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19,735 real negative results, null findings, and replication failures · Negative / Null Result Report. 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 ReportMedicine

Transgenerational effects of prenatal exposure to the 1944–45 Dutch famine

MVE Veenendaal, R.C. Painter, Susanne R. de Rooij et al. · 2013 · BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

OBJECTIVE: We previously showed that maternal under-nutrition during gestation is associated with increased metabolic and cardiovascular disease in the offspring. Also, we found increased neonatal adiposity among the grandchildren of women…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Plasmodium falciparum by Amplification of Multi-Copy Subtelomeric Targets

Natalie Hofmann, Felista Mwingira, Seif Shekalaghe et al. · 2015 · PLoS Medicine

BACKGROUND: Planning and evaluating malaria control strategies relies on accurate definition of parasite prevalence in the population. A large proportion of asymptomatic parasite infections can only be identified by surveillance with molecular methods, yet these infections also contribute to onward transmission to mosquitoes. The sensitivity of molecular detection by PCR is limited by the abundance of the target sequence in a DNA sample; thus, detection becomes imperfect at low densities. We aimed to increase PCR diagnostic sensitivity by targeting multi-copy genomic sequences for reliable det

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Acarbose, 17‐α‐estradiol, and nordihydroguaiaretic acid extend mouse lifespan preferentially in males

David E. Harrison, Randy Strong, David B. Allison et al. · 2013 · Aging Cell

Four agents--acarbose (ACA), 17-α-estradiol (EST), nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), and methylene blue (MB)--were evaluated for lifespan effects in genetically heterogeneous mice tested at three sites. Acarbose increased male median lifespan by 22% (P < 0.0001), but increased female median lifespan by only 5% (P = 0.01). This sexual dimorphism in ACA lifespan effect could not be explained by differences in effects on weight. Maximum lifespan (90th percentile) increased 11% (P < 0.001) in males and 9% (P = 0.001) in females. EST increased male median lifespan by 12% (P = 0.002), but did not le

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Phylogenomic Insights into the Evolution of Stinging Wasps and the Origins of Ants and Bees

Michael G. Branstetter, Bryan N. Danforth, James P. Pitts et al. · 2017 · Current Biology

The stinging wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) are an extremely diverse lineage of hymenopteran insects, encompassing over 70,000 described species and a diversity of life history traits, including ectoparasitism, cleptoparasitism, predation, pollen feeding (bees [Anthophila] and Masarinae), and eusociality (social vespid wasps, ants, and some bees) [1]. The most well-studied lineages of Aculeata are the ants, which are ecologically dominant in most terrestrial ecosystems [2], and the bees, the most important lineage of angiosperm-pollinating insects [3]. Establishing the phylogenetic affinities o

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Objective evaluation of anosmia and ageusia in COVID‐19 patients: Single‐center experience on 72 cases

Luigi Angelo Vaira, Giovanna Deiana, Alessandro Giuseppe Fois et al. · 2020 · Head & Neck

BACKGROUND: The first European case series are detecting a very high frequency of chemosensitive disorders in COVID-19 patients, ranging between 19.4% and 88%. METHODS: Olfactory and gustatory function was objectively tested in 72 COVID-19…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

BCG vaccine protection from severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Luis E. Escobar, Alvaro Molina-Cruz, Carolina Barillas‐Mury · 2020 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating in recent history. The bacillus Calmette−Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis also confers broad protection against other infectious diseases, and it has been proposed that it could reduce the severity of COVID-19. This epidemiological study assessed the global linkage between BCG vaccination and COVID-19 mortality. Signals of BCG vaccination effect on COVID-19 mortality are influenced by social, economic, and demographic differences between countries. After mitigating multiple confounding factors, several significant assoc

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Risk Assessment, Genetic Counseling, and Genetic Testing for BRCA -Related Cancer

US Preventive Services Task Force, Douglas K Owens, Karina W. Davidson et al. · 2019 · JAMA

Importance: Potentially harmful mutations of the breast cancer susceptibility 1 and 2 genes (BRCA1/2) are associated with increased risk for breast, ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancer. For women in the United States, breast…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessImmunology and Microbiology

Effects of Bacillus subtilis on the growth performance, digestive enzymes, immune gene expression and disease resistance of white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Hadi Zokaeifar, José Luís Balcázar, Che Roos Saad et al. · 2012 · Fish & Shellfish Immunology

We studied the effect of two probiotic Bacillus subtilis strains on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, immune gene expression and disease resistance of juvenile white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). A mixture of two…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Genomic characteristics and clinical effect of the emergent SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage in London, UK: a whole-genome sequencing and hospital-based cohort study

Dan Frampton, Tommy Rampling, Aidan Cross et al. · 2021 · The Lancet Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: Emergence of variants with specific mutations in key epitopes in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 raises concerns pertinent to mass vaccination campaigns and use of monoclonal antibodies. We aimed to describe the emergence of…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

The influence of illness-related variables, personal resources and context-related factors on real-life functioning of people with schizophrenia

Silvana Galderisi, Alessandro Rossi, Paola Rocca et al. · 2014 · World Psychiatry

In people suffering from schizophrenia, major areas of everyday life are impaired, including independent living, productive activities and social relationships. Enhanced understanding of factors that hinder real-life functioning is vital…

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Negative / Null Result ReportBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Effect of Darapladib on Major Coronary Events After an Acute Coronary Syndrome

Michelle L. O’Donoghue, Eugene Braunwald, Harvey D. White et al. · 2014 · JAMA

IMPORTANCE: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) has been hypothesized to be involved in atherogenesis through pathways related to inflammation. Darapladib is an oral, selective inhibitor of the Lp-PLA2 enzyme. OBJECTIVE: To…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeuroscience

Polarity and timing-dependent effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in explicit motor learning

Charlotte J. Stagg, Gowri Jayaram, Damien Pastor et al. · 2011 · Neuropsychologia

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is attracting increasing interest as a therapeutic tool for neurorehabilitation, particularly after stroke, because of its potential to modulate local excitability and therefore promote functional plasticity. Previous studies suggest that timing is important in determining the behavioural effects of brain stimulation. Regulatory metaplastic mechanisms exist to modulate the effects of a stimulation intervention in a manner dependent on prior cortical excitability, thereby preventing destabilization of existing cortical networks. The importance of s

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Neck Circumference as a Novel Measure of Cardiometabolic Risk: The Framingham Heart Study

Sarah R. Preis, Joseph M. Massaro, Udo Hoffmann et al. · 2010 · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

BACKGROUND: Neck circumference, a proxy for upper-body sc fat, may be a unique fat depot that confers additional cardiovascular risk above and beyond central body fat. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants with neck circumference measures who…

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Negative / Null Result ReportEnvironmental Science

Land-use/cover classification in a heterogeneous coastal landscape using RapidEye imagery: evaluating the performance of random forest and support vector machines classifiers

Elhadi Adam, Onisimo Mutanga, John Odindi et al. · 2014 · International Journal of Remote Sensing

Mapping of patterns and spatial distribution of land-use/cover (LULC) has long been based on remotely sensed data. In the recent past, efforts to improve the reliability of LULC maps have seen a proliferation of image classification…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Physical activity, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia: 28 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study

Sèverine Sabia, Aline Dugravot, Jean‐François Dartigues et al. · 2017 · BMJ

This study found no evidence of a neuroprotective effect of physical activity. Previous findings showing a lower risk of dementia in physically active people may be attributable to reverse causation-that is, due to a decline in physical activity levels in the preclinical phase of dementia.

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Negative / Null Result ReportEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

The Evidence on Globalisation

Niklas Potrafke · 2014 · World Economy

Abstract Globalisation is blamed for many socioeconomic shortcomings. I discuss the consequences of globalisation by surveying the empirical globalisation literature. My focus is on the KOF indices of globalisation that have been used in…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

Almudena Marí Sáez, Sabrina Weiß, Kathrin Nowak et al. · 2014 · EMBO Molecular Medicine

The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2-year-old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free-tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been dis

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Negative / Null Result ReportAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Species Richness and the Temporal Stability of Biomass Production: A New Analysis of Recent Biodiversity Experiments

Kevin Gross, Bradley J. Cardinale, Jeremy W. Fox et al. · 2013 · The American Naturalist

The relationship between biological diversity and ecological stability has fascinated ecologists for decades. Determining the generality of this relationship, and discovering the mechanisms that underlie it, are vitally important for…

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Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEnvironmental Science

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Function in a Cohort of Older Men

Melinda C. Power, Marc G. Weisskopf, Stacey Alexeeff et al. · 2010 · Environmental Health Perspectives

BACKGROUND: Traffic-related particles induce oxidative stress and may exert adverse effects on central nervous system function, which could manifest as cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the association between black carbon (BC), a marker of traffic-related air pollution, and cognition in older men. METHODS: A total of 680 men (mean ± SD, 71 ± 7 years of age) from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study completed a battery of seven cognitive tests at least once between 1996 and 2007. We assessed long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution using a validat

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Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine

Cetuximab and First-Line Taxane/Carboplatin Chemotherapy in Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Results of the Randomized Multicenter Phase III Trial BMS099

Thomas J. Lynch, Taral Patel, Luke Dreisbach et al. · 2010 · Journal of Clinical Oncology

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of cetuximab plus taxane/carboplatin (TC) as first-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS This multicenter, open-label, phase III study enrolled 676…

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