Search

Purpose: Some teenagers with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) display compromised lung function. However, the evidence regarding the relations between pulmonary impairments and various spinal deformity parameters in these patients remains unclear, which affects clinical management. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the associations between various lung function parameters and radiographic features in teenagers with AIS. Methods: A search of PubMed, Embase, PEDro, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO (from inception to March 14, 2022) without language restriction. Original studies reporting the associations between lung function and spinal deformity in patients with AIS were selected. Independent reviewers extracted data and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Pearson correlation and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-seven studies involving 3162 participants were included. Limited-quality evidence supported that several spinal parameters were significantly related to lung function parameters (e.g., absolute value and percent of the predicted forced vital capacity (FVC; %FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1; %FEV1), and total lung capacity (TLC; %TLC)) in AIS patients. Specifically, meta-analyses showed that main thoracic Cobb angles in the coronal plane were significantly and negatively related to FVC (r = − 0.245), %FVC (r = − 0.302), FEV1 (r = − 0.232), %FEV1 (r = − 0.348), FEV1/FVC ratio (r = − 0.166), TLC (r = − 0.302), %TLC (r = − 0.183), and percent predicted vital capacity (r = − 0.272) (p < 0.001). Similarly, thoracic apical vertebral rotation was negatively associated with %FVC (r = − 0.215) and %TLC (r = − 0.126) (p < 0.05). Conversely, thoracic kyphosis angles were positively related to %FVC (r = 0.180) and %FEV1 (r = 0.193) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Larger thoracic Cobb angles, greater apical vertebral rotation angle, or hypokyphosis were significantly associated with greater pulmonary impairments in patients with AIS, although the evidence was limited. From a clinical perspective, the results highlight the importance of minimizing the three-dimensional spinal deformity in preserving lung function in these patients. More research is warranted to confirm these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study describes the reporting of the preference-based health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) instrument, the EQ-5D, and proposes strategies to improve reporting and reduce research waste. The EQ-5D is a validated instrument widely used for health economic evaluation and is useful for informing health policy.Methods: As part of a systematic review of papers reporting EQ-5D utility weights in patients with coronary artery disease, we noted the reasons data from some papers could not be reused in a meta-analysis, including whether health utility weights and sufficient statistical details were reported. Research waste was quantified using: (1) the percentage of papers and sample size excluded, and (2) researcher time and cost reviewing poorly reported papers.Results: Our search strategy found 5942 papers. At title and abstract screening 93% were excluded. Of the 379 full text papers screened, 130 papers reported using EQ-5D. Only 46% (60/130) of those studies reported utility weights and/or statistical properties enabling meta-analysis. Only 67% of included papers had reported EQ-5D in the title or abstract. A total sample size of 133,298 was excluded because of poor reporting. The cost of researcher time wasted estimated to be between $3816 and $13,279 for our review.Conclusions: Poor reporting of EQ-5D data creates research waste where potentially useful data are excluded from meta-analyses and economic evaluations. Poor reporting of HRQOL instruments also creates waste due to additional time spent reviewing papers for systematic reviews that are subsequently excluded.Recommendations: Studies using the EQ-5D should report utility weights with appropriate summary statistics to enable reuse in meta-analysis and more robust evidence for health policy. We recommend authors report the HRQOL instrument in the title or abstract in line with current reporting guidelines (CONSORT-PRO and SPIRIT-PRO Extensions) to make it easier for other researchers to find. Validated instruments should also be listed in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to improve cataloguing and retrieval of previous research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration has been widely investigated as a prevalent research activity. However, no consensus has been reached about the relationship between scientific collaboration and citation count. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively examine the strength and consistency of this relationship, using meta-analytic methods and measuring scientific collaboration by co-authorship. After the literature search and initial selection, 361 relevant papers were found. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 92 papers involving 340 effect sizes were included. A random-effect meta-analysis showed a significant positive and weak correlation between scientific collaboration and citation count (r = 0.146). Tests of publication bias and heterogeneity revealed that the result was reliable. In addition, disciplines, countries, document types and citation sources were found to influence the correlation as moderators significantly. Practical recommendations for research administrators and researchers were provided, including encouraging collaboration and maintaining a cost-benefit balance in collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a need for easily accessible tuberculosis unit cost data, as well as an understanding of the variability of methods used and reporting standards of that data. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to descriptively review papers reporting tuberculosis unit costs from a healthcare provider perspective looking at methodological variation; to assess quality using a study quality rating system and machine learning to investigate the indicators of reporting quality; and to identify the data gaps to inform standardised tuberculosis unit cost collection and consistent principles for reporting going forward. Methods: We searched grey and published literature in five sources and eight databases, respectively, using search terms linked to cost, tuberculosis and tuberculosis health services including tuberculosis treatment and prevention. For inclusion, the papers needed to contain empirical unit cost estimates for tuberculosis interventions from low- and middle-income countries, with reference years between 1990 and 2018. A total of 21,691 papers were found and screened in a phased manner. Data were extracted from the eligible papers into a detailed Microsoft Excel tool, extensively cleaned and analysed with R software (R Project, Vienna, Austria) using the user interface of RStudio. A study quality rating was applied to the reviewed papers based on the inclusion or omission of a selection of variables and their relative importance. Following this, machine learning using a recursive partitioning method was utilised to construct a classification tree to assess the reporting quality. Results: This systematic review included 103 provider perspective papers with 627 unit costs (costs not presented here) for tuberculosis interventions among a total of 140 variables. The interventions covered were active, passive and intensified case finding; tuberculosis treatment; above-service costs; and tuberculosis prevention. Passive case finding is the detection of tuberculosis cases where individuals self-identify at health facilities; active case finding is detection of cases of those not in health facilities, such as through outreach; and intensified case finding is detection of cases in high-risk populations. There was heterogeneity in some of the reported methods used such cost allocation, amortisation and the use of top-down, bottom-up or mixed approaches to the costing. Uncertainty checking through sensitivity analysis was only reported on by half of the papers (54%), while purposive and convenience sampling was reported by 72% of papers. Machine learning indicated that reporting on 'Intervention' (in particular), 'Urbanicity' and 'Site Sampling', were the most likely indicators of quality of reporting. The largest data gap identified was for tuberculosis vaccination cost data, the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine in particular. There is a gap in available unit costs for 12 of 30 high tuberculosis burden countries, as well as for the interventions of above-service costs, tuberculosis prevention, and active and intensified case finding. Conclusion: Variability in the methods and reporting used makes comparison difficult and makes it hard for decision makers to know which unit costs they can trust. The study quality rating system used in this review as well as the classification tree enable focus on specific reporting aspects that should improve variability and increase confidence in unit costs. Researchers should endeavour to be explicit and transparent in how they cost interventions following the principles as laid out in the Global Health Cost Consortium's Reference Case for Estimating the Costs of Global Health Services and Interventions, which in turn will lead to repeatability, comparability and enhanced learning from others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citation count is a widely used bibliometric indicator. It is influenced by many factors, some of which have been well investigated. This study investigated a more controversial relationship between paper length and citations. After systematic retrieval and selection of literature, we performed a random effects meta-analysis in which 24 effect sizes in 18 original studies were synthesized. The dataset included 1,548,088 papers. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were used to identify factors moderating the correlation between paper length and citations. Tests of heterogeneity and publication bias were conducted to guarantee reliability, and statistical analysis via computer simulation was used to interpret the results of the heterogeneity test. We observed a moderate, positive correlation between paper length and citations (r = 0.310) from the dataset, and hence concluded that the longer a paper is, the more citations it receives. Citation windows and the perceived quality of journals were found to exert a moderating influence on the correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing-to-learn is a specific learning/reading strategy studied across many domains. In response to gaps in our knowledge about drawing-to-learn, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis of the literature published since the influential 2005 Van Meter and Garner literature review. We analyzed the benefits of directed learner-generated visual representations such as sketching, drawing, or computer-assisted creation of a full or partial static image. Forty-one peer-reviewed articles were screened in, together with 9 dissertations and 2 other documents; published from 2005 to 2018, these included 53 studies and 166 effects based on 8111 participants. The overall effect of drawing-to-learn across all dependent variable types (factual, inferential, and transfer) and both types of effects—comparing different types of drawing and comparing drawing to non-drawing conditions—was a significant g = 0.69. The overall effect was significant but differed across outcomes (g = 0.85 for factual, g = 0.44 for inferential, and g = 0.22 for transfer). Analyses across 6 moderators are presented. Not only does the literature continue to show that drawing-to-learn is better than the status quo, but directed drawing improves factual as well as inferential and transfer learning. Finally, researchers have found ways to improve drawing-to-learn instruction so that it can be even more effective than the simple directive to make a drawing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web of Science and Scopus are two world-leading and competing citation databases. By using the Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, this paper conducts a comparative, dynamic, and empirical study focusing on the use of Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus in academic papers published during 2004 and 2018. This brief communication reveals that although both Web of Science and Scopus are increasingly used in academic papers, Scopus as a new-comer is really challenging the dominating role of WoS. Researchers from more and more countries/regions and knowledge domains are involved in the use of these two databases. Even though the main producers of related papers are developed economies, some developing economies such as China, Brazil and Iran also act important roles but with different patterns in the use of these two databases. Both two databases are widely used in meta-analysis related studies especially for researchers in China. Health/medical science related domains and the traditional Information Science and Library Science field stand out in the use of citation databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overwhelming number of meta-analyses and reviews are published by scientific journals. In part this may reflect some preference of editors and publishers for these types of papers, which are more frequently cited and can increase the impact factor of their journals. Meta-analyses and reviews are also attractive for investigators looking for a greater chance of having successful publications with several citations, and therefore an improved personal h-index. This greater 'promise of success' might have a deleterious effect on the intellectual maturation of investigators, particularly early career investigators, who might neglect original research and concentrate their efforts on meta-analyses and reviews. However, while meta-analyses and reviews are useful for emphasising data and disseminating concepts, progress in science requires original ideas, original experiments and original papers. 'Analysts' and 'novelists' are welcome, but 'scientists' are indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures originally developed for paper administration are increasingly being administered electronically in clinical trials and other health research studies. Three published meta-analyses of measurement equivalence among paper and electronic modes aggregated findings across hundreds of PROs, but there has not been a similar meta-analysis that addresses a single PRO, partly because there are not enough published measurement equivalence studies using the same PRO. Because the SF-36(R) Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used PRO, the aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of measurement equivalence studies of this survey.Methods: A literature search of several medical databases used search terms for variations of "SF-36" or "SF-12" and "equivalence" in the title or abstract of English language publications. The eight scale scores and two summary measures of the SF-36 and SF-12 were transformed to norm-based scores (NBS) using developer guidelines. A threshold of within ± 2 NBS points was set as the margin of equivalence. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used.Results: Twenty-five studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that mean differences across domains and summary scores ranged from 0.01 to 0.39 while estimates of agreement ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, all well within the equivalence threshold. Moderator analyses showed that time between administration, survey language, and type of electronic device did not influence equivalence.Conclusions: The results of the meta-analysis support equivalence of paper-based and electronic versions of the SF-36 and SF-12 across a variety of disease populations, countries, and electronic modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software engineering is a socio-technical endeavor, and while many of our contributions focus on technical aspects, human stakeholders such as software developers are directly affected by and can benefit from our research and tool innovations. In this paper, we question how much of our research addresses human and social issues, and explore how much we study human and social aspects in our research designs. To answer these questions, we developed a socio-technical research framework to capture the main beneficiary of a research study (the who), the main type of research contribution produced (the what), and the research strategies used in the study (how we methodologically approach delivering relevant results given the who and what of our studies). We used this Who-What-How framework to analyze 151 papers from two well-cited publishing venues—the main technical track at the International Conference on Software Engineering, and the Empirical Software Engineering Journal by Springer—to assess how much this published research explicitly considers human aspects. We find that although a majority of these papers claim the contained research should benefit human stakeholders, most focus predominantly on technical contributions. Although our analysis is scoped to two venues, our results suggest a need for more diversification and triangulation of research strategies. In particular, there is a need for strategies that aim at a deeper understanding of human and social aspects of software development practice to balance the design and evaluation of technical innovations. We recommend that the framework should be used in the design of future studies in order to steer software engineering research towards explicitly including human and social concerns in their designs, and to improve the relevance of our research for human stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the standards for the reporting methods and results of fMRI studies, and how have they evolved over the years? To answer this question we reviewed 160 papers published between 2004 and 2019. Reporting styles for methods and results of fMRI studies can differ greatly between published studies. However, adequate reporting is essential for the comprehension, replication and reuse of the study (for instance in a meta-analysis). To aid authors in reporting the methods and results of their task-based fMRI study the COBIDAS report was published in 2016, which provides researchers with clear guidelines on how to report the design, acquisition, preprocessing, statistical analysis and results (including data sharing) of fMRI studies (Nichols et al. in Best Practices in Data Analysis and Sharing in Neuroimaging using fMRI, 2016). In the past reviews have been published that evaluate how fMRI methods are reported based on the 2008 guidelines, but they did not focus on how task based fMRI results are reported. This review updates reporting practices of fMRI methods, and adds an extra focus on how fMRI results are reported. We discuss reporting practices about the design stage, specific participant characteristics, scanner characteristics, data processing methods, data analysis methods and reported results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of osteoporosis is reported differently. We designed this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate pooled prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in patients with MS.Methods: Independently, two researchers searched PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, and google scholar along with gray literature (conference abstracts and references of the references) up to March 2021. We collected data regarding first author, country of origin, number of enrolled patients, number cases with osteoporosis/ osteopenia, mean age, F/M ratio, mean EDSS, and mean duration of the disease.Results: Literature search revealed 847 articles and 658 remained after deleting duplicates. Finally, 29 original articles and 6 conference papers remained for meta-analysis. A total of 13,906 patients were evaluated. The pooled prevalence of osteoporosis was 17% (95% CI: 14-20%) (I2 = 90.4%, p < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of osteopenia was 43% (95% CI: 35-51%) (I2 = 97.9%, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Osteoporosis/osteopenia should be considered in patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a methodological assessment of paper-based systematic reviews (SR) published in oral health using a validated checklist. A secondary objective was to explore temporal trends on methodological quality. Material and methods: Two electronic databases (OVID Medline and OVID EMBASE) were searched for paper-based SR of interventions published in oral health from inception to October 2014. Manual searches of the reference lists of paper-based SR were also conducted. Methodological quality of included paper-based SR was assessed using an 11-item questionnaire, Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklist. Methodological quality was summarized using the median and inter-quartile range (IQR) of the AMSTAR score over different categories and time periods. Results: A total of 643 paper-based SR were included. The overall median AMSTAR score was 4 (IQR 2-6). The highest median score (5) was found in the pain dentistry and periodontology fields, while the lowest median score (3) was found in implant dentistry, restorative dentistry, oral medicine, and prosthodontics. The number of paper-based SR per year and the median AMSTAR score increased over time (median score in 1990s was 2 (IQR 2-3), 2000s was 4 (IQR 2-5), and 2010 onwards was 5 (IQR 3-6)). Conclusion: Although the methodological quality of paper-based SR published in oral health has improved in the last few years, there is still scope for improving quality in most evaluated dental specialties. Clinical relevance: Large-scale assessment of methodological quality of dental SR highlights areas of methodological strengths and weaknesses that can be targeted in future publications to encourage better quality review methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on topics relevant to review articles including importance, purpose, and prevalence of review papers, editorial board initiative for publication quality standards, and process and structure for systematic review methods. It expresses the view that review articles are evaluations of material that has already been published, reflect strategy-focused topics, and mentions replicability, usability, and format of research articles.

Refactoring a software artifact is an embedded task in the maintenance phase of the software life cycle. To reduce the time and effort required for this task, researchers proposed methods to automate the software refactoring process at the design and code levels. In this paper, we conducted a systematic literature review of papers that suggest, propose, or implement an automated refactoring process. Using different phases, setting several quality measures, and snowballing, only 41 papers passed to the last stage to be analyzed and reviewed. We observe an increase in the number of papers that propose automatic refactoring. The results show that while most of the papers discuss code refactoring, only a few recent papers are focused on model refactoring. Search-based refactoring is gaining more popularity, and several researchers have used it to perform refactoring in a quick and efficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent expansions in prison school offerings and the re-introduction of the Second Chance Pell Grant have heightened the need for a better understanding of the effectiveness of prison education programs on policy-relevant outcomes. We estimate the effects of various forms of prison education on recidivism, post-release employment, and post-release wages. Using a sample of 152 estimates drawn from 79 papers, we conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the effect of four forms of prison education (adult basic education, secondary, vocational, and college). We find that prison education decreases recidivism and increases post-release employment and wages. The largest effects are experienced by prisoners participating in vocational or college education programs. We also calculate the economic returns on educational investment for prisons and prisoners. We find that each form of education yields large, positive returns due primarily to the high costs of incarceration and, therefore, high benefits to crime avoidance. The returns vary across education types, with vocational education having the highest return per dollar spent ($3.05) and college having the highest positive impact per student participating ($16,908). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has received more attention in recent years due to growing ecological and environmental concerns. Thus, eco-innovation becomes a topic of increasing interest and generates a large amount of publications. This paper uses extensive data from Web of Science and Scopus to examine the evolution of eco-innovation research and also uses meta-analysis to delve deeper into the determinants. The findings reveal that (1) the number of publications has increased steadily over three stages—slow budding, steady development, and rapid growth—with an overall average growth rate of 16.0%; (2) increasing countries/regions are studying eco-innovation, primarily in developed countries, but the contribution from developing countries is also growing; (3) the most published journals are Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability, Business Strategy and the Environment, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Ecological Economics; (4) keyword analysis reveals determinants of eco-innovation is a long-term hot topic; (5) meta-analysis concludes that innovation capability and environmental regulations can significantly affect eco-innovation; and (6) high economic development level can effectively enhance eco-innovation by improving R&D, knowledge, and innovation capability. Compared to large firms, eco-innovation by small and medium-sized firms is more influenced by cooperation and government. This paper suggests the government should construct more financial institutions to relieve firms' investment pressures, as well as a property right protection mechanism and corresponding innovative knowledge reward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By providing students with a highly interactive and hands-on learning experience, robotics promises to inspire a new generation of mathematical learning. This paper aims to review the empirical evidence on the application of robotics in mathematics education and to define future research perspectives of robot-assisted mathematics education. After a systematic search in online database via keyword search and snowballing approach, we analyzed 20 empirical studies on how to teach and learn mathematical knowledge through robotics. The results indicate that (1) most studies were conducted with a small sample size, the largest research groups were elementary school students and secondary school students, most studies used LEGO robots, robots were primarily applied to teach and/or learn graphics, geometry, and algebra, and almost half of the studies taught mathematics by engaging students in game-like interactions with robots; (2) half of the studies adopted a non-experimental research design, and most studies evaluated student performance through observation, test/examination, questionnaires, or verbal interviews; and (3) instructional implications proposed in the 20 papers can be clustered into four themes: human-robot interaction, connections between mathematics and real life, pedagogical suggestions, and facility conditions. The 20 papers suggest that robotics generally plays an active role in mathematics education; however, there are indeed situations in which no significant improvement was found in students' mathematical learning. In view of this, we prospect the future research perspectives of robot-assisted mathematics education and propose that more rigorous intervention studies could be conducted to further explore the integration of robotics and mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the use of ecosystem service (ES) approaches at the landscape scale to assess two major ecological restoration programs (ERPs) in China. We found 68 papers highlighting four aspects: (1) most papers considered only one ES, and all ES categories were not covered equally; (2) regional-scale and short-term assessments dominated the reviewed papers, and few papers evaluated the impacts of ERPs on ESs at multiple spatial scales; (3) the majority of datasets were from global and national databases; and (4) 40% of studies used mostly proxy models and did not report model validation. Finally, we identify four needs: (1) for a deeper understanding of the interactions between multiple ESs; (2) to establish multiple temporal and spatial scales on ERP assessments including future scenarios and balanced efforts of ERP assessments over the entire territory; (3) to establish multiple data scales; and (4) to develop robust modeling approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deontological and teleological evaluations are widely utilized in the context of consumer decision-making. Despite their use, the differential effect of these distinct types of evaluations, and the conditions under which they hold, remains an unresolved issue. Thus, we conduct a meta-analysis of 316 effect sizes, from 53 research articles, to evaluate the extent to which deontological and teleological evaluations influence ethical judgments and intentions, and under what circumstances the influence occurs. The effect is explored across three categories of moderators: (1) contextual elements of the ethical issue, (2) stakeholders, and (3) methodological characteristics of primary studies. We find that the overall effect of deontological evaluations on ethical judgments and intentions is stronger than for teleological evaluations; however, the magnitude of the effect is contingent on several moderators. Deontological evaluations are weaker in offline consumer contexts and stronger when there are financial implications of the ethical issue. Conversely, the effect of teleological evaluations is relatively stable across ethical consumer contexts. Teleological evaluations are stronger from a utilitarian perspective than from an egoist one. Furthermore, the effect of deontological evaluations is weaker, but the effect for teleological evaluations is stronger, when the decision-maker has a personal relationship (as compared to an organizational relationship) with the victim of the unethical act. Findings validate the effect of both deontological and teleological evaluations on ethical judgments and intentions and highlight their importance in consumers' ethical decision-making. Implications for developing programs to prevent consumer unethical behavior are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Clinical research is widely sponsored by drug and device companies. We investigated whether industry sponsored drug and device studies have more favorable outcomes and differ in risk of bias, compared with studies having other sources of sponsorship. This review is an update of a previous Cochrane review.Methods: In this update we searched MEDLINE and Embase (2010 to February 2015), Cochrane Methodology Register (2015, Issue 2) and Web of Science (June 2015). We included empirical studies that quantitatively compared primary research studies of drugs or medical devices sponsored by industry with studies with other sources of sponsorship. Two assessors included papers, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Outcomes included favorable results, favorable conclusions, effect size, risk of bias and whether conclusions agreed with results.Results: We included 27 additional papers in this update (review now includes 75 papers). Industry sponsored studies more often had favorable efficacy results, RR: 1.27 (95% CI 1.17-1.37), no difference in harms results RR: 1.37 (95% CI 0.64-2.93) and more often favorable conclusions RR: 1.34 (95% CI 1.19-1.51) compared with non-industry sponsored studies. Nineteen papers reported on sponsorship and efficacy effect size, but could not be pooled due to differences in reporting of data and heterogeneity of results. Comparing industry and non-industry sponsored studies, we did not find a difference in risk of bias from sequence generation, allocation concealment, follow-up and selective outcome reporting. However, industry sponsored studies more often had low risk of bias from blinding, RR: 1.25 (95% CI 1.05-1.50), compared with non-industry sponsored studies.Conclusions: Drug and device studies sponsored by manufacturing companies have more favorable efficacy results and conclusions than studies sponsored by other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papers in economics often try to find the 'best' estimate of a parameter. If researchers behave as predicted by economic theory, the research process can be modeled and simulated. The 'best' estimate is selected from $$J$$ regression experiments by a selection rule, SR, which gives the researcher's preferences for the fit (significance) and size of the estimated parameter. Eight $$J$$ s and five SRs are considered. To find a stable pattern for all 40 cases, 70 million regressions are simulated. The key results are: (1) All rational SRs cause the selected estimate to be substantially biased in the direction of the priors of the researcher. (2) All such rules give almost the same bias. It can be assessed from a set of estimates, and (3) the standard PET estimate of the meta-average reduces the bias by more than 90 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of meta-analyses lies in the synthesis of data from multiple studies. Current guidelines require a thorough systematic search to maximize results, which usually includes searching multiple academic search systems (ASS). Google Scholar (GS) is considered a promising tool for searching the scientific literature. We aimed to determine whether GS is a valid and sufficient solitary data source for meta-analyses in the field of otolaryngology. Selected ENT-HNS journal was searched for meta-analyses published between 2010 and 2021 that adhered to the systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines and precisely followed the search algorithm. The latter was reproduced with GS, and the position of each enrolled study in each meta-analysis was determined. Ten meta-analyses were enrolled, the total number of search results ranged from 57 to 17,949. The number of GS search results was significantly greater than those of other ASS combinations (range 1,360–25,400, P =.006). The number of included papers for each meta-analysis ranged from 5 to 26. The position of all enrolled papers throughout GS searching was in the first 200 GS results in four of 10 meta-analyses. The reference lists of all included papers in the first 200 GS results identified 106 papers out of 108 (98%), while searching until the 500th GS output results identified 107 papers out of 108 papers (99%). GS can serve as a solitary ASS for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses in the field of otolaryngology. Searching the first 500 or 200 results and including reference lists yields 99% and 98% coverage, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Predictive policing and crime analytics with a spatiotemporal focus get increasing attention among a variety of scientific communities and are already being implemented as effective policing tools. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview and evaluation of the state of the art in spatial crime forecasting focusing on study design and technical aspects. Methods: We follow the PRISMA guidelines for reporting this systematic literature review and we analyse 32 papers from 2000 to 2018 that were selected from 786 papers that entered the screening phase and a total of 193 papers that went through the eligibility phase. The eligibility phase included several criteria that were grouped into: (a) the publication type, (b) relevance to research scope, and (c) study characteristics. Results: The most predominant type of forecasting inference is the hotspots (i.e. binary classification) method. Traditional machine learning methods were mostly used, but also kernel density estimation based approaches, and less frequently point process and deep learning approaches. The top measures of evaluation performance are the Prediction Accuracy, followed by the Prediction Accuracy Index, and the F1-Score. Finally, the most common validation approach was the train-test split while other approaches include the cross-validation, the leave one out, and the rolling horizon. Limitations: Current studies often lack a clear reporting of study experiments, feature engineering procedures, and are using inconsistent terminology to address similar problems. Conclusions: There is a remarkable growth in spatial crime forecasting studies as a result of interdisciplinary technical work done by scholars of various backgrounds. These studies address the societal need to understand and combat crime as well as the law enforcement interest in almost real-time prediction. Implications: Although we identified several opportunities and strengths there are also some weaknesses and threats for which we provide suggestions. Future studies should not neglect the juxtaposition of (existing) algorithms, of which the number is constantly increasing (we enlisted 66). To allow comparison and reproducibility of studies we outline the need for a protocol or standardization of spatial forecasting approaches and suggest the reporting of a study's key data items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) is a non-invasive method used to compute blood flow velocity and volume. This systematic review aims to discuss the current status of renal PC-MRI and provide practical recommendations which could inform future clinical studies and its adoption in clinical practice. Methodology: A comprehensive search of all the PC-MRI studies in human healthy subjects or patients related to the kidneys was performed. Results: A total of 39 studies were included in which PC-MRI was used to measure renal blood flow (RBF) alongside other derivative hemodynamic parameters. PC-MRI generally showed good correlation with gold standard methods of RBF measurement, both in vitro and in vivo, and good reproducibility. Despite PC-MRI not being routinely used in clinical practice, there are several clinical studies showing its potential to support diagnosis and monitoring of renal diseases, in particular renovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Discussion: Renal PC-MRI shows promise as a non-invasive technique to reliably measure RBF, both in healthy volunteers and in patients with renal disease. Future multicentric studies are needed to provide definitive normative ranges and to demonstrate the clinical potential of PC-MRI, likely as part of a multi-parametric renal MRI protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this full review paper, the recent emerging trends in Educational Data Science have been reviewed and explored to address the recent topics and contributions in the era of Smart Education. This includes a set of rigorously reviewed world-class manuscripts addressing and detailing state-of-the-art, frameworks and techniques research projects in the area of Data Science applied to Education, using different approaches such as Information Fusion, Soft Computing, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things, among others. Based on this systematic review, we have put some recommendations and suggestions for researchers, practitioners and scholars to improve their research quality in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meta-analysis of the association between IL-33 and these diseases is lacking, and we aimed to perform a meta-analysis of the association between IL-33 and systemic sclerosis (SSc). We searched relevant papers through PubMed (via Medline), Embase (via Ovid), and the Cochrane Library through May 18th, 2022. Odds ratios (ORs) and weighted mean differences (WMDs) were estimated using a random effect model. A total of 8 papers were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that SSc patients had significantly higher serum IL-33 levels than healthy controls (HCs) (SMD = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.34, 0.93; P < 0.001); early SSc patients had significantly higher serum IL-33 levels than late SSc patients (SMD = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.28, 1.80; P = 0.007). However, no significant difference was observed between limited cutaneous SSc and diffuse cutaneous SSc (SMD = − 0.35; 95% CI = − 0.76, 0.06; P = 0.094). Our meta-analysis provided important evidence for the use of IL-33 in therapeutic strategies for fibrotic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence, various platforms were developed to aid in the time-consuming process of article screening in systematic reviews. We aim to analyze the efficiency of a machine learning-assisted platform as an end-user to aid in the screening of the articles for selection into systematic review in orthopaedic surgery. Methods: We included three previously published systematic reviews in the field of orthopaedics of increasing levels of difficulty in the structure of the research question to assess the efficiency of a platform with active-learning technology for article screening. We compared the efficiency of the platform compared to the traditional screening and also across the various scenarios tested. We performed five iterations for each review analyzed. The outcome parameters analyzed were the work saved at 95% recall (WSS-95), work saved at 100% recall (WSS-100), and relevant records found after screening the first 30% of the total records (RRF-30). Results: The machine learning-assisted screening significantly improved the rate of identifying the relevant records compared to the traditional screening method (p<0.001). The WSS-95 for the easy, intermediate, and advanced screening scenarios were 78%, 59%, and 38%, respectively. The WSS-100 for the easy, intermediate, and advanced screening scenarios were 75%, 48%, and 7%, respectively. The RRF-30 for the easy, intermediate, and advanced screening scenarios were 97%, 86%, and 64%, respectively. We noted a significant reduction (p<0.001) in the efficiency with the increasing level of difficulty of the screening scenarios. Conclusion: The machine learning platform is significantly better than the traditional method as an assistive technology to aid in article screening. However, the efficiency of the platform significantly decreases as the complexity of the research question increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging causes the reduction in physical and physiological strength and an increase in the odds of affliction with chronic physical and mental diseases ultimately affecting the quality of life (QoL). So far, several primary studies have been conducted on the impact of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly. However, to the best of our knowledge, a study that compiles and represents these findings in a published paper is lacking. Therefore, the current study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly population. To access studies related to the aim of the study, SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched. The search was done using relevant and validated keywords with MeSH/Emtree without time limitations until December 2021. The qualitative appraisal of the papers was done using the JBI checklist. To estimate the heterogeneity of studies, I2 index was used, and to combine the data and carry out a meta-analysis, Random Effects model was used. In the primary research, 1065 studies were found. The omission of the redundant cases led to a total number of 12 papers with a sample size of 317 in the intervention group and 321 in the control to be included in the meta-analysis. After the intervention, the mean score of QoL showed a significant increase by 1.42 ± 0.31 with a Confidence Interval of 95% (P<0.001). Meta-regression results showed that the increase in the year of conducting the study, and the number of intervention sessions, that the standardized mean difference had a decreasing trend, and that with the increase in the average age of the elderly, there was a rising trend (P<0.001). Therefore, it seems that the application of religious-spiritual education and care could be part of a program to improve the QoL of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The searches were carried out independently by two authors, using the following research strategy U for MEDLINE/PubMed u : (((((((((((((((((Leakage[MeSH Terms]) OR restoration[MeSH Terms]) OR adhesives[MeSH Terms]) OR bonding[MeSH Terms]) OR bond[MeSH Terms]) OR caries[MeSH Terms]) OR secondary caries[MeSH Terms]) OR Leakage[Title/Abstract]) OR restoration[Title/Abstract]) OR adhesives[Title/Abstract]) OR bonding[Title/Abstract]) OR bond[Title/Abstract]) OR caries[Title/Abstract]) OR secondary caries[Title/Abstract])) AND ((((((cariostatic[MeSH Terms]) OR fluorides[MeSH Terms]) OR fluoride[MeSH Terms]) OR cariostatic[Title/ Abstract]) OR fluorides[Title/Abstract]) OR fluoride[Title/ Abstract])) AND ((((Remineralization[MeSH Terms]) OR demineralization[MeSH Terms]) OR Remineralization[Title/ Abstract]) OR demineralization[Title/Abstract])) AND ((((in-vitro[MeSH Terms]) OR in vitro[MeSH Terms]) OR in-vitro[Title/Abstract]) OR in vitro[Title/Abstract]). Evaluation of the efficiency of fluoride-releasing adhesives for preventing secondary caries in-vitro: a systematic review and meta-analysis. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: There has been a large amount of research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to clinical radiology. However, these studies vary in design and quality and systematic reviews of the entire field are lacking.This systematic review aimed to identify all papers that used deep learning in radiology to survey the literature and to evaluate their methods. We aimed to identify the key questions being addressed in the literature and to identify the most effective methods employed. Methods: We followed the PRISMA guidelines and performed a systematic review of studies of AI in radiology published from 2015 to 2019. Our published protocol was prospectively registered. Results: Our search yielded 11,083 results. Seven hundred sixty-seven full texts were reviewed, and 535 articles were included. Ninety-eight percent were retrospective cohort studies. The median number of patients included was 460. Most studies involved MRI (37%). Neuroradiology was the most common subspecialty. Eighty-eight percent used supervised learning. The majority of studies undertook a segmentation task (39%). Performance comparison was with a state-of-the-art model in 37%. The most used established architecture was UNet (14%). The median performance for the most utilised evaluation metrics was Dice of 0.89 (range.49–.99), AUC of 0.903 (range 1.00–0.61) and Accuracy of 89.4 (range 70.2–100). Of the 77 studies that externally validated their results and allowed for direct comparison, performance on average decreased by 6% at external validation (range increase of 4% to decrease 44%). Conclusion: This systematic review has surveyed the major advances in AI as applied to clinical radiology. Key Points: • While there are many papers reporting expert-level results by using deep learning in radiology, most apply only a narrow range of techniques to a narrow selection of use cases. • The literature is dominated by retrospective cohort studies with limited external validation with high potential for bias. • The recent advent of AI extensions to systematic reporting guidelines and prospective trial registration along with a focus on external validation and explanations show potential for translation of the hype surrounding AI from code to clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical meta-analysis is a powerful and useful tool to quantitatively synthesize the information conveyed in published studies on a particular topic. It allows identifying and quantifying overall patterns and exploring causes of variation. The inclusion of published works in meta-analyses requires, however, a minimum quality standard of the reported data and information on the methodology used. Our experience with conducting a meta-analysis on the relationship between seedling quality and field performance is that nearly one third of the apparently relevant publications had to be discarded because essential data, usually statistical dispersion parameters, were not properly reported. In addition, we encountered substantial difficulty to explore the effect of covariates due to the poor description of nursery cultivation methods, plantation location, and management in a significant proportion of the selected primary studies. Thus, we present guidelines for improving methodology detail and data presentation so that future forest restoration-oriented research can be more readily incorporated into meta-analyses. In general, research studies should report data on means, sample size, and any measure of variation even if they are not statistically significant. The online availability of raw data is the best practice to facilitate the inclusion of primary research on meta-analyses. Providing full information about the production of nursery seedlings, such as plant material and experimental conditions, is essential to test whether these procedures might have an effect on seedling quality. In addition, detailed information about field trials such as site climate, soil preparation techniques, previous land use, or post-plantation management, is needed to elucidate whether seedling quality is context-dependent. Thus, we provide a detailed checklist of important information that should be included when reporting forest restoration research involving the use of nursery-produced seedlings. All this will help to quantitatively synthetize current state-of-knowledge and thus contribute to the advancement of the forest restoration discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whilst up to 60% of males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the prevalence and nature of ASD in females with FXS remains unclear. Method: A systematic literature search identified papers reporting ASD prevalence and/or symptomatology in females with FXS. Results and conclusion: Meta-analysis suggested that rates of ASD for females with FXS are reliably higher than for females in the general population (a random effects model estimated weighted average prevalence at 14%, 95% CI 13–18%). Whilst papers highlighted a number of social and repetitive difficulties for females with FXS, characteristic profiles of impairment are not clear. Possible associations between ASD traits and IQ, and between ASD and levels of fragile X mental retardation protein, are suggested, but data are equivocal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comprehensively reviews motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to: (1) determine the prevalence of motor problems in children with ASD; (2) understand the nature of motor difficulties in ASD and whether they are consistent with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); and (3) determine if the term DCD was used as a co-occurring diagnosis in children with ASD after publication of the DSM-5 in 2013. The following databases were systematically searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from 2010 to December 2021. Articles were included if they: (1) were peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal; (2) included children with ASD who were between 5 and 12 years; (3) used motor or function measures to assess motor abilities in children with ASD. Studies that included children with intellectual disabilities were excluded. Two independent reviewers reviewed titles, abstracts, and full-text articles for inclusion. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for quality by two independent reviewers using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. The majority of articles (92.5%) indicated that 50–88% of children with ASD had significant motor impairments on standardized motor assessments and/or functional questionnaires. The nature of motor and function problems in ASD were consistent with DCD; however, only three out of 20 papers (15%) that were published from 2014 described the motor problems as DCD. One study reported that 15.1% of children with ASD with motor impairments had a co-occurring diagnosis of DCD, suggesting that DCD is under-recognized in this clinical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isotonic exercise is the most common mode of strength training. Isotonic strength is often measured in the movement that was exercised, but isometric and isokinetic movements are also commonly used to quantify changes in muscular strength. Previous research suggests that increasing strength in one movement may not lead to an increase in strength in a different movement. Quantifying the increase in strength in a movement not trained may be important for understanding strength training adaptations and making recommendations for resistance exercise and rehabilitation programs. Objective: To quantify changes in non-specific strength relative to a control. Design: A systematic review and random effects meta-analysis was conducted investigating the effects of isotonic strength training on isotonic and isokinetic/isometric strength. Search and Inclusion: This systematic review was conducted in Google scholar, PubMed, Academic Search Premier, and MENDELEY. To be included in this review paper the article needed to meet the following criteria: (1) report sufficient data for our variables of interest (i.e., changes in isotonic strength and changes in isokinetic or isometric strength); (2) include a time-matched non-exercise control; (3) be written in English; (4) include healthy human participants over the age of 18 years; (5) the participants had to train and test isotonically; (6) the participants had to be tested isokinetically or isometrically on a device different from that they trained on; (7) the non-specific strength task had to test a muscle involved in the training (i.e., could not have trained chest press and test handgrip strength); and (8) the control group and the experimental group had to perform the same number of strength tests. Results: We completed two separate searches. In the original search a total of 880 papers were screened and nine papers met the inclusion criteria. In the secondary search a total of 2594 papers were screened and three additional papers were added (total of 12 studies). The overall effect of resistance training on changes in strength within a movement that was not directly trained was 0.8 (Cohen's d) with a standard error of 0.286. This overall effect was significant (t = 2.821, p = 0.01) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) is 0.22–1.4. The overall effect of resistance training on strength changes within a movement that was directly trained was 1.84 (Cohen's d) with a standard error of 0.296. This overall effect was significant (t = 6.221, p < 0.001) and the 95% CI is 1.23–2.4. Conclusion: The results of our meta-analysis suggest that strength increases in both the specific and non-specific strength tests. However, the smaller effect size associated with non-specific strength suggests that it will be difficult for a single study to meaningfully investigate the transfer of strength training adaptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to give an overview of the diversity of research areas related to human biometeorology in Brazil. The main focus of this paper addresses research trends, represented by published papers with national and international authorship, main contributions and shortcomings, as well as challenges and prospects of research in this area of study. An extensive literature search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases so as to identify relevant publication output up to July 2021 related to the research area. The screening resulted in 96 studies chosen for full-text reading. Overall, results indicated a reduced amount of articles on the subject matter published internationally, with noticeable gaps in research in some regions of the country, such as the Amazon region and in the Brazilian Midwest region. Research gaps in relevant areas have been identified with limited output in the climate dimensions of tourism, vector-borne diseases, mortality and morbidity in urban centers. Such gaps should further encourage researchers to engage in research focused on those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citations remain a prime, yet controversial, measure of academic performance. Ideally, how often a paper is cited should solely depend on the quality of the science reported therein. However, non-scientific factors, including structural elements (e.g., length of abstract, number of references) or attributes of authors (e.g., prestige and gender), may all influence citation outcomes. Knowing the predicted effect of these features on citations might make it possible to 'game the system' of citation counts when writing a paper. We conducted a meta-analysis to build a quantitative understanding of the effect of similar non-scientific features on the impact of scientific articles in terms of citations. We showed that article length, number of authors, author experience and their collaboration network, Impact Factors, availability as open access, online sharing, different referencing practice, and number of figures all exerted a positive influence on citations. These patterns were consistent across most disciplines. We also documented temporal trends towards a recent increase in the effect of journal Impact Factor and number of authors on citations. We suggest that our approach can be used as a benchmark to monitor the influence of these effects over time, minimising the influence of non-scientific features as a means to game the system of citation counts, and thus enhancing their usefulness as a measure of scientific quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to examine to what extent sustainability has been incorporated into assessments of road infrastructure projects. It identifies promising approaches that include indicators reflecting core sustainability criteria, determines criteria that were insufficiently covered as indicators, and develops an integrated indicator set covering all criteria. Methods: A systematic review was performed to obtain all related papers/reports in two academic databases: Scopus and Web of Sciences. The indicators extracted from papers/reports were first coded, then evaluated by using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Results: The project appraisal methods for decision-making is found to be a promising approach, covering more extensive criteria than others. Two criteria – namely adaptation and precaution and intergenerational equity – were hardly ever adopted as indicators. Ten main groups of indicators were extracted to construct an integrated set incorporating all core criteria. Conclusions: Some criteria appear to have become mainstream, while others deserve attention. The safest choice is to combine methods/tools or to adopt the integrated set developed for exhaustive criteria inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working capital management (WCM) concerns decisions on the levels and turnover of the inventories, receivables, cash and current liabilities of a company. Consequently, WCM affects the profitability of an enterprise. This paper aims to determine the relationship between profitability and WCM, characterised by components of the company's operating cycle. The research is based on meta-analysis and meta-regression methods that allow for the combination and analysis of the outcomes of individual empirical studies using statistical methods. Our final research sample consists of 43 scientific papers from 2003 to 2018. These studies covered almost 62,000 enterprises in 35 countries from 1992 to 2017. Our results indicate that there is a common, negative relationship between profitability and the cash conversion cycle (CCC). This relationship is conspicuous in various countries and in different economic contexts. A negative, statistically significant relationship was also detected between profitability and average collection period (ACP), the accounts payable period (APP) and inventory turnover cycle (ITC) as well. We also identified moderators of the diagnosed dependencies on the grounds of macroeconomic and institutional factors. The richer the economy, the weaker a negative impact of CCC on profitability. The higher the protection of creditors and debtors, the weaker the negative relationship between profitability and ITC. The opposite is applicable to inflation and ACP and APP, unemployment and CCC, ACP and APP, the availability of credit and APP and the degree of capital market development and CCC and ACP. The aforementioned macroeconomic and institutional factors cause the negative relationship between particular components of the operating cycle and profitability to deepen even further. Our research contributes to the existing knowledge by confirming that the negative relationship between profitability and all components of the operating cycle is dominant in the global economy. It also indicates that there are macroeconomic and institutional moderators of the strength and direction of these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are well-established treatments with scientific underpinnings. When focusing on the processes, we may contend that these two therapies share certain common denominators and it might be hypothesized that both therapies favor processes of habituation to intrusion, and this may give rise to the high efficacy both therapies reveal in problems involving high intrusion. The Objective is to compare the impact of MCT and ACT on cognitive intrusion according to the studies identified in a systematic review conducted accordingly. This study is a comparation of included original reports in papers on the use of MCT and ACT for treating GAD and OCD published in English in peer-reviewed journals. Only those papers were used in which the participants were assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS; Goodman et al., 1989) and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ; Meyer et al., 1990), as the main instruments for evaluating the cognitive symptoms of these disorders. Of the 1111 studies selected, 18 met all the review criteria and were therefore included. Our results reveal that MCT records better results than ACT. In conclusion, this may be because a better understanding of the workings of cognition may reduce the sense of threat, and therefore favor processes of habituation and greater acceptance and tolerance of the symptoms, thereby reducing a person's distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Compared with other types of thyroid carcinoma, patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) are more likely to develop cervical lymph node metastasis. This study was conducted to clarify the risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis (central lymph node metastasis or lateral cervical lymph node metastasis) in MTC by meta-analysis, and to provide evidence-based basis for the treatment and prognosis of MTC. Methods: The literatures related to cervical lymph node metastasis in medullary thyroid carcinoma were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, CNKI and Wanfang databases, and statistical analysis was performed using Revman 5.3 and Stata 14.0 software. Results: A total of 28 papers were included in this paper, and meta-analysis showed that the occurrence of central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in MTC patients was significantly associated with tumor size (OR = 3.07, 95%CI: 2.04–4.63, P < 0.00001), multifocality (OR = 0.29, 95%CI: 0.19–0.44, P < 0.00001), bilaterality (OR = 3.75, 95% CI: 1.95–7.14, P < 0.0001), capsular invasion (OR = 9.88, 95% CI: 5.93–16.45, P < 0.00001) and extrathyroidal extension (OR = 5.48, 95% CI: 2.61–11.51, P < 0.00001). While the occurrence of lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in MTC patients was strongly correlated with gender (OR = 2.97, 95%CI: 2.46–3.58, P < 0.00001), tumor size (OR = 3.88, 95%CI: 1.90–7.92, P = 0.0002 < 0.05), multifocality (OR = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.35–0.51, P < 0.00001), bilaterality (OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.72–4.98, P < 0.0001), capsular invasion (OR = 8.44, 95% CI: 6.11–11.64, P < 0.00001), extrathyroidal extension (OR = 7.04, 95% CI: 5.54–8.94, P < 0.00001), margin of the tumor (OR = 4.47, 95% CI: 2.37–8.44, P < 0.00001), shape of the tumor (OR = 6.81, 95% CI: 3.64–12.73, P < 0.00001), preoperative calcitonin level (SMD = 1.39, 95% CI: 0.98–1.80, P < 0.00001), preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen level (SMD = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.74–1.20, P < 0.00001) and CLNM (OR = 19.70, 95% CI: 14.16–27.43, P < 0.00001). Conclusion: Tumor size, multifocality, bilaterality, capsular invasion and extrathyroidal extension are the main risk factors for developing CLNM in MTC patients; And risk factors for developing LLNM in MTC patients include: gender, tumor size, multifocality, bilaterality, capsular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, margin of the tumor, shape of the tumor, preoperative calcitonin level, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen level and central lymph node metastasis. These risk factors can guide the individualized treatment plan and improve the prognosis of MTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic reviews conducted using either meta-analysis or meta-synthesis are well established methodological procedures for combining data and results across different quantitative or qualitative studies. Recently, a third option for systematic reviews has emerged. Systematic mixed studies reviews combine data and results across quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies. An important challenge is how to integrate the quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies. Here, we introduce the concept of 'meta-integration'. Our overarching aim is to define and illustrate the novel concept of meta-integration as applied to convergent systematic mixed studies reviews using examples from our research on parental self-perception and autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we present a typology for meta-integration procedures at two levels, both basic and advanced meta-integration. Three models, namely, basic convergent meta-integration, basic convergent qualitative meta-integration, and basic convergent quantitative meta-integration, combine quantitative and qualitative studies. Three additional models, namely, advanced convergent qualitative meta-integration, advanced convergent qualitative meta-integration, and advanced convergent quantitative meta-integration, combine quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies. The models generally follow six steps: (1) categorize data sources; (2) transform the data; (3) conduct intra-method synthesis; (4) conduct inter-method synthesis and/or integration; (5) organize results and assess fit; and (6) draw final conclusions. One basic and one advanced model do not involve data transformation. These models for conducting convergent meta-integration in systematic mixed studies reviews provide guidance for researchers to apply rigorous and coherent methodology. Following these procedures can substantively improve the quality of systematic reviews seeking to use quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic review (SR) is a methodology used to find and aggregate all relevant existing evidence about a specific research question of interest. One of the activities associated with the SR process is the selection of primary studies, which is a time consuming manual task. The quality of primary study selection impacts the overall quality of SR. The goal of this paper is to propose a strategy named 'Score Citation Automatic Selection' (SCAS), to automate part of the primary study selection activity. The SCAS strategy combines two different features, content and citation relationships between the studies, to make the selection activity as automated as possible. Aiming to evaluate the feasibility of our strategy, we conducted an exploratory case study to compare the accuracy of selecting primary studies manually and using the SCAS strategy. The case study shows that for three SRs published in the literature and previously conducted in a manual implementation, the average effort reduction was 58.2 % when applying the SCAS strategy to automate part of the initial selection of primary studies, and the percentage error was 12.98 %. Our case study provided confidence in our strategy, and suggested that it can reduce the effort required to select the primary studies without adversely affecting the overall results of SR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of simulation in surgical training is ever growing. Evidence suggests such training may have beneficial clinically relevant effects. The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of surgical simulation training on clinically relevant patient outcomes by evaluating randomized controlled trials (RCT). PubMed was searched using PRISMA guidelines: "surgery" [All Fields] AND "simulation" [All Fields] AND "patient outcome" [All Fields]. Of 119 papers identified, 100 were excluded for various reasons. Meta-analyses were conducted using the inverse-variance random-effects method. Nineteen papers were reviewed using the CASP RCT Checklist. Sixteen studies looked at surgical training, two studies assessed patient-specific simulator practice, and one paper focused on warming-up on a simulator before performing surgery. Median study population size was 22 (range 3–73). Most articles reported outcome measures such as post-intervention Global Rating Scale (GRS) score and/or operative time. On average, the intervention group scored 0.42 (95% confidence interval 0.12 to 0.71, P = 0.005) points higher on a standardized GRS scale of 1–10. On average, the intervention group was 44% (1% to 87%, P = 0.04) faster than the control group. Four papers assessed the impact of simulation training on patient outcomes, with only one finding a significant effect. We found a significant effect of simulation training on operative performance as assessed by GRS, albeit a small one, as well as a significant reduction to operative time. However, there is to date scant evidence from RCTs to suggest a significant effect of surgical simulation training on patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-mental health (EMH) interventions gain increasing importance in the treatment of mental health disorders. Their outpatient efficacy is well-established. However, research on EMH in inpatient settings remains sparse and lacks a meta-analytic synthesis. This paper presents a meta-analysis on the efficacy of EMH in inpatient settings. Searching multiple databases (PubMed, ScienceGov, PsycInfo, CENTRAL, references), 26 randomized controlled trial (RCT) EMH inpatient studies (n = 6112) with low or medium assessed risk of bias were included. A small significant total effect of EMH treatment was found (g = 0.3). The effect was significant both for blended interventions (g = 0.42) and post-treatment EMH-based aftercare (g = 0.29). EMH treatment yielded significant effects across different patient groups and types of therapy, and the effects remained stable post-treatment. The results show the efficacy of EMH treatment in inpatient settings. The meta-analysis is limited by the small number of included studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disability is typically correlated with lower quality of life and decreased capacity for self-care. It has been demonstrated that multimorbidity is closely linked to a variety of unfavorable events, such as disability. Researchers are still figuring out how and to what extent co-morbidities impact disability, though. In order to fill up this gap, this study examines the prevalence and contributing variables of disability in older patients who have multimorbidity. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and CINAL databases for articles from their inception until September 2023. We selected co-morbid older adults aged > 60 years and used the ADL scale or any scale that assesses disability as an assessment tool. We excluded literature that did not meet the criteria, and literature that could not be included in the data we needed. We extracted data from the included literature and calculated synthetic prevalence rates, ORs, and 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 32 papers (71,135 older adults) were included in the study. The prevalence of disability among older patients with multimorbidity was around 34.9% (95% CI = 25.8-43.9%). Subgroup analysis showed higher rates of disability among comorbidities who were older, female, unmarried, and long-term users of health services. And the incidence of disability increased each year. Meanwhile, the regions of the United States, China, and Spain showed higher rates of disability. Conclusions: Disability rates in older patients with multimorbidity are higher, thus it's critical to focus on risk factors while fully accounting for regional variances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a novel and time-efficient exercise form, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has shown great potential in improving health-related physical fitness among diverse populations. However, empirical evidence on its efficacy among the elderly has not been well summarized. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of HIIT interventions on the parameters related to physical fitness and health of older adults, including resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), body mass index (BMI), body fat percent (BF%), waist circumference (WC), muscular endurance (ME), muscular strength (MS), muscular power (MP), balance and flexibility, compared to non-exercise and other-exercise (e.g., moderate-intensity continuous training, resistance training) conditions. Methods: Literature published from January 2000 to May 2023 was collected through extensive searches across eight databases and relevant review papers. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) featuring a minimum 2-week exercise intervention for older adults (≥ 60 years) were included. The pooled effect size of Hedges'g was estimated using random-effects models in R. Meta-regression was performed for both categorical (health status, duration of training programme, and frequency) and continuous moderators (mean age, male rate, and attrition rate). Results: Forty-four eligible RCTs with 1863 participants (52.1% female; 60.5–81.2 years) were included in the quantitative analysis. Compared to non-exercise condition, HIIT significantly improved resting HR (g = -0.36, 95%CI = [-0.67, -0.05], P = 0.032), SBP (g = -0.29, 95%CI = [-0.54, -0.03], P = 0.008), CRF (g = 0.77, 95%CI = [0.51, 1.04], P < 0.001), BF% (g = -0.26, 95%CI = [-0.41, -0.11], P = 0.006), MS (g = 0.47, 95%CI = [0.23, 0.71], P = 0.004), ME (g = 0.65, 95%CI = [0.10, 1.19], P = 0.036), and balance (e.g., timed-up-and-go) (g = -0.79, 95%CI = [-1.19, -0.40], P = 0.035). Compared to other-exercise condition, HIIT significantly improved resting HR (g = -0.11, 95%CI = [-0.21, -0.01], P = 0.029), SBP (g = -0.14, 95%CI = [-0.28, -0.01], P = 0.038), and CRF (g = 0.23, 95%CI = [0.07, 0.38], P = 0.008). No significant difference was found between HIIT and non-exercise condition for DBP, BMI and WC, as well as between HIIT and other-exercise condition for DBP, BMI, BF%, WC, ME, and balance (all P > 0.05). Meta-regression indicated that mean age moderated the HIIT effect on resting HR (b = -0.02, P = 0.014; HIIT vs. other-exercise condition) and SBP (b = 0.03, P = 0.048; HIIT vs. non-exercise), and attrition rate moderated the effect on CRF (b = 0.03, P = 0.007; HIIT vs. non-exercise). Conclusion: This study supports the efficacy of HIIT in improving resting HR, SBP, CRF, BF%, MS, ME and balance among older adults. More empirical evidence is needed to determine the efficacy of HIIT for MP and flexibility in this population. Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42022316246. Key Points: • HIIT is an effective approach for improving older adults' resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), body fat percent (BF%), muscular strength (MS), and balance, compared with non-exercise condition. • HIIT outperformed the other exercise interventions in improving older adults' resting HR, SBP, CRF, and muscular endurance (ME). • Mean age and attrition rate were identified as potential moderators for the HIIT effects on resting HR, SBP and CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune-associated pathology with an articular inflammatory basis. RA is diagnosed by severe pain, movement restriction, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and sexual disorder (SD). This pathology can potentially reduce the quality of life and cause many problems. The electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar search engine were systematically searched for the papers reporting the prevalence of SD in patients with RA (by August 2023). Following paper collection and data extraction, the Random Effects model was used to perform the data analysis (CMA, v.2). The heterogeneity of studies was assessed using I2 index. Following the assessment of 53 eligible studies with a sample size of 9,174 cases, the overall prevalence of SD in RA patients was 32.4% (95% CI:24.4–41.6). Also, the prevalence of SD in RA females and males was 36.5% (95% CI: 26.4–48) and 23.5% (95% CI:12.6–39.4), respectively. Based on the findings, the prevalence of SD among RA individuals was found relatively high; thus, the application of measures seems necessary to prevent sexual disorders in RA cases. These strategies are useful for health policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the meantime, a wide variety of terminologies, motivations, approaches, and evaluation criteria have been developed within the research field of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). With the amount of XAI methods vastly growing, a taxonomy of methods is needed by researchers as well as practitioners: To grasp the breadth of the topic, compare methods, and to select the right XAI method based on traits required by a specific use-case context. Many taxonomies for XAI methods of varying level of detail and depth can be found in the literature. While they often have a different focus, they also exhibit many points of overlap. This paper unifies these efforts and provides a complete taxonomy of XAI methods with respect to notions present in the current state of research. In a structured literature analysis and meta-study, we identified and reviewed more than 50 of the most cited and current surveys on XAI methods, metrics, and method traits. After summarizing them in a survey of surveys, we merge terminologies and concepts of the articles into a unified structured taxonomy. Single concepts therein are illustrated by more than 50 diverse selected example methods in total, which we categorize accordingly. The taxonomy may serve both beginners, researchers, and practitioners as a reference and wide-ranging overview of XAI method traits and aspects. Hence, it provides foundations for targeted, use-case-oriented, and context-sensitive future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]