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Browse the failure-mode index

21,239 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures. Search the index →

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record compiled from open scholarly databases; the abstract is shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed, otherwise a short excerpt under fair use. Classifications are automated and approximate.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage in symptomatic patients shows significant association with genetically diverse infections, anaemia, and asexual stage density

Paul Sondo, Biébo Bihoun, Marc Christian Tahita et al. · 2021 · Malaria Journal

BACKGROUND: Multi-genotype malaria infections are frequent in endemic area, and people commonly harbour several genetically distinct Plasmodium falciparum variants. The influence of genetic multiplicity and whether some specific genetic variants are more or less likely to invest into gametocyte production is not clearly understood. This study explored host and parasite-related risk factors for gametocyte carriage, and the extent to which some specific P. falciparum genetic variants are associated with gametocyte carriage. METHODS: Gametocytes and asexual forms were detected by light microscopy

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

On the co-rotational method for geometrically nonlinear topology optimization

Peter D. Dunning · 2020 · Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization

Abstract This paper investigates the application of the co-rotational method to solve geometrically nonlinear topology optimization problems. The main benefit of this approach is that the tangent stiffness matrix is naturally positive definite, which avoids some numerical issues encountered when using other approaches. Three different methods for constructing the tangent stiffness matrix are investigated: a simplified method, where the linear elastic stiffness matrix is simply rotated; the consistent method, where the tangent stiffness is derived by differentiating residual forces by displacem

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Negative / Null Result Report

Single and repeated intra‐articular injections in the tarsocrural joint with allogeneic and autologous equine bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells are safe, but did not reduce acute inflammation in an experimental interleukin‐1β model of synovitis

Aimée C. Colbath, Steven W. Dow, Leone S. Hopkins et al. · 2020 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Abstract Background Allogeneic and autologous bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMDMSCs) have been administered in equine joints for their anti‐inflammatory effects. However, allogeneic BMDMSC offer multiple clinical and…

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Negative / Null Result Report

Did advice on the prescription of sodium valproate reduce prescriptions to women? An observational study in three European countries between 2007 and 2016

Rachel Charlton, Christine Damase‐Michel, Caroline Hurault‐Delarue et al. · 2019 · Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety

Abstract Objectives In November 2014, the CMDh (a regulatory body representing EU Member States) advised doctors not to prescribe sodium valproate for epilepsy or bipolar disorder in preg nant women, in women who can become pregnant, or in…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessDentistry

Smear layer deproteinization with NaOCl and HOCl: Do application/wash-out times affect dentin bonding of one-step self-etch adhesives?

Kittisak Sanon, Takashi Hatayama, Antonín Tichý et al. · 2022 · Dental Materials Journal

This study investigated the influence of application/wash-out times of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) on dentin bond strength of one-step self-etch adhesives (1-SEAs). Human coronal dentin discs with a…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Refining Pheromone Lures for the Invasive Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Through Collaborative Trials in the United States and Europe

Tracy Leskey, Heather Andrews, Angelika Bády et al. · 2021 · Journal of Economic Entomology

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is native to Asia and has invaded North America and Europe inflicting serious agricultural damage to specialty and row crops. Tools to monitor the spread of H. halys include traps baited with…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

MLH1 Region Polymorphisms Show a Significant Association with CpG Island Shore Methylation in a Large Cohort of Healthy Individuals

Andrea J. Savio, Mathieu Lemire, Miralem Mrkonjic et al. · 2012 · PLoS ONE

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common form of genetic variation. We previously demonstrated that SNPs (rs1800734, rs749072, and rs13098279) in the MLH1 gene region are associated with MLH1 promoter island methylation, loss of MLH1 protein expression, and microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Recent studies have identified less CpG-dense "shore" regions flanking many CpG islands. These shores often exhibit distinct methylation profiles between different tissues and matched normal versus tumor cells of patients. To date, most epigenetic studie

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Negative / Null Result Report

Dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), a Hypoxia Mimetic Agent, Does Not Replicate a Rat Pheochromocytoma (PC12) Cell Biological Response to Reduced Oxygen Culture

RuoLi Chen, Mohammad Alkataan Ahmed, Nicholas Robert Forsyth · 2022 · Biomolecules

Cells respond to reduced oxygen availability predominately by activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway. HIF activation upregulates hundreds of genes that help cells survive in the reduced oxygen environment. The aim of this…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Retina-directed gene therapy: Achievements and remaining challenges

Josef Biber, Catharina Gandor, Elvir Bećirović et al. · 2025 · Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Gene therapy is an innovative medical approach that offers new treatment options for congenital and acquired diseases by transferring, correcting, inactivating or regulating genes to supplement, replace or modify a gene function. The approval of voretigene neparvovec (Luxturna), a gene therapy for RPE65-associated retinopathy, has marked a milestone for the field of retinal gene therapy, but has also helped to accelerate the development of gene therapies for genetic diseases affecting other organs. Voretigene neparvovec is a vector based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) that delivers a function

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

When Science Replaces Religion: Science as a Secular Authority Bolsters Moral Sensitivity

Onurcan Yılmaz, Hasan G. Bahçekapılı · 2015 · PLoS ONE

Scientific and religious thinking compete with each other on several levels. For example, activating one generally weakens the other. Since priming religion is known to increase moral behaviour and moral sensitivity, priming science might be expected to have the opposite effect. However, it was recently demonstrated that, on the contrary, science priming increases moral sensitivity as well. The present set of studies sought to replicate this effect and test two explanations for it. Study 1 used a sentence unscrambling task for implicitly priming the concept of science but failed to replicate i

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Microbial Biofilms as Barriers to Chronic Wound Healing: Diagnostic Challenges and Therapeutic Advances

Yasir Almuhanna · 2025 · Journal of Clinical Medicine

Wound healing is a complex and multistage process that incorporates precise cellular and molecular coordination. The presence of biofilms in chronic wounds adversely affects the wound healing process, as it prolongs the closure of the wound, thus sustaining chronic inflammation. Current data suggest that biofilms are present in almost all chronic wounds, which leads to significant challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Traditional detection methods, such as cultures and light microscopy, often fail to detect biofilms; however, sophisticated molecular and imaging techniques are constrained by t

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

A comparative analysis of DeepSeek R1, DeepSeek-R1-Lite, OpenAi o1 Pro, and Grok 3 performance on ophthalmology board-style questions

Ryan Shean, Tathya Shah, Aditya Pandiarajan et al. · 2025 · Scientific Reports

The ability of large language models (LLMs) to accurately answer medical board-style questions reflects their potential to benefit medical education and real-time clinical decision-making. With the recent advance to reasoning models, the latest LLMs excel at addressing complex problems in benchmark math and science tests. This study assessed the performance of first-generation reasoning models-DeepSeek's R1 and R1-Lite, OpenAI's o1 Pro, and Grok 3-on 493 ophthalmology questions sourced from the StatPearls and EyeQuiz question banks. o1 Pro achieved the highest overall accuracy (83.4%), signifi

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Targeting mitochondrial transporters and metabolic reprogramming for disease treatment

Mboneye Anselme, Huafeng He, Chengyang Lai et al. · 2025 · Journal of Translational Medicine

In the realm of cellular biochemistry, mitochondria have been increasingly recognized for their critical role in both cellular metabolism and the etiology of various diseases. Mitochondrial transporters (MTs) are essential for maintaining…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

Hybrid AI–Taguchi–ANOVA Approach for Thermographic Monitoring of Electronic Devices

Filippo Laganà, Danilo Pratticò, Marco F. Quattrone et al. · 2026 · Eng—Advances in Engineering

Defects in printed circuit boards (PCBs), if not detected promptly, may persist over time until they cause the failure of critical components. Traditional monitoring methods, which are limited to simulations or superficial measurements, obstruct predictive maintenance and real-time fault detection. To address these issues and enhance real-time diagnostics of thermal anomalies in PCBs, this work proposes an integrated system that combines infrared thermography (IRT), artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, and Taguchi–ANOVA statistical techniques. IR thermography was employed to identify therm

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Labeling AI-generated media online

Chloe Wittenberg, Ziv Epstein, Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski et al. · 2025 · PNAS Nexus

Abstract Recent advancements in generative AI have raised widespread concern about the use of this technology to spread audio and visual misinformation. In response, there has been a major push among policymakers and technology companies to label AI-generated media appearing online. It remains unclear, however, what types of labels are most effective for this purpose. Here, we evaluate two (potentially complementary) strategies for labeling AI-generated content online: (i) a process-based approach, aimed at clarifying how content was made and (ii) a harm-based approach, aimed at highlighting c

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

What Do Cognitive Networks Do? Simulations of Spoken Word Recognition Using the Cognitive Network Science Approach

Michael S. Vitevitch, Gavin J. D. Mullin · 2021 · Brain Sciences

Cognitive network science is an emerging approach that uses the mathematical tools of network science to map the relationships among representations stored in memory to examine how that structure might influence processing. In the present study, we used computer simulations to compare the ability of a well-known model of spoken word recognition, TRACE, to the ability of a cognitive network model with a spreading activation-like process to account for the findings from several previously published behavioral studies of language processing. In all four simulations, the TRACE model failed to retr

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Evaluation of a Clinical Decision Support System for Imaging Requests

Stijntje Dijk, Claudia Wollny, Jörg Barkhausen et al. · 2025 · JAMA

Importance: Given the widespread use of medical imaging, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve appropriateness is crucial for optimizing health care resources and patient outcomes. Objective: To assess the effects of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

The role of microglia in multiple sclerosis: implications for treatment with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Patrick Vermersch, Laura Airas, Thomas Berger et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Immunology

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by inflammation and neurodegeneration. The pathophysiology of MS, especially its progressive forms, involves various cellular components, including microglia, the primary resident immune cells of the CNS. This review discusses the role of microglia in neuroinflammation, tissue repair, and neural homeostasis, as well as their involvement in MS and explores potential therapeutic strategies targeting microglial function. Methods: A literature search conducted in August 202

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

A short training program improves the accuracy of portion-size estimates in future dietitians

Marta Arroyo‐Izaga, Concepción Martínez de la Pera, Laura Ansotegui et al. · 2026 · Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición

The objective of this study was to determine whether a short training program, using real foods, would decreased their portion-size estimation errors after training. 90 student volunteers (20.18+/-0.44 y old) of the University of the…

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Negative / Null Result ReportSocial Sciences

Revisiting a Criminological Classic: The Cycle of Violence

Wesley Myers, Kristin M. Lloyd, Jillian J. Turanovic et al. · 2018 · Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

There is a growing “replication crisis” in the social and behavioral sciences, where original research across a wide array of substantive areas has failed to replicate when conducted by others. This problem highlights the importance of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessArts and Humanities

Searching for the “native” speaker: A preregistered conceptual replication and extension of Reid, Trofimovich, and O’Brien (2019)

Bianca Brown, Botagoz Tusmagambet, Valentino Rahming et al. · 2023 · Applied Psycholinguistics

Abstract This study conceptually replicated and extended Reid, Trofimovich, and O’Brien (2019), who found that native English speakers could be biased positively (or negatively) relative to a control condition in terms of how they rate non-native English speech. Our internet-based study failed to replicate Reid et al. across a wider population sample of “native” speakers ( n = 189). Listeners did not change how they rated non-native English speech after social bias orientations and performed similarly across all five measures of speech and across age and race (Asian, Black, and Caucasian). We

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Metabolic and immune crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and pancreatic cancer cells

Qiyao Zhang, Zhen Cao, Shangcheng Yan et al. · 2025 · Journal of Translational Medicine

Pancreatic cancer, specifically pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is notorious for its aggressive nature and dismal prognosis, ranking as a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Despite advancements in surgical…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Indicators of Global Climate Change 2025: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence

Piers Forster, Tristram Walsh, Chris Smith et al. · 2026 · Earth system science data

Abstract. In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. We track twelve key sets of indicators of the state of the climate system, closely following Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment report (AR6) methods, to produce our fourth annual publication. One of the indicators, the Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) provides a crucial integrative measure of the overall heating of the planet and the pace of climate change – this has more than doubled since the 1976–1995 period. A newly added indicator of tempera

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBusiness, Management and Accounting

The effect of ESG disclosure on firm value in the European context

Atif Mahmood, Asad Mehmood, Simone Terzani et al. · 2025 · Management Decision

Purpose The environmental, social and governance (ESG) topic has recently received increasing attention from scholars due to increasing regulations for firms’ non-financial disclosure with respect to environmental and social issues. For instance, the European Union (EU) recently issued the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in December 2022 and implemented it starting in 2024 in member states. Non-financial disclosure is relevant for various stakeholders and could affect firm value. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of ESG disclosure on firm value in the EU cont

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessDecision Sciences

The suspension of morality in organisations: Conceptualising organisational moral disengagement and testing its role in relation to unethical behaviours and silence

Roberta Fida, Irene Skovgaard‐Smith, Claudio Barbaranelli et al. · 2024 · Human Relations

While considerable attention has been devoted to understanding how individual characteristics influence unethical actions, far less research has examined the role of social and organisational processes. We introduce the concept of organisational moral disengagement (OrgMD), drawing on Bandura’s moral agency theory, to explain how unethicality may be fostered in organisations. OrgMD is a multilevel construct, capturing perceptions of the mechanisms through which morality can be suspended in an organisation allowing unethical practices to flourish. Using four empirical studies, we validated OrgM

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