Reflections Concerning Recent Ban on NHST and Confidence Intervals

This letter addresses some of the immediate consequences of Basic and Applied Social Psychology’s (BASP) ban on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and confidence intervals. The letter concludes with three suggestions to improve research in general

Inappropriate prescribing in the hospitalized elderly patient: Defining the problem, evaluation tools, and possible solutions

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) prescribing in older adults is quite prevalent and is associated with an increased risk for adverse drug events, morbidity, and utilization of health care resources. In the acute care setting, PIM prescribing can be even more problematic due to multiple physicians and specialists who may be prescribing for a single patient as well as difficulty with medication reconciliation at transitions and limitations imposed by hospital formularies. This article highlights critical issues surrounding PIM prescribing in the acute care setting such as risk factors, screening tools, and potential strategies to minimize this significant public health problem

Writing and publishing for early career academics

This panel will describe strategies to help early career academics prepare a first publication and develop a research agenda. This interactive session provides graduate students and early career scholars with an overview of the types of papers frequently found in academic journals, and shares approaches to writing for both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sections. The panel includes engaging participants in discussion around current research topics, drafting a manuscript, and building and executing a research agenda. The strategies and insights we share will be particularly useful to those wanting to understand the academic publishing process more thoroughly

Susceptibility of coast redwood seedlings to Phytophthora ramorum

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) (D. Don) Endl. is a host for Phytophthora ramorum but it was unclear if the pathogen represents a significant disease risk to this tree species. In this study the susceptibility of coast redwood seedlings and the likelihood of sporulation on redwood were examined. Two methods were used to assess susceptibility. Seedling stems were artificially inoculated and pathogen colonization distance was measured in both main stems and side branches after 8 and 16 weeks. Pathogen colonization distance was usually minimal, rarely exceeding 15 mm from the inoculation site. In two seedlings the pathogen colonized tissue greater than 40 mm from the inoculation site. No seedling mortality was observed. However, small side branches (2.4 mm mean diameter) were often killed. A dose response experiment was conducted to determine the minimum zoospore concentration necessary to cause infection. Seedlings exposed to ≥ 5 x 10³ zoospores/mL became symptomatic. Nonetheless, symptom expression was variable unless seedlings were inoculated with > 1 x 10⁵ zoospores/mL. Sporulation was quantified by determining sporangia density (sporangia/cm²) on detached immature and mature foliage of redwood seedlings, and leaves of California bay (Umbellularia californica). In the first trial, significantly more sporangia/cm² were observed on California bay compared to redwood, but in the second trial, the results were reversed. Sporulation density on attached redwood foliage was also determined. Comparisons were again made between young and mature redwood foliage. In the attached branch experiment, sporangia density was higher than previously observed and no significant difference was found between sporangia/cm² necrotic tissue on young vs. mature redwood branches. Sporulation results and implications of these findings are discussed in relation to sporulation levels reported on other hosts. This study highlights the importance of determining both host susceptibility and the risk of P. ramorum spread from hosts to other uninfected plants