Recommendations for accelerating open preprint peer review to improve the culture of science.

Peer review is an important part of the scientific process, but traditional peer review at journals is coming under increased scrutiny for its inefficiency and lack of transparency. As preprints become more widely used and accepted, they raise the possibility of rethinking the peer-review process. Preprints are enabling new forms of peer review that have the potential to be more thorough, inclusive, and collegial than traditional journal peer review, and to thus fundamentally shift the culture of peer review toward constructive collaboration. In this Consensus View, we make a call to action to stakeholders in the community to accelerate the growing momentum of preprint sharing and provide recommendations to empower researchers to provide open and constructive peer review for preprints.

The spatial extent of focused attention modulates attentional disengagement.

Attention can be flexibly changed to optimize visual processing: it can be oriented, resized, or even divided. Although much is known about these processes individually, much less is known about how they interact with one another. In the present study we examined how the spatial extent of the attentional focus modulates the efficiency of the first component of attentional orienting, the disengagement of attention. To this end, we used abrupt-onset stimuli of different sizes to trigger the reflexive resizing of the attentional focus (Castiello and Umiltà in Acta Psychol 73:195-209, 1990), combined with a gap task to assess the efficiency of attentional disengagement (Mackeben and Nakayama in Vis Res 33:85-90, 1993). The results of five experiments showed that the magnitude of the gap effect is significantly greater when the scope of attention is small than when it is large, indicating that disengaging attention is delayed when attention is highly focused. Furthermore, these findings highlight that different aspects of attentional control interact with one another, emphasizing the importance of studying them in conjunction.

Long term effects of chronic intranasal oxytocin on adult pair bonding behavior and brain glucose uptake in titi monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus).

Intranasal oxytocin (IN OXT) administration has been proposed as a pharmacological treatment for a range of biomedical conditions including neurodevelopmental disorders. However, studies evaluating the potential long-lasting effects of chronic IN OXT during development are still scarce. Here we conducted a follow-up study of a cohort of adult titi monkeys that received intranasal oxytocin 0.8 IU/kg (n = 15) or saline (n = 14) daily for six months during their juvenile period (12 to 18 months of age), with the goal of evaluating the potential long-lasting behavioral and neural effects one year post-treatment. Subjects were paired with an opposite-sex mate at 30 months of age (one year post-treatment). We examined pair affiliative behavior in the home cage during the first four months and tested for behavioral components of pair bonding at one week and four months post-pairing. We assessed long-term changes in brain glucose uptake using 18FDG positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Our results showed that OXT-treated animals were more affiliative across a number of measures, including tail twining, compared to SAL treated subjects (tail twining is considered the "highest" type of affiliation in titi monkeys). Neuroimaging showed no treatment differences in glucose uptake between SAL and OXT-treated animals; however, females showed higher glucose uptake in whole brain at 23 months, and in both the whole brain and the social salience network at 33 months of age compared to males. Our results suggest that chronic IN OXT administration during development can have long-term effects on adult social behavior.

What do the general public believe about the causes, prognosis and best management strategies for low back pain? A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for seeking health care and is costly to the health care system. Recent evidence has shown that LBP care provided by many providers is divergent from guidelines and one reason may be patient's beliefs and expectations about treatment. Thus, examining the nature of patient beliefs and expectations regarding low back pain treatment will help coordinate efforts to improve consistency and quality of care. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional population-based survey of adults living in Newfoundland, Canada. The survey included demographic information (e.g. age, gender, back pain status and care seeking behaviors) and assessed outcomes related to beliefs about the inevitable consequences of back pain with the validated back beliefs questionnaire as well as six additional questions relating beliefs about imaging, physical activity and medication. Surveys were mailed to 3000 households in July-August 2018 and responses collected until September 30th, 2018. RESULTS: Fout hundred twenty-eight surveys were returned (mean age 55 years (SD 14.6), 66% female, 90% had experienced an episode of LBP). The mean Back Beliefs Questionnaire score was 27.3 (SD 7.2), suggesting that people perceive back pain to have inevitable negative consequences. Large proportions of respondents held the following beliefs that are contrary to best available evidence: (i) having back pain means you will always have weakness in your back (49.3%), (ii) it will get progressively worse (48.0%), (iii) resting is good (41.4%) and (iv) x-rays or scans are necessary to get the best medical care for LBP (54.2%). CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of the public believe LBP to have inevitable negative consequences and hold incorrect beliefs about diagnosis and management options, which is similar to findings from other countries. This presents challenges for clinicians and suggests that considering how to influence beliefs about LBP in the broader community could have value. Given the high prevalence of LBP and that many will consult a range of healthcare professionals, future efforts could consider using broad reaching public health campaigns that target patients, policy makers and all relevant health providers with specific content to change commonly held unhelpful beliefs.

Burden of socio-legal concerns among vulnerable patients seeking cancer care services at an urban safety-net hospital: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Social and economic conditions that affect one's ability to satisfy life's most basic needs such as lack of affordable housing, restricted access to education and employment, or inadequate income are increasingly well-documented barriers to optimal health. The burden of these challenges among vulnerable patients accessing cancer care services is unknown. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients presenting for ambulatory cancer care services (screening and treatment) at an urban safety-net hospital to assess socio-legal concerns (social problems related to meeting life's basic needs supported by public policy or programming and potentially remedied through legal advocacy/action). RESULTS: Among 104 respondents, 80 (77 %) reported concerns with one or more socio-legal needs in the past month, with a mean of 5.75 concerns per participant. The most common socio-legal concerns related to income supports, housing, and employment/education. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the need for innovations in cancer care delivery to address socio-legal concerns of a vulnerable patient population.

The effect of prevalence on distractor speeded search termination.

Visual search can be disrupted by irrelevant salient stimuli. Recently, Moher (Psychological Science, 31(1), 31-42, 2020) found salient distractors to speed search when a target was absent and increase error rates when the target was present. That is, distractors lowered search-quitting thresholds. Nonetheless, the salient distractors Moher used were present on 50% of all trials. Since distractor prevalence has been found to influence search processes more broadly, here, we aimed to test the effect of distractor prevalence on this distractor-quitting threshold effect (QTE). To do so, we conducted two experiments. Experiment 1 compared the performance of individuals in a search task where the target was present on 50% of trials across two distractor-prevalence conditions (25% vs. 75% prevalence). Experiment 2 followed the same procedure, except with a wider probability margin (10% vs. 90% prevalence). In Experiment 1, distractor prevalence did not modulate the QTE. Critically, in Experiment 2, the QTE was modulated. For high-prevalence distractors (90%), a QTE was observed. However, as low-prevalence distractors (10%) did not speed search, no QTE was observed. One potential reason no QTE was observed was because low-prevalence distractors have significantly greater attentional capture, which washed out speeded termination effects.

Investigating mechanisms of the attentional repulsion effect: A diffusion model analysis.

This article investigates the decisional and attentional drivers of the attentional repulsion effect (ARE) using the diffusion decision model (DDM). The ARE is a phenomenon in which a subjective expansion of space is experienced outside the focus of attention. It is thought to occur due to changes in the functioning of visual cell receptive fields. The DDM is a model of the decision-making process that assumes responses are selected by sequentially sampling an encoded representation of a stimulus until sufficient evidence has been accumulated favoring one response alternative over the other. The model decomposes observed choice and response times into different latent variables corresponding to the rate of evidence accumulation, response caution, response bias, and the time course of stimulus encoding and response execution. In this article, we interpret changes in the rate of evidence accumulation as primarily reflecting perceptual-driven changes in stimulus representation. We interpret changes in response bias as primarily reflecting decision-level changes. We utilize the DDM's ability to estimate these variables independently to explore how they are each affected by cueing manipulations to clarify whether the ARE emerges due to attentional or decisional drivers, or some combination of the two. The results of this study could shed light on the mechanisms underlying the ARE, and has implications in our understanding of spatial attention.

Changing the paradigm for primary research dissemination.

The predominant research publishing system is not equitable by design, nor optimised to advance research to create knowledge and ultimately to benefit society. Open Research Central (ORC) was created to foster the re-imagination of the research dissemination system to facilitate trust, transparency and equitable participation. In five years of operation, before dissolving, the non-profit organisation produced outputs and learnings valuable to the development of a responsible research dissemination system. We are sharing our experience in the hope that it will provide others who share the same vision and goals with useful materials to build on. We think that there remains a need for global, cross-stakeholder exploration to build collective understanding of research validation and dissemination and to pilot solutions. However, as this article will explore, enabling and supporting the development of such a collective voice and consequent action is a challenging endeavour in the current landscape and funding environment.

Role of gene therapy in sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: Gene therapy is an emerging treatment for sickle cell disease that works by replacing a defective gene with a healthy gene, allowing the body to produce normal red blood cells. This form of treatment has shown promising results in clinical trials, and is a promising alternative to traditional treatments. Gene therapy involves introducing a healthy gene into the body to replace a defective gene. The new gene can be delivered using a viral vector, which is a modified virus that carries the gene. The vector, carrying the healthy gene, is injected into the bloodstream. The healthy gene then enters the patient's cells and begins to produce normal hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. METHODOLOGY: We conducted an all-language literature search on Medline, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar until December 2022. The following search strings and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms were used: "Sickle Cell," "Gene Therapy" and "Stem Cell Transplantation". We explored the literature on Sickle Cell Disease for its epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, the role of various treatment modalities and the risk-benefit ratio of gene therapy over conventional stem cell transplant. RESULTS: Gene therapy can reduce or eliminate painful episodes, prevent organ damage, and raise the quality of life for those living with the disease. Additionally, gene therapy may reduce the need for blood transfusions and other traditional treatments. Gene therapy has the potential to improve the lives of those living with sickle cell disease, as well as reduce the burden of the disease on society.

Corrigendum to "Uptake of community pharmacist prescribing over a three-year period" [Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, Volume 9, March 2023, 100221].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100221.].

Clinical overview and treatment options for non-skeletal manifestations of mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA (MPS IVA) or Morquio syndrome is a multisystem disorder caused by galactosamine-6-sulfatase deficiency. Skeletal manifestations, including short stature, skeletal dysplasia, cervical instability, and joint destruction, are known to be associated with this condition. Due to the severity of these skeletal manifestations, the non-skeletal manifestations are frequently overlooked despite their significant contribution to disease progression and impact on quality of life. This review provides detailed information regarding the non-skeletal manifestations and suggests long-term assessment guidelines. The visual, auditory, digestive, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems are addressed and overall quality of life as measured by endurance and other functional abilities is discussed. Impairments such as corneal clouding, astigmatism, glaucoma, hearing loss, hernias, hepatomegaly, dental abnormalities, cardiac valve thickening and regurgitation, obstructive sleep apnea, tracheomalacia, restrictive and obstructive respiratory compromise, and muscular weakness are discussed. Increased awareness of these non-skeletal features is needed to improve patient care.

How exposure to body neutrality content on TikTok affects young women's body image and mood.

Body neutrality aims to encourage a non-judgmental attitude towards the body and prioritize functionality over appearance. This study examined the impact of exposure to TikTok body neutrality content on young women's body image and mood. The sample comprised 189 undergraduate women (Mage = 19.25, SD = 1.98) who were randomly assigned to view one of three compilation TikTok videos on body neutrality, thin ideal, or art. Controlling for pre-test measures, results showed that women in the body neutrality group reported higher functionality appreciation and body satisfaction than women in the thin ideal and art control groups. Higher levels of positive mood and fewer upward appearance comparisons were reported by women in the body neutrality group relative to the thin ideal group. Although women in the body neutrality and thin ideal groups thought about their appearance and what they were wearing whilst viewing the videos, women in the body neutrality group reported that those thoughts were more positive than those in the thin ideal group. Findings demonstrate that brief exposure to body neutrality content on TikTok may induce immediate positive body image and mood in young women whilst providing a useful alternative to the unrealistic beauty standards popularized on such platforms.

Delayed onsets are not necessary for generating distractor quitting thresholds effects in visual search.

Salient distractors lower quitting thresholds in visual search. That is, when searching for the presence of a target among filler items, a large heterogeneously coloured distractor presented at a delayed onset produces quick target-absent judgements and increased target-present errors. The aim of the current study was to explore if the timing of the salient distractor modulates this Quitting Threshold Effect (QTE). In Experiment 1, participants completed a target detection search task in the presence or absence of a salient singleton distractor that either appeared simultaneously with other search items or appeared at a delayed onset (i.e., 100 ms or 250 ms after other array items appeared). In Experiment 2, a similar method was used, except that the salient singleton distractor appeared simultaneously, 100 ms before, or 100 ms after the other array items. Across both experiments, we observed robust distractor QTEs. Regardless of their onset, salient distractors decreased target-absent search speeds and increased target-present error rates. In all, the present findings suggest that delayed onsets are not required for lowered quitting thresholds in visual search.

Unveiling the Impact of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Meta-Analysis of Survival Rates Among Patients in the United States Based on Vaccination Status.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a significant number of cases and deaths worldwide. Vaccination is the most effective preventive measure against the disease. This study aimed to assess the mortality rates of COVID-19 patients in the United States and the effectiveness of Pfizer (Pfizer, NY, USA), Moderna (Moderna, MA, USA), and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson, NJ, USA) vaccines in preventing mortality. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-2020) guidelines. Eligible studies reporting on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines on patient outcomes were included. The search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases. The data were extracted, and risk ratios (RR) were calculated for mortality outcomes. The analysis was performed using Review Manager software, and bias assessments were conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Meta-Analysis tools. A total of seven studies with 21,618,297 COVID-19 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) for mortality among unvaccinated patients compared to vaccinated patients was 2.46 (95% CI: 1.71-3.53), indicating that unvaccinated patients were 2.46 times more likely to die from COVID-19. The findings of this study support the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in reducing mortality among infected individuals. Unvaccinated patients had a significantly higher risk of mortality compared to vaccinated patients. Vaccination remains a crucial strategy to mitigate the severity of the disease and reduce mortality rates. Efforts should be made to address vaccine hesitancy and ensure widespread vaccine coverage.

Emphasizing responder speed or accuracy modulates but does not abolish the distractor-induced quitting effect in visual search.

When a highly salient distractor is present in a search array, it speeds target absent visual search and increases errors during target present visual search, suggesting lowered quitting thresholds (Moher in Psychol Sci 31(1):31-42, 2020). Missing a critical target in the presence of a highly salient distractor can have dire consequences in real-world search tasks where accurate target detection is crucial, such as baggage screening. As such, the current study examined whether emphasizing either accuracy or speed would eliminate the distractor-generated quitting threshold effect (QTE). Three blocks of a target detection search task which included a highly salient distractor on half of all trials were used. In one block, participants received no instructions or feedback regarding performance. In the remaining two blocks, they received instructions and trial-by-trial feedback that either emphasized response speed or response accuracy. Overall, the distractor lowered quitting thresholds, regardless of whether response speed or response accuracy was emphasized in a block of trials. However, the effect of the distractor on target misses was smaller when accuracy was emphasized. It, therefore, appears that while the distractor QTE is not easily eradicated by explicit instructions and feedback, it can be shifted. As such, future research should examine the applicability of these and similar strategies in real-world search scenarios.

Changes in Breastfeeding and Lactation Support Experiences During COVID.

Background: We surveyed parents who gave birth from 2019 to 2021 to examine changes in breastfeeding experiences and professional and lay breastfeeding support services due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We also examined racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding support. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional opt-in survey of 1,617 parents was administered on Ovia's parenting app in January 2022. Respondents were 18-45 years of age and delivered in one of three birth cohorts: August-December 2019, March-May 2020, or June-August 2021. We fit linear and logistic regression models wherein the outcomes were six breastfeeding support and experience measures, adjusting for birth cohort and respondent demographics. Results: Parents who gave birth in the early pandemic versus those in the prepandemic had reduced odds of interacting with lactation consultants (odds ratio [OR]: 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-0.90), attending breastfeeding classes (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.54-0.94), meeting breastfeeding goals (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.46-0.92), and reporting it was easy to get breastfeeding help (estimate: -0.36; 95% CI: -0.55 to -0.17). Birth cohort was not associated with use of donor milk or receipt of in-hospital help. The later pandemic cohort differed from the prepandemic cohort for one outcome: they were less likely to meet their breastfeeding goals (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.48-0.95). There were racial and ethnic disparities in the use of multiple types of breastfeeding support. Although one-third of respondents felt that the pandemic facilitated breastfeeding because of more time at home, 18% felt the pandemic posed additional challenges including disruptions to lactation support. Conclusions: Parents who gave birth in the later pandemic did not report significant disruptions to professional breastfeeding support, likely as a result of the growth of virtual services. However, disparities in receipt of support require policy attention and action.

Uptake of community pharmacist prescribing over a three-year period.

Objectives: Pharmacists in Nova Scotia have had legislated authority to prescribe since 2011. This study aimed to describe the prescribing activities of pharmacists and the characteristics of patients who used pharmacist prescribing services. Methods: Using provincial health administrative databases we identified all community pharmacists who prescribed during the study period (October 2016 to March 2020) and correspondingly patients who had medications prescribed by a pharmacist during this period. Differences in, and predictors of the quantity of pharmacist prescribing over three fiscal years (April 2017 to March 2020) were described. Pharmacist prescribing activity was compared across the fiscal years of the study period with One-way Analysis of Variance. Negative binomial regression examined patient factors associated with use of pharmacist prescribing services. Analysis was carried out using SAS ENTERPRISE GUIDE v.8.2 (SAS Institute Cary, NC, USA). Key findings: A total of 1182 pharmacist prescribers were identified, who on average prescribed 24.6, 26.3, and 32.5 (p < 0.001) times per month in fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, respectively. The patient cohort contained 372,203 Nova Scotians over the 3-year period. For approved common and minor ailment prescribing in Nova Scotia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, vaccines (non-travel), contraceptive management, herpes zoster treatment, and allergic rhinitis had the highest number of prescriptions over the study period. Patient factors most strongly related to receiving more prescribing services by a pharmacist included receiving income assistance without copay (Incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.70), having >2 comorbidities (IRR = 1.51), male sex (IRR = 1.03), and greater age (IRR = 1.01). Those from an urban area (IRR = 0.92) or having a higher income (IRR = 0.95) received fewer pharmacist prescribing services (all p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Pharmacist prescribing increased over the 3-year period. Patients who were older and those with multiple comorbidities used pharmacist prescribing services most often. Prescribing activities represent an increasingly utilized role for pharmacists in primary care.