Attitudes toward research and scholarly activities among medical laboratory science professionals in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Medical laboratory science (MLS) professionals play a crucial role in health care teams. However, research culture in the profession has not been well developed or studied. It is necessary to characterize attitudes toward research and scholarly activities among MLS professionals and identify ways to promote research in the profession. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was administered through American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science channels. Survey responses were summarized using descriptive statistics, and linear regression models were constructed to identify characteristics that predicted 2 research attitudes: "valuing the role of research" and "perceived research environment" in the profession. RESULTS: Of the 116 MLS professionals in this study, 53% reported currently participating in research activities. Opinions toward research were generally positive, although many respondents were not currently conducting research. Individuals with education and research practice focuses tended to place greater value on research, and education level was a significant predictor of perceived research environment. Dedicated research time and mentorship were cited as effective ways for employers to promote research in MLS. CONCLUSION: Overall, respondents had favorable attitudes toward research in MLS, but approximately half of participants noted a lack of incentives to conduct research. This study highlights several initiatives that may be effective for promoting increased research activity among MLS professionals.

We like neurons.

Charleese Williams is the winner of the 2021 Rising Black Scientists Award for an undergraduate scholar. For this award, we asked emerging Black scientists to tell us about the experiences that sparked their interest in the life sciences, their vision and goals, and how they want to contribute to a more inclusive scientific community. This is her story.

Science as a tool for justice.

Elle Lett is the winner of the 2021 Rising Black Scientists Award for a post-graduate scholar. For this award, we asked emerging Black scientists to tell us about the experiences that sparked their interest in the life sciences, their vision and goals, and how they want to contribute to a more inclusive scientific community. This is her story.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical research activities: Survey of study participants and health care workers participating in a hypertension trial in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound worldwide impact. Vietnam, a lower middle-income country with limited resources, has successfully slowed this pandemic. The objectives of this report are to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the research activities of an ongoing hypertension trial using a storytelling intervention in Vietnam. METHODS: Data were collected in a mixed-methods study among 86 patients and 10 health care workers participating in a clinical trial designed to improve hypertension control. Several questions related to the impact of COVID-19 on patient's daily activities and adherence to the study interventions were included in the follow-up visits. A focus group discussion was conducted among health care workers to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on research related activities. RESULTS: Fewer patients in the intervention group reported that they faced difficulties in adhering to prescribed study interventions, wanted to receive a call from a dedicated hotline, or have a visit from a community health worker as compared with those in the comparison group. Most study patients are willing to participate in future health research studies. When asked about the potential use of mobile phones in health research studies, fewer patients in the intervention group felt comfortable using a mobile phone for the delivery of intervention and interviews compared with those in the comparison condition. Community health workers shared that they visited patient's homes more often than previously due to the pandemic and health care workers had to perform more virus containment activities without a corresponding increase in ancillary staff. CONCLUSIONS: Both patients and health care workers in Vietnam faced difficulties in adhering to recommended trial interventions and procedures. Multiple approaches for intervention delivery and data collection are needed to overcome these difficulties during future health crises and enhance the implementation of future research studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov. Registration number: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03590691 (registration date July 17, 2018).

The psychological impact of COVID-19 on 'hidden' frontline healthcare workers.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to rising death tolls and stressed healthcare systems, resulting in an unprecedented psychological stress on healthcare workers worldwide. However, the majority of studies only accounted for frontline healthcare workers with direct patient exposure. AIM: This study aims to look at the psychological impact of COVID-19 in a specific, vulnerable and yet hidden group of healthcare workers, namely laboratory healthcare workers who are at high risk exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus from handling infected patients' blood samples, in addition to a marked increase in workload. METHOD: A multicentre study was conducted in Singapore via online questionnaire looking at psychological and physical impact of COVID-19 on laboratory healthcare workers. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Numeric rating scale on fear (NRS) were validated scores used in this study. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software version 23 (IBM Corp). RESULTS: A total of 122 staffs participated and more than half of the cohort experienced mild to severe fear, anxiety and depression. Increase in depression score was also found to be associated with increased physical exhaustion (OR = 6.1, 95% CI 1.4-29.1, p = .02), loss of appetite (OR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.0, p = .02), poor sleep quality (OR = 7.5, 95% CI 2.9-19.4, p = .005), and the use of sedative (OR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.1-13.5, p = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Hence, it is imperative that prompt action needs to be taken to address the psychological needs of this vulnerable group of healthcare workers as the pandemic continues.

Don't dumb it down: The effects of jargon in COVID-19 crisis communication.

Experts are typically advised to avoid jargon when communicating with the general public, but previous research has not established whether avoiding jargon is necessary in a crisis. Using the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, this online survey experiment (N = 393) examined the effect of jargon use across three different topics that varied in situational urgency: COVID-19 (high urgency), flood risk (low urgency), and federal emergency policy (control). Results revealed that although the use of jargon led to more difficult processing and reduced persuasion for the two less-urgent topics (flood risk, emergency policy), there was no effect of jargon in the COVID-19 condition. Theoretically, these findings suggest that the motivation to process information is an important moderator for crisis communication in particular and science communication in general. Practically, these findings suggest that science communicators, during times of crisis, do not need to "dumb down" their language in the same way they should during non-crises.

Reflections on the upsurge of virtual cancer conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation or postponement of traditional face-to-face scientific conferences, necessitating a rapid change in the way new discoveries in cancer were shared with the cancer research community. Here I present personal reflections on the upsurge of virtual cancer conferences, discussing their pros and cons in the context of traditional face-to-face deliveries.

Thoughts and expectations of young professionals about the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM).

Objectives: Young laboratory medicine professionals (YLMPs) are the future of clinical laboratories. Although everyday practice shows significant differences among countries, especially during residency training, most of them face the same challenges. Besides promoting scientific, professional and clinical aspects of laboratory medicine in Europe, the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) should take into consideration YLMPs' concerns and interests to help them achieve excellence. The aim of this survey was to assess the opinion and expectations of YLMPs about their involvement in the activities of EFLM. Methods: An online survey was distributed to YLMPs in Europe through different channels. The questionnaire consisted of 21 items grouped into five sections: demographic questions, opinion about the current status of YLMPs within EFLM, YLMPs network, suggestions and opportunities, and scientific training and exchange. Where appropriate, responses from residents and specialists were compared. Results: A total of 329 valid responses were obtained from 53 different countries. Countries with the highest number of participants were Spain, Turkey, Croatia and Romania. A significant percentage would like to know more about EFLM and their activities (86%) and wish EFLM promoted networking and scientific exchanges (95%), for instance by means of a European YLMPs network (93%). EFLMLabX project was widely unknown (75%). Conclusions: YLMPs demand better connection to share concerns about daily healthcare duties, to keep updated and to advance professionally. EFLM needs to improve their advertising through national societies to increase YLMPs' participation. In addition to international meetings and congresses, respondents have emphasized that workshops and other small group activities would significantly help promote laboratory medicine practice in Europe.

An international outreach from the American Society of Cytopathology: Worldvision Cytopathology Contest.

In an effort to be more inclusive and embrace the international cytology community, the American Society of Cytopathology formed the International Liaison and Membership (ILM). The Worldvision Cytopathology Contest was designed by the co-chairs of this committee (Drs. Güliz A. Barkan and Esther Diana Rossi) as an opportunity of scientific exchange in the international cytology community. The idea took its inspiration from the well-known song contest, the "Eurovision Song Contest" a competition among international singers, which started as a "light entertainment" in the 1950's to bring together a war-torn Europe. The goals of this session were to bring the worldwide cytology community together, to increase the international participation to the ASC, to attract a younger generation of pathology professionals to cytopathology, to provide education on interesting cases for the participants, and to provide training for international contestants on how to give good public presentations. The contest was successfully done at the 2019 annual meeting, and the winner was Dr. Elena Vigliar from Italy. The Worldvision Cytopathology Contest will be performed again in future meetings.

Fake Science: XMRV, COVID-19, and the Toxic Legacy of Dr. Judy Mikovits.

One cannot spend >5 min on social media at the moment without finding a link to some conspiracy theory or other regarding the origin of SARS-CoV2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. From the virus being deliberately released as a bioweapon to pharmaceutical companies blocking the trials of natural remedies to boost their dangerous drugs and vaccines, the Internet is rife with far-fetched rumors. And predictably, now that the first immunization trials have started, the antivaccine lobby has latched on to most of them. In the last week, the trailer for a new "bombshell documentary" Plandemic has been doing the rounds, gaining notoriety for being repeatedly removed from YouTube and Facebook. We usually would not pay much heed to such things, but for retrovirologists like us, the name associated with these claims is unfortunately too familiar: Dr. Judy Mikovits.

Clinical Laboratory Employees' Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes of laboratory personnel toward the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the laboratory. METHODS: We surveyed laboratory employees who covered a range of work roles, work environments, and educational levels. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 42%. Most respondents (79%) indicated that they were at least somewhat familiar with AI. Very few (4%) classified themselves as experts. Contact with AI varied by educational level (P = .005). Respondents believed that AI could help them perform their work by reducing errors (24%) and saving time (16%). The most common concern (27%) was job security (being replaced by AI). The majority (64%) of the respondents expressed support for the development of AI projects in the organization. CONCLUSIONS: Laboratory employees see the potential for AI and generally support the adoption of AI tools but have concerns regarding job security and quality of AI performance.

An international survey into the analysis and interpretation of microscopic hair evidence by forensic hair examiners.

Due to inadequacies in historical hair examinations, the use and perceived value of microscopic hair evidence has reduced. Many reports have heavily criticised the use of pattern-based evidence including hair evidence as being unreliable, with police forces focussing on more individualising evidence. Hair evidence has been utilised in casework for many years due to its ability to transfer easily between individuals and crime scenes. Hair evidence can provide important information in criminal investigations, and in certain circumstances, aid in the identification of an individual, along with providing information to aid in the reconstruction of a crime scene. It has become apparent in recent studies, such as the 2012 FBI review, that hair evidence has been inappropriately utilised in case work and this, along with a preference for more discriminating methods such as DNA profiling, has led to both a lack of confidence in and reduction of use of hair evidence. The need for more standardised and objective methods is required along with improved methods for interpreting hair evidence. Since these reports, there has been no study investigating how these have affected the perceptions of hair evidence by forensic hair examiners or that has investigated what methods are being utilised to create a robust, objective and reliable interpretation of this evidence. This study aimed to assess the current similarities and differences in microscopic hair examinations and perceptions of its evidential value between countries, with a focus on the analysis and interpretation methods used by case work examiners and researchers. This study will discuss the findings of a survey and interviews completed by hair examiners. Previous surveys have been conducted by Aitken & Robertson (1986) and Murphy (2013), however the current international status of microscopic hair examinations is unknown. This study gathered responses across 9 countries. From this, it was identified that the microscopic examination of hair evidence is still valued highly by those practicing it. The amount of cases that an examiner has worked on that involve the examination of microscopic hair evidence is correlated to the perceived evidential value of hair evidence and to the value of morphological characteristics of hair. There are inconsistencies between the approaches used in interpreting this type of evidence. Subsequently, this study has generated an international understanding of the current status of hair examinations which was not previously known from an operational perspective.

An interview with Roberto Mayor.

Roberto Mayor is Professor of Developmental and Cellular Neurobiology at University College London. Elected an EMBO member in 2019 and a former International Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, his lab works on the development of the neural crest, in particular its induction and migration. We met Roberto in Buenos Aires at the tenth biennial meeting of the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology (LASDB, the society he founded in 2001), and discussed the role serendipity has played in his career, why we need a more holistic view of the cell during development, and the challenges and potential of science in Latin America.

Painting epilepsy - The essence of disease by participants of the Latin American Summer School on Epilepsy (LASSE XIII).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to present and analyze the way epilepsy researchers and specialists present epilepsy through visual art forms. METHODS: Students and epilepsy specialists, including clinicians and scientists, participating in the Latin American Summer School on Epilepsy (LASSE XIII) 2019 were asked to voluntarily portray epilepsy artistically by painting or drawing what they perceive that represents the feeling or challenges of persons with epilepsy. Resulting artwork was categorized according to several themes. The latter was analyzed in the clinical and social context of the disease. RESULTS: Twenty-six paintings available for analysis have been reviewed. The three main interpretations of epilepsy were outlined as follows: epilepsy as an identity schism, epilepsy as a loss of control, and epilepsy as a complex condition. Five artworks best suited the first category as they presented people with faces split into healthy and diseased sides, representing the emotional and social burden of seizures. Three drawings defined epilepsy as a loss of control, visualizing that all the phases of seizure activity (ictal, postictal, and interictal) are able to imprison the patient by disrupting mental processes. The last theme included four artworks that defined epilepsy as being a multicomponent enigma: the intertwining of unresolved pathophysiologic processes and psychosocial burden accompanying the disease was emphasized. In addition, the challenges to care for the patients in order to improve not only seizures but also their quality of life were noticed as an idea complementing the visual definition of epilepsy. CONCLUSION: Participants of LASSE XIII demonstrated an ability to empathize with their patients in retrospect by portraying the inner feelings of division and imprisonment of those having seizures. Epilepsy specialists visualize the disease as a composite phenomenon both in terms of its neural origin and of multidisciplinary requirements to implement its care.

The view of the clinician and the scientist on the family experience of sudden epilepsy deaths.

A sudden epilepsy-associated death is a tragedy for the bereaved, a failure for the clinician and a challenge for a research scientist. Sudden death in epilepsy cannot be truly anticipated or prepared for by the bereaved, or the clinical team. Communications and provision of pastoral care following sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is an important part of an epilepsy service where interaction with the family and specialist services for the bereaved can be rewarding. Sudden death and SUDEP are valid targets for research attention, but families may be less aware of opportunities to assist in life science research or conversely feel coerced at a vulnerable time. We have a responsibility to ensure that the SUDEP risk is minimized and that we maximize the learning potential from each death. Out of such tragedies some good must come, but this will take combined efforts from doctors, families, and the voluntary sector acting in league with scientific and academic funders. In this review, we set out to consider the dual viewpoints of the clinician and the scientist and how they consider the family experience of sudden deaths to provide advice for all parties. "This paper is for the Special Issue: Prevent 21: SUDEP Summit - Time to Listen".

Role of cytotechnologists in rapid onsite adequacy assessment of cytology materials for diagnostic workup and specimen allocation for ancillary testing using a standardized protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Data on the performance of cytotechnologists in assessing specimen adequacy of needle core biopsies (NCB) is scant and their role in specimen triaging for ancillary studies have not been well established. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE) performed exclusively by cytotechnologists on 248 NCB and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens. Overall adequacy and accuracy rates were determined by comparing to final diagnosis. We also reviewed the process of specimen allocation for ancillary testing to determine whether specimens were appropriately triaged at the time of ROSE. RESULTS: Of the 248 cases, 222 (89.5%) were touch imprint and 26 (10.5%) were FNA smears. The overall adequacy rate was 73.4% (182 of 248). Concordance for "adequate" interpretation by ROSE with unequivocal malignant or benign diagnoses on final interpretation was 95.6%. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ROSE for a final "positive for malignancy" were 89.2% (95% CI 83.04% to 93.69%), 43.24% (95% CI 31.77% to 55.28%), and 73.87% (95% CI 67.57% to 55.28%), respectively. Cases with "positive for malignancy" on final diagnosis were "adequate" by ROSE in 89.1% (132 of 148) and "inadequate" in 10.8% (16 of 148), P < 0.0001. Ancillary tests were performed in 168 of 248 (67.7%); the majority were immunohistochemical stains for determining tumor subtype. Predictive biomarkers were performed successfully in 100% of metastatic breast cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Cytotechnologists performed at a high level of competency in providing ROSE and allocating specimens for ancillary testing, which were performed successfully in the majority of cases. Implementation of a standardized protocol for tissue management/prioritization is of paramount importance to maximize tissue preservation and minimize wastage.

Barriers to recruiting and retaining psychosis carers: a case study on the lessons learned from the Caring for Caregivers (C4C) trial.

OBJECTIVE: Carers play an important role within the UK mental health system. Those carers who support persons with psychosis can experience a reduction in their own physical and mental health. As part of the Caring for Caregivers (C4C) trial, we piloted a writing intervention (Positive Written Disclosure) that has been shown to improve wellbeing in other populations. Although we reached our recruitment target, we encountered several barriers that made recruitment slower than anticipated. This paper synthesises the process data collected during the C4C trial that relates to the barriers to recruiting and retaining psychosis carers. RESULTS: We encountered four main carer-specific barriers to the recruitment and retention of participants in our study. These were: (1) poor relationship with mental health clinicians, (2) conflicting with the care recipient's (CR) needs, (3) lack of spare time, and (4) lack of services for mental health carers. The interventions to assist carers need to be informed by robust evidence and this requires trials that reach their recruitment targets. By sharing our practical experiences other researchers and clinicians can modify their practices to minimise recruitment difficulties and delay. Trial registration ISRCTN79116352. Retrospectively registered (before the final participant was recruited) on 23rd January 2017.