Six principles for assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure

The negative consequences of relying too heavily on metrics to assess research quality are well known, potentially fostering practices harmful to scientific research such as p-hacking, salami science, or selective reporting. The "flourish or perish" culture defined by these metrics in turn drives the system of career advancement in academia, a system that empirical evidence has shown to be problematic and which fails to adequately take societal and broader impact into account. To address this systemic problem, Florian Naudet, John P. A. Ioannidis, Frank Miedema, Ioana A. Cristea, Steven N. Goodman and David Moher present six principles for assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure

Six principles for assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure

The negative consequences of relying too heavily on metrics to assess research quality are well known, potentially fostering practices harmful to scientific research such as p-hacking, salami science, or selective reporting. The "flourish or perish" culture defined by these metrics in turn drives the system of career advancement in academia, a system that empirical evidence has shown to be problematic and which fails to adequately take societal and broader impact into account. To address this systemic problem, Florian Naudet, John P. A. Ioannidis, Frank Miedema, Ioana A. Cristea, Steven N. Goodman and David Moher present six principles for assessing scientists for hiring, promotion, and tenure

Reviewing the review:a qualitative assessment of the peer review process in surgical journals

Abstract Background Despite rapid growth of the scientific literature, no consensus guidelines have emerged to define the optimal criteria for editors to grade submitted manuscripts. The purpose of this project was to assess the peer reviewer metrics currently used in the surgical literature to evaluate original manuscript submissions. Methods Manuscript grading forms for 14 of the highest circulation general surgery-related journals were evaluated for content, including the type and number of quantitative and qualitative questions asked of peer reviewers. Reviewer grading forms for the seven surgical journals with the higher impact factors were compared to the seven surgical journals with lower impact factors using Fisher’s exact tests. Results Impact factors of the studied journals ranged from 1.73 to 8.57, with a median impact factor of 4.26 in the higher group and 2.81 in the lower group. The content of the grading forms was found to vary considerably. Relatively few journals asked reviewers to grade specific components of a manuscript. Higher impact factor journal manuscript grading forms more frequently addressed statistical analysis, ethical considerations, and conflict of interest. In contrast, lower impact factor journals more commonly requested reviewers to make qualitative assessments of novelty/originality, scientific validity, and scientific importance. Conclusion Substantial variation exists in the grading criteria used to evaluate original manuscripts submitted to the surgical literature for peer review, with differential emphasis placed on certain criteria correlated to journal impact factors

Self-help interventions for symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with physical illnesses: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychological distress, depression and anxiety are common in most physical diseases, and self-help interventions, if effective, might be an important approach to improve outcomes as they are inexpensive to provide to large numbers of patients. The primary aim of this review was to assess randomised controlled trials examining the impact of self-help interventions on symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in patients with physical illness. Systematic searches of electronic databases resulted in twenty-five eligible studies for meta-analysis (n = 4211). The results of the primary meta-analyses revealed a significant improvement in depression symptoms, in favour of the intervention group (SMD = − 0.13, 95% CI: − 0.25, − 0.02, p = 0.02, I2 = 50%). There were no significant differences in symptoms of anxiety (SMD = − 0.10, 95% CI: − 0.24, 0.05, p = 0.20, I2 = 63%) or psychological distress (SMD = − 0.14, 95% CI: − 0.40, 0.12, p = 0.30, I2 = 72%) between intervention and control conditions. Several subgroup and sensitivity analyses improved effect sizes, suggesting that optimal mental health outcomes may be obtained in patients without neurological conditions, and with interventions based on a therapeutic model (such as cognitive behavioural therapy), and with stress management components. This review demonstrates that with appropriate design and implementation, self-help interventions may potentially improve symptoms of depression in patients with physical conditions

The therapeutic effect of clinical trials: understanding placebo response rates in clinical trials – A secondary analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Placebo response rates in clinical trials vary considerably and are observed frequently. For new drugs it can be difficult to prove effectiveness superior to placebo. It is unclear what contributes to improvement in the placebo groups. We wanted to clarify, what elements of clinical trials determine placebo variability. METHODS: We analysed a representative sample of 141 published long-term trials (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; duration > 12 weeks) to find out what study characteristics predict placebo response rates in various diseases. Correlational and regression analyses with study characteristics and placebo response rates were carried out. RESULTS: We found a high and significant correlation between placebo and treatment response rate across diseases (r = .78; p < .001). A multiple regression model explained 79% of the variance in placebo variability (F = 59.7; p < 0.0001). Significant predictors are, among others, the duration of the study (beta = .31), the quality of the study (beta = .18), the fact whether a study is a prevention trial (beta = .44), whether dropouts have been documented (beta = -.20), or whether additional treatments have been documented (beta = -.17). Healing rates with placebo are lower in the following diagnoses; neoplasms (beta = -.21), nervous diseases (beta = -.10), substance abuse (beta = -.14). Without prevention trials the amount of variance explained is 42%. CONCLUSION: Medication response rates and placebo response rates in clinical trials are highly correlated. Trial characteristics can explain some portion of the variance in placebo healing rates in RCTs. Placebo response in trials is only partially due to methodological artefacts and only partially dependent on the diagnoses treated

A systematic review of resting-state functional-MRI studies in anorexia nervosa: Evidence for functional connectivity impairment in cognitive control and visuospatial and body-signal integration.

This paper systematically reviews the literature pertaining to the use of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) in anorexia nervosa (AN), classifying studies on the basis of different analysis approaches. We followed PRISMA guidelines. Fifteen papers were included, investigating a total of 294 participants with current or past AN and 285 controls. The studies used seed-based, whole-brain independent component analysis (ICA), network-of-interest ICA based and graph analysis approaches. The studies showed relatively consistent overlap in results, yet little overlap in their analytical approach and/or a-priori assumptions. Functional connectivity alterations were mainly found in the corticolimbic circuitry, involved in cognitive control and visual and homeostatic integration. Some overlapping findings were found in brain areas putatively important in AN, such as the insula. These results suggest altered functional connectivity in networks/areas linked to the main symptom domains of AN, such as impaired cognitive control and body image disturbances. These preliminary evidences suggest that more targeted treatments need to be developed that focus on these two symptom domains. Further studies with multi-approach analyses and longitudinal designs are needed to better understand the complexity of AN

Incident vertebral fractures among children with rheumatic disorders 12 months after glucocorticoid initiation: A national observational study

Objective. To determine the frequency of incident vertebral fractures (IVF) 12 months after glucocorticoid (GC) initiation in children with rheumatic diseases and to identify children at higher risk. Methods. Children with rheumatic diseases initiating GC were enrolled in a prospective observational study. Annual spine radiographs were evaluated using the Genant semiquantitative method. Spine areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was measured every 6 months. Clinical features, including cumulative GC dose, back pain, disease and physical activity, calcium and vitamin D intake, and spine aBMD Z scores, were analyzed for association with IVF. Results. Seven (6%) of 118 children (95% confidence interval 2.9-11.7%) had IVF. Their diagnoses were: juvenile dermatomyositis (n = 2), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 3), systemic vasculitis (n = 1), and mixed connective tissue disease (n = 1). One child was omitted from the analyses after 4 months because of osteoporosis treatment for symptomatic IVF. Children with IVF received on average 50% more GC than those without (P = 0.030), had a greater increase in body mass index (BMI) at 6 months (P = 0.010), and had greater decrements in spine aBMD Z scores in the first 6 months (P = 0.048). Four (67%) of 6 children with IVF and data to 12 months had spine aBMD Z scores less than-2.0 at 12 months compared to 16% of children without IVF (P = 0.011). Conclusion. The incidence of VF 12 months following GC initiation was 6%; most children were asymptomatic. Children with IVF received more GC, had greater increases in BMI, and had greater declines in spine aBMD Z scores in the first 6 months. © 2012, American College of Rheumatology

Outcomes with a posterior reduced dental arch: a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To compare function, patient satisfaction and quality of life of patients with a posterior reduced mandibular arch with those who had all missing teeth replaced with removable partial dentures. METHODS: Patients with at least 3 and not more than 6 posterior occluding pairs of teeth were enrolled sequentially and randomized into one of two treatment groups: a denture and no denture group. A research assistant allocated interventions; concealment was ensured using opaque-sealed envelopes. Analysis of data was performed in stages, adding samples of 10 incrementally, and stopping when the relevant statistical tests indicated a clear conclusion as judged by the power set at 80% or above. Study outcomes included patient satisfaction, function and survival of remaining teeth at 3 and 12 months post-intervention, using a visual analogue scale and the Oral Impacts on Daily Performance) Statistical analysis was performed by the ‘intention-to-treat’ principle. RESULTS: Age range of included patients was 23-55 years (mean=42.3; SD=9.2), with 78% being females. Most patients (70%) belonged to the low- or no-income group. Nine patients left the study, for different reasons. Primary outcomes for the denture group: 10% of the patients were not satisfied and 20% were unhappy with their function; for the no-denture group: 85% of the patients (with 15% having left the study) were satisfied with both their function and their non-denture status. CONCLUSION: Patients with posterior reduced mandibular dental arches reported greater perceived satisfaction, function and quality of life compared to those who had received a cobalt-chrome clasp-retained partial removable prosthesis.University of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch University Research Fund