What factors do scientists perceive as promoting or hindering scientific data reuse?

Increased calls for data sharing have formed part of many governments' agendas to boost innovation and scientific development. Data openness for reuse also resonates with the recognised need for more transparent, reproducible science. But what are scientists' perceptions about data reuse? Renata Gonçalves Curty, Kevin Crowston, Alison Specht, Bruce W. Grant and Elizabeth D. Dalton make use of existing survey data to analyse the attitudes and norms affecting scientists’ data reuse. Perceived efficiency, efficacy, and trustworthiness are key; as is whether scientists believe data reuse is beneficial for scientific development, or perceive certain pressures contrary to the reuse of data. Looking ahead, synthesis centres can be important for supporting data-driven interdisciplinary collaborations, and leveraging new scientific discoveries based on pre-existing data

Attitudes and norms affecting scientists’ data reuse

The value of sharing scientific research data is widely appreciated, but factors that hinder or prompt the reuse of data remain poorly understood. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action, we test the relationship between the beliefs and attitudes of scientists towards data reuse, and their self-reported data reuse behaviour. To do so, we used existing responses to selected questions from a worldwide survey of scientists developed and administered by the DataONE Usability and Assessment Working Group (thus practicing data reuse ourselves). Results show that the perceived efficacy and efficiency of data reuse are strong predictors of reuse behaviour, and that the perceived importance of data reuse corresponds to greater reuse. Expressed lack of trust in existing data and perceived norms against data reuse were not found to be major impediments for reuse contrary to our expectations. We found that reported use of models and remotely-sensed data was associated with greater reuse. The results suggest that data reuse would be encouraged and normalized by demonstration of its value. We offer some theoretical and practical suggestions that could help to legitimize investment and policies in favor of data sharing

Multiple prior concussions are associated with symptoms in high school athletes

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of prior concussion on baseline computerized neurocognitive testing in a large cohort of high school athletes. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of student athletes from 49 Maine High Schools in 2010 who underwent baseline computerized neurocognitive evaluation with Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT®). As part of the ImPACT®, subjects reported a prior history of concussion as well as demographic information and a symptom questionnaire. We used linear regression to evaluate the association of prior concussion with baseline: (1) ImPACT® composite scores; and (2) symptom scores. Results: Six thousand seventy-five subjects were included in the study, of whom 57% were boys. The majority of student athletes (85.3%) reported no prior history of concussion while 4.6% reported having sustained two or more prior concussions. On simple linear regression, increasing number of concussions was related to worse performance in verbal memory (P = 0.039) and greater symptoms scores (P < 0.001). On multivariate modeling, only the association with baseline symptoms remained (P < 0.001). Other factors associated with baseline symptom reporting in the multivariate model included mental health history, headache/migraine history, gender, developmental and/or learning problems, and number of prior concussions. Interpretation In this large-scale, retrospective survey study, history of multiple prior concussions was associated with higher symptom burden but not baseline computerized neurocognitive testing. The association between baseline symptom reporting and clinical and demographic factors was greater than the association with a history of multiple concussions

The Influence of Consumer Price Information on Retail Pricing and Consumer Behavior

Comparative price information for major Ottawa supermarkets was collected over a twenty-eight-week period and published in daily newspapers during a five-week test period. In response to the information, the dispersion of prices across store and chains narrowed, the average level of prices of the market dropped, and consumer satisfaction increased relative to the control market. Consumers transferred patronage to the lower priced stores. Consumers indicated a willingness to pay US$ .34 per week on average for the price comparison information. Estimated consumer benefits far exceeded the cost of the program.competition, consumer benefit, food prices, food retailing, information

Examining Criteria for Defining Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

Researchers operationalize persistent post-concussion symptoms in children and adolescents using varied definitions. Many pre-existing conditions, personal characteristics, and current health issues can affect symptom endorsement rates in the absence of, or in combination with, a recent concussion, and the use of varied definitions can lead to differences in conclusions about persistent symptoms and recovery across studies. This study examined how endorsement rates varied by 14 different operational definitions of persistent post-concussion symptoms for uninjured boys and girls with and without pre-existing or current health problems. This cross-sectional study included a large sample (age range: 11–18) of girls (n = 21,923) and boys (n = 26,556) without a recent concussion who completed the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale at preseason baseline. Endorsements rates varied substantially by definition, health history, and current health issues. The most lenient definition (i.e., a single mild symptom) was endorsed by most participants (54.5% of boys/65.3% of girls). A large portion of participants with pre-existing mental health problems (42.7% of boys/51.5% of girls), current moderate psychological distress (70.9% of boys/72.4% of girls), and insufficient sleep prior to testing (33.4% of boys/47.6% of girls) endorsed symptoms consistent with mild ICD-10 postconcussional syndrome; whereas participants with no current or prior health problems rarely met this definition (1.6% of boys/1.6% of girls). The results illustrate the tremendous variability in the case definitions of persistent symptoms and the importance of harmonizing definitions across future studies

A FreeSurfer-compliant consistent manual segmentation of infant brains spanning the 0-2 year age range

We present a detailed description of a set of FreeSurfer compatible segmentation guidelines tailored to infant MRI scans, and a unique data set of manually segmented acquisitions, with subjects nearly evenly distributed between 0 and 2 years of age. We believe that these segmentation guidelines and this dataset will have a wide range of potential uses in medicine and neuroscience.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant 1K99HD061485-01A1)Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant R00 HD061485-03)Ralph Schlaeger FellowshipNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (1R01EB014947-01)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (K23 NS42758-01)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (P41-RR14075)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (U24 RR021382)National Institutes of Health. National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB006758)National Institute on Aging (AG022381)National Institute on Aging (5R01AG008122-22)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (R01 NS052585-01)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (1R21NS072652-01)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.) (1R01NS070963)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (Shared Instrumentation Grant 1S10RR023401)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (Shared Instrumentation Grant 1S10RR019307)National Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (Shared Instrumentation Grant 1S10RR023043)Ellison Medical FoundationNational Institutes of Health. Blueprint for Neuroscience Research (5U01-MH093765)Human Connectome Projec

The effect of volume change and stack pressure on solid‐state battery cathodes

Solid-state lithium batteries may provide increased energy density and improved safety compared with Li-ion technology. However, in a solid-state composite cathode, mechanical degradation due to repeated cathode volume changes during cycling may occur, which may be partially mitigated by applying a significant, but often impractical, uniaxial stack pressure. Herein, we compare the behavior of composite electrodes based on Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) (negligible volume change) and Nb2O5 (+4% expansion) cycled at different stack pressures. The initial LTO capacity and retention are not affected by pressure but for Nb2O5, they are significantly lower when a stack pressure of &lt;2 MPa is applied, due to inter-particle cracking and solid-solid contact loss because of cyclic volume changes. This work confirms the importance of cathode mechanical stability and the stack pressures for long-term cyclability for solid-state batteries. This suggests that low volume-change cathode materials or a proper buffer layer are required for solid-state batteries, especially at low stack pressures

Security governance and the private military industry in Europe and North America

Even before Iraq the growing use of private military contractors has been widely discussed in the academic and public literature. However, the reasons for this proliferation of private military companies and its implications are frequently generalized due to a lack of suitable theoretical approaches for the analysis of private means of violence in contemporary security. As a consequence, this article contends, the analysis of the growth of the private military industry typically conflates two separate developments: the failure of some developing states to provide for their national security and the privatisation of military services in industrialized nations in Europe and North America. This article focuses on the latter and argues that the concept of security governance can be used as a theoretical framework for understanding the distinct development, problems and solutions for the governance of the private military industry in developed countries.The United States Institute of Peace and the German Academic Exchange Service

The MITRE trial protocol: a study to evaluate the microbiome as a biomarker of efficacy and toxicity in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

BACKGROUND: The gut microbiome is implicated as a marker of response to  immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) based on preclinical mouse models and preliminary observations in limited patient series. Furthermore, early studies suggest faecal microbial transfer may have therapeutic potential, converting ICI non-responders into responders. So far, identification of specific responsible bacterial taxa has been inconsistent, which limits future application. The MITRE study will explore and validate a microbiome signature in a larger scale prospective study across several different cancer types. METHODS: Melanoma, renal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer patients who are planned to receive standard immune checkpoint inhibitors are being recruited to the MITRE study. Longitudinal stool samples are collected prior to treatment, then at 6 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months during treatment, or at disease progression/recurrence (whichever is sooner), as well as after a severe (≥grade 3 CTCAE v5.0) immune-related adverse event. Additionally, whole blood, plasma, buffy coat, RNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is collected at similar time points and will be used for exploratory analyses. Archival tumour tissue, tumour biopsies at progression/relapse, as well as any biopsies from body organs collected after a severe toxicity are collected. The primary outcome measure is the ability of the microbiome signature to predict 1 year progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced disease. Secondary outcomes include microbiome correlations with toxicity and other efficacy end-points. Biosamples will be used to explore immunological and genomic correlates. A sub-study will evaluate both COVID-19 antigen and antibody associations with the microbiome. DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need to identify biomarkers that are predictive of treatment response, resistance and toxicity to immunotherapy. The data generated from this study will both help inform patient selection for these drugs and provide information that may allow therapeutic manipulation of the microbiome to improve future patient outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04107168 , ClinicalTrials.gov, registered 09/27/2019. Protocol V3.2 (16/04/2021)

Caring for a patient with rabies: implications of the Milwaukee protocol for infection control and public health measures.

This article discusses the infection control and public health measures taken whilst managing a case of laboratory-confirmed rabies, and the challenges faced in implementing these measures. Case management requires intensive multi-disciplinary co-ordination. The Milwaukee protocol, which to date has five reported human rabies survivors associated with its use, has been suggested as a potential management pathway for human rabies. Consensus among hospital and public health clinicians would aid future deployment of this approach in selected cases