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Browse the failure-mode index

21,691 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 accessMaterials Science

A 3D spheroid model for assessing nanocarrier-based drug delivery to solid tumors

Chitra Yadav, Alexander S. Evtushenko, Andrea Bistrović et al. · 2025 · npj Biomedical Innovations.

3D spheroid culture has emerged as a valuable tool for studying complex intratumoral processes and screening novel therapeutics in vitro. However, spheroids face reproducibility and data interpretation issues, which limit their utility. This work describes a simple and reproducible co-culture spheroid model compatible with high-throughput screening designed to study pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a highly therapy-resistant cancer. These spheroids, composed of both cancer and stromal cells, recapitulate key features of PDAC which are difficult to study in traditional 2D cell culture,

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation for psychological distress in advanced cancer: A phase 2a feasibility and preliminary efficacy clinical trial

James Downar, James Downar, Julie Lapenskie et al. · 2024 · Palliative Medicine

Background: Psychological and existential suffering affects many people with advanced illness, and current therapeutic options have limited effectiveness. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe and effective therapy…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Examining the effects of the killing of George Floyd by police in the United States on attitudes of Black Londoners: a replication

Amy Nivette, Christof Nägel, Emily Gilbert · 2023 · Police Practice and Research

High-profile incidents of police misconduct can have serious consequences for public trust in the police. A recent study in the British Journal of Political Science found that Eric Garner’s death in NYC lead to more negative attitudes towards the police in London among Black residents compared to White and Asian residents. The current study aimed to replicate this transnational effect by assessing the impact of George Floyd’s death on Londoners’ perceptions of police. Using the same data and methodological approach, we did not replicate the immediate effect on Black Londoners’ attitudes. We di

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

Harnessing Novel Tetra-Synergistic Bilosomes for Effective Otomycosis Management: Integrated In-Vitro, Microbiological and In-vivo Studies

Abdurrahman M. Fahmy, Osama Saher, Heba Attia et al. · 2026 · AAPS PharmSciTech

Abstract This study introduces and statistically optimizes novel Tetra-Synergistic Bilosomes (TSB), an advanced nano-platform for topical delivery of voriconazole (VOR) in otomycosis therapy. The term “Tetra-Synergistic” reflects the incorporation of four complementary components: Cremophor® EL, sodium deoxycholate, Brij® 58, and Brij® S2, working in synergy to enhance therapeutic efficacy. TSB was fabricated using the thin-film hydration method and optimized through a 2 3 D-optimal design. Three formulation factors were investigated: Cremophor® EL: VOR ratio, sodium deoxycholate: cholesterol

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Ecosystem integration of marine conservation and coastal development in Taiwan

Y C Shih · 2026 · Frontiers in Environmental Science

To assess the systematic integration of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) into Taiwan’s coastal and marine governance frameworks to balance marine conservation and coastal development. The study adopts a comparative mixed-methods design that combines quantitative statistical analysis of spatial and ecological-economic data with qualitative policy analysis of the two selected governance frameworks. The comparative aspect of the research design explores the performance of multiple hub cases across temporal, spatial and multimodal aspects,

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Large-scale multi-omics unveils host–microbiome interactions driving root development and nitrogen acquisition

Nannan Li, Guoliang Li, Xiaofang Huang et al. · 2026 · Nature Plants

The rhizosphere microbiome plays a crucial role in determining plant performance and fitness. Nevertheless, regulatory mechanisms linking host genetic variation, root gene regulation and microbiome assembly-and their collective influence on plant nutritional traits-remain poorly understood. Here we generated and integrated 1,341 paired datasets, including root transcriptomes, rhizosphere bacterial 16S rRNA profiles and root ionomes, across 175 resequenced Brassica napus ecotypes grown at two contrasting field sites. We identified 203 highly heritable bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs)

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMathematics

The Evolution and Future Directions of PBPK Modeling in FDA Regulatory Review

Yong Li, Henry Sun, Zuoli Zhang · 2025 · Pharmaceutics

Background: Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling is a mathematical approach that integrates human physiological parameters with drug-specific characteristics (including both active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients), and it has emerged as one of the core technologies for optimizing the efficiency and reliability of drug development. Methods: This study synthesizes applications of PBPK models in FDA-approved drugs (2020–2024), systematically analyzing model utilization frequency, indication distribution, application domains and choice of modeling platforms, to reveal th

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

Short-Term Wind Power Forecast Based on STL-IAOA-iTransformer Algorithm: A Case Study in Northwest China

Zhaowei Yang, Wenqi Liu, Miwei Li et al. · 2025 · Energy Engineering

Accurate short-term wind power forecast technique plays a crucial role in maintaining the safety and economic efficiency of smart grids. Although numerous studies have employed various methods to forecast wind power, there re... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Tech Science Press

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Gut microbiome and its metabolites in liver cirrhosis: mechanisms and clinical implications

Luyuan Chang, Yang Liu, Haipeng Li et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Cirrhosis remains a significant global health burden, causing approximately 1.4-1.5 million deaths each year and contributing to nearly 46 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. Increasing evidence identifies the gut-liver axis as a central driver of disease progression, wherein intestinal dysbiosis, barrier disruption, and microbe-derived metabolites collectively exacerbate inflammation, fibrogenesis, and related complications. Across more than 40 recent studies, gut microbial α-diversity declined by 30-60%, and over 80% reported a marked depletion of short-chain fatty acid

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Replication FailureOpen accessNeuroscience

Pridopidine in early-stage manifest Huntington’s disease: a phase 3 trial

Ralf Reilmann, Andrew Feigin, Anne Rosser et al. · 2025 · Nature Medicine

Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare, neurodegenerative disorder for which only symptomatic treatments are available. The PROOF-HD study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of pridopidine, a selective Sigma-1 receptor agonist, in HD. The primary and key secondary endpoints, change in total functional capacity (TFC) and composite Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (cUHDRS) score at week 65, were not met in the overall population. The TFC least-squares mean difference between pridopidine and placebo was -0.18 (95% confidence i

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

The Impact of a $10,000 Bonus on Special Education Teacher Shortages in Hawai‘i

Roddy Theobald, Zeyu Xu, Allison F. Gilmour et al. · 2025 · Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

We study the impact of a bonus policy in Hawai‘i Public Schools that raised the salaries of all special education teachers by $10,000. We estimate that this policy reduced the proportion of vacant special education teaching positions…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics and Astronomy

X-Ray Polarization of the Magnetar 1E 1841−045

R. J. Stewart, George Younes, A. K. Harding et al. · 2025 · The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Abstract We report on IXPE and NuSTAR observations beginning 40 days after the 2024 outburst onset of magnetar 1E 1841−045, marking the first IXPE observation of a magnetar in an enhanced state. Our spectropolarimetric analysis indicates that both a blackbody (BB) plus double power-law (PL) and a double blackbody plus power-law spectral model fit the phase-averaged intensity data well, with a hard PL tail (Γ = 1.19 and 1.35, respectively) dominating above ≈5 keV. For the former model, we find the soft PL (the dominant component at soft energies) exhibits a polarization degree (PD) of ≈30% whil

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Breaking the outer membrane barrier: structure, targets, and antimicrobial strategies for Gram-negative bacteria

Fanzhuo Xu, Yu Xie, Weiwei Yu et al. · 2026 · Frontiers in Microbiology

Multidrug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has become a significant global public health challenge, threatening human health and clinical treatment outcomes. The unique outer membrane structure of these pathogens greatly limits antibiotic penetration, serving as the core mechanism of resistance. This paper systematically analyses antimicrobial strategies targeting the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, mainly including: (1) directly disrupting the outer membrane structure and enhancing drug permeability; (2) inhibiting the biosynthesis or transport pathways of key outer membrane com

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Is there prejudice from thin air? Replicating the effect of emotion on automatic intergroup attitudes

Junhua Dang, Zeynep E. Ekim, Sarah Ohlsson et al. · 2020 · BMC Psychology

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that anger, rather than sadness, created automatic intergroup bias in a minimal group context. METHODS: The current research reports a single study (N = 99) aiming to replicate this finding and further to test whether the intergroup bias manifests as ingroup favoritism, outgroup derogation, or both. RESULTS: Our results failed to replicate the effect of anger on automatic bias. Intriguingly, participants across all emotion conditions exhibited high level of ingroup favoritism, but there was little evidence of outgroup derogation. CONCLUSION: These results su

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Efficacy of an appropriate point-of-use water treatment intervention for low-income communities in India utilizing Moringa oleifera, sari-cloth filtration and solar UV disinfection

Syed Imran Ali, Morgan C. MacDonald, J. Jincy et al. · 2011 · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

This study investigated the efficacy of a POU water treatment system featuring sari-cloth filtration and/or Moringa oleifera coagulation as pre-treatments for solar disinfection (SODIS). Surface water from a peri-urban slum in Chennai,…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessArts and Humanities

There’s More to the Story: Both Individual and Collective Policy Narratives Can Increase Support for Community-Level Action

Chris Skurka, Jeff Niederdeppe, Liana B. Winett · 2020 · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)

Narratives can convey the need or community-level action to address social problems. Yet narratives often tell stories about specific individuals rather than the broader collectives these problems affect. Some theorists argue that individualizing collective problems inhibits audiences from recognizing upstream causes and solutions. This study tested how narrative individualization (whether a story focuses on an individual case or a larger collective) might produce trade-offs when mobilizing support for community-level policies to address childhood obesity. We also investigated whether narrativ

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEarth and Planetary Sciences

Investigating the quadrupedal abilities of Scutellosaurus lawleri and its implications for locomotor behavior evolution among dinosaurs

Lilian Anderson, Charlotte Brassey, Stuart Pond et al. · 2023 · The Anatomical Record

A reversion to secondary quadrupedality is exceptionally rare in nature, yet the convergent re-evolution of this locomotor style occurred at least four separate times within Dinosauria. Facultative quadrupedality, an intermediate state between obligate bipedality and obligate quadrupedality, may have been an important transitional step in this locomotor shift, and is proposed for a range of basal ornithischians and sauropodomorphs. Advances in virtual biomechanical modeling and simulation have allowed for the investigation of limb anatomy and function in a range of extinct dinosaurian species,

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Prostate volume does not provide additional predictive value to prostate health index for prostate cancer or clinically significant prostate cancer: results from a multicenter study in China

Danfeng Xu, Rong Na, Da Huang et al. · 2020 · Asian Journal of Andrology

To evaluate whether prostate volume (PV) would provide additional predictive utility to the prostate health index (phi) for predicting prostate cancer (PCa) or clinically significant prostate cancer, we designed a prospective,…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Nonopioid vs opioid analgesics after impacted third-molar extractions

Cecile A. Feldman, Janine Fredericks-Younger, Paul J. Desjardins et al. · 2025 · The Journal of the American Dental Association

BACKGROUND: Opioids are still being prescribed to manage acute postsurgical pain. Unnecessary opioid prescriptions can lead to addiction and death, as unused tablets are easily diverted. METHODS: To determine whether combination nonopioid analgesics are at least as good as opioid analgesics, a multisite, double-blind, randomized, stratified, noninferiority comparative effectiveness trial was conducted, which examined patient-centered outcomes after impacted mandibular third-molar extraction surgery. Participants were randomized to receive 5 mg of hydrocodone with 300 mg of acetaminophen (opioi

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Negative / Null Result Report

WHERE DOES AVICENNA DEMONSTRATE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD?

Daniel D. De Haan · 2016 · Arabic Sciences and Philosophy

Abstract This study examines a number of different answers to the question: where does Avicenna demonstrate the existence of God within the Metaphysics of the Healing ? Many interpreters have contended that there is an argument for God's…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Harnessing genotype-by-environment interaction to determine adaptability of advanced cowpea lines to multiple environments in Uganda

Abiriga Francis, O. Ongom Patrick, Rubaihayo Patrick et al. · 2020 · Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science

This study was conducted to determine the yield stability of advanced cowpea lines in diverse agro-ecological zones of Uganda in order to facilitate documentation requirements for national performance trials (NPT). Thirty cowpea genotypes were evaluated against six checks in three localities, over three growing seasons, making a total of 9 unique environments. The trials were laid in a 6x6 alpha lattice design with three replications and grain yield was the principal trait measured. Single-site and multi-location data were summarized using analysis of variance. Further analysis of stability wa

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Improving SAT-solving with Machine Learning

Haoze Wu · 2017

In this project, we aimed to improve the runtime of Minisat, a Conflict-Driven Clause Learning (CDCL) solver that solves the Propositional Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) problem. We first used a logistic regression model to predict the…

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Negative / Null Result Report

Effect of methionine hydroxy analog feed supplements: Significant alteration and enrichment of rumen microbiota and metabolome in Hu sheep

Shujie Li, Hanfang Zeng, Changjian Wang et al. · 2022 · Frontiers in Veterinary Science

Methionine hydroxy analogs (MHA) are widely used as the main sources of methionine in ruminant feed production. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of using MHA supplements such as MHA as a salt of calcium (MHA-Ca) and…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

Gas Chromatography–Sensor System Aids Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Separates Crohn’s from Ulcerative Colitis, in Children

Rachael Slater, Kukatharmini Tharmaratnam, Salma Belnour et al. · 2024 · Sensors

The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children and the need to distinguish between subtypes (Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)) requires lengthy investigative and invasive procedures. Non-invasive, rapid, and cost-effective tests to support these diagnoses are needed. Faecal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are distinctive in IBD. VOC profiles can be rapidly determined using a gas chromatography-sensor device (OdoReader©). In an inception-cohort of children presenting with suspected IBD, we directly compared the diagnostic fidelity of faecal calprotectin (FCP, a

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessHealth Professions

Gait Characteristics and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Data from ENBIND

Pieter M. R. Herings, Adam H. Dyer, Seán Kennelly et al. · 2022 · Sensors

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in midlife is associated with a greater risk of dementia in later life. Both gait speed and spatiotemporal gait characteristics have been associated with later cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults. Thus, the assessment of gait characteristics in uncomplicated midlife T2DM may be important in selecting-out those with T2DM at greatest risk of later cognitive decline. We assessed the relationship between Inertial Motion Unit (IMUs)-derived gait characteristics and cognitive function assessed via Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)/detailed neuropsy

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