Efficient and Effective Diabetes Care in the Era of Digitalization and Hypercompetitive Research Culture: A Focused Review in the Western Pacific Region with Malaysia as a Case Study

There are approximately 220 million (about 12% regional prevalence) adults living with diabetes mellitus (DM) with its related complications, and morbidity knowingly or unconsciously in the Western Pacific Region (WP). The estimated healthcare cost in the WP and Malaysia was 240 billion USD and 1.0 billion USD in 2021 and 2017, respectively, with unmeasurable suffering and loss of health quality and economic productivity. This urgently calls for nothing less than concerted and preventive efforts from all stakeholders to invest in transforming healthcare professionals and reforming the healthcare system that prioritizes primary medical care setting, empowering allied health professionals, improvising health organization for the healthcare providers, improving health facilities and non-medical support for the people with DM. This article alludes to challenges in optimal diabetes care and proposes evidence-based initiatives over a 5-year period in a detailed roadmap to bring about dynamic and efficient healthcare services that are effective in managing people with DM using Malaysia as a case study for reference of other countries with similar backgrounds and issues. This includes a scanning on the landscape of clinical research in DM, dimensions and spectrum of research misconducts, possible common biases along the whole research process, key preventive strategies, implementation and limitations toward high-quality research. Lastly, digital medicine and how artificial intelligence could contribute to diabetes care and open science practices in research are also discussed.

False and Misleading Claims of Scientific Misconduct in Early Research into Radiation Dose-response: Part 1. Overlooking Key Historical Text

ABSTRACT

In reviewing a video series that they created for the website of the Health Physics Society (HPS), past leaders of the Health Physics Society have treated as authoritative and trustworthy the scientific misconduct theories of University of Massachusetts Professor Edward Calabrese. No mention is made of detailed critiques of Calabrese's work. I show that Calabrese's historical work as presented by HPS's authors is unreliable because it overlooks key historical text and key statistical concepts about the limits of an early atomic bomb genetics study. When these errors are corrected, claims of scientific misconduct on the part of historical figures evaporate. Claims of threshold behavior in early radiation genetic experiments are wrong for atomic bomb data. Calabrese's unique claims about thresholds in early animal genetic data are not credible for human cancer, given the doses at which they were carried out (>30 R). Recent epidemiological studies of both acute and protracted exposure in humans fail to show dose-rate effects or a dose threshold above 30 R. Such results from human data should be more relevant for most regulators and review committees than Calabrese's claims about old data on animals. Disclaimers, errata, and links to critiques should be added to the HPS webpage hosting the 22-part video series. Failure to do so can cause damage to reputations and historical accuracy because it erroneously validates Calabrese's inflammatory claims of scientific misconduct against past scientists, including three Nobel Prize winners, members of the NAS, and presidents of the AAAS.

The Ethics of Human Embryo Editing via CRISPR-Cas9 Technology: A Systematic Review of Ethical Arguments, Reasons, and Concerns

The possibility of editing the genomes of human embryos has generated significant discussion and interest as a matter of science and ethics. While it holds significant promise to prevent or treat disease, research on and potential clinical applications of human embryo editing also raise ethical, regulatory, and safety concerns. This systematic review included 223 publications to identify the ethical arguments, reasons, and concerns that have been offered for and against the editing of human embryos using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. We identified six major themes: risk/harm; potential benefit; oversight; informed consent; justice, equity, and other social considerations; and eugenics. We explore these themes and provide an overview and analysis of the critical points in the current literature.

A comprehensive review of neurotransmitter modulation via artificial intelligence: A new frontier in personalized neurobiochemistry

The deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing neuropharmacology and drug development, allowing the modulation of neurotransmitter systems at the personal level. This review focuses on the neuropharmacology and regulation of neurotransmitters using predictive modeling, closed-loop neuromodulation, and precision drug design. The fusion of AI with applications such as machine learning, deep-learning, and even computational modeling allows for the real-time tracking and enhancement of biological processes within the body. An exemplary application of AI is the use of DeepMind's AlphaFold to design new GABA reuptake inhibitors for epilepsy and anxiety. Likewise, Benevolent AI and IBM Watson have fast-tracked drug repositioning for neurodegenerative conditions. Furthermore, we identified new serotonin reuptake inhibitors for depression through AI screening. In addition, the application of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) settings using AI for patients with Parkinson's disease and for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) using reinforcement learning-based transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) leads to better treatment. This review highlights other challenges including algorithm bias, ethical concerns, and limited clinical validation. Their proposal to incorporate AI with optogenetics, CRISPR, neuroprosthesis, and other advanced technologies fosters further exploration and refinement of precision neurotherapeutic approaches. By bridging computational neuroscience with clinical applications, AI has the potential to revolutionize neuropharmacology and improve patient-specific treatment strategies. We addressed critical challenges, such as algorithmic bias and ethical concerns, by proposing bias auditing, diverse datasets, explainable AI, and regulatory frameworks as practical solutions to ensure equitable and transparent AI applications in neurotransmitter modulation.

Ten Years later: Assessments of the integrity of publications from one research group with multiple retractions

When a research group has multiple retracted publications and/or research misconduct by a member is evident, there is a risk that its other publications are unreliable, so a comprehensive assessment of the group's publications is advisable. We analyzed the comprehensiveness of assessment of the integrity of 300 publications by a research group with numerous retractions and known research misconduct, for 292 of which we raised concerns to publishers and academic institutions between 3/2013 and 2/2020. By 4/2023, 91 (30%) publications had not been assessed by either publisher or academic institution. Publishers had assessed 185 (63%) publications. The 4 academic institutions had assessed 5/36 (14%), 56/216 (26%), 30/50 (60%) and 40/66 (61%) publications. Unprompted assessments, those undertaken without our notification of concerns, occurred for 24 (8%) publications, 3 (1%) by publishers and 21 (7%) by academic institutions. Among 32 journals with ≥2 affected publications, no unprompted assessments of the remaining publication(s) occurred after notification of concerns about the index publication(s). Publishers retracted 58/84 (69%) publications which institutions also assessed and decided needed no editorial action. These analyses demonstrate the failure of publishers and institutions to comprehensively and spontaneously determine the integrity of publications in a setting of known misconduct and multiple retractions.

Mega-authorship implications: How many scientists can fit into one cell?

The past 20 years has seen a significant increase in articles with 500 or more authors. This increase has presented problems in terms of determining true authorship versus other types of contribution, issues with database metadata and data output, and publication length. Using items with 500+ authors deemed as mega-author titles, a total of 5,533 mega-author items were identified using InCites. Metadata about the items was then gathered from Web of Science and Scopus. Close examination of these items found that the vast majority of these covered physics topics, with medicine a far distant second place and only minor representation from other science fields. This mega-authorship saw significant events that appear to correspond to similar events in the Large Hadron Collider's timeline, indicating that the projects for the collider are driving this heavy output. Some solutions are offered for the problems resulting from this phenomenon, partially driven by recommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Mismatch in perceptions of the quality of supervision and research data management as an area of concern: Results from a university-wide survey of the research integrity culture at a Belgian university

Researchers of KU Leuven, a large Belgian university, were invited to complete a bespoke questionnaire assessing their attitudes toward research integrity and the local research culture, with specific emphasis on the supervision of junior researchers. A total of 7,353 invitations were sent via e-mail and 1,866 responses were collected (25.3% response rate), of which 1,723 responses are reported upon here. Some of the findings are relevant to the broader research community. Whereas supervisors evaluated their supervision of junior researchers almost unanimously as positive, fewer supervisees evaluated it as such. Data management emerged as an area of concern, both in terms of reviewing raw data and of data storage. More female than male professors emphasized open communication and supported their supervisees' professional development and personal well-being. At the same time, fewer female professors felt safe to speak up than male professors. Finally, researchers who obtained their master's degree outside Europe evaluated their supervision and KU Leuven's research culture more positively than researchers with a master's degree from KU Leuven. The results of the survey were fed back to the university's board and several bodies and served as input to update the university's research policy. Faculties and departments received a detailed report.

More ethics in the laboratory, please! Scientists' perspectives on ethics in the preclinical phase

In recent years there have been calls to improve ethics in preclinical research. Promoting ethics in preclinical research should consider the perspectives of scientists. Our study aims to explore researchers' perspectives on ethics in the preclinical phase. Using interviews and focus groups, we collected views on ethical issues in preclinical research from experienced (n = 11) and early-stage researchers (ESRs) (n = 14) working in a gene therapy and regenerative medicine consortium. A recurring theme among ESRs was the impact of health-related preclinical research on climate change. They highlighted the importance of strengthening ethics in relations within the scientific community. Experienced researchers were focused on technicalities of methods used in preclinical research. They stressed the need for more safeguards to protect the sensitive personal data they work with. Both groups drew attention to the importance of the social context of research and its social impact. They agreed that it is important to be socially responsible - to be aware of and be sensitive to the needs and views of society. This study helps to identify key ethical challenges and, when combined with more data, can ultimately lead to informed and evidence-based improvements to existing regulations.

The definition of research misconduct should be stated in the abstract when reporting research on research misconduct

Research integrity is the cornerstone for a reliable and trustworthy science. Research misconduct is classically defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. To be considered as such, the action must have been committed with the intent to mislead or deceive. There are many other research misbehaviors such as duplication, fake-peer review or lack of disclosure of conflicts of interest, that are often included in the definition of research misconduct in codes, policies, and professional documents. The definition of research misconduct varies among countries and institutions, the seriousness and intentionality of the action. This variability is also present in research articles on the prevalence of research misconduct because it is common for each author to use a different definition, creating confusion for readers. We argue that the definition of research misconduct used in a study should be stated already in the abstract, particularly because not all publications are in open access, so that readers can fully understand what the study found concerning research misconduct without needing to have access to the full article.

Keeping the health of our home planet in mind as we do research

Climate change stood out as an important ethical issue that is contemplated, at least among early-stage researchers, in Buedo and colleagues' collected views on ethical issues in preclinical research. It is about time that all scientists and researchers, young or old, to stand to be accountable for our contributions toward environmental crises in our work, and conversely to think about how these crises could be mitigated by our research.

Cancer researchers' experiences with and perceptions of research data sharing: Results of a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Despite wide recognition of the benefits of sharing research data, public availability rates have not increased substantially in oncology or medicine more broadly over the last decade.

METHODS

We surveyed 285 cancer researchers to determine their prior experience with sharing data and views on known drivers and inhibitors.

RESULTS

We found that 45% of respondents had shared some data from their most recent empirical publication, with respondents who typically studied non-human research participants, or routinely worked with human genomic data, more likely to share than those who did not. A third of respondents added that they had previously shared data privately, with 74% indicating that doing so had also led to authorship opportunities or future collaborations for them. Journal and funder policies were reported to be the biggest general drivers toward sharing, whereas commercial interests, agreements with industrial sponsors and institutional policies were the biggest prohibitors. We show that researchers' decisions about whether to share data are also likely to be influenced by participants' desires.

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey suggests that increased promotion and support by research institutions, alongside greater championing of data sharing by journals and funders, may motivate more researchers in oncology to share their data.

Limits of ethical non-human subjects research in an applied setting

Ethical research follows numerous rules and regulations to ensure that all human subjects are protected during the collection and dissemination of research outcomes. Nevertheless, there is often a critical distinction drawn between human subjects research and non-human subjects research (NHSR). The latter can also be described as non-research activities, which typically reduces any oversight even if human subjects are involved. Despite the need to conduct ethical NHSR or non-research activities in an applied setting, there are several ways this determination can be used to circumvent regulatory oversight. In particular, the problem arises because one or more of several key functions become conflated in an applied setting, whereas they would be compartmentalized and independent in controlled or experimental settings. These functions include: 1) ethical oversight; 2) funding; 3) execution; and 4) peer review. The current discussion outlines how NHSR in an applied setting can allow these functions to overlap, and how personnel might stretch the boundaries of ethical conduct even while following existing regulations. As such, the goal is to guide future practices when conducting or reviewing NHSR in an applied setting so that unethical practices do not bias the results.

Investigating the impact of trial retractions on the healthcare evidence ecosystem (VITALITY Study I): retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of retracted trials on the production and use of healthcare evidence in the evidence ecosystem.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study based on forward citation searching.

DATA SOURCES

Retraction Watch up to 5 November 2024.

STUDY SELECTION

Randomised controlled trials in humans that were retracted for any reason.

METHODS

Forward citation searching via Google Scholar and Scopus was used to identify evidence synthesis research (21 November 2024) that quantitatively incorporated retracted trials. Data were independently extracted by two groups of researchers. The results of meta-analyses were updated after exclusion of the retracted trials. The proportions of meta-analyses that changed direction of the pooled effect and/or the significance of the P value were estimated. A generalised linear mixed model was used to investigate the association between the number of included studies and the impact, measured by odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI). The impact of distorted evidence on clinical practice guidelines was also investigated on the basis of citation searching.

RESULTS

The searches identified 1330 retracted trials and 847 systematic reviews that quantitatively synthesised retracted trials, with a total of 3902 meta-analyses that could be replicated. After the potential clustering effects were accounted for, the exclusion of the retracted trials led to a change in the direction of the pooled effect in 8.4% (95% CI 6.8% to 10.1%), in its statistical significance in 16.0% (14.2% to 17.9%), and in both direction and significance in 3.9% (2.5% to 5.2%) and a >50% change in the magnitude of the effect in 15.7% (13.5% to 17.9%). An obvious non-linear association existed between the number of included studies and the impact on the results, with a lower number of studies having higher impact (eg, for 10 studies versus ≥20 studies, change of direction: odds ratio 2.63, 95% CI 1.29 to 5.38; P<0.001). Evidence from 68 systematic reviews with conclusions distorted by retracted trials was used in 157 guideline documents.

CONCLUSION

Retracted trials have a substantial impact on the evidence ecosystem, including evidence synthesis, clinical practice guidelines, and evidence based clinical practice. Evidence generators, synthesisers, and users must pay attention to this problem, and feasible approaches that assist with easier identification and correction of such potential contamination are needed.

STUDY REGISTRATION

Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/7eazq/).

Understanding "interests": historical insights for managing conflicts of interest in healthcare and biomedical science

Conflicts of interest are widely regarded as being morally, socially, and scientifically problematic in the many sectors, including in the health sector. There has been considerable attention paid to managing conflicts of interest in clinical practice, medical research and health policy through strategies such as recusal, disinvestment, and disclosure. While these efforts have been important, they are often based on a superficial account of "interests", as few in healthcare and biomedical science have sought to unpack the concept. In this paper, we argue that adopting an historically and philosophically informed account of interests can enrich our thinking about COI in healthcare and biomedical science, and lead to the improvement of COI management strategies. To support this claim, we first provide an overview of contemporary debates about COI in these domains. We then summarise the historical trajectory of the concept of "interest" and show how these insights can be used to inform the management of COI in healthcare and biomedical science using the example of physicians' relationships with the pharmaceutical industry. In particular, we challenge assumed hierarchies of interests and call for increased attention to the multiplicities of interests, both financial and non-financial, that may at times converge and conflict.

Defamation Claims Arising from Research Misconduct Cases: Best Practices for Institutions

Researchers involved in research misconduct proceedings are increasingly threatening or bringing legal defamation claims against the institutions, complainants, and publications involved in the proceedings. Although defamation claims do not often succeed, they can nevertheless be costly and lengthy. This article analyzes certain defamation cases in the research misconduct space and provides advice for institutions and other involved parties seeking to minimize potential defamation liability associated with research misconduct proceedings.

The justified limits of transparency in research misconduct reports

In this article, I explore the idea of increased transparency in the context of research misconduct. I begin with a brief introduction of how increased transparency across the research enterprise has gained momentum and shepherded in the current Open Science movement. I then introduce general endorsements for greater transparency within research misconduct, which propose that increased transparency will achieve a range of aims. Using existing taxonomies of transparency, I break these general endorsements down into more specific mechanisms of transparency, and in doing so exhibit the wide range of forms and structures that transparency can take. Following this, I argue that while transparency for purposes such as quality improvement or third-party auditing may be justifiable, public-facing transparency for the purposes of trust-building and accountability generates unique concerns and requires more evidence to justify. In detailing these concerns, I argue for greater caution and consideration of the epistemic and practical effects of public transparency with research misconduct reports and point out a disanalogy between Open Science and matters of research misconduct. I ultimately conclude that research misconduct proceedings and reports ought not default to public-facing transparency without further evidence to support that such an effort would achieve their intended aims.

Artificial intelligence-assisted academic writing: recommendations for ethical use

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been selectively adopted across the academic community to help researchers complete tasks in a more efficient manner. The widespread release of the Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) platform in 2022 has made these tools more accessible to scholars around the world. Despite their tremendous potential, studies have uncovered that large language model (LLM)-based generative AI tools have issues with plagiarism, AI hallucinations, and inaccurate or fabricated references. This raises legitimate concern about the utility, accuracy, and integrity of AI when used to write academic manuscripts. Currently, there is little clear guidance for healthcare simulation scholars outlining the ways that generative AI could be used to legitimately support the production of academic literature. In this paper, we discuss how widely available, LLM-powered generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) can help in the academic writing process. We first explore how academic publishers are positioning the use of generative AI tools and then describe potential issues with using these tools in the academic writing process. Finally, we discuss three categories of specific ways generative AI tools can be used in an ethically sound manner and offer four key principles that can help guide researchers to produce high-quality research outputs with the highest of academic integrity.

Prevalence of medical writing in hematological malignancy review articles

BACKGROUND

Medical writing services, initially developed to streamline manuscript preparation, have raised ethical concerns due to their association with industry influence and spin. While prevalent in oncology and malignant hematology clinical trials, medical writing involvement in review articles remains underexplored, particularly in the hematology literature. Furthermore, conflict of interests of the writers may also affect the content of review articles. This study investigates the prevalence, characteristics, and funding sources of medical writing in malignant hematology review articles and their relationship with the financial conflicts of interest (CoI) among authors.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of review articles published in the five-year period between January 2019 and December 2023 in the ten highest-rated hematology journals (by 2023 Journal Citation Report Impact Factor). Inclusion criteria encompassed narrative and systematic reviews, guidelines, and clinical advice articles, excluding studies focused solely on benign hematology or basic science.

RESULTS

Among 663 included reviews, medical writing involvement was disclosed in 5.7% of articles in which in no instance the medical writer was included as a co-author; with as high as 21% of review articles in a single journal having disclosed medical writing assistance. Medical writers were primarily industry-sponsored (89%). Reviews on plasma cell malignancies had the highest medical writing usage (11%). Direct CoIs were identified in 28% and 34% of first and last authors, respectively, rising to 71% in drug-specific reviews. Only one journal had explicit policies regulating medical writing in reviews.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the prevalence of medical writing in malignant hematology review articles remains low, at least one journal had over 20% of review articles disclosing medical writer usage. Review articles about specific drugs are often written by authors with direct payments from the manufacturer of the drug in question.

Burden of the Fruity: Family Support and Suicide Ideation as Mediators Between Discrimination and Suicide Behavior in LGBTQ+ Malaysians

Malaysian pervasive climate places its LGBTQ+ residents at heightened risk for suicidal behaviors (SB). This cross-sectional study aimed to elucidate connections between minority stressors (discrimination), types of social supports, and suicidality in this marginalized population. Utilizing online surveys, 317 LGBTQ+ Malaysians aged 18-49 provided data regarding experienced discrimination, perceived social support from family, friends, and significant others, suicidal ideation (SI), and SB. Quantitative analyses illuminated several key findings. First, discrimination is positively associated with SB, while all support types are inversely related to SB, with family support demonstrating the strongest correlation. Regression modeling revealed family support as the sole unique predictor of reduced SB. Serial mediation analysis uncovered nuanced indirect pathways from discrimination to SB, with SI, but not family support alone, significantly mediating this relationship. However, reduced family support resulting from discrimination sequentially heightened SI and SB. Despite pervasive societal bias, family and friend acceptance may curb the LGBTQ+ community's elevated suicide risk by mitigating resultant ideation. These insights highlight the need for public health initiatives promoting social support and LGBTQ+ inclusivity laying the groundwork to safeguard this population's psychological wellbeing.

Perceptions of network-level ethics in an engineering research center: Analysis of ethical issues & practices reported by scientific & engineering participants

BACKGROUND

Despite the rise of big-team science and multi-institutional, multidisciplinary research networks, little research has explored the unique challenges that large, distributed research networks face in ensuring the ethical and responsible conduct of research (RCR) at the network level.

METHODS

This qualitative case study explored the views of the scientists, engineers, clinicians, and trainees within a large Engineering Research Center (ERC) on ethical and RCR issues arising at the network level.

RESULTS

Semi-structured interviews of 26 ERC members were analyzed and revealed five major themes: (1) data sharing, (2) authorship or inventorship credit, (3) ethics and regulation, (4) collaboration, and (5) network leadership, norms, and policy. Interviews revealed cross-laboratory differences and disciplinary differences as sources of challenge.

CONCLUSIONS

This study illuminates ethical challenges that a large, multi-institutional research network is likely to face. Research collaboration across disciplines, laboratories, and institutions invites conflict over norms and practices. Network leadership requires anticipating, monitoring, and addressing the ethical challenges in order to ensure the network's ethical and responsible conduct of research and optimize research collaboration. Studying perceived ethical issues that arise at the meso-level of a research network is essential for understanding how to advance network ethics.

Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence System for Drug Prioritization

In silico drug prioritization may be a promising and time-saving strategy to identify potential drugs, standing as a faster and more cost-effective approach than de novo approaches. In recent years, artificial intelligence has greatly evolved the drug development process. Here, we present a novel computational framework for drug prioritization, labyrinth, designed to simulate human knowledge retrieval and inference to identify potential drug candidates for each disease. With the integration of up-to-date clinical trials, literature co-occurrences, drug-target interactions, and disease similarities, our framework achieves over 90% predictive accuracy across clinical trial phases and strong alignment with clinical practice in TCGA cohorts. We have demonstrated effectiveness across 20 different disease categories with robust ROC-AUC metrics and the balance between predictive accuracy and model interpretability. We further demonstrate its effectiveness at both the population and the individual levels. This study not only demonstrates the capacity for its drug prioritization but underscores the importance of aligning computational models with intuitive human reasoning. We have wrapped the core function into an R package named labyrinth, which is freely available on GitHub under the GPL-v2 license (https://github.com/hanjunwei-lab/labyrinth).

Engineering biology applications for environmental solutions: potential and challenges

Engineering biology applies synthetic biology to address global environmental challenges like bioremediation, biosequestration, pollutant monitoring, and resource recovery. This perspective outlines innovations in engineering biology, its integration with other technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, IoT, AI), and commercial ventures leveraging these advancements. We also discuss commercialisation and scaling challenges, biosafety and biosecurity considerations including biocontainment strategies, social and political dimensions, and governance issues that must be addressed for successful real-world implementation. Finally, we highlight future perspectives and propose strategies to overcome existing hurdles, aiming to accelerate the adoption of engineering biology for environmental solutions.

A global overview of the use of cone beam computed tomography in dentistry: a bibliometric review focusing on paediatric patients

Background

Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) has improved diagnosis and treatment planning in paediatric dentistry, but no bibliometric studies have examined the research landscape. This study provides an overview regarding the role of CBCT in paediatric dentistry.

Methods

A bibliometric review was conducted using articles from the Web of Science database. The search was performed on 22 February 2024, including publications up to that date. Conference papers and editorials were excluded. Data extracted included citation counts, publication dates, journals, impact factors, study designs, topics, geographical and institutional affiliations, authors, and keywords. Collaborative networks were visualised using VOSviewer, and Spearman's correlation assessed the relationship between citation counts and other variables.

Results

The review analysed 517 articles, with the most cited receiving 557 citations. Publication dates ranged from 2005 to 2024, with a peak in 2023. Observational studies were the most common, particularly on maxillary expansion. The American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics was the most cited journal, and the USA was a major contributor. Jacobs R authored the most articles (n=19), and the University of Alberta led in institutional output. Spearman's correlation showed a weak positive correlation between citation count and journal impact factor (rho=0.272, p<0.001) and a strong negative correlation with publication year (rho=-0.762, p<0.001).

Conclusions

This bibliometric review provides an overview of the use of CBCT in paediatric dentistry, particularly in maxillary expansion. The findings suggest that more specific imaging protocols may improve safety and clinical outcomes, and that further investigation of long-term outcomes may provide valuable insights.

A Comparative Study on the Construction of Research Integrity in Public Medical Universities/Colleges in China: 2020-2024

The medical field is highly susceptible to research misconduct, making research integrity in medical universities and colleges crucial for its prevention and management. While both Chinese and international researchers have conducted extensive studies on fostering research integrity in higher education institutions, comparative analyses focusing specifically on medical universities and colleges in China remain insufficient. To address this gap, this study examines the state of research integrity construction in 83 Chinese public medical universities/colleges during 2020 and 2024, exploring the underlying factors influencing this development. The findings indicate that research integrity initiatives in Chinese medical universities and colleges are predominantly reactive, driven by compliance with government regulations and mandated tasks, rather than proactive, guided by intrinsic awareness and moral commitment. These results underscore the need to go beyond addressing Two-Points to emphasize Key-Points, advocating for a greater role of scientific autonomy in shaping research integrity, as opposed to reliance on government oversight.

Comparative analysis of text-based plagiarism detection techniques

In text analysis, identifying plagiarism is a crucial area of study that looks for copied information in a document and determines whether or not the same author writes portions of the text. With the emergence of publicly available tools for content generation based on large language models, the problem of inherent plagiarism has grown in importance across various industries. Students are increasingly committing plagiarism as a result of the availability and use of computers in the classroom and the generally extensive accessibility of electronic information found on the internet. As a result, there is a rising need for reliable and precise detection techniques to deal with this changing environment. This paper compares several plagiarism detection techniques and looks into how well different detection systems can distinguish between content created by humans and content created by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This article systematically evaluates 189 research papers published between 2019 and 2024 to provide an overview of the research on computational approaches for plagiarism detection (PD). We suggest a new technically focused structure for efforts to prevent and identify plagiarism, types of plagiarism, and computational techniques for detecting plagiarism to organize the way the research contributions are presented. We demonstrated that the field of plagiarism detection is rife with ongoing research. Significant progress has been made in the field throughout the time we reviewed in terms of automatically identifying plagiarism that is highly obscured and hence difficult to recognize. The exploration of nontextual contents, the use of machine learning, and improved semantic text analysis techniques are the key sources of these advancements. Based on our analysis, we concluded that the combination of several analytical methodologies for textual and nontextual content features is the most promising subject for future research contributions to further improve the detection of plagiarism.

Gender differences of the association between work-related stressors and mental health among Chinese medical professionals: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background

Chinese medical professionals are under tremendous work pressure, which greatly undermines their mental health, hinders professional performance and impairs the quality of healthcare. However, the specific work-related stressor that affects mental health most and whether gender difference plays a role are not yet known. This study aims to investigate the association between work-related stressors and mental health among medical professionals in China.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from September 29, 2022 to January 18, 2023 by recruiting 2,976 medical professionals from three representative provinces in China through purposive sampling. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured by the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale. Logistic regression models were performed to identify work-related stressor significantly associated with mental health and stratified by gender.

Results

The prevalence of major depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese medical professionals was 28.2% (839/2976) and 24.0% (714/2976), respectively. Among the subjects, 43.7% (1,302/2976) of subjects reported having ≥3 work-related stressors, which was positively related to both major depressive and anxiety symptoms. The following work-related stressors were positively associated with major depressive symptoms: violence against medical staff and promotion pressure among males; medical dispute among females. The following work-related stressors were positively associated with major anxiety symptoms: medical dispute and promotion pressure among males. While no work-related stressor showed significant association with major anxiety symptoms among females.

Conclusion

These findings identified the specific work-related stressors related with the mental health, and gender differences are indicated in this relationship. Interventions directing at improving doctor-patient relationship may help to improve mental health of Chinese medical professionals. Reforming promotion system may mitigate the anxiety symptoms of male medical professionals.

Leading by example: how to empower supervisors as role models

Supervisors are considered to play a pivotal role in stimulating responsible conduct of research (RCR). Their position as supervisors of PhD candidates offers the opportunity to be good role models and show young researchers how to conduct research properly. In this contribution, we delineate what it means to "lead by example." We inquire how the concept of role modeling is currently applied in the context of supervision in general, and in RCR specifically, and present the perspective of empowerment as a fruitful approach to help determine what role modeling should focus on when aiming to foster a positive research culture.

The Chinese version of the autonomy preference index for advanced cancer patients: a study on cultural adaptation based on cognitive interview

BACKGROUND

The global cancer burden is becoming increasingly severe. In the context of patient-centred medicine, respecting patients' autonomy and preferences is of paramount importance. However, there is currently a lack of scientific tools in China to measure the autonomous preferences of advanced cancer patients. We aim to optimise assessment tools for patients' autonomous preferences and validate their effectiveness, thereby filling a gap in related research, in hopes of improving the quality of medical care in China.

OBJECTIVES

① To assess the semantic clarity of entries of the Chinese Autonomy Preference Index (API) and determine whether patients can accurately comprehend their content. ② To validate the application effect of cognitive interviews in the translation of the scale into the Chinese culture and context.

METHODS

In March and April 2023, we selected 17 advanced cancer patients by convenience sampling in Zunyi, Guizhou, China, to participate in this study. We assessed their understanding of each item in the Chinese API scale through cognitive interviews and made the corresponding revisions to the scale items based on the interview results.

RESULTS

The respondents' understanding of various API entries after translation and adaptation was assessed. Based on the interview results, ambiguous entries were revised to create a refined Chinese version of the API. Ultimately, the API comprises two dimensions and 23 entries. The results of the first round of interviews revealed doubts or ambiguities in the semantic expression and understanding of 5 items, which were then revised following discussions by the research team. The second round of interviews confirmed that the interviewees could correctly understand the content of the entries without further modifications.

CONCLUSIONS

① Cognitive interviews can address discrepancies in the understanding of scale items among the target population and mitigate measurement errors stemming from item content ambiguity. ② Targeted questionnaire revisions have improved the accuracy, reliability, and applicability of the Chinese version of the API questionnaire. The Chinese version of the Autonomy-Preference-Index offers clinical healthcare professionals an effective measurement tool to assess the autonomous preferences of advanced cancer patients.

Barriers to Recruitment in an Acute Neonatal Seizure Drug Trial: Lessons From a Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Study of Intravenous Phenobarbital

BACKGROUND

Despite the prevalence of seizures among neonates, neonatal seizure drug trials are rarely conducted due to ethical considerations, difficulties in trial design, and limited hospital resources and personnel. The purpose of this prospective consecutive case series is to highlight the experiences and challenges encountered by a single study site in participant recruitment for an acute neonatal seizure treatment trial that was active between January 24, 2022, and February 1, 2023.

METHODS

Outcomes include information about each screened patient's trial recruitment process, namely, the patient's time of admission, eligibility status, reasons why potentially eligible patients were not approached, reasons consent was declined, and seizure outcomes.

RESULTS

The study team screened 164 of 191 (86%) patients transferred to the Children's National Hospital neonatal intensive care unit for continuous electroencephalography. Of the 164 patients screened, 71 (43%) were ineligible for the study, and consent was not attempted on an additional 69 (42%) patients. A total of 24 patients were approached for consent, and 12 (50%) declined. Only two (17%) patients were treated with the study drug, as the remaining 10 (83%) enrolled patients failed the screening. Sixteen of the unscreened or nonconsenting patients went on to have seizures within the study period and would have been eligible to receive the study drug if enrolled.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor recruitment in acute neonatal seizure treatment trials may be improved by addressing issues in the consent process, personnel and resource allocation, and parent suspicion about clinical trials.

Governance of research and product improvement studies in consumer mental health apps. Interviews with researchers and app developers

Consumer mental health apps (MHAs) collect and generate mental health-related data on their users, which can be leveraged for research and product improvement studies. Such studies are associated with ethical issues that may be difficult for researchers and app developers to assess. To improve ethical study conduct, governance through rules, agreements and customs could be relied upon, but their translation into practice is subject to barriers. This qualitative interview study with 17 researchers and app developers looked into the role and impact of governance standards on consumer MHA studies. Interviewees experienced a significant number of rules, agreements and customs, although not all of the governance standards that can potentially be applicable. Standards did have an impact on the interests of researchers and app developers, app users and society, but this impact was mediated by several barriers related to their conceptualization and implementation. Conceptualization barriers impacted the development of a standard, the inclusion of relevant concepts and the coordination between standards. Implementation barriers concerned the resource cost of understanding a standard, as well as suboptimal enforcement. The framework developed in this study can support more effective efforts to improve the governance of future consumer MHA studies.

Safeguarding scientific integrity: A case study in examining manipulation in the peer review process

This case study analyzes the expertise, potential conflicts of interest, and objectivity of editors, authors, and peer reviewers involved in a 2022 special journal issue on fertility, pregnancy, and mental health. Data were collected on qualifications, organizational affiliations, and relationships among six papers' authors, three guest editors, and twelve peer reviewers. Two articles were found to have undisclosed conflicts of interest between authors, an editor, and multiple peer reviewers affiliated with anti-abortion advocacy and lobbying groups, indicating compromised objectivity. This lack of transparency undermines the peer review process and enables biased research and disinformation proliferation.Our study is limited by a few factors including: difficulty collecting peer reviewer data, potentially missing affiliations, and a small sample without comparisons. While this is a case study of one special issue, we do have suggestions for increasing integrity.

Ethical Application of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) may revolutionize health care, providing solutions that range from enhancing diagnostic accuracy to personalizing treatment plans. However, its rapid and largely unregulated integration into medicine raises ethical concerns related to data integrity, patient safety, and appropriate oversight. One of the primary ethical challenges lies in generative AI's potential to produce misleading or fabricated information, posing risks of misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment recommendations, which underscore the necessity for robust physician oversight. Transparency also remains a critical concern, as the closed-source nature of many large-language models prevents both patients and health care providers from understanding the reasoning behind AI-generated outputs, potentially eroding trust. The lack of regulatory approval for AI as a medical device, combined with concerns around the security of patient-derived data and AI-generated synthetic data, further complicates its safe integration into clinical workflows. Furthermore, synthetic datasets generated by AI, although valuable for augmenting research in areas with scarce data, complicate questions of data ownership, patient consent, and scientific validity. In addition, generative AI's ability to streamline administrative tasks risks depersonalizing care, further distancing providers from patients. These challenges compound the deeper issues plaguing the health care system, including the emphasis of volume and speed over value and expertise. The use of generative AI in medicine brings about mass scaling of synthetic information, thereby necessitating careful adoption to protect patient care and medical advancement. Given these considerations, generative AI applications warrant regulatory and critical scrutiny. Key starting points include establishing strict standards for data security and transparency, implementing oversight akin to institutional review boards to govern data usage, and developing interdisciplinary guidelines that involve developers, clinicians, and ethicists. By addressing these concerns, we can better align generative AI adoption with the core foundations of humanistic health care, preserving patient safety, autonomy, and trust while harnessing AI's transformative potential. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, expert opinion.

Towards a Psychologically Realist, Culturally Responsive Approach to Engineering Ethics in Global Contexts

This paper describes the motivations and some directions for bringing insights and methods from moral and cultural psychology to bear on how engineering ethics is conceived, taught, and assessed. Therefore, the audience for this paper is not only engineering ethics educators and researchers but also administrators and organizations concerned with ethical behaviors. Engineering ethics has typically been conceived and taught as a branch of professional and applied ethics with pedagogical aims, where students and practitioners learn about professional codes and/or Western ethical theories and then apply these resources to address issues presented in case studies about engineering and/or technology. As a result, accreditation and professional bodies have generally adopted ethical reasoning skills and/or moral knowledge as learning outcomes. However, this paper argues that such frameworks are psychologically "irrealist" and culturally biased: it is not clear that ethical judgments or behaviors are primarily the result of applying principles, or that ethical concerns captured in professional codes or Western ethical theories do or should reflect the engineering ethical concerns of global populations. Individuals from Western educated industrialized rich democratic cultures are outliers on various psychological and social constructs, including self-concepts, thought styles, and ethical concerns. However, engineering is more cross cultural and international than ever before, with engineers and technologies spanning multiple cultures and countries. For instance, different national regulations and cultural values can come into conflict while performing engineering work. Additionally, ethical judgments may also result from intuitions, closer to emotions than reflective thought, and behaviors can be affected by unconscious, social, and environmental factors. To address these issues, this paper surveys work in engineering ethics education and assessment to date, shortcomings within these approaches, and how insights and methods from moral and cultural psychology could be used to improve engineering ethics education and assessment, making them more culturally responsive and psychologically realist at the same time.

Developing faculty research mentors: Influence of experience with diverse mentees, gender, and mentorship training

Effective mentoring is crucial for early-career researchers, and formal mentor training programs have demonstrated benefits for participating faculty. To determine how mentor training generalizes to different contexts and populations, we delivered mentor training and evaluated its impact on faculty's self-perceived mentoring skills. We also assessed whether mentor experience with diverse mentee populations or mentor gender influences mentors' self-perceived skills and if training interacted with these self-perceptions. We found mentors with more experience with diverse mentees were more likely to rate their mentoring skills higher than mentors with less experience across most areas assessed. Women rated themselves more highly than men at addressing diversity within the mentoring relationship. Mentors with less experience with diverse mentees gained the most training-related benefits in fostering independence skills. Training improved faculty self-perceived mentoring skills in all areas assessed. These results suggest while mentor training can benefit all involved, it can be especially useful for those newer to mentoring.

Open science interventions to improve reproducibility and replicability of research: a scoping review

Various open science practices have been proposed to improve the reproducibility and replicability of scientific research, but not for all practices, there may be evidence they are indeed effective. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review of the literature on interventions to improve reproducibility. We systematically searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus and Eric, on 18 August 2023. Any study empirically evaluating the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving the reproducibility or replicability of scientific methods and findings was included. We summarized the retrieved evidence narratively and in evidence gap maps. Of the 105 distinct studies we included, 15 directly measured the effect of an intervention on reproducibility or replicability, while the remainder addressed a proxy outcome that might be expected to increase reproducibility or replicability, such as data sharing, methods transparency or pre-registration. Thirty studies were non-comparative and 27 were comparative but cross-sectional observational designs, precluding any causal inference. Despite studies investigating a range of interventions and addressing various outcomes, our findings indicate that in general the evidence base for which various interventions to improve reproducibility of research remains remarkably limited in many respects.

Prevalence of Words and Phrases Associated With Large Language Model-Generated Text in the Nursing Literature

All disciplines, including nursing, may be experiencing significant changes with the advent of free, publicly available generative artificial intelligence tools. Recent research has shown the difficulty in distinguishing artificial intelligence-generated text from content that is written by humans, thereby increasing the probability for unverified information shared in scholarly works. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of generative artificial intelligence usage in published nursing articles. The Dimensions database was used to collect articles with at least one appearance of words and phrases associated with generative artificial intelligence. These articles were then searched for words or phrases known to be disproportionately associated with large language model-based generative artificial intelligence. Several nouns, verbs, adverbs, and phrases had remarkable increases in appearance starting in 2023, suggesting use of generative artificial intelligence. Nurses, authors, reviewers, and editors will likely encounter generative artificial intelligence in their work. Although these sophisticated and emerging tools are promising, we must continue to work toward developing ways to verify accuracy of their content, develop policies that insist on transparent use, and safeguard consumers of the evidence they generate.

Article retraction rates in selected MeSH term categories in PubMed published between 2010 and 2020

BACKGROUND

Academic article retractions occur across all disciplines, though few studies have examined the association between research topics and retraction rates.

OBJECTIVES

We assessed and compared the rate of retraction across several important clinical research topics.

METHODS

Information about the number of publications, the number of retractions, the retraction rate, and the time to retraction was collected for articles identified by 15 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. These articles were published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2020. The searches took place between 18 September 2021 and 24 October 2021. The MeSH terms were selected based on our clinical experience with the expectation that there will be multiple publications during the timeframe to use for the searches. Additional topics were selected based on the frequency of controversy in the public media and were identified by the Altmetric Top 100 report.

RESULTS

The mean number of publications for all categories was 181,975 ± 332,245; the median number of publications was 67,991 [Q1, Q3; 31951.5, 138,981.5]. The mean number of retractions was 100.3 ± 251.3, and the median number of retractions was 22 [Q1, Q3; 6.5, 53]. The mean time to retraction ranged from 114 days to 1,409.5 days; the median was 857.3 days [Q1, Q3; 684.7, 1098.6], depending on the topic. The various MeSH term categories used in this study had significant differences in retraction rate and time to retraction. The "Neoplasms" category had the highest total number of retractions (993) and one of the highest retraction rates (75.4 per 100,000 publications).

DISCUSSION

All PubMed categories analyzed in this study had retracted articles. The median time to retraction was 857 days. The long delays in some categories could contribute to potentially misleading information which might have adverse effects on clinical decisions in patient care and on research design.

CONCLUSION

Rate of retraction varies across research topics and further studies are needed to explore this relationship.

Reimagining Assent: When Things Get Lost in Translation in International Pediatric Research

The necessity of obtaining pediatric assent for research participation is well established within international ethical guidelines. However, the effective implementation of these guidelines poses significant challenges for research ethics committees in numerous developing countries, such as Pakistan, characterized by diverse cultural and socio-economic contexts. This paper critically examines the moral underpinnings of assent, rooted in the principle of respect for persons, which aims to empower, engage, and educate children involved in research processes. Through a case example, this paper reveals the unique obstacles faced by researchers and clinicians in Pakistan, which stem from socio-cultural norms and economic disparities. Such challenges endanger the ethical foundation of assent, creating a disconnect between its philosophical basis and practical execution. Although international guidelines permit contextual adaptation of assent procedures, such flexibility is not adequately articulated within the guidelines, nor is it typically prioritized in practice. This gap undermines the purpose of assent and inadvertently increases the risk of harm to child participants-not from the research itself but rather from a process designed to protect and empower them. This paper emphasizes greater awareness among stakeholders regarding these challenges, urging a reimagined assent process in diverse global contexts. By introducing a clear rationale within research guidelines, the intent is to ensure that researchers and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) prioritize the contextual understanding of assent, transforming it from a mere procedural formality into a meaningful practice that mitigates potential risks to children and adolescents involved in research.

The impact of "Five No's for Publication" on academic misconduct

China initiated the "Five No's for Publication" in December 2015 as a response to rising incidents of retraction. Use the number of retracted publications and their original publication time as proxies to investigate the effect of the Five No's policy on academic misconduct. We searched the Retraction Watch Database for research articles published by Chinese scholars from 1 March 2010 to 29 February 2020. The short- and long-term trends of the number of publications were presented by conducting an interrupted time series analysis in quarterly time units. Of 4,215 retracted papers with Chinese authors, 2,881 involving academic misconduct were identified. In the first quarter (12.01.2015-02.29.2016) after the implementation of the Five No's, an average reduction of 55.80 (p < 0.001) publications that involve academic misconduct was observed, although there was an increase in the trend of publications of 3.34 per quarter (p < 0.01) in the long run (12.01.2015-02.29.2020), relative to the pre-intervention period (03.01.2010-11.30.2015). The validity of these results was further supported by three different robustness checks. China's government should strengthen enforcement, promote education, and improve the scientific evaluation system to consolidate the influence of the Five No's policy and foster an ethical research environment.

Evaluation of the Environmental Risk Factors and Comorbidities in Patients with Lichen Planopilaris: A Case-Control Study

Introduction

Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is an uncommon cicatricial alopecia clinically characterized by follicular hyperkeratosis, perifollicular erythema, and permanent hair loss. The association of LPP with certain underlying diseases and environmental factors has been evaluated but there are limited data about this association. This study was designated to evaluate the environmental risk factors and comorbidities in LPP patients.

Method

This case-control study was performed on LPP patients referred to two dermatology referral centers from 2019 to 2022. A group of non-LPP healthy individuals referring for cosmetic concerns was recruited as control group. Data collection was performed using two questionnaires: a general questionnaire, including demographic information, comorbidities, environmental risk factors, and disease-related information, and the lichen planopilaris activity index (LPPAI) questionnaire.

Results

One hundred LPP patients as case group were compared with 100 healthy people without LPP as control group. Unemployment, history of major stressful events, thyroid disorder, history of hair dyeing, using face soaps, taking supplements, postmenopausal status, and family history of LPP or other types of alopecia had significant relationship with LPP (all p values <0.05).

Conclusion

LPP has associations with environmental and non-environmental risk factors and, also, genetic component.

Differential Sources of Distress in Clinical and Research Trainees: A Focus on Work and Role Relationships

Objective

To examine the experience of clinical and research trainees within an academic medical center setting to identify and compare factors influencing their wellbeing.

Participants and Methods

A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was conducted from June to July 2022 at a large academic medical center. Responses from clinical and research trainees were analyzed for this study. The survey assessed participant wellbeing using the Well-Being Index (WBI), in addition to perceptions of individual and organizational factors. Data were analyzed to identify correlates of elevated WBI scores and differences in clinical and research experience.

Results

Ordinal logistic regression analysis identified low sense of recognition (odds ratio [OR], 0.59; 95% CI, 0.44-0.79), low role clarity (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.42-0.80), moral distress (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.24-2.10), and social isolation or loneliness (OR, 2.79; 95% CI 1.69-4.61) as significantly associated with high WBI scores, accounting for 48.8% of predicted variance. Additionally, distressed clinical trainees (WBI≥2) reported lower control over their work (P<.001) and significantly higher perceived stress from heavy workload (P<.05) and long hours (P<.01), compared with distressed research trainees. Distressed research trainees reported lower levels of trust in their supervisor (P<0.01), lower perceived organizational support (P<.05), and lower role clarity (P<.05), compared with distressed medical trainees. Low recognition, moral distress, and perceived stress from social isolation and loneliness were experienced similarly between groups.

Conclusion

Our study indicates that trainees experience high levels of distress, although the sources differ. To effectively address these challenges, organizations should implement interventions targeted to address specific stressors of each group.

Scientific misconduct: A cross-sectional study of the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of Spanish researchers

This study sought to identify the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of Spanish researchers regarding different aspects relating to scientific misconduct, both overall and by gender, years of research experience, and type of research institution. This is a cross-sectional study based on an anonymous online survey, targeting researchers in the field of biomedicine. The survey comprised a first block (13 questions) covering sociodemographic data, and a second block (14 questions) covering researchers' perceptions, attitudes and experiences. A descriptive analysis was performed. 403 researchers answered the survey: 51.1% (n = 205) women, median age 45 years. The observed frequency of scientific misconduct was 78.8%. Additionally, 43.3% of researchers acknowledged having intentionally engaged in some type of scientific misconduct (self-reported frequency). The most frequent type of scientific misconduct was false authorship. The most frequent types of both observed and self-reported scientific misconduct did not appear to differ by years of experience but did differ by gender and type of research institution. In conclusion, there is a high frequency of scientific misconduct among Spanish biomedical science researchers as 4 of 10 researchers recognized that took part in any type of scientific misconduct. There are differences between the most frequent types of misconduct according to different characteristics, mainly type of institution.

Teaching research integrity as discussed in research integrity codes: A systematic literature review

Presented here is a systematic literature review of how RI teaching is discussed in national and international research integrity (RI) codes. First, we set out to identify the codes that exist, and performed some generic analysis on them. Following a comprehensive search strategy, which included all 193 United Nations member states, we identified 52 national and 14 international RI codes. RI teaching is addressed in 46 national and 10 international codes. We then examined how the codes address RI teaching under the following headings: the aims, the target audience, the ethics approach proposed, the assessment and/or evaluation strategy, and any challenges identified in relation to RI teaching. There is considerable overlap between the aims of RI teaching in the various codes, for example, promoting awareness of RI. Most codes claim RI teaching is for all researchers, but without any in-depth guidance. While educational programmes, training, and mentorship/supervision are proposed for RI teaching, there is insufficient detail to identify the ethics approach to be used in such teaching. Lastly, only few address assessment and/or evaluation or challenges in RI teaching. Here, we analyzed how current codes address RI teaching; we identified some shortfalls, and in our discussion we advance recommendations.

From Solo to Collaborative: The Global Increase in Neuroscience Authors Over Two Decades

The increase in the number of authors per article is a well-documented phenomenon across various academic disciplines. While prior studies have examined this trend in specific fields and countries, they in most cases did not compare the increase in the number of authors between countries. While it has previously shown that the number of authors in neuroscience publications has risen in the G10 countries, no study has yet addressed whether it reflects a global trend in the field. To address this gap, we quantified the global trend in the number of authors in neuroscience publications from 2001 to 2022. Our findings reveal a consistent increase in authorship across nearly all the countries examined. Italy ranks highest in terms of average authorship per article, while Ukraine ranks the lowest. On the other hand, China shows the largest increase in authorship over the years, followed by Norway and Egypt. South Korea is the only country showing a slight decreasing trend rather than growth. These results contribute to a better understanding of authorship patterns in neuroscience and can stimulate further investigations on the reasons behind such an increase in terms of socio-economic factors, the need for collaborative efforts in some fields, or, on the negative side, the effect of utilitarian reasons to meet career evaluation criteria.

Factors related to the severity of research misconduct administrative actions: An analysis of office of research integrity case summaries from 1993 to 2023

We extracted, coded, and analyzed data from 343 Office of Research Integrity (ORI) case summaries published in the Federal Register and other venues from May 1993 to July 2023 to test hypotheses concerning the relationship between the severity of ORI administrative actions and various demographic and institutional factors. We found that factors indicative of the severity of the respondent's misconduct or a pattern of misbehavior were associated with the severity of ORI administrative actions. Being required by ORI to retract or correct publications and aggravating factors, such as interfering with an investigation, were both positively associated with receiving a funding debarment and with receiving an administrative action longer than three years. Admitting one's guilt and being found to have committed plagiarism (only) were negatively associated with receiving a funding debarment but were neither positively nor negatively associated with receiving an administrative action longer than three years. Other factors, such as the respondent's race/ethnicity, gender, academic position, administrative position, or their institution's NIH funding level or extramural vs. intramural or foreign vs. US status, were neither positively nor negatively associated with the severity of administrative actions. Overall, our findings suggest that ORI has acted fairly when imposing administrative actions on respondents and has followed DHHS guidelines.

Call for a fairer approach to authorship in publishing biomedical research

In this Perspective article, we call for a fairer approach to authorship practice in collaborative biomedical research to promote equity and inclusiveness. Current practice does not adequately recognise all contributors involved in different stages of the work and may exacerbate preexisting inequalities. Here, we discuss some key features of contemporary collaborative research practice that complicate authorship decisions. These include the project size, complexity of multidisciplinary team involvement and researchers having varying degrees of expertise and experience. We conclude by making some suggestions to address these concerns.