Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fulin Zhao, Yifan Wang, Jiayu Hu, Shaolei Shi, Hongyan Zhang, Yang Wang, Youliang Ye
Summary: Both genetic improvement and N fertilizer application can enhance the quality and yields of wheat, but the molecular kinetics underlying the differences between them are not well understood. In this study, we conducted a non-targeted metabolomic analysis to investigate the metabolic differences between wheat cultivars and N treatments. The findings revealed that genetic improvement induced more metabolic alterations than N fertilizer supply. Additionally, the analysis of differential metabolites showed that genetic improvement enriched 1-2 KEGG pathways, while N fertilizer application enriched 2-4 pathways. These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of wheat quality and grain yield developments.
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Julian Hirt, Hannah Ewald, Daeria O. Lawson, Lars G. Hemkens, Matthias Briel, Stefan Schandelmaier
Summary: The study systematically surveyed methods guidance articles published in high-impact medical journals in 2020 and identified opportunities for improvement, such as enhancing findability and establishing standards for development and reporting.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Xinying Wu, Wen Cai, Pengcheng Zhu, Zheng Peng, Tianfei Zheng, Dongliang Li, Jianghua Li, Guanyu Zhou, Guocheng Du, Juan Zhang
Summary: This study found that microorganisms in tobacco can improve the quality of tobacco leaves by mediating flavor-related substances, especially during the aging process. By analyzing the volatile and non-volatile differential compounds in aged and unaged tobacco leaves, the researchers identified degradation products associated with terpenoids or higher fatty acids as one of the most important factors in improving tobacco quality. They also discovered that the diversity and functions of microbial flora were related to the differential compounds. Finally, they screened a strain of Aspergillus nidulans, which enhanced tobacco flavor by secreting highly active lipoxygenase and peroxidase.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Marie-Jia Gou, Julien Charpentier, Gael Cobraiville, Jacques Crommen, Jo Caers, Marianne Fillet
Summary: This study aimed to improve an untargeted proteomics workflow for surfaceome profiling in cancer cells. A highly sensitive and robust miniaturized separation system and high-resolution mass spectrometry were integrated to maximize protein identification. The critical steps in sample preparation were optimized to improve the identification of membrane-associated proteins. Multiple quality controls were implemented to ensure the reliability of the data. The improved workflow and quality controls were successfully applied to the analysis of limited samples of multiple myeloma primary cells.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Economics
Jinyang Chen, Chaoqun Wang
Summary: Global health systems often disclose hospital quality and performance information through ranking or rating programs, and this study investigates the relationship between hospital ranking and healthcare spending. The study uses medical insurance claims data and hospital ranking data from a city in central China, and employs a difference-in-differences design and matching method to control for biases. The findings suggest that hospital upgrade significantly increases patients' healthcare costs, reimbursement costs, and out-of-pocket costs, mainly due to physician moral hazard. The robustness check confirms the highly robust results.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Karen E. Joynt Maddox, E. John Orav, Jie Zheng, Arnold M. Epstein
Summary: The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement-Advanced program led to small reductions in Medicare payments among participating hospitals compared to control hospitals in its first year. There were no significant differences in other outcomes such as readmission, mortality, volume, or case mix.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Irfan N. Bandey, Jay R. T. Adolacion, Gabrielle Romain, Melisa Martinez Paniagua, Xingyue An, Arash Saeedi, Ivan Liadi, Zheng You, Rasindu B. Rajanayake, Patrick Hwu, Harjeet Singh, Laurence J. N. Cooper, Navin Varadarajan
Summary: This study identified molecular mechanisms, such as inducible CD137, that can enhance the killing function of T cells through single-cell analysis. Genetically modifying CAR T cells to co-express CD137L led to significant improvement in anti-tumor efficacy and reduced exhaustion.
JOURNAL FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Wagdy Talaat, Mariam Asaad Amin, Mohamed Reda Bassiouny, Nancy Husseiny Hassan, Omayma Hamed
Summary: This study examines the information transparency of Egyptian medical colleges' websites regarding their accreditation process. The results show that only thirteen colleges registered their credentials on their websites, and the available information about the process, dates, and documents was very limited. This suggests that medical schools need to take steps to encourage and ensure transparency towards institutional accreditation.
BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Dominik Moser
Summary: Quality transparency is important for reducing information asymmetry in healthcare and enabling targeted regulation. This study examines quality variation in inpatient obstetric care and finds that Switzerland performs relatively poorer in certain indicators compared to Germany and Austria, with private clinics standing out in particular.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Business
Tong Che, Jingxuan Cai, Rui Yang, Fujun Lai
Summary: This study proposes a theoretical model for quality improvement from the perspective of organizational transparency theory and empirically analyzes the impact of collaboration on product quality. The results indicate that collaboration enhances product quality by improving the quality of information disclosure.
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mohammad Naim Azimi, Mohammad Mafizur Rahman
Summary: This study examines the significance of institutional quality on ecological footprint (ECF) using limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) panel analysis. The study constructs a composite institutional quality index (IQI) and three indices under different dimensions. The findings demonstrate that IQI is substantive in reducing ECF, with the transparency index having a higher influence. IQI also plays a role in modulating the relationships between ECF, financial development, human development, growth, and energy consumption.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
John P. Sumpter, Tamsin J. Runnalls, Andrew C. Johnson, Damia Barcelo
Summary: It is uncommon for scientists to acknowledge the limitations of their research because of the pressure to publish. This has resulted in a crisis of reproducibility in published research. To address this, including a 'Limitations' section in scientific papers is suggested, as it promotes honesty and transparency. This recommendation applies to all scientific disciplines.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Nursing
Scott Lamont, Andrew Murray, Emine Tetik, Jiaming Yeo, Bianca Blair
Summary: This study aimed to explore the rigor of nurse-led quality improvement projects involving education, training, or continuing professional development and examine the evaluation frameworks used. The findings revealed that most projects did not meet the internationally recognized standards for quality improvement reporting, highlighting the need to follow the SQUIRE international consensus guidelines in designing and reporting such projects.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING
(2023)
Article
Dermatology
Amanda Marsch, Rita Khodosh, Martina Porter, Jason H. Raad, Sara Samimi, Brittney Schultz, Lindsay Chaney Strowd, Laura Vera, Emily Wong, Gideon P. Smith
Summary: This article outlines the steps and methods for quality improvement in medicine, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and core principles, as well as how to embed improvements into the healthcare system.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sihan Zhang, Ming-ang Zhang, Yuanbo Qiao, Xiao Li, Sheng Li
Summary: Transparent environmental information is crucial for government regulation of pollution and public awareness. This study investigates the impact of China's air quality monitoring and disclosure program on firms' green innovation. The results show that the program has significantly increased firms' green innovation, particularly in terms of the number of green invention patent applications.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)