Animal Research : Reporting In Vivo Experiments Research Articles

Reporting quality and risk of bias assessment of animal research on Chaihu-Shugan-San for depression: A systematic review

ObjectiveChaihu-Shugan-San (CSS) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula employed to treat depression. We aim to conduct a reporting quality assessment and risk of bias evaluation of animal research on CSS for depression. MethodsTo acquire eligible studies, two reviewers searched plentiful databases from inception to October 23rd, 2021. Reporting quality assessment and risk of bias assessment of the included animal studies were evaluated by using Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines and the SYstematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk of bias tool, respectively. ResultsThe initial search identified 720 records, while only 30 studies were included. The result of the reporting quality assessment was inferior, items 17 and 19 were not reported at all. The details of five items (items 3, 6, 7, 10, and 18) were not reported. The outcome of the risk of bias assessment suggested that half of the entries (5/10) displayed an unclear risk of bias and a high risk of bias. Blinding with regard to performance bias and detection bias revealed an unclear risk of bias (100%), followed by baseline characteristics (76.67%) and sequence generation (60%). Random outcome assessment showed a high risk of bias (100%). ConclusionThe included animal studies exhibited methodological defects and imprecise reporting. Hence, the ARRIVE guidelines and SYRCLE's RoB tool should be disseminated among basic medical researchers examining CSS for depression to publish studies with low risk of bias and sufficient reporting so that the animal research can promptly be transformed into clinical research.

Current status of animal experiment report of acupuncture intervention in chronic fatigue syndrome based on ARRIVE guidelines and GSPC list

To analyze the current status of animal experiments of acupuncture in intervening chronic fatigue syndrome, so as to search formethods to improve the quality of animal experiment reports. From the databases, such as CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library, the literature of animal experiment on acupuncture treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome was searched from January 1st, 2011 to April 2nd, 2022. Data were extracted according to the animal research reporting in vivo experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines 2.0 and gold standard publication checklist (GSPC), and statistical analysis was performed using Excel 2019. A total of 16 studies were finally included. The satis-faction rate of essential items in the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 is 41.76%，while the satisfaction rate of recommended items is only 27.73% and of the GSPC is 25.89%. Out of 16 studies, 13 of them explained the reasons for animal exclusion in the experiment, 8 provided specific randomized methods, 8 described detailed information on animal species, strains, and quantities, 3 basically indicated that they had passed ethical review, 7 explained the limitations of the research. All 16 studies reported the main findings and elucidated their potential clinical or scientific value. Current animal studies on acupuncture in intervening the chronic fatigue syndrome are of certain limitation. Descriptions of multiple items are incomplete or missing, which prevents rea-ders from assessing reliability and authenticity of the animal experiment. It is recommended that in future research, experimental design, execution and report should be carried out according to the report guidelines for animal experiment to improve research quality.

A Narrative Review of Libidibia ferrea: Botanical Aspects, Ethnopharmacological Properties, Phytochemical Characteristics, Toxicity, and Experimental Tests

Introduction: Jucá or pau-ferro (Libidibia ferrea) is an arboreal plant from the Fabaceae family. It is commonly used in traditional medicine in the treatment of various diseases, including inflammatory process.
 Aims: The objective of this narrative review is to present botanical aspects, ethnopharmacological properties, phytochemical characteristics, toxicity highlighting, and experimental models with L. ferrea.
 Results: Botanical Aspects: Jucá has several uses such as in landscaping (stem and canopy), in arborization of urban areas. Ethnopharmacological Properties: It is used in the treatment of various diseases such as diabetes, flu, asthma and, inflammatory processes of which different parts are used (root, stem bark, leaves, fruits, seeds). Phytochemical Characteristics: Phenolic compounds, fatty acids, and terpenoids are among the compounds monthly used. Toxicity: In vivo models have been used to verify toxicity and in most studies the plant presented no toxicity in its use. Experimental studies: Animals, such as mice, dogs, rats, etc. and different models of studies to analyze the action of the plant were used.
 Conclusions: Such low toxicity, associated with its widespread use in folk medicine and its various effects demonstrated in the studies included in this Review have corroborated for the continuity of the research with L. ferrea. New studies, however, ought to follow methodological guidelines, such as the Animal Research: reporting in vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) so that, a methodological design secures more homogeneous studies capable of quantifying the actual size of the effect in the plant may have in clinical studies.

Acupuncture for experimental cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury: a systematic review of methodology and reporting quality.

Preclinical research is essential to the advancement of science but susceptible to insufficient reporting and methodological shortcomings, which compromise internal validity. We aimed to systematically assess the methodological and reporting quality of studies conducted on acupuncture for experimental cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI). A comprehensive search in six databases was performed for animal research concerning acupuncture for CIRI. Two authors independently selected articles, extracted data, and assessed the methodological and reporting quality of identified articles using the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool, and Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guideline, respectively. A total of 24 studies were identified. Only 1 article (4%) achieved a decent overall rating in using SYRCLE (percentage of items with "low risk" ⩾50%). Of the 22 items on the SYRCLE tool, only 8 items (37%) were rated as "low risk" of bias in more than 50% of the included studies. Of the 39 items of ARRIVE, 20 (51%) items were rated as "low risk" in more than 50% of the included studies. The methodological and reporting quality of included studies was generally low, which demands further improvement. These findings should inform the development of evidence-based guidelines for future preclinical research assessing the effect of acupuncture on CIRI.

The Efficacy of Stem Cells Secretome Application in Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of In Vivo Studies.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have appeared as a promising regenerative cell-based therapeutic, for degenerative conditions, such as OA, while the beneficial results from the application of MSCs have been attributed to the MSCs-derived secretome, which is the sum of cytoprotective factors produced by the MSCs. Aim of this study was to systematically review the literature in order to assess whether stem cell secretome (conditioned medium-CM, exosome-Exos or microvesicles-MV)(CM/Exos/MVs) treatment reduces inflammation and enhances cartilage regeneration in preclinical studies of experimental arthritis. An extensive electronic search was conducted by 2 independent reviewers by using the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus database, as well as Google Scholar, in order to identify the studies that met our inclusion criteria until August 2019. Included studies were assessed for quality and Risk of Bias (RoB) using the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines and a modification of Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) RoB tool for animal studies, respectively. The initial search provided 525 records, with 28 fulfilling the inclusion criteria. The included studies presented great heterogeneity regarding the stem cells used, the preparation of therapeutic agent as well as the animal models used for testing. In addition, most studies presented with an unclear or high risk bias. In summary, the positive results of CM/Exos/MVs application in preclinical models of experimentally induced OA in terms of resolution of inflammation and cartilage regeneration are highlighted in this review, presenting a promising therapeutic solution for OA.

Exogenous GM1 Ganglioside Attenuates Ketamine-Induced Neurocognitive Impairment in the Developing Rat Brain

A prolonged exposure to ketamine triggers significant neurodegeneration and long-term neurocognitive deficits in the developing brain. Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) can limit the neuronal damage from necrosis and apoptosis in neurodegenerative conditions. We aimed to assess whether GM1 can prevent ketamine-induced developmental neurotoxicity. Postnatal day 7 (P7) rat pups received 5 doses of intraperitoneal ketamine (20 mg/kg per dose) at 90-minute intervals for 6 hours. Cognitive functions, determined by using Morris water maze (MWM) including escape latency (at P32-36) and platform crossing (at P37), were compared among the ketamine-exposed pups treated with or without exogenous GM1 (30 mg/kg; n = 12/group). The effect of GM1 on apoptosis in hippocampus was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and activated caspase 3 measurement. The hippocampal expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), along with the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT) and extracellular signal-related kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), was detected by western blotting (n = 6/group). Anti-BDNF antibody (2 μg per rat) administered before GM1 treatment was applied to determine the neuroprotective mechanisms of GM1. The rats receiving ketamine exposure experinced cognitive impairment in MWM test compared to the control rats, indicated by prolonged escape latency at P34 (P = .006), P35 (P = .002), and P36 (P = .005). However, in GM1-pretreated rats, ketamine exposure did not induce prolonged escape latency. The exogenous GM1 increased the platform-crossing times at P37 (3.00 ± 2.22 times vs 5.40 ± 1.53 times, mean ± standard deviation; P = .041) and reduced the hippocampal TUNEL-positive cells and cleaved-caspase 3 expression in ketamine-exposed young rats. Ketamine decreased BDNF expression and phosphorylation of AKT and ERK in the hippocampus, whereas exogenous GM1 blocked these ketamine-caused effects. However, for the ketamine-exposed rat pups receiving exogenous GM1, compared to immunoglobulin Y (IgY) isotype control, the BDNF-neutralizing antibody treatment counteracted the exogenous GM1-induced improvement of the escape latency at P36 (41.32 ± 12.37 seconds vs 25.14 ± 8.97 seconds, mean ± standard deviation; P = .036), platform-crossing times at P37 (2.16 ± 1.12 times vs 3.92 ± 1.97 times, mean ± standard deviation; P < .036), apoptotic activity, as well as AKT and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the hippocampus of ketamine-challenged young rats. Our data suggest that the exogenous GM1 acts on BDNF signaling pathway to ameliorate the cognitive impairment and hippocampal apoptosis induced by ketamine in young rats. Our study may indicate a potential use of GM1 in preventing the cognitive deficits induced by ketamine in the young per se.

Effect of pimecrolimus on postoperative peritoneal adhesions in rat: An experimental study

IntroductionPostoperative peritoneal adhesions (PPAs) is a common complication of abdominal surgeries causing significant morbidity and mortality. The inflammatory response to damaged peritoneal tissue is a speculated culprit. The aim of this study is to investigate the protective effect of pimecrolimus, an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator agent, in formation of PPAs in rats. MethodsComplied with the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) Guidelines Checklist, 50 Albino rats underwent laparotomy and were allocated into 5 groups. In groups 1 to 3, topical pimecrolimus (25, 50 and 100% concentration, respectively) was applies on a scratched area of peritoneum. In group 4, only topical Eucerin was used and group 5, was the control group. On postoperative days 7 and 28, five rats from each group were randomly selected and the tensile strength and adhesiveness of intraabdominal fibrotic bundles were assessed. ResultsThere was no significant difference in tensile strength and adhesiveness, between the groups on postoperative day 7. On postoperative day 28, however, the tensile strength was significantly lower in pimecrolimus groups than in Eucerin (<0.001) and control (<0.001) groups. Groups with higher concentrations of pimecrolimus (group 2 and 3) developed significantly less adhesions than group 1, in which lower pimecrolimus concentration was used. ConclusionAdministration of topical pimecrolimus decrease adhesions and their tensile strength on postoperative day 28 in rats.

Identification of inflammatory mediators associated with metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma in experimental and clinical studies: systematic review.

Metastasis, whether regional or distant, remains the main cause of morbidity and recurrence in oral cancer. The accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory mediators are strong drivers for cancer progression and spread. However, the precise role of these inflammatory mediators in mediating specific metastatic stage is poorly understooddue to lack of integration/validation of experimental research data and the clinical trials, i.e., the data produced from research is not translated to clinical therapeutic targets. This, in turn, results in the lack of developing reliable biomarker that can be used for accurate diagnosis/prognosis of the tumour spread. We have performed a systematic review to assess the role of inflammatory mediators as potential markers for diagnosis/prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)metastasis. We carried out a systematic search the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Scopus databases under the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Articles were divided into two groups; experimental (in-vivo) and clinicalstudies. The REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies Scale (REMARK)was used to assess the quality of the studies for the clinical search while Animal research: Reporting In-vivo experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines were used to assess the quality of the animal studies. Sixteen articles in the clinical group and four articles in the experimental group were included in the final review. We identified nine inflammatory mediators; CXCR4, CXCL12 (SDF-1), CCR7, IL-6, IL-18, CCL20 (MIP-3), CXCL1 (GRO-1), CCL3, CXCR2. This panel of inflammatory mediators can provide a framework for hypothesis testing of the potential value of these mediators in metastatic prognosis. We recommend carrying a large cohort study with data pooling for adequate assessment and testing of the inflammatory panel of mediators.

Can Resveratrol Treatment Control the Progression of Induced Periodontal Disease? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies.

Resveratrol is an anti-inflammatory compound found in several foods. Periodontal disease (PD) is associated to other systemic diseases, and inflammation may be responsible for the association. Consequently, controlling inflammation not only may benefit oral health but also may assist with the management of other chronic inflammatory conditions. We aimed to investigate the effects of resveratrol administration on PD control in preclinical studies. A systematic search was performed for scientific articles using both electronic databases and a manual search using combinations of the following keywords: “resveratrol” OR “3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene” AND “periodontal disease” OR “periodontitis” OR “gingivitis”. Only in vivo original studies investigating resveratrol treatment on experimental animal models of PD were selected. A quality assessment of the studies was performed using the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Syrcle tool. The search returned 570 articles, and 11 matched the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis showed that resveratrol treatment attenuated alveolar bone loss (τ2 = 0.0041; 95% CI: −0.14; −0.04). The ARRIVE criteria reported a good quality of studies in general (mean score 28.5 ± 2.5). However, five Syrcle domains indicated a high risk of bias or did not present information clearly. We concluded that, in preclinical studies, resveratrol treatment prevented PD progression.

Influence of psychological stress exposure on orthodontic therapy: A comprehensive review.

The aim of the present study was to comprehensively review the influence of psychological stress exposure (PSE) on orthodontic therapy (OT). Original clinical and experimental studies were assessed. Quality assessment of experimental studies was performed using the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines. Six studies (2 clinical and 4 experimental) were included. One clinical study showed that PSE during OT significantly increases nickel release from orthodontic appliances into the saliva. In another study, maternal support was found to be an important predictor of the outcome of OT. In one experimental study, chronic PSE increased orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), and in two experimental studies, PSE decreased OTM. One study on rats reported that PSE is not a risk factor for orthodontically-induced root resorption during OTM. One experimental study showed a significantly higher number of osteoclasts in the bone on the side of OTM in restrained rats compared with unrestrained rats. One study showed decreased osteoclast counts in the bone during OTM under PSE. The lowest, highest, and mean ARRIVE scores (out of 20) for the experimental studies were 16, 18, and 16.75±0.96, respectively. The role of PSE in clinical orthodontics remains unclear, most likely due to a lack of studies in humans. Further power-adjusted, well-designed, and randomized studies are needed.

&lt;i&gt;In Vivo&lt;/i&gt; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in a Rat Model of Human Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Longitudinal Study for Progressive Metabolic Alterations in the Visual Cortex

Background: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a neurodegenerative disease involving both the retina and visual cortex. Metabolic reprogramming which happened in the retina may also be the main reason to explain the degeneration of the visual cortex. This study aimed to explore the neurochemical and pathological mechanisms of neurodegeneration in the visual cortex with the progression of RP using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and immunohistochemical staining. Methods: Seven male Royal College of Surgeons (RCS)-p+ rats, a chronic model of RP, were chosen as the experimental group, whereas seven age and gender matched RCS-rdy+-p+ rats were chosen as the control group. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) were performed on all rats at the ages of postnatal 3, 4 and 5 months. Then, immunohistochemical staining of primary visual cortex was performed using anti-neuronal nuclei (NeuN), anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), anti-Tau, anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor R2 (NR2) and anti-γ-aminobutyric acid receptor A (GABAA) antibodies. Findings: Significantly reduced concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, glutamate, glutamate and taurine but increased concentrations of myoinositol and choline of the visual cortex were found in RCS rats than in the controls (all P < 0.05). Significant lower NeuN-, NR2-, GABAA- and Tau-positive cells but higher GFAP-positive cells were found in postnatal 5-month RCS rats than in the controls (all P < 0.001). Interpretation: Our study indicated that neurochemical reprogramming of the visual cortex occurred in the progression of RP, resulting from the neuron/gliocyte imbalance with the loss of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. RP should be known as a neurodegenerative disease involving both the retina and the visual cortex. Funding Statement: This work was supported the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81871341), the State Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81430007) and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No. 14411962000) Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was conducted in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of Fudan University and according to local and international ethical guidelines. The protocol was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments at the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University. The experiments have been reported in compliance with the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting in Vivo Experiments) guidelines.

Influence of corticosteroid therapy on orthodontic tooth movement: A narrative review of studies in animal-models.

The aim was to assess the influence of corticosteroid therapy (CST) on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). A narrative review of studies performed in animal models. Indexed databases were searched up to and including May 2018 to address the following focused question: "Does CST affect OTM?" The following eligibility criteria were imposed: (a) original studies; (b) presence of a control group (OTM without CST); (c) intervention: effect of CST on OTM; and (d) statistical analysis. Quality assessment was performed using the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines. Case series, case reports, commentaries, historic reviews and letters to the Editor were excluded. Ten studies performed on animal models were included. The experimental duration ranged between 3 and 49days. Two studies reported that CST decreases the magnitude of OTM, two studies showed no significant influence of CST on OTM, and two studies found that CST increases OTM. Two studies reported CST significantly decreases bone density and increases bone resorption during OTM. In one study, CST significantly decreased orthodontically induced root resorption. The minimum, median and highest scores (out of 20) based on ARRIVE guidelines were 7, 15.5 and 18, respectively. The influence of CST on OTM in animal models remains debatable.

Does the medical literature remain inadequately described despite having reporting guidelines for 21 years? - A systematic review of reviews: an update.

PurposeReporting guidelines (eg, Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials [CONSORT] statement) are intended to improve reporting standards and enhance the transparency and reproducibility of research findings. Despite accessibility of such guidelines, researchers are not required to adhere to them. Our goal was to determine the current status of reporting quality in the medical literature and examine whether adherence of reporting guidelines has improved since the inception of reporting guidelines.Materials and methodsEight reporting guidelines, such as CONSORT, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE), Quality of Reporting of Meta-analysis (QUOROM), STAndards for Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy (STARD), Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE), Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS), and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) were examined. Our inclusion criteria included reviews published between January 1996 to September 2016 which investigated the adherence to reporting guidelines in the literature that addressed clinical trials, systematic reviews, observational studies, meta-analysis, diagnostic accuracy, economic evaluations, and preclinical animal studies that were in English. All reviews were found on Web of Science, Excerpta Medical Database (EMBASE), MEDLINE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL).ResultsAmong the general searching of 26,819 studies by using the designed searching method, 124 studies were included post screening. We found that 87.9% of the included studies reported suboptimal adherence to reporting guidelines. Factors associated with poor adherence included non-pharmacological interventions, year of publication, and trials concluding with significant results. Improved adherence was associated with better study designs such as allocation concealment, random sequence, large sample sizes, adequately powered studies, multiple authorships, and being published in journals endorsing guidelines.ConclusionWe conclude that the level of adherence to reporting guidelines remains suboptimal. Endorsement of reporting guidelines by journals is important and recommended.

The Efficacy and Underlying Mechanism of Moxibustion in Preventing Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies.

Cognitive impairment is age-related and manageable only with early diagnosis and prevention. Moxibustion is widely accepted in East Asia as useful for preventing cognitive impairment. This systematic review of animal studies was conducted to verify the efficacy of moxibustion in preventing cognitive impairment and to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Randomized controlled animal trials that established the efficacy of moxibustion in preventing cognitive impairment were included in the analysis. Results of behavioral tests and the signaling pathways elucidated were extracted and a meta-analysis was conducted with the behavioral test results. The risk of bias was evaluated using 9 items, and reporting quality was evaluated using the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) Guidelines Checklist. Ten trials involving 410 animals met the inclusion criteria. All studies reported the benefit of moxibustion in preventing cognitive deficits caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD). Among five studies using the Morris water maze test, a significant effect of moxibustion in decreasing the escape time was reported in three studies, increasing the crossing times in four studies, and prolonging the dwelling time in two studies. The effects of moxibustion were demonstrated to be mediated by an increase in the activity of neurotrophins and heat shock protein, modulation of the cell cycle, and suppression of apoptosis and inflammation. However, considering the small number of included studies, the lack of studies investigating entire signaling pathways, and a high risk of bias and low reporting quality, our results need to be confirmed through more detailed studies.

Critical Size Defects for Bone Regeneration Experiments in the Dog Mandible: A Systematic Review.

To perform a systematic literature review of studies involving critical size defects (CSDs) in the dog mandible and calvarium to find out the common characteristics of CSDs. Internet search of the literature was performed on June 2016 based on specific keywords. The search process included 5 databases. The Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Nine studies have met the inclusion criteria and subjected to quality evaluation. All the defects (N = 156) were located in the mandible. Only 2 articles showed randomized controlled studies, whereas the remaining 7 were nonrandomized controlled studies. The geometry of the defects was either rectangular, box, cylindrical (circular), arch, or saddle shaped. There is a lack of homogeneity in reporting data on CSDs in the dog mandible. Future animal studies should include a negative control group for an objective comparison and evaluation of any new biomedical materials. More awareness is needed for the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines to improve data reporting, which can facilitate comparison and reproducibility of future studies.

The Road to Reproducibility in Animal Research.

Reproducibility of research findings is the hallmark of scientific advance. However, the recently noted lack of reproducibility and transparency of published research using animal models of human biology and disease has alarmed funders, scientists, and the public. Improved reporting of methodology and better use of statistical tools are needed to enhance the quality and utility of published research. Reporting guidelines like Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) have been devised to achieve these goals, but most biomedical research journals, including the JBMR, have not been able to obtain high compliance. Cooperative efforts among authors, reviewers and editors-empowered by increased awareness of their responsibilities, and enabled by user-friendly guidelines-are needed to solve this problem. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Critical size defects for bone regeneration experiments in rabbit calvariae: systematic review and quality evaluation using ARRIVE guidelines.

To perform a systematic review of studies that report the healing of critical size defects (CSDs) in rabbit calvaria and to determine the quality of the studies according to ARRIVE guidelines. An Internet search was made in duplicate between December 2011 and August 2013 using MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar (without restrictions on date of publication) for rabbit studies reporting the healing of CSD in the calvaria. Animal Research Reporting in Vivo Experiment (ARRIVE) guidelines (a list of 20 aspects to score and to ensure comparison between different experimental studies in animals) were used to evaluate the quality of the selected works. Twenty-five manuscripts were evaluated. Case-control studies predominated (92.59%). Animal age was not stated in 70.37% of the studies; weight was not reported in 29.62%; most animals weighed 3.5 kg (26.31%). A CSD dimension of 15 mm was common (51.61%), generally located centrally (51.85%), followed by bilateral locations (48.14%). Circular (66.66%), rectangular (14.81%), square (14.81%) and ovoid (1.48%) geometries were used. Histomorphometric data showed incomplete healing in all CSDs and higher percentages of healing in smaller defects (<10 mm). The longer the healing time allowed, the more bone healing took place, for both smaller and larger defects (>15 mm). Minimum quality grades were assigned to ARRIVE items study design (6), experimental animals (8), housing and husbandry (9), sample size (10), allocation (11), statistics (13), results-baseline data (14), numbers analyzed (15), adverse events (17) and funding (20). Data on CSDs in rabbit calvariae lack homogeneity. Smaller defects can be considered critical depending on the time of sacrifice. When new diagnostic technologies are used in addition to histomorphometry, these should be applied with caution to facilitate future comparison with other research. The ARRIVE guidelines should be followed in any animal research protocol to improve the homogeneity, comparison and reproducibility between studies.

Improving standards for reporting studies involving humans and experimental animals in the British Journal of Nutrition and in the Journal of Nutritional Science

Accurate reporting of research methods is critical for the quality, reliability and integrity of scientific research. Inadequate reporting of experimental methods may lead to publications that are of limited value as a source of scientific evidence on which to base future research or to inform policy or health practice(,1). As a consequence, such articles represent considerable waste in research funding and endeavour(,2). To improve the quality of reporting of research methods in the British Journal of Nutrition (Br J Nutr) and in the Journal of Nutritional Science (J Nutr Sci), two amendments to the requirements for publication in these journals will be implemented during 2014. These will address specifically studies involving experimental animals and the reporting of randomised controlled trials (RCT) in human subjects. A survey that was commissioned by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) that assessed 271 articles reporting studies involving experimental animals that were carried out in the UK and in the USA identified serious under-reporting of research methods(,1). These included a lack of a stated hypothesis (41%), no apparent randomisation between treatments (87%), researchers were not blinded to the allocation of animals to different experimental groups (86%), and no description of statistical methods or no reporting of between-subject variation (30%). To improve the reporting of experimental methods in articles that describe studies involving animals, NC3Rs have developed the Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines that are captured in a twenty-item checklist describing the minimum standards for reporting such experiments(,1,3–6). These guidelines are detailed on the NC3Rs website (www.nc3rs.org.uk/ARRIVE) where the checklist is available freely in English, Chinese, Italian and Portuguese. As stated in the current Instructions for Contributors, these guidelines have been adopted by the Br J Nutr and by the J Nutr Sci. It is now a requirement that all manuscripts submitted to these journals that describe studies involving experimental animals meet these guidelines as a minimum standard of reporting. Manuscripts that do not meet these standards will not be considered for publication. Incomplete or inaccurate reporting of experimental methods has also been reported in a number of reviews of RCT involving human subjects(,7–12). Such inadequate reporting may obscure deficiencies in experimental design that could, for example, bias the study outcome or exaggerated treatment effects(,13), which, in turn, could mislead health policy decisions as well as undermine the quality of the scientific evidence base. Although these reviews were based upon surveys of clinical trials involving medicines, the same principles apply to RCT in human nutrition, particularly in the context of associations between diet and health outcomes. Guidelines for best practice in the design and conduct of dietary intervention trials in human subjects have been proposed by two recent articles(,14,15). These articles emphasise the importance of accurate reporting of the study design and recommend adherence to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines(,13) (www.consort-statement.org). To promote best practice, manuscripts reporting RCT involving human subjects will be required to demonstrate compliance with the CONSORT guidelines. This requirement includes the registration of the trial with the appropriate authority and will apply to dietary intervention or lifestyle studies and to studies that involve acute dietary change, for example, modification of a meal as a part of a postprandial metabolism study. The date on which compliance with the CONSORT guidelines will be implemented will be announced in advance on the respective manuscript submission webpages (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bjn; http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jns). After this date, manuscripts that report RCT which do not comply with this requirement will not be considered by the Br J Nutr or by the J Nutr Sci. I hope that these changes to the requirements for publication in the Br J Nutr and in the J Nutr Sci will not be considered onerous by authors, particularly as many of the principles of the ARRIVE and CONSORT guidelines are captured in the current Instructions for Contributors. Adoption by the Br J Nutr and in the J Nutr Sci of these widely recognised standards for reporting studies will align these journals with or exceed those of similar journals in the field, thus maintaining their reputation for publishing high quality research in nutritional science.

Methods reporting in human laboratory studies

There is growing concern in the behavioural and biomedical sciences regarding the replicability of much published research 1, 2. In response to this, initiatives such as the Reproducibility Project are emerging. This project is attempting the replication of findings reported in three major psychology journals in 2008, with the hope of improving understanding of the rate and predictors of replication 3. However, for replication to be possible, accurate and complete reporting of scientific methods is essential. To ensure this, a number of journals now require authors to use checklists prior to manuscript submission. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist 4 was created in the early 1990s through a realization that the reporting of randomized controlled trials was suboptimal. Similar checklists are now commonplace for reporting meta-analyses and systematic reviews [Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)] 5, observational studies in epidemiology [STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)] 6, evaluations with non-randomized designs [Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND)] 7 and in-vivo animal studies [Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE)] 8. These checklists assist in both the reporting of the work and in replicating it, by ensuring that all the necessary information is available. A recent paper, published in Addiction 9, drew our attention to the need for a similar checklist when reporting human laboratory studies. In the paper, a visual probe task was used to investigate visual attention to cigarette package health warnings, with and without text-captions. Health warnings and neutral stimuli were presented simultaneously on either side of a screen, followed by a probe replacing the position occupied previously by one of the stimuli. Participants pressed one of two buttons as quickly as possible in response to the probe location. Faster reaction times to respond to probes replacing health warnings with text-captions among smokers were taken to represent an attentional bias to these stimuli. However, this conclusion can be made only when presentation times of visual stimuli are short, allowing time for a single orientating eye movement. Longer presentation times make results difficult to interpret as multiple eye movements are possible, allowing the disengagement of attention as well as refixations before probe onset. Knowing the presentation time of stimuli in this task is therefore vital. However, this detail was unreported in this paper, rendering the results impossible to interpret for the reader and the study impossible to replicate without contacting the authors for further information. Oversights and omissions such as these are not uncommon in scientific reporting, and noticing them should not be the sole responsibility of authors, but of reviewers and journal editors as well. While we recognize that human laboratory studies are extremely diverse, and creating a one-size-fits-all checklist might be complex, this is something that should be considered seriously. Nature Neuroscience has recently announced the introduction of its own methods reporting checklist 10, to be completed by authors prior to submission, describing the study design, procedure, data analysis and results in detail. Preliminary data indicate that reviewers using the checklist described their methods and statistics more thoroughly than reviewers not using the checklist. We feel that a similar model at Addiction would pave the way for more transparent, accurate and easily replicable studies. None.

Translational research in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): a systematic review of studies in animals

Recent therapeutic human studies testing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown promising results, although many questions remain unanswered. Translational research with experimental animals is an appropriate framework for investigating its mechanisms of action that are still undetermined. Nevertheless, animal and human studies are often discordant. Our aim was to review tDCS animal studies, examining and comparing their main findings with human studies. We performed a systematic review in Medline and other databases, screening for animal studies in vivo that delivered tDCS. Studies in vitro and using other neuromodulatory techniques were excluded. We extracted data according to Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines for reporting in vivo animal research. Thus, we collected data on sample characteristics (size, gender, weight and specimen) and methodology (experimental procedures, experimental animals, housing and husbandry, as well as analysis). We also collected data on methods for delivering tDCS (location, size, current and current density of electrodes and electrode montage), experimental effects (polarity-, intensity- and after-effects) and safety. Only 12 of 48 potentially eligible studies met our inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Quality assessment reporting was only moderate and studies were heterogeneous regarding tDCS montage methodology, position of active and reference electrodes, and current density used. Nonetheless, almost all studies demonstrated that tDCS had positive immediate and long-lasting effects. Vis-à-vis human trials, animal studies applied higher current densities (34.2 vs. 0.4 A/m(2), respectively), preferred extra-cephalic positions for reference electrodes (60% vs. 10%, respectively) and used electrodes with different sizes more often. Potential implications for translational tDCS research are discussed.