Search

Background: Grasslands are essential for providing vital resources in the livestock sector and delivering invaluable ecosystem services such as biodiversity and soil carbon (C) sequestration. Despite their critical importance, these ecosystems face escalating threats from human disturbances, human degradation, and climate change, compromising their ability to effectively stock C. Restoring degraded grasslands emerges as a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to tackling climate change. However, the successful implementation of grassland management toward this goal, faces significant challenges. A systematic mapping approach will help to compile a comprehensive global inventory of studies investigating the impact of differing grassland management practices on soil carbon. In addition, the potential for trade-offs with other greenhouse gas emissions further underlines the value of a systematic assessment. This approach aims to identify knowledge clusters (i.e., well-represented subtopics that are amenable to full synthesis) for potential systematic reviews and pinpoint knowledge gaps requiring further primary research efforts, all contributing to a better understanding of the evidence surrounding this topic. Methods: Following systematic evidence synthesis standards, we developed the question to address in the systematic map protocol using the PICO framework. We established a preliminary search string by combining search terms for the Population (Grasslands), Intervention (management) and Outcome (soil carbon) categories, as well as with one additional group (Study types—to focus on farm and field experiments). We will conduct a comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature using Web of Science, Scopus, CABI platforms, Google Scholar, and specialised websites (e.g., Agrotrop). Searches will be conducted in the English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Mongolian languages, as per the linguistic capabilities of the research team. The comprehensiveness of the search will be assessed by comparing the literature collected to a test-list of forty relevant articles. The repeatability of the literature screening process will be ensured by a list of inclusion/exclusion criteria and inter-reviewer consistency statistical tests. Data extraction will be organised into four complementary sections (article information, PICO categories, study characteristics, measurable parameters), on which we will perform queries to produce the tables, figures and evidence maps that will compose the systematic map. The results will identify and describe knowledge gaps and clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining clinical questions is fundamental to the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), which bridges the initial phases and the final recommendations. It is essential for evidence retrieval and the formulation of recommendations. The scientific rigor and precision in determination of clinical questions directly influence the future implementation and applicability of guidelines. In 2020, the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies initiated the project of clinical practice guideline on acupuncture and moxibustion for adult major depressive disorder (mild-moderate degree) to address clinical and medical decision-making issues in acupuncture treatment for adult mild to moderate major depressive disorder. This CPG provides systematic recommendations based on clinical evidence, patient values, and other factors, aiding decision-makers, clinicians, and patients in selecting appropriate interventions. This paper discusses and analyzes the determination process of clinical questions, and the related issues during the development of this guideline, aiming to provide a reference for determining clinical questions and developing CPGs in the field of acupuncture and exploring more scientific tools and methods for determining clinical questions in future CPGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2025, Health Technology Developers (HTDs) have to submit EU HTA dossiers. The joint clinical assessment (JCA) aims to streamline HTA processes and access to medicinal products across Europe. Currently, German HTA bodies IQWiG and G-BA actively shape the JCA methodology. Here we examine if German HTA dossier requirements are suitable for the JCA. We compare the number of safety endpoint and subgroup analyses in German dossiers with analyses considered in IQWIG's benefit assessment and evaluate if these analyses were considered by the G-BA. We further investigated how the number of analyses was affected by the latest change in the German dossier template. With the current template, HTDs report in median 2.6 times more analyses on adverse events (AE) and 1.1 times more subgroup categories than in the previous template. IQWiG does not consider 33% of AE analyses and 73% of the subgroup categories presented by the HTD under the current template. G-BA considered the same AE as IQWiG in 76% of cases. Subgroups were uncommented by G-BA in most cases, independent of the template (previous: 93%, current 85%) and unconsidered in the conclusion on additional benefit (previous: 77%, current 69%). Thus, changes in the dossier template drastically increased HTD workload, but additional analyses seem unconsidered by the HTA bodies. With a broader scope in JCA, this effect could be amplified. To mitigate duplicative efforts and ensure prompt availability of medicinal products as envisioned by the HTAR, we suggest well-chosen and precise dossier requirements, early consultations, and early HTD engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Grasslands are essential for providing vital resources in the livestock sector and delivering invaluable ecosystem services such as biodiversity and soil carbon (C) sequestration. Despite their critical importance, these ecosystems face escalating threats from human disturbances, human degradation, and climate change, compromising their ability to effectively stock C. Restoring degraded grasslands emerges as a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to tackling climate change. However, the successful implementation of grassland management toward this goal, faces significant challenges. A systematic mapping approach will help to compile a comprehensive global inventory of studies investigating the impact of differing grassland management practices on soil carbon. In addition, the potential for trade-offs with other greenhouse gas emissions further underlines the value of a systematic assessment. This approach aims to identify knowledge clusters (i.e., well-represented subtopics that are amenable to full synthesis) for potential systematic reviews and pinpoint knowledge gaps requiring further primary research efforts, all contributing to a better understanding of the evidence surrounding this topic. Methods Following systematic evidence synthesis standards, we developed the question to address in the systematic map protocol using the PICO framework. We established a preliminary search string by combining search terms for the Population (Grasslands), Intervention (management) and Outcome (soil carbon) categories, as well as with one additional group (Study types—to focus on farm and field experiments). We will conduct a comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature using Web of Science, Scopus, CABI platforms, Google Scholar, and specialised websites (e.g., Agrotrop). Searches will be conducted in the English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Mongolian languages, as per the linguistic capabilities of the research team. The comprehensiveness of the search will be assessed by comparing the literature collected to a test-list of forty relevant articles. The repeatability of the literature screening process will be ensured by a list of inclusion/exclusion criteria and inter-reviewer consistency statistical tests. Data extraction will be organised into four complementary sections (article information, PICO categories, study characteristics, measurable parameters), on which we will perform queries to produce the tables, figures and evidence maps that will compose the systematic map. The results will identify and describe knowledge gaps and clusters.

Abstract Background With the vision of healthy aging, the Egyptian Academy of Bone and Muscle Health followed an established guideline development process to create the Egyptian 24-h movement clinical guideline for adults aged 50 years and older adults. This guideline highlights the significance of movement behaviors across the whole 24-h day. Online databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria. Results A total of 53 studies met the inclusion criteria. Leveraging evidence from the review of the literature led to the development of 27 statements answering the 5 key questions. Results revealed a major change in the previous basic understandings as it shifts away from focussing on a sole movement behavior to the combination of all the movement behaviors. Based on this, the final guideline was developed providing evidence-based recommendations for a “Healthy 24-Hour Day”, comprising a mix of light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behavior. Conclusion The developed guidelines are meant to help in the decision-making process and are intended for use by adults and older both nationally and internationally; also, for endorsement by the policy-makers. Dissemination and implementation efforts would impact positively on both health professionals and researchers and would also be useful to interested members of the public sector.

Abstract Background Systematic reviews of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are an important part of the evidence-based medicine paradigm. However, the creation of such systematic reviews by clinical experts is costly as well as time-consuming, and results can get quickly outdated after publication. Most RCTs are structured based on the Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) framework and there exist many approaches which aim to extract PICO elements automatically. The automatic extraction of PICO information from RCTs has the potential to significantly speed up the creation process of systematic reviews and this way also benefit the field of evidence-based medicine. Results Previous work has addressed the extraction of PICO elements as the task of identifying relevant text spans or sentences, but without populating a structured representation of a trial. In contrast, in this work, we treat PICO elements as structured templates with slots to do justice to the complex nature of the information they represent. We present two different approaches to extract this structured information from the abstracts of RCTs. The first approach is an extractive approach based on our previous work that is extended to capture full document representations as well as by a clustering step to infer the number of instances of each template type. The second approach is a generative approach based on a seq2seq model that encodes the abstract describing the RCT and uses a decoder to infer a structured representation of a trial including its arms, treatments, endpoints and outcomes. Both approaches are evaluated with different base models on a manually annotated dataset consisting of RCT abstracts on an existing dataset comprising 211 annotated clinical trial abstracts for Type 2 Diabetes and Glaucoma. For both diseases, the extractive approach (with flan-t5-base) reached the best $$F_1$$ F 1 score, i.e. 0.547 ( $$\pm 0.006$$ ± 0.006 ) for type 2 diabetes and 0.636 ( $$\pm 0.006$$ ± 0.006 ) for glaucoma. Generally, the $$F_1$$ F 1 scores were higher for glaucoma than for type 2 diabetes and the standard deviation was higher for the generative approach. Conclusion In our experiments, both approaches show promising performance extracting structured PICO information from RCTs, especially considering that most related work focuses on the far easier task of predicting less structured objects. In our experimental results, the extractive approach performs best in both cases, although the lead is greater for glaucoma than for type 2 diabetes. For future work, it remains to be investigated how the base model size affects the performance of both approaches in comparison. Although the extractive approach currently leaves more room for direct improvements, the generative approach might benefit from larger models.

Background: With the vision of healthy aging, the Egyptian Academy of Bone and Muscle Health followed an established guideline development process to create the Egyptian 24-h movement clinical guideline for adults aged 50 years and older adults. This guideline highlights the significance of movement behaviors across the whole 24-h day. Online databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 53 studies met the inclusion criteria. Leveraging evidence from the review of the literature led to the development of 27 statements answering the 5 key questions. Results revealed a major change in the previous basic understandings as it shifts away from focussing on a sole movement behavior to the combination of all the movement behaviors. Based on this, the final guideline was developed providing evidence-based recommendations for a "Healthy 24-Hour Day", comprising a mix of light-intensity and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behavior. Conclusion: The developed guidelines are meant to help in the decision-making process and are intended for use by adults and older both nationally and internationally; also, for endorsement by the policy-makers. Dissemination and implementation efforts would impact positively on both health professionals and researchers and would also be useful to interested members of the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematic reviews of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are an important part of the evidence-based medicine paradigm. However, the creation of such systematic reviews by clinical experts is costly as well as time-consuming, and results can get quickly outdated after publication. Most RCTs are structured based on the Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) framework and there exist many approaches which aim to extract PICO elements automatically. The automatic extraction of PICO information from RCTs has the potential to significantly speed up the creation process of systematic reviews and this way also benefit the field of evidence-based medicine. Results: Previous work has addressed the extraction of PICO elements as the task of identifying relevant text spans or sentences, but without populating a structured representation of a trial. In contrast, in this work, we treat PICO elements as structured templates with slots to do justice to the complex nature of the information they represent. We present two different approaches to extract this structured information from the abstracts of RCTs. The first approach is an extractive approach based on our previous work that is extended to capture full document representations as well as by a clustering step to infer the number of instances of each template type. The second approach is a generative approach based on a seq2seq model that encodes the abstract describing the RCT and uses a decoder to infer a structured representation of a trial including its arms, treatments, endpoints and outcomes. Both approaches are evaluated with different base models on a manually annotated dataset consisting of RCT abstracts on an existing dataset comprising 211 annotated clinical trial abstracts for Type 2 Diabetes and Glaucoma. For both diseases, the extractive approach (with flan-t5-base) reached the best F 1 score, i.e. 0.547 ( ± 0.006 ) for type 2 diabetes and 0.636 ( ± 0.006 ) for glaucoma. Generally, the F 1 scores were higher for glaucoma than for type 2 diabetes and the standard deviation was higher for the generative approach. Conclusion: In our experiments, both approaches show promising performance extracting structured PICO information from RCTs, especially considering that most related work focuses on the far easier task of predicting less structured objects. In our experimental results, the extractive approach performs best in both cases, although the lead is greater for glaucoma than for type 2 diabetes. For future work, it remains to be investigated how the base model size affects the performance of both approaches in comparison. Although the extractive approach currently leaves more room for direct improvements, the generative approach might benefit from larger models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. In cirrhotic patients, hyperammonemia develops due to impaired ammonia detoxification and portosystemic blood shunting and is most commonly associated with hepatic encephalopathy and sarcopenia. Currently, there are questions regarding the diagnosis of hyperammonemia and the effect of ammonia-lowering therapy on disease outcomes.Materials and methods. The Russian Scientific Liver Society selected a panel of seven experts in liver cirrhosis research and management of patients with this disease to make reasoned statements and recommendations on the issue of diagnostic and prognostic value of hyperammonemia in patients with liver cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy and sarcopenia.Results. The Delphi panel identified the most relevant topics, in the form of PICO questions (patient or population, intervention, comparison, outcome). The Delphi panel made six questions relevant to clinical practice and gave reasoned answers, framed as ‘clinical practice recommendations and statements’ with evidence-based comments. The questions and statements were based on the search and critical analysis of medical literature by keywords in Englishand Russian-language databases. The formulated questions could be combined into four categories: hepatic encephalopathy, sarcopenia, hyperammonemia, and ammonia-lowering therapy.Conclusions. The results of the experts' work are directly relevant to the quality management of patients with liver cirrhosis, and their recommendations and statements can be used in clinical practice.

Cardiovascular disease remains a serious global threat and the leading cause of death worldwide. Patients with heart problems face significant physical and emotional challenges. This article uses a systematic design review concerning PRISMA to investigate the effect of rose aromatherapy inhalation on anxiety of heart patients. Data were synthesized from the Quasy Experiment and RCT by formulating PICO (Heart patients, Rose aromatherapy inhalation, Control group, Decreased anxiety levels). The results of the analysis of the six articles showed that rose aromatherapy had a positive influence on reducing anxiety in heart patients. Despite variations in research methods, these results overall support the potential effectiveness of rose aromatherapy as an additional approach to relieve anxiety in heart patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern information technology, research on block cipher security is imperative. Concerning the ultra lightweight block cipher PICO, there has been only one study focused on recovering its complete master key, with a large search space of 2 64 , and no fault analysis yet. This paper proposes a new fault analysis approach, combining differential fault and algebraic equation techniques. It achieved the recovery of PICO's entire master key with 40 faults in an average time of 0.57 h. S-box decomposition was utilized to optimize our approach, reducing the time by a remarkable 75.83% under the identical 40-fault condition. Furthermore, PICO's complete master key could be recovered with 28 faults in an average time of 0.78 h, indicating a significant 2 37 reduction in its search space compared to the previous study. This marks the first fault analysis on PICO. Compared to conventional fault analysis methods DFA (differential fault analysis) and AFA (algebraic fault analysis), our approach outperforms in recovering PICO's entire master key, highlighting the cruciality of key expansion complexity in block cipher security. Therefore, our approach could serve to recover master keys of block ciphers with comparably complicated key expansions, and production of more secure block ciphers could result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ATLAS.ti 24 software can be applied to analyse data collection systematically. This study aims to analyse the Malay essay questions of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to develop the main keywords. Research data using real SPM Malay essay questions, repeat SPM Malay essay questions and experimental SPM Malay essay questions from 2010 to 2020. The NCT Friese Model procedure consists of Noticing things, Collecting things and Thinking about things, and components are applied to the seven phases of Friese's Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) to detail the analysis process. The Research Question Development Tool (RQDT) is PICo representing Population, Interest and Context and was adapted as the basis of theme development in the analysis using ATLAS.ti software 24. Based on this research, a systematic ATLAS.ti analysis procedure was built. In addition, SPM essay questions can be categorized into four main aspects, with an additional 'Form' category, PICoB. Additionally, six main keywords represent the 'Population' theme, three main keywords represent the 'Focus' theme, and 19 main keywords represent the 'Context' theme. This sharing of analysis procedures guides subsequent researchers to improve analysis using ATLAS.ti software. The results of this research are also expected to generate innovation in teachers in the process of analysing material and help students write essays to focus on the requirements of the question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. The remarkable improvements in treating HCC achieved in the last years have increased the complexity of HCC management. Following the need to have updated guidelines on the multidisciplinary treatment management of HCC, the Italian Scientific Societies involved in the management of this cancer have promoted the drafting of a new dedicated document. This document was drawn up according to the GRADE methodology needed to produce guidelines based on evidence. Here is presented the first part of guidelines, focused on the multidisciplinary tumor board of experts and surgical treatments of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ahmed Hasan Alghamdi Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Aqiq, Al-Baha Province, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Ahmed Hasan Alghamdi, Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Aqiq, Al-Baha Province, 1988, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966556777015, Email ahsaeed@bu.edu.saIntroduction: The journal club is widely used in most postgraduate programs of medical institutes; however, the use of journal clubs in undergraduate medical programs is nearly absent or very rare.Aim: The aim of this work is to document the insertion of the journal club as a method for learning in the undergraduate starting with the endocrinology/endocrine surgery module to be fully implemented in all modules of the MBBS of FMBU. In addition, the study aimed to outline the steps of designing a journal club by following specific procedures and Identification of students’ and faculty satisfaction through 5-years implementation of the journal club.Material and Methods: A total of 453 students representing the five consecutive batches of medical students from 2019 to 2023 who studied the endocrinology/endocrine surgery module were entered into the study. Following guidelines for implementation of the journal clubs that were adopted by the quality and accreditation committee, the faculty select the types of papers from the articles chosen by students. The papers discussed were case reports, original research, and review articles. The students were asked to formulate critical appraisal topics, PICO, for each paper. A 20-question test was applied to all participants. The students’ attendance, scores, and students/faculty satisfaction were estimated.Results: A total of 50 papers were discussed in the 5-year journal club 15 case reports (30%), 26 original research (52%), and 9 review articles (18%). The student’s attendance ranged from 72.53± 3.74 to 98.07± 3.15. The students and faculty’s satisfaction were 3.52 and 3.82 respectively. The mean Students’ score in A 20-question test in a 5-year journal club was 76.93 ± 9.78 and the lowest score was in the 2nd batch (online batch).Conclusion: The insertion of a well-structured journal club in the undergraduate medical program is necessary to improve the knowledge including knowledge among students. In addition, journal clubs inspire students to be lifelong learners.Keywords: curriculum, critically appraisal skills, integrated program, journal club, PICO

Copyright of Journal of Resources & Ecology is the property of Journal of Resources & Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

EFSA Strategy 2027 outlines the need for fit‐for‐purpose protocols for EFSA generic scientific assessments to aid in delivering trustworthy scientific advice. This EFSA Scientific Committee guidance document helps address this need by providing a harmonised and flexible framework for developing protocols for EFSA generic assessments. The guidance replaces the 'Draft framework for protocol development for EFSA's scientific assessments' published in 2020. The two main steps in protocol development are described. The first is problem formulation, which illustrates the objectives of the assessment. Here a new approach to translating the mandated Terms of Reference into scientifically answerable assessment questions and sub‐questions is proposed: the 'APRIO' paradigm (Agent, Pathway, Receptor, Intervention and Output). Owing to its cross‐cutting nature, this paradigm is considered adaptable and broadly applicable within and across the various EFSA domains and, if applied using the definitions given in this guidance, is expected to help harmonise the problem formulation process and outputs and foster consistency in protocol development. APRIO may also overcome the difficulty of implementing some existing frameworks across the multiple EFSA disciplines, e.g. the PICO/PECO approach (Population, Intervention/Exposure, Comparator, Outcome). Therefore, although not mandatory, APRIO is recommended. The second step in protocol development is the specification of the evidence needs and the methods that will be applied for answering the assessment questions and sub‐questions, including uncertainty analysis. Five possible approaches to answering individual (sub‐)questions are outlined: using evidence from scientific literature and study reports; using data from databases other than bibliographic; using expert judgement informally collected or elicited via semi‐formal or formal expert knowledge elicitation processes; using mathematical/statistical models; and – not covered in this guidance – generating empirical evidence ex novo. The guidance is complemented by a standalone 'template' for EFSA protocols that guides the users step by step through the process of planning an EFSA scientific assessment. This publication is linked to the following EFSA Supporting Publications article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/sp.efsa.2022.EN-7349/full [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objetivo. A pesquisa verificou o índice de coocorrência de resultados na recuperação da informação em bases de dados bibliográficas da área da saúde utilizando ferramentas automatizadas para elaboração de estratégias de busca, em comparação com o método manual de busca. Método. A partir de um estudo exploratório, realizou-se uma análise comparativa dos aspectos quantitativos, da similaridade, da relevância dos resultados e das limitações entre os sistemas automatizados de construção de estratégias de busca das bases de dados PubMed e Embase. Foi desenvolvida uma estratégia de busca manual e uma automatizada, e os resultados foram organizados para análise. Os dados foram analisados por meio do (a) índice de coocorrência por método de busca; (b) índice de coocorrência entre bases de dados; (c) índice de coocorrência do resultado final entre bases de dados; e (d) o índice de relevância por método de busca. Resultados. Os resultados do estudo sugerem uma diferença quantitativa baixa, mas significativa, entre os métodos de busca. A coocorrência de resultados é alta quando comparados os resultados de uma mesma base de dados bibliográfica. A similaridade de resultados entre as bases de dados bibliográficas é baixa, e o índice de relevância dos resultados recuperados teve equivalência similar entre bases de dados e entre os métodos utilizados. Os documentos recuperados na PubMed tiveram maior índice de similaridade entre ambos os métodos de busca, enquanto na Embase, a similaridade foi menor. No entanto, o índice de coocorrência entre as bases de dados não ultrapassou 2% de similaridade entre os métodos empregados. Conclusões. O baixo índice de similaridade reforça a necessidade do uso de diferentes bases de dados bibliográficas com o intuito da síntese de evidências em saúde. O mecanismo de busca automatizada da Embase mostrou-se mais eficaz, com um conjunto de recursos úteis que possibilitam a elaboração de estratégias de busca mais complexas, enquanto a PubMed precisa de melhorias para entregar funcionalidades adequadas para pesquisadores que desenvolvem revisões sistemáticas nas Ciências da Saúde.

There is an ever-increasing number of publications using meta-analyses, but Thai academics and Thai researchers still have very little use of the R program for meta-analysis in the health sciences research context, including teaching the use of R in statistical analysis for research. Therefore, in this research article, the objectives are 1. to synthesize documents for meta-analysis using the basic R program and 2) to suggest guidelines for researchers to conduct additional studies beyond meta-analysis basic. The research results found that. 1. Basic meta-analysis had shown that R could perform basic meta-analysis no worse than any other program. This research article would divide the presentation of basic meta-analysis into 2 Parts. Part 1 introduced the concept of systematic literature review (Systematic Review), which consisted of 2 sub-parts as follows: Sub-part 1) discussed the application of PICO to clearly define research questions as a basis for selection. into the literature for meta-analysis next, and in the second sub-part was the application of PRISMA to explain the inclusion and exclusion of studies that would be used for meta-analysis next in the section Second, a meta-analysis using R program on relevant topics according to international principles was introduced. Starting from importing the dataset for further meta-analysis, the meta-analysis would display the analysis results in the form of text (Text Output), and analysis of various sub-statistics. Important factors required in reporting research results included the pooled effect size in the form of Common (Fixed) effect and Random effect, as well as Test of heterogeneity analysis. There was also a visual analysis of the Forest plot and Funnel plot related to Publication bias analysis. 2. The guidelines for researchers to conduct additional studies that were higher than basic meta-analysis was to be able to use the R program to conduct a meta-analysis that was comprehensive had a high standard and had many capabilities that may be higher than the program. For this reason, Thai academics and Thai researchers could use the R program to conduct meta-analyses and publish in world-leading journals, no different from international researchers who had used the R program. It was used in meta-analyses in the context of health sciences and published in world-class journals.

Abstract Background The estimand for a clinical trial is a precise definition of the treatment effect to be estimated. Traditionally, estimates of treatment effects are based on either an ITT analysis or a per-protocol analysis. However, there are important clinical questions which are not addressed by either of these analyses. For example, consider a trial where patients take a rescue medication. The ITT analysis includes data after use of rescue, while the per-protocol analysis excludes these patients altogether. Neither of these analyses addresses the important question of what the treatment effect would have been if patients did not take rescue medication. Main text Trial estimands provide a broader perspective compared to the limitations of ITT and per-protocol analysis. Trial treatment effects depend on how events occurring after treatment initiation such as use of alternative medication or discontinuation of the intervention are included in the definition. These events can be accounted for in different ways, depending on the clinical question of interest. Conclusion The estimand framework is an important step forward in improving the clarity and transparency of clinical trials. The centrality of estimands to clinical trials is currently not reflected in methods recommended by the Cochrane group or the CONSORT statement, the current standard for reporting clinical trials in medical journals. We encourage revisions to these guidelines.

Abstract Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by having varying clinical presentation, severity, unpredictable course as well as outcomes. Recent disease-modifying conventional and biologic agents have enhanced rates of attaining both short- and long-term management goals, including minimization of glucocorticoid dose and use. This study was carried out to develop an up-to-date evidence-based, consensus on clinical practice guidelines for treat-to-target management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. Results The response rate to the online questionnaires, sent to the expert panel who participated in the three rounds, was 95.5%. At the end of round 3, a total of 14 recommendation sections were proposed for the T2T management of patients with SLE. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 90.9–100%. Consensus was reached (i.e., ≥ 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed) on the proposed statements. Conclusion These recommendations provide a consensus on the treat-to-target management of patients with SLE. They provide strategies to reach optimal outcomes in common clinical scenarios, based on a combination of evidence and expert opinion.

AbstractThe significant transformations and advances attributed to the Era 5.0 require a comprehensive understanding of the current ramifications of the accounting discipline, along with the prospective difficulties and opportunities. This is pertinent not only in the context of industry, education, and society, but also in terms of labor relations and professions. Thus, the aim of this paper is to understand the current impacts and future expectations of the Era 5.0 on the accounting profession. Based on a recent systematic literature review we note the urgent and pressing need for educational institutions, their audiences, and other entities to interact in the changing process, creating synergies to ensure the success of retraining this valuable strategic resource in organizations and society, and the sustainability of the profession, promoting a sustainable Society 5.0. We contribute to the research on the consequences and challenges of the Era 5.0 in the future of the accounting profession by the originality of the contextualization of the profession in this new Era, filling a gap in the recent state of the art in the research of the accounting profession. We consider that this research will have an impact on academia, industry, and society, bringing these to work together in the development of the accountants’ skills and their future work.

Copyright of Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie is the property of Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An understanding of the research process is an essential skill for designing a study and developing the research protocol. Poor study design can lead to fatal flaws in research methodology, ultimately resulting in rejection for publication or limiting the reliability of the results. Following the steps of the research process and devising the research question and hypothesis prior to study initiation can avoid common problems encountered with research questions and study design. Formulating the research question is the first step in the research process and provides the foundation for framing the hypothesis. Research questions should be feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant (FINER). Application of the FINER criteria can assist with ensuring the question is valid and will generate new knowledge that has clinical impact. Utilization of the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) format helps to structure the question as well as refine and narrow the focus from a broad topic. The hypothesis is derived from the research question and is used to determine the experiments or interventions that will answer the question. This aim of this paper is to provide guidance for developing research questions and forming a testable hypothesis through application of the FINER criteria and the PICO process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract EFSA Strategy 2027 outlines the need for fit‐for‐purpose protocols for EFSA generic scientific assessments to aid in delivering trustworthy scientific advice. This EFSA Scientific Committee guidance document helps address this need by providing a harmonised and flexible framework for developing protocols for EFSA generic assessments. The guidance replaces the ‘Draft framework for protocol development for EFSA's scientific assessments’ published in 2020. The two main steps in protocol development are described. The first is problem formulation, which illustrates the objectives of the assessment. Here a new approach to translating the mandated Terms of Reference into scientifically answerable assessment questions and sub‐questions is proposed: the ‘APRIO' paradigm (Agent, Pathway, Receptor, Intervention and Output). Owing to its cross‐cutting nature, this paradigm is considered adaptable and broadly applicable within and across the various EFSA domains and, if applied using the definitions given in this guidance, is expected to help harmonise the problem formulation process and outputs and foster consistency in protocol development. APRIO may also overcome the difficulty of implementing some existing frameworks across the multiple EFSA disciplines, e.g. the PICO/PECO approach (Population, Intervention/Exposure, Comparator, Outcome). Therefore, although not mandatory, APRIO is recommended. The second step in protocol development is the specification of the evidence needs and the methods that will be applied for answering the assessment questions and sub‐questions, including uncertainty analysis. Five possible approaches to answering individual (sub‐)questions are outlined: using evidence from scientific literature and study reports; using data from databases other than bibliographic; using expert judgement informally collected or elicited via semi‐formal or formal expert knowledge elicitation processes; using mathematical/statistical models; and – not covered in this guidance – generating empirical evidence ex novo. The guidance is complemented by a standalone ‘template’ for EFSA protocols that guides the users step by step through the process of planning an EFSA scientific assessment.

Background: The estimand for a clinical trial is a precise definition of the treatment effect to be estimated. Traditionally, estimates of treatment effects are based on either an ITT analysis or a per-protocol analysis. However, there are important clinical questions which are not addressed by either of these analyses. For example, consider a trial where patients take a rescue medication. The ITT analysis includes data after use of rescue, while the per-protocol analysis excludes these patients altogether. Neither of these analyses addresses the important question of what the treatment effect would have been if patients did not take rescue medication. Main text: Trial estimands provide a broader perspective compared to the limitations of ITT and per-protocol analysis. Trial treatment effects depend on how events occurring after treatment initiation such as use of alternative medication or discontinuation of the intervention are included in the definition. These events can be accounted for in different ways, depending on the clinical question of interest. Conclusion: The estimand framework is an important step forward in improving the clarity and transparency of clinical trials. The centrality of estimands to clinical trials is currently not reflected in methods recommended by the Cochrane group or the CONSORT statement, the current standard for reporting clinical trials in medical journals. We encourage revisions to these guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Cryptologic Research (2095-7025) is the property of Editorial Board of Journal of Cryptologic Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In modern information technology, research on block cipher security is imperative. Concerning the ultra lightweight block cipher PICO, there has been only one study focused on recovering its complete master key, with a large search space of 264, and no fault analysis yet. This paper proposes a new fault analysis approach, combining differential fault and algebraic equation techniques. It achieved the recovery of PICO’s entire master key with 40 faults in an average time of 0.57 h. S-box decomposition was utilized to optimize our approach, reducing the time by a remarkable 75.83% under the identical 40-fault condition. Furthermore, PICO’s complete master key could be recovered with 28 faults in an average time of 0.78 h, indicating a significant 237 reduction in its search space compared to the previous study. This marks the first fault analysis on PICO. Compared to conventional fault analysis methods DFA (differential fault analysis) and AFA (algebraic fault analysis), our approach outperforms in recovering PICO’s entire master key, highlighting the cruciality of key expansion complexity in block cipher security. Therefore, our approach could serve to recover master keys of block ciphers with comparably complicated key expansions, and production of more secure block ciphers could result.

Medical research involves receiving questions that arise from curiosity and societal demands, formalizing them through scientific methods, deriving results, and answering these questions. Primarily, the Patient, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework is used for formalization, and the flow from question to answer is presented in papers that follow the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRAD) format. The Introduction presents the background and significance of the question, the Methods transform the question into a concrete research method based on the PICO, and the Results present the results corresponding to the methods. Finally, the Discussion compares existing research and clarifies the answer to the question. Healthcare professionals and medical researchers are expected to understand this structure as to read and write medical research papers effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by having varying clinical presentation, severity, unpredictable course as well as outcomes. Recent disease-modifying conventional and biologic agents have enhanced rates of attaining both short- and long-term management goals, including minimization of glucocorticoid dose and use. This study was carried out to develop an up-to-date evidence-based, consensus on clinical practice guidelines for treat-to-target management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. Results: The response rate to the online questionnaires, sent to the expert panel who participated in the three rounds, was 95.5%. At the end of round 3, a total of 14 recommendation sections were proposed for the T2T management of patients with SLE. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 90.9–100%. Consensus was reached (i.e., ≥ 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed) on the proposed statements. Conclusion: These recommendations provide a consensus on the treat-to-target management of patients with SLE. They provide strategies to reach optimal outcomes in common clinical scenarios, based on a combination of evidence and expert opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND) is associated with a high complication rate. Retrospective studies suggest that incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) might reduce complications, especially seroma, following ILND. Methods: This was a prospective multicenter, randomized (1:1), open-labeled, parallel-group trial. Patients with macrometastic melanoma to the inguinal lymph nodes and eligible for ILND were randomized to receive either iNPWT for 14 postoperative days or conventional wound dressing. The primary outcome was seroma incidence. Secondary outcomes included surgical-site infection, wound rupture, wound necrosis, hematoma, rehospitalization and readmission rates between groups. All outcomes were registered 3 months after ILND and analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. Results: The trial was terminated early due to a low recruitment rate as a consequence of a change in the national treatment protocol, and the estimated sample size was not reached. Twenty patients were included and randomized in the study. The trial showed less seroma formation between the iNPWT 6/11 (55%) and control 7/9 (78%) groups; however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.29). Similarly, there were no differences in the rates of surgical-site infection (p = 0.63), wound rupture (p = 0.19), wound necrosis (p = 0.82), hematoma (p = 0.19), reoperation (p = 0.82) or readmission (p = 0.34) between groups. Conclusion: There was a tendency toward fewer complications in the iNPWT group, however this trial was underpowered and could not confirm the hypothesis that iNPWT reduces complications after ILND. Future randomized controlled trials are required to fully evaluate the treatment potential of iNPWT. Trial registration: The trial was prospectively registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03433937.

Abstract Background Natural language processing could assist multiple tasks in systematic reviews to reduce workflow, including the extraction of PICO elements such as study populations, interventions, comparators and outcomes. The PICO framework provides a basis for the retrieval and selection for inclusion of evidence relevant to a specific systematic review question, and automatic approaches to PICO extraction have been developed particularly for reviews of clinical trial findings. Considering the difference between preclinical animal studies and clinical trials, developing separate approaches is necessary. Facilitating preclinical systematic reviews will inform the translation from preclinical to clinical research. Methods We randomly selected 400 abstracts from the PubMed Central Open Access database which described in vivo animal research and manually annotated these with PICO phrases for Species, Strain, methods of Induction of disease model, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome. We developed a two-stage workflow for preclinical PICO extraction. Firstly we fine-tuned BERT with different pre-trained modules for PICO sentence classification. Then, after removing the text irrelevant to PICO features, we explored LSTM-, CRF- and BERT-based models for PICO entity recognition. We also explored a self-training approach because of the small training corpus. Results For PICO sentence classification, BERT models using all pre-trained modules achieved an F1 score of over 80%, and models pre-trained on PubMed abstracts achieved the highest F1 of 85%. For PICO entity recognition, fine-tuning BERT pre-trained on PubMed abstracts achieved an overall F1 of 71% and satisfactory F1 for Species (98%), Strain (70%), Intervention (70%) and Outcome (67%). The score of Induction and Comparator is less satisfactory, but F1 of Comparator can be improved to 50% by applying self-training. Conclusions Our study indicates that of the approaches tested, BERT pre-trained on PubMed abstracts is the best for both PICO sentence classification and PICO entity recognition in the preclinical abstracts. Self-training yields better performance for identifying comparators and strains.

Copyright of Revista Nebrija de Lingüística Aplicada a la Enseñanza de Lenguas is the property of Revista Nebrija de Linguistica Aplicada a la Ensenanza de Lenguas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To determine if prophylactic negative pressure wound therapy (pNPWT) allows for the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) in abdominal surgery. Method: A non-systematic review assessing the evidence was conducted in 2020. Results: Retrospectve studies comparing patients with pNPWT with patients receiving standard wound dressing after abdominal surgery showed encouragning results in favour of pNPWT for reducing the incidence of SSIs, but randomised controlled trials have so far reported mixed results. Conclusion: New randomised controlled trials including a sufficient number of patients at risk of SSIs are needed for confirming the results of non-interventional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this multicentric study was to assess which imaging method has the best inter-reader agreement for glenoid bone loss quantification in anterior shoulder instability. A further aim was to calculate the inter-method agreement comparing bilateral CT with unilateral CT and MR arthrography (MRA) with CT measurements. Finally, calculations were carried out to find the least time-consuming method. Method: A retrospective evaluation was performed by 9 readers (or pairs of readers) on a consecutive series of 110 patients with MRA and bilateral shoulder CT. Each reader was asked to calculate the glenoid bone loss of all patients using the following methods: best fit circle area on both MRA and CT images, maximum transverse glenoid width on MRA and CT, CT PICO technique, ratio of the maximum glenoid width to height on MRA and CT, and length of flattening of the anterior glenoid curvature on MRA and CT. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC), the following agreement values were calculated: the inter-reader for each method, the inter-method for MRA with CT quantifications and the inter-method for CT best-fit circle area and CT PICO. Statistical analysis was carried out to compare the time employed by the readers for each method. Results: Inter-reader agreement PCC mean values were the following: 0.70 for MRA and 0.77 for CT using best fit circle diameter, 0.68 for MRA and 0.72 for CT using best fit circle area, 0.75 for CT PICO, 0.64 for MRA and 0.62 for CT anterior straight line and 0.49 for MRA and 0.43 for CT using length-to-width ratio. CT-MRA inter-modality PCC mean values were 0.9 for best fit circle diameter, 0.9 for best fit circle area, 0.62 for anterior straight line and 0.94 for length-to-width methods. PCC mean value comparing unilateral CT with PICO CT methods was 0.8. MRA best fit circle area method was significantly faster than the same method performed on CT (p = 0.031), while no significant difference was seen between CT and MRA for remaining measurements. Conclusions: CT PICO is the most reliable imaging method, but both CT and MRA can be reliably used to assess glenoid bone loss. Best fit circle area CT and MRA methods are valuable alternative measurement techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente proyecto se propone analizar la entonación de las declarativas espontáneas neutras del húngaro, basada en un corpus compilado por 300 oraciones provenientes de 60 informantes. En nuestro análisis seguimos el método propuesto por Cantero y Font-Rotchés (2020), el Análisis Melódico del Habla, en el cual medimos la frecuencia fundamental característica de cada sílaba, y estandarizamos los valores. Según los resultados, las primeras sílabas inacentuadas de los enunciados declarativos no son más bajos que el tono de la primera sílaba acentuada. Las sílabas acentuadas en el cuerpo del enunciado pueden asociarse a picos, pero la mayoría de las inflexiones interiores se extiende sobre sílabas átonas. En cuanto a la inflexión final, las declarativas espontáneas neutras también se acompañan de un ascenso tonal en vez de un descenso, pero tal ascenso tampoco es muy considerable, su valor medio es del 20%.

In evidence-based medicine, constructing research questions is the most important part of research integration. Formulating a research question is the first step to conducting a credible and valuable research. Patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) is a specialized framework used by most researchers to formulate a research question and facilitate resource review. In the heart ward of Razi Hospital, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, according to the needs assessments, PICO was implemented during the Journal Club to familiarize students with research and increase their level of knowledge, attitude, as well as clinical reasoning skills. In this article, we explain the case of a 36-year-old woman with typical chest pain for 3 hours due to severe stress, without cardiac risk factors referring to the emergency room. The clinical examination was normal. The ST elevation was observed in the aVR lead. The question is “Should we perform an invasive intervention for this patient?

Evidence-based decision-making (EBDM) entails the explicit, conscientious, and prudent evaluation of the best available information in making medical decisions. The process of EBDM involves learning the latest approaches and gaining new skills such as how to ask excellent clinical questions, carrying out a computerized search, critically evaluating the evidence, utilizing the findings in clinical settings, and analyzing the process. This method acknowledges that it is difficult for the practitioners to be totally up to date on all illnesses, treatments, materials, or products accessible. As a result, EBDM provides a method for filling in these knowledge gaps to give the best possible care. The basic goal of evidence-based practice is to improve health-care quality. It assists to arrive at a clinical decision on the basis of the latest and advanced research and the best possible evidence. Facilitating EBDM that leads to better patient outcomes, smarter research planning, better products, and improved policy formulation is critical and timely. This article gives an insight into EBDM and various levels of evidence.

Background and Purpose: Neurological deficits after stroke are impaired motor functions including balance and gait. Such gait deviations are associated with decreased gait velocity followed by a change in the timing and distance with each step cover. The pelvic proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) facilitates the trunk and lower extremity motion and also provides the stability of trunk. The aim of this review is to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of Pelvic PNF on gait and trunk stability in stroke patients. Methods and Analysis: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Qualitative Systematic Reviews guidelines. The electronic databases were searched for a quality assessment from the start of databases with all studies of review interest being “Pelvic PNF” exercise, and the outcome of interest was related to trunk function and gait parameters. The characteristics of each study are outlined in Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome, and the findings using the Critical Appraisal Skills program for Randomized Controlled Trials were used to assess methodological quality. Results: The reviews in these studies were interest-related “Pelvic PNF.” The results of these reviews of all studies suggest that Pelvic PNF significantly improves trunk stability as well as gait parameters which proves this technique to be most applicable in stoke patients. Conclusion: This review had looked at the Pelvic PNF exercises to physiotherapy care for treatment of hemiparetic patients and demonstrated significant improvement in trunk stability and gait parameters such as cadence, gait velocity, and stride length.