Reporting methodological issues of the mendelian randomization studies in health and medical research: a systematic review

Background Mendelian randomization (MR) studies using Genetic risk scores (GRS) as an instrumental variable (IV) have increasingly been used to control for unmeasured confounding in observational healthcare databases. However, proper reporting of methodological issues is sparse in these studies. We aimed to review published papers related to MR studies and identify reporting problems. Methods We conducted a systematic review using the clinical articles published between 2009 and 2019. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases. We retrieved information from every MR study, including the tests performed to evaluate assumptions and the modelling approach used for estimation. Using our inclusion/exclusion criteria, finally, we identified 97 studies to conduct the review according to the PRISMA statement. Results Only 66 (68%) of the studies empirically verified the first assumption (Relevance assumption), and 40 (41.2%) studies reported the appropriate tests (e.g., R2, F-test) to investigate the association. A total of 35.1% clearly stated and discussed theoretical justifications for the second and third assumptions. 30.9% of the studies used a two-stage least square, and 11.3% used the Wald estimator method for estimating IV. Also, 44.3% of the studies conducted a sensitivity analysis to illuminate the robustness of estimates for violations of the untestable assumptions. Conclusions We found that incompleteness of the justification of the assumptions for the instrumental variable in MR studies was a common problem in our selected studies. This may misdirect the findings of the studies.

Measuring the effectiveness of online problem solving for improving academic performance in a probability course

Research on impact in student achievement of online homework systems compared to traditional methods is ambivalent. Methodological issues in the study design, besides of technological diversity, can account for this uncertainty. Hypothesis This study aims to estimate the effect size of homework practice with exercises automatically provided by the ‘e-status’ platform, in students from five Engineering programs. Instead of comparing students using the platform with others not using it, we distributed the subject topics into two blocks, and created nine probability problems for each block. After that, the students were randomly assigned to one block and could solve the related exercises through e-status. Teachers and evaluators were masked to the assignation. Five weeks after the assignment, all students answered a written test with questions regarding all topics. The study outcome was the difference between both blocks’ scores obtained from the test. The two groups comprised 163 and 166 students. Of these, 103 and 107 respectively attended the test, while the remainder were imputed with 0. Those assigned to the first block obtained an average outcome of −1.85, while the average in the second block was −3.29 (95% confidence interval of difference, −2.46 to −0.43). During the period in which they had access to the platform before the test, the average total time spent solving problems was less than three hours. Our findings provide evidence that a small amount of active online work can positively impact on student performance.

Study Title-Based Framing Effects on Reports of Sexual Violence Factors in College Students

Objective: There are many methodological issues in studying sexual violence, including potential framing effects. Framing effects refer to how researchers communicate the purpose of a study to par-ticipants, such as, how the study is advertised or explained. The aim of the current study was to inves-tigate if framing effects were associated with differences in participants’ self-reported experiences of sexual violence and related correlates. Methods: College students (N = 782) were recruited to par-ticipate in one of four identical studies that differed in the title: “Questionnaires about Alcohol,” “Questionnaires about Crime,” “Questionnaires about Health,” or “Questionnaires about Sexual As-sault.” Participants chose one of the four studies and completed measures of sexual violence as well as attitudinal and behavioral measures in randomized order. Results: We found significantly more reports of childhood sexual abuse (33.6% vs. 18.5%), rape (33.9% vs. 21.1%), higher frequency of vic-timization (M = 11.35 vs. 5.44), and greater acknowledged rape for bisexual people (46.2% vs. 0.0%) in the Sexual Assault condition compared to other conditions. There were no differences in sexual violence perpetration or attitudinal or behavioral measures. Conclusion: These results revealed that framing effects, based on the study title, affect outcomes in sexual victimization research. Rape was reported 1.6x more in the “Sexual Assault” condition than in the “Health” condition. It is unclear whether these framing effects reflect self-selection bias or framing related increased reports in the Sexual Assault condition, suppression of reports in other conditions, or a combination thereof.

Manifestos and ideology: methodological issues and applications to Latin America

In this paper we compare the recent dataset of Latin American country party manifestos as coded by the Manifest Project database to other estimations of position on the left-right scale and to another coding of the same documents, discussing their limits and potentialities. The differences found between results offer an interesting opportunity to discuss the method, its reliability, and the validity of the coding scheme and the scales. Our findings suggest that the fragile reliability of the hand-coded content analysis could be circumvented by employing intercoder reliability tests and that users must be cautious when basing conclusions on this project’s results.

Formation of principles of innovative development management in the context of globalization and digital transformation processes

The article deals with theoretical and methodological issues of improving innovation development management systems. Special attention is paid to the impact of scientific and technological progress on the transformation of patterns and principles of justification of effective innovation solutions in the paradigm of digitalization, digital transformation and globalization. It is substantiated and proved that digitalization and digital transformation have predetermined the need to take into account such new patterns of innovation processes development as turbulence, delocalization, desynchronization, temporality, humanization, high level of corporate culture in the process of innovation activities.

Methodology for testing assets for impairment during the coronavirus pandemic

Accounting for the impairment of assets is one of the difficult issues in the preparation of financial statements. However, despite the considerable attention of domestic and foreign accounting science to tangible and intangible assets, the methodological apparatus for analyzing the procedure of asset impairment remains insufficiently developed. Issues that take into account the specifics of the development of the economic environment for the functioning of companies, the state and degree of the accounting and financial reporting system have not been worked out, which requires a comprehensive study of methodological issues of checking assets for impairment. Assessing whether an asset has decreased in value can be highly subjective and impairment can appear as a failure of directors, prompting management to underestimate the impairment loss. An impairment loss could have a material effect on a company's financial statements if the assets are overvalued. The main difficulties lie in recognizing when it is necessary to conduct impairment tests, applying the value in use and determining the cash-generating unit (CGU). In some cases, the application of the standard may be difficult, and therefore companies may inadvertently include distorted data in the reporting. The article discusses the application of the rules for determining indicators of impairment during the coronavirus pandemic. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the principles and procedures of IFRS IAS 36, which apply to the impairment of assets in the form of a right of use. Based on the results of this study, several recommendations have been compiled for accountants who need to conduct an impairment test.

Effect of Physical Activity, Smoking, and Sleep on Telomere Length: A Systematic Review of Observational and Intervention Studies

Aging is a risk factor for several pathologies, restricting one’s health span, and promoting chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases), as well as cancer. Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA located at chromosomal ends. Telomere length has been inversely associated with chronological age and has been considered, for a long time, a good biomarker of aging. Several lifestyle factors have been linked with telomere shortening or maintenance. However, the consistency of results is hampered by some methodological issues, including study design, sample size, measurement approaches, and population characteristics, among others. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review the current literature on the effects of three relevant lifestyle factors on telomere length in human adults: physical activity, smoking, and sleep. We conducted a qualitative systematic review of observational and intervention studies using the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The systematic literature search covered articles published in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (from 2010 to 2020). A total of 1400 studies were identified; 83 were included after quality control. Although fewer sedentary activities, optimal sleep habits, and non- or ex-smoker status have been associated with less telomere shortening, several methodological issues were detected, including the need for more targeted interventions and standardized protocols to better understand how physical activity and sleep can impact telomere length and aging. We discuss the main findings and current limitations to gain more insights into the influence of these lifestyle factors on the healthy aging process.

Methodological Introduction

This chapter explores some of the methodological issues that arise from studying Buddhist ethics. It gives an overview of the four noble truths, and it argues that Buddhist ethical theory is grounded in the Buddhist metaphysical outlook captured by dependent origination, selflessness, and impermanence. It further argues that Buddhist ethics is an attempt to solve the ubiquity of suffering that is grounded in these three characteristics of reality, and that this solution is reflected in the eightfold path. Also addressed are the six realms of transmigration on the Buddhist Wheel of Life, and their applications to the forms of suffering.

A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies Investigating the Association Between Early Life Maternal Depression and Offspring ADHD

Objective: The systematic review sought to understand the relationship between maternal depression and later ADHD in children. Method: Three databases were used to identify the studies (Medline, Web of Science and PsychInfo) resulting in 1,223 studies being screened and 14 articles being included in the review. Results: The majority of studies ( N = 11) reported a significant relationship between maternal depression (across both prenatal and postnatal periods) and ADHD symptoms in children. This relationship remained significant when temperament, or past ADHD symptoms were controlled for. Several methodological issues were identified including; overreliance on maternal report and parental ADHD not being accounted for in most studies. Conclusion: The review adds to the literature regarding the temporal relationship between maternal depression and the development of ADHD in children, and thus supports the case for improving access to mental health services for mothers as a preventative strategy in the development of child psychopathology.