Infants’ Social Evaluation of Helpers and Hinderers: A Large-Scale, Multi-Lab, Coordinated Replication Study

Evaluating others’ actions as praiseworthy or blameworthy is a fundamental aspect of human nature. A seminal study published in 2007 suggested that the ability to form social evaluations based on third-party interactions emerges within the first year of life, considerably earlier than previously thought (Hamlin, Wynn, & Bloom, 2007). In this study, infants demonstrated a preference for a character (i.e., a shape with eyes) who helped, over one who hindered, another character who tried but failed to climb a hill. This study sparked a new line of inquiry into infants’ social evaluations; however, numerous attempts to replicate the original findings yielded mixed results, with some reporting effects not reliably different from chance. These failed replications point to at least two possibilities: (1) the original study may have overestimated the true effect size of infants’ preference for helpers, or (2) key methodological or contextual differences from the original study may have compromised the replication attempts. Here we present a pre-registered, closely coordinated, multi-laboratory, standardized study aimed at replicating the helping/hindering finding using a well-controlled video version of the hill show. We intended to (1) provide a precise estimate of the true effect size of infants’ preference for helpers over hinderers, and (2) determine the degree to which infants’ preferences are based on social features of the Helper/Hinderer scenarios. XYZ labs participated in the study yielding a total sample size of XYZ infants between the ages of 5.5 and 10.5 months. Brief summary of results will be added after data collection

Feasibility and safety of extracorporeal CO2 removal to enhance protective ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome: the SUPERNOVA study

We assessed feasibility and safety of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) to facilitate ultra-protective ventilation (VT 4 mL/kg and PPLAT ≤ 25 cmH2O) in patients with moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

Determinants of the effect of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal in the SUPERNOVA trial: implications for trial design

Purpose: To describe the variability and determinants of the effect of extracorporeal CO2 removal (ECCO2R) on tidal volume (Vt), driving pressure (ΔP), and mechanical power (PowerRS) and to determine whether highly responsive patients can be identified for the purpose of predictive enrichment in ECCO2R trial design. Methods: Using data from the SUPERNOVA trial (95 patients with early moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome), the independent effects of alveolar dead space fraction (ADF), respiratory system compliance (Crs), hypoxemia (PaO2/FiO2), and device performance (higher vs lower CO2 extraction) on the magnitude of reduction in Vt, ΔP, and PowerRS permitted by ECCO2R were assessed by linear regression. Predicted and observed changes in ΔP were compared by Bland–Altman analysis. Hypothetical trials of ECCO2R, incorporating predictive enrichment and different target CO2 removal rates, were simulated in the SUPERNOVA study population. Results: Changes in Vt permitted by ECCO2R were independently associated with ADF and device performance but not PaO2/FiO2. Changes in ΔP and PowerRS were independently associated with ADF, Crs, and device performance but not PaO2/FiO2. The change in ΔP predicted from ADF and Crs was moderately correlated with observed change in ΔP (R2 0.32, p < 0.001); limits of agreement between observed and predicted changes in ΔP were ± 3.9 cmH2O. In simulated trials, restricting enrollment to patients with a larger predicted decrease in ΔP enhanced the average reduction in ΔP, increased predicted mortality benefit, and reduced sample size and screening size requirements. The increase in statistical power obtained by restricting enrollment based on predicted ΔP response varied according to device performance as specified by the target CO2 removal rate. Conclusions: The lung-protective benefits of ECCO2R increase with higher alveolar dead space fraction, lower respiratory system compliance, and higher device performance. ADF and Crs, rather than severity of hypoxemia, should be the primary factors determining whether to enroll patients in clinical trials of ECCO2R