No abstract

This study explores the response to COVID-19 from investigators, editors, and publishers and seeks to define challenges during the early stages of the pandemic. A cross-sectional bibliometric review of COVID-19 literature was undertaken between 1 November 2019 and 24 March 2020, along with a comparative review of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) literature. Investigator responsiveness was assessed by measuring the volume and type of research published. Editorial responsiveness was assessed by measuring the submission-to-acceptance time and availability of original data. Publisher-responsiveness was assessed by measuring the acceptance-to-publication time and the provision of open access. Three hundred and ninety-eight of 2,835 COVID-19 and 55 of 1,513 MERS search results were eligible. Most COVID-19 studies were clinical reports (n = 242; 60.8%). The submission-to-acceptance [median: 5 days (IQR: 3-11) versus 71.5 days (38-106); P < .001] and acceptance-to-publication [median: 5 days (IQR: 2-8) versus 22.5 days (4-48Á5-; P < .001] times were strikingly shorter for COVID-19. Almost all COVID-19 (n = 396; 99.5%) and MERS (n = 55; 100%) studies were open access. Data sharing was infrequent, with original data available for 104 (26.1%) COVID-19 and 10 (18.2%) MERS studies (P = .203). The early academic response was characterized by investigators aiming to define the disease. Studies were made rapidly and openly available. Only one-in-four were published alongside original data, which is a key target for improvement.

Aim Vagus nerve stimulation has emerged as a plausible intervention to reduce ileus after surgery. An early development study was undertaken with the aim of exploring the feasibility of self‐administered, noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) after major colorectal surgery. Method A parallel‐group, randomized controlled trial was undertaken between 1 January 2018 and 31 August 2019. Forty patients undergoing colorectal surgery for malignancy were allocated equally to Sham and Active stimulation groups. Electrical vagus nerve stimulation was self‐administered bilaterally over the cervical surface landmarks for 5 days before and after surgery. Outcomes of interest were postoperative complications and adverse events measured using the Clavien–Dindo scale, treatment compliance, device usability according to the Systems Usability Scale (SUS) and clinical measures of bowel recovery. Results Forty patients were randomized and one withdrew, leaving 39 for analysis. Postoperative complications occurred in 9/19 (47.4%) participants receiving Sham and 11/20 (55.0%) receiving Active stimulation and were mostly minor. Compliance with treatment before surgery was 4.7 ± 0.9 days out of 5 days in the Sham group and 4.7 ± 1.1 in the Active group. Compliance with treatment after surgery was 4.1 ± 1.1 and 4.4 ± 1.5, respectively. Participants considered the intervention to be ‘acceptable’ according to the SUS. The most prominent differences in bowel recovery were days to first flatus (2.35 ± 1.32 vs 1.65 ± 0.88) and tolerance of solid diet (2.18 ± 2.21 vs 1.75 ± 0.91) for Sham and Active groups, respectively. Conclusion This study supports the safety, treatment compliance and usability of self‐administered nVNS in patients undergoing major colorectal surgery.

Background: RCTs provide the scientific basis upon which treatment decisions are made. To facilitate critical review, it is important that methods and results are reported transparently. The aim of this study was to explore transparency in surgical RCTs with respect to trial registration, disclosure of funding sources, declarations of investigator conflicts and data-sharing. Methods: This was a cross-sectional review of published surgical RCTs. Ten high-impact journals were searched systematically for RCTs published in years 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018. Four domains of transparency were explored: trial registration, disclosure of funding, disclosure of investigator conflicts, and a statement relating to data-sharing. Results: Of 611 RCTs, 475 were eligible for analysis. Some 397 RCTs (83.6 per cent) were registered on a trial database, of which 190 (47⋅9 per cent) had been registered prospectively. Prospective registration increased over time (26 per cent in 2009, 33⋅0 per cent in 2012, 54 per cent in 2015, and 72⋅7 per cent in 2018). Funding disclosure was present in 55⋅0, 65⋅0, 69⋅4 and 75⋅4 per cent of manuscripts respectively. Conflict of interest disclosure was present in 49⋅5, 89⋅1, 94⋅6 and 98⋅3 per cent of manuscripts across the same time periods. Data-sharing statements were present in only 15 RCTs (3⋅2 per cent), 11 of which were published in 2018. Conclusion: Trial registration, disclosure of funding and disclosure of investigator conflicts in surgical RCTs have improved markedly over the past 10 years. Disclosure of data-sharing plans is exceptionally low. This may contribute to research waste and represents a target for improvement.

Objective: To describe the global academic response to COVID-19 during its early stages. The responsiveness of investigators, editorial teams, and publishers was explored.Design: Cross-sectional bibliometric review of COVID-19 literature. A parallel search of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) literature was performed for comparison of outcomes.Most COVID-19 studies were clinical reports (n=242; 60.8%) and the majority of these were case series (n=105; 43.4%) and single cases (n=65; 26.9%). The times from manuscript submission to acceptance (median: 5 days (IQR: 3-11) vs 71.5 days (38-106); P<0.001) and acceptance to publication (median: 5 days (IQR: 2-8) vs. 22.5 days (4-48.5-; P<0.001) were strikingly shorter for COVID-19. Almost all COVID-19 (n=396; 99.5%) and MERS (n=55; 100%) studies were available with open-access. Data sharing was infrequent, with original data available for 104 (26.1%) COVID-19 and 10 (18.2%) MERS studies (P=0.203). Conclusions:The early academic response to COVID-19 was characterised by investigators aiming to define the disease. These studies were made rapidly and openly available by editorial and publishing teams. Data sharing practises are an essential target for improvement as the pandemic progresses.

The aim of this study was to adapt a proprietary decellularisation process for human dermis for use with porcine skin. Porcine skin was subject to: sodium chloride (1 M) to detach the epidermis, trypsin paste to remove hair follicles, peracetic acid (0.1% v/v) disinfection, washed in hypotonic buffer and 0.1% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulphate in the presence of proteinase inhibitors followed by nuclease treatment. Cellular porcine skin, decellularised porcine and human dermis were compared using histology, immunohistochemistry, GSL-1 lectin (alpha-gal epitope) staining, biochemical assays, uniaxial tensile and in vitro cytotoxicity tests. There was no microscopic evidence of cells in decellularised porcine dermis. DNA content was reduced by 98.2% compared to cellular porcine skin. There were no significant differences in the biomechanical parameters studied or evidence of cytotoxicity. The decellularised porcine dermis retained residual alpha-gal epitope. Basement membrane collagen IV immunostaining was lost following decellularisation; however, laminin staining was retained.

Aim Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols aim to optimize recovery through a series of evidencebased recommendations. A key component of ERAS is the provision of patient education. Whilst the recommendation for this is strong, the evidence to inform its format, timing and delivery is unclear. The aim of this review was to describe previous educational interventions used to improve recovery after colorectal surgery and to explore opportunities for future research. Conclusions Patient education is generally advantageous, but there is insufficient evidence to optimize its design and delivery in the setting of colorectal surgery.

We study the link between parton dynamics in the collinear limit and the logarithmically enhanced terms of the groomed jet mass distribution, for jets groomed with the modified mass-drop tagger (mMDT). While the leadinglogarithmic (LL) result is linked to collinear evolution with leading-order splitting kernels, here we derive the NLL structure directly from triple-collinear splitting kernels. The calculation we present is a fixed-order calculation in the triplecollinear limit, independent of resummation ingredients and methods. It therefore constitutes a powerful cross-check of the NLL results previously derived using the SCET formalism and provides much of the insight needed for resummation within the traditional QCD approach.