efficient epitopes and protein antigen can be identified in the future. Currently, LPS antigen is only prepared from live Brucella, while protein antigen can be produced in large quantities in prokaryotic expression system. In addition to nano-p-ELISA, this protein antigen can also be used for development other methods such as fluorescent polarization assay (FPA) and immunochromatographic assay (ICA) to meet the varied demand for brucellosis testing.

This white paper documents the consensus opinion of the Artificial Intelligence Surgery (AIS) task force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics and the AIS Editorial Board Study Group on Ethics on the ethical considerations and current trustworthiness of artificial intelligence and autonomous actions in surgery. The ethics were divided into 6 topics defined by the Task Force: Reliability of robotic and AI systems; Respect for privacy and sensitive data; Use of complete and representative (i.e., unbiased) data; Transparencies and uncertainties in AI; Fairness: are we exacerbating inequalities in access to healthcare?; Technology as an equalizer in surgical education. Task Force members were asked to research a topic, draft a section, and come up with several potential consensus statements. These were voted on by members of the Task Force and the Study Group, and all proposals that received > 75 % agreement were adopted and included in the White Paper.

Background Every year since 1982 the BMJ has published a “Christmas issue” as the final issue of the year. Articles in the special issue are lighthearted, sometimes frivolous, but often with serious underlying concerns. There is fierce competition to have a paper published in the Christmas issue. Hypothesis That there is no difference between the numbers of citations, reads and downloads, and Altmetrics scores of papers published in the BMJ’s Christmas issues and the numbers of citations, reads and downloads, and Altmetrics scores of papers published in other issues. Methods We shall search the last issues of the BMJ in each year from 2000 to 2019 inclusive (20 years). We shall use Google Scholar to determine how many citations papers published in each issue have received by July 2022. We shall classify the papers using the terms used in the journal itself and in the Medline entries, where available. We shall initially compare the Christmas issues with the issues that have been published at the end of August in each year studied. Later, we may compare them with issues published at other times of the year. We shall also compare the most cited journal articles at Xmas with the least cited articles, to establish whether careful selection of title or subject might allow citation success and Xmas exposure to be combined. We shall also compare reads and downloads for papers published onwards from 2008, when the BMJ started to count those numbers. Since Altmetrics scores reportedly correlate with citations and readability of articles, we shall also compare Altmetrics scores for papers published onwards from 2014. Inclusion criteria We shall include editorials, papers of various kinds uniformly described in Medline as “journal articles”, and fillers. “Journal articles” generally include research articles of all types (e.g. systematic reviews and meta-analyses, RCTs, and retrospective and prospective observational studies), case reports, historical articles, and nonsystematic review articles. Exclusion criteria We shall exclude book reviews and obituaries and items such as those labelled “Editor’s choice”, “This Week in the BMJ”, “News”, “In brief”, “Short cuts”, and “Minerva”. Analysis We shall calculate medians and interquartile ranges and compare them using nonparametric tests. We shall analyse the complete set of data, the pairs of data in each year (Christmas and August), and subsets of different types of articles (e.g. those labelled “journal articles”).

In the present study, we plan to collect background information about the RDM mistakes of retracted papers by surveying their authors. We will use our RDM taxonomy to categorize the different mistakes and their causes. The results of the proposed study could provide valuable information on what types of these honest mistakes could lead to such a serious consequence as a retraction. We plan to suggest useful tools and practices to prevent these mistakes for those researchers who wish to minimize the risk of a retraction.

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This registration contain information about my research article "A novel deep learning method for recognizing texts printed with multiple different printing methods" and its extended/underlying data which are required by publisher (F1000Research).

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Open Science is a movement that aims to share and make scientific knowledge available to society as a whole and to scientific communities around the world, encouraging transparency, rigor, and integrity in all stages of the scientific process, enabling the results to be shared and reused by everyone. Thus, this cross-sectional observational study aims to evaluate the adherence to open science practices of the 100 most cited studies in the dentistry field of the last 10 years, in addition to assessing whether there is any association between the number of citations and adherence to practices of open science.

In "Joint EANM/SNMMI/ESTRO Practice Recommendations for the Use of 2-[18F]FDG-PET/CT External Beam Radiation Treatment Planning in Lung Cancer V1.0" clinical indications for PET-CT in (non-)small cell lung cancer are highlighted and selective nodal irradiation is discussed. Additionally, concepts about target definition, target delineation and treatment evaluation are reviewed. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V.

In their fifth meeting at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2017 (5th WCRI), the World Conference on Research Integrity (WCRI) adopted the Amsterdam Agenda (AA). The AA is a policy statement stipulating six key elements that researchers doing research on aspects of research integrity preferably should use when preregistering their empirical research projects (https://www.wcrif.org/guidance/amsterdam-agenda). The applicants of this submission form performed an ad hoc study in 2019 using data supplied by paper and poster presenters of the 6th WCRI in Hong Kong, 2019, to find out to which degree researchers had pre-registered the study they were going to present at the 6th WCRI, using either the recommendations of the AA or other recommendations. The first applicant (Sijtsma) presented the results in the final plenary session of 6th WCRI. The pilot study showed that 19% of the 308 presenters had preregistered their research. Of the 56 usable cases, less than half of them provided information on one or more of the six key elements of the AA. Others provided information that invalidated their data, such as an uninformative URL. There was no discernable difference between qualitative and quantitative research. We published our results in the journal Research Integrity and Peer Review (Sijtsma et al., 2021). Our study suffered from two limitations. First, we did no plan our research a priori but used the raw data the 6th WCRI organizers made available on an ad hoc basis. These raw data came from the information 6th WCRI participants provided while registering and submitting their paper and poster proposals. This implied that we had to work with data that were not collected with our study questions in mind. Second, given highly restrictive time limits, the WCRI organizers were unable to receive participants’ consent for using their data once we planned our research, and we were unable to receive timely consent of an ethics committee and to preregister our research. The present proposal continues the 2019 research, but improves both its content and fully obeys procedural requirements. That is, we plan the data collection a priori, ask participants for their consent to use their anonymized data, request consent by an ethics committee, and pre-register the study. Sijtsma, K., Emons, W. H. M., Steneck, N. H., & Bouter, L. M. (2021). Steps toward preregistration of research on research integrity. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-021-00108-4

Description: This serves as a pre-registration for the study of executive functioning assessment in virtual reality. Draft summary Virtual reality immerses the individual in a computerised situation in which they can move coherently in space and interact with objects in the virtual environment. Virtual reality is an interesting technology for cognitive assessment because it is more embodied than traditional paper-and-pencil testing situations. Virtual reality is more respectful of the conception of function-based neuropsychology, as opposed to construct-based neuropsychology. Virtual reality also facilitates the tracking of kinematic information on the one hand and the temporal tracking of activities on the other, which can add to the quality of the assessment. This study aims to present three virtual reality environments dedicated to the evaluation of cognitive functions. It also aims to evaluate the relationship between standard paper/pencil and tablet assessments and virtual reality assessments. Based on the results, the discussion will focus on the advantages (or disadvantages) of kinematic tracking and embodied, situated and spatialized tests for cognitive assessment.

MicroRNAs are small (approximately 22 nucleotides), endogenous, noncoding, highly stable, and gene-regulating RNAs. Their dysregulation were linked to many diseases, such as diabetes and cancers. Since the first microRNA was found in 1993, a lot of microRNAs with countless papers were discoveried. At the same time, many papers on microRNA research were retracted, which had a bad impact on evidence-based research and clinical decision-making. This study aims to analysis the trends and characteristics of retracted papers on microRNA study to facilitate good research and better science.

Social interactions have large effects on individual physiology and fitness. In the immediate sense, social stimuli are often highly salient and engaging. Over longer time scales, competitive interactions often lead to distinct social ranks and differences in physiology and behavior. Understanding how initial responses lead to longer-term effects of social interactions requires examining the changes in responses over time. Here we examined the effects of social interactions on transcriptomic signatures at two times, at the end of a 45-minute interaction and 4 hours later, in female Polistes fuscatus paper wasp foundresses. Female P. fuscatus have variable facial patterns that are used for visual individual recognition, so we separately examined the transcriptional dynamics in the optic lobe and the non-visual brain. Results demonstrate much stronger transcriptional responses to social interactions in the non-visual brain compared to the optic lobe. Differentially regulated genes in response to social interactions are enriched for memory-related transcripts. Comparisons between winners and losers of the encounters revealed similar overall transcriptional profiles at the end of an interaction, which significantly diverged over the course of 4 hours, with losers showing changes in expression levels of genes associated with aggression and reproduction in paper wasps. On nests, subordinate foundresses are less aggressive, do more foraging and lay fewer eggs compared to dominant foundresses and we find losers shift expression of many genes in the non-visual brain, including vitellogenin, related to aggression, worker behavior, and reproduction within hours of losing an encounter. These results highlight the early neurogenomic changes that likely contribute to behavioral and physiological effects of social status changes in a social insect., Author summary Aggressive interactions often create inequalities–some individuals win while others lose. Winning versus losing can lead to large physiological differences between individuals, including different neurogenomic profiles between winners and losers. How this information about contest outcome leads to distinct neurogenomic profiles is poorly understood. Here we examine gene expression in response to aggressive social encounters in paper wasps, which naturally form dominance hierarchies on their nests in the wild. Shortly following encounters winners and losers have similar expression profiles, likely because similar mechanisms are engaged by social experiences. Four hours later, we find divergent neurogenomic profiles between winners and losers, with losers showing larger shifts in expression compared to winners. Many of the most dynamically expressed genes have been previously associated with dominance and caste differences in paper wasps showing how a single interaction can engage many of the same genomic networks that are involved in mediating more dramatic differences in queen-worker behavioral differences are also involved in responses shortly following social interactions.

Aims - To examine eligibility and assessment criteria of research publication recognition awards. - To evaluate potential gender and country biases in the lists of past awardees of the above awards. - To communicate the need for improving awards policies and how this can be done – ultimately making individual publication-related awards more equitable.

The advantages of administering questionnaires online include savings of time, savings of money, avoidance of data entry errors (Pasveer & Ellard, 1998) and less missing data (Stanton, 1998; Wood et al., 2006). In addition, participants are provided with the flexibility to complete the questionnaires whenever it fits into their schedule. In 2005, almost two decades ago, a still ongoing cross-sectional observational study on psychosocial aspects and psychological stress of cancer outpatients was launched at the Medical University of Vienna, including two standardised questionnaires, namely the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) and the Posttraumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10; Maercker, 2003; Stoll et al. 1999). Administration mode of this study will be switched from paper-pencil to online assessment. For boths questionnaires, we aim to investigate whether measurement equivalence between administration modes can be assumed.

COVID-19 has accelerated a virtual era of consultations, which adds difficulties when assessing pain. Pen-to-paper pain diagrams, a well-used method will be replaced by electronic pain diagrams, a newer technology. This scoping review aims to assess the usability of pain diagrams, give recommendations on use and develop a gap map to allow routes for future research to ensure pain diagrams are effective, leading to more consistent use in virtual healthcare.

The aim of this review is firstly to identify patient-reported outcome measures administered to children and youth up to and including the age of 24 years to assess for outcomes related to their physical health condition, mental health status, overall wellbeing, thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences. Secondly, the review aims to critically appraise and compare the measurement equivalence between electronic/digital/telephone-administered and paper-based patient-reported outcome measures administered to children and youth.

Scientific publications may be retracted for different reasons, including misconduct. Empirical data suggest an increasing rate of retractions within the biomedical literature. To our knowledge, a comprehensive assessment of retractions of biomedical papers from authors affiliated with a scientific institution in Germany has not yet been performed.

This page contains the document for the pre-registration of the paper with the preliminary title "Familial resemblance in psychosocial vulnerability: A study of patients with depressive and anxiety disorders and their siblings".

This is a frozen copy of a pre-registered project containing the data for following publication: Hoorelbeke, K., Van den Bergh, N., De Raedt, R., Wichers, M., & Koster, E.H.W. (2021). Preventing recurrence of depression: Long-term effects of a randomized controlled trial on cognitive control training for remitted depressed patients. Clinical Psychological Science.

A systematic review of publications from 7 databases on the hypothesis of chemical imbalances causing mental distress ("the chemical imbalance theory")

Personalised Nutrition for Older Adults: Design Challenges, SME barriers, and Options and Competencies for Innovation

Scoping review

Data supporting the peer-reviewed manuscript: Defining and validating regenerative farm systems using a composite of ranked agricultural practices Tommy Fenster Claire E. LaCanne Jacob R. Pecenka Ryan B. Schmid Michael M. Bredeson Katya Busenitz Alex Michels Kelton D. Welch Jonathan G. Lundgren

Although regression models play a central role in the analysis of medical research projects, there still exist many misconceptions on various aspects of modeling leading to faulty analyses. Indeed, the rapidly developing statistical methodology and its recent advances in regression modeling do not seem to be adequately reflected in many medical publications. This problem of knowledge transfer from statistical research to application was identified by some medical journals, which have published series of statistical tutorials and (shorter) papers mainly addressing medical researchers. The aim of this review was to assess the current level of knowledge with regard to regression modeling contained in such statistical papers. We searched for target series by a request to international statistical experts. We identified 23 series including 57 topic-relevant articles. Within each article, two independent raters analyzed the content by investigating 44 predefined aspects on regression modeling. We assessed to what extent the aspects were explained and if examples, software advices, and recommendations for or against specific methods were given. Most series (21/23) included at least one article on multivariable regression. Logistic regression was the most frequently described regression type (19/23), followed by linear regression (18/23), Cox regression and survival models (12/23) and Poisson regression (3/23). Most general aspects on regression modeling, e.g. model assumptions, reporting and interpretation of regression results, were covered. We did not find many misconceptions or misleading recommendations, but we identified relevant gaps, in particular with respect to addressing nonlinear effects of continuous predictors, model specification and variable selection. Specific recommendations on software were rarely given. Statistical guidance should be developed for nonlinear effects, model specification and variable selection to better support medical researchers who perform or interpret regression analyses.

Summary The IOF Epidemiology and Quality of Life Working Group has reviewed the potential role of population screening for high hip fracture risk against well-established criteria. The report concludes that such an approach should strongly be considered in many health care systems to reduce the burden of hip fractures. Introduction The burden of long-term osteoporosis management falls on primary care in most healthcare systems. However, a wide and stable treatment gap exists in many such settings; most of which appears to be secondary to a lack of awareness of fracture risk. Screening is a public health measure for the purpose of identifying individuals who are likely to benefit from further investigations and/or treatment to reduce the risk of a disease or its complications. The purpose of this report was to review the evidence for a potential screening programme to identify postmenopausal women at increased risk of hip fracture. Methods The approach took well-established criteria for the development of a screening program, adapted by the UK National Screening Committee, and sought the opinion of 20 members of the International Osteoporosis Foundation’s Working Group on Epidemiology and Quality of Life as to whether each criterion was met (yes, partial or no). For each criterion, the evidence base was then reviewed and summarized. Results and Conclusion The report concludes that evidence supports the proposal that screening for high fracture risk in primary care should strongly be considered for incorporation into many health care systems to reduce the burden of fractures, particularly hip fractures. The key remaining hurdles to overcome are engagement with primary care healthcare professionals, and the implementation of systems that facilitate and maintain the screening program.

ispartof: ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY vol:11 issue:1 pages:89-90 ispartof: location:China status: published

Various data sharing platforms are being developed to enhance the sharing of cohort data by addressing the fragmented state of data storage and access systems. However, policy challenges in several domains remain unresolved. The euCanSHare workshop was organized to identify and discuss these challenges and to set the future research agenda. Concerns over the multiplicity and long-term sustainability of platforms, lack of resources, access of commercial parties to medical data, credit and recognition mechanisms in academia and the organization of data access committees are outlined. Within these areas, solutions need to be devised to ensure an optimal functioning of platforms.

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. Background: Paediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) can be burdensome, affecting mental health and impairing quality of life for children and caregivers. Comprehensive guidelines exist for managing paediatric AD, but practical guidance on using systemic therapy is limited, particularly for new therapies including biologics and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, recently approved for various ages in this indication. Objectives: This expert consensus aimed to provide practical recommendations within this advancing field to enhance clinical decision-making on the use of these and other systemics for children and adolescents aged ≥2 years with moderate-to-severe AD. Methods: Nineteen physicians from Northern Europe were selected for their expertise in managing childhood AD. Using a two-round Delphi process, they reached full or partial consensus on 37 statements. Results: Systemic therapy is recommended for children aged ≥2 years with a clear clinical diagnosis of severe AD and persistent disease uncontrolled after optimizing non-systemic therapy. Systemic therapy should achieve long-term disease control and reduce short-term interventions. Recommended are cyclosporine A for short-term use (all ages) and dupilumab or methotrexate for long-term use (ages ≥6 years). Consensus was not reached on the best long-term systemics for children aged 2–6 years, although new systemic therapies will likely become favourable: New biologics and JAK inhibitors will soon be approved for this age group, and more trial and real-world data will become available. Conclusions: This article makes practical recommendations on the use of systemic AD treatments for children and adolescents, to supplement international and regional guidelines. It considers the systemic medication that was available for children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe AD at the time this consensus project was done: azathioprine, cyclosporine A, dupilumab, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil and oral glucocorticosteroids. We focus on the geographically similar Northern European countries, whose healthcare systems, local preferences for AD management and reimbursement structures nonetheless differ significantly.

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IL-23 is a key cytokine in the pathogenesis of spondyloarthritides, including PsA and axial spondyloarthritis, as well as related conditions, such as psoriasis and IBD. Genetic associations, animal models and translational studies in humans demonstrate the key role played by IL-23, especially when coupled with downstream overexpression of IL-17 via stimulation of T helper 17 (Th17) and other cells by IL-23. Whereas IL-23 inhibition has shown clear-cut benefit in psoriasis and peripheral manifestations of PsA, trials of IL-23 inhibitors have failed in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. More recently, exploratory data from PsA patients with axial symptoms suggests that improvement may occur, but needs confirmation in dedicated axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) trials. Hypotheses for these apparently conflicting findings about IL-23 inhibition in various forms of spondylitis are discussed.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a heterogeneous group of transcripts that lack protein coding potential and display regulatory functions in various cellular processes. As a result of their cell- and cancer-specific expression patterns, lncRNAs have emerged as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. The accurate characterization of lncRNAs in bulk transcriptome data remains challenging due to their low abundance compared to protein coding genes. To tackle this issue, we describe a unique short-read custom lncRNA capture sequencing approach that relies on a comprehensive set of 565,878 capture probes for 49,372 human lncRNA genes. This custom lncRNA capture approach was evaluated on various sample types ranging from artificial high-quality RNA mixtures to more challenging formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue and biofluid material. The custom enrichment approach allows the detection of a more diverse repertoire of lncRNAs, with better reproducibility and higher coverage compared to classic total RNA-sequencing.

Background In 2005, Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as a public health problem. The approach to this was through improved case detection and treatment, and controlling transmission by the sand fly vector Phlebotomus argentipes, with indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide. Initially, India applied DDT with stirrup pumps for IRS, however, this did not reduce transmission. After 2015 onwards, the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin was applied with compression pumps, and entomological surveillance was initiated in 2016. Methods Eight sentinel sites were established in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. IRS coverage was monitored by household survey, quality of insecticide application was measured by HPLC, presence and abundance of the VL vector was monitored by CDC light traps, insecticide resistance was measured with WHO diagnostic assays and case incidence was determined from the VL case register KAMIS. Results Complete treatment of houses with IRS increased across all sites from 57% in 2016 to 70% of houses in 2019, rising to >80% if partial house IRS coverage is included (except West Bengal). The quality of insecticide application has improved compared to previous studies, average doses of insecticide on filters papers ranged from 1.52 times the target dose of 25mg/m2 alpha-cypermethrin in 2019 to 1.67 times in 2018. Resistance to DDT has continued to increase, but the vector was not resistant to carbamates, organophosphates or pyrethroids. The annual and seasonal abundance of P. argentipes declined between 2016 to 2019 with an overall infection rate of 0.03%. This was associated with a decline in VL incidence for the blocks represented by the sentinel sites from 1.16 per 10,000 population in 2016 to 0.51 per 10,000 in 2019. Conclusion Through effective case detection and management reducing the infection reservoirs for P. argentipes in the human population combined with IRS keeping P. argentipes abundance and infectivity low has reduced VL transmission. This combination of effective case management and vector control has now brought India within reach of the VL elimination targets., Author summary Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is a major parasitic disease in South Asia (Indian subcontinent), with 85% of the disease incidence in India. Historically VL had been controlled and almost eliminated with Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) using dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). However, reinitiating this approach in 2015 failed due to high insecticide resistance in the sand fly vector and poor IRS quality, meaning that VL elimination targets were not met. To improve this the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme changed to an effective insecticide, alpha-cypermethrin and altered the mode of application to compression pumps. Sentinel sites were established to monitor the entomological indicators, these showed the positive impact of these changes from 2016 to 2019. During this period the overall incidence of disease has decreased, and India is now on track to reach it’s target incidence for VL of less than 1/1000 people at the sub-district (block) level.

Background The European Commission is funding projects that aim to establish data-sharing platforms. These platforms are envisioned to enhance and facilitate the international sharing of cohort data. Nevertheless, broad data sharing may be restricted by the lack of adequate recognition for those who share data. Objective The aim of this study is to describe in depth the concerns about acquiring credit for data sharing within epidemiological research. Methods A total of 17 participants linked to European Union–funded data-sharing platforms were recruited for a semistructured interview. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results Interviewees argued that data sharing within international projects could challenge authorship guidelines in multiple ways. Some respondents considered that the acquisition of credit for articles with extensive author lists could be problematic in some instances, such as for junior researchers. In addition, universities may be critical of researchers who share data more often than leading research. Some considered that the evaluation system undervalues data generators and specialists. Respondents generally looked favorably upon alternatives to the current evaluation system to potentially ameliorate these issues. Conclusions The evaluation system might impede data sharing because it mainly focuses on first and last authorship and undervalues the contributor’s work. Further movement of crediting models toward contributorship could potentially address this issue. Appropriate crediting mechanisms that are better aligned with the way science ought to be conducted in the future need to be developed.

The highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2 has led to several studies on the transmission of the virus. A little studied potential fomite of great concern in the community is currency, which has been shown to harbor microbial pathogens in several studies. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses in the United States have limited the use of banknotes in favor of credit cards. However, SARS-CoV-2 has shown greater stability on plastic in several studies. Herein, the stability of SARS-CoV-2 at room temperature on banknotes, money cards and coins was investigated. In vitro studies with live virus suggested SARS-CoV-2 was highly unstable on banknotes, showing an initial rapid reduction in viable virus and no viral detection by 24 hours. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 displayed increased stability on money cards with live virus detected after 48 hours. Environmental swabbing of currency and money cards on and near the campus of Brigham Young University supported these results, with no detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on banknotes, and a low level on money cards. However, no viable virus was detected on either. These preliminary results suggest that the use of money cards over banknotes in order to slow the spread of this virus may be ill-advised. These findings should be investigated further through larger environmental studies involving more locations.

Despite significant advances in the research domain of continuous twin screw granulation, limited information is currently available on the impact of raw material properties, especially considering batch-to-batch variability. The importance of raw material variability and subsequent mitigation of the impact of this variability on the manufacturing process and drug product was recently stressed in the Draft Guidance for Industry on Quality Considerations for Continuous Manufacturing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Therefore, this study assessed the impact of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) batch-to-batch variability and process settings in a continuous twin screw wet granulation and semi-continuous drying line. Based on extensive raw material characterization and subsequent principal component analysis, raw material variability was quantitatively introduced in the design of experiments approach by means of t1 and t2 scores. L/S ratio had a larger effect on critical granule attributes and processability than screw speed and drying time. A large impact of the t1 and t2 scores was found, indicating the importance of raw material attributes. For the studied formulation, it was concluded that MCC batches with a low water binding capacity, low moisture content and high bulk density generated granules with the most desirable quality attributes. Additionally, an innovative and quantitative approach towards mitigating batch-to-batch variability of raw materials was proposed, which is also applicable for additional excipients and APIs., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a prevalent source of comprised quality of life in cancer survivors. This study evaluated the efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) on self-reported CRCI (sr-CRCI). Methods: In this prospective multicentre randomised wait-list controlled study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02771028), eligible cancer survivors had completed curative treatment, were 18 years or older and screened positive for sr-CRCI with > 43 on the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). Participants were randomised to the immediate treatment group (ITG) or wait-list control (WLC) group, based on age (< or > 65 years), gender, treatment (chemotherapy or not), and centre. The ITG started to apply EFT after inclusion and performed this for 16 weeks. The WLC group could only start the application of EFT after 8 weeks of waiting. Evaluations took place at baseline (T0), 8 weeks (T1) and 16 weeks (T2). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with sr-CRCI according to the CFQ score. Findings: Between October 2016 and March 2020, 121 patients were recruited with CFQ > 43 indicating sr-CRCI. At T1, the number of patients scoring positive on the CFQ was significantly reduced in the ITG compared to the WLC group (40.8% vs. 87.3% respectively; p

Since the innovation of our new half-piece elastometric respirator, this type of filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) has been used widely in Thailand. Decontamination methods including ultraviolet C (UVC) germicidal irradiation and 70% alcohol have been implemented to decontaminate these respirators. We then examined the inactivation potential of different decontamination processes on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and numerous bacterial strains, most of which were skin-derived. To enable rigorous integrity of the masks after repeated decontamination processes, fit tests by the Bitrex test, tensile strength and elongation at break were also evaluated. Our results showed that UVC irradiation at a dose of 3 J/cm2 can eradicate bacteria after 60 min and viruses after 10 min. No fungi were found on the mask surface before decontamination. The good fit test results, tensile strength and elongation at break were still maintained after multiple cycles of decontamination. No evidence of physical degradation was found by gross visual inspection. Alcohol (70%) is also an easy and effective way to eradicate microorganisms on respirators. As the current pandemic is expected to continue for months to years, the need to supply adequate reserves of personnel protective equipment (PPE) and develop effective PPE reprocessing methods is crucial. Our studies demonstrated that the novel silicone mask can be safely reprocessed and decontaminated for many cycles by UVC irradiation, which will help ameliorate the shortage of important protective devices in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Acknowledgements: We thank Veronica Phillips, Assistant Librarian, University of Cambridge Medical Library, for her help developing the search strategy., Background Introduction of risk stratification within population-based cancer screening programmes has the potential to optimise resource allocation by targeting screening towards members of the population who will benefit from it most. Endorsement from healthcare professionals is necessary to facilitate successful development and implementation of risk-stratified interventions. Therefore, this review aims to explore whether using risk stratification within population-based cancer screening programmes is acceptable to healthcare professionals and to identify any requirements for successful implementation. Methods We searched four electronic databases from January 2010 to October 2021 for quantitative, qualitative, or primary mixed methods studies reporting healthcare professional and/or other stakeholder opinions on acceptability of risk-stratified population-based cancer screening. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data were analysed using the Joanna Briggs Institute convergent integrated approach to mixed methods analysis and mapped onto the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research using a ‘best fit’ approach. PROSPERO record CRD42021286667. Results A total of 12,039 papers were identified through the literature search and seven papers were included in the review, six in the context of breast cancer screening and one considering screening for ovarian cancer. Risk stratification was broadly considered acceptable, with the findings covering all five domains of the framework: intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals, and process. Across these five domains, key areas that were identified as needing further consideration to support implementation were: a need for greater evidence, particularly for de-intensifying screening; resource limitations; need for staff training and clear communication; and the importance of public involvement. Conclusions Risk stratification of population-based cancer screening programmes is largely acceptable to healthcare professionals, but support and training will be required to successfully facilitate implementation. Future research should focus on strengthening the evidence base for risk stratification, particularly in relation to reducing screening frequency among low-risk cohorts and the acceptability of this approach across different cancer types.