Absence Of Treatment Effects Research Articles

Evaluating the correspondence between expert visual analysis and quantitative methods.

Visual analysis is the primary methodology used to determine treatment effects from graphed single-case design data. Previous studies have demonstrated mixed findings related to interrater agreement between both expert and novice visual analysts, which represents a critical limitation of visual analysis and supports calls for also presenting statistical analyses (i.e., measures of effect size). However, few single-case design studies include results of both visual and quantitative analyses for the same set of data. The present study investigated whether blind review of single-case graphs constructed using up-to-date recommendations by experts in visual analysis would demonstrate adequate interrater agreement and have correspondence with an effect size metric, log response ratio. Eleven experts (i.e., professors in school psychology and special education with visual analysis experience) analyzed 26 multiple-baseline graphs evaluating implementation planning, a fidelity support, on educators' implementation and student outcomes, presented in a standardized format without indication of the variable being measured. Results suggest that there was strong correspondence between raters in their judgments of the presence or absence of treatment effects and meaningfulness of effects (particularly for graphs of adherence and quality). Additionally, a quadratic relationship was observed between aggregate results of expert visual analysis and effect size statistics. Implications for future research and limitations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

DiscoVR: results of a multicenter RCT on a social cognitive virtual reality training to enhance social cognition in psychosis

IntroductionFunctional deficits, that is, problems in fulfilling appropriate social roles in daily life, are very common in people with a psychotic disorder. In recent years, Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a potential tool to improve SCT. Our research group has developed an immersive VR-SCT (‘Dynamic Interactive Social Cognition Training in Virtual Reality’: ‘DiSCoVR’).ObjectivesTo evaluate to effects of a VR-based social cognition training (SCT) for people with a psychotic disorder.Methods This intervention was compared the an active VR-control condition in a multicenter RCT. Both interventions contained sixteen individual 45-60-minute on-site sessions, administered twice a week. Main study outcomes are social cognition and social functioning in daily life assessed with experience sampling.ResultsFrom baseline to post-treatment (n=72), none of the time*group interactions were significant, indicating an absence of treatment effects. A significant effect of time was observed for the SERS total score (b=9.84, 95% CI=3.81-15.87, p=.002), indicating overall improvement in self-esteem.ConclusionsWe did not find any significant treatment effects. An effect of time on self-esteem was found at post-treatment, but not follow-up, suggesting a temporary improvement in self-esteem in both groups. One way to interpret these results is that, contrary to other SCT interventions, DiSCoVR does not improve social cognition or social functioning. This could be due to characteristics of the treatment protocol. Another possibility is that, contrary to the premise of VR-SCT, our VR environments inadequately simulated reality. Adapting an established protocol to VR, could further elucidate the merit of VR as a training method.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Providing heat-stress abatement to late-lactation Holstein cows affects hormones, metabolite blood profiles, and hepatic gene expression but not productive responses

Our objective was to evaluate the effects of providing shade and shade combined with evaporative cooling on production, cow activity, metabolism, and hepatic gene expression of late-lactation Holstein dairy cows under moderate heat-stress conditions. Forty-eight multiparous Holstein cows were used in a completely randomized block-design trial and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: control (CTL), without access to shade; access to artificial shade (SH); and shade combined with evaporative cooling (SHplus). Results were analyzed using a mixed procedure with repeated measures. No differences were observed in DMI. Milk yield was not different among treatments, but lactose concentration was greater in SHplus. Treatments CTL and SH had greater BW losses than SHplus. Control cows spent less time grazing. The CTL and SH had higher p.m. rectal temperatures than SHplus, whereas CTL had the highest p.m. respiration rate. Control cows had greater serum insulin levels. Control and SH had greater BHB and urea concentrations and lower glucose concentration compared with SHplus. The hepatic expression of PCK1 , PDK4 , and HP genes was downregulated in SH and SHplus relative to control. Hepatic expression of NFKB1 was downregulated, whereas SOCS2 was upregulated, for SHplus compared with CTL. Despite the absence of treatment effects on productive variables, changes in blood profiles and hepatic expression of target genes were observed among treatments. These results suggest that the provision of shade combined with evaporative cooling was effective in alleviating the negative effects of heat stress.

Inoculation of pear flowers with Metschnikowia reukaufii and Acinetobacter nectaris enhances attraction of honeybees and hoverflies, but does not increase fruit and seed set.

Currently, one of the most important challenges is to provide sufficient and affordable food and energy for a fast-growing world population, alongside preserving natural habitats and maintaining biodiversity. About 35% of the global food production depends on animals for pollination. In recent years, an alarming worldwide decline in pollinators has been reported, putting our food production under additional pressure. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find sustainable ways to ensure this crucial ecosystem service. Recent studies have shown that floral nectar is generally colonized by microorganisms, specifically yeasts and bacteria, which may alter nectar chemistry and enhance attraction of pollinators. In this study, we investigated changes in pollinator foraging behavior and pollination success in European pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars ‘Regal Red’ and ‘Sweet Sensation’ (red sports of ‘Doyenné de Comice’) after flower inoculation with the typical nectar-inhabiting microorganisms Metschnikowia reukaufii and Acinetobacter nectaris, and a combination of both. Pollination success was monitored by measuring the number of flower visits, fruit set and seed set in two consecutive years, 2019 and 2020. Results revealed that application of a mixture of M. reukaufii and A. nectaris resulted in significantly higher visitation rates of honeybees and hoverflies. By contrast, no effects on flower visits were found when yeasts and bacteria were applied separately. Fruit set and seed set were not significantly affected by any of the inoculation treatments. The only factors affecting fruit set were initial number of flower clusters on the trees and the year. The absence of treatment effects can most likely be attributed to the fact that pollination was not a limiting factor for fruit set in our experiments. Altogether, our results show that inoculation of flowers with nectar microbes can modify pollinator foraging patterns, but did not lead to increased pollination success under the conditions tested.

Limited Potential or Unfavorable Manipulations? Strategies Toward Efficient Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell Applications.

Despite almost 50 years of research and over 20 years of preclinical and clinical studies, the question of curative potential of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) is still widely discussed in the scientific community. Non-reproducible treatment outcomes or even absence of treatment effects in comparison to control groups challenges the potential of these cells for routine application both in tissue engineering and in regenerative medicine. One of the reasons of such outcomes is non-standardized and often disadvantageous ex vivo manipulation of MSCs prior therapy. In most cases, clinically relevant cell numbers for MSC-based therapies can be only obtained by in vitro expansion of isolated cells. In this mini review, we will discuss point by point possible pitfalls in the production of human MSCs for cell therapies, without consideration of material-based applications. Starting with cell source, choice of donor and recipient, as well as isolation methods, we will then discuss existing expansion protocols (two-/three-dimensional cultivation, basal medium, medium supplements, static/dynamic conditions, and hypoxic/normoxic conditions) and influence of these strategies on the cell functionality after implantation. The role of potency assays will also be addressed. The final aim of this mini review is to illustrate the heterogeneity of current strategies for gaining MSCs for clinical applications with their strengths and weaknesses. Only a careful consideration and standardization of all pretreatment processes/methods for the different applications of MSCs will ensure robust and reproducible performance of these cell populations in the different experimental and clinical settings.

Coping long term with active suicide in adolescents: Results from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

To adapt the Coping Long Term with Active Suicide Program (CLASP) for use with adolescents (CLASP-A) and to assess its feasibility and acceptability on an inpatient psychiatric unit. CLASP-A entailed three individual sessions and one family session, followed by a series of outpatient phone calls to adolescent and a designated parent/guardian over 6 months of follow-up. The open trial phase involved 17 adolescent/parent pairs, followed by a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which adolescent/parent pairs were randomized to CLASP-A (n = 25) or enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU; n = 25). Assessments were completed at baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-ups. In the open trial, average in-person session attendance was 67%, and study treatment satisfaction was high. To enhance feasibility, we adapted CLASP-A to be completed in three individual sessions for the RCT; 77% of the sessions were completed and study satisfaction remained high in adolescents (3.32/4.0) and parents (3.62/4.0). There were no significant differences between groups in number of suicide attempts or readmissions during follow-up. Data indicate feasibility and acceptability of CLASP-A. However, the absence of treatment effects between groups raises questions regarding CLASP's potential efficacy with adolescents or the need for more extensive adaptations for adolescents.

Rotation of Single Cell Surface Molecules Examined via Polarized FCS Measurements using Quantum Dot Probes

Rotational motions of cell surface molecules are of particular interest given the sensitivity of such motions to molecular size and aggregation state. The time-autocorrelation function (TACF) of fluctuations in fluorescence polarization from asymmetric quantum dots (QD) such as Molecular Probes’ Qdot655 labeling cell surface molecules indicates the rotational correlation times (RCT) of the QD-containing complexes. Type I Fce receptors (FceRI) and insulin receptors (IR) on 2H3 cells, subjected to various treatments potentially affecting receptor rotation, including polyvalent DNP-BSA, methyl-β-cyclodextrin, cytochalasin D or paraformaldehyde, were labeled by Qdot655s. Over 700 individual QD were examined. Side-by-side vertically(v)- and horizontally(h)-polarized fluorescence images of QD-labeled cells were obtained simultaneously as image stacks at 10 ms per frame by means of a Princeton Instrument Dual-View. To minimize apparent polarization TACF arising from QD lateral diffusion, v- and h-substacks were aligned to sub-pixel accuracy. From fluorescence in identical regions around each QD in each stack, intensity and polarization fluctuation TACF were calculated. Given the blinking of QD, experimental parameters such as g-factor, camera background, etc. were carefully optimized for each QD to minimize cross-correlation between polarization and intensity fluctuations. This could otherwise appear as intensity fluctuation TACF contributing to the apparent polarization fluctuation TACF. Using these techniques, the initial polarization fluctuation TACF for FceRI averages about 0.0015 and the geometrically-averaged RCT is about 55-85 ms, both independent of cell treatment. More limited results on IR appear similar. Absence of treatment effects on magnitudes or decay rates of polarization TACF is puzzling. Previous time-resolved phosphorescence anisotropy studies on FceRI suggest limited presence of orientational relaxations slower than 1 ms. However, the absence of treatment effects here suggests such slow reorientation may be a property of the membrane itself, perhaps reflecting large-scale fluctuations of mesoscale membrane regions. Supported by NSF grant MCB-1024668 and NIH grant CA175937 to BGB.

That's My TURF: An Experimental Analysis of Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries in Indonesia

We conduct a framed field experiment in Indonesian fishing communities with an eye towards evaluating the potential of Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries (TURFs) for preserving coral reef fisheries. Conducted in three culturally distinctive sites, the study assembles groups of five fishers who participate in a common-pool resource game. We implement the game with randomly assigned treatments in all sites to explore whether the extraction decision varies according to three recommended non-binding extraction levels originating from (1) a democratic process, (2) a group leader or (3) an external source that recommends a socially optimal extraction level. In one of the sites - that having the highest levels of ethnic and religious diversity - we find that democratic decision-making as well as information originating from outside the community promotes the cooperative behavior that underpins TURFs, a result that is robust to regressions controlling for individual and community attributes. The absence of treatment effects in the remaining two sites highlights that a set of formal rules may have different consequences in different communities, depending on underlying values and norms.

Soil C and N minimum detectable changes and treatment differences in a multi-treatment forest experiment

Detecting changes in forest soil C and N is vital to the study of global budgets and long-term ecosystem productivity. Identifying differences among land-use practices may guide future management. Our objective was to determine the relation of minimum detectable changes (MDCs) and minimum detectable differences between treatments (MDDs) to soil C and N variability at multiple spatial scales. The three study sites were 70–100-year-old coniferous forests in Washington and Oregon. Area- and volumetric-based soil measurements were made before implementation of 7 treatments on 2-ha experimental units, replicated in 3 or 4 blocks per site. In the absence of treatment effects, whole-site MDCs are ∼10% for mineral soil C and N masses and concentrations and ∼40% for O-horizon C and N masses. When treatment differences occur, MDDs are ∼40% for mineral soil and ∼150% for O-horizon. MDDs are reduced as much as two-thirds by evaluating change from pre- to post-treatment rather than only post-treatment values, and by pairing pre- and post-treatment measurements within small subplots. The magnitude of MDD reduction is quantitatively related to pre-treatment soil variability at multiple spatial scales, with the greatest reductions associated with the largest within-block:within-plot and within-plot:within-subplot variability ratios. These quantified benefits can be weighed against costs and challenges to make informed decisions when selecting the most appropriate sampling design.

Test of local adaptation to biotic interactions and soil abiotic conditions in the ant-tended Chamaecrista fasciculata (Fabaceae)

Few previous studies have assessed the role of herbivores and the third trophic level in the evolution of local adaptation in plants. The overall objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether local adaptation is present in the ant-defended plant, Chamaecrista fasciculata, and (2) the contribution of ant-plant-herbivore interactions and soil source to such adaptation. We used three C. fasciculata populations and performed both a field and a greenhouse experiment. The first involved reciprocally transplanting C. fasciculata seedlings from each population-source to each site, and subsequently applying one of three treatments to one-third of the seedlings of each population-source at each site: control, reduced ant density and reduced folivory. The greenhouse experiment involved reciprocal transplants of population-sources with soil sources to test for a soil-source effect on flower production and local adaptation to soil conditions. Field results showed that ant and herbivore treatments reduced ant density (increasing folivory) and herbivore damage relative to controls, respectively; however, these manipulations did not impact C. fasciculata reproduction or the likelihood of survival. In contrast, greenhouse results showed that soil source significantly affected flower production. Overall, plants in both experiments, regardless of population-source, always had higher reproductive output at one specific site. Native populations did not outperform nonnative ones, causing us to reject the hypothesis of local adaptation. The absence of treatment effects on plant reproduction and the likelihood of survival suggest a limited effect of ants and folivores on C. fasciculata fitness and local adaptation during the study year. Temporally inconsistent effects of biotic forces across years, coupled with the young age of populations, relative proximity of populations and possible counter effects of seed predators may reduce the likelihood of local adaptation in the populations studied.

The effects of the antioxidant lipoic acid on beef longissimus bloom time.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of lipoic acid (LA) on beef LM steak bloom time, as well-as to characterize bloom time in the CIE L*, a*, and b* color space over a 93-min period. Thirty-two Simmental steers were supplemented with LA for 21 d immediately before slaughter at levels of 0, 8, 16, or 24 mg of LA/kg BW (eight steers per treatment). Lipoic acid was mixed with liquid paraffin, allowed to solidify, prilled, and top-dressed over a standard finishing diet. Steers were slaughtered at the University of Missouri abattoir in four groups of eight (two steers per treatment) over a 2-wk period. After a 24-h chill at 4 degrees C, the right LM was removed from each carcass. One 2.54cm steak was removed from the anterior portion of the LM, and its color characteristics (CIE L*, a*, and b*) were measured immediately with a standardized spectrocolorimeter. Color measurements were taken every 3 min thereafter for a total of 93-min. Hue angle (true red) and chroma (color saturation) were calculated from the color measurements. Addition of LA to the diet had no effect on bloom time (P = 0.67). When treatment means were analyzed, the addition of 24 mg of LA/kg BW to the diet resulted in higher (lighter) L* values (P < 0.05) compared with other treatments, whereas the addition of 16 mg of LA/kg BW to the diet caused lower hue angles (more true red; P < 0.05) when compared with other treatments. Addition of LA to the diet did not affect a* (P = 0.13) and b* (P = 0.18) values or chroma (P = 0.62). In the absence of treatment effects, bloom times for all treatments were pooled, and L* values did not change (P > 0.05) during the 93-min bloom time; however, a* and chroma values increased for 9 min and plateaued after 12 min (P < 0.01). Similarly, b* values increased (P < 0.01) for the first 6 min, and after 9 min, no further increase in yellowness was detected. Bloom time had little effect on hue angle, which stabilized after 3 min. Supplementing steers with the antioxidant LA for 21 d had no effect on the bloom time of beef LM; however, higher levels of supplemental LA affected L* values and hue angles of beef.

Comportamento ingestivo de vacas Jersey alimentadas com dietas contendo diferentes fontes de gordura nos primeiros 100 dias de lactação

Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de descrever e comparar o comportamento ingestivo de vacas Jersey na fase inicial de lactação recebendo dietas com diferentes fontes de gordura. As fontes de gordura testadas foram sebo, sais de cálcio de óleo de palma e grão de soja moído, representando, respectivamente, gorduras predominantemente do tipo saturada, insaturada protegida e insaturada. Foram utilizadas oito vacas com peso médio de 389±27 kg, escore corporal entre 3 e 3,5 e produzindo diariamente 21,8±3,5 L de leite. Os animais foram distribuídos aleatoriamente aos tratamentos segundo o delineamento quadrado latino, repetido no tempo, com oito animais, quatro tratamentos e quatro períodos experimentais. As atividades ingestivas consistiram nos tempos diários de ingestão ruminação e descanso, número e duração de períodos de cada atividade. O registro do comportamento foi realizado durante três dias por período experimental, 24 horas por dia a intervalos de cinco minutos, individualmente para cada animal. Não houve diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos quanto às atividades ingestivas. Provavelmente a ausência de efeito dos tratamentos sobre o comportamento foi reflexo da semelhança de consumo de matéria seca e FDN.

Estimation of Denominator Degrees of Freedom of F-Distributions for Assessing Wald Statistics for Fixed-Effect Factors in Unbalanced Mixed Models

SUMMARY Tests for fixed-effect factors in unbalanced mixed models have previously used t-tests on a contrastby-contrast basis or Wald statistics without a universally accepted method of calculating the denominator degrees of freedom. This situation has arisen because the variances of different contrasts are differently weighted sums of the variance components with associated degrees of freedom that are not necessarily equal. A simultaneous F-test for differences between all levels of a fixed-effect factor can be derived by forming new contrasts, by rotation of the original contrasts, with variances that are close to being the same weighted sum of variance components. The associated degrees of freedom for these new contrasts are nearly equal. A small simulation study shows the appropriateness of a X2 approximation to the distribution of the weighted sums of variance components. Three simple examples are used to demonstrate the effects of rotation. The last of these examples is also used to compare the proposed simultaneous F-test with the distribution of the Wald statistic obtained by numerical simulation. The method of rotations is then applied to data on the range size of mountain hares (Lepus timidus) to assess the evidence for a two-way interaction between season and habitat. Analysis of data from balanced experiments is traditionally performed by an analysis of variance in which the total sum of squared deviations of observations about their mean is partitioned into sums of squares attributable to either the different treatment effects or the different random effects. Under standard distributional assumptions, each random effect sum of squares follows a multiple of a X2-distribution, this multiple being the product of the degrees of freedom (the number of independent error contrasts whose square has the required expectation) and a linear combination of the different variance components, the coefficients in this linear combination being fixed by the design. Under any null hypothesis concerning the absence of treatment effects, the corresponding treatment sum of squares also follows such a multiple of a X2-distribution. Furthermore, the linear combination of variance components in the multiple for the treatment sum of squares is identical to the linear combination for one of the random-effect sum of squares; hence, hypotheses about the treatment effects can be tested by dividing treatment mean squares by the appropriate error mean square to form a variance ratio with an F-distribution. The benefits of experimental design accrue, first, through the variance of all contrasts for any given treatment factor or interaction having the same expectation under the null hypothesis; second, through this variance being as small as possible; and, third, through there being as many error contrasts as possible whose variance is the same as that for the treatment factor or interaction. Analysis of data that lacks these properties of balance is much less straightforward, yet there are many areas in which, due to the nature of experimental material, the treatment effects cannot be applied in a balanced fashion, and so such unbalanced data are the norm rather than the

Effects of hypnosis on verbal and non-verbal creativity.

Abstract 60 female volunteers, 30 hypnotizable and 30 unhypnotizable, screened on 2 measures of hypnotizability, were assigned to a hypnosis, simulation, or waking motivated treatment condition to assess whether hypnosis has a differentially enhancing effect upon verbal and non-verbal creativity test performance. Verbal and figural components of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1974) and the Sounds and Images Test (Cunnington & Torrance, 1965) were the principal dependent variables. Post experimental measures of absorption and effortless experiencing were also obtained. A 2 × 3 independent groups ANOVA did not sustain the prediction of an interaction effect between S hypnotizability and the presence of hypnosis on 3 composite measures of verbal and nonverbal creativity. Although there was an absence of treatment effects, hypnotizable Ss consistently achieved higher scores on the Torrance scoring categories, and their performance was statistically superior on a composite index of overall creativity. Absorption and effortless experiencing measures were also significantly higher for hypnotizable Ss than for unhypnotizable Ss.

Analyzing Quasi-Experiments

There is a large body of literature devoted to critiquing the adequacies of various approaches to analyzing data from quasi-experiments. It has slowly become clear that any discussion of approaches to analysis of quasiexperiments is incomplete unless certain assumptions are made about data resulting from growth in the absence of treatment effects. One popular assumption, and for which there exists appropriate analyses, is the fan spread hypothesis. The utility of the fan spread hypothesis for educational data is explored through relationships to a large class of continuous growth models. It is shown that the fan spread hypothesis is both more and less restrictive than past literature would suggest. Implications for data analysis are also discussed.

588 BEHAVIOR AND DEVELOPMENT OF IRON DEFICIENT ANEMIC IN- FANTS

To assess effects of iron deficiency on behavior and development, 75 healthy 6-24 month old urban Guatemalan babies with and without mild iron deficiency anemia were compared with the Bayley Scales in a double-blind study. Initial mental and physical development scores (MDI, PDI) of anemic infants were significantly lower, especially in older babies (19-24 month olds). On the Infant Behavior Record anemic infants were more fearful, tense and less socially responsive, active, persistent and reactive. On the Mental Scale older anemic infants failed language comprehension and expression and eye-hand coordination items significantly more than the non-anemic group. There were no significant differences between anemic and non-anemic groups in birth histories, socioeconomic level or nutritional status to explain the lower scores. Short-term oral iron therapy did not change infant behavior, and developmental test score deficits persisted. In the absence of treatment effects, the findings cannot unequivocably be attributed to iron lack. Yet iron deficiency anemia was the only characteristic found to distinquish infant groups. The results of this study suggest that mild iron deficiency anemia may be an unrecognized risk factor for developmental impairment in millions of infants.

THE USE OF A CONCOMITANT VARIABLE IN SELECTING AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Suppose that we have t treatments for comparison using N experimental units, for example, animals, and that on each unit we have a preliminary observation, for example, the body weight, available before the treatments are allotted to the units. Suppose that it is expected that the final observation of interest, y, will, in the absence of treatment effects, be well correlated with the preliminary observation, x. Then a number of standard methods are available for exploiting this correlation in order to increase the precision of the estimated treatment effects. The object of this paper is to compare the methods in some simple situations with a small number of experimental units. Attention is restricted to experiments in which each of the alternative treatments appears the same number, k, of items, so that N = tk.