Reproducibility in the absence of selective reporting : An illustration from large-scale brain asymmetry research

Altres ajuts: Max Planck Society (Germany).The problem of poor reproducibility of scientific findings has received much attention over recent years, in a variety of fields including psychology and neuroscience. The problem has been partly attributed to publication bias and unwanted practices such as p-hacking. Low statistical power in individual studies is also understood to be an important factor. In a recent multisite collaborative study, we mapped brain anatomical left-right asymmetries for regional measures of surface area and cortical thickness, in 99 MRI datasets from around the world, for a total of over 17,000 participants. In the present study, we revisited these hemispheric effects from the perspective of reproducibility. Within each dataset, we considered that an effect had been reproduced when it matched the meta-analytic effect from the 98 other datasets, in terms of effect direction and significance threshold. In this sense, the results within each dataset were viewed as coming from separate studies in an "ideal publishing environment," that is, free from selective reporting and p hacking. We found an average reproducibility rate of 63.2% (SD = 22.9%, min = 22.2%, max = 97.0%). As expected, reproducibility was higher for larger effects and in larger datasets. Reproducibility was not obviously related to the age of participants, scanner field strength, FreeSurfer software version, cortical regional measurement reliability, or regional size. These findings constitute an empirical illustration of reproducibility in the absence of publication bias or p hacking, when assessing realistic biological effects in heterogeneous neuroscience data, and given typically-used sample sizes

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age-related trajectories inferred from cross-sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3-90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter-individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age-related morphometric patterns.Education and Child Studie

Sanitary-epidemiological audit in russia and abroad: challenges and growth prospects (analytical review)

The shaping the system of control and surveillance activities in the Russian Federation, which affects the bodies of the sanitary-epidemiological surveillance, requires the development of new forms of cooperation between authorities and legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and population. Such a form may be represented by the sanitary and epidemiological audit as an independent objective assessment of reputable third parties. The audit is intended to check the compliance with the mandatory requirements of the economic entities, performing economic or other activities. The sanitary-epidemiological audit may be associated with a system of certification for compliance with sanitary requirements and may assume the documented confirmation of the compliance issued by the authorized persons. The sanitary-epidemiological audit and the compliance certification to mandatory sanitary requirements can make an alternative to the planned supervision activities on facilities attributed to the category of low and moderate risk of harm to human health. The Russian sanitary legislation does not recognize the sanitary-epidemiological audit as a form of conformity assessment. The analysis of the international experience shows that it is necessary to consolidate the general rules and regulations of the sanitary-epidemiological audit at the legislative level and to develop a set of sublegislative documents in order to implement these norms. The crucial is a creation of the national system capable to regulate the registration and functioning of the organization having a right to conduct the audit activities in the field of hygienic safety. It is reasonable to develop the regulation on the list-register of auditors and to create a special training system for the auditors, who possess the methodology for health risk assessment. The key aspect of the successful introduction of the audit is a granting of presences to the economic entities having compliance certificates as a result of voluntary sanitary-epidemiological audit. The authorities for the accreditation and monitoring of the audit firms in the field of sanitary and epidemiological safety can be given to a federal executive body competent in this field

Assessment of cardiovascular pathology risk in miners employed at deep chrome mines

Deep mining is widely spread in Russia; therefore, preservation of labor resources employed in the sphere is a vital task. Workers who are employed at deep chrome mines are exposed to combined effects exerted by adverse occupational factors. These factors can either be common for deep mining, or they can be related to specific natural resources. Adverse risk factors cause higher risks that not only occupational, but also production-related diseases can emerge in miners. The authors performed a complex hygienic assessment of working conditions which exist in deep chrome mines. We detected that working conditions in mines could be characterized as "hazardous" and they belonged to 3–4 hazard category due to combined negative effects exerted by physical and chemical factors of the labor process. We also performed clinical and functional examination of 135 workers employed at a chrome mine. Our focus group was made up of 88 miners; the reference group included 47 workers employed at this mine who weren't exposed to adverse factors related to chrome ores mining. All the examined workers were males, aged 30–49, with their working experience ranging from 10 to 25 years. We revealed a failure in functional activity of the endothelium in half of miners whose working experience was shorter than 10 years; and relative risk of such failure was almost 8 times higher than for workers who didn't deal with deep chrome mining. 10 % miners who had been working at the mine for more than 10 years had a substantial decrease in functional reserves of their cardio-respiratory system. Relative risk of atherosclerotic changes in vascular walls, morphological changes in the cardiac muscle and the valve apparatus was from 3.5 to 12 times higher for miners than for workers who didn't deal with deep chrome mining. We detected a direct correlation between a decrease in functional activity of the endothelium and adaptation reserves of the cardio-respiratory system and increased chrome contents in miners' blood. Periodical medical examinations of workers should include functional and morphologic research performed on the cardiovascular system as it will help to reduce morbidity with cardiovascular-pathology among miners employed at deep chrome mines and to properly implement an overall set of preventive measures

The effect of the cooling atmosphere in the preparation of flame-annealed Pt(111) electrodes on CO adlayer oxidation

The effect of the cooling atmosphere on the rate of CO adlayer oxidation on flame-annealed Pt(111) has been studied. Cooling of a flame-annealed Pt(111) electrode in air results in a higher amount of crystalline defects compared to Pt(111) cooled in a hydrogen–argon stream. Although the blank profiles in 0.5 M H2SO4 of Pt(111), cooled in air and under oxygen exclusion, are virtually identical, CO adlayer oxidation occurs at significantly lower overpotentials on the former electrode. Three voltammetric peaks are observed for subsaturated CO adlayer oxidation on Pt(111), cooled in Ar+H2 mixture, while only two peaks develop in the case of a Pt(111) surface cooled in air. Random crystalline defects, introduced via cooling of a flame-annealed Pt(111) in air, enhance CO adlayer oxidation, and apparently also suppress the third high-potential peak observed on a quasi-perfect (111) surface. The high sensitivity of the saturated CO adlayer oxidation to the presence of crystalline defects on Pt(111) can hence be used as a straightforward, sensitive, though qualitative method to assess the degree of crystalline order of the electrode. Keywords: Carbon monoxide, Pt(111), Crystalline defects, Oxidatio

АНТИМИКРОБНАЯ БИОДЕГРАДИРУЕМАЯ КОМПОЗИЦИЯ НА ОСНОВЕ ВЫСОКОМОЛЕКУЛЯРНОГО ПОЛИВИНИЛПИРРОЛИДОНА ДЛЯ ПРОФИЛАКТИКИ ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТАЛЬНОГО ОСТЕОМИЕЛИТА

The aim of study was to evaluate the efficacy of antimicrobial composition of amikacin with dioxydin and polyvinylpyrrolidone as a biodegradable prolonging agent for the post-surgery infections prophylaxis. The data obtained show the efficacy of the amikacin combination with dioxydin based on high-molecular weight polyvinylpyrrolidone and an opportunity to it's application for the post-surgery infections prophylaxis in traumatology, orthopedics and other surgery areas.В эксперименте на кроликах породы шиншилла оценивали эффективность использования антимикробной композиции амикацина с диоксидином и поливинилпирролидоном в качестве биодетрадируемото иммобилизирующето агента для профилактики послеоперационных инфекций. Полученные данные свидетельствуют об эффективности сочетания амикацина с диоксидином на основе биодетрадируемото носителя высокомолекулярного поливинилипирролидона на экспериментальной модели остеомиелита и определяют возможность его использования в целях профилактики послеоперационных инфекций в травматологии, ортопедии и других областях хирургии