Health effects of exposure to nano-TiO2: a meta-analysis of experimental studies

Abstract Obesity has been shown to intensify the decline of physical function and lead to frailty. Nutrition is an important method in managing obesity and frailty, while seldom reviews have ever explored the effects of nutritional education interventions. We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42019142403) to explore the effectiveness of nutritional education interventions in managing body composition and physio-psychosocial parameters related to frailty. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies were searched in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus from 2001 to 2019. Hand search for the reference lists of included papers was conducted as well. We assessed the quality of included studies by Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were used to analyse the data. Two studies with low risk of bias were screened from 180 articles, which involved 177 older people with an average age of 69.69±4.08 years old. The results showed that nutritional education was significantly effective in reducing body weight and fat mass than exercises, and it was beneficial to enhancing physical function and psychosocial well-being. But the effects of nutritional education in increasing muscle strength were not better than exercises. The combined effects of nutritional education and exercises were superior than either exercises or nutritional education interventions solely in preventing the loss of lean mass and bone marrow density, and in improving physical function. Due to limited numbers of relevant studies, the strong evidence of effectiveness of nutritional education interventions on reversing frailty is still lacking.

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Clinical safety of total glucosides of paeony adjuvant therapy for rheumatoid arthritis treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies ◽

10.1186/s12906-021-03252-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bin Liu ◽

Xiang Meng ◽

Yanfang Ma ◽

Huizhen Li ◽

Yuqi Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Adverse Effect ◽

Adjuvant Therapy ◽

Statistical Difference ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Analysis Data ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Clinical Safety ◽

Total Glucosides Of Paeony

Abstract Background Total glucosides of paeony (TGP), an active compound extracted from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pallas, has been increasingly used as the adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Though TGP could mitigate the unanticipated adverse effects during the conventional treatment of RA, high-quality evidence-based meta-analysis data on this subject are still insufficient. The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical safety of TGP adjuvant therapy in the RA treatment. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), SinoMed and WanFang Data were retrieved for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort study about TGP adjuvant therapy in patients with RA up to 28 January 2021. Literatures with eligibility criteria and information were screened and extracted by two researchers independently. The RevMan5.3 software was used for data analysis with effect estimates as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results A total of 39 studies involving 3680 RA participants were included. There were 8 comparisons: TGP plus methotrexate (MTX) therapy versus MTX therapy, TGP plus leflunomide (LEF) therapy versus LEF therapy, TGP plus MTX and LEF therapy versus MTX plus LEF therapy, TGP plus tripterygium glycosides (TG) therapy versus TG therapy, TGP plus meloxicam (MLX) therapy versus MLX therapy and TGP plus sulfasalazine (SSZ) therapy versus SSZ therapy, TGP plus iguratimod (IGU) therapy versus IGU therapy, TGP plus prednisone acetate tablets (PAT) therapy versus PAT therapy. The meta-analysis results showed that the occurrence of hepatic adverse effect (RR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.23–0.41, P < 0.00001) and leukopenia (RR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.26–0.66, P = 0.0002) in TGP adjuvant therapy was significant decreased compared with non-TGP therapy. However, only TGP plus LEF therapy (RR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.08–0.60, P = 0.003) and TGP plus MTX and LEF therapy (RR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.22–0.42, P < 0.00001) had statistical difference in the subgroups of hepatic adverse effect. In leukopenia, TGP plus MTX and LEF therapy (RR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.25–0.87, P = 0.02) had statistical difference. Conclusions This meta-analysis indicated that TGP adjuvant therapy might alleviate the incidence of hepatic adverse effect and leukopenia for the RA treatment compared to non-TGP therapy. The clinical safety of TGP adjuvant therapy warrant further investigation in experimental studies.

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A preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of heart rate variability biofeedback on heart rate variability and respiration of athletes

Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.1515/jcim-2020-0528 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Jeffrey Cayaban Pagaduan ◽

Yung-Sheng Chen ◽

James William Fell ◽

Sam Shi Xuan Wu

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Web Of Science ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Academic Research ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Quantitative Review ◽

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback ◽

Randomized Control

Abstract To date, there is no quantitative review examining the influence of heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV BFB) on the athlete population. Such an undertaking may provide valuable information on the autonomic and respiration responses of athletes when performing HRV BFB. Thus, purpose of this preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of HRV BFB on HRV and respiration of athletes. Searches of Springerlink, SportDiscus, Web of Science, PROQUEST Academic Research Library, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were conducted for studies that met the following criteria: (1) experimental studies involving athletes that underwent randomized control trial; (2) availability of HRV BFB as a treatment compared with a control (CON)/placebo (PLA); (3) any pre and post HRV variable and/or breathing frequency as dependent variable/s; and, (4) peer-reviewed articles written in English. Four out of 660 studies involving 115 athletes (25 females and 90 males) ages 16–30 years old were assessed in this review. Preliminary findings suggest the promising ability of HRV BFB to improve respiratory mechanics in athlete population. More work is needed to determine the autonomic modulatory effect of HRV BFB in athletes.

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Adverse Health Effects of Frailty: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Middle‐Aged and Older Adults With Implications for Evidence‐Based Practice

Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing ◽

10.1111/wvn.12508 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wen Chu ◽

Shu‐Fang Chang ◽

Hsu‐Yu Ho

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Health Effects ◽

Evidence Based Practice ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Adverse Health Effects ◽

Adverse Health

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Cross-linguistic influence in simultaneous and early sequential bilingual children: a meta-analysis

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000921000337 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-33

Author(s):

Chantal VAN DIJK ◽

Elise VAN WONDEREN ◽

Elly KOUTAMANIS ◽

Gerrit Jan KOOTSTRA ◽

Ton DIJKSTRA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Effect Size ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Uniform Method ◽

Bilingual Children ◽

Average Effect ◽

Language Dominance ◽

Average Effect Size ◽

Comprehensive Theory ◽

Bilingual Development

Abstract Although cross-linguistic influence at the level of morphosyntax is one of the most intensively studied topics in child bilingualism, the circumstances under which it occurs remain unclear. In this meta-analysis, we measured the effect size of cross-linguistic influence and systematically assessed its predictors in 750 simultaneous and early sequential bilingual children in 17 unique language combinations across 26 experimental studies. We found a significant small to moderate average effect size of cross-linguistic influence, indicating that cross-linguistic influence is part and parcel of bilingual development. Language dominance, operationalized as societal language, was a significant predictor of cross-linguistic influence, whereas surface overlap, language domain and age were not. Perhaps an even more important finding was that definitions and operationalisations of cross-linguistic influence and its predictors varied considerably between studies. This could explain the absence of a comprehensive theory in the field. To solve this issue, we argue for a more uniform method of studying cross-linguistic influence.

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The Nephroprotective Properties of Extracellular Vesicles in Experimental Models of Chronic Kidney Disease: a Systematic Review

Stem Cell Reviews and Reports ◽

10.1007/s12015-021-10189-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Natalia Nowak ◽

Masayuki Yamanouchi ◽

Eiichiro Satake

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Interstitial Fibrosis ◽

Cell Damage ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Extracellular Vesicle ◽

Experimental Models ◽

Preclinical Research

AbstractExtracellular vesicle (EV)-based therapy was hypothesized as a promising regenerative approach which has led to intensive research of EVs in various pathologies. In this study, we performed a comprehensive systematic review of the current experimental evidence regarding the protective properties of EVs in chronic kidney disease (CKD). We evaluated the EV-based experiments, EV characteristics, and effector molecules with their involvement in CKD pathways. Including all animal records with available creatinine or urea data, we performed a stratified univariable meta-analysis to assess the determinants of EV-based therapy effectiveness. We identified 35 interventional studies that assessed nephroprotective role of EVs and catalogued them according to their involvement in CKD mechanism. Systematic assessment of these studies suggested that EVs had consistently improved glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, and cell damage, among different CKD models. Moreover, EV-based therapy reduced the progression of renal decline in CKD. The stratified analyses showed that the disease model, administered dose, and time of therapeutic intervention were potential predictors of therapeutic efficacy. Together, EV therapy is a promising approach for CKD progression in experimental studies. Further standardisation of EV-methods, continuous improvement of the study quality, and better understanding of the determinants of EV effectiveness will facilitate preclinical research, and may help development of clinical trials in people with CKD. Graphical Abstract

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Effective Programs in Elementary Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis

AERA Open ◽

10.1177/2332858420986211 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 233285842098621

Author(s):

Marta Pellegrini ◽

Cynthia Lake ◽

Amanda Neitzel ◽

Robert E. Slavin

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Elementary Mathematics ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Positive Outcomes ◽

Classroom Organization ◽

Benchmark Assessment ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Organization And Management ◽

Achievement Outcomes

This article reviews research on the achievement outcomes of elementary mathematics programs; 87 rigorous experimental studies evaluated 66 programs in grades K–5. Programs were organized in six categories. Particularly positive outcomes were found for tutoring programs (effect size [ES] = +0.20, k = 22). Positive outcomes were also seen in studies focused on professional development for classroom organization and management (e.g., cooperative learning; ES = +0.19, k = 7). Professional development approaches focused on helping teachers gain in understanding of mathematics content and pedagogy had little impact on student achievement. Professional development intended to help in the adoption of new curricula had a small but significant impact for traditional (nondigital) curricula (ES = +0.12, k = 7), but not for digital curricula. Traditional and digital curricula with limited professional development, as well as benchmark assessment programs, found few positive effects.

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