Bibliographic Databases

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the combination of the best available research evidence with clinical experience and patient needs. The concept of EBM as a part of clinical decision making has become increasingly popular over the last decade. In the hierarchy of studies meta-analysis and systematic reviews occupy the highest levels. A systematic review of a clinical question can be performed by following a relatively standard form. These techniques as described here can be performed without formal training. Systematic reviews conducted in this fashion can be used as a higher form of current concepts or as review articles and replace the traditional expert opinion narrative review.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation is recognized as a core component of the management of individuals with chronic respiratory disease. Since the 2006 American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) Statement on Pulmonary Rehabilitation, there has been considerable growth in our knowledge of its efficacy and scope. Purpose: The purpose of this Statement is to update the 2006 document, including a new definition of pulmonary rehabilitation and highlighting key concepts and major advances in the field. Methods: A multidisciplinary committee of experts representing the ATS Pulmonary Rehabilitation Assembly and the ERS Scientific Group 01.02, "Rehabilitation and Chronic Care," determined the overall scope of this update through group consensus. Focused literature reviews in key topic areas were conducted by committee members with relevant clinical and scientific expertise. The final content of this Statement was agreed on by all members. Results: An updated definition of pulmonary rehabilitation is proposed. New data are presented on the science and application of pulmonary rehabilitation, including its effectiveness in acutely ill individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and in individuals with other chronic respiratory diseases. The important role of pulmonary rehabilitation in chronic disease management is highlighted. In addition, the role of health behavior change in optimizing and maintaining benefits is discussed. Conclusions: The considerable growth in the science and application of pulmonary rehabilitation since 2006 adds further support for its efficacy in a wide range of individuals with chronic respiratory disease.

Background: Chronic headache is a prevalent condition with substantial socioeconomic impact. Complementary or alternative therapies are increasingly being used by patients to treat headache pain, and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is among the most common of these.

Since its first definition in the literature, schizoaffective disorder (SAD) has raised a considerable controversy regarding its clinical distinction from schizophrenia (SCH) and mood disorders (MD) as well as its validity as an independent nosological category.

The growing trends of poly-substance use and associated health and public concerns have been reported in various studies with particular focus on young adults patronising popular recreational settings. Harm reduction interventions targeting this population have been reported for a number of settings, however only limited data is available on the current strategies employed. A systematic review of peer-reviewed journals was conducted to determine interventions published since 1998 which targeted 17-24 year olds within recreational settings: defined as clubs, pubs, discos, festivals or raves. The identified studies were examined for similarities in design, implementation and outcome measures. The findings and their limitations are discussed alongside implications for future research needed to fill a void in the current knowledge base.

In 2011, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) published recommendations regarding the vaccination of children with rheumatic diseases. These recommendations were based on a systematic literature review published in that same year. Since then, the evidence body on this topic has grown substantially. This review provides an update of the systematic literature study of 2011, summarizing all the available evidence on the safety and immunogenicity of vaccination in paediatric patients with rheumatic diseases. The current search yielded 21 articles, in addition to the 27 articles described in the 2011 review. In general, vaccines are immunogenic and safe in this patient population. The effect of immunosuppressive drugs on the immunogenicity of vaccines was not detrimental for glucocorticosteroids and methotrexate. Biologicals could accelerate a waning of antibody levels over time, although most patients were initially protected adequately. Overall, persistence of immunological memory may be reduced in children with rheumatic diseases, which shows the need for (booster) vaccination. This update of the 2011 systematic literature review strengthens the evidence base for the EULAR recommendations, and it must be concluded that vaccinations in patients with rheumatic diseases should be advocated.

Introduction and Aims. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive annotated public-domain bibliography of the literature on spirituality and addictions to facilitate future research and scholarship. Design and Methods. A search was conducted of all citations listed in the MEDLINE, PsychINFO and ALTA Religion databases covering a period from 1941 to 2004 using the following search terms: substance abuse, substance dependence, addiction, religion, spirituality. A group of experts in the field then classified each citation according to empirically derived categories. Results. A total of 1353 papers met the search parameters and were classified into 10 non-exclusive categories: (1) attitudes toward spirituality and substance use, (2) commentaries, (3) spiritual practices and development in recovery, (4) spiritual and religion variables in the epidemiology of substance abuse, (5) psychoactive substances and spiritual experiences, (6) religious and spiritual interventions, (7) literature reviews, (8) measurement of spirituality and addictions, (9) 12-Step spirituality and (10) youth and development. Discussion and Conclusions. The literature is voluminous, but has focused primarily in a few areas. Common findings included an inverse relationship between religiosity and substance use/abuse, reduced use among those practising meditation and protective effects of 12-Step group involvement during recovery. Although sound instruments are available for measuring spirituality, studies have tended to use simplistic, often single-item measures. [Geppert C, Bogenschutz MP, Miller WR. Development of a bibliography on religion, spirituality and addictions. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:389 -395]

BackgroundQualitative systematic reviews are increasing in popularity in evidence based health care. Difficulties have been reported in conducting literature searches of qualitative research using the PICO search tool. An alternative search tool, entitled SPIDER, was recently developed for more effective searching of qualitative research, but remained untested beyond its development team.MethodsIn this article we tested the `SPIDER¿ search tool in a systematic narrative review of qualitative literature investigating the health care experiences of people with Multiple Sclerosis. Identical search terms were combined into the PICO or SPIDER search tool and compared across Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE and EBSCO CINAHL Plus databases. In addition, we added to this method by comparing initial SPIDER and PICO tools to a modified version of PICO with added qualitative search terms (PICOS).ResultsResults showed a greater number of hits from the PICO searches, in comparison to the SPIDER searche...

The prominent clinical feature of behavioral impulsivity following traumatic brain injury (TBI) suggests impairment of frontal inhibitory control processes. This meta-analysis consolidates the recent surge in studies across two forms of “effortful” inhibition, employing well-defined paradigms of response inhibition (N = 20; i.e., go/no-go, sustained attention to response, stop-signal, Conners' continuous performance tasks) and response interference control (N = 21, i.e., Stroop color word tasks). Across 41 effect sizes involving 989 adults with mild to severe TBI and 969 controls, the overall effect of TBI on reduced inhibitory control was small to moderate (d = 0.3) and significant. The effect was larger in studies measuring response inhibition performance (d = 0.5), while Stroop interference control yielded a nonsignificant overall effect size (d = 0.05). Further analysis of the latter finding revealed a large effect size when Stroop task studies used the outcome measure “total time on task” (d = 1.4), but not “RT per trial” or “number of stimuli” (d = −0.8 and −0.9). Response speed in these tasks was impaired to a large degree (d = 0.96). Together these findings support a response inhibition deficit following TBI but suggest factors other than interference control, such as poor processing speed, fatigue, and underarousal, may underlie poor performance in Stroop tasks.

To compare the treatment of heterotopic ossification (HO) within the traumatic brain and spinal cord injured populations. MEDLINE/Pubmed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for articles addressing treatment of HO post-injury. Articles were constrained to: English language and human subjects. Studies were included if: n ≥ 50% of the subjects had a spinal cord injury (SCI) or a traumatic brain injury (TBI), n ≥ 3 SCI or TBI subjects, and study subjects participated in a treatment or intervention. Study quality, for randomized control trials (RCTs), were assessed using the PEDro assessment scale, while non-RCTs was assessed using the Downs and Black evaluation tool. A modified Sackett scale was used to apply levels of evidence for each intervention. In total 26 studies (NTBI = 12; NSCI = 14) met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies (10/12) conducted in the TBI population were surgical interventions. Studies conducted with the SCI population investigated diverse...

We analyzed our historic patient database at North Shore University Hospital and determined both the overall frequency of anti-Js(a) and the frequency at which it was detected in combination with other alloantibodies to red blood cell (RBC) antigens. Screening cells used currently are negative for Js(a). Our data suggest that anti-Js(a) would not be detected in 30 to 40 percent of patients in which it is the sole antibody present. Since 1996 the antibody was only detected when other antibodies were found in the screening process. We are exposing 1.7 percent of our patients (90 patients/year) to Js(a). The clinical significance of anti-Js(a) is apparent with previous literature, and our conclusion is that additional studies should be performed to determine whether Js(a) should be included in current antibody screening cells.

Background: Burn injuries remain one of the leading causes of injury morbidity and mortality in the World Health Organization's East Mediterranean Region. To provide an overview on the epidemiology of burn injuries in this region, a systematic review was undertaken.

pentland d., forsyth k., maciver d., walsh m., murray r., irvine l. & sikora s. (2011) Key characteristics of knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare: integrative literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing67(7), 1408–1425.pentland d., forsyth k., maciver d., walsh m., murray r., irvine l. & sikora s. (2011) Key characteristics of knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare: integrative literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing67(7), 1408–1425.AbstractAim.  This paper presents the results of a review of literature relating to knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare.Background.  Treatment, planning and policy decisions in contemporary nursing and healthcare should be based on sound evidence wherever possible, but research knowledge remains generally underused. Knowledge transfer and exchange initiatives aim to facilitate the accessibility, application and production of evidence and may provide solutions to this challenge. This review was conducted to help inform the design and implementation of knowledge transfer and exchange activities for a large healthcare organization.Data sources.  Databases: ASSIA, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Medline and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Review methods.  An integrative literature review was carried out including an extensive literature search. English language systematic reviews, literature reviews, primary quantitative and qualitative papers and grey literature of high relevance evaluating, describing or discussing knowledge transfer or exchange activities in healthcare were included for review (January 1990–September 2009).Findings.  Thirty-three papers were reviewed (four systematic reviews, nine literature reviews, one environmental scan, nine empirical studies and ten case studies).Conclusion.  Robust research into knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare is limited. Analysis of a wide range of evidence indicates a number of commonly featured characteristics but further evaluation of these activities would benefit their application in facilitating evidence-based practice in nursing.Aim.  This paper presents the results of a review of literature relating to knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare.Background.  Treatment, planning and policy decisions in contemporary nursing and healthcare should be based on sound evidence wherever possible, but research knowledge remains generally underused. Knowledge transfer and exchange initiatives aim to facilitate the accessibility, application and production of evidence and may provide solutions to this challenge. This review was conducted to help inform the design and implementation of knowledge transfer and exchange activities for a large healthcare organization.Data sources.  Databases: ASSIA, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Medline and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Review methods.  An integrative literature review was carried out including an extensive literature search. English language systematic reviews, literature reviews, primary quantitative and qualitative papers and grey literature of high relevance evaluating, describing or discussing knowledge transfer or exchange activities in healthcare were included for review (January 1990–September 2009).Findings.  Thirty-three papers were reviewed (four systematic reviews, nine literature reviews, one environmental scan, nine empirical studies and ten case studies).Conclusion.  Robust research into knowledge transfer and exchange in healthcare is limited. Analysis of a wide range of evidence indicates a number of commonly featured characteristics but further evaluation of these activities would benefit their application in facilitating evidence-based practice in nursing.

Introduction Increasing investment in eHealth aims to improve cost effectiveness and safety of care. Data extraction and aggregation can create new data products to improve professional practice and provide feedback to improve the quality of source data. A previous systematic review concluded that locally relevant clinical indicators and use of clinical record systems could support clinical governance. We aimed to extend and update the review with a theoretical framework. Methods We searched PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, ABI Inform (Proquest) and Business Source Premier (EBSCO) using the terms curation, information ecosystem, data quality management (DQM), data governance, information governance (IG) and data stewardship. We focused on and analysed the scope of DQM and IG processes, theoretical frameworks, and determinants of the processing, quality assurance, presentation and sharing of data across the enterprise. Findings There are good theoretical reasons for integrated governance, but there is variable alignment of DQM, IG and health system objectives across the health enterprise. Ethical constraints exist that require health information ecosystems to process data in ways that are aligned with improving health and system efficiency and ensuring patient safety. Despite an increasingly 'big-data' environment, DQM and IG in health services are still fragmented across the data production cycle. We extend current work on DQM and IG with a theoretical framework for integrated IG across the data cycle. Conclusions The dimensions of this theory-based framework would require testing with qualitative and quantitative studies to examine the applicability and utility, along with an evaluation of its impact on data quality across the health enterprise.

Background: Pain management of many pancreatic diseases remains a major clinical concern. This problem reflects our poor understanding of pain signaling from the pancreas. Objectives: This review provides an overview of our current knowledge, with emphasis on current pain management strategies and recent experimental findings. Methods: A systematic search of the scientific literature was carried out using EMBASE, PubMed/MED-LINE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for the years 1965e2011 to obtain access to all publications, especially randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses exploring pain and its management in disease states such as acute pancreatitis (AP), chronic pancreatitis (CP) and pancreatic cancer (PC). Results: Over the last decade, numerous molecular mediators such as nerve growth factor and the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel family have been implicated in afferent nerve signaling. More recent animal studies have indicated the location of the receptive fields for the afferent nerves in the pancreas and shown that these are activated by agents including cholecystokinin octapeptide, 5hydroxytryptamine and bradykinin. Studies with PC specimens have shown that neuro-immune interactions occur and numerous agents including TRP cation channel V1, artemin and fractalkine have been implicated. Experimental studies in the clinical setting have demonstrated impairment of inhibitory pain modulation from supraspinal structures and implicated neuropathic pain mechanisms. Conclusions: Our knowledge in this area remains incomplete. Characterization of the mediators and receptors/ion channels on the sensory nerve terminals are required in order to facilitate the development of new pharmaceutical treatments for AP and CP.

Your assignment: Write a scholarly paper for a nursing course. What is your reaction? Panic!? Confusion? A need to get prepared! Most nursing students ask the following questions: "What is considered scholarly writing style?" "What should be included in the paper?" "Where do I find references?" "What references are appropriate?" "How are references cited?" "How should the paper be typed?" "Why do I need to write papers for nursing courses anyway?" These questions and anxieties are expressed by nursing students across the country, especially since undergraduate and graduate nursing students are asked to write scholarly papers throughout their nursing journey. Nursing papers are often written using the American Psychological Association (APA) (2001) style guidelines, and we've prepared this article so that you'll be on your way to writing a successful paper. We've included information on the APA format, with examples, so that you're not only developing your writing skills while at school but during your career as a professional nurse.

Results Among 74 FDA-registered studies, 31%, accounting for 3449 study participants, were not published. Whether and how the studies were published were associated with the study outcome. A total of 37 studies viewed by the FDA as having positive results were ...

Small size at birth continues to be a problem worldwide and many factors, including reduced folate intake and Pb exposure, are associated with it. However, single factors rarely explain the variability in birth weight, suggesting a need for more complex explanatory models. We investigated environment-gene interactions to understand whether folate intake and maternal Pb exposure were associated with smaller newborn size in 474 women with uncomplicated pregnancies delivering term infants in Mexico City. We examined if folate intake modified the negative effects of maternal Pb burden on birth size. We also asked if maternal and infant methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genotypes (C677T, A1298C and G1793A) modified the effects of folate intake or Pb exposure on birth size. Women were aged 24·6 (SD 5·1) years; 43·5 % were primiparous. Maternal blood Pb at delivery was 86 (SD 42) μg/l, with 26·7 % having levels ≥100 μg/l. Tibia Pb level was 9·9 (SD 9·8) μg/g. Of the women, 35·3 % had folate intakes <400 μg/d. Birth weight was 3170 (SD 422) g. In covariate-adjusted regressions, higher folate intake was associated with higher birth weight (β 0·04; P<0·05). Higher bone Pb was associated with lower birth weight (β −4·9; P<0·05). Folate intake did not modify the effects of Pb on birth size, nor did MTHFR modify the association between Pb or folate intake on birth size. Although modest, the relationship between maternal nutrition, Pb burden and birth size does underscore the importance of environmental exposures to child health because patterns of fetal growth may affect health outcomes well into adulthood.

Background: The production of high quality systematic reviews requires rigorous methods that are time-consuming and resource intensive. Citation screening is a key step in the systematic review process. An opportunity to improve the efficiency of systematic review production involves the use of non-expert groups and new technologies for citation screening. We performed a pilot study of citation screening by medical students using four screening methods and compared students' performance to experienced review authors. Methods: The aims of this pilot randomised controlled trial were to provide preliminary data on the accuracy of title and abstract screening by medical students, and on the effect of screening modality on screening accuracy and efficiency. Medical students were randomly allocated to title and abstract screening using one of the four modalities and required to screen 650 citations from a single systematic review update. The four screening modalities were a reference management software program (EndNote), Paper, a web-based systematic review workflow platform (ReGroup) and a mobile screening application (Screen2Go). Screening sensitivity and specificity were analysed in a complete case analysis using a chi-squared test and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test according to screening modality and compared to a final set of included citations selected by expert review authors. Results: Sensitivity of medical students' screening decisions ranged from 46.7% to 66.7%, with students using the web-based platform performing significantly better than the paper-based group. Specificity ranged from 93.2% to 97.4% with the lowest specificity seen with the web-based platform. There was no significant difference in performance between the other three modalities. Conclusions: Medical students are a feasible population to engage in citation screening. Future studies should investigate the effect of incentive systems, training and support and analytical methods on screening performance. Systematic review registration: Cochrane Database CD001048

In the last decade, the association between diet and cognitive function or dementia has been largely investigated. In the present article, we systematically reviewed observational studies published in the last three years (2014-2016) on the relationship among dietary factors and late-life cognitive disorders at different levels of investigation (i.e., dietary patterns, foods and food-groups, and dietary micro- and macronutrients), and possible underlying mechanisms of the proposed associations. From the reviewed evidence, the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer&#39;s Association guidelines for Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) and cognitive decline due to AD pathology introduced some evidence suggesting a direct relation between diet and changes in the brain structure and activity. There was also accumulating evidence that combinations of foods and nutrients into certain patterns may act synergistically to provide stronger health effects than those conferred by their individual dietary...

With the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) showing uneven progress, this review identifies possible limitations arising from the MDG framework itself rather than extrinsic issues. A multidisciplinary literature review was conducted with a focus on limitations in the formulation of the MDGs, their structure, content and implementation. Of 1837 MDG-related articles, 90 met criteria for analysis. Articles describe MDGs as being created by only a few stakeholders without adequate involvement by developing countries and overlooking development objectives previously agreed upon. Others claim MDGs are unachievable and simplistic, not adapted to national needs, do not specify accountable parties and reinforce vertical interventions. While MDGs have promoted increased health and well-being in many countries by recognising and deliberating on the possible constraints of the MDG framework, the post-2015 agenda may have even greater impact.

A natural shift is taking place in the approaches being adopted by plant scientists in response to the accessibility of systems-based technology platforms. Metabolomics is one such field, which involves a comprehensive non-biased analysis of metabolites in a given cell at a specific time. This review briefly introduces the emerging field and a range of analytical techniques that are most useful in metabolomics when combined with computational approaches in data analyses. Using cases from Arabidopsis and other selected plant systems, this review highlights how information can be integrated from metabolomics and other functional genomics platforms to obtain a global picture of plant cellular responses. We discuss how metabolomics is enabling large-scale and parallel interrogation of cell states under different stages of development and defined environmental conditions to uncover novel interactions among various pathways. Finally, we discuss selected applications of metabolomics.

Objective. The objective of this study was to identify core journals in physical therapy by identifying those that publish the most randomized controlled trials of physical therapy interventions, provide the highest-quality reports of randomized controlled trials, and have the highest journal impact factors.

Those exposed to suicide are at increased risk of adverse outcomes including mental illness, impaired social functioning, and fatal and non-fatal suicidal behavior. However, it is unclear how many people are exposed to suicide in the general community. This first meta-analysis of population-based studies aimed to provide pooled estimates of past-year and lifetime prevalence of exposure to suicide among family, friends/peers, and all relationships. In addition, the study examined prevalence of exposure to suicide by age group: adolescents and adults. Systematic searches of the literature in Embase, Medline and PsycINFO identified eighteen studies that were included in the analysis. Pooled past-year prevalence was 4.31% (CI: 2.50 to 6.58) and life-time prevalence 21.83% (CI: 16.32 to 27.90). Both past-year and lifetime prevalences of exposure to suicide among friends and peers were significantly higher than the prevalence of exposure within families; there were no differences in the p...

Background : Effective literature searching is particularly important for clinical practice guideline development. Sophisticated searching and filtering mechanisms are needed to help ensure that all relevant research is reviewed. Purpose : To assess the methods used for the selection of evidence for guideline development by evidence-based guideline development organizations. Methods : A semistructured questionnaire assessing the databases, search filters and evaluation methods used for literature retrieval was distributed to eight major organizations involved in evidence-based guideline development. Results : All of the organizations used search filters as part of guideline development. The  database was the primary source accessed for literature retrieval. The OVID or SilverPlatter interfaces were used in preference to the freely accessed PubMed interface. The Cochrane Library,  ,  and  databases were also frequently used by the organizations. All organizations reported the intention to improve and validate their filters for finding literature specifically relevant for guidelines.

Objective: To summarize the current evidence on the effects of preoperative exercise therapy in patients awaiting invasive surgery on postoperative complication rate and length of hospital stay. Data sources: A primary search of relevant key terms was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, PEDro and CINAHL. Review methods: Studies were included if they were controlled trials evaluating the effects of preoperative exercise therapy on postoperative complication rate and length of hospital stay. The methodological quality of included studies was independently assessed by two reviewers using the PEDro scale. Statistical pooling was performed when studies were comparable in terms of patient population and outcome measures. Results were separately described if pooling was not possible. Results: Twelve studies of patients undergoing joint replacement, cardiac or abdominal surgery were included. The PEDro scores ranged from 4 to 8 points. Preoperative exercise therapy consisting of inspiratory muscle training or exercise training prior to cardiac or abdominal surgery led to a shorter hospital stay and reduced postoperative complication rates. By contrast, length of hospital stay and complication rates of patients after joint replacement surgery were not significantly affected by preoperative exercise therapy consisting of strength and/or mobility training. Conclusion: Preoperative exercise therapy can be effective for reducing postoperative complication rates and length of hospital stay after cardiac or abdominal surgery. More research on the utility of preoperative exercise therapy and its long-term effects is needed as well as insight in the benefits of using risk models.

In vivo effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have attracted much attention nowadays as this area of research spreads to both the motor and cognitive domains. The common assumption is that the anode electrode causes an enhancement of cortical excitability during stimulation, which then lasts for a few minutes thereafter, while the cathode electrode generates the opposite effect, i.e., anodal-excitation and cathodalinhibition effects (AeCi). Yet, this dual-polarity effect has not been observed in all tDCS studies. Here, we conducted a meta-analytical review aimed to investigate the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the effect sizes of the AeCi dichotomy in both motor and cognitive functions. The AeCi effect was found to occur quite commonly with motor investigations and rarely in cognitive studies. When the anode electrode is applied over a non-motor area, in most cases, it will cause an excitation as measured by a relevant cognitive or perceptual task; however, the cathode electrode rarely causes an inhibition. We found homogeneity in motor studies and heterogeneity in cognitive studies with the electrode's polarity serving as a moderator that can explain the source of heterogeneity in cognitive studies. The lack of inhibitory cathodal effects might reflect compensation processes as cognitive functions are typically supported by rich brain networks. Further insights as to the polarity and domain interaction are offered, including subdivision to different classes of cognitive functions according to their likelihood of being affected by stimulation.

Study Design and Objectives. Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the McKenzie method for low back pain (LBP). Summary of Background Data. The McKenzie method is a popular classification-based treatment for LBP. The faulty equation of McKenzie to extension exercises (generic McKenzie) is common in randomized trials.

This article by Arja Holopainen, Tuovi Hakulinen-Viitanen and Kerttu Tossavainen explains the five stages of the systematic review process and describes how this method was applied to an analysis of studies dealing with nurse 'teacherhood'. The authors argue that systematic review is an excellent method for summarising research knowledge and for highlighting evidence significant for nursing, nursing education and nursing research

We apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s (1983) competing values framework (CVF) as an organizing taxonomy to meta-analytically test hypotheses about the relationship between 3 culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee attitudes, operational performance [i.e., innovation and product and service quality], and financial performance). The paper also tests theoretical suppositions undergirding the CVF by investigating the framework&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s nomological validity and proposed internal structure (i.e., interrelationships among culture types). Results based on data from 84 empirical studies with 94 independent samples indicate that clan, adhocracy, and market cultures are differentially and positively associated with the effectiveness criteria, though not always as hypothesized. The findings provide mixed support for the CVF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s nomological validity and fail to support aspects of the CVF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s proposed internal structure. We propose an alternative theoretical approach to the CVF and delineate directions for future research.

The overjustification hypothesis suggests that extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic rewards are common in strengthening behavior in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; we examined overjustification effects in this context. A literature search yielded 65 data sets permitting comparison of responding during an initial no-reinforcement phase to a subsequent no-reinforcement phase, separated by a reinforcement phase. We used effect sizes to compare response levels in these two no-reinforcement phases. Overall, the mean effect size did not differ from zero; levels in the second no-reinforcement phase were equally likely to be higher or lower than in the first. However, in contrast to the overjustification hypothesis, levels were higher in the second no-reinforcement phase when comparing the single no-reinforcement sessions immediately before and after reinforcement. Outcomes consistent with the overjustification hypothesis were somewhat more l...

The disconnection hypothesis suggests that the core symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ) are related to aberrant, or 'dys-', connectivity between distinct brain regions. A proliferation of functional and structural neuroimaging studies have been conducted to investigate this hypothesis, across the full course of the disorder; from people at Ultra-High-Risk of developing psychosis to patients with chronic SZ. However the results of these studies have not always been consistent, and to date, there have been no attempts to summarise the results of both methodologies in conjunction. In this article, we systematically review both the structural and functional connectivity literature in SZ. The main trends to emerge are that schizophrenia is associated with connectivity reductions, as opposed to increases, relative to healthy controls, and that this is particularly evident in the connections involving the frontal lobe. These two trends appear to apply across all stages of the disorder, and to be independent of the neuroimaging methodology employed. We discuss the potential implications of these trends, and identify possible future investigative directions.

There remains controversy over whether the vastus medialis (VM) is a single anatomical structure or whether it is composed of two separate portions, the vastus medialis longus (VML) proximally and the vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) distally. The objective of this study was to assess the evidence base of investigations into muscle fiber orientation, presence of a fibrofascial plane, and the innervation of the VM in human cadaver specimens and subjects. In addition to a hand search of specialist journals, an electronic search of AMED, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, the Cochrane database, EMBASE, ovid Medline, Pubmed, and Zetoc were performed from their inception to September 2008. All human subject papers assessing VM fiber orientation, presence of a fibrofascial plane, and the innervation of the VM where reviewed. Twenty-six papers, assessing 699 healthy knees, and 591 specimens with patellofemoral dysfunction were reviewed. The majority of nonpathological and pathological cases presented with a substantial alteration in fiber alignment seen between proximal and distal muscle portions of VM. Both cohorts presented with either one or two nerve branches to the VM. A fibrofascial plane dividing these two muscles was seen in a small proportion of both pathological and nonpathological knees. There was, however, insufficient good quality evidence to state whether the VM is composed of two separate components, the proximal VML and the distal VMO. Further study is recommended to evaluate the pathophysiological implications of such findings and to assess whether these correlate to functional electromyographic findings between the VML and VMO muscles.

Aim. This article is a report of an analysis of the concept of social justice. Background. Nursing's involvement in social justice has waned in the recent past. A resurgence of interest in nurses' roles about social justice requires a clear understanding of the concept. Data sources. Literature for this concept analysis included English language articles from CINAHL, PubMed, and broad multidisciplinary literature databases, within and outside of health-related literature, for the years 1968-2010. Two books and appropriate websites were also reviewed. The reference lists of the identified sources were reviewed for additional sources. Review methods. The authors used Wilsonian methods of concept analysis as a guide.

The American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) highly regards evidence-based practice (EBP) as a guide to promoting &quot;Best Practices&quot; and improving patient outcomes. EBP is now considered the &quot;gold standard&quot; in improving patient care through the use of the best available evidence. EBP models provide the health care provider with a rigorous systematic method of rating and appraising the evidence that includes, but is not limited to, randomized controlled trials, descriptive studies, qualitative studies, national guidelines, and expert opinion. ASPAN&#39;s EBP Team was charged with the development of an EBP Conceptual Model to provide the framework for future perianesthesia practice, education, and research. This article describes how ASPAN&#39;s EBP model may be used as a framework for practice and research.

A systematic review R. ORR Background and aim. The aim of this review was to examine the contribution of muscle weakness to postural stability in healthy older adults and to determine the relationship between muscle weakness and balance impairment. Design. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was performed from earliest record to February 2010. All study designs that contained a measure of muscle strength or muscle power and balance performance in older adults were examined. Population. Participants (≥ ≥60 years) included healthy, community-dwelling cohorts, nursing home residents, frail, mobility-or functionally-limited adults but not persons with pathophysiological conditions or disease. Methods. Interventions of progressive resistance or power training to increase muscle strength/power were examined but studies that included balance or multimodal training were excluded. Results. A total of 74 papers were eligible for review; 45 with strength measures only; 5 with power measures only and 24 papers containing both strength and power outcomes. Overall, 54% (27/50) of studies reported significantly improved strength and balance measures and 73% (16/22) showed improved power and balance following resistance/power training intervention, whereas 84% and 86% of cross sectional studies observed significant associations between balance and strength/power outcomes respectively. Conclusion. The findings suggest that there is some evidence for the contribution of muscle strength and muscle power to balance performance in older adults. There is, however, weak evidence for the cause and effect relationship between muscle function and balance performance.

The rapid growth of biomedical literature presents challenges for automatic text processing, and one of the challenges is abbreviation identification. The presence of unrecognized abbreviations in text hinders indexing algorithms and adversely affects information retrieval and extraction. Automatic abbreviation definition identification can help resolve these issues. However, abbreviations and their definitions identified by an automatic process are of uncertain validity. Due to the size of databases such as MEDLINE only a small fraction of abbreviation-definition pairs can be examined manually. An automatic way to estimate the accuracy of abbreviation-definition pairs extracted from text is needed. In this paper we propose an abbreviation definition identification algorithm that employs a variety of strategies to identify the most probable abbreviation definition. In addition our algorithm produces an accuracy estimate, pseudo-precision, for each strategy without using a human-judged gold standard. The pseudo-precisions determine the order in which the algorithm applies the strategies in seeking to identify the definition of an abbreviation.

Ergonomic interventions designed for office and computer work have become widely available and heavily marketed but there is little evidence to support their use with workers who already have a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). The purpose of any ergonomic intervention can be to improve worker comfort, safety and/or productivity. The ergonomic research in secondary prevention typically focuses outcomes on improved worker comfort but less if any emphasis has been put on productivity and safety. The purpose of this study was to determine the level and quality of evidence supporting ergonomic interventions to improve the comfort, safety and/or productivity of office workers with symptoms of MSDs. A search of the ergonomic intervention literature based on MSDs of four body areas (low back, upper limb, eye and neck) was employed. The studies underwent two levels of analysis for inclusion in a best-evidence synthesis approach, which included a priori evaluation of specific interventions rel...