Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41726985›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

A multi-agent platform for assessment and improvement of bioinformatics software documentation.

Anjun Ma, Shaohong Feng, Shaopeng Gu, Cankun Wang, Qin Ma

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Anjun MaDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6269-398X
Shaohong FengDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Shaopeng GuDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Cankun WangDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Qin MaDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Funding

TriState SenNET (Lung and Heart) Tissue Map and Atlas consortiumU54AG075931 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI TOREN FINKEL, Melanie Koenigshoff · 2021 to 2026
$14.0M
The Role of the Y Chromosome in Bladder Tumor Development, Growth And ProgressionP01CA278732 · NCI · CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER · PI Zihai Li · 2023 to 2026
$10.7M
NHP CoreP01AI177687 · NIAID · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI Dan H. Barouch · 2023 to 2026
$7.4M
Statistical Power Analysis Framework for Multi-Sample and Cross-Platform Spatial Omics ExperimentsR01GM152585 · NIGMS · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Dongjun Chung, Qin Ma · 2024 to 2026
$1.2M
SCH: Graph-based Spatial Transcriptomics Computational Methods in Kidney DiseasesR01DK138504 · NIDDK · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI Michael Thomas Eadon, Qin Ma · 2023 to 2026
$1.1M
Constructing Mouse and Human Single-cell Atlas in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney DiseaseR21DK140693 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · PI MA, ANJUN, ZIMMERMAN, KURT A · 2024 to 2024
$136k
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA278732NIAID NIH HHS P01 AI177687NIA NIH HHS U54 AG075931NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK138504NIDDK NIH HHS R21 DK140693NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM152585
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rapid advances in bioinformatics have transformed biomedical research in areas such as single-cell and spatial omics, digital pathology, and multi-modal data integration, yet software usability and reproducibility have not kept pace with the growing complexity and proliferation of computational tools. Inconsistent, incomplete, or inaccessible documentation remains a pervasive and underappreciated barrier, limiting tool adoption, hindering reproducibility across laboratories, and reducing the long-term impact of computational methods. Here, we introduce BioGuider, a multi-agent platform designed to systematically evaluate and improve documentation quality in bioinformatics software. Rather than treating documentation as ancillary text, BioGuider models it as a first-class, testable object. The platform implements a modular pipeline for documentation collection, assessment, reporting, and optional correction, with specialized agents that emulate real-world user interactions. BioGuider evaluates documentation against standardized, task-oriented criteria spanning installation, configuration, usage, and tutorials, and supports iterative, constraint-aware refinement while preserving code integrity and biological context. We benchmark BioGuider using a controlled error-injection framework that introduces realistic documentation failures across general, biology-specific, and configuration-related categories. Across multiple large language models, BioGuider demonstrates robust error detection and correction, with strong performance maintained under severe documentation degradation. Applying BioGuider to 47 widely used bioinformatics tools, we observe a positive association between documentation quality and citation frequency, highlighting documentation as a previously under-quantified driver of software adoption and scientific impact.

Identifiers

PMID41726985
PMCPMC12918961

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.