Shortcut citations in the methods section: Frequency, problems, and strategies for responsible reuse.

Methods sections are often missing essential details. Methodological shortcut citations, in which authors cite previous papers instead of describing the method in detail, may contribute to this problem. This meta-research study used 3 approaches to examine shortcut citation use in neuroscience, biology, and psychiatry. First, we assessed current practices in more than 750 papers. More than 90% of papers used shortcut citations. Other common reasons for using citations in the methods included giving credit or specifying what was used (who or what citation) and providing context or a justification (why citation). Next, we reviewed 15 papers to determine what can happen when readers follow shortcut citations to find methodological details. While shortcut citations can be used effectively, they can also deprive readers of essential methodological details. Problems encountered included difficulty identifying or accessing the cited materials, missing or insufficient descriptions of the cited method, and shortcut citation chains. Third, we examined journal policies. Fewer than one quarter of journals had policies describing how authors should report previously described methods. We propose that methodological shortcut citations should meet 3 criteria; cited resources should provide (1) a detailed description of (2) the method used by the citing authors', and (3) be open access. Resources that do not meet these criteria should be cited to give credit, but not as shortcut citations. We outline actions that authors and journals can take to use shortcut citations responsibly, while fostering a culture of open and reproducible methods reporting.

Identification and comparison of sex-specific serious adverse drug reactions in spontaneous reports and systematically collected reports (ADRED).

AIMS: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are known to show sex-specific differences in occurrence and phenotype. The aim of this study was to analyse sex-specific differences in ADR-drug combinations that required hospitalization based on two different datasets. METHODS: We performed a complementary analysis of (i) spontaneously reported (n = 12 564, female = 51.7%) and (ii) systematically collected ADR reports from a prospective multicentre observational study (ADRED, n = 2355, female = 48.2%) from Germany in the ADR database EudraVigilance (EV). Both datasets were analysed separately concerning the suspected drugs, ADRs and ADR-drug combinations more frequently reported for females or males by calculating reporting odds ratios (ROR) with 95% confidence intervals. ADR-drug combinations more frequently reported for either females or males in EV reports were related to prescription data. Finally, the results from both datasets were discussed with regard to their (dis-)concordance. RESULTS: In both datasets, some antineoplastic agents and nervous system drugs were found to be reported more often for females than males (RORs ranging from 1.5 [1.1-2.1] for quetiapine in spontaneous reports to 41.3 [13.1-130.0] for trastuzumab in spontaneous reports). ADRs of the respiratory system, and haemorrhages were described predominantly for males in both datasets. In spontaneous reports the ADR-drug combination self-injurious behaviour-quetiapine was more often reported for females without and with consideration of drug prescriptions (ROR: 3.8 [1.3-11.0]). Quetiapine and psychiatric disorders (superordinate level) was exclusively reported for females in ADRED reports. CONCLUSIONS: Our results can contribute to raise awareness and further knowledge regarding sex-specific ADRs. The findings require further in-depth investigation.

Fluorescence Lifetime Changes Induced by Laser Irradiation: A Preclinical Study towards the Evaluation of Retinal Metabolic States.

Fluorescence Lifetime (FLT) of intrinsic fluorophores may alter under the change in metabolic state. In this study, the FLT of rabbit retina was investigated in vivo after laser irradiation using fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO). The retina of the Chinchilla bastard rabbits was irradiated with a 514 nm diode laser. FLIO, fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were conducted 30 min and 1 to 3 weeks after treatment. After strong coagulation, the FLT at laser spots was significantly elongated immediately after irradiation, conversely shortened after more than a week. Histological examination showed eosinophilic substance and melanin clumping in subretinal space at the coagulation spots older than one week. The FLT was also elongated right around the coagulation spots, which corresponded to the discontinuous ellipsoid zone (EZ) on OCT. This EZ change was recovered after one week, and the FLT became the same level as the surroundings. In addition, there was a region around the laser spot where the FLT was temporarily shorter than the surrounding area. When weak pulse energy was applied to selectively destroy only the RPE, a shortening of the FLT was observed immediately around the laser spot within one week after irradiation. FLIO could serve as a tool to evaluate the structural and metabolic response of the retina to laser treatments.

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium During Wound Healing After Laser Irradiation.

PURPOSE: To investigate the change in fluorescence lifetime of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) after laser irradiation by using an organ culture model. METHODS: Porcine RPE-choroid-sclera explants were irradiated with selective retina treatment laser (wavelength: 527 nm, beam diameter: 200 µm, energy: 80-150 µJ). At 24 and 72 hours after irradiation, the mean fluorescence lifetime (τm ) was measured with fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) (excitation wavelength: 473 nm, emission: short spectral channel: 498-560 nm, long spectral channel: 560-720 nm). For every laser spot, central damaged zone (zone 1: 120 × 120 µm), area including wound rim (280 × 280 µm except zone 1), and environmental zone (440 × 440 µm except zone 1 and 2) were analyzed. Peripheral zone at a distance from laser spots longer than 2000 µm was examined for comparison. Cell viability was evaluated with calcein-acetoxymethyl ester and morphology with fluorescence microscopy for filamentous-actin. RESULTS: The RPE defect after selective retina treatment was mostly closed within 72 hours. FLIO clearly demarcated the irradiated region, with prolonged τm at the center of the defect decreasing with eccentricity. In short spectral channel, but not in long spectral channel, τm in the environmental zone after 72 hours was still significantly longer than in the peripheral zone. CONCLUSIONS: FLIO may clearly demarcate the RPE defect, demonstrate its closure, and, moreover, indicate the induced metabolic changes of surrounding cells during wound healing. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: This ex vivo study showed that FLIO may be used to evaluate the extent and quality of restoration of the damaged RPE and to detect its metabolic change in human fundus noninvasively.