The Enduring Value of Social Science Research: The Use and Reuse of Primary Research Data

This paper was presented at “The Organisation, Economics and Policy of Scientific Research” workshop, Torino, Italy, in April, 2010. See: http://www.carloalberto.org/files/brick_dime_strike_workshopagenda_april2010.pdf.The public-use data analyzed in this paper: Pienta, Amy M., and Jared Lyle. Data Sharing in the Social Sciences, 2009 [United States] Public Use Data. ICPSR29941-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2016-12-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR29941.v1The goal of this paper is to examine the extent to which social science research data are shared and assess whether data sharing affects research productivity tied to the research data themselves. We construct a database from administrative records containing information about thousands of social science studies that have been conducted over the last 40 years. Included in the database are descriptions of social science data collections funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. A survey of the principal investigators of a subset of these social science awards was also conducted. We report that very few social science data collections are preserved and disseminated by an archive or institutional repository. Informal sharing of data in the social sciences is much more common. The main analysis examines publication metrics that can be tied to the research data collected with NSF and NIH funding – total publications, primary publications (including PI), and secondary publications (non-research team). Multivariate models of count of publications suggest that data sharing, especially sharing data through an archive, leads to many more times the publications than not sharing data. This finding is robust even when the models are adjusted for PI characteristics, grant award features, and institutional characteristics.National Library of Medicine (R01 LM009765). The creation of the LEADS database was also supported by the following research projects at ICPSR: P01 HD045753, U24 HD048404, and P30 AG004590.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78307/1/pienta_alter_lyle_100331.pdf-

Macroscopic transport by synthetic molecular machines

Nature uses molecular motors and machines in virtually every significant biological process, but demonstrating that simpler artificial structures operating through the same gross mechanisms can be interfaced with—and perform physical tasks in—the macroscopic world represents a significant hurdle for molecular nanotechnology. Here we describe a wholly synthetic molecular system that converts an external energy source (light) into biased brownian motion to transport a macroscopic cargo and do measurable work. The millimetre-scale directional transport of a liquid on a surface is achieved by using the biased brownian motion of stimuli-responsive rotaxanes (‘molecular shuttles’) to expose or conceal fluoroalkane residues and thereby modify surface tension. The collective operation of a monolayer of the molecular shuttles is sufficient to power the movement of a microlitre droplet of diiodomethane up a twelve-degree incline.

Comparison of Evaluations for Heart Transplant Before Durable Left Ventricular Assist Device and Subsequent Receipt of Transplant at Transplant vs Nontransplant Centers

IMPORTANCE: In 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revised its national coverage determination, removing the requirement to obtain review from a Medicare-approved heart transplant center to implant a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for bridge-to-transplant (BTT) intent at an LVAD-only center. The association between center-level transplant availability and access to heart transplant, the gold-standard therapy for advanced heart failure (HF), is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of center transplant availability with LVAD implant strategies and subsequent heart transplant following LVAD implant before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy change. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Intermacs multicenter US registry database was conducted from April 1, 2012, to June 30, 2020. The population included patients with HF receiving a primary durable LVAD. EXPOSURES: LVAD center transplant availability (LVAD/transplant vs LVAD only). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were implant strategy as BTT and subsequent transplant by 2 years. Covariates that might affect listing strategy and outcomes were included (eg, patient demographic characteristics, comorbidities) in multivariable models. Parameters for BTT listing were estimated using logistic regression with center-level random effects and for receipt of a transplant using a Cox proportional hazards regression model with death as a competing event. RESULTS: The sample included 22 221 LVAD recipients with a median age of 59.0 (IQR, 50.0-67.0) years, of whom 17 420 (78.4%) were male and 3156 (14.2%) received implants at LVAD-only centers. Receiving an LVAD at an LVAD/transplant center was associated with a 79% increased adjusted odds of BTT LVAD designation (odds ratio, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.35-2.38; P \u3c .001). The 2-year transplant rate following LVAD implant was 25.6% at LVAD/transplant centers and 11.9% at LVAD-only centers. There was an associated 33% increased rate of transplant at LVAD/transplant centers compared with LVAD-only centers (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.17-1.51) with a similar hazard for death at 2 years (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.90-1.08). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Receiving an LVAD at an LVAD-transplant center was associated with increased odds of BTT intent at implant and subsequent transplant receipt for patients at 2 years. The findings of this study suggest that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy change may have the unintended consequence of further increasing inequities in access to transplant among patients at LVAD-only centers

Phase II study of sequential chemotherapy with docetaxel–estramustine followed by mitoxantrone–prednisone in patients with advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer

Sequential chemotherapy may improve treatment efficacy avoiding the additive toxicity associated with concomitant polichemotherapy in hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Forty patients received docetaxel 30 mg m−2 intravenous (i.v.), weekly, plus estramustine 280 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. After 2 weeks rest, patients with a decline or stable PSA were treated with mitoxantrone 12 mg m−2 i.v. every 3 weeks plus prednisone 5 mg twice daily for 12 cycles. Forty patients were assessable for toxicity after docetaxel/estramustine. Main toxicities were grade 3–4 AST/ALT or bilirubin increase in seven patients (17.5%) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in four patients (10%). Twenty-seven patients received mitoxantrone/prednisone. Main toxicities included DVT in one patient (3.7%) and congestive heart failure in two patients (7%). Thirty-nine patients were assessable for PSA response. Twenty-nine patients (72.5%; 95% CI 63–82%) obtained a ⩾50% PSA decline with 15 patients (37.5%; 95% CI 20–50%) that demonstrated a ⩾90% decrease. Median progression-free and overall survival were respectively 7.0 (95% CI 5.8–8.2 months) and 19.2 months (95% CI 13.9–24.3 months). In conclusion, although this regimen demonstrated a favourable toxicity profile, sequential administration of mitoxantrone is not able to improve docetaxel activity in patients with HRPC

Validating Chemistry Faculty Members’ Self-Reported Familiarity with Assessment Terminology

With the increasing emphasis placed upon chemistry instructors and departments to assess and evaluate their courses and curricula, understanding the structure of chemistry faculty members’ knowledge and use of assessment terms and concepts can shed light on potential areas for targeted professional development. Survey research that might accomplish this objective often relies on self-reported responses from the target audience, and such information is sometimes difficult to assess in terms of validity. As an example of an internal mechanism to help establish validity, it is possible to include an “internal standard” item early in the survey. For the sake of understanding faculty members’ familiarity with assessment terminology, an item that asked participants to identify analogous pairs of terms comparing assessment measures (assessment validity and assessment reliability) to laboratory measures (accuracy and precision) served this purpose. Using ordered logistic regression, participants who answered the analogy question completely correctly were more likely to report higher levels of familiarity with the assessment terms. Because the self-reported data appears to be valid, these data can be further used in subsequent analyses in order to determine the general familiarity trends among chemistry faculty regarding assessment terminology

Androgen and retinoic acid interaction in LNCaP cells, effects on cell proliferation and expression of retinoic acid receptors and epidermal growth factor receptor

BACKGROUND: Modulation of the expression of retinoic acid receptors (RAR) α and γ in adult rat prostate by testosterone (T) suggests that RAR signaling events might mediate some of the androgen effects on prostate cells. METHOD: In this study, we examined the interactions between T and retinoic acid (RA) in cell growth of human prostate carcinoma cells, LNCaP, and their relationship with the expression of RAR and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R). RESULTS: Both T and RA, when administered alone, stimulated (3)H-thymidine incorporation in LNCaP cells in a dose-dependent manner; the effect of each agent was reciprocally attenuated by the other agent. Testosterone treatment of LNCaP cells also resulted in dose dependent, biphasic increases in RAR α and γ mRNAs; increases paralleled that of (3)H-thymidine incorporation and were attenuated by the presence of 100 nM RA. These results suggest a link between RAR signaling and the effect of T on LNCaP cell growth. Gel electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed the presence of putative androgen responsive element (ARE) in the promoter region of RAR α gene, suggesting that a direct AR-DNA interaction might mediate the effects of T on RAR α gene. Furthermore, treatment of LNCaP cells with 20 nM T resulted in an increase in EGF-R. In contrast, EGF-R was suppressed by 100 nM RA that also suppressed the effect of T. CONCLUSIONS: Current results demonstrate interactions between T and RA in the expression of RARs and cell growth in LNCaP cells. The presence of putative ARE in the promoter of the RAR α gene suggests that AR-DNA interaction might mediate the effects of T on RAR α gene. The opposite effects of T and RA on the expression of RAR and EGF-R suggest that signal events of these receptors might be involved in the interaction between T and RA in the control of LNCaP cell growth