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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 accessMathematics

Predictive Modeling of Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in RCTs

Joe V. Selby, Carolien C. H. M. Maas, Bruce Fireman et al. · 2025 · JAMA Network Open

Importance: The Predictive Approaches to Treatment Effect Heterogeneity (PATH) Statement of 2020 proposed predictive modeling for identifying heterogeneity in treatment effects (HTE) in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). It described 2 approaches: risk modeling, which develops a multivariable model predicting individual baseline risk of study outcomes and then examines treatment effects across strata of predicted risk, and effect modeling, which develops a model that directly predicts individual treatment effects using a variety of regression and machine learning methods. Objective: To identif

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Ten-year update of HOBOE phase III trial comparing triptorelin plus either tamoxifen or letrozole or zoledronic acid + letrozole in premenopausal hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer patients

Adriano Gravina, P. Gargiulo, Michelino De Laurentiis et al. · 2025 · ESMO Open

BACKGROUND: The Hormonal Bone Effects (HOBOE) study tested whether adjuvant triptorelin plus either letrozole (L) or zoledronic acid (Z) plus L (ZL) was more effective than tamoxifen (T) in premenopausal patients with hormone…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Title Oxidative Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: From Molecular Mechanisms to Emerging Therapeutic Targets

Tatsuya Mimura, Hidetaka Noma · 2025 · Antioxidants

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible visual impairment in the elderly, and oxidative stress, primarily mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), is widely recognized as a central driver of its onset and progression. The retina is highly susceptible to oxidative damage due to its elevated oxygen consumption, abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids, and continuous exposure to light. Recent studies have elucidated molecular mechanisms in which mitochondrial dysfunction, disruption of redox homeostasis, inflammation, and complement activation interact to promote

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Advances in the intrinsic signaling pathway interactions and clinical translation of HR+/HER2+ breast cancer

Xinyu Li, Tao Huang · 2025 · Breast Cancer

Hormone receptor-positive (HR +) and HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancers represent a biologically unique subset of breast malignancies characterized by the co-expression of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). These cancers exhibit distinct molecular features, often leading to aggressive growth and higher recurrence rates. HR+/HER2+ breast cancer cells can utilize estrogen and HER2-driven signaling pathways to promote proliferation, survival, and metastatic potential, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for treat

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

The TEX44-CPT1B axis regulates mitochondrial sheath assembly and fatty acid oxidation in sperm

Erlei Zhi, Haowei Bai, Chuan Ren et al. · 2025 · Nature Communications

Mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) is essential for energy production and cellular homeostasis, yet its role in sperm function has remained unclear. Through whole-exome sequencing (WES) of 800 patients with asthenozoospermia, we…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Shedding the mitochondrial blinkers: A long-overdue challenge for species delimitation in herpetology

Wolfgang Wüster · 2025 · Vertebrate Zoology

The advent of molecular methods has revolutionised the field of species delimitation and description, one of the key tasks of systematic biology. In animal taxonomy, one marker, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecule, has acquired and retained disproportionate influence. This is despite its uniparental, clonal mode of inheritance, as a result of which the entire molecule acts as a single locus, and that precludes its use as a test for admixture between putative lineages, a key consideration in species delimitation. To establish the extent to which the limitations of mtDNA affect present-day ta

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMaterials Science

Dual rare-earth modification and interface engineering in SiC-based heterostructures for multi-frequency electromagnetic wave absorption

Jingyi Xu, Zhanming Wu, Yunan Tan et al. · 2026 · Journal of Advanced Ceramics

Abstract The escalating complexity of the electromagnetic environment calls for advanced electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials capable of efficient multi-frequency attenuation. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a promising dielectric candidate but is hindered by intrinsic impedance mismatch and limited polarization loss. Herein, we report a novel ternary heterostructure absorber consisting of SiC nanowires synergistically coupled with dual rare-earth silicides (Ce5Si4 and Pr5Si4) fabricated via a combined magnesiothermic and carbothermal reduction process using an MFI-type zeolite precursor.

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessHealth Professions

Occupational injury severity among healthcare workers: a retrospective study

Ghassan M. Khairallah, Samar Al‐Hajj, Hani O. Mowafi et al. · 2025 · BMC Public Health

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to a multitude of hazards in the hospital environment, increasing their risks of sustaining injuries at a higher rate compared to workers in other sectors and resulting in substantial level…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEngineering

Integrated physics and magnet design for the ST-E1 fusion power plant

E. Maartensson, N. Welch, M. Scarpari et al. · 2026 · Nuclear Fusion

Abstract ST-E1 is Tokamak Energy’s commercially competitive fusion power plant design featuring a lifetime high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet cage, which has completed its pre-concept design stage. A central challenge at the pre-concept stage is the need to iteratively and consistently integrate the development of the magnet cage, core plasma physics, and power-exhaust systems, while avoiding serial design loops and late discovery of infeasible operating scenarios. Accurate representation of inductive current drive is particularly critical, as it tightly couples magnetic equilibria,

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Hypoxic microenvironment in cancer: role in metabolic reprogramming

Niti Sureka, Rashi Maheshwari, Amit H Agravat et al. · 2026 · Frontiers in Oncology

Hypoxia, a defining hallmark of solid tumors, arises from structurally and functionally abnormal vasculature, rapid cellular proliferation, and impaired perfusion, resulting in chronic and cycling oxygen deprivation within the tumor massThe hypoxic tumor microenvironment orchestrates extensive molecular reprogramming primarily through stabilization and activation of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF-1α and HIF-2α), which regulate broad transcriptional networks governing metabolism, angiogenesis, stemness, invasion, and immune modulation. Under low oxygen tension, tumor cells shift toward aerobic

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessArts and Humanities

What Predicts ( AI ‐Mediated) Informal Digital Learning of English in the Global South? The Case of Rural Bangladeshi Students

Guangxiang Liu, Md Kamal Hossain · 2026 · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning

ABSTRACT Background Amid Bangladesh's national efforts to enhance digital inclusion, rural university students continue to face persistent infrastructural and educational inequalities that limit their access to quality English learning…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessSocial Sciences

Examining human reliance on artificial intelligence in decision making

Jo Pearson, Itiel E. Dror, Emma Jayes et al. · 2026 · Scientific Reports

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to effectively support human decision making depends on whether humans are willing to trust in, and thus rely on, AI. Understanding human reliance on AI is critical given controversial reports of AI inaccuracy and bias. Furthermore, the erroneous belief that using technology removes biases may lead to overreliance on AI. To examine humans’ reliance on AI, human participants (N = 295, Mage = 33.79) judged the authenticity of 80 faces (40 real, 40 AI-synthesized) presented alongside guidance supposedly from humans or from AI. This guidance was correct only

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Granulation and stability of microalgal–bacterial granular sludge under single and combined exposure to polycaprolactone microplastics and sulfamethoxazole

Alfonz Kedves, Máté Balogh, Jamsheed Abbas Dar et al. · 2026 · Bioresource Technology

The increasing occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in wastewater poses emerging challenges for biological treatment processes. Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) has emerged as an efficient algae-based biotechnology for wastewater treatment; however, its response to simultaneous exposure to these contaminants remains largely unexplored. Here, the effects of degradable polycaprolactone microplastics (PCL MPs) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) were evaluated at 1 mg/L during granulation and long-term operation. PCL alone caused only minor changes, whereas SMX impaired granule stability

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Replication FailureOpen accessMedicine

Overall survival with relacorilant and nab-paclitaxel in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (ROSELLA): a phase 3 randomised controlled trial

Domenica Lorusso, Laurence Gladieff, David M O'Malley et al. · 2026 · The Lancet

BACKGROUND: Relacorilant is a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist that increases the sensitivity of many cancer cell types to chemotherapy. The efficacy and safety of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel were assessed in the phase 3 ROSELLA (GOG-3073, ENGOT-ov72, APGOT-Ov10, and LACOG-0223) trial; the combination showed significant improvement in progression-free survival among patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer compared with nab-paclitaxel monotherapy. Results of the final overall survival analysis are reported here. METHODS: intravenously on the aforementioned schedule). Pa

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance governance across 193 countries to inform the 2026 Global Action Plan update

Weiye Chen, Yige Zeng, Jinxin Zheng et al. · 2026 · Nature Medicine

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major global health threat, yet the effectiveness of national action plans (NAPs) remains uncertain. Here we developed a multidimensional One Health governance index through a structured Delphi expert…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Confounding factors and biases abound when predicting molecular biomarkers from histological images

Muhammad Dawood, Kim Branson, Sabine Tejpar et al. · 2026 · Nature Biomedical Engineering

Deep learning models that infer clinically relevant biomarker status from tissue images are being explored as rapid and low-cost alternatives to molecular testing. Here we show, through statistical analysis across multiple cancer types, datasets and modelling approaches, that the datasets used to train these models contain strong dependencies between biomarkers and clinicopathological features, which prevent models from isolating the effect of a single biomarker and lead them to learn confounded signals. Consequently, their prediction accuracy varies substantially with the status of codependen

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Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine

Adjuvant pembrolizumab plus belzutifan versus pembrolizumab for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC): The randomized phase 3 LITESPARK-022 study.

Toni K. Choueiri, R Motzer, Jose A. Karam et al. · 2026 · Journal of Clinical Oncology

LBA418 Background: Adjuvant pembrolizumab is a standard of care for patients with ccRCC at increased risk of recurrence following nephrectomy based on the phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 study (N Engl J Med 385:683; N Engl J Med 390:1359). Combination…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

Determinants of Green Energy Penetration in N-11 Countries: A Machine Learning Analysis

Najabat Ali, Md Reza Sultanuzzaman · 2026 · Energies

This study investigates the determinants of green energy penetration in the Next Eleven (N-11) economies over the period 2000–2022, with a particular focus on the roles of foreign direct investment (FDI), green transition, governance quality, industrial growth, and urbanization. The primary objective of the study is to assess how investment flows, structural transformation, and institutional capacity jointly shape the adoption of renewable energy in fast-growing emerging economies. To achieve this goal, the study employs a second-generation panel econometric and machine-learning framework that

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Replication FailureOpen accessMedicine

AI-based chest X-ray prioritization in the lung cancer diagnostic pathway: the LungIMPACT randomized controlled trial

Nick Woznitza, Lesley Smith, Janette Rawlinson et al. · 2026 · Nature Medicine

Prioritizing artificial intelligence (AI)-detected imaging findings may reduce the time to diagnosis of lung cancer. This prospective, multicentre, randomized controlled trial tested whether immediate AI prioritization of primary care-requested chest X-rays (CXR) influenced time to computed tomography (CT) and lung cancer diagnosis, the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included the number of urgent suspected lung cancer referrals, incidence and stage of lung cancer, times to urgent referral and treatment, concordance between AI and radiology reports, and algorithm accuracy. AI was availabl

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBusiness, Management and Accounting

The Impact of Liquidity and Leverage on the Financial Performance of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-Listed Consumer Goods Firms

Floyd Khoza · 2025 · Journal of risk and financial management

Understanding the role of liquidity and leverage is crucial in assessing financial performance, particularly in the consumer goods sector. This study examined the impact of liquidity and leverage on financial performance, using a sample of 13 consumer goods firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) from 2014 to 2024. Despite the present literature on this association, few traceable studies have investigated this phenomenon, and there is a dearth of literature in this sector. The dependent variable for this study was financial performance, and the return on assets (ROA) was employed

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Multi-Agentic LLMs for Personalizing STEM Texts

Michael Vaccaro, Mikayla Friday, Arash E. Zaghi · 2025 · Applied Sciences

Multi-agent large language models promise flexible, modular architectures for delivering personalized educational content. Drawing on a pilot randomized controlled trial with middle school students (n = 23), we introduce a two-agent GPT-4 framework in which a Profiler agent infers learner-specific preferences and a Rewrite agent dynamically adapts science passages via an explicit message-passing protocol. We implement structured system and user prompts as inter-agent communication schemas to enable real-time content adaptation. The results of an ordinal logistic regression analysis hinted that

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics and Astronomy

Final Moments. III. Explosion Properties and Progenitor Constraints of CSM-interacting Type II Supernovae

W. V. Jacobson-Galán, Luc Dessart, Kyle W. Davis et al. · 2025 · The Astrophysical Journal

Abstract We present analysis of the plateau and late-time phase properties of a sample of 39 Type II supernovae (SNe II) that show narrow, transient, high-ionization emission lines (i.e., “IIn-like”) in their early-time spectra from interaction with confined, dense circumstellar material (CSM). Originally presented by W. V. Jacobson-Galán et al., this sample also includes multicolor light curves and spectra extending to late-time phases of 35 SNe with no evidence for IIn-like features at <2 days after first light. We measure photospheric phase light-curve properties for the distance-correct

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

Endothelial STING and STAT1 mediate IFN-independent effects of IL-6 in an endotoxemia-induced model of shock

Nina Martino, Erin Sanders, Ramon Bossardi Ramos et al. · 2025 · Journal of Clinical Investigation

Severe systemic inflammatory reactions, including sepsis, often lead to shock, organ failure, and death, in part through an acute release of cytokines that promote vascular dysfunction. However, little is known about the vascular endothelial signaling pathways regulating the transcriptional profile in failing organs. Our work focused on signaling downstream of IL-6, due to its clinical importance as a biomarker for disease severity and predictor of mortality. Here, we show that loss of endothelial expression of the IL-6 pathway inhibitor SOCS3 promoted a type I IFN-like (IFNI-like) gene signat

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics and Astronomy

Unraveling the Relaxation Dynamics of Uracil: Insights from Time-Resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Davide Faccialà, M. Bonanomi, Bruno Nunes Cabral Tenorio et al. · 2025 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide We report a study of the electronic and nuclear relaxation dynamics of the photoexcited RNA base uracil in the gas phase using time-resolved core-level photoelectron spectroscopy together with high-level calculations. The dynamics was investigated by trajectory surface hopping calculations, and the core ionization energies were calculated for geometries sampled from these. The molecule was excited by a UV laser and dynamics probed on the oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon sites by core electron spectroscopy. We find that the main de-excitation chann

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Kriging prior regression: A case for kriging-based spatial features with TabPFN in soil mapping

Jonas Schmidinger, Viacheslav Barkov, Sebastian Vogel et al. · 2025 · Computers and Electronics in Agriculture

Machine learning and geostatistics are two fundamentally different frameworks for the prediction and spatial mapping of soil properties. Geostatistics leverages the spatial structure of soil properties, whereas machine learning models capture the relationship between available environmental features and soil properties. We propose a hybrid framework that augments machine learning with spatial context through the engineering of ‘spatial lag’ features derived from ordinary kriging. We call this approach ‘kriging prior regression’ (KpR), as it reverses the logic of regression kriging by incorpera

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Artificial Intelligence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Endoscopy

Sabrina Gloria Giulia Testoni, Guglielmo Albertini Petroni, Maria Laura Annunziata et al. · 2025 · Diagnostics

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), comprising Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with still-elusive etiopathogeneses and an increasing prevalence worldwide. Despite the growing availability of more advanced therapies in the last two decades, there are still a number of unmet needs. For example, the achievement of mucosal healing has been widely demonstrated as a prognostic marker for better outcomes and a reduced risk of dysplasia and cancer; however, the accuracy of endoscopy is crucial for bo

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPsychology

Does baseline severity interact with the effects of psychotherapy for depression? A meta-analytic review

Pim Cuijpers, Mathias Harrer, Clara Miguel et al. · 2026 · Journal of Affective Disorders

It is not yet clear whether baseline severity is associated with the effects of psychotherapies. We examined baseline severity at the study level in a large sample of randomized controlled trials comparing psychotherapies against a control condition for the treatment of depression. We used an existing large database of randomized trials comparing psychotherapies for depression with control groups ( www.metapsy.org ). We converted baseline severity scores across different depression measures into a common metric. We ran bivariable and multivariable meta-regression analyses to examine the associ

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Targeted Hyaluronan Degradation Enhanced Tumor Growth Inhibition in Gastrointestinal Cancer Models

Fulai Zhou, Guangmao Mu, Honglei Bi et al. · 2025 · Cancers

Background. The dense hyaluronan (HA)-rich stroma in solid tumors can prevent effective tumor growth inhibition by hindering drug delivery and immune cell infiltration. However, the degradation of HA alone by systemic delivery of hyaluronidase has not shown significant improvement of tumor growth inhibition. Objectives/Methods. In this study, we targeted hyaluronan degradation by using antibody–enzyme (AbEn) molecules by fusing antibodies to a recombinant human hyaluronidase (HYAL). Results. The AbEn molecules were stable, retained both antigen-binding and enzymatic activities, and demonstrate

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