scholarly journals Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa F. D. Carneiro ◽  
Victor G. S. Queiroz ◽  
Thiago C. Moulin ◽  
Carlos A. M. Carvalho ◽  
Clarissa B. Haas ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundPreprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings.MethodsIn this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals.ResultsPeer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions.

Author(s):  
Clarissa F. D. Carneiro ◽  
Victor G. S. Queiroz ◽  
Thiago C. Moulin ◽  
Carlos A. M. Carvalho ◽  
Clarissa B. Haas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Preprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings. Methods In this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals. Results Peer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication. Conclusions Our results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-473
Author(s):  
Ting Fang ◽  
Nian Wang ◽  
Meng Chen ◽  
Hongmei Ma

Objective Explore the impact of personalized nursing services and hospice care on the quality of life of elderly patients with advanced cancer. Method We selected 80 elderly cancer patients admitted to our hospital from September 2020 to May 2021, and divided these patients into a study group and a control group using a random number table method. The patients in the control group used conventional nursing methods to treat and care for the patients, and the patients in the study group used hospice care measures and combined personalized nursing measures. The quality of life and pain treatment effects of the two groups of patients before and after treatment were compared. Result Before treatment, the quality-of-life scores of the two groups of patients were low, and there was no statistical difference (P>0.05); After treatment, the quality of life of the two groups of patients improved, but compared with the control group, the improvement was more obvious in the study group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). In terms of pain treatment effect, the total effective rate of pain treatment in the study group was 87.5%, which was significantly better than the 62.5% in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Personalized nursing services and hospice care are conducive to improving the survival and treatment of elderly patients with advanced cancer, and can be used as a clinical application program for the care of advanced cancer patients.


Author(s):  
Rory Hachamovitch ◽  
Brian Griffin ◽  
Alan Klein ◽  
Benjamin Nutter ◽  
Irene Katzan ◽  
...  

Background. Patients (pts) diagnosed with congestive heart failure (HF) have been reported to have more frequent depression and worsened health related quality of life (HRQOL). Although depression is more common in women than men in this condition, the impact of HF on depression and HRQOL in men versus women is unclear. We sought to examine the relationship between pt sex, HF diagnosis, and pt-perceived depression and HRQOL. Methods. Depression (PHQ-9) and HRQOL (EQ5D) data were collected using tablet computers from pts presenting for routine outpatient cardiovascular assessment at our institution between November, 2010 and December, 2011. Demographic, clinical, and historical data was collected as per routine. We examined the association of pt sex and clinical diagnosis of HF with instrument results after adjusting for potential confounding information using mutliple linear regression. Results. Of 3046 pts (age 61±15), 39% were female and 8.7% were diagnosed with HF. Overall, PHQ-9 was greater, and minor or major depression (PHQ-9≥10) was more frequent, in women than men (4.6±4.6 vs. 3.3±4.4; 14.0% vs. 8.9%, both p<0.05) and in HF pts than pts without HF (5.9±5.6 vs. 3.6±4.3, 22.0% versus 9.6%; both p<0.05). Similarly, HRQOL was worse in women than men (EQ-5D 0.80±0.18 vs. 0.87±0.16; p<0.01) and in HF pts than no HF (EQ-5D 0.76±0.18 vs. 0.85±0.17; p<0.01). However, the difference in PHQ-9 between pts with versus without HF was greater in men (6.23±6.06 vs. 3.02±4.06, p<0.01) than women (5.43±4.85 vs. 4.55±4.58, p=0.09). After adjusting for cardiovascular diagnoses, comorbidities, clinical and demographic data, multivariable modeling of PHQ-9 revealed a significant interaction between pt sex and HF diagnosis (p=0.001; see Figure) such that women had greater PHQ-9 scores compared to men without HF, but in the setting of HF, mens' PHQ-9 scores were greater. Modeling of EQ-5D also revealed that after risk-adjustment an interaction between HF diagnosis and sex was present with a similar pattern of findings. Conclusion. Although depression is more frequent and severe in women compared to men, and in pts with versus without HF, HF appears to impact depression severity more in men compared to women.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Dwi Khotimah ◽  
Abdul Salam ◽  
AASP Chandradewi ◽  
Irianto Irianto

Background. Nutrition less in infants is a health problem around the world especially the countries develop. In Indonesia nutritional problems less in toddlers about 19.6%. Nutritional problems have little effect on the low quality of human resources, especially the impact of toddlers who are malnourished by poor brain development, unoptimal physical growth, and metabolic developments (the Kemenkes RI, 2014). The current state of nutrition especially in children is still ematitiate. Given the impact of the nutrient less widespread, it is necessary to do a handling of PMT in the form of sausages using local food that is effective in increasing the weight of children with less nutritional nutrition.Metodelogi. In this study used experimental research Desan with a complete random draft (RAL) One treatment comparison of cork fish with composite flour 75%: 25% 80%: 20% 85%: 15%. Data processing. Processing of data obtained from observations presented in the form of tables, to find out the nature of organoleptic (aroma, flavor, texture and color) in each addition of the sausage making materials processed and analyzed using a statistical analysis of One Way Anova at a trust level of 95% (A = 0.05). If there is a significant impact, the data is analyzed further using the Tukey test to see which treatment is causing the difference. Research results. The comparison of cork fish and composite flour is significant effect on the taste color of texture and aroma. The PMT of Gasuhiru sausage contains 262KKL and 16.72 gr of protein in 100gr. Gasuhiru sausage receiving 83.3% well received.Conclusion: The most liked sausage is a comparison of 85%: 15%. The administration of PMT provides a significant effect on children's weight loss and is 3 times greater than the Conntrol group.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Klimczak ◽  
Wojciech Kotłowski ◽  
Dagmara Oszkiewicz ◽  
Francesca DeMeo ◽  
Agnieszka Kryszczyńska ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The aim of the project is the classification of asteroids according to the most commonly used asteroid taxonomy (Bus-Demeo et al. 2009) with the use of various machine learning methods like Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines, Gradient Boosting and Multilayer Perceptrons. Different parameter sets are used for classification in order to compare the quality of prediction with limited amount of data, namely the difference in performance between using the 0.45mu to 2.45mu spectral range and multiple spectral features, as well as performing the Prinicpal Component Analysis to reduce the dimensions of the spectral data.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This work has been supported by grant&amp;#160;No. 2017/25/B/ST9/00740 from the National Science Centre, Poland.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-194
Author(s):  
Richard O. Welsh

The contemporary social, economic, and cultural conditions within and outside the academy prompt important questions about the role of research in education policy and practice. Scholars have framed research-practice partnerships (RPPs) as a strategy to promote evidence-based decision-making in education. In this chapter, I interrogate the notion that RPPs offer an insightful framework to consider how the quality of research can be measured through its use. The findings suggest that using RPPs to assess the quality of education research enhances the relevance to policy and practice as well as attention to the quality of reporting, and pivots from the preeminence of methodological quality. RPPs increase local education leaders’ access to research and bolster the use of research. RPPs may also strengthen the alignment between education research and the public good. Notwithstanding, employing RPPs as a vehicle to assess research quality has its challenges. Valuing the work of RPPs in academia is a work in progress. Building and sustaining an RPP is challenging, and there is still much to learn about the ways in which RPPs work and overcome obstacles. Assessing the impact of RPPs is also difficult. Future considerations are discussed.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e041184
Author(s):  
Dan Wang ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Feilong Zhu ◽  
Qianqin Hong ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
...  

IntroductionBoth physical and mental disorders may be exacerbated in patients with COVID-19 due to the experience of receiving intensive care; undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation, sedation, proning and paralysis. Pulmonary rehabilitation is aimed to improve dyspnoea, relieve anxiety and depression, reduce the incidence of related complications, as well as prevent and improve dysfunction. However, the impact of respiratory rehabilitation on discharged patients with COVID-19 is currently unclear, especially on patients who have been mechanically ventilated over 24 hours. Therefore, we aim to investigate the efficacy of respiratory rehabilitation programmes, initiated after discharge from the intensive care unit, on the physical and mental health and health-related quality of life in critical patients with COVID-19.Methods and analysisWe have registered the protocol on PROSPERO and in the process of drafting it, we strictly followed the checklist of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Potocols. We will search the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, VIP information databases and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Additionally, ongoing trials in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, ClinicalTrials.gov and ISRCTN registry will be searched as well. Studies in English or Chinese and from any country will be accepted regardless of study design. Two review authors will independently extract data and assess the quality of included studies. Continuous data are described as standard mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs. Dichotomous data from randomised controlled trials are described as risk ratio(RR) with 95% CIs; otherwise, it is described as odds ratio(OR) with 95% CIs. I2 and the Cochrane’s Q statistic will be used to conduct heterogeneity assessment. The quality of evidence of main outcomes will be evaluated according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation(GRADE) criteria. When included studies are sufficient, we will conduct subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis; the publication bias will be statistically analysed using a funnel plot analysis and Egger’s test.Ethics and disseminationOur review, planning to include published studies, does not need the request to the ethical committee. The final results of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal after completion.Patient and public involvementNo patient involved.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020186791.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Fandresena Arilala Sendrasoa ◽  
Naina Harinjara Razanakoto ◽  
Volatantely Ratovonjanahary ◽  
Onivola Raharolahy ◽  
Irina Mamisoa Ranaivo ◽  
...  

Background. Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, and multifactorial dermatosis that impairs quality of life (QoL). Health-related QoL has become an important element in medical decision-making along with the effectiveness and the harmlessness of the treatments. Objective. To assess the impact of psoriasis in the QoL of patients with psoriasis by using the DLQI scales. Methods. A cross-sectional study from January to June 2018 was conducted in the Department of Dermatology of the University Hospital Joseph Raseta Befelatanana, Antananarivo, Madagascar, including patients more than 18 years old with mild to severe psoriasis. The severity of psoriasis was assessed using the “Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)”. QoL of patients with psoriasis was evaluated by using the DLQI scales. Results. 80 patients were included, their mean age was 36.5 years, and the male to female was 1.5 : 1. The mean DLQI score was 13.8. Symptoms, feelings, and psychic were the most altered dimensions. QoL was impaired in young patients, single, having medium level education. Even though patients with disease duration more than 5 years had higher DLQI score than other patients, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.36). Furthermore, the clinical presentation of psoriasis did not influence the patient’s QoL (p=0.73). Patients with nail involvement had QoL impaired but the difference with another localization was not statistically significant (p=0.2). The quality of life was influenced by body area involved. The higher the body surface area involved, the more QoL is impaired (p=0.002). Furthermore, the higher the PASI, the more QoL is altered (p=0.002). Conclusion. Psoriasis has a negative impact in the quality of life in Malagasy patients with psoriasis, especially in younger and single patients. Worse quality of life is correlated to severity of psoriasis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-404
Author(s):  
Janusz Witowski ◽  
Dorota Sikorska ◽  
András Rudolf ◽  
Izabela Miechowicz ◽  
Julian Kamhieh-Milz ◽  
...  

The concerns about reproducibility and validity of animal studies are partly related to poor experimental design and reporting. Here, we undertook a scoping review of the literature to determine the extent and quality of reporting of animal studies on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Online databases were searched to identify 567 relevant original articles published between 1979 and 2018. These were analyzed with respect to bibliographic parameters and general aspects of animal experimentation. A subgroup of 120 studies was analyzed in detail in terms of the impact on the reporting quality of the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines for animal studies. The number of animal studies on PD increased continuously over the years with a thematic shift toward long-term preservation of the peritoneum as a dialyzing organ. There were significant deficiencies in research design with the lack of sample size estimation, randomization, and blinding being the commonest shortcomings. The description of animal numbers, housing conditions, use of medication, and statistical analysis was incomplete. The introduction in 2010 of the ARRIVE guidelines produced very little improvement in the completeness of reporting regardless of journal impact factor. The animal studies on PD suffer from deficits in experimental protocols and transparent reporting. These drawbacks need to be corrected to ensure high-quality and much-needed animal research in PD.


2008 ◽  
Vol 139 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. P82-P82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkat R Srinivasan ◽  
Christopher Low ◽  
Paul W A Goodyear ◽  
Steve Derbyshire ◽  
Aneesh Veetil

Objective To assess whether radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction of the palate can improve patients’ snoring symptoms and quality of life. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study was undertaken. Over an 18-month period, consecutive habitual snorers without sleep apnoea were asked to complete a validated Snoring Symptoms Inventory (SSI) questionnaire before and 3–6 months after radiofrequency surgical treatment. It contained 25 questions on the impact of snoring symptoms, including social, work, physical and emotional aspects. Most patients underwent 2 operations (Somnoplasty® Somnus device) with a 2-month interval. A scale of 0 (no snoring) to 10(extremely loud snoring) was used to assess partners’ perception of the snoring intensity. Paired T-test was used to compare the mean difference in the SSI before and after surgery. Partners’ scores were analysed with Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Results 26 patients (19 male, 7 female) aged between 33 and 74 (mean=48) were recruited. Preoperative BMI scores ranged from 19 to 35 (mean=28). Pre- and postoperative mean SSI scores were 60.5 (SD 12.3) and 42.8 (SD 17.4). The difference between the 2 means is 17.6 (95% Confidence Interval, 11.0 to 24.2), P<0.0001. The median for pre- and postoperative partners’ scores is 10 and 5 respectively. and the difference is statistically significant (P<0.0001). Conclusions Radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction can improve habitual snorers’ snoring symptoms, snoring-related quality of life, and partner's perception of their snoring. Long-term results of this procedure need to be ascertained with further studies.


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