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Failure-mode index

Search what already failed

A searchable index of real negative results, null findings, and replication failures from the published literature — so you can learn what didn't work before repeating it.

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record (title, authors, DOI) compiled from open scholarly databases, with the abstract shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed (e.g. Creative Commons); otherwise a short excerpt is shown for reference under fair use. WASTE classifies each work by failure type; classifications are automated and approximate.

1761 results in Negative / Null Result Report for "Mpro" · page 44 of 59

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Search for axion-like dark matter through nuclear spin precession in electric and magnetic fields

C. Abel, N. J. Ayres, G. Ban et al. · 2017 · arXiv

We report on a search for ultra-low-mass axion-like dark matter by analysing the ratio of the spin-precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and $^{199}$Hg atoms for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment of the neutron and an axion-wind spin-precession effect. No signal consistent with dark matter is observed for the axion mass range $10^{-24}~\textrm{eV} \le m_a \le 10^{-17}~\textrm{eV}$. Our null result sets the first laboratory constraints on the coupling of axion dark matter to gluons, which improve on astrophysical limits by up to 3 orders of magnitude, and also im

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

A Review of Disease and Development

Ruiwu Liu · 2021 · arXiv

Acemoglu and Johnson (2007) put forward the unprecedented view that health improvement has no significant effect on income growth. To arrive at this conclusion, they constructed predicted mortality as an instrumental variable based on the WHO international disease interventions to analyse this problem. I replicate the process of their research and eliminate some biases in their estimate. In addition, and more importantly, we argue that the construction of their instrumental variable contains a violation of the exclusion restriction of their instrumental variable. This negative correlation betw

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Brown Dwarfs and the Cataclysmic Variable Period Minimum

Ulrich Kolb, Isabelle Baraffe · 1999 · arXiv

Using improved, up-to-date stellar input physics tested against observations of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs we calculate the secular evolution of low-mass donor cataclysmic variables (CVs), including those which form with a brown dwarf donor. Our models confirm the mismatch between the calculated minimum period (Pmin ~ 70 min) and the observed short-period cut-off (~ 80 min) in the CV period histogram. We find that tidal and rotational corrections applied to the one-dimensional stellar structure equations have no significant effect on the period minimum. Theoretical period distributions sy

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Not All Queries Need Rewriting: When Prompt-Only LLM Refinement Helps and Hurts Dense Retrieval

Varun Kotte · 2026 · arXiv

Prompt-only, single-step LLM query rewriting, where a rewrite is generated from the query alone without retrieval feedback, is commonly used in production RAG pipelines, but its effect on dense retrieval is poorly understood. We present a systematic empirical study across three BEIR benchmarks, two dense retrievers, and multiple training configurations, and find strongly domain-dependent behavior: rewriting degrades nDCG@10 by 9.0 percent on FiQA, improves it by 5.1 percent on TREC-COVID, and has no significant effect on SciFact. We identify a consistent mechanism: degradations co-occur with r

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBiology (General)

Exogenous MnSO 4 Improves Productivity of Degenerated Volvariella volvacea by Regulating Antioxidant Activity

Qiaoli Wang, Wenpei Wang, Yonghui Wang et al. · 2024 · Journal of Fungi

Manganese is one of the trace elements necessary for organisms to maintain normal biological activities and is also a cofactor for manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and manganese peroxidase (MnP). In order to find a simple and effective method to rejuvenate the degenerated V. volvacea strains, we explored the effect of the exogenous addition of MnSO 4 on the antioxidant vigour and productivity of degenerated strains of V. volvacea . The results showed that the exogenous MnSO 4 had no significant effect on the non-degenerated strain T0, but it could effectively increase the mycelial growt

View details →DOI: 10.3390/jof10120825
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPlant culture

Quality and biochemical changes of sweet cherries cv. Regina stored in modified atmosphere packaging

J. Harb, A. A. Saquet, R. Bisharat et al. · 2012 · Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality

Biochemical and quality changes of sweet cherries cv. Regina were assessed over three consecutive years after storage in different modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) liners, with or without hydrocooling, compared to regular atmosphere (RA) storage. All plastic liners used in the experiment resulted in CO2-enrichment and O2-reduction inside packages, with the following impact on fruit quality after five weeks of storage: improved retention of fruit firmness and red color of skin, no significant effect on acidity and total soluble solids, and minimal loss of fruit weight. Fruit decay was absent

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessElementary particle physics

Avoiding Bias in Measurements of Fundamental Constants from High Resolution Quasar Spectra

John K. Webb, Chung-Chi Lee, Dinko Milaković · 2022 · Universe

Recent advances in spectroscopic instrumentation and calibration methods dramatically improve the quality of quasar spectra. Supercomputer calculations show that, at high spectral resolution, procedures used in some previous analyses of spacetime variations of fundamental constants are likely to generate spurious measurements, biased systematically towards a null result. Developments in analysis methods are also summarised and a prescription given for the analysis of new and forthcoming data.

View details →DOI: 10.3390/universe8050266
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine

Born to fail: flaws in replication design produce intended results

Abraham D. Flaxman, Riley Hazard, Ian Riley et al. · 2020 · BMC Medicine

Abstract We recently published in BMC Medicine an evaluation of the comparative diagnostic performance of InSilicoVA, a software to map the underlying causes of death from verbal autopsy interviews. The developers of this software claim to have failed to replicate our results and appear to have also failed to locate our replication archive for this work. In this Correspondence, we provide feedback on how this might have been done more usefully and offer some suggestions to improve future attempts at reproducible research. We also offer an alternative interpretation of the results presented by

View details →DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-01517-w
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry

Perception of stroke symptoms and utilization of emergency medical services

Maximiliano A. Hawkes, Mauricio F. Farez, Ismael L. Calandri et al. · Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria

ABSTRACT Lack of stroke awareness and slow activation of emergency medical services (EMS) are frequently reported reasons for delayed arrival to the hospital. We evaluated these variables in our population. Methods Review of hospital records and structured telephone interviews of 100 consecutive stroke patients. Forward stepwise logistic regression was used for the statistical analysis. Results Seventy patients (75%) arrived at the hospital 4.5 hours after stroke symptoms onset. The use of EMS did not improve arrival times. Most patients who recognized their symptoms did not use EMS (p < 0.02)

View details →DOI: 10.1590/0004-282x20160142
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessBotany

Heterologous expression of heat stress-responsive AtPLC9 confers heat tolerance in transgenic rice

Yuliang Liu, Xinye Liu, Xue Wang et al. · 2020 · BMC Plant Biology

Abstract Background As global warming becomes increasingly severe, it is urgent that we enhance the heat tolerance of crops. We previously reported that Arabidopsis thaliana PHOSPHOINOSITIDE-SPECIFIC PHOSPHOLIPASE C9 (AtPLC9) promotes heat tolerance. Results In this study, we ectopically expressed AtPLC9 in rice to examine its potential to improve heat tolerance in this important crop. Whereas AtPLC9 did not improve rice tolerance to salt, drought or cold, transgenic rice did exhibit greater heat tolerance than the wild type. High-throughput RNA-seq revealed extensive and dynamic transcriptome

View details →DOI: 10.1186/s12870-020-02709-5
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMedicine (General)

A BIOMECHANICAL STUDY OF LATERAL RELEASE AND ELMSLIE-TRILLAT PROCEDURES TO RESTABILISETHE MALTRACKTNG PATELLA

MM. Tahmasbi, F. Farahmand , AA. Amis · 1999 · Acta Medica Iranica

&nbsp;The resistant* of pateSa against lateral displacement (Le. the stability), was studied tinder a range of conditions in vitro, at a range of knee flexion angles. Muscle forces were applied in physiological directions along the separate quadriceps muscles. Normal muscle actions with constant tension showed constant patellar stability up to sixty degrees knee flexion, and then a significant increase at ninety degrees. A pathological knee was simulated by relaxing vastus medians, and ■ lateral stability then dropped by 47%. Isolated rttlnaeular release in the pathological knee did not improv

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPsychology

Caffeine enhances memory performance in young adults during their non-optimal time of day

Stephanie M Sherman, Timothy P Buckley, Elsa Baena et al. · 2016 · Frontiers in Psychology

Many college students struggle to perform well on exams in the early morning. Although students drink caffeinated beverages to feel more awake, it is unclear whether these actually improve performance. After consuming coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated), college-age adults completed implicit and explicit memory tasks in the early morning and late afternoon (Experiment 1). During the morning, participants ingesting caffeine demonstrated a striking improvement in explicit memory, but not implicit memory. Caffeine did not alter memory performance in the afternoon. In Experiment 2, participants

View details →DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01764
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMicrobiology

VEGFA Isoforms as Pro-Angiogenic Therapeutics for Cerebrovascular Diseases

Amanda Louise White, Gregory Jaye Bix · 2023 · Biomolecules

Therapeutic angiogenesis has long been considered a viable treatment for vasculature disruptions, including cerebral vasculature diseases. One widely-discussed treatment method to increase angiogenesis is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A. In animal models, treatment with VEGFA proved beneficial, resulting in increased angiogenesis, increased neuronal density, and improved outcome. However, VEGFA administration in clinical trials has thus far failed to replicate the promising results seen in animal models. The lack of beneficial effects in humans and the difficulty in medicinal trans

View details →DOI: 10.3390/biom13040702
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessInternal medicine

A case of scrub typhus requiring maintenance hemodialysis

Dae-Yeon Kim, Hee-Soon Park, Dong-Jae Han et al. · 2013 · Kidney Research and Clinical Practice

Renal failure caused by scrub typhus is known to be reversible. In most cases, renal function is almost fully restored after appropriate antibiotic treatment. A 71-year-old man was diagnosed with scrub typhus complicated by renal failure. A renal biopsy revealed histopathologic findings consistent with acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. Renal function did not improve 18 months after discharge and the patient required continuous hemodialysis. Although severe renal failure requiring dialysis is a rare complication of scrub typhus, we describe a case of scrub typhus requiring maintenance hemodia

View details →DOI: 10.1016/j.krcp.2013.09.003
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessNeoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens

Temporal evolution of breast cancer brain metastases treatments and outcomes

Michele Bottosso, Gaia Griguolo, Severine Guiu et al. · 2025 · npj Breast Cancer

Abstract Brain metastases (BMs) are a common complication of advanced breast cancer (BC), and their management has significantly evolved. We evaluated the clinical impact of these changes dividing patients diagnosed with BCBMs at three Institutions according to year of BMs diagnosis: 2000-2007 (group A), 2008-2014 (group B) and 2015-2022 (group C). Stereotactic radiotherapy increased (p < 0.001), and WBRT decreased (p = 0.010) over time. Among HER2+ BC patients, more received anti-HER2 therapy after BM diagnosis in recent years (p < 0.011). Overall survival (OS) did not improve in the entire c

View details →DOI: 10.1038/s41523-025-00735-w
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessOphthalmology

A case of bilateral macular hole in a young HIV-positive patient

Jemal Zeberga Shifa, Alemayehu Mekonnen Gezmu, Gezahen Negusse Ayane et al. · 2019 · The Pan-American Journal of Ophthalmology

A 22-year-old female patient was diagnosed to have HIV and treated by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) since 2012 had developed a reduction of vision in both eyes secondary to cataract. The cataract was extracted from both eyes with no immediate postoperative complication. During follow-up, it was recognized that she had had bilateral Stage 3 macular hole in both eyes. The visual acuity in both eyes was 6/60 which did not improve with application of pinhole. Pars plana vitrectomy was done and sealed the macular hole in the left eye. The visual acuity remained the same in both eyes

View details →DOI: 10.4103/pajo.pajo_15_19
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessDiseases of the musculoskeletal system

Thalamic Ventral Intermediate Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Orthostatic Tremor

Alexander C. Lehn, Cullen O'Gorman, Sarah Olson et al. · 2017 · Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements

Background: &nbsp;Orthostatic tremor (OT) was first described in 1977. It is characterized by rapid tremor of 13&ndash;18&nbsp;Hz and can be recorded in the lower limbs and trunk muscles. OT remains difficult to treat, although some success has been reported with deep brain stimulation (DBS). Case Report: &nbsp;We report a 68-year-old male with OT who did not improve significantly after bilateral thalamic stimulation. Discussion: &nbsp;Although some patients were described who improved after DBS surgery, more information is needed about the effect of these treatment modalities on OT, ideally i

View details →DOI: 10.7916/d8280jhr
Negative / Null Result Report

Abstract P142: A Statistically Significant Reduction in Heart Failure Length of Stay: Moving the Mean Through Process Improvement

Carolyn M Moffa, William Weintraub, Rocco A DeMaio et al. · 2011 · Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes

Background: The burden of acute heart failure (HF) remains formidable. Length of stay (LOS) must be minimized to control costs, while still maintaining positive outcomes. Inappropriate diagnoses and the lack of coordinated care remain…

View details →DOI: 10.1161/circoutcomes.4.suppl_1.ap142
Negative / Null Result Report

Statistically significant improvement in hemophilia A control: a retrospective analysis of the effectiveness and safety of emicizumab in children with severe and inhibitor forms of hemophilia A

V. Yu. Petrov, I. N. Lavrentyeva, V. V. Vdovin et al. · 2024 · Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Immunopathology

Hemophilia A presents a serious problem, especially in its severe and inhibitor forms, leading to severe bleeding and complications. The importance of studying the effectiveness and safety of new treatment approaches, particularly…

View details →DOI: 10.24287/1726-1708-2024-23-1-99-107
Negative / Null Result Report

Should we offer total hip replacement to feline patients?

Katie Smithers · 2020 · Veterinary Evidence

PICO question In cats with traumatic coxofemoral injury, does total hip replacement (THR) offer improved outcome when compared with femoral head and neck excision (FHNE) arthroplasty? Clinical bottom line Category of research question…

View details →DOI: 10.18849/ve.v5i4.347
Negative / Null Result Report

Administering tolfenamic acid to gilts and sows before artificial insemination did not improve litter size but tended to reduce post-service serum prostaglandin F2α levels

Pachara Pearodwong, Nithitad Jiebna, Padet Tummaruk · 2024 · The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

This study examined the impact of intramuscular administration of tolfenamic acid 10 min before artificial insemination (AI) on serum PGF2α levels and reproductive performance in gilts and sows. In Experiment I, 20 gilts were divided into…

View details →DOI: 10.56808/2985-1130.3755
Negative / Null Result Report

Exploratory outcomes of the DHA WIN randomized controlled trial: Supplementing women with docosahexaenoic acid did not reduce the impact of neoadjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy on quality of life or exercise behaviour

Claire M. Douglas, Marnie Newell, Susan Goruk et al. · 2025 · PLOS One

Supplementation of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids has been associated with reduced side effects and improved quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The current study reports secondary outcomes…

View details →DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0322178
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Simulated Annealing with Tsallis Weights - A Numerical Comparison

Ulrich H. E. Hansmann · 1997 · arXiv

We discuss the use of Tsallis generalized mechanics in simulated annealing algorithms. For a small peptide it is shown that older implementations are not more effective than regular simulated annealing in finding ground state configurations. We propose a new implementation which leads to an improvement over regular simulated annealing.

Negative / Null Result Report

Cystic fibrosis and physical activity: Is there a significant difference to healthy individuals?

Anika Jantzen, Miriam Opoku-Pare, Katharina Ruf et al. · 2014 · European Respiratory Journal

Introduction: Exercise and habitual physical activity are important components in the care of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Regular exercise and physical activity improve physical fitness, exercise tolerance, quality of life and…

View details →DOI: 10.1183/13993003/erj.44.suppl_58.p1971
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessMathematics

Time to adjust: Improving replicability in experimental psychology by adjustment for evident selective inference

Yoav Zeevi, Sofi Astashenko, Liad Mudrik et al. · 2020 · arXiv

The field of psychological sciences has been grappling with the replicability crisis. Various issues have been identified as potential sources of this problem. We bring to light a potential source that has largely been overlooked and demonstrate its significant contribution to the problem: the practice of multiple comparisons. We analyzed 88 papers from the Reproducibility Project in Psychology and found that multiple results are commonly reported in a single paper, ranging from 4 to 730 (M=77.7), without multiple comparison adjustments. We retroactively applied such an adjustment using a hier