Search

In response to the increasing difficulty of obtaining high quality peer reviews, our invited paper describes the concept of review avoidance and why this phenomenon occurs. In reaffirming the professional responsibilities and potential benefits of reviewing, we also emphasize the interdependent nature of the ideal peer review process. We suggest that the review process is a three-way street where the respective roles and responsibilities of authors, editors and editorial teams, and reviewers are inextricably linked. We present thematic illustrations of undesirable reviewer comments, and a brief synthesis of broad themes in the literature on high-quality reviewing. The synthesis is complemented by a master reviewer’s fine-grained perspective on crafting high quality reviews. A final Appendix presents additional sources that may be informative for prospective reviewers, submitting authors, and those mentors and colleagues who may wish to provide guidance and training to them.

FFAR1 is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that responds to circulating free fatty acids to enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and release of incretin hormones. Due to the glucose-lowering effect of FFAR1 activation, potent agonists for this receptor have been developed for the treatment of diabetes. Previous structural and biochemical studies of FFAR1 showed multiple sites of ligand binding to the inactive state but left the mechanism of fatty acid interaction and receptor activation unknown. We used cryo–electron microscopy to elucidate structures of activated FFAR1 bound to a G q mimetic, which were induced either by the endogenous FFA ligand docosahexaenoic acid or γ-linolenic acid and the agonist drug TAK-875. Our data identify the orthosteric pocket for fatty acids and show how both endogenous hormones and synthetic agonists induce changes in helical packing along the outside of the receptor that propagate to exposure of the G-protein-coupling site. These structures show how FFAR1 functions without the highly conserved “DRY” and “NPXXY” motifs of class A GPCRs and also illustrate how the orthosteric site of a receptor can be bypassed by membrane-embedded drugs to confer full activation of G protein signaling.

Background: Most head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing aggressive treatments with chemoradiotherapy and surgical resection of tumors suffer from symptoms long after treatment is completed that hinder adequate oral food intake, collectively known as Nutrition Impact Symptoms (NIS). Our aim was to examine the correlations between NIS and HNC survivors’ vegetable intake and use of seasoning. Methods: We conducted a 29-item telephone administrated survey to collect vegetable intake and seasoning habits among HNC survivors (n=22, age 61.4 ± 9.8 years, mean ± standard deviation) who received radiation therapy between 6 months and 10 years before recruitment identified through the cancer registry at Carle Foundation Hospital. Treatment-related side-effects (11 items) including difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and mouth sores reflected NIS. A mean composite score was created for all the symptoms where higher scores indicated greater NIS. Spearman correlations examined the relationships between NIS, vegetable intake, and seasoning. Results: Half (50%) of the participants reported no change in their vegetable intake since diagnosis of cancer, and on average, ate 1 cup/day of total vegetables. Higher NIS scores associated with higher pumpkin and sweet potatoes intake (r (20) = .43, p

PurposeThis article details the implementation of a live online chat service which was suddenly necessitated by the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The approaches used to train chat operators during this time inform both current and future training initiatives toward continuous improvement in this academic library setting.Design/methodology/approachChat transcripts from the period of March 2020–April 2021 serve as the dataset for this study.FindingsIn bringing a live chat service online during a global pandemic, chat transcripts from this period reveal 19.3% of all chat interactions related directly to COVID-19. The transcripts also reveal the types of questions, whether reference or directional, and these, combined with staffing patterns, indicate that staff were addressing reference questions more often than librarians. In addition, 25.2% of all transactions, whether by staff or librarians, resulted in tickets or referrals to hand off the question to a subject or functional specialist. These findings help to inform targeted face-to-face refresher training for chat operators.Originality/valueWhile bringing a live chat service online is certainly not novel, the impetus behind the quick setup was. This unusual circumstance allowed for an in-depth look at the nature of chat and its training requirements and limitations due to campus stay-at-home orders. It also provided a new understanding that influenced subsequent face-to-face trainings.

BACKGROUND Improving children's fruit and vegetable (FV) preferences may be important as preferences can predict FV consumption. The purpose of this study was to evaluate FV preferences over time, with repeated experience, as part of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). METHODS Fruits (F; N = 28) and vegetables (V; N = 29) were distributed twice a week, over 35 weeks, at a participating FFVP school (N = 236 students, 12 teachers, K-2nd grade). Preference ratings using 3-point Likert scale were analyzed over 35 weeks. RESULTS For 57 FVs rated for preference, ratings revealed that F had higher frequency of children choosing "I like it" than for V (78% F; 38.2% V; p

Background: The physical and social environments surrounding food, whether perceived or observed, can influence consumers’ food choices by changing food access, and affordability, or by changing settings where food-related behaviors occur. Aim: To describe older adults’ perceived food environment, identify the most important sites and factors that enable healthy eating, and explore older adults’ recommendations for communities to facilitate fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: Participants aged 60 and older from metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, Iowa, and Illinois completed a researcher-administered survey to rate the perceived environment including accessibility, availability, and affordability of fruits and vegetables, and perceived importance of factors and establishments related to fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants also suggested changes for establishments to facilitate fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: The majority of the 142 participants perceived their food environment for fruits and vegetables as not difficult to access (85.2%) with good or excellent availability (90.1%). Education, marital status, and race were associated with some aspects of the perceived food environment. Perceived accessibility and supermarkets were rated as the most important factor and establishment, respectively, to facilitate fruit and vegetable consumption across all study sites. Participants proposed recommendations to address the availability, quality, accessibility and affordability of fruits and vegetables. Conclusion: Interventions promoting accessible, affordable, quality fruits and vegetables may improve older adult consumers’ perceptions of their food environment. Communities may also use undervalued resources such as mobile markets more strategically to provide additional support for healthy eating in older adults.

Osteoporosis-related fractures are undertreated, due in part to misinformation about recommended approaches to patient care and discrepancies among treatment guidelines. To help bridge this gap and improve patient outcomes, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research assembled a multistakeholder coalition to develop clinical recommendations for the optimal prevention of secondary fracture among people aged 65 years and older with a hip or vertebral fracture. The coalition developed 13 recommendations (7 primary and 6 secondary) strongly supported by the empirical literature. The coalition recommends increased communication with patients regarding fracture risk, mortality and morbidity outcomes, and fracture risk reduction. Risk assessment (including fall history) should occur at regular intervals with referral to physical and/or occupational therapy as appropriate. Oral, intravenous, and subcutaneous pharmacotherapies are efficacious and can reduce risk offuture fracture. Patients need education, however, about the benefits and risks of both treatment and not receiving treatment. Oral bisphosphonates alendronate and risedronate are first-line options and are generally well tolerated; otherwise, intravenous zoledronic acid and subcutaneous denosumab can be considered. Anabolic agents are expensive but may be beneficial for selected patients at high risk. Optimal duration of pharmacotherapy is unknown but because the riskfor second fractures is highest in the early post-fracture period, prompt treatment is recommended. Adequate dietary or supplemental vitamin D and calcium intake should be assured. Individuals being treated for osteoporosis should be reevaluated for fracture risk routinely, including via patient education about osteoporosis and fractures and monitoring foradverse treatment effects. Patients should be strongly encouraged to avoid tobacco, consume alcohol in moderation at most, and engage in regular exercise and fall prevention strategies. Finally, referral to endocrinologists or other osteoporosis specialists may be warranted for individuals who experience repeated fracture or bone loss and those with complicating comorbidities (eg, hyperparathyroidism, chronic kidney disease). (c) 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. (Less)

Osteoporosis-related fractures are undertreated, due in part to misinformation about recommended approaches to patient care and discrepancies among treatment guidelines. To help bridge this gap and improve patient outcomes, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research assembled a multistakeholder coalition to develop clinical recommendations for the optimal prevention of secondary fractureamong people aged 65 years and older with a hip or vertebral fracture. The coalition developed 13 recommendations (7 primary and 6 secondary) strongly supported by the empirical literature. The coalition recommends increased communication with patients regarding fracture risk, mortality and morbidity outcomes, and fracture risk reduction. Risk assessment (including fall history) should occur at regular intervals with referral to physical and/or occupational therapy as appropriate. Oral, intravenous, andsubcutaneous pharmacotherapies are efficaciousandcanreduce risk of future fracture.Patientsneededucation,however, about thebenefitsandrisks of both treatment and not receiving treatment. Oral bisphosphonates alendronate and risedronate are first-line options and are generally well tolerated; otherwise, intravenous zoledronic acid and subcutaneous denosumab can be considered. Anabolic agents are expensive butmay be beneficial for selected patients at high risk.Optimal duration of pharmacotherapy is unknown but because the risk for second fractures is highest in the earlypost-fractureperiod,prompt treatment is recommended.Adequate dietary or supplemental vitaminDand calciumintake shouldbe assured. Individuals beingtreatedfor osteoporosis shouldbe reevaluated for fracture risk routinely, includingvia patienteducationabout osteoporosisandfracturesandmonitoringfor adverse treatment effects.Patients shouldbestronglyencouraged to avoid tobacco, consume alcohol inmoderation atmost, and engage in regular exercise and fall prevention strategies. Finally, referral to endocrinologists or other osteoporosis specialists may be warranted for individuals who experience repeated fracture or bone loss and those with complicating comorbidities (eg, hyperparathyroidism, chronic kidney disease).

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain often challenges the physical activity necessary for managing life-threatening chronic diseases. Standard severe knee OA treatment of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and physical therapy (PT) is effective at improving pain and function but whether such benefits translate to physical activity is unclear. We enrolled 22 participants with severe knee OA scheduled for a TKA (Age,mean±SD=69.0±5.8y, female=63.6%) and assessed pain (i.e.,Numeric Pain Rating), physical function (i.e.,Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score), and physical activity (i.e.,activity monitors and journals for 7-days) before and 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month after TKA. Using paired-wise ANOVA, pre-to-postTKA pain and function improved but not physical activity. Using regression analyses, outpatient PT sessions during first two months post-TKA were positively related to 3- and 6-month physical activity (r=0.51-070, P=0.003-0.029). Standard TKA and PT for severe OA improved pain and function but not physical activity. However, early post-TKA PT and physical activity relationships are promising, warranting exploration.

Purpose Ongoing deliberation about how research productivity should be measured is exacerbated by extensive disparity between the number of citations for scholarly works reported by commercial academic search engines and Google Scholar (GS), the premier web crawling service for discovering research citations. Disparities identified in citation comparison studies have also led to disagreement about the value of the higher number of citations for social sciences and business scholarly articles consistently reported by GS. The purpose of this paper is to extend previous database citation comparison studies by manually analyzing a sample of unique GS citations to a leading operations management journal (i.e. citations found only in GS and not the commercial search engines) to reveal just where these additional citations are coming from. Design/methodology/approach In addition to comparing citation counts for the three databases, unique GS citation data for the sample of journal articles was manually captured and reviewed. The authors’ approach provides a much more in-depth examination of the provenance of GS citations than is found in previous studies. Findings The findings suggest that concerns about the value of unique GS citations may not be warranted since the document types for the unique GS citing documents identified in the analysis are dominated by familiar scholarly formats. Predominantly authentic and validated journal publications, dissertations, conference papers, and book and book chapters accounted for the large majority of the unique GS citations analyzed. Practical implications The study lends further credence to contentions that the use of citations reported in GS is appropriate for evaluating research impact in disciplines where other formats beyond the English-language journal article are valued. Originality/value Developing a more informed understanding of the provenance of unique GS citations in the authors’ field is important because many scholars not only aspire to publish in elite journals with high impact factors based on citation counts provided by commercial databases to demonstrate quality, but also report the larger number of citations for their publications that are reported by GS to demonstrate impact. The in-depth manual analysis suggests that GS provides a more nuanced and comprehensive representation of research impact and international scope than the commercial databases.

Patient recruitment and retention are challenging for longitudinal studies. Stay-at-home restrictions for the Galveston and Houston regions in 2020 for COVID-19 and in 2021 for the Winter Storms shut down elective healthcare activities and created additional recruitment barriers during the implementation of a 12-month study examining the physical function of older adults receiving a total knee arthroplasty. This presentation describes recruitment and retention strategies during natural disasters. Ten participants started the study during the pandemic and 6 remained through the winter storms (3 withdrew, 1 no showed). Physical activity monitors were distributed and collected through mail, patient reported outcomes were completed online or over the phone, clinician-initiated measures were only collected when clinics were open, and efforts were made to minimize staff burden and follow evolving hospital guidelines. Most importantly, regular communication and follow-up with participants, research team, and department personnel created a sense of community.

OBJECTIVES: To determine through systematic review whether parental involvement in interventions to improve eating habits of children was more often associated with positive dietary behavior changes as compared to those with no or low involvement. METHODS: Web of Science, PsychInfo, PubMed, and EBSCO were searched for studies between 2004–2016 that aimed to change children's (2 to 12 years old) diet quality (diet quality; and 1 or more eating behavior component: fruit (F), vegetables (V), whole grains, lower saturated fat, lower sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), and intake of calcium-rich foods). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis were followed for this review. Parental involvement was classified as low, medium, or high involvement. Diet assessment tools were scored for their reliability and validity. The influence of theoretical framework on outcomes was not included in the current review. RESULTS: Of 443 papers, data was extracted from 156 randomized controlled trials, and 26 met inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on the intake of F and/or V or SSB. Most with low parental involvement reported no significant dietary change (12 of 15 diet measures in 8 studies). Half with medium/medium-high involvement found significant diet change (4 of 8 measures, 3 studies). More positive diet change resulted with high parental involvement (13 of 18 measures, 11 studies). All studies with no parental involvement reported significant positive changes except 1 (4 studies, 5 measures); 3 studies incorporated exposure to F&V, 1 aimed to lower SSB. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing level of parental involvement supports dietary behavior change in children. Without parental involvement, repeated F&V exposure also increases intake. Nutrition professionals should engage parents at multiple time points in child dietary interventions to achieve positive dietary changes. Direct F&V exposure is an option if parental involvement is not feasible. FUNDING SOURCES: This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through Multistate Hatch Capacity Funds supporting the W-3005 research group and respective universities.

Despite growing utilization of scholarly metrics to assess faculty research output, quality, impact, and productivity, the marketing discipline has yet to develop a comprehensive, generalizable ben...

Recent findings show that approximately 87% of the U.S. population fail to meet the vegetable intake recommendations, with unpleasant taste of vegetables being listed as the primary reason for this shortfall. In this study, spice and herb seasoning was used to enhance palatability of vegetables, in order to increase consumer acceptance. In total, 749 panelists were screened and recruited as specific vegetable likers of the vegetable being tested or general vegetable likers. Four sessions were designed to evaluate the effect of seasoning within each type of vegetable, including broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, and green bean. Each panelist was only allowed to participate in one test session to evaluate only one vegetable type, so as to mitigate potential learning effect. Overall, the results showed that seasoned vegetables were significantly preferred over unseasoned vegetables (P < 0.001), indicating the sensory properties were significantly improved with seasoning. When general vegetable likers and specific vegetable likers were compared in terms of their preference between seasoned and unseasoned vegetables, the pattern varied across different vegetables; however, general trend of seasoned vegetable being preferred remained. The findings from this study demonstrate the effect of seasoning in enhancing consumer liking of vegetables, which may lead to increased consumption to be assessed in future studies. PRACTICAL APPLICATION To improve the sensory properties of vegetables, masking the bitter taste of vegetables using spice and herb seasoning are gaining increasing attention. Our findings suggest that the overall liking of vegetables could be improved by incorporating spice and herb seasonings that are specifically formulated for each vegetable. Ultimately, developing and commercializing spice and herb seasonings may aid to increase vegetable consumption, as well as expanding the vegetable seasoning market.