Methodological Rigor in Preclinical Cardiovascular Research: Contemporary Performance of AHA Scientific Publications

Author(s):  
Richard Jung ◽  
Cameron Stotts ◽  
Dwipen Makwana ◽  
Pouya Motazedian ◽  
Pietro Di Santo ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhruv Mahtta ◽  
Ahmed Altibi ◽  
Mohamed M. Gad ◽  
Amjad Samara ◽  
Amr F. Barakat ◽  
...  

Background Well‐conducted meta‐analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence‐based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine‐related meta‐analyses published in the highest impact journals. Methods and Results Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine‐related systematic reviews and meta‐analyses published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, The British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Journal of American College of Cardiology between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018. Among 6406 original investigations published during the study period, meta‐analyses represented 422 (6.6%) articles, with an annual decline in the proportion of published meta‐analyses (8.7% in 2012 versus 4.6% in 2018, P trend =0.002). A substantial number of studies failed to incorporate elements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses or Meta‐Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (51.9%) and only a minority of studies (10.4%) were registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). Fewer manuscripts failed to incorporate the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses or Meta‐Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology elements over time (60.2% in 2012 versus 40.0% in 2018, P trend <0.001) whereas the number of meta‐analyses registered at PROSPERO has increased (2.4% in 2013 versus 17.5% in 2018, P trend <0.001). Conclusions The proportion of cardiovascular medicine‐related meta‐analyses published in the highest impact journals has declined over time. Although there is an increasing trend in compliance with quality‐based guidelines, the overall compliance remains low.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
pp. 2243-2262
Author(s):  
Danlin Liu ◽  
Gavin Richardson ◽  
Fehmi M. Benli ◽  
Catherine Park ◽  
João V. de Souza ◽  
...  

Abstract In the elderly population, pathological inflammation has been associated with ageing-associated diseases. The term ‘inflammageing’, which was used for the first time by Franceschi and co-workers in 2000, is associated with the chronic, low-grade, subclinical inflammatory processes coupled to biological ageing. The source of these inflammatory processes is debated. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) has been proposed as the main origin of inflammageing. The SASP is characterised by the release of inflammatory cytokines, elevated activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, altered regulation of acetylcholine (ACh) nicotinic receptors, and abnormal NAD+ metabolism. Therefore, SASP may be ‘druggable’ by small molecule therapeutics targeting those emerging molecular targets. It has been shown that inflammageing is a hallmark of various cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and adverse cardiac remodelling. Therefore, the pathomechanism involving SASP activation via the NLRP3 inflammasome; modulation of NLRP3 via α7 nicotinic ACh receptors; and modulation by senolytics targeting other proteins have gained a lot of interest within cardiovascular research and drug development communities. In this review, which offers a unique view from both clinical and preclinical target-based drug discovery perspectives, we have focused on cardiovascular inflammageing and its molecular mechanisms. We have outlined the mechanistic links between inflammageing, SASP, interleukin (IL)-1β, NLRP3 inflammasome, nicotinic ACh receptors, and molecular targets of senolytic drugs in the context of cardiovascular diseases. We have addressed the ‘druggability’ of NLRP3 and nicotinic α7 receptors by small molecules, as these proteins represent novel and exciting targets for therapeutic interventions targeting inflammageing in the cardiovascular system and beyond.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Riganello ◽  
Sergio Garbarino ◽  
Walter G. Sannita

Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) are major indices of the sympathovagal balance in cardiovascular research. These measures are thought to reflect complex patterns of brain activation as well and HRV is now emerging as a descriptor thought to provide information on the nervous system organization of homeostatic responses in accordance with the situational requirements. Current models of integration equate HRV to the affective states as parallel outputs of the central autonomic network, with HRV reflecting its organization of affective, physiological, “cognitive,” and behavioral elements into a homeostatic response. Clinical application is in the study of patients with psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, impaired emotion-specific processing, personality, and communication disorders. HRV responses to highly emotional sensory inputs have been identified in subjects in vegetative state and in healthy or brain injured subjects processing complex sensory stimuli. In this respect, HRV measurements can provide additional information on the brain functional setup in the severely brain damaged and would provide researchers with a suitable approach in the absence of conscious behavior or whenever complex experimental conditions and data collection are impracticable, as it is the case, for example, in intensive care units.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Meida Rachmawati ◽  
Suzana Widjajanti ◽  
Ahmad Ahmad ◽  
Aslan Aslan

This article aimed to promote English in elementary school students through a fun learning method, called the Fun English Camp. Several studies had been conducted to encounter the best solution to handle this issue. The researchers used PRISMA Protocol as an instrument to collect the data that has been widely used in the process of selecting relevant articles. The researchers reviewed twenty five scientific publications, related to Fun English Camp that has become an English learning approach for beginner students. Through a review of twenty five scientific publications, for instance book and journal, the researchers got scientific evidence that introduction of a learning method with the term Fun English camp has an impact on promoting language learning for elementary school children in Indonesia. Thus, the fun English camp method can be an interesting method to be applied by elementary school curriculum design in Indonesia. Keywords: English Camps, Learning Method, Fun English Learning


Author(s):  
K. R. Ovchinnikova

The relevance of the issue under consideration in the article is connected with the confusion in scientific publications of the concepts of “electronic educational materials” and “electronic educational resources”. The article discusses the concept of “electronic educational materials” from the perspective of general systems theory. And their system character is proved. This allows them to be represented as a single complex of structured information of a specific subject area and didactic materials. These didactic materials support the learning process at all stages of its didactic cycle in accordance with the chosen learning technology based on the didactic capabilities of information technologies. It is concluded that the system of high school electronic materials allows to expand the boundaries of the design activity of the teacher, provide management of the student’s thinking activity, to implement a competence approach to the learning process at university


Author(s):  
Л. Е. Бєловецька

The problem of external independent evaluation in English for admission Master`s degree programs in Ukraine is considered in the article. The perspective for further improvement of English teaching and learning standards at Ukrainian universities has been found. The correspondence to the CEFR basic levels and English proficiency has been identified. Conceptual Principles of State Policy on the Development of English in the Field of Higher Education are considered. The study included 1546 participants. The age of students, who studied to gain the first higher education, was between 17 and 20. The students were not familiar with the structure of External Independent Evaluation and they have never passed it. The research was carried out during the period 2018–2019. The relevance of English language competence in the professional context is noted emphasized as a key point of the presented research. The necessity to provide a sufficient competitive level for Ukrainian graduates through improving correspondent English language training has been considered. The study is based on a study of reports by British experts and contemporary scientific publications presented international researchers have focused on the problems of internationalization and perspectives for Ukrainian universities in the English language dimension. The relevance of studying and adaptation of the UK higher education successful practice has been highlighted. The problems and potential ways of improving students` English language proficiency in the given context are identified. In particular, the study contains important recommendations regarding the number of contact hours and the required levels of English proficiency for the main groups of participants in the educational process in higher education according to international standards.


1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iv
Author(s):  
A K M A Islam

Journal of Scientific Research EDITORIAL Do we need a new journal? The answer lies in the fact that currently no international journal (online and print) with interdisciplinary character which specifically caters to the academic needs of the international community operates from Bangladesh. This journal aims to fill this lacuna and to be a bridge for the scientists from the east and the west. This is the first issue of the Journal of Scientific Research (JSR). The idea of launching a journal that hopes to publish quality scientific works was planted in early 2008 during a science faculty meeting at Rajshahi University. Now it is our pleasure to see the idea blossom into the first issue of first volume (1 January 2009) that contains scientific work not only of Asian regions but of much beyond that. The inaugural issue indicates the type of journal we hope to become. It is wide ranging and interdisciplinary. Our contributors include scholars at every stage of their academic career. As regards editorial policy and scope the Journal of Scientific Research is a peer-reviewed international journal originally intended for publication annually. But due to a satisfactory flow of manuscripts since the first announcements the publication frequency has now been increased to 3 online issues (one print volume) per year.The journal is a unifying force, going across the barriers between disciplines, addressing all related topics and materials. An international Editorial Board (along with an Advisory Board) comprising of renowned academics from various fields guides our editorial policy and direction. The journal is devoted to the publication of original research (research paper, review paper, short communication) covering the following fields:Section A:  Physical and Mathematical Sciences: Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Geophysics, Computer, Environmental Science, Communications and Information Technology, Engineering and related branches.Section B:  Chemical and Biological Sciences: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Biology, Genetics, Fisheries and related branches.The articles selected for the first issue have been reviewed by two discipline-specialists, and their recommendations have been appropriately incorporated. Submissions from the world research community are encouraged to fulfill our mission and aim for the journal to stand for the international scientific publishing standards.    It was clear during the planning and development of this first issue that the Asian region needs a forum through which research could be shared and acknowledged. I hope that this journal will soon be recognised by the wider research community as their forum for the dissemination of knowledge. We hope that the journal will not simply act as a place for publication of material, though obviously this is important, but should act as a catalyst for the advancement of science both within and outside the region.The journal is being published both online and in print. Online publishing, unique in nature, is faster and far less expensive than traditional hard copy publishing. Access of online journals is easier and better images, storage and multimedia are other advantages. I must thank the International Network for the availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) for helping us publish via BanglaJOL – and the help of Ms. Sioux Cumming in this regard is worthy of mention.The success of a journal depends on the quality of its Editorial Board and the reviewers. The effort that I have seen from them speaks well for the future of the new born journal.  Both the Editorial and Advisory Boards should deserve thanks for their indispensable advice and support during the planning phases of the journal. I should also thank the reviewers who contributed their valuable time to complete reviews within a reasonable time. I truly hope that the diversity contained in this first issue of the journal will be the hallmark of future issues. A K M A Islam email: [email protected]  website: www.banglajol.info/index.php/JSR           © 2009 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.DOI: 10.3329/jsr.vlil.1703    


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (99) ◽  
pp. 53-57
Author(s):  
Evgenij V. Berlizov ◽  
◽  
Viktor Hapiak ◽  
Vira Liubchenko ◽  
◽  
...  

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