Investigation of research quality and transparency in neurosurgery through the utilization of open science practices.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Neurosurgical research is a rapidly evolving field, with numerous studies continuously published. As the body of research grows, upholding high-quality standards becomes increasingly essential. Open science practices offer tools to ensure quality and transparency. However, the prevalence of these practices remains unclear. This study investigated the extent to which neurosurgical publications have implemented open science practices. METHODS: Five open science practices (preprint, equator guidelines, published peer review comments, preregistration, and open accessibility to data and methods) were measured from five top-ranked neurosurgical journals (Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery, World Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Review, and Acta Neurochirurgica), according to Google Scholar. One hundred fifty articles were randomly sampled from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. Two reviewers analyzed these articles for their utilization of open science practices. A third reviewer settled disagreements. RESULTS: One journal required (20%) and three journals (60%) recommended utilizing EQUATOR guidelines. Three journals (60%) allowed preprints, and all five journals (100%) recommended or required preregistration of clinical trials, but only two (40%) recommended preregistration for systematic reviews (Fig. 1). All five journals (100%) recommended or required methods to be publicly available, but none (0%) published peer-review comments. Neurosurgical Review utilized the most open science practices, with a mean utilization of 1.4 open science practices per publication versus 0.9 across the other four journals (p < 0.001). Moreover, Neurosurgical Review significantly utilized more open science practices versus Journal of Neurosurgery (p < 0.05) and World Neurosurgery (p < 0.05). Both randomized controlled trials (p < 0.001) and systematic reviews (p < 0.001) significantly utilized more open science practices compared to observational studies. CONCLUSIONS: Despite advocacy from neurosurgical journals, the adoption of open science practices still needs improvement. Implementing incentives and clearer requirements may prove beneficial. Promoting these practices is crucial to enhancing research quality in neurosurgery.

Liquid metal enabled pump.

Small-scale pumps will be the heartbeat of many future micro/nanoscale platforms. However, the integration of small-scale pumps is presently hampered by limited flow rate with respect to the input power, and their rather complicated fabrication processes. These issues arise as many conventional pumping effects require intricate moving elements. Here, we demonstrate a system that we call the liquid metal enabled pump, for driving a range of liquids without mechanical moving parts, upon the application of modest electric field. This pump incorporates a droplet of liquid metal, which induces liquid flow at high flow rates, yet with exceptionally low power consumption by electrowetting/deelectrowetting at the metal surface. We present theory explaining this pumping mechanism and show that the operation is fundamentally different from other existing pumps. The presented liquid metal enabled pump is both efficient and simple, and thus has the potential to fundamentally advance the field of microfluidics.

Can Artificial Intelligence Mitigate Missed Diagnoses by Generating Differential Diagnoses for Neurosurgeons?

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Neurosurgery emphasizes the criticality of accurate differential diagnoses, with diagnostic delays posing significant health and economic challenges. As large language models (LLMs) emerge as transformative tools in healthcare, this study seeks to elucidate their role in assisting neurosurgeons with the differential diagnosis process, especially during preliminary consultations. METHODS: This study employed 3 chat-based LLMs, ChatGPT (versions 3.5 and 4.0), Perplexity AI, and Bard AI, to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy. Each LLM was prompted using clinical vignettes, and their responses were recorded to generate differential diagnoses for 20 common and uncommon neurosurgical disorders. Disease-specific prompts were crafted using Dynamed, a clinical reference tool. The accuracy of the LLMs was determined based on their ability to identify the target disease within their top differential diagnoses correctly. RESULTS: For the initial differential, ChatGPT 3.5 achieved an accuracy of 52.63%, while ChatGPT 4.0 performed slightly better at 53.68%. Perplexity AI and Bard AI demonstrated 40.00% and 29.47% accuracy, respectively. As the number of considered differentials increased from 2 to 5, ChatGPT 3.5 reached its peak accuracy of 77.89% for the top 5 differentials. Bard AI and Perplexity AI had varied performances, with Bard AI improving in the top 5 differentials at 62.11%. On a disease-specific note, the LLMs excelled in diagnosing conditions like epilepsy and cervical spine stenosis but faced challenges with more complex diseases such as Moyamoya disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: LLMs showcase the potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy and decrease the incidence of missed diagnoses in neurosurgery.

Ti-free optical waveguiding regions produced by LiNbO3 etching during the indiffusion of Ti.

We report the observation, first to our knowledge, of optical waveguiding found beneath trenches etched in congruent lithium niobate using the recently reported etching during the indiffusion of Ti process. Observations of multi-mode and single-mode guiding at visible wavelengths and preliminary measurements of waveguide insertion losses are presented.

Liquid metal/metal oxide frameworks with incorporated Ga2O3 for photocatalysis.

Solvothermally synthesized Ga2O3 nanoparticles are incorporated into liquid metal/metal oxide (LM/MO) frameworks in order to form enhanced photocatalytic systems. The LM/MO frameworks, both with and without incorporated Ga2O3 nanoparticles, show photocatalytic activity due to a plasmonic effect where performance is related to the loading of Ga2O3 nanoparticles. Optimum photocatalytic efficiency is obtained with 1 wt % incorporation of Ga2O3 nanoparticles. This can be attributed to the sub-bandgap states of LM/MO frameworks, contributing to pseudo-ohmic contacts which reduce the free carrier injection barrier to Ga2O3.

An investigation on platelet transport during thrombus formation at micro-scale stenosis.

This paper reports on an investigation of mass transport of blood cells at micro-scale stenosis where local strain-rate micro-gradients trigger platelet aggregation. Using a microfluidic flow focusing platform we investigate the blood flow streams that principally contribute to platelet aggregation under shear micro-gradient conditions. We demonstrate that relatively thin surface streams located at the channel wall are the primary contributor of platelets to the developing aggregate under shear gradient conditions. Furthermore we delineate a role for red blood cell hydrodynamic lift forces in driving enhanced advection of platelets to the stenosis wall and surface of developing aggregates. We show that this novel microfluidic platform can be effectively used to study the role of mass transport phenomena driving platelet recruitment and aggregate formation and believe that this approach will lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying shear-gradient dependent discoid platelet aggregation in the context of cardiovascular diseases such as acute coronary syndromes and ischemic stroke.

Electrochemically induced actuation of liquid metal marbles.

Controlled actuation of soft objects with functional surfaces in aqueous environments presents opportunities for liquid phase electronics, novel assembled super-structures and unusual mechanical properties. We show the extraordinary electrochemically induced actuation of liquid metal droplets coated with nanoparticles, so-called "liquid metal marbles". We demonstrate that nanoparticle coatings of these marbles offer an extra dimension for affecting the bipolar electrochemically induced actuation. The nanoparticles can readily migrate along the surface of liquid metals, upon the application of electric fields, altering the capacitive behaviour and surface tension in a highly asymmetric fashion. Surprising actuation behaviours are observed illustrating that nanoparticle coatings can have a strong effect on the movement of these marbles. This significant novel phenomenon, combined with unique properties of liquid metal marbles, represents an exciting platform for enabling diverse applications that cannot be achieved using rigid metal beads.