| 1. |
- Aburawi, Elhadi H., et al.
(author)
-
Epigenetics of conotruncal congenital heart disease : Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2024
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 19:4
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Conotruncal congenital heart defects (CTD) are a subset of congenital heart diseases (CHD) that involve structural anomalies of the right, left, or both cardiac outflow tracts. CHD is caused by multifactorial inheritance and changes in the genes or chromosomes. Recently, CHD was found to be due to epigenetic alterations, which are a combination of genetic and other environmental factors. Epigenetics is the study of how a gene's function changes as a result of environmental and behavioral influences. These causative factors can indirectly cause CHD by altering the DNA through epigenetic modifications. This is a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis that aims to explore whether the strength of association between various epigenetic changes and CTD types varies by race. Furthermore, to determine and compare the changes in gene expression of each mutation.METHODS: Our protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol (PRISMA-P) guidelines. A comprehensive pre-search has been developed in PubMed and PubMed's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). The final search will be performed in June 2023 in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CIANHL, and PsycInfo, without restrictions on publication years. The Covidence systematic review software will be used for blinded screening and selection. Conflicts will be resolved by a third, independent reviewer. The risk of bias in selected studies will be assessed using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. The data to be extracted will cover basic information on the included studies, study sample size, number of patients with various types of epigenetic changes, number of patients with various CTD types, measures of association and their 95% confidence interval between each epigenetic change and each CTD. The protocol has been registered with the International Prospero Register of Systematic Review (PROSPERO) [CRD42023377597].DISCUSSION: To the best of our knowledge, this protocol outlines the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the epigenetics of CTD. There is a growing body of evidence on epigenetics and its indirect involvement in disease by altering the DNA through epigenetic modifications in the genes associated with the causative factors for CHD. We will conduct a comprehensive and systematic search for literature in the above-mentioned seven core biomedical databases. It is very important to identify population-specific risk factors for CHD, which will have significant creative, custom-made, and effective prevention programs for the future generation.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Ajab, Suad, et al.
(author)
-
The role of microbiota in immunotherapy outcomes in colorectal cancer patients : A protocol for a systematic review
- 2022
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 17:8
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the human gut, there are many microbes, including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The imbalance in the numbers of each type of these microbes can translate into gastrointestinal disorders. Lately, different microbiota patterns have been associated with the levels of efficacy of immunotherapy in multiple cancer conditions. Studies have shown that patients with a more diverse gut microbiome respond better to immunotherapy than those with a homogeneous microbiome. This systematic review aims to identify and assess the available evidence on the efficacy of immunotherapy in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and the effect of their microbiota on their treatment outcomes. The researchers will study the literature regarding CRC and immunotherapy outcomes to survey the different approaches employed to assess the treatment outcomes. A systematic search will be performed in five biomedical databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) in June-July, 2022. Also, open-access registers of clinical trials will be trawled. The search will be conducted without geographical or publication date restrictions; however, only papers published in the English language will be sought. Details regarding patients' diets, lifestyles, and characteristics will be assessed. We will define the primary outcome to compare CRC patients' immunotherapy responses with their gut microbiota composition. The systematic review methodology does not require ethics approval due to the nature of the study design. The systematic review results will be published in an open-access peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO ID: CRD42021277691.
|
|
| 4. |
- Berlin, Henrik, et al.
(author)
-
Effects and cost-effectiveness of postoperative oral analgesics for additional postoperative pain relief in children and adolescents undergoing dental treatment: Health technology assessment including a systematic review
- 2019
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1932-6203. ; 14:12
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background There is an uncertainty regarding how to optimally prevent and/or reduce pain after dental treatment on children and adolescents. Aim To conduct a systematic review (SR) and health technology assessment (HTA) of oral analgesics administered after dental treatment to prevent postoperative pain in children and adolescents aged 3-19 years. Design A PICO-protocol was constructed and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017075589). Searches were conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Cinahl, and EMBASE, November 2018. The researchers (reading in pairs) assessed identified studies independently, according to the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, following the PRISMA-statement. Results 3,963 scientific papers were identified, whereof 216 read in full text. None met the inclusion criteria, leading to an empty SR. Ethical issues were identified related to the recognized knowledge gap in terms of challenges to conduct studies that are well-designed from methodological as well as ethical perspectives. Conclusions There is no scientific support for the use or rejection of oral analgesics administered after dental treatment in order to prevent or reduce postoperative pain in children and adolescents. Thus, no guidelines can be formulated on this issue based solely on scientific evidence. Well-designed studies on how to prevent pain from developing after dental treatment in children and adolescents is urgently needed.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bernhardsson, Susanne, 1958, et al.
(author)
-
Digital physiotherapy assessment vs conventional face-to-face physiotherapy assessment of patients with musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review.
- 2023
-
In: PloS One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 18:3
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This systematic review aimed to assess the certainty of evidence for digital versus conventional, face-to-face physiotherapy assessment of musculoskeletal disorders, concerning validity, reliability, feasibility, patient satisfaction, physiotherapist satisfaction, adverse events, clinical management, and cost-effectiveness.Eligibility criteria: Original studies comparing digital physiotherapy assessment with face-to-face physiotherapy assessment of musculoskeletal disorders. Systematic database searches were performed in May 2021, and updated in May 2022, in Medline, Cochrane Library, Cinahl, AMED, and PEDro. Risk of bias and applicability of the included studies were appraised using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool and the Quality Appraisal of Reliability Studies tool. Included studies were synthesised narratively. Certainty of evidence was evaluated for each assessment component using GRADE.Ten repeated-measures studies were included, involving 193 participants aged 23-62 years. Reported validity of digital physiotherapy assessment ranged from moderate/acceptable to almost perfect/excellent for clinical tests, range of motion, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), pain, neck posture, and management decisions. Reported validity for assessing spinal posture varied and was for clinical observations unacceptably low. Reported validity and reliability for digital diagnosis ranged from moderate to almost perfect for exact+similar agreement, but was considerably lower when constrained to exact agreement. Reported reliability was excellent for digital assessment of clinical tests, range of motion, pain, neck posture, and PROMs. Certainty of evidence varied from very low to high, with PROMs and pain assessment obtaining the highest certainty. Patients were satisfied with their digital assessment, but did not perceive it as good as face-to-face assessment.Evidence ranging from very low to high certainty suggests that validity and reliability of digital physiotherapy assessments are acceptable to excellent for several assessment components. Digital physiotherapy assessment may be a viable alternative to face-to-face assessment for patients who are likely to benefit from the accessibility and convenience of remote access.The review was registered in the PROSPERO database, CRD42021277624.
|
|
| 6. |
- Bessa, Agustina, et al.
(author)
-
The need for supportive mental wellbeing interventions in bladder cancer patients : A systematic review of the literature
- 2021
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:1
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives There is an increased awareness of the effect of a bladder cancer diagnosis and its treatments on the mental wellbeing of patients. However, few studies have evaluated the efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of interventions to improve this mental wellbeing. This systematic review is the first phase of the Medical Research Council Framework for developing complex interventions and provides an overview of the published mental wellbeing interventions that could be used to design an intervention specific for BC patients.Methods This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines in January 2019 and studies were identified by conducting searches for Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Ovid Gateway. All included studies met the following criteria: mental wellbeing interventions of adults with medically confirmed diagnosis of any type of urological cancer, reported outcomes for specific HRQoL domains including psychological factors. The quality of evidence was assessed according to Down and Black 27-item checklist.Results A total of 15,094 records were collected from the literature search and 10 studies matched the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of these, nine interventions were for patients with prostate cancer and one for patients with kidney cancer. No studies were found for other urological cancers. Depression was the most commonly reported endpoint measured. Of the included studies with positive efficacy, three were group interventions and two were couple interventions. In the group interventions, all showed a reduction in depressive symptoms and in the couple interventions, there was a reduction in depressive symptoms and a favourable relationship cohesion. The couple interventions were the most feasible and acceptable, but further research was required for most of the studies.Conclusion While awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing in bladder cancer patients is growing, this systematic literature review highlights the gap of feasible and acceptable interventions for this patient population.
|
|
| 7. |
- Boudi, Zoubir, et al.
(author)
-
Association between boarding in the emergency department and in-hospital mortality : A systematic review
- 2020
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:4
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Importance: Boarding in the emergency department (ED) is a critical indicator of quality of care for hospitals. It is defined as the time between the admission decision and departure from the ED. As a result of boarding, patients stay in the ED until inpatient beds are available; moreover, boarding is associated with various adverse events.Study objective: The objective of our systematic review was to determine whether ED boarding (EDB) time is associated with in-hospital mortality (IHM).Methods: A systematic search was conducted in academic databases to identify relevant studies. Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, Cochrane, CINAHL and PsychInfo were searched. We included all peer-reviewed published studies from all previous years until November 2018. Studies performed in the ED and focused on the association between EDB and IHM as the primary objective were included. Extracted data included study characteristics, prognostic factors, outcomes, and IHM. A search update in PubMed was performed in May 2019 to ensure the inclusion of recent studies before publishing.Results: From the initial 4,321 references found through the systematic search, the manual screening of reference lists and the updated search in PubMed, a total of 12 studies were identified as eligible for a descriptive analysis. Overall, six studies found an association between EDB and IHM, while five studies showed no association. The last remaining study included both ICU and non-ICU subgroups and showed conflicting results, with a positive association for non-ICU patients but no association for ICU patients. Overall, a tendency toward an association between EDB and IHM using the pool random effect was observed.Conclusion: Our systematic review did not find a strong evidence for the association between ED boarding and IHM but there is a tendency toward this association. Further well-controlled, international multicenter studies are needed to demonstrate whether this association exists and whether there is a specific EDB time cut-off that results in increased IHM.
|
|
| 8. |
- Börner, Jan, et al.
(author)
-
Emerging Evidence on the Effectiveness of Tropical Forest Conservation
- 2016
-
In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 11:11
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PLOS ONE Collection "Measuring forest conservation effectiveness" brings together a series of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of tropical forest conservation policies and programs with the goal of measuring conservation success and associated co-benefits. This overview piece describes the geographic and methodological scope of these studies, as well as the policy instruments covered in the Collection as of June 2016. Focusing on forest cover change, we systematically compare the conservation effects estimated by the studies and discuss them in the light of previous findings in the literature. Nine studies estimated that annual conservation impacts on forest cover were below one percent, with two exceptions in Mexico and Indonesia. Differences in effect sizes are not only driven by the choice of conservation measures. One key lesson from the studies is the need to move beyond the current scientific focus of estimating average effects of undifferentiated conservation programs. The specific elements of the program design and the implementation context are equally important factors for understanding the effectiveness of conservation programs. Particularly critical will be a better understanding of the causal mechanisms through which conservation programs have impacts. To achieve this understanding we need advances in both theory and methods.
|
|
| 9. |
- Chapman, Joanne R., et al.
(author)
-
With Reference to Reference Genes : A Systematic Review of Endogenous Controls in Gene Expression Studies
- 2015
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:11
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The choice of reference genes that are stably expressed amongst treatment groups is a crucial step in real-time quantitative PCR gene expression studies. Recent guidelines have specified that a minimum of two validated reference genes should be used for normalisation. However, a quantitative review of the literature showed that the average number of reference genes used across all studies was 1.2. Thus, the vast majority of studies continue to use a single gene, with beta-actin (ACTB) and/or glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) being commonly selected in studies of vertebrate gene expression. Few studies (15%) tested a panel of potential reference genes for stability of expression before using them to normalise data. Amongst studies specifically testing reference gene stability, few found ACTB or GAPDH to be optimal, whereby these genes were significantly less likely to be chosen when larger panels of potential reference genes were screened. Fewer reference genes were tested for stability in non-model organisms, presumably owing to a dearth of available primers in less well characterised species. Furthermore, the experimental conditions under which real-time quantitative PCR analyses were conducted had a large influence on the choice of reference genes, whereby different studies of rat brain tissue showed different reference genes to be the most stable. These results highlight the importance of validating the choice of normalising reference genes before conducting gene expression studies.
|
|
| 10. |
- Dallora Moraes, Ana Luiza, et al.
(author)
-
Bone age assessment with various machine learning techniques : A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
- 2019
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 14:7
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background The assessment of bone age and skeletal maturity and its comparison to chronological age is an important task in the medical environment for the diagnosis of pediatric endocrinology, orthodontics and orthopedic disorders, and legal environment in what concerns if an individual is a minor or not when there is a lack of documents. Being a time-consuming activity that can be prone to inter- and intra-rater variability, the use of methods which can automate it, like Machine Learning techniques, is of value. Objective The goal of this paper is to present the state of the art evidence, trends and gaps in the research related to bone age assessment studies that make use of Machine Learning techniques. Method A systematic literature review was carried out, starting with the writing of the protocol, followed by searches on three databases: Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science to identify the relevant evidence related to bone age assessment using Machine Learning techniques. One round of backward snowballing was performed to find additional studies. A quality assessment was performed on the selected studies to check for bias and low quality studies, which were removed. Data was extracted from the included studies to build summary tables. Lastly, a meta-analysis was performed on the performances of the selected studies. Results 26 studies constituted the final set of included studies. Most of them proposed automatic systems for bone age assessment and investigated methods for bone age assessment based on hand and wrist radiographs. The samples used in the studies were mostly comprehensive or bordered the age of 18, and the data origin was in most of cases from United States and West Europe. Few studies explored ethnic differences. Conclusions There is a clear focus of the research on bone age assessment methods based on radiographs whilst other types of medical imaging without radiation exposure (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging) are not much explored in the literature. Also, socioeconomic and other aspects that could influence in bone age were not addressed in the literature. Finally, studies that make use of more than one region of interest for bone age assessment are scarce. Copyright: © 2019 Dallora et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
|
|
