The primary role of COPE (the Committee on Publication Ethics) is to provide advice and guidance to journal editors and publishers on ethical issues. COPE also expects its member journals to follow its Code of Conduct (1). The Code emphasizes that editors have a duty to pursue cases of suspected misconduct but makes it clear that such cases should be investigated by the researchers’ institution...

OBJECTIVES There is increasing recognition that insufficient attention has been paid to the choice of outcomes measured in clinical trials. The lack of a standardized outcome classification system results in inconsistencies due to ambiguity and variation in how outcomes are described across different studies. Being able to classify by outcome would increase efficiency in searching sources such ...

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used successfully as a biopesticide for more than 60 years. More recently, genes encoding their toxins have been used to transform plants and other organisms. Despite the large amount of research on this bacterium, its true ecology is still a matter of debate, with two major viewpoints dominating: while some understand Bt as an insect pathogen, others see it...

Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its draft guidance on the regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) in October 2014, there has been a flurry of responses from commercial and hospital-based laboratory directors, clinicians, professional organizations, and diagnostic companies. The FDA defines an LDT as an "in vitrodiagnostic device that is intended for clinical use an...

polymer-clay nano-composite materials, in which nano-meter thick layers of clay dispersed in polymer matrix, have generally higher mechanical properties than normal polymeric materials. a new three-dimensional unit cell model has been developed for modeling three constituent phases including inclusion, interphase and matrix. the total elastic modulus of nano-composite is evaluated.  numerical r...