Team science: building, nurturing, and expanding research collaborations.

Science is a collaborative endeavor, and the importance of collaborations across disciplines and boundaries is becoming clearer with the advent of new technologies. This article focuses on key aspects of initiating and sustaining new collaborations, and expanding from bilateral to multilateral efforts to create major impact through team science.

Ultrafast sound production mechanism in one of the smallest vertebrates.

Motion is the basis of nearly all animal behavior. Evolution has led to some extraordinary specializations of propulsion mechanisms among invertebrates, including the mandibles of the dracula ant and the claw of the pistol shrimp. In contrast, vertebrate skeletal movement is considered to be limited by the speed of muscle, saturating around 250 Hz. Here, we describe the unique propulsion mechanism by which Danionella cerebrum, a miniature cyprinid fish of only 12 mm length, produces high amplitude sounds exceeding 140 dB (re. 1 µPa, at a distance of one body length). Using a combination of high-speed video, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), RNA profiling, and finite difference simulations, we found that D. cerebrum employ a unique sound production mechanism that involves a drumming cartilage, a specialized rib, and a dedicated muscle adapted for low fatigue. This apparatus accelerates the drumming cartilage at over 2,000 g, shooting it at the swim bladder to generate a rapid, loud pulse. These pulses are chained together to make calls with either bilaterally alternating or unilateral muscle contractions. D. cerebrum use this remarkable mechanism for acoustic communication with conspecifics.

Prosocial motives underlie scientific censorship by scientists: A perspective and research agenda.

Science is among humanity's greatest achievements, yet scientific censorship is rarely studied empirically. We explore the social, psychological, and institutional causes and consequences of scientific censorship (defined as actions aimed at obstructing particular scientific ideas from reaching an audience for reasons other than low scientific quality). Popular narratives suggest that scientific censorship is driven by authoritarian officials with dark motives, such as dogmatism and intolerance. Our analysis suggests that scientific censorship is often driven by scientists, who are primarily motivated by self-protection, benevolence toward peer scholars, and prosocial concerns for the well-being of human social groups. This perspective helps explain both recent findings on scientific censorship and recent changes to scientific institutions, such as the use of harm-based criteria to evaluate research. We discuss unknowns surrounding the consequences of censorship and provide recommendations for improving transparency and accountability in scientific decision-making to enable the exploration of these unknowns. The benefits of censorship may sometimes outweigh costs. However, until costs and benefits are examined empirically, scholars on opposing sides of ongoing debates are left to quarrel based on competing values, assumptions, and intuitions.

Naming and shaming as a strategy for enforcing the Paris Agreement: The role of political institutions and public concern.

Enforcement is a challenge for effective international cooperation. In human rights and environmental law, along with many other domains of international cooperation, "naming and shaming" is often used as an enforcement mechanism in the absence of stronger alternatives. Naming and shaming hinges on the ability to identify countries whose efforts are inadequate and effectively shame them toward better behavior. Research on this approach has struggled to identify factors that explain when it influences state behavior in ways that lead to more cooperation. Via survey of a large (N = 910) novel sample of experienced diplomats involved in the design of the Paris Agreement, we find support for the proposition that naming and shaming is most accepted and effective in influencing the behavior of countries that have high-quality political institutions, strong internal concern about climate change, and ambitious and credible international climate commitments. Naming and shaming appears less effective in other countries, so further enforcement mechanisms will be needed for truly global cooperation. We also find that the climate diplomacy experts favor a process of naming and shaming that relies on official intergovernmental actors, in contrast with studies suggesting that NGOs, media, and other private actors are more effective at naming and shaming. We suggest that these tensions-the inability for naming and shaming to work effectively within the countries least motivated for climate action and the preference for namers and shamers that seem least likely to be effective-will become central policy debates around making cooperation on climate change more enforceable.

Role of Carbon Nanotube Wetting Transparency in Rapid Water Transport for a Nanopore Membrane.

A carbon nanotube (CNT) may facilitate near-frictionless water transport within it. In this work, we elucidate the slip flow characteristics for a CNT embedded in a silicon nitride matrix using the molecular dynamics (MD) method. We reveal that the wetting transparency of a CNT, the transmission of the membrane matrix wetting property over a CNT, cannot be ignored. Due to the effect of CNT wetting transparency, the orientation flip behavior of water molecules should be the primary cause of the entrance and exit losses, which is a dominant factor influencing the interfacial friction coefficient for the thin CNT membrane. The relationship between the friction coefficient and pore size follows a logarithmic function, which agrees well with the reported experimental data. Our findings bridge the gap between the MD prediction and experimental observation for water transport in a CNT membrane and provide a clear understanding of the mechanism behind its ultrafast flow performance.

Engineering an Almost All-Waterborne System for Transparent yet Superhydrophobic Surfaces with High Liquid Impalement Resistance.

Realistically, green manufacturing of transparent superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) and high liquid impalement resistance for outdoor engineering are very necessary but pretty challenging. To address this, an almost all-waterborne system composed of synthesized partially open-cage fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane bearing a pair of -OH (poc-FPOSS-2OH), silica sol, and resin precursor is engineered. The transparent SHSs facilely formed by this system are featured with the exclusive presence of wrapped silica nanoparticle (SiNP) dendritic networks at solid-gas interfaces. The wrapped SiNP dendritic networks have a small aggregation size and low distribution depth, making SHSs highly transparent. The Si-O polymeric wrappers render mechanical flexibility to SiNP dendritic networks and thus enable transparent SHSs to resist high-speed water jet impinging with a Weber number of ≥19 800 in conjunction with the extremely low-surface-energy poc-FPOSS-2OH, which is the highest liquid impalement resistance so far among waterborne SHSs, and can rival the state-of-the-art solventborne SHSs.

Ultrahigh-Q Metasurface Transparency Band Induced by Collective-Collective Coupling.

The metasurface analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) provides a chip-scale platform for achieving light delay and storage, high Q factors, and greatly enhanced optical fields. However, the literature relies on the coupling between localized and localized or localized and collective resonances, limiting the Q factor and related performance. Here, we report a novel approach for realizing collective EIT-like bands with a measured Q factor reaching 2750 in silicon metasurfaces in the near-infrared regime, exceeding the state of the art by more than 5 times. It employs the coupling between two collective resonances, the Mie electric dipole surface lattice resonance (SLR) and the out-of-plane/in-plane electric quadrupole SLR (EQ-SLR). Remarkably, the collective EIT-like resonance can have diverging Q factor and group delay due to the bound state in the continuum characteristics of the in-plane EQ-SLR. With these findings, our study opens a new route for tailoring light flow in metasurfaces.

Building transparency and reproducibility into the practice of pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes research.

Real-world evidence (RWE) studies are increasingly used to inform policy and clinical decisions. However, there remain concerns about the credibility and reproducibility of RWE studies. Observational researchers should highlight the level of transparency of their studies by providing a succinct statement addressing study transparency with the publication of every paper, poster, or presentation that reports on a RWE study. In this paper, we propose a framework for an explicit transparency statement that declares the level of transparency a given RWE study has achieved across five key domains: 1) protocol, 2) pre-registration, 3) data, 4) code sharing, and 5) reporting checklists.

Rates of price disclosure associated with the surgical treatment of early-stage breast cancer one year after implementation of federal regulations.

PURPOSE: Mastectomy, breast reconstruction (BR) and breast conserving therapy (BCT) are core components of the treatment paradigm for early-stage disease but are differentially associated with significant financial burdens. Given recent price transparency regulations, we sought to characterize rates of disclosure for breast cancer-related surgery, including mastectomy, BCT, and BR (oncoplastic reconstruction, implant, pedicled flap and free flap) and identify associated factors. METHODS: For this cross-sectional analysis, cost reports were obtained from the Turquoise Health price transparency platform for all U.S. hospitals meeting national accreditation standards for breast cancer care. The Healthcare Cost Report Information System was used to collect facility-specific data. Addresses were geocoded to identify hospital referral and census regions while data from CMS was also used to identify the geographic practice cost index. We leveraged a Poisson regression model and relevant Medicare billing codes to analyze factors associated with price disclosure and the availability of an OOP price estimator. RESULTS: Of 447 identified hospitals, 221 (49.4%) disclosed prices for mastectomy and 188 42.1%) disclosed prices for both mastectomy and some form of reconstruction including oncoplastic reduction (n = 184, 97.9%), implants (n = 187, 99.5%), pedicled flaps (n = 89, 47.3%), and free flaps (n = 81, 43.1%). Non-profit status and increased market competition were associated with price nondisclosure. 121 hospitals (27.1%) had an out-of-pocket price estimator that included at least one breast surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Most eligible hospitals did not disclose prices for breast cancer surgery. Distinct hospital characteristics were associated with price disclosure. Breast cancer patients face persistent difficulty in accessing costs.

Temperature-Dependent Modulation of Short-Wave-Infrared Light Transparency Based on Associated Structures of a Liquescent Nickel(III) Complex.

A liquescent bis(malononitriledithiolato)nickel(III) complex with a bis(methoxyethyl)imidazolium cation, 1[Ni(mnt)2 ], exhibits three-stage thermochromic modulation of transparency/absorption in the short-wave-infrared (SWIR) region (1000-2500 nm), driven by associated structural changes. Upon heating, the electronic spectra of 1[Ni(mnt)2 ] in the SWIR region shift to shorter wavelengths accompanying with the solid-liquid phase transition at 76 °C. Further heating to over 109 °C induces a second transition of the electronic spectra, characterized by a blue-shift of the SWIR absorption in the liquid phase. The results of temperature-dependent electronic spectra and magnetic susceptibility indicated that the thermochromic changes can be attributed to the two-step dissociation of the associated structures of [Ni(mnt)2 ]- , occurring during the solid-liquid phase transition and the shift of dimer-monomer equilibrium in the liquid state. These changes can be visualized using an SWIR imaging camera under appropriate SWIR lights.

Fast-Crosslinking Enabled Self-Roughed Polydimethylsiloxane Transparent Superhydrophobic Coating and Its Application in Anti-Liquid-Interference Electrothermal Device.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based transparent and superhydrophobic coatings have important applications, such as anti-icing, corrosion resistance, self-cleaning, etc. However, their applications are limited by the inevitable introduction of nanoparticles/high-temperature/segmented PDMS to facilitate a raspy surface. In this study, a self-roughed, neat PDMS superhydrophobic coating with high transparency is developed via a one-step spray-coating technique. PDMS suspensions with various droplet sizes are synthesized and used as building blocks for raspy surface formation by controlled curing on the warm substrate. The optimal coating exhibits a large water contact angle of 155.4° and transparency (T550 = 82.3%). Meanwhile, the employed spray-coating technique is applicable to modify a plethora of substrates. For proof-of-concept demonstrations, the use of the PDMS hydrophobic coating for anti-liquid-interference electrothermal devices and further transparent observation window for long-term operation in a sub-zero environment is shown successful. The proposed facile synthesis method of hydrophobic PDMS coating is expected to have great potential for a broad range of applications in the large-scale fabrication of fluorine-free, eco-friendly superhydrophobic surfaces.

Needlestick-Stimulation-Induced Conversion of Short-Wave Infrared-Light Transparency Using a Liquescent Radical Anion.

A liquescent salt consisting of a 7,7,8,8-tetracyanquinodimethane (TCNQ) radical anion and a tetra-n-decylammonium ion, 1+•TCNQ•-, exhibits rapid changes in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) light transparency at 1000-1400 nm upon the application of a one-shot needlestick-stimulus. Radical anion salt 1+•TCNQ•- transforms from a blue solid to a green liquid at 90 °C without decomposition under aerated conditions, and remains in the liquid state upon cooling to 70 °C. After applying pressure with a needlestick on a cover glass at 70 °C, the liquid transforms rapidly into the solid state over a timescale of seconds across a centimeter scale of area. Along with the liquid-solid transition, the SWIR-light transparency at 1200 nm completely switches from the "on" to the "off" states. Experimental results, such as electronic spectra and crystal structure analysis, indicates that the SWIR-light absorption in the solid state is due to the existence of a slipped-stacking π-dimer structure for TCNQ•-. The rapid rearrangement is induced by the formation of the π-dimer structures from the monomers of TCNQ•- and the subsequent generations of the solid-state seed.

Anti-UV Passive Radiative Cooling Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Films for Thermal Management.

Passive radiative cooling (PRC) can spontaneously dissipate heat to outer space through atmospheric transparent windows, providing a promising path to meet sustainable development goals. However, achieving simultaneously high transparency, color-customizable, and thermal management of PRC anti ultraviolet (anti-UV) films remains a challenge. Herein, a simple strategy is proposed to utilize liquid crystalline polymer, with high mid-infrared emissive, forming customizable structural color film by molecular self-assembly and polymerization-induced pitch gradient, which guarantees the balance of transparency in visible spectrum and sunlight reflection, rendering anti-UV colored window for thermal management. By performing tests, temperature fall of 5.4 and 7.9 °C are demonstrated at noon with solar intensity of 717 W m-2 and night, respectively. Vivid red-, green-, blue-structured colors, and colorless films are designed and implemented to suppress the solar input and control the effective visible light transmissivity considering the efficiency function of human vision. In addition, temperature rise of 11.1 °C is achieved by applying an alternating current field on the PRC film. This study provides a new perspective on the thermal management and aesthetic functionalities of smart windows and wearables.

Novel 3D versus traditional transesophageal echocardiography techniques: Defining differences in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of current antibiotic and surgical treatment options, infective endocarditis (IE) remains associated with a high mortality rate. Even though two-dimensional (2D) transesophageal echocardiography (TOE) is a major criteria in the diagnosis of IE, it is constrained by the single-plane orientation. Since three-dimensional (3D) TOE provides a comprehensive understanding of the cardiac architecture by allowing for a realistic visualization of the underlying structures in 3D space, it has attracted considerable interest in recent years. AIM: The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the advantages and pitfalls of 3D TOE in patients with IE, as well as to address emerging photo-realistic 3D techniques that have the potential to enhance the visualization of cardiac structures in this setting. RESULTS: According to recent research, 3D TOE acquisitions outperform 2D acquisitions in terms of vegetation identification accuracy and embolism risk assessment. By reporting a variety of findings that are missed with 2D TOE, but which are validated by surgical examination, 3D TOE further improves the ability to identify endocarditis complications on both native and prosthetic valves. In addition to conventional 3D TOE, future developments in 3D technology led to the development of transillumination and tissue-transparency rendering, which may improve anatomical understanding and depth perception. Due to the use of both conventional and novel 3D techniques, there are more patients who require surgical intervention, indicating that 3D TOE may have a clinical relevance on the surgical management. CONCLUSION: 3D TOE might fill the gaps left by 2D TOE in the diagnosis of IE.

Transparency in Cognitive Training Meta-analyses: A Meta-review.

Meta-analyses often present flexibility regarding their inclusion criteria, outcomes of interest, statistical analyses, and assessments of the primary studies. For this reason, it is necessary to transparently report all the information that could impact the results. In this meta-review, we aimed to assess the transparency of meta-analyses that examined the benefits of cognitive training, given the ongoing controversy that exists in this field. Ninety-seven meta-analytic reviews were included, which examined a wide range of populations with different clinical conditions and ages. Regarding the reporting, information about the search of the studies, screening procedure, or data collection was detailed by most reviews. However, authors usually failed to report other aspects such as the specific meta-analytic parameters, the formula used to compute the effect sizes, or the data from primary studies that were used to compute the effect sizes. Although some of these practices have improved over the years, others remained the same. Moreover, examining the eligibility criteria of the reviews revealed a great heterogeneity in aspects such as the training duration, age cut-offs, or study designs that were considered. Preregistered meta-analyses often specified poorly how they would deal with the multiplicity of data or assess publication bias in their protocols, and some contained non-disclosed deviations in their eligibility criteria or outcomes of interests. The findings shown here, although they do not question the benefits of cognitive training, illustrate important aspects that future reviews must consider.

Enhanced adhesive and mechanically robust silicone-based coating with excellent marine anti-fouling and anti-corrosion performances.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is widely used in marine antifouling coatings due to its low surface energy property. However, certain drawbacks of PDMS coatings such as poor surface adhesion, weak mechanical properties, and inadequate static antifouling performance have hindered its practical applications. Herein, condensation polymerization is utilized to prepare PDMS-based polythiamine ester (PTUBAF) coatings that consist of PDMS, polytetrahydrofuran (PTMG), 2, 3, 5, 6-tetrafluoro-1, 4-benzenedimethanol (TBD) as the main chains and isobornyl acrylate(IBA) as the antifouling group. The surface adhesion to the substrate is enhanced due to the hydrogen bond between the coated carbamate group and the hydroxyl group on the surface of the substrate. Mechanical properties of PTUBAF are significantly improved due to the benzene ring and six-membered ring biphase hard structure. The strong synergistic effect of bactericidal groups and low surface energy surface endows the PTUBAF coating with outstanding antifouling performance. Due to the low surface energy surface, the PTUBAF coatings are also found to possess excellent anti-corrosion. Furthermore, since the PTUBAF coatings exhibit a visible light transmittance of 91 %, they can applied as protective films for smartphones. The proposed method has the potential to boost the production and practical applications of silicone-based coatings.

Future proofing core facilities with a seven-pillar model.

Centralised core facilities have evolved into vital components of life science research, transitioning from a primary focus on centralising equipment to ensuring access to technology experts across all facets of an experimental workflow. Herein, we put forward a seven-pillar model to define what a core facility needs to meet its overarching goal of facilitating research. The seven equally weighted pillars are Technology, Core Facility Team, Training, Career Tracks, Technical Support, Community and Transparency. These seven pillars stand on a solid foundation of cultural, operational and framework policies including the elements of transparent and stable funding strategies, modern human resources support, progressive facility leadership and management as well as clear institute strategies and policies. This foundation, among other things, ensures a tight alignment of the core facilities to the vision and mission of the institute. To future-proof core facilities, it is crucial to foster all seven of these pillars, particularly focusing on newly identified pillars such as career tracks, thus enabling core facilities to continue supporting research and catalysing scientific advancement. Lay abstract: In research, there is a growing trend to bring advanced, high-performance equipment together into a centralised location. This is done to streamline how the equipment purchase is financed, how the equipment is maintained, and to enable an easier approach for research scientists to access these tools in a location that is supported by a team of technology experts who can help scientists use the equipment. These centralised equipment centres are called Core Facilities. The core facility model is relatively new in science and it requires an adapted approach to how core facilities are built and managed. In this paper, we put forward a seven-pillar model of the important supporting elements of core facilities. These supporting elements are: Technology (the instruments themselves), Core Facility Team (the technology experts who operate the instruments), Training (of the staff and research community), Career Tracks (for the core facility staff), Technical Support (the process of providing help to apply the technology to a scientific question), Community (of research scientist, technology experts and developers) and Transparency (of how the core facility works and the costs associated with using the service). These pillars stand on the bigger foundation of clear policies, guidelines, and leadership approaches at the institutional level. With a focus on these elements, the authors feel core facilities will be well positioned to support scientific discovery in the future.

How do the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review's Assessments of Comparative Effectiveness Compare With the German Federal Joint Committee's Assessments of Added Benefit? A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVES: We compared the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review's (ICER) ratings of comparative clinical effectiveness with the German Federal Joint Committee's (G-BA) added benefit ratings, and explored what factors may explain the disagreement between the 2 organizations. METHODS: We included drugs if they were assessed by ICER under its 2020 to 2023 Value Assessment Framework and had a corresponding assessment by G-BA as of January 2024 for the same indication, patient population, and comparator drug. To compare assessments, we modified ICER's proposed crosswalk between G-BA and ICER benefit ratings to account for G-BA's certainty ratings. We also determined whether each pair was based on similar evidence. Assessment pairs exhibiting disagreement based on the modified crosswalk despite a similar evidence base were qualitatively analyzed to identify reasons for disagreement. RESULTS: Out of 15 drug assessment pairs matched on indication, patient subgroup, and comparator, none showed agreement in their assessments when based on similar evidence. Disagreement was attributed to differences in evidence evaluation, including evaluations of safety, generalizability, and study design, as well as G-BA's rejection of the available evidence in 4 cases as unsuitable. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that even under conditions where populations and comparators are identical and the evidence base is consistent, different assessors may arrive at divergent conclusions about comparative effectiveness, thus underscoring the presence of value judgments within assessments of clinical effectiveness. To support initiatives that seek to facilitate the exchange of value assessments between countries, these value judgments should always be transparently presented and justified in assessment summaries.

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.

Spin coated ultrathin PEDOT:PSS/SWCNT film with high electronic conductivity.

Conductive Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been extensively used as non-metallic electrodes. However, the relatively low electrical conductivity of pristine PEDOT:PSS film restricts its further application. Although doping high content conductive filler or increasing the film thickness are effective for enhancing the electrical property, the transparency is sacrificed, which limits the application of PEDOT:PSS films. In this study, preparing PEDOT:PSS composite film with highly conductive and transparent property was the primary purpose. To achieve this goal, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was chosen to composite with PEDOT:PSS. The spin-coated SWCNT/PEDOT:PSS composite film exhibited excellent electrical conductivity and transparency. The electrical conductivity of composite film with desired transmittance property (78%) reached the highest value (1060.96 S cm-1) at the SWCNTs content was 6 wt%. Under the modification process applied in this work, the non-conductive PSS was partially removed by incorporated DMSO and SWCNTs. Then, the molecular chains of PEDOT stretched and adsorbed onto the surface of SWCNTs, forming a highly efficient three-dimensional conductive structure, which contributed to the enhancement of electrical conductivity and transparency. Additionally, the spin-coating process allowed for the reduction of film thickness, ensuring better transparency. This research contributed to expanding the further applications of PEDOT:PSS films in high-performance transparent film electrodes.