Attitudes and perceptions of biomedical journal editors in chief towards the use of artificial intelligence chatbots in the scholarly publishing process: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Artificial intelligence chatbots (AICs) are designed to mimic human conversations through text or speech, offering both opportunities and challenges in scholarly publishing. While journal policies of AICs are becoming more defined, there is still a limited understanding of how Editors in chief (EiCs) of biomedical journals' view these tools. This survey examined EiCs' attitudes and perceptions, highlighting positive aspects, such as language and grammar support, and concerns regarding setup time, training requirements, and ethical considerations towards the use of AICs in the scholarly publishing process.

Overview of evidence synthesis types and modes.

Background And Objectives: Evidence syntheses systematically compile and analyze information from multiple sources to support health care decision making. As many different types of questions need to be answered in health care, different evidence synthesis types have emerged. In this article, we introduce the most common types of evidence synthesis.

Subjective cognitive fatigability is associated with worse patient-reported physical disability in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Fatigue is highly prevalent in multiple sclerosis (MS) and contributes to disability and functional decline. While associations between physical fatigue and disability have been well characterized, how subjective cognitive fatigue and fatigability relates to disability in MS remains understudied.

Methods: People with MS (PwMS; N = 100) completed self-report measures to capture secondary disease characteristics (e.

Association of patient and physician characteristics with androgen-deprivation-therapy intensification in patients with de novo hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer: A population-based study.

Introduction: Treatment intensification with androgen receptor signaling inhibitors and/or chemotherapy is guideline recommended for patients with de novo metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). However, most patients only receive androgen deprivation therapy monotherapy. The aim was to identify physician-, patient-, and tumor-related factors associated with the receipt of treatment intensification.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Without Radiation for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Surgical Outcomes after Total Mesorectal Excision.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone (with radiation omission) for locally advanced rectal cancer has been evaluated in several randomized controlled trials. While oncologic outcomes have been well described, the impact of this treatment strategy on surgical outcomes is unknown.

Objective: To evaluate how important surgical outcomes were reported in previous trials comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy to chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer and to perform a meta-analysis of available data.

Chd4 remodels chromatin to control retinal cell type specification and lineage termination.

During development, neural progenitor cells modify their output over time to produce different types of neurons and glia in chronological sequences. Epigenetic processes have been shown to regulate neural progenitor potential, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we generated retina-specific conditional knockouts (cKOs) in the key nucleosome remodeller Chd4.

Increase in alcohol outlets by neighbourhood socioeconomic status following the expansion of alcohol sales into convenience stores in Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: In September 2024, the province of Ontario expanded alcohol sales into convenience stores. It is important to examine differences in alcohol sales expansion by socioeconomic status (SES) as lower SES groups experience a disproportionately higher burden of alcohol-attributable harms.

Methods: This repeated cross-sectional study examined whether neighbourhood SES was associated with increases in alcohol outlets immediately following the expansion of alcohol sales.

Defining Sex- and Age-Specific Initial Stay Times for Continuous Heavy-Intensity Work in Hot Environments Before Heat-Mitigation Controls Are Implemented-Part B.

Rationale: Industry guidelines recommend work-rest schedules to prevent unsafe core temperature elevations (> 38.0°C or > Δ1.0°C above baseline resting) in an "average" worker exposed to occupational heat stress.

Defining Sex- and Age-Specific Initial Stay Times for Continuous Moderate-Intensity Work in Hot Environments Before Heat-Mitigation Controls Are Implemented - Part A.

Rationale: Industry guidelines recommend work-rest allocations to limit increases in core temperature (Tcore; > 38.0°C or > Δ1.0°C above resting) during work in the heat.

Improving the reporting on health equity in observational research (STROBE-Equity): extension checklist and elaboration.

Data on health equity to inform societally relevant evidence based decisions and policy making are lacking in the research literature. Observational studies have the potential to provide data on health equity. Yet, guidance on how to report health equity data and considerations in observational research is inadequate.

Response to biologics along a gradient of T2 involvement in patients with severe asthma: a data-driven biomarker clustering approach.

Background: Asthma with low levels of T2-biomarkers is poorly understood.

Objective: To characterize severe asthma phenotypes and compare pre- to post-biologic change in asthma outcomes along a gradient of T2-involvement.

Methods: This was a registry-based, cohort study including data from 24 countries.

Retrospective use of the PRECIS-2 trial design tool to assess design choices in randomised controlled trials; An empirical review.

Introduction: The Pragmatic-Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS-2) tool has been widely used to help investigators design randomised trials, facilitating the task of aligning design choices with an explanatory or pragmatic primary trial intention. PRECIS-2 is increasingly being used to retrospectively assess the degree of pragmatism or explanatoriness among published trials within reviews. There is little information on the interrater reliability of the tool and no consensus on the preferred method of achieving an accurate and reliable judgement of trial 'pragmatism' when using PRECIS-2 retrospectively.

Nuclear hormone receptor regulation of PAL-1/Caudal mediates ventral nerve cord assembly in C. elegans.

The regulatory network governed by CDX/Caudal family transcription factors plays critical roles in shaping embryonic neural development. In C. elegans, we found that proper expression of pal-1, the C.

Metabolic Control and Frequency of Clinical Monitoring Among Canadian Children With Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Deficiency: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Achieving and maintaining metabolic control is critical for children with phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency. This retrospective longitudinal cohort study investigated metabolic control and monitoring frequency of children with PAH deficiency (≤ 12 years) treated at one of 12 pediatric metabolic centres across Canada. We abstracted data from medical charts and analyzed outcomes by age and diagnostic classification, using mixed effects regression.

Occurrence of Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder in Individuals With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treated With Stimulants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may present with psychosis or bipolar disorder (BD) following treatment with stimulants. The extent to which this occurs is currently unclear.

Objective: To meta-analytically quantify the occurrence of psychosis or BD after exposure to stimulants in individuals with ADHD and assess possible moderating factors.

Improving the Reporting on Health Equity in Observational Research (STROBE-Equity): Extension Checklist and Elaboration.

Importance: Observational studies can provide valuable insights to inform decisions on health equity. Existing guidelines for reporting such studies, such as the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement, currently lack specific considerations for reporting on health equity. Health equity is defined as the absence of avoidable and unfair differences that may exist across individuals and populations due to structural and systematic inequities in living and working conditions, opportunities, and resources.

Barriers to and Enablers of Supporting Deprescribing Benzodiazepines in Older Adults: A Survey of European Nonphysician Healthcare Professionals.

Although physicians are primarily responsible for Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonist (BZRA) deprescribing, nonphysician healthcare professionals (HCPs) can support deprescribing. This study explored barriers to and enablers of BZRA deprescribing among nonphysician HCPs. We surveyed 258 HCPs (63.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Health Status and Long-Term Outcomes in a Primary Prevention Cohort.

Background: Poor cardiovascular health quantified by 8 health behaviors and factors is associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it is not clear if this association differs between women and men.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine whether the association between cardiovascular health status and incident CVD events differs by sex.

Examining the association between real-world extended vs. standard pelvic lymph node dissection and early and late oncologic outcomes in men undergoing radical prostatectomy.

Introduction: In patients with prostate cancer (PCa), the impact of extended pelvic lymph node dissection (E-PLND) during radical prostatectomy (RP) on oncologic outcomes remains controversial. This study examined the association between extended vs. standard PLND (S-PLND) and biochemical recurrence (BCR), an early outcome, as well as metastatic PCa (mPCa), and castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) development, late outcomes, in a multi-institutional cohort.

Testosterone replacement therapy and bladder cancer.

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer is a common malignancy, and its standard of care treatment often involves neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy. These treatments are invasive and associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and reduced body mass, while radical cystectomy is associated with high-risk blood loss necessitating blood transfusion.

COVID-19 in rheumatoid arthritis: prevalence, hospital admission, and risk of all-cause mortality before and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: COVID-19 infection can trigger a cytokine storm, treatable with immunomodulating therapies similar to those used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study investigated COVID-19 prevalence, hospitalisation, emergency department (ED) visits, and the impact of RA treatment and baseline characteristics on mortality in RA patients.

Methods: RA patients from the Ontario Best Practices Research Initiative (OBRI) were linked to Ontario healthcare records held at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

Practice of data sharing plans in clinical trial registrations and concordance between registered and published data sharing plans: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends that trial authors must specify data sharing plans when trials are registered and published, yet this uptake remains unclear. We aimed to assess the practice of data sharing plans in trial registration platforms and the concordance between registered and published data sharing plans.

Methods: We included clinical trials published between 2021 and 2023 in six high-profile journals (The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, BMJ, JAMA Internal Medicine, and Annals of Internal Medicine) that enrolled participants no earlier than 2019 and registered on clinical trial platforms.