The role of orthographic neighbourhood effects in lateralized lexical decision: a replication study and meta-analysis

The effect of orthographic neighbourhood size (N) on lexical decision reaction time differs when words are presented in the left or right visual fields. Evidence suggests a facilitatory N effect (i.e., faster reaction times for words with larger neighbourhoods) in the left visual field. However, the N effect in the right visual field remains controversial: it may have a weaker facilitative role or it may even be inhibitory. In a pre-registered online experiment, we replicated the interaction between N and visual field and provided support for an inhibitory N effect in the right visual field. We subsequently conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesise the available evidence and determine the direction of N effects across visual fields. Based on the evidence, it would seem the effect is inhibitory in the right visual field. Furthermore, the size of the N effect is considerably smaller in the right visual field. Both studies revealed considerable heterogeneity between participants and studies, and we consider the implications of this for future work

Effects of Blood Collection Conditions on Ovarian Cancer Serum Markers

Evaluating diagnostic and early detection biomarkers requires comparing serum protein concentrations among biosamples ascertained from subjects with and without cancer. Efforts are generally made to standardize blood processing and storage conditions for cases and controls, but blood sample collection conditions cannot be completely controlled. For example, blood samples from cases are often obtained from persons aware of their diagnoses, and collected after fasting or in surgery, whereas blood samples from some controls may be obtained in different conditions, such as a clinic visit. By measuring the effects of differences in collection conditions on three different markers, we investigated the potential of these effects to bias validation studies.We analyzed serum concentrations of three previously studied putative ovarian cancer serum biomarkers-CA 125, Prolactin and MIF-in healthy women, women with ovarian cancer undergoing gynecologic surgery, women undergoing surgery for benign ovary pathology, and women undergoing surgery with pathologically normal ovaries. For women undergoing surgery, a blood sample was collected either in the clinic 1 to 39 days prior to surgery, or on the day of surgery after anesthesia was administered but prior to the surgical procedure, or both. We found that one marker, prolactin, was dramatically affected by collection conditions, while CA 125 and MIF were unaffected. Prolactin levels were not different between case and control groups after accounting for the conditions of sample collection, suggesting that sample ascertainment could explain some or all of the previously reported results about its potential as a biomarker for ovarian cancer.Biomarker validation studies should use standardized collection conditions, use multiple control groups, and/or collect samples from cases prior to influence of diagnosis whenever feasible to detect and correct for potential biases associated with sample collection

Landscape of somatic single nucleotide variants and indels in colorectal cancer and impact on survival

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a biologically heterogeneous disease. To characterize its mutational profile, we conduct targeted sequencing of 205 genes for 2,105 CRC cases with survival data. Our data shows several findings in addition to enhancing the existing knowledge of CRC. We identify PRKCI, SPZ1, MUTYH, MAP2K4, FETUB, and TGFBR2 as additional genes significantly mutated in CRC. We find that among hypermutated tumors, an increased mutation burden is associated with improved CRC-specific survival (HR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.21-0.82). Mutations in TP53 are associated with poorer CRC-specific survival, which is most pronounced in cases carrying TP53 mutations with predicted 0% transcriptional activity (HR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.21-1.94). Furthermore, we observe differences in mutational frequency of several genes and pathways by tumor location, stage, and sex. Overall, this large study provides deep insights into somatic mutations in CRC, and their potential relationships with survival and tumor features. Large scale sequencing study is of paramount importance to unravel the heterogeneity of colorectal cancer. Here, the authors sequenced 205 cancer genes in more than 2000 tumours and identified additional mutated driver genes, determined that mutational burden and specific mutations in TP53 are associated with survival odds

Direct+ Replication of Feng, S., D’Mello, S., & Graesser, A. C. (2013) at Lancaster University

We are a group of undergraduate students at Lancaster University, completing this replication for our respective final year projects. This project is a direct+ replication. As such, it will be split into two components—the replication of the original study, and our additional measures. These measures are: 1) executive function (inhibition) using the Stroop task; 2) individual differences in reading and language ability, measured using the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE) and the Similarities subscale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV); 3) participants' interest in and self-reported difficulty of the passages, measured using an online questionnaire. Unfortunately, this study was not pre-registered due to our unfamiliarity with the registration process. Communication between contributors and our Executive Reviewer meant that approval for data collection was granted

The role of orthographic neighbourhood effects in lateralized lexical decision: A replication study and meta-analysis.

Orthographic neighbourhood size (N) effects differ under lateralized presentation. Evidence suggests a facilitatory effect of N in the right hemisphere. However, the effect of N in the left hemisphere remains controversial: it may have a weaker facilitative role or it may even be inhibitory. In a pre-registered online experiment, we aimed to replicate the interaction between N and visual field and provide support for an inhibitory effect of N in the left hemisphere. We subsequently conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesise the available evidence and determine the direction of N effects across hemispheres. Based on the evidence, it would seem the effect is inhibitory in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, the size of the N effect is considerably smaller in the left hemisphere. Both studies revealed vast heterogeneity between participants and studies, and we consider the implications of this for future work

Replication of Seli, Risko, and Smilek (2016): Direct+ replication at Lancaster University

CREP direct+ replication of Seli, Risko, and Smilek (2016