An Open, Large-Scale, Collaborative Effort to Estimate the Reproducibility of Psychological Science

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science. However, because of strong incentives for innovation and weak incentives for confirmation, direct replication is rarely practiced or published. The Reproducibility Project is an open, large-scale, collaborative effort to systematically examine the rate and predictors of reproducibility in psychological science. So far, 72 volunteer researchers from 41 institutions have organized to openly and transparently replicate studies published in three prominent psychological journals in 2008. Multiple methods will be used to evaluate the findings, calculate an empirical rate of replication, and investigate factors that predict reproducibility. Whatever the result, a better understanding of reproducibility will ultimately improve confidence in scientific methodology and findings

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Transcriptomic and Reverse Genetic Analyses of Aedes aegypti Cultured Cells and Midgut Epithelial Cells upon Heme Exposure

The female mosquito Aedes aegypti requires amino acids and other nutrients like heme and iron from a blood meal to initiate vitellogenesis. Heme is a pro-oxidant molecule that acts as a nutrient, signaling molecule and in large quantities, as a toxin. Ae. aegypti has developed a few strategies to handle heme toxicity, as during a typical meal ~10mM is released into the midgut lumen. These strategies include heme aggregation to the peritrophic matrix and the degradation of heme by heme oxygenase in the cytosol of the midgut epithelium. However, despite the importance of heme as a nutrient and toxin, the mechanism of entry into the midgut epithelial cells is not currently known. As no heme transport proteins in have been identified in any dipteran, heme fluorescent analog studies were performed to visualize changes in expression caused by heme followed by global expression analyses performed in both cultured cells and midgut tissues using NGS-based RNA sequencing with the end goal to identify the gene(s) that encode the membrane bound heme import proteins responsible for heme uptake during blood digestion. A list of candidate genes for RNAi knockdown was compiled based on differential expression, expression pattern across heme treatments and number of TM domains. These genes’ function relating to heme transport was then identified through siRNA mediated knockdown and treatment with zinc mesoporphyrin to assess changes in heme uptake. A number of candidate genes were identified in 2 or more cultured cell datasets out of 4 examined. In particular, 63 candidates were identified in heme exposed midguts, 23 of which were found in at least 1 cultured cell analysis as well. However, very few highly differentially expressed genes were found in any of the analyses indicating that heme import may be controlled by a redundant system of multiple transport proteins instead of a single one. Alternatively, heme transport in Ae. aegypti could be regulated post-translationally. Knockdown of candidate genes AAEL004657 and AAEL008664 suggested a potential role in heme transport in Aag2 cultured cells, though more work is needed to localize and elucidate their specific functions

Transcriptomic and Reverse Genetic Analyses of Aedes aegypti Cultured Cells and Midgut Epithelial Cells upon Heme Exposure

The female mosquito Aedes aegypti requires amino acids and other nutrients like heme and iron from a blood meal to initiate vitellogenesis. Heme is a pro-oxidant molecule that acts as a nutrient, signaling molecule and in large quantities, as a toxin. Ae. aegypti has developed a few strategies to handle heme toxicity, as during a typical meal ~10mM is released into the midgut lumen. These strategies include heme aggregation to the peritrophic matrix and the degradation of heme by heme oxygenase in the cytosol of the midgut epithelium. However, despite the importance of heme as a nutrient and toxin, the mechanism of entry into the midgut epithelial cells is not currently known. As no heme transport proteins in have been identified in any dipteran, heme fluorescent analog studies were performed to visualize changes in expression caused by heme followed by global expression analyses performed in both cultured cells and midgut tissues using NGS-based RNA sequencing with the end goal to identify the gene(s) that encode the membrane bound heme import proteins responsible for heme uptake during blood digestion. A list of candidate genes for RNAi knockdown was compiled based on differential expression, expression pattern across heme treatments and number of TM domains. These genes’ function relating to heme transport was then identified through siRNA mediated knockdown and treatment with zinc mesoporphyrin to assess changes in heme uptake. A number of candidate genes were identified in 2 or more cultured cell datasets out of 4 examined. In particular, 63 candidates were identified in heme exposed midguts, 23 of which were found in at least 1 cultured cell analysis as well. However, very few highly differentially expressed genes were found in any of the analyses indicating that heme import may be controlled by a redundant system of multiple transport proteins instead of a single one. Alternatively, heme transport in Ae. aegypti could be regulated post-translationally. Knockdown of candidate genes AAEL004657 and AAEL008664 suggested a potential role in heme transport in Aag2 cultured cells, though more work is needed to localize and elucidate their specific functions

Long-Term Patterns of Drug Use Among an Urban African-American Cohort: The Role of Gender and Family

Cross-sectional analyses and the little existing longitudinal analyses on substance use over the life course have been integral in providing information about the epidemiology of substance use in the United States. However, it is unclear whether these estimates provide an accurate portrayal of long-term substance use patterns among African-American men and women who have grown up in an inner city environment. The current study uses longitudinal data from a community cohort of African-American inner-city males and females followed from first grade through mid-adulthood. It identifies the substance use patterns through mid-adulthood, including lifetime prevalence, age of onset and termination, and sequencing of substance classes, as well as the risk of initiation of substance use changes over the life course using survival analysis. It also investigates whether early family structure and process play a role in drug use initiation throughout the life course, and whether the relationship between family factors and drug initiation differs by gender. Overall, among the general trends of use, we find a considerable amount of abstention with over 40% of the participants never using illegal drugs by mid-adulthood, over 70% never using cocaine, and over 90% never using heroin. With respect to onset, we find a long-term influence of early family factors on substance use, particularly for females. Family discipline in childhood and family cohesion and parental rule setting during adolescence seem to be key factors in predicting later substance use for females. The implications of these findings for future research and policy are discussed

An Open, Large-Scale, Collaborative Effort to Estimate the Reproducibility of Psychological Science

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science. However, because of strong incentives for innovation and weak incentives for confirmation, direct replication is rarely practiced or published. The Reproducibility Project is an open, large-scale, collaborative effort to systematically examine the rate and predictors of reproducibility in psychological science. So far, 72 volunteer researchers from 41 institutions have organized to openly and transparently replicate studies published in three prominent psychological journals in 2008. Multiple methods will be used to evaluate the findings, calculate an empirical rate of replication, and investigate factors that predict reproducibility. Whatever the result, a better understanding of reproducibility will ultimately improve confidence in scientific methodology and findings

Reproducibility Project: Psychology

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science, but the extent to which it characterizes current research is unknown. We conducted replications of 100 experimental and correlational studies published in three psychology journals using high-powered designs and original materials when available

Data from: Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science

This record contains the underlying research data for the publication "Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science" and the full-text is available from: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/5257Reproducibility is a defining feature of science, but the extent to which it characterizes current research is unknown. We conducted replications of 100 experimental and correlational studies published in three psychology journals using high-powered designs and original materials when available. Replication effects were half the magnitude of original effects, representing a substantial decline. Ninety-seven percent of original studies had statistically significant results. Thirty-six percent of replications had statistically significant results; 47% of original effect sizes were in the 95% confidence interval of the replication effect size; 39% of effects were subjectively rated to have replicated the original result; and if no bias in original results is assumed, combining original and replication results left 68% with statistically significant effects. Correlational tests suggest that replication success was better predicted by the strength of original evidence than by characteristics of the original and replication teams