The peer reviewers' openness initiative:Incentivising open research practices through peer review

Openness is one of the central values of science. Open scientific practices such as sharing data, materials and analysis scripts alongside published articles have many benefits, including easier replication and extension studies, increased availability of data for theory-building and meta-analysis, and increased possibility of review and collaboration even after a paper has been published. Although modern information technology makes sharing easier than ever before, uptake of open practices had been slow. We suggest this might be in part due to a social dilemma arising from misaligned incentives and propose a specific, concrete mechanism—reviewers withholding comprehensive review—to achieve the goal of creating the expectation of open practices as a matter of scientific principle

No changes in parieto-occipital alpha during neural phase locking to visual quasi-periodic theta-, alpha-, and beta-band stimulation

Recent studies have probed the role of the parieto‐occipital alpha rhythm (8 – 12 Hz) in human visual perception through attempts to drive its neural generators. To that end, paradigms have used high‐intensity strictly‐periodic visual stimulation that created strong predictions about future stimulus occurrences and repeatedly demonstrated perceptual consequences in line with an entrainment of parieto‐occipital alpha. Our study, in turn, examined the case of alpha entrainment by non‐predictive low‐intensity quasi‐periodic visual stimulation within theta‐ (4 – 7 Hz), alpha‐ (8 – 13 Hz) and beta (14 – 20 Hz) frequency bands, i.e. a class of stimuli that resemble the temporal characteristics of naturally occurring visual input more closely. We have previously reported substantial neural phase‐locking in EEG recording during all three stimulation conditions. Here, we studied to what extent this phase‐locking reflected an entrainment of intrinsic alpha rhythms in the same dataset. Specifically, we tested whether quasi‐periodic visual stimulation affected several properties of parieto‐occipital alpha generators. Speaking against an entrainment of intrinsic alpha rhythms by non‐predictive low‐intensity quasi‐periodic visual stimulation, we found none of these properties to show differences between stimulation frequency bands. In particular, alpha band generators did not show increased sensitivity to alpha band stimulation and Bayesian inference corroborated evidence against an influence of stimulation frequency. Our results set boundary conditions for when and how to expect effects of entrainment of alpha generators and suggest that the parieto‐occipital alpha rhythm may be more inert to external influences than previously thought

Affective contingencies in the affiliative domain: Physiological assessment, associations with the affiliation motive, and prediction of behavior

According to classical motive disposition theory, individuals differ in their propensity to derive pleasure from affiliative experiences. This propensity is considered a core process underlying the affiliation motive and a pervasive cause of motivated behavior. In this study, we tested these assumptions. We presented participants with positive affiliative stimuli and used electromyography to record changes in facial muscular activity that are indicative of subtle smiling. We were thus able to physiologically measure positive affect following affiliative cues. Individual differences in these affective contingencies were internally consistent and temporally stable. They converged with affiliation motive self- and informant reports and picture story exercise scores, indicating that they are partly accessible to the self, observable to outsiders, and overlap with implicit systems. Finally, they predicted affiliative behavior in terms of situation selection and modification across a wide variety of contexts (i.e., in daily life, the laboratory, and an online social network). These findings corroborate the long-held assumption that affective contingencies represent a motivational core aspect of affiliation

Affective contingencies in the affiliative domain: Physiological assessment, associations with the affiliation motive, and prediction of behavior (vol 109, pg 662, 2015)

According to classical motive disposition theory, individuals differ in their propensity to derive pleasure from affiliative experiences. This propensity is considered a core process underlying the affiliation motive and a pervasive cause of motivated behavior. In this study, we tested these assumptions. We presented participants with positive affiliative stimuli and used electromyography to record changes in facial muscular activity that are indicative of subtle smiling. We were thus able to physiologically measure positive affect following affiliative cues. Individual differences in these affective contingencies were internally consistent and temporally stable. They converged with affiliation motive self- and informant reports and picture story exercise scores, indicating that they are partly accessible to the self, observable to outsiders, and overlap with implicit systems. Finally, they predicted affiliative behavior in terms of situation selection and modification across a wide variety of contexts (i.e., in daily life, the laboratory, and an online social network). These findings corroborate the long-held assumption that affective contingencies represent a motivational core aspect of affiliation

Isolation and preliminary characterization of four new lytic bacteriophages against Aeromonas salmonicida, the causative agent of furunculosis

Aeromonas (A.) salmonicida, a Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Aeromonadaceae family, is a primary fish pathogen that causes furunculosis in salmonids, carp and perch, as well as septicemia in a variety of fish. This species is considered as one of the main bacterial pathogens responsible for important economic losses in aquaculture industry. Large amounts of antibiotics such as oxytetracycline, quinolones and sulfonamides are used to treat this infection, which highly contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. The application of bacteriophages (phages) in aquaculture seems to be a promising solution to control pathogenic bacteria in this field because these organisms are well adapted to aquatic environments. The aim of this work was to isolate and characterize new lytic phages against A. salmonicida. Phage isolation was performed by the enrichment method from water samples collected in different fish farming ponds and natural aquatic environments in southern Belgium in early 2022. From these water samples, four new lytic phages were isolated. A preliminary host spectrum test showed that three of these four phages were active against other wild A. salmonicida strains while the fourth one showed a narrower host spectrum. These four phages were not active against any of the A. hydrophila strains tested. After having determined temperature and pH stabilities, adsorption times and kinetics of these four new phages, further studies are needed to analyse their genomes and to assess the in vivo safety and efficacy of these phages

Isolation and characterization of a new bacteriophage against Aeromonas salmonicida, the causative agent of furunculosis

Aeromonas (A.) salmonicida, a Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Aeromonadaceae family, is a primary fish pathogen that causes furunculosis in salmonids, carp and perch, as well as septicemia in a variety of fish. This species is considered as one of the main bacterial pathogens responsible of important economic losses in aquaculture industry. Large amounts of antibiotics such as oxytetracycline, quinolones and sulfonamides are used to treat this infection, which highly contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. The application of bacteriophages (phages) in aquaculture seems to be a promising solution to control pathogenic bacteria in this field because phages are well adapted to aquatic environments. The aim of this work was to isolate and characterize new lytic phages against A. salmonicida. The phage isolation was performed by enrichment method, against the ATCC 7965 strain of A. salmonicida. This method consists in mixing a centrifuged and filtered water sample with a bacterial culture in exponential phase. When clarification of the medium is observed, the supernatant of this mixture is spread on the surface of LB agar and covered with a bacterial overlay in exponential phase. Phage present in distinct clear lysis plaques is then purified three times by subculturing. For this purpose, a sampling campaign of water from fish farming ponds in the south of Belgium was carried out in January 2022. Out of 36 water samples, a new lytic phage was isolated. This phage remained active between 4 and 10 units of pH but shows a drop of activity at 37°C. A preliminary host spectrum test showed that this phage was not active against 3 other A. salmonicida strains. Further studies are now needed to analyse the genome and to assess the in vivo safety and efficacy of this phage

Isolation and preliminary characterization of four new lytic bacteriophages against Aeromonas salmonicida, the causative agent of furunculosis

Aeromonas (A.) salmonicida, a Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Aeromonadaceae family, is a primary fish pathogen that causes furunculosis in salmonids, carp and perch, as well as septicemia in a variety of fish. This species is considered as one of the main bacterial pathogens responsible for important economic losses in aquaculture industry. Large amounts of antibiotics such as oxytetracycline, quinolones and sulfonamides are used to treat this infection, which highly contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. The application of bacteriophages (phages) in aquaculture seems to be a promising solution to control pathogenic bacteria in this field because these organisms are well adapted to aquatic environments. The aim of this work was to isolate and characterize new lytic phages against A. salmonicida. Phage isolation was performed by the enrichment method from water samples collected in different fish farming ponds and natural aquatic environments in southern Belgium in early 2022. From these water samples, four new lytic phages were isolated. A preliminary host spectrum test showed that three of these four phages were active against other wild A. salmonicida strains while the fourth one showed a narrower host spectrum. These four phages were not active against any of the A. hydrophila strains tested. After having determined temperature and pH stabilities, adsorption times and kinetics of these four new phages, further studies are needed to analyse their genomes and to assess the in vivo safety and efficacy of these phages