Increased attention has been directed at the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and how they are being reported. We examined leading anesthesiology journals to identify if there were specific areas for improvement in the design and analysis of published clinical studies. All RCTs that appeared between January 2000 and December 2000 in leading anesthesiology journals (Anesthesiology,Anesthesia & Analgesia,Anaesthesia, and Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia) were retrieved by a MEDLINE search. We used a previously validated assessment tool, including 14 items associated with study quality, to determine a quality score for each article. The overall mean weighted quality score was 44% +/- 16%. Overall average scores were relatively high for appropriate controls (77% +/- 7%) and discussions of side effects (67% +/- 6%). Scores were very low for randomization blinding (5% +/- 2%), blinding observers to results (1% +/- 1%), and post-beta estimates (16% +/- 13%). Important pretreatment clinical predictors were absent in 32% of all studies. Significant improvement in the reporting and conduct of RCTs is required and should focus on randomization methodology, the blinding of investigators, and sample size estimates. Repeat assessments of the literature may improve the adoption of guidelines for the improvement of the quality of randomized controlled trials.
Leaf-tying caterpillars act as ecosystem engineers by building shelters between overlapping leaves, which are inhabited by other arthropods. Leaf-tiers have been observed to leave their ties and create new shelters (and thus additional microhabitats), but the ecological factors affecting shelter fidelity are poorly known. For this study, we explored the effects of resource limitation and occupant density on shelter fidelity and assessed the consequences of shelter abandonment. We first quantified the area of leaf material required for a caterpillar to fully develop for two of the most common leaf-tiers that feed on white oak, Quercus alba. On average, Psilocorsis spp. caterpillars consumed 21.65 ± 0.67 cm2 leaf material to complete development. We also measured the area of natural leaf ties found in a Maryland forest, to determine the distribution of resources available to caterpillars in situ. Of 158 natural leaf ties examined, 47% were too small to sustain an average Psilocorsis spp. caterpillar for the entirety of its development. We also manipulated caterpillar densities within experimental ties on potted trees to determine the effects of cohabitants on the likelihood of a caterpillar to leave its tie. We placed 1, 2, or 4 caterpillars in ties of a standard size and monitored the caterpillars twice daily to track their movement. In ties with more than one occupant, caterpillars showed a significantly greater propensity to leave their tie, and left sooner and at a faster rate than those in ties as single occupants. To understand the consequences of leaf tie abandonment, we observed caterpillars searching a tree for a site to build a shelter in the field. This is a risky behavior, as 17% of the caterpillars observed died while searching for a shelter site. Caterpillars that successfully built a shelter traveled 110 ± 20 cm and took 28 ± 7 min to find a suitable site to build a shelter. In conclusion, leaf-tying caterpillars must frequently abandon their leaf tie due to food limitation and interactions with other caterpillars, but this is a costly behavior.
Between February, 2000 and August, 2002 three surveys have been submitted to the program directors of the anesthesiology training programs in the United States (U.S.) to assess the departments' needs for faculty and financial support from their institutions. In this article we present the results of a fourth follow-up survey. This survey also asked questions regarding the need for additional support to meet the new 80-h workweek resident requirement and asked the average academic time offered to faculty. The average department has 40 faculty members with 3.7 open faculty positions in the 78% of departments with open positions. Only 25% of the departments planned to add personnel to comply with the 80-h resident workweek. Fifty-one percent of the departments had a positive financial margin of 15,908 dollars/full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty anesthesiologist (faculty FTE), whereas 34% had a negative margin of 42,603 dollars/faculty FTE. The overall institutional support was 85,607 dollars/faculty FTE, which is a 43% increase over the previous year. The average academic time provided to faculty was 13.8%, a decline from 20% in 2000. Twenty-five percent of departments have closed an anesthetizing location as a result of a lack of faculty in 2003. Open faculty positions in U.S. training programs have remained fairly constant at 8% to 10% from 2000 to 2003. Institutional support for training departments has more than doubled since 2000, reaching approximately 85,000 dollars/faculty in 2003.
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