Are antidepressant and antipsychotic drug trials registered? A cross-sectional analysis of registration and reporting of methodologic characteristics

Introduction: In 2005, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) proposed that all submitted trials in all 11 member journals must be prospectively registered in order to be considered for publication. Registering drug trials was meant to reduce the likelihood of selective reporting. The aim was to determine the proportion of antipsychotic and antidepressant trials that were registered.

Methods: We searched in Pubmed for all randomized controlled trials of any antidepressant or antipsychotic published between July and December 2014. The primary objective was to determine the proportion of trials that were registered. Secondary objectives included comparing the reporting of methodological details and positive study findings between registered and unregistered trials.

Results: Of the 67 studies identified, 58% were registered. 75% of the antipsychotic trials and 51% of the antidepressant trials were registered, respectively. Registered trials were more likely to report important methodological details associated with risk of bias in RCTs. There was no significant difference in trials reporting positive outcomes for the study intervention between registered and unregistered trials.

Conclusion: Approximately 60% of published antidepressant and antipsychotic drug trials during July to December 2014 were registered. Unregistered trials were less likely to report important methodological details.     

Perceptions of Academic Health Science Research Center Personnel Regarding Informed Consent Processes and Therapeutic Misconception

Introduction: Instrumentation exists to measure voluntariness and misunderstanding in informed consent processes. However, research personnel’s perspectives about using instrumentation to measure therapeutic misconceptions in research participants has not been reported. We designed a workshop to promote research personnel knowledge of emerging instrumentation and to study the perceptions of research personnel regarding such instruments.

Methods and Findings: Two nationally recognized experts who have developed psychometric instruments to measure aspects of informed consent presented their recent findings to research personnel of the Medical University of South Carolina at a one-day workshop. Following the presentations, workshop attendees divided into two focus groups and shared their perceptions regarding the presentation content. Inductive thematic analysis detected themes related to informed consent processes including: investigator/provider role clarity; investigator transparency; therapeutic misconception; and screening subjects for understanding.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest future directions in applied, proactive empirical research to better understand investigator perceptions and practices related to transparency in research, and to develop instrumentation to detect risks to the integrity of informed consent in order to promote voluntariness and autonomy and minimize therapeutic misconception in research practices.     

Publication rates after the first retraction for biomedical researchers with multiple retracted publications

Retraction of scientific publications can unmask scientific misconduct. We undertook a survey of publication rates, for authors with multiple retractions in the biomedical literature, to determine whether they changed after authors’ first retractions.

We collected publication and citation data from Scopus for 100 authors with multiple retractions (either >10 retractions or 2–5 retractions) in the Retraction Watch database.

Publication rates increased until the year of the first retraction and decreased rapidly thereafter. By 4 years after the first retraction, the proportion of authors actively publishing at least one paper/year was <50%, annual publication rates were <50% of the pre-retraction rate, and only 22% of authors had a publication rate >50% of their pre-retraction rate. There was no difference in the decline in publication rates between authors associated with a retraction for misconduct and those not associated with such a retraction. After the first retraction, citation rates of retracted papers declined whereas those of unretracted papers by the same authors remained unchanged.

In summary, publication rates of authors with multiple retractions, most of whom were associated with scientific misconduct, declined rapidly after their first retraction but a small minority continued to publish regularly.     

Practitioners preferences of care coordination for older people: A discrete choice experiment

These findings demonstrate the importance of organisations providing care coordination for older people receiving long-term funding. Further research is required to investigate the influence of service setting on practitioner preferences.

This study explored practitioner preferences about the relative value of attributes of care coordination services for older people. A Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) survey was used to identify the views of 120 practitioners from 17 services in England in 2015. The survey design was informed by an analysis of standards of care coordination, a postal survey and a consultation with carers of older people. Results of the DCE survey were supplemented by a content analysis of qualitative comments and fieldwork notes. Most respondents were over 30 years of age, female and almost half worked part-time. Continuity of care (care provided by the same care coordinator) and the ability to access the range of services outlined in the care plan were the most important service attributes. Service setting influenced practitioner preferences. Those in specialist services for people with dementia identified the length of time a service was provided as another important attribute. The DCE methodology has provided the opportunity to systematically canvas practitioner preferences.     

Lessons Learned from an LGBTQ Senior Center: A Bronx Tale

This article describes an interdisciplinary pilot study exploring the impact of LGBTQ senior centers on the lives of center members. Many LGBTQ adults face the future having experienced stigma and bias, restricted rights, and rejection from family of origin, and are now growing older without the support of a partner and adult children. As a result, older LGBTQ adults experience higher rates of depression, loneliness and isolation, and shortened life expectancy as compared to non-LGBTQ peers. Findings from focus group and key informant interviews highlight features of LGBTQ senior center experiences that can significantly improve members’ quality of life. These include providing family, acceptance and a home, which can have an impact on outlook and outcomes. Moreover, findings suggest the need for re-thinking hetero-normative definitions of “community” in the context of LGBTQ aging.

Beyond sharing findings from the study, suggesting a conceptual framework for deepening understanding about LGBTQ aging, and identifying lines of future inquiry, the article articulates implications for social work research, practice and education. Ultimately, the article argues that social work is well positioned to improve quality of life for this under-served population when it adopts a cultural humility stance in research, practice and education.     

The Differential Impacts of Collective Psychological Ownership and Membership Identification on Work Burnout and Engagement

Work burnout and engagement are big concerns among workers in social services profession. While the job demands-resources (JD-R) model has been a key perspective in explaining burnout and engagement, there are few studies on the psychological mechanism of the model. In particular, the role of collective psychological ownership (CPO) and membership identification (MI), emerging constructs in workplace wellbeing, are to be explored. The study aimed to explore the roles of CPO and MI in explaining work burnout and engagement in a JD-R model framework. Through snowball and convenience sampling methods, an online self-report survey was conducted in 2016. Totally 761 full-time social service workers in Shenzhen and Guangdong Province, China completed the questionnaire. Bivariate and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed.

The results reveal the differential impacts of CPO and MI on burnout and engagement in the JD-R model framework: (1) Job resources and CPO contribute most additional R square to the models predicting work engagement; (2) Job resources and MI contribute most additional R square to the models predicting burnout; (3) CPO partially mediates the relationship between job resources and burnout; and (4) CPO partially mediates the relationship between job demands and work engagement.

In conclusion, CPO and MI appear to be distinct constructs with differential impacts on work burnout and engagement. Furthermore, CPO appears to have a significant role in the psychological mechanism of the JD-R model in explaining work burnout and engagement.     

小说中的南京大屠杀与民族国家观念表达（英文）

“南京大屠杀”是中外战争史上骇人听闻的暴虐事件,诸多作家以小说的形式对之进行了书写。然而,目前关于南京大屠杀的文学研究却相当薄弱,还停留在单个作品分析的阶段。因此,有必要从民族国家观念出发,对中外小说中的南京大屠杀进行整体研究。中国作家、日本作家、华裔和西方作家以不同的话语立场参与了南京大屠杀的讲述,他们对日军暴行的解读或侧重“大屠杀”,或侧重“强奸”;在写法上则有“将军写法”和“士兵写法”两种。中国作家把大屠杀当作中国人的劫难和抗争来叙述,在观念上存在整体民族主义和阶级、政党民族主义的区分;日本人的小说既包含真实呈现和历史反省的成分,又对中华民族进行精神虐杀;美籍华人和西方作家的小说充盈着宗教情怀和对人性、生命的反思,但受制于西方中心主义,把大屠杀演绎成西方拯救中国的故事。近年来,为秦淮河妓女立传、为外国传教士大唱赞歌的故事模式,引领了南京大屠杀叙事的潮流,值得我们注意和反思。     

The Aftermath of Shelter: Abused Arab Women in Israel

Shelters for battered women play a major role in combating abuse against women. Extensive research has dealt with various aspects of shelters, including professional and ideological perceptions and the women’s experiences. However, scarce research exists on women’s coping following shelter-stay, especially research on the meaning of shelter-stay for women from collectivist societies. In the present study, we focused on how Arab women who had lived in a shelter coped after returning to the community to begin independent lives. In the Arab society in Israel, Arab women who live in shelters are perceived as violating a cultural norm. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 Arab women aged between 25 and 42, who had stayed in a shelter for Arab women for at least six months.

The major themes that emerged from the interviews revealed changes in perception of self and of social environment, including a self-transformation from weakness to strength, from perceiving themselves as devoid of rights to the development of an identity of entitlement. Through their release from weakening cultural systems, they were transformed from familial and societal victims to empowered beings, and moved from negative gender self-awareness to an empowered gender self-perception. These changes helped the interviewees to cope with stresses and to live independently. The findings are conceptualized in the discussion using relational-cultural theory.     

Workplace Characteristics and Work-to-Family Conflict: Does Caregiving Frequency Matter?

Many workers can expect to provide care to an elder relative at some point during their tenure in the workforce. This study extends previous research by exploring whether caregiving frequency (providing care on a regular, weekly basis vs. intermittently) moderates the relationship between certain workplace characteristics and work-to-family conflict. Utilizing a sample of 465 respondents from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (Families and Work Institute, 2008 Families and Work Institute. (2008). National Study of the Changing Workforce [data file and code book]. https://store.familiesandwork.org (http://https://store.familiesandwork.org)  [Google Scholar]), results indicate that access to workplace flexibility has a stronger effect on reducing work-to-family conflict among intermittent caregivers than among those who provide care regularly.     

英文摘要

The establishment of China＇s basic economic system provides theoretical confidence for the compatibility between socialism and market economy. However, the institutional change from planning system to market system lacks the support of Marxist theoretical confidence. This article holds that the ownership theory of Marxism on productive relations should not undertake this task. However, productive relations require the theoretical support. Since it researches on the exchange and cooperation relationship among people and their order, which are positively consistent with the research object of modem institutional economics. Thus, the creation of Marxist institutional economics, taking the theoretical support for productive relations as the example, can help build Marxist theoretical confidence for the institutional changes in China.     

The Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire—Revised (SMQ-R): Validation and Psychometric Testing

Purpose: The overall purposes of this article are to report the development of a survey instrument, Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire-Revised (SMQ-R) that elicits the perceptions of research coordinators managing clinical trials about the various aspects of scientific misconduct and to present the psychometric analyses for the SMQ-R.

Methods: A panel of five researchers and research coordinators reviewed the original SMQ (Rankin and Esteeves, 1997 Rankin, M. and Esteves, M. 1997. Perceptions of scientific misconduct in nursing. Nursing Research, 46(5): 270–276. [PUBMED][CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and suggested an additional 42 items based on the review of the literature and their own experiences in research. The SMQ-Revised (SMQ-R) consists of 68 closed-choice items in six sections and one section with 12 open-ended questions. The SMQ-R was sent to 5302 persons who were members of the Association for Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) or subscribers to Research Practitioner, published by the Center for Clinical Research Practice (CCRP).

Findings: Internal consistency of subscales was assessed with Cronbach's alpha and ranged from .83 to .84. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity of the instrument subscales. The factor structure was assessed with the principal factors method, using the squared multiple correlations as initial communality estimates followed by varimax (orthogonal) or biquartimax (oblique) rotations. Analyses revealed five distinct factors among three subscales. Construct validity for the SMQ-R was also assessed by testing hypothesized relationships using the known groups approach.

Conclusion: The current effort demonstrated the usefulness of the SMQ-R in obtaining information from a national sample of experienced research coordinators about their perceptions of the prevalence of different types of scientific misconduct and of factors that influence the occurrence of misconduct. The psychometric evaluation of the SMQ-R suggests good internal consistency for most subscales and suggests adequate construct validity of the instrument as a whole. The analyses also suggest that further refinement of the instrument for future studies is warranted.     

Stepwise Psychosocial Palliative Care: A New Approach to the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the End of Life

Although evidence-based therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) exist for physically healthy populations, these often do not adequately address PTSD in dying patients. Particularly because these interventions require 8–16 weekly sessions, and the median stay in U.S. hospices is 17.5 days (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization [NHPCO], 2015 National Hospice &; Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). (2015). NHPCO Facts and figures: Hospice care in America. Retrieved from http://www.nhpco.org/sites/default/files/public/Statistics_Research/2015_Facts_Figures.pdf. [Google Scholar]), there is a potentially serious timing mismatch. Moreover, these treatments may temporarily increase trauma symptoms (Nishith, Resick, &; Griffin, 2002 Nishith, P., Resick, P. A., &; Griffin, M. G. (2002). Pattern of change in prolonged exposure and cognitive-processing therapy for female rape victims with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 880–886. doi:10.1037//0022-006x.70.4.880[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), resulting in some patients dying in greater distress than had they not received care. The Stepwise Psychosocial Palliative Care (SPPC) model presented in this article compensates for these difficulties by embracing a palliative care approach to PTSD. Although it utilizes techniques drawn from existing PTSD interventions, these are re-ordered and utilized in a time-responsive, patient-centered manner that takes into account prognosis, fatigue, and logistical concerns. The SPPC approach is further considered with respect to existing social work palliative care competencies (Gwyther et al., 2005 Gwyther, L. P., Altilio, T., Blacker, S., Christ, G., Csikai, E. L., Hooyman, N., … Howe, J. (2005). Social work competencies in palliative and end-of-life care. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life &; Palliative Care, 1, 87–120. doi:10.1300/j457v01n01_06[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and a case study is used to demonstrate its application.     

Dual process theories: A key for understanding the diversification bias?

The diversification bias in repeated lotteries is the finding that a majority of participants fail to select the option offering the highest probability. This phenomenon is systematic and immune to classical manipulations (e.g. monetary rewards). We apply dual process theories and argue that the diversification bias is a consequence of System 1 (automatic, intuitive, associative) triggering a matching response, which fails to be corrected by System 2 (intentional, analytic, rational). Empirically, supporting the corrective functions of System 2 through appropriate contextual cues (describing the task as a statistical test rather than as a lottery) led to a decrease of diversification.

Eliciting decision weights by adapting de Finetti’s betting-odds method to prospect theory

This paper extends de Finetti’s betting-odds method for assessing subjective beliefs to ambiguous events. Thus, a tractable manner for measuring decision weights under ambiguity is obtained. De Finetti’s method is so transparent that decision makers can evaluate the relevant tradeoffs in complex situations. The resulting data can easily be analyzed, using nonparametric techniques. Our extension is implemented in an experiment on predicting next-day’s performance of the Dow Jones and Nikkei stock indexes, where we test the existence and nature of rank dependence, finding usual patterns. We also find violations of rank dependence.