Cultural distance, gender and praise in peer review

Background: Understanding review comments holds significant importance within the realm of scientific discourse. This study aims to conduct an empirical analysis of factors associated with praise in peer review.Methods: The study involved manual labeling of "praise" in 952 review comments drawn from 301 articles published in the British Medical Journal, followed by regression analysis.Results: The study reveals that authors tend to receive longer praise when they share a cultural proximity with the reviewers. Additionally, it is observed that female reviewers are more inclined to provide praiseConclusions: In summary, these discoveries contribute valuable insights for the development of a constructive peer review process and the establishment of a more inclusive research culture

Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts After Direct or Indirect Psychotherapy A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Importance Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are debilitating mental health problems that are often treated with indirect psychotherapy (ie, psychotherapy that focuses on other mental health problems, such as depression or personality disorders). The effects of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicidal ideation have not yet been examined in a meta-analysis, and several trials have been published since a previous meta-analysis examined the effect size of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicide attempts. Objective To investigate the effect sizes of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicidal ideation and the incidence of suicide attempts. Data Sources PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for articles published up until April 1, 2023. Study Selection Randomized clinical trials of psychotherapy for any mental health problem, delivered in any setting, compared with any control group, and reporting suicidal ideation or suicide attempts were included. Studies measuring suicidal ideation with 1 item were excluded. Data Extraction and Synthesis PRISMA guidelines were followed. Summary data were extracted by 2 independent researchers and pooled using 3-level meta-analyses. Main Outcomes and Measures Hedges g was pooled for suicidal ideation and relative risk (RR) was pooled for suicide attempts. Results Of 15 006 studies identified, 147 comprising 193 comparisons and 11 001 participants were included. Direct and indirect psychotherapy conditions were associated with reduced suicidal ideation (direct: g, -0.39; 95% CI, -0.53 to -0.24; I-2, 83.2; indirect: g, -0.30; 95% CI, -0.42 to -0.18; I-2, 52.2). Direct and indirect psychotherapy conditions were also associated with reduced suicide attempts (direct: RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.84; I-2, 40.5; indirect: RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.95; I-2, 0). Sensitivity analyses largely confirmed these results. Conclusions and Relevance Direct and indirect interventions had similar effect sizes for reducing suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Suicide prevention strategies could make greater use of indirect treatments to provide effective interventions for people who would not likely seek treatment for suicidal ideation or self-harm

The effect of public childcare on the risk that mothers become NEET

Young women are much more likely to be NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) than young men. Little is known about the extent to which institutional and policy contexts can shape the relationship between young motherhood and NEET status – in particular with respect to the potential role of family policy. This paper explores the relationship between the risk that young mothers become NEET and the costs of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). We combine data from the EU-LFS with macro-level indicators of family policies, and analyse NEET risks of 13,737 young mothers (20–29) in 22 EU-countries. We find that higher costs of childcare are associated with lower use of ECEC among young mothers, and that the use of ECEC is related to reduced subsequent NEET risks

Strong Hydrogen Bond Donating Solvents Accelerate the Passerini Three-Component Reaction

We report enhanced reaction rates of the Passerini reaction (P-3CR) using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as a cosolvent. Although alcoholic solvents typically increase the energy barrier of the rate-determining step for the P-3CR, we observed significant rate enhancements even when employing strong hydrogen bond donating (HBD) alcohols as cosolvents. This rate enhancement was observed for most aprotic organic solvents, with the exception of strong hydrogen bond accepting (HBA) solvents such as DMF. Experimental kinetic studies and DFT calculations provided a mechanistic rationale for our observations. An investigation of the substrate scope showed that this rate enhancement generally resulted in a (slight) increase of the overall yield in the P-3CR

Physiology of Weight Regain after Weight Loss:Latest Insights

Purpose of Review This review summarizes the most recent research on the physiology of weight regain. It describes developments in areas that are currently being addressed and that may indicate promising directions for future research. Recent Findings Weight regain occurs independent of the way prior weight loss is achieved, i.e. by lifestyle, surgery or pharmacotherapy. Recent novel findings regarding weight regain belong to four areas. First, the immune obesity memory of which besides persistent immune cells promoting weight regain cells have been found that reduce weight regain. Second, the gut microbiome where autologous transplantation can limit weight regain. Third, the composition of the weight loss with the percentage of lost fat-free mass being inverse to the amount of regained weight independent of the weight loss procedure. Fourth, appetite control where after weight loss altered hypothalamic activity promoting hunger and weight regain persists, possibly mediated by altered neurotensin responses. In all four areas more conclusive evidence for their role in weight regain still needs to be obtained. Summary Most studies on physiological mechanisms of weight regain are associative in nature and the number of intervention studies is very limited. To bring the field further, carefully designed intervention studies taking into account the dynamic character of weight loss and weight regain are needed

ESM-Q:A consensus-based quality assessment tool for experience sampling method items

The experience sampling method (ESM) is increasingly used by researchers from various disciplines to answer novel questions about individuals' daily lives. Measurement best practices have long been overlooked in ESM research, and recent reviews show that item quality is often not reported in ESM studies. The absence of information about item quality may be partly explained by the lack of consensus on how ESM item quality should be evaluated. As part of the ESM Item Repository project (esmitemrepository.com)-an international open science initiative that collects ESM items in an open item bank and evaluates their quality-we brought together 42 international ESM experts to develop an ESM item quality assessment tool. In four Delphi phases, experts suggested 57 item quality criteria, rated the criteria, provided arguments for and against the criteria, and rated the criteria again, considering reflections from other experts. The result of the Delphi process is ESM-Q: a quality assessment tool consisting of 10 core criteria, as well as an additional 15 supplementary criteria, to be used depending on the type of items being rated and the availability of supplementary information. The criteria cover topics ranging from construct validity to the optimal wording of items. ESM-Q can aid ESM researchers in selecting existing ESM items, developing new high-quality ESM items, and evaluating the quality of ESM items in systematic reviews. Expert reflections also highlight open research questions surrounding ESM item design that form a research agenda for ESM measurement

Assessing differential application of thromboprophylaxis regimes related to risk of pulmonary embolism and mortality in COVID-19 patients through instrumental variable analysis

Thrombotic complications are common in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, with pulmonary embolism (PE) being the most frequent. Randomised trials have provided inconclusive results on the optimal dosage of thromboprophylaxis in critically ill COVID-19 patients. We utilized data from the multicentre CAPACITY-COVID patient registry to assess the effect of differential application of Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) dose protocols on PE and in-hospital mortality risk in critically ill COVID-19 patients. An instrumental variable analysis was performed to estimate the intention-to-treat effect, utilizing differences in thromboprophylaxis prescribing behaviour between hospitals. We included 939 patients with PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 34 hospitals. Two-hundred-and-one patients (21%) developed a PE. The adjusted cause-specific HR of PE was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.73-1.16) per doubling of LMWH dose. The adjusted cause-specific HR for in-hospital mortality was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.65-1.02) per doubling of LMWH dose. This dose-response relationship was shown to be non-linear. To conclude, this study did not find evidence for an effect of LMWH dose on the risk of PE, but suggested a non-linear decreased risk of in-hospital mortality for higher doses of LMWH. However, uncertainty remains, and the dose-response relationship between LMWH dose and in-hospital mortality needs further investigation in well-designed studies

The In Vivo Biological Response to Intra-Articular Injected Polycarbonate Urethane Wear Debris Particles

Wear particles invariably form due to contact and friction between articulating surfaces in orthopedic prosthetic joint replacements. Polycarbonate urethane (PCU) has shown low wear rates and invoked minimal local biological response to wear debris in various orthopedic applications. However, controlled preclinical studies have not yet studied the biological response to PCU particles in synovial joints. This study aims to evaluate the biological response to mostly submicron-sized PCU wear particles in synovial joints in a rabbit model representing a worst-case scenario. PCU and ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethene (UHMWPE) particles were generated in vitro, and particle characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Fifteen New Zealand white rabbits, divided into three groups, received bilateral injections in the knee joint with 10 mg/mL PCU, UHMWPE particles, or saline (all 0.2 mL). After 3 months, the biological response in the joint was evaluated by histopathological reactivity scoring. The generated PCU and UHMWPE wear particles were mainly in the biologically active size range with an average equivalent circle diameter (ECD) of 0.31 mu m (+/- 0.48) and 6.99 mu m (+/- 16.32), respectively. There was a minimal to non-existing biological response (score <= 0.5) to PCU (0.5 +/- 1.0), UHMWPE particles (0.6 +/- 1.3) and saline (0.0 +/- 0.0). Also, the wear particles did not disperse from the injection site. The results of this study support the use of PCU as a bearing surface in orthopedic prosthetic joint replacements by indicating that even in the likelihood that wear particles are generated, they are not likely to trigger a strong inflammatory response