Barriers to and facilitators of interventions to counter publication bias: thematic analysis of scholarly articles and stakeholder interviews.

BACKGROUND: When the nature and direction of research results affect their chances of publication, a distortion of the evidence base - termed publication bias - results. Despite considerable recent efforts to implement measures to reduce the non-publication of trials, publication bias is still a major problem in medical research. The objective of our study was to identify barriers to and facilitators of interventions to prevent or reduce publication bias. METHODS: We systematically reviewed the scholarly literature and extracted data from articles. Further, we performed semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. We performed an inductive thematic analysis to identify barriers to and facilitators of interventions to counter publication bias. RESULTS: The systematic review identified 39 articles. Thirty-four of 89 invited interview partners agreed to be interviewed. We clustered interventions into four categories: prospective trial registration, incentives for reporting in peer-reviewed journals or research reports, public availability of individual patient-level data, and peer-review/editorial processes. Barriers we identified included economic and personal interests, lack of financial resources for a global comprehensive trial registry, and different legal systems. Facilitators identified included: raising awareness of the effects of publication bias, providing incentives to make data publically available, and implementing laws to enforce prospective registration and reporting of clinical trial results. CONCLUSIONS: Publication bias is a complex problem that reflects the complex system in which it occurs. The cooperation amongst stakeholders to increase public awareness of the problem, better tailoring of incentives to publish, and ultimately legislative regulations have the greatest potential for reducing publication bias.

The frequency of voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories across the life span.

In the present study, ratings of the memory of an important event from the previous week on the frequency of voluntary and involuntary retrieval, belief in its accuracy, visual imagery, auditory imagery, setting, emotional intensity, valence, narrative coherence, and centrality to the life story were obtained from 988 adults whose ages ranged from 15 to over 90. Another 992 adults provided the same ratings for a memory from their confirmation day, when they were at about age 14. The frequencies of involuntary and voluntary retrieval were similar. Both frequencies were predicted by emotional intensity and centrality to the life story. The results from the present study-which is the first to measure the frequency of voluntary and involuntary retrieval for the same events-are counter to both cognitive and clinical theories, which consistently claim that involuntary memories are infrequent as compared with voluntary memories. Age and gender differences are noted.

People believe it is plausible to have forgotten memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Pezdek, Blandon-Gitlin, and Gabbay (2006) found that perceptions of the plausibility of events increase the likelihood that imagination may induce false memories of those events. Using a survey conducted by Gallup, we asked a large sample of the general population how plausible it would be for a person with longstanding emotional problems and a need for psychotherapy to be a victim of childhood sexual abuse, even though the person could not remember the abuse. Only 18% indicated that it was implausible or very implausible, whereas 67% indicated that such an occurrence was either plausible or very plausible. Combined with Pezdek et al.s' findings, and counter to their conclusions, our findings imply that there is a substantial danger of inducing false memories of childhood sexual abuse through imagination in psychotherapy.

Pneumococcal etiology in hospitalised children with community-acquired penumonia in Belgium :evaluation by culture, RT-PCR and serotype-specific IgG and IgA serology.

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

An investigation of the mathematical elements of the Dai culture south-west Yunnan province, China

Dai ethnic mathematical culture is an important part of Dai ethnic culture. Mathematical elements show in their daily life. Through a research project of the Yunnan Dehong Dai people in southwest China, We collected the first-hand information, tried to do a small investigative study, and collected mathematics teaching resources that is useful to primary and secondary schools students on mathematics learning  in this minority areas. Keyword: Dai ethnic; Mathematical culture; Primary and secondary schools; Teaching resources.

Culture-bound technological solutions: An artificial theoretic insight

Sometimes, technological solutions to practical problems are devised that conspicuously take into account the constraints to which a given culture is subjecting the particular task or the manner in which it is carried out. The culture may be a professional culture (e.g., the practice of law), or an ethnic-cum-professional culture (e.g., dance in given ethnic cultures from South-East Asia), or, again, a denominational culture prescribing an orthopraxy impinging on everyday life through, for example, prescribed abstinence from given categories of workday activities, or dietary laws. Massimo Negrotti's Theory of the artificial is a convenient framework for discussing some of these techniques. We discuss a few examples, but focus on the contrast of two that are taken from the same cultural background, namely, technological applications in compliance with Jewish Law orthopraxy. •Soya-, mycoprotein- or otherwise derived meat surrogates are an example ofnaturoid; they emulate the flavours and olfactory properties, as well as the texture and the outer and inner appearance, of the meat product (its kind, cut, form) they set out to emulate (including amenability to cooking in the usual manner for the model), while satisfying cultural dietary prohibitions. •In contrast, the Sabbath Notebook, a writing surrogate we describe in this paper, is atechnoid: it emulates a technique (writing to store alphanumeric information), while satisfying the prohibition of writing at particular times of the liturgical calendar (the Sabbath and the major holidays).

[Book review] Mathematics and Culture II

Review of Mathematics and Culture II. Visual Perfection: Mathematics and Creativity, Michele Emmer (Ed.), Springer, 2005 ISBN: 978-3-540-21368-0

[In Backpages 18.1] The culture of new writing

The influence of writing workshops on the content of plays is discussed.

Does culture affect a brand's personality?

Global branding brings with it exposure to an increasingly culturally-diverse audience. Examples of Islamic finance products being consumed by non-Muslims, and designer labels being adopted, by those outside of their intended target audience; seem to suggest that brands are being shaped more and more by consumers. Within current literature on branding, and cross-cultural consumer behaviour; there appears to have emerged a difference of opinion - as to whether a consumer’s culture has any bearing on their decision making; or subsequent influence brand personalities. The purpose of this paper is to present existing evidence; as a basis for undertaking future research.

Counter-terrorism, anti-extremism, armed conflict and human rights: using a Russian case study

This paper critically examines Russia’s compliance with human rights obligations and the rule of law in its ‘war on terror’. It seeks to draw wider parallels with respect for human rights in the framework of the fight against ‘new global terrorism’. Threats to due process, the discriminatory application of the forces of law and order specifically against perceived “non-traditional” Muslim communities, and a ratcheting up of fear of an Islamist threat can be traced following the war in Chechnya and the handling of the Dubrovka Theatre and Beslan school sieges. To what extent are there commonalities with UK complicity in the practice of extraordinary rendition, with atrocities perpetrated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and abuses in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo? Are the impact of these reflected in domestic security policy and British minority ethnic community relations? [From the Author]

Changes in the properties of Bacillus thuringiensis after prolonged culture in a rich medium

AIM: To investigate the effect of repeated culture in a rich medium on certain genetic, metabolic, pathogenic and structural characteristics of fresh isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four strains of B. thuringiensis, which had been isolated in vegetative form from leaf surfaces, were grown for 500 generations in batch culture in a rich medium. One of the strains, S4g, differed from the parent in the following respects: greater cell width; changed plasmid profile; complete loss of ability to produce delta-endotoxins; loss of ability to produce beta-exotoxin and disruption of vip3 gene; radically different fatty acid composition; and altered metabolic activity. Two of the other evolved strains (S1g and S6g) showed differences in fatty acid profiles compared with the parents. Genetic finger-printing showed that there were also mutations in the cry genes of two of the evolved strains (S1g and S2g). The delta-endotoxins of strain S6g were significantly less toxic to the larvae of Pieris brassica compared with those of the parent and it also differed in the plasmid content. CONCLUSION: Radical and unpredictable changes can occur in fresh isolates of B. thuringiensis when subjected to growth in the laboratory. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first analysis of a Gram positive and biotechnologically significant bacterium after repeated laboratory culture. It is of great relevance to the biotechnological exploitation of B. thuringiensis that prolonged growth of environmental isolates on laboratory culture media can have profound effects on their structure, genome and virulence determinants.

Practical solvent system selection for counter-current separation of pharmaceutical compounds

Counter-current chromatography (CCC) is a technique that shows a lot of potential for large scale purification. Its usefulness in a "research and development" pharmaceutical environment has been investigated, and the conclusions are shown in this article. The use of CCC requires the development of an appropriate solvent system (a parameter of critical importance), a process which can be tedious. This article presents a novel strategy, combining a statistical approach and fast HPLC to generate a three-dimensional partition coefficient map and rapidly predict an optimal solvent system. This screen is performed in half a day and involves 9 experiments per solvent mixture. Test separations were performed using that screen to ensure the validity of the method.