OBJECTIVES: We undertook a scoping systematic review to map the literature regarding post-publication integrity issues in RCTs.
SEARCH STRATEGY AND SELECTION CRITERIA: Following prospective registration (https://osf.io/pgxd8) we initially searched PubMed and Scopus but subsequently extended it to include the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases without language, article type or publication time restriction until November 2022. Reviewers independently selected published articles covering any aspect of post-publication research integrity concerns in RCTs.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The study findings grouped within domains relating to issues concerning post-publication integrity were extracted in duplicate, verified by a third reviewer, and then tabulated.
MAIN RESULTS: The initial search captured 3159 citations, of which 89 studies were included in the review. Cross-sectional studies constituted the majority of included studies (n = 34, 38.2%), followed by systematic reviews (n = 10, 11.2%), methodology reviews/studies (n = 9, 10.1%) and other types of descriptive studies (n = 8, 9.0%). A total of 21 articles (23.6%) covered the domain on general issues, 25 (28.1%) in the journal's instructions and policies domain, eight (9.0%) in the editorial and peer review domain, one (1.1%) in the correspondence and complaints (post-publication peer review) domain, 12 (13.5%) in the investigation for concerns domain, six (6.7%) in the post-investigation decisions and sanctions domain, none in the critical appraisal guidance domain, five (5.6%) in the integrity assessment in systematic reviews domain, and 26 (29.2%) in the recommendations for future research domain. A total of 12 of the selected articles (13.5%) covered two (n = 9) or three (n = 3) different domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Various research integrity domains and issues covering post-publication aspects of RCT integrity were captured and gaps were identified, mostly related with the necessary implications for all stakeholders to improve research transparency. There is an urgent need for a multistakeholder consensus towards creating specific statements for addressing post-publication integrity concerns in RCTs.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the quality and outcome of studies into maxillary anterior tooth proportion and to determine whether dental proportion ratios based on different geographic regions are appropriate.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: An electronic search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases. English-language articles reporting with the specific combination of medical subject heading (MeSH) key words were analyzed by 2 investigators. The titles, full text, and abstracts were scanned by investigators independently to identify articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The general characteristics, outcomes, and quality of each study were reviewed and analyzed systematically.
RESULTS: The search plan resulted in a total of 73 articles until September 2020; of which, 16 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected. The geographic distribution of the selected article revealed 12 articles from Asia, 2 from Continental Europe, and 2 from the United Kingdom. Golden percentage values of 25%, 15%, and 10% for central, lateral incisor, and canine teeth were not found. The mean predicted dental percentage was either larger or smaller than the successive widths of maxillary natural anterior teeth.
CONCLUSIONS: The golden percentage could not be used to formulate a smile design. Rather, the dental ratios should be set on a racial and ethnic basis for a population.
RESULTS: A new dimethyl aminopyridine based stabilizing agent named as DMAP-PTA was synthesized and used for stabilization of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles coated with DMAP-PTA abbreviated as DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were thoroughly characterized by UV-visible, FT-IR spectroscopic methods and transmission electron microscope before biological assay. DMAP-PTA, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin were examined for their antibacterial potential against E. coli, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined to be 300, 200 and 50 µg/mL respectively. Gold nanoparticles conjugation was found to significantly enhance the antibacterial activity of DMAP-PTA as compared to pure compound. Moreover, effects of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs on the antibacterial potential of Pefloxacin was also evaluated by combination therapy of 1:1 mixture of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin against E. coli in a wide range of concentrations from 5 to 300 µg/mL. The MIC of Pefloxacin + DMAP-PTA-AuNPs mixture was found to be 25 µg/mL as compared to Pefloxacin alone (50 µg/mL), which clearly indicates that DMAP-PTA-AuNPs increased the potency of Pefloxacin. AFM analysis was also carried out to show morphological changes occur in bacteria before and after treatment of test samples. Furthermore, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs showed high selectivity towards Pefloxacin in spectrophotometric drug recognition studies which offers tremendous potential for analytical applications.
CONCLUSIONS: Gold nanoparticles conjugation was shown to enhance the antibacterial efficacy of DMAP-PTA ligand, while DMAP-PTA-AuNPs also induced synergistic effects on the potency of Pefloxacin against E. coli. DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were also developed as Pefloxacin probes in recognizing the drug in blood and water samples in the presence of other drugs.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: We searched the major electronic databases Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar (January 1990-October 2018) without language restrictions. We included cohort studies on term pregnancies that provided estimates of stillbirths or neonatal deaths by gestation week. We estimated the additional weekly risk of stillbirth in term pregnancies that continued versus delivered at various gestational ages. We compared week-specific neonatal mortality rates by gestational age at delivery. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models with random intercepts, and computed risk ratios (RRs), odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Thirteen studies (15 million pregnancies, 17,830 stillbirths) were included. All studies were from high-income countries. Four studies provided the risks of stillbirth in mothers of White and Black race, 2 in mothers of White and Asian race, 5 in mothers of White race only, and 2 in mothers of Black race only. The prospective risk of stillbirth increased with gestational age from 0.11 per 1,000 pregnancies at 37 weeks (95% CI 0.07 to 0.15) to 3.18 per 1,000 at 42 weeks (95% CI 1.84 to 4.35). Neonatal mortality increased when pregnancies continued beyond 41 weeks; the risk increased significantly for deliveries at 42 versus 41 weeks gestation (RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.86, p = 0.012). One additional stillbirth occurred for every 1,449 (95% CI 1,237 to 1,747) pregnancies that advanced from 40 to 41 weeks. Limitations include variations in the definition of low-risk pregnancy, the wide time span of the studies, the use of registry-based data, and potential confounders affecting the outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest there is a significant additional risk of stillbirth, with no corresponding reduction in neonatal mortality, when term pregnancies continue to 41 weeks compared to delivery at 40 weeks.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015013785.