Highly Ranked Research Articles

Combining p-values from various statistical methods for microbiome data.

In the field of microbiome analysis, there exist various statistical methods that have been developed for identifying differentially expressed features, that account for the overdispersion and the high sparsity of microbiome data. However, due to the differences in statistical models or test formulations, it is quite often to have inconsistent significance results across statistical methods, that makes it difficult to determine the importance of microbiome taxa. Thus, it is practically important to have the integration of the result from all statistical methods to determine the importance of microbiome taxa. A standard meta-analysis is a powerful tool for integrative analysis and it provides a summary measure by combining p-values from various statistical methods. While there are many meta-analyses available, it is not easy to choose the best meta-analysis that is the most suitable for microbiome data. In this study, we investigated which meta-analysis method most adequately represents the importance of microbiome taxa. We considered Fisher's method, minimum value of p method, Simes method, Stouffer's method, Kost method, and Cauchy combination test. Through simulation studies, we showed that Cauchy combination test provides the best combined value of p in the sense that it performed the best among the examined methods while controlling the type 1 error rates. Furthermore, it produced high rank similarity with the true ranks. Through the real data application of colorectal cancer microbiome data, we demonstrated that the most highly ranked microbiome taxa by Cauchy combination test have been reported to be associated with colorectal cancer.

Worst-case ranking of organic chemicals detected in groundwaters and surface waters in England

The Environment Agency has been using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Accurate-mass Quadrupole Time-of-Flight (Q-TOF) / Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) target screen analysis to semi-quantitatively measure organic substances in groundwater and surface water since 2009 for GC–MS and 2014 for LC-MS. Here we use this data to generate a worst-case “risk” ranking of the detected substances. Three sets of hazard values relating to effects on aquatic organisms, namely Water Framework Directive EQSs, NORMAN Network PNECs (hereafter NORMAN PNEC) and chronic Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) HC50s from Posthuma et al., (2019) were used for the assessment. These hazard values were compared to the highest measured concentration for each chemical to generate a worst-case hazard quotient (HQ). Calculated HQs for each metric were ranked, averaged and multiplied by rank for detection frequency to generate an overall ordering based on HQ and occurrence. This worst-case approach was then used to generate ranking lists for GC–MS and LC-MS detected substances in groundwater and surface water. Pesticides in the top 30 overall ranked list included more legacy pesticides in groundwater and more current use actives in surface water. Specific uses were linked to some high rankings (e.g. rotenone for invasive species control). A number of industrial and plastics associated chemicals were ranked highly in the groundwater dataset, while more personal care products and pharmaceuticals were highly ranked in surface waters. Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) compounds were commonly highly ranked in both environmental compartments. The approach confirmed high rankings for some substance (e.g. selected pesticides) from previous prioritization exercises, but also identified novel substance for consideration (e.g. some PFAS compounds and pharmaceuticals). Overall our approach provided a simple approach using readily accessible data to identify substances for further and more detailed assessment.

The Power of Moments

Everyone experiences moments they will never forget. This book explores what enhances those unforgettable moments and gives them staying power in a person’s memory, even influencing behavior and choices. The authors identify 4 types of moments and how readers can design an experience to create a moment with impact.According to Heath and Heath, moments that stand out are the extreme highs and extreme lows. Although many of us move through our days routinely, there are ways to engineer our interactions with staff, leaders, patients, colleagues, and family members that can create a powerful moment with an impact on the other person. Routine interactions throughout the day do not last in our memory, but the peaks and valleys certainly do.One of the 4 types of moments is elevation; an experience that exceeds our ordinary day, appeals to our senses, and often is a delightful surprise. Dan Heath, one of the authors, spoke at the American Association of Teaching Institute and shared the story of a Los Angeles hotel that has some of the highest customer ratings, but is not what you would expect from a highly ranked hotel. The high rankings are due to moments that appeal to the guests’ senses and surprise and delight them, including the “Pop-sicle Hotline,” magic shows, and a free library to check out board games and movies.For nurses, there is an important revelation in this book, namely that providing an experience for others, such as patients and their families, is “mostly forgettable and occasionally remarkable.” Providing a great experience for patients and families does not mean everything has to be amazing during your interactions; rather, focus on the moments you can create with patients and families that can bring meaning to their lives and elevate their experience.The authors describe several categories of moments and strategies for engineering moments through interactions with others. In some cases, moments can be interwoven into an experience that moves a person to action or to a positive emotional response.I strongly recommend this book if you want to understand how people can elevate a single experience in their mind or experience something that will change their actions and behavior. The stories shared in The Power of Moments are powerful and may lead you to think about how to engineer your day and experiences with everyone around you.

Entrepreneurial Intention: Triggers and Barriers to Small Business Venturing in Khulna City

Entrepreneurship is a complex social behavior involving different endogenous and exogenous factors in its genesis. Importance of entrepreneurship in regional development has been highlighted both in classical and modern literature e.g. 'Marshallian agglomeration' and 'industrial cluster'. The research focuses on exploring the triggers and barriers for setting up small business in Khulna city, a city in the southern part of Bangladesh, which is struggling for its economic revival. It has been found that greater economic return, working on the location of choice, propensity to investment own savings and desire for autonomy are among the highly ranked motives to start small venture. 'Need for a job' was ranked as the lowest among the statically qualifies motivation factors. Government regulations, scarcity of venture capital, high tax rate and difficulty in accessing formal financial institutions have been found as the high ranking barriers. Interestingly, lack of managerial skills, availability of qualified employees and role of the family have been reported as lowly ranked barriers to start new venture. Finding of this research suggests that the popular perception 'small business in developing country is a 'non or minimal growth sector' is more a stereotype. Small businesses have enough possibility to grow as a 'growth focused sector', as the small business possesses significant amount of managerial abilities and have positive frame of mind for taking risk, invest and grow.

Qatari national scholarships: University selectivity and student outcomes

The scholarship program in Qatar provides aid for students wishing to enroll in “top-ranked” universities around the world by supplying them with tuition, fees, board, and travel. The selectivity (high or low ranking, as determined by international ranking agencies) of the universities implies specific outcomes in terms of graduation and time of study at the university. In this study we attempt to understand how selectivity is related to education functional outcomes. Based on Qatari students enrollment in higher education programs around the world, students were bifurcated into high ranking or low ranking universities and whether they graduated or terminated in relation to specific functional outcome as in achievement (e.g. grade point average) and time of study in a program. A Kruskal-Wallis analysis was conducted using the selectivity of university as an independent variable and graduation status (whether they were terminated or graduated) on student university achievement and time of study. The finding showed the main effects for selectivity, bifurcated into ranked universities (top-1096 universities) and those non-ranked on university achievement. When the selectivity was narrowed by bifurcating students who were enrolled in highly ranked (top-200 universities) and those lower-ranked universities (below the top 200-ranked universities or non-ranked universities), a main and significant statistical difference was found for selectivity on university achievement and time of study. Surprisingly, those in the “top- ranked” universities were more likely to underperform than those in the lower-ranked universities. The findings suggest that students who enroll in high ranking universities were more likely to face difficulty in maintaining the high averages to continue. A greater insight and qualitative approaches is needed to understand Qatari student lower achievement in the top ranking universities around the world.

Publication performance of women compared to men in German cardiology

BackgroundAbstract presentations at scientific congresses are a preparation for publication in peer reviewed journals. The present study aimed to investigate the prediction of abstract acceptance of peer reviewed publications focusing on the difference between male and female first authors. MethodsWe evaluated 8411 abstracts submitted to the German Cardiac Society by 2090 females and 6321 male scientists. Abstract grading (3 to 9 reviewers, blinded on a 5-point scale) separated those accepted and rejected followed by a bibliometric analysis of Medline publications from 2006 to 2012. ResultsWhile rating of abstracts was not different between males and females (p=0.475), publication rate of females was lower compared to males (17.5% vs 24.4≥%, p<0.001). Female authors achieved a higher impact factor in their publications (5.1±0.2 vs 4.4±0.1, p=0.0003) and were more often listed on papers in highly ranked journals (impact factor ≥5) than males. Although, more accepted abstracts than rejected ones were published in high rank journals, a considerable number of papers were generated from rejected abstracts (22%). ConclusionsFemale cardiologists had a better publication success than males concerning high rank peer reviewed publications. Acceptance in blinded abstract evaluation often detects work published later, while rejected contributions still might represent high quality work suitable for publication in peer reviewed journals.

Fixing the “Match”: How to Play the Game

Every year, more than 35 000 individuals compete for about 25 000 residency positions in the United States. Participants include medical students and individuals with prior graduate medical education. This process is managed by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which promises “an impartial venue for matching applicants' preferences for residency positions with program directors' preferences for applicants.”1 This has not always been the case. When residencies were first introduced, around 1900, hospitals began competing with one another to secure the best residents as early as possible. By the 1940s, positions were being offered in the third-year of medical school. Students were making career decisions without adequate exposure to their options, and hospitals were making hiring decisions with little data. Medical schools attempted to prevent early offers by embargoing letters of reference. Hospitals responded by giving students shorter deadlines to accept offers. By 1949, exploding offers—valid for only 12 hours—were common. In 1952, a centralized clearing house for all residency offers, the NRMP, was created in an attempt to fix the market. The Match, as it came to be known, has evolved since then, although the underlying algorithm has remained basically unchanged.2 There has been much focus on the Match's effects on medical students' professional and ethical development,3,4 but an analysis of Match strategy has been overlooked in the medical literature. This article investigates several aspects of the Match: Is there an optimal Match strategy? How should students and programs create rank lists? Would ethically troubling behaviors occur if students and programs employed optimal strategies? Could a change in NRMP rules reduce problematic behaviors and help the Match function better?

Trends in publication of research papers by Australian-based nurse authors

Analysis of Australian nursing research output is becoming more important as academic institutions move into implementing quality programs of research output. Notable in determining research quality is the publication of research papers in journals with a high ranking within the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) or Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). This paper reports an analysis of Australian nurse researcher output in journals highly ranked by the ISI and ERA. Research abstracts were analysed for topic, sources of data, location of research and methodological paradigm. A total of 530 articles from five Australian and from five USA and UK journals were analysed. There was an increase in output from the period of prior analyses in 2000. Practice issues are the most common topic followed closely by nurse education. While most studies used nurses as sources of data there were more studies in which consumers of nursing care were the point of inquiry. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised. Given the importance of rationalising nursing practice and adding new knowledge to evidence based care, it is imperative for the nursing profession to disseminate research findings. Failure to do this may result in poor return in investment outcomes for the future of nursing in Australia and internationally.

Food Science Program Rankings

Some of us “old timers” recall the IFT efforts to get the National Academy of Sciences to recognize Food Science as an area important enough to include in their data collection. These efforts now have produced a very tangible result. The recent publication of “A Data-Based Research-Doctorates in the United States”http://www.nap.edu/rdp/#download brings joy or pain depending upon how your favorite programs ranked. Regardless, we should all be happy for the recognition. For those universities with highly ranked programs in Food Science, some of these actually mention Food Science and tout the high rankings in press releases and on web pages where the space is generally reserved for more widely occurring programs (I recall one discussion where Food Science was derogatorily dismissed as a “boutique” program). I am sure Jackie Beckley's “Commentary” on the rankings will prove to be interesting reading. If you feel motivated to comment on this, I welcome your letters to the editor. We haven't had any “Letters to the Editor” to publish in the past. While the journal struggles to attract as many submissions as we would like to have, our metrics continue to grow in a positive direction. Because we are not included in Impact Factor generating databases, we rely on downloads as our major metric. We look forward to again recognizing our “Download Classics” at the annual meeting this summer. While this recognition is not quite the same as getting you research featured on the cover of the Journal of Food Science (or even the more generic Science), we hope you will soon submit an article worthy of becoming a “Download Classic”.

Perceived journal quality: An indicator of research quality

Analysis of Australian nursing research output is becoming more important as academic institutions move into implementing quality programs of research output. Notable in determining research quality is the publication of research papers in journals with a high ranking within the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) or Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). This paper reports an analysis of Australian nurse researcher output in journals highly ranked by the ISI and ERA. Research abstracts were analysed for topic, sources of data, location of research and methodological paradigm. A total of 530 articles from five Australian and from five USA and UK journals were analysed. There was an increase in output from the period of prior analyses in 2000. Practice issues are the most common topic followed closely by nurse education. While most studies used nurses as sources of data there were more studies in which consumers of nursing care were the point of inquiry. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised. Given the importance of rationalising nursing practice and adding new knowledge to evidence based care, it is imperative for the nursing profession to disseminate research findings. Failure to do this may result in poor return in investment outcomes for the future of nursing in Australia and internationally.

Moving up in the rankings

The globalization of university-based engineering education and research is associated with the creation of national and international brands by leading research universities. Such branding is reflected in rankings of universities and their programs. High brand visibility appears to lead to high rankings and vice versa. This paper explores this phenomenon for university-based engineering programs. Attributes associated with ranking systems are discussed and universities' abilities to influence these attributes are considered. Both moving up in the rankings and sustaining highly ranked positions are discussed. These issues are addressed both in general and for the specific case of Georgia Tech. Three fundamental conclusions are reached: research and education continue to be the key to universities achieving world class status and economic development for key stakeholders: size provides universities with the resources and abilities to pursue strategies that lead to increasing recognition: and vision and leadership both attract resources and enable the focus needed to achieve the highest levels of recognition.

Corporate Reputation and Investment Performance: The UK and US Experience

The impact of a firm's public perception on corporate and investment management is a recurring topic in finance. Numerous articles have been presented on the theoretical basis for a relationship between a firm's public image and its financial performance as well as on empirical evidence of a relationship between a firm's public perception and a firm's financial and equity market performance. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between a firm's past as well as future equity market performance and its published corporate rankings. As in previous studies, our results show that highly ranked firms in reputation outperform, on a total equity return basis, lowly ranked firms in reputation. In addition, as for other studies, the results in this analysis indicate that larger firms generally have higher corporate rankings than smaller firms. Previous empirical results that large firms' have had both higher rankings and return performance have led some researchers to posit both the benefit of firm size on firm and firm on firm performance. In this study, we show that the aforementioned result (e.g., firm size impacts corporate and corporate affects firm performance) is due primarily to the manner of corporate survey collection and risk-return analysis. The results in this study show: (1) little relationship between high corporate rankings and a firm's future risk-adjusted equity performance, and (2) changes in a firm's ranking are related to changes in its equity market performance during the survey period and thus not solely to firm size. Therefore, unlike previous studies, this research implies that it is primarily a firm's equity market performance in the pre-survey and survey period that affects published rankings of a firm's qualities and that the publishing of these rankings has no impact on a firm's future risk-adjusted returns. Lastly we offer evidence as to why large firms may dominate small firms in the published rankings. Our results show that, for the time period of analysis, large firms outperformed small firms in the second and third quarters of the year and small firms outperform large firms in the first quarter of the year. As a result, respondents generally witness higher returns for large firms relative to small firms during the survey period (July-September). Consequently, if a firm's equity performance affects respondents' perception of a firm's quality, large firms will dominate small firms in reported rankings of the following year. Given no new information over a following year, respondents may use last year rankings as a naive basis for next year rankings. Therefore, high rankings may be dominated by large firms. However, empirical results also indicate that firm equity performance in the survey period also impacts rankings; that is, the fact that large (small) firms which perform poorly (well) decline (rise) in its ranking, also indicative of 'non-naive' respondents who use equity market performance as reflective of ability for ranking. Thus firm size is not a sole determinant of ranking. Moreover, the lack of relationship between firms' rankings and risk-adjusted equity performance after the publication date is also indicative of the lack of a market reaction to rankings or that the ranking does not contain any new information with respect to present or past market price changes.