Transcriptomic changes in the posterior pallium of male zebra finches associated with social niche conformance.

Animals plastically adjust their physiological and behavioural phenotypes to conform to their social environment-social niche conformance. The degree of sexual competition is a critical part of the social environment to which animals adjust their phenotypes, but the underlying genetic mechanisms are poorly understood. We conducted a study to investigate how differences in sperm competition risk affect the gene expression profiles of the testes and two brain areas (posterior pallium and optic tectum) in breeding male zebra finches (Taeniopygia castanotis). In this pre-registered study, we investigated a large sample of 59 individual transcriptomes. We compared two experimental groups: males held in single breeding pairs (low sexual competition) versus those held in two pairs (elevated sexual competition) per breeding cage. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we observed significant effects of the social treatment in all three tissues. However, only the treatment effects found in the pallium were confirmed by an additional randomisation test for statistical robustness. Likewise, the differential gene expression analysis revealed treatment effects only in the posterior pallium (ten genes) and optic tectum (six genes). No treatment effects were found in the testis at the single gene level. Thus, our experiments do not provide strong evidence for transcriptomic adjustment specific to manipulated sperm competition risk. However, we did observe transcriptomic adjustments to the manipulated social environment in the posterior pallium. These effects were polygenic rather than based on few individual genes with strong effects. Our findings are discussed in relation to an accompanying paper using the same animals, which reports behavioural results consistent with the results presented here.

Navigating PROSPERO4animals: 10 top tips for efficient pre-registration of your animal systematic review protocol.

Systematic reviews are an essential tool in identifying knowledge gaps and synthesizing evidence from in vivo animal research to improve human health. The review process follows an explicit and systematic methodology to minimize bias, but is not immune to biases or methodological flaws. Pre-registering a systematic review protocol has several benefits, including avoiding unplanned duplication of reviews, reducing reporting biases, and providing structure throughout the review process. It also helps to align the opinions of review team members and can shield researchers from post-hoc critique. PROSPERO4animals is the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) for the preregistration of systematic review of animal studies. As administrators, here we provide 10 tips to facilitate pre-registration in PROSPERO4animals. These tips address common difficulties that both beginners and experienced researchers may face when pre-registering their systematic review protocols. This article aims to help authors write and register a detailed systematic review protocol on PROSPERO4animals.

Impact of pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship interventions in a secondary care facility in Japan: A pragmatic quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Efforts to promote antimicrobial stewardship aimed at reducing antimicrobial resistance are necessary regardless of hospital scale owing to delays in new antimicrobial development. We aimed to evaluate the effects of pharmacist-driven interventions on broad-spectrum antimicrobial usage and the prognosis of patients with bacteremia in a medium-sized hospital lacking infectious disease physicians and a microbiology laboratory. METHODS: This single-center, retrospective, pragmatic, quasi-experimental study was conducted to compare pre- and post-intervention effects at Saiseikai Futsukaichi Hospital. We analyzed the days of therapy (DOT) for carbapenems and days of antibiotic spectrum coverage (DASC) for antimicrobials using an interrupted time series analysis. Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to assess 30-day mortality using propensity score and inverse probability of treatment weighting in patients with bacteremia. RESULTS: Pharmacist-driven interventions significantly reduced the DOT (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.53, 95 % confidence intervals [CI]: 0.33-0.81, p = 0.003) and DASC (IRR: 0.87, 95 % CI: 0.78-0.97, p = 0.016). The 30-day mortality due to bacteremia did not significantly differ between pre- and post-intervention in all patients (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 0.92, 95 % CI: 0.56-1.51, p = 0.74). Conversely, pharmacist-driven interventions significantly reduced the 30-day mortality owing to bacteremia with Pitt bacteremia score (PBS) ≥4 (adjusted HR: 0.52, 95 % CI: 0.28-0.99, p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist-driven interventions may represent a valuable approach for optimizing antimicrobial treatment and improving prognosis, especially in patients with PBS ≥4, which will potentially benefit patients in similar healthcare environments facing challenges related to antimicrobial stewardship and patient prognosis.

Open science practices in the false memory literature.

In response to the replication crisis in psychology, the scientific community has advocated open science practices to promote transparency and reproducibility. Although existing reviews indicate inconsistent and generally low adoption of open science in psychology, a current-day, detailed analysis is lacking. Recognising the significant impact of false memory research in legal contexts, we conducted a preregistered systematic review to assess the integration of open science practices within this field, analysing 388 publications from 2015 to 2023 (including 15 replications and 3 meta-analyses). Our findings indicated a significant yet varied adoption of open science practices. Most studies (86.86%) adhered to at least one measure, with publication accessibility being the most consistently adopted practice at 73.97%. While data sharing demonstrated the most substantial growth, reaching about 75% by 2023, preregistration and analysis script sharing lagged, with 20-25% adoption in 2023. This review highlights a promising trend towards enhanced research quality, transparency, and reproducibility in false memory research. However, the inconsistent implementation of open science practices may still challenge the verification, replication, and interpretation of research findings. Our study underscores the need for a comprehensive adoption of open science to improve research reliability and validity substantially, fostering trust and credibility in psychology.

Digital education about delirium for health care professional students: a mixed methods systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Competence in delirium care begins with pre-registration education for health care professionals. Although a common complication for hospitalised patients, delirium is avoidable and reversible. Delirium requires early recognition in person-centred care. Students need to learn how to identify and effectively care for 'at risk' patients. AIM: To identify and examine literature on how pre-registration health care professional students are prepared to recognise, assess, and deliver interventions to prevent delirium in practice, using digital/web based educational interventions. METHOD: Mixed methods systematic review with narrative synthesis. A protocol was registered with PROSPERO. The review questions and search strategy were guided by the Population, Phenomena of Interest, Context (PICo) framework. The PRISMA framework guided the screening, data extraction and analysis. Database searches (MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO & Scopus) were undertaken in April 2023 for publications from 2012 to 2023. Covidence software [30] was used to extract and manage the data. Quality appraisal was guided by the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool (CCAT) [31]. FINDINGS: Ten papers were included: mixed methods (2), qualitative (1) and quantitative (7). Medical students were the most studied group (n = 5), followed by student nurses (n = 4) and mixed nursing and medical students (n = 1). Length of learning experience varied from 12 min virtual reality (VR) to a two-week 'geriatrics' elective. Learning was enhanced by player autonomy, engagement, safety, applicability, choices, multiple perspectives and moral reasoning opportunities. DISCUSSION: Digital programmes should be visually appealing, interactive with opportunities for practice and timely appropriate feedback.

Adapting Open Science and Pre-registration to Longitudinal Research.

Open science practices, such as pre-registration and data sharing, increase transparency and may improve the replicability of developmental science. However, developmental science has lagged behind other fields in implementing open science practices. This lag may arise from unique challenges and considerations of longitudinal research. In this paper, preliminary guidelines are provided for adapting open science practices to longitudinal research to facilitate researchers' use of these practices. The guidelines propose a serial and modular approach to registration that includes an initial pre-registration of the methods and focal hypotheses of the longitudinal study, along with subsequent pre- or co-registered questions, hypotheses, and analysis plans associated with specific papers. Researchers are encouraged to share their research materials and relevant data with associated papers, and to report sufficient information for replicability. In addition, there should be careful consideration about requirements regarding the timing of data sharing, to avoid disincentivizing longitudinal research.

Evaluating the NMC proficiencies framework: perspectives of students and educators 5 years on.

It is now half a decade since the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) launched Future Nurse: Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses. Applicable nationally, this proficiencies framework dictates specific elements of nursing praxis that all pre-registrants must achieve in order to qualify as registered nurses, before going on to gain employment in either the NHS or adjacent healthcare providers. The NMC proficiencies framework is subdivided into seven proficiencies and two annexes, each of which contains multiple specific criteria detailing the skillset pre-registrants must demonstrate, in order to be signed off by a qualified educator. Subsequently, in the last 5 years the standards have brought about significant alterations to the delivery of nursing programmes at UK higher education institutions. This article reports the results of a pair of service evaluations, which gathered feedback from both pre-registrant students and educators in relation to their direct experiences of the NMC's proficiencies framework. The authors compare the contemporary perspectives collated here against earlier academic appraisals of the guidance framework, in order to outline its past and present reception at the level of delivery.

Open Science in eating disorders: Using current evidence to inspire a plan for increasing the transparency of our research.

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing consensus that open science practices improve the transparency and quality of clinical science. However, several barriers impede the implementation of these practices at the individual, institutional, and field levels; understanding and addressing these barriers is critical to promoting targeted efforts in increasing effective uptake of open science. METHODS: Within this research forum, we drew from publicly available online information sources to identify initial characterizations of researchers engaged in several types of open science practices in the field of eating disorders. We use these observations to discuss potential barriers and recommendations for next steps in the promotion of these practices. RESULTS: Data from online open science repositories suggest that individuals using these publishing approaches with pre-prints and articles with eating-disorder-relevant content are predominantly non-male gender identifying, early to mid-career stage, and are more likely to be European-, United States-, or Canada-based. DISCUSSION: We outline recommendations for tangible ways that the eating disorder field can support broad, increased uptake of open science practices, including supporting initiatives to increase knowledge and correct misconceptions; and prioritizing the development and accessibility of open science resources. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The use of open science practices has the potential to increase the transparency and quality of clinical science. This Forum uses publicly sourced online data to characterize researchers engaged in open science practices in the field of eating disorders. These observations provide an important framework from which to discuss potential barriers to open science and recommendations for next steps in the promotion of these practices.

Open Science Practices in Gambling Research Publications (2016-2019): A Scoping Review.

The replication crisis has stimulated researchers around the world to adopt open science research practices intended to reduce publication bias and improve research quality. Open science practices include study pre-registration, open data, open access, and avoiding methods that can lead to publication bias and low replication rates. Although gambling studies uses similar research methods as behavioral research fields that have struggled with replication, we know little about the uptake of open science research practices in gambling-focused research. We conducted a scoping review of 500 recent (1/1/2016-12/1/2019) studies focused on gambling and problem gambling to examine the use of open science and transparent research practices. Our results showed that a small percentage of studies used most practices: whereas 54.6% (95% CI: [50.2, 58.9]) of studies used at least one of nine open science practices, each practice's prevalence was: 1.6% for pre-registration (95% CI: [0.8, 3.1]), 3.2% for open data (95% CI: [2.0, 5.1]), 0% for open notebook, 35.2% for open access (95% CI: [31.1, 39.5]), 7.8% for open materials (95% CI: [5.8, 10.5]), 1.4% for open code (95% CI: [0.7, 2.9]), and 15.0% for preprint posting (95% CI: [12.1, 18.4]). In all, 6.4% (95% CI: [4.6, 8.9]) of the studies included a power analysis and 2.4% (95% CI: [1.4, 4.2]) were replication studies. Exploratory analyses showed that studies that used any open science practice, and open access in particular, had higher citation counts. We suggest several practical ways to enhance the uptake of open science principles and practices both within gambling studies and in science more generally.

Implementing an interprofessional palliative care education program to speech-language therapy and dietetic students.

Palliative care education for allied health professionals has received minimal research attention. This longitudinal study followed the development of an education program for speech-language therapy (SLT) and dietetic (DT) students. The project comprised three stages. In Stage I, consenting SLT and DT graduates (n = 9) were interviewed 6 months after graduation exploring preparedness for working in palliative care. Interviews were transcribed, and topics were extracted through content analysis. In Stage II, a new palliative care curriculum was developed using the extant literature and gaps reported in Stage I. In Stage III, we implemented and evaluated the new curriculum. Students were surveyed before (n = 68) and after (n = 42) the new program and at 6-month post-graduation (n = 15) to capture student-reported changes in knowledge and confidence in palliative care. In Stage I, 10 topics were developed covering knowledge, roles, team, family-focused care, and feelings. In Stage II, a hybrid program was developed including e-learning modules, didactic lectures, and a simulated learning experience. In Stage III, student feedback demonstrated positive shifts in knowledge and confidence ratings from medians 3-6 to 5-8 (1 = none; 10 = excellent) across all domains. Gains in knowledge and confidence were consistently higher at 6-month post-graduation for final survey respondents. Mixed modality interprofessional palliative care education for allied health professionals has merit in improving knowledge, confidence, and perceived preparedness for practice.

Work-place cancer and palliative care interprofessional education: experiences of students and staff.

Workplace-based interprofessional education (IPE) offers opportunities for pre-registration students to interact with patients in authentic settings. Senior dietetic, medical, nursing, physiotherapy and radiation therapy students took part in a workplace IPE initiative on cancer and palliative care informed by experiential learning theory and run by clinical tutors. Research was undertaken to gauge students and tutors' experiences of the initiative. The mixed methods approach included: Pre and post-administration of the University of West England Interprofessional questionnaire 'Communication and Teamwork Scale, 'Interprofessional Learning Scale,' 'Interprofessional Interaction Scale.' Two questions were added relating to cancer and palliative care. Separate focus group interviews were held with students and tutors. There was a positive shift in the Communication and Teamwork scale based on students' pre and post questionnaires, but no change in the other two scales. Analysis of student and tutor focus group data showed that both affirmed the IPE initiative for a range of reasons. A brief experiential, theory-informed IPE initiative with a focus on cancer and palliative care was well received by both students and clinical tutors. The mixed method approach highlighted some discrepancies between quantitative and qualitative results but when synthesized were explicable, demonstrating the value of using a mixed methods approach to research.

Community nurse lecturers' experiences of pre-registration nurse education: a phenomenological study.

The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of community nurse lecturers in pre-registration nurse education and to gain insight into the nature of community nursing and its profile within pre-registration nursing. A qualitative phenomenological approach explored pre-registration, adult field nurse lecturers' experiences of being community nurses and subsequently their experiences of being community nurse lecturers. Three participants audio recorded answers prompted by three questions that allowed for storytelling and prompted memory recall. The results were analysed, and the themes identified were: community nursing is vastly different to hospital nursing, with a notable heightened sense of accountability, lone working and a recognition of experience needed to be a community nurse. When reflecting on their role as lecturers, research participants recalled responses that informed the second theme: the pre-registration adult nursing curriculum was acute care focused and this was also the expectation of students. Results identified tensions between community nursing and critical care nursing, and a loss of identity to which each of them embraced in different ways.

Development of online cancer resources to support pre-registration nurses and allied health professionals.

Cancer rates are increasing, and more people are living with cancer and its consequences. Healthcare students will be caring for people affected by cancer in all clinical contexts. However, pre-registration programmes can include limited cancer education and not all students will have the opportunity for a clinical placement in a cancer setting. This can result in healthcare students feeling unprepared to care for people affected by cancer. To address this need, nine e-learning modules, collectively called The Foundations of Cancer Care, have been developed to support students' knowledge, understanding and confidence about cancer. This article outlines the development and peer review of The Foundations of Cancer Care. The resultant modules are freely available to all those with an Open Athens account or NHS or UK university email address via the NHS Learning Hub (https://learninghub.nhs.uk).

Research placements: are they a suitable alternative for student nurses?

COVID-19 has affected those undertaking courses in higher education, especially programmes in health care with clinical placements. Many student nurses were unable to undertake their planned clinical placements and had to adjust to self-directed learning and an increase in simulated learning. As a suitable alternative to clinical placements, a research placement for two second-year BSc adult nursing students was trialled, and this article presents an account from one placement. The academic team devised specific questions for students to consider for their research electives and provided a template for their written work with the aim of writing up a weekly report to reflect their learning. In particular, the students had to identify how their learning related to the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council code of conduct. The research placement was successful and shows great potential, offering students tangible opportunities to seek out the evidence for themselves and use it to inform their clinical practice.

The approaches and motivations to learning of student nurses: a phenomenological study.

This research study was undertaken to elicit a group of final-year student nurses' perceptions of their motivations and approaches to learning, and the implications of their views. It is important to explore this subject because students' motivations and approaches to learning can potentially impact patient care. This study was part of a larger research project. The sample consisted of 18 final-year student nurses at a large UK university. Students completed semi-structured interviews that used a qualitative constructivist approach to explore their educational experience. Students described what motivated them to learn, and how they approached their learning because of their understanding of which subjects they believed were and were not important. Students felt that clinical skills were the most important subjects, and topics such as health promotion, law and ethics, were less important and therefore they approached these subjects in a superficial way, learning just enough to pass their course. Clinical skills were perceived as more useful because they would be used directly in clinical practice. The findings of this study are significant to inform nurse educators as they plan curricula and provide an insight into what may potentially adversely affect patient care when students become registered nurses.

FLUX: A pipeline for MEG analysis.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) allows for quantifying modulations of human neuronal activity on a millisecond time scale while also making it possible to estimate the location of the underlying neuronal sources. The technique relies heavily on signal processing and source modelling. To this end, there are several open-source toolboxes developed by the community. While these toolboxes are powerful as they provide a wealth of options for analyses, the many options also pose a challenge for reproducible research as well as for researchers new to the field. The FLUX pipeline aims to make the analyses steps and setting explicit for standard analysis done in cognitive neuroscience. It focuses on quantifying and source localization of oscillatory brain activity, but it can also be used for event-related fields and multivariate pattern analysis. The pipeline is derived from the Cogitate consortium addressing a set of concrete cognitive neuroscience questions. Specifically, the pipeline including documented code is defined for MNE Python (a Python toolbox) and FieldTrip (a Matlab toolbox), and a data set on visuospatial attention is used to illustrate the steps. The scripts are provided as notebooks implemented in Jupyter Notebook and MATLAB Live Editor providing explanations, justifications and graphical outputs for the essential steps. Furthermore, we also provide suggestions for text and parameter settings to be used in registrations and publications to improve replicability and facilitate pre-registrations. The FLUX can be used for education either in self-studies or guided workshops. We expect that the FLUX pipeline will strengthen the field of MEG by providing some standardization on the basic analysis steps and by aligning approaches across toolboxes. Furthermore, we also aim to support new researchers entering the field by providing education and training. The FLUX pipeline is not meant to be static; it will evolve with the development of the toolboxes and with new insights. Furthermore, with the anticipated increase in MEG systems based on the Optically Pumped Magnetometers, the pipeline will also evolve to embrace these developments.

Male social niche conformance? Effects of manipulated opportunity for extra-pair mating on behavior and hormones of male zebra finches.

Success in sperm competition is an important determinant of male fitness in mating systems with female multiple mating. Thus, sperm competition risk represents a key dimension of the male social environment to which individual males are expected to adaptively adjust their reproductive phenotype. Such adaptive phenotypic adjustment we here refer to as male social niche conformance. In this pre-registered study, we investigated how male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, adjust their behavior to sperm competition risk. We experimentally manipulated the opportunity for extra-pair mating to create two levels of sperm competition risk: 1) Single-pair, no sperm competition risk; 2) Double-pair, sperm competition risk. We compared male courtship, mate guarding, copulation rates, and aggression between the treatment groups. To identify hormonal correlates of male behavioral adjustment, we measured plasma testosterone and corticosterone levels before and after the social treatment started. Contrary to our pre-registered predictions, males from the Double-pair treatment group decreased courtship rates compared to those from the Single-pair group, and Double-pair males responded less aggressively towards intruders than Single-pair males. Testosterone levels decreased over the breeding cycle, but social treatment had no effect on either testosterone or corticosterone levels. Our results indicate that male zebra finches do not intensify courtship or competitive reproductive behaviors, or upregulate key hormones when another breeding pair is present. Although we found no evidence for the predicted adaptive behavioral responses to sperm competition risk, we show that male zebra finches plastically adjust their behavior to their social environment.

Protecting against researcher bias in secondary data analysis: challenges and potential solutions.

Analysis of secondary data sources (such as cohort studies, survey data, and administrative records) has the potential to provide answers to science and society's most pressing questions. However, researcher biases can lead to questionable research practices in secondary data analysis, which can distort the evidence base. While pre-registration can help to protect against researcher biases, it presents challenges for secondary data analysis. In this article, we describe these challenges and propose novel solutions and alternative approaches. Proposed solutions include approaches to (1) address bias linked to prior knowledge of the data, (2) enable pre-registration of non-hypothesis-driven research, (3) help ensure that pre-registered analyses will be appropriate for the data, and (4) address difficulties arising from reduced analytic flexibility in pre-registration. For each solution, we provide guidance on implementation for researchers and data guardians. The adoption of these practices can help to protect against researcher bias in secondary data analysis, to improve the robustness of research based on existing data.

Critical thinking development in undergraduate midwifery students: an Australian validation study using Rasch analysis.

BACKGROUND: Well-developed critical thinking skills are required to provide midwifery care that is safe, evidence-based, and woman-centred. A valid, reliable tool to measure is required the application of critical thinking in midwifery practice. The Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (CACTiM) has previously been psychometrically assessed using classical methods at a single site. This study aims to further evaluate the properties of CACTiM tools using Rasch analysis in a diverse group of midwifery students and preceptors.  METHODS: The CACTiM tools were completed by undergraduate midwifery students studying at three Australian universities and their preceptors. Midwifery students' critical thinking was evaluated separately through student self-assessment and preceptor assessment and then matched. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate the validity of the tools.  RESULTS: Rasch analysis confirmed both the preceptor and student CACTiM tools demonstrated good reliability and unidimensionality. The items can differentiate between students' ability to apply critical thinking in midwifery practice. Person reliability and item reliability were above .92 for both scales indicating excellent reliability and internal consistency. Several improvements were identified to the tools, including enhanced wording to some items, and reduction to a 5-point Likert scale. Through analysis of lower-scoring items, midwifery programs can identify curricula enhancements. CONCLUSION: The CACTiM student and preceptor tools are valid and reliable measures of critical thinking in midwifery practice. The tools can assess students' critical thinking abilities and identify areas for development for individuals and across student cohorts through curricula enhancements.

Open Science and Intervention Research: a Program Developer's and Researcher's Perspective on Issues and Concerns.

Open Science practices bear great promise for making research in general more reproducible and transparent, and these goals are very important for preventive intervention research. From my perspective as a program co-developer, I note potential concerns and issues of how open science practices can be used in intervention research. Key issues considered are in the realms of pre-registration (making pre-registration a living document; providing rewards for hypothesis-generating research, in addition to hypothesis-testing research), data archiving (resources for data archiving of large datasets; ethical issues related to need for strong de-identification), and research materials (intervention manuals and materials, and characteristics, training and supervision of intervention staff). The paper focuses on easier-to-address and considerably harder-to-address issues and concerns in these three areas.