Reporting quality of systematic review abstracts in leading oral implantology journals

OBJECTIVES Abstracts of systematic reviews are of critical importance, as consumers of research often do not access the full text. This study aimed to assess the reporting quality of systematic review (SR) abstracts in leading oral implantology journals. METHODS Six specialty journals were screened for SRs between 2008 and 2012. A 16-item checklist, based on the PRISMA statement, was used to examine the completeness of abstract reporting. RESULTS Ninety-three SR abstracts were included in this study. The majority were published in Clinical Oral Implants Research (43%). The mean overall reporting quality score was 72.5% (95% CI: 70.8-74.2). Most abstracts were structured (97.9%), adequately reporting objectives (97.9%) and conclusions (93.6%). Conversely, inadequate reporting of methods of the study, background (79.6%), appraisal (65.6%), and data synthesis (65.6%) were observed. Registration of reviews was not reported in any of the included abstracts. Multivariate analysis revealed no difference in reporting quality with respect to continent, number of authors, or meta-analysis conduct. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that the reporting quality of systematic review abstracts in implantology journals requires further improvement. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Better reporting of SR abstracts is particularly important in ensuring the reliability of research findings, ultimately promoting the practice of evidence-based dentistry. Optimal reporting of SR abstracts should be encouraged, preferably by endorsing the PRISMA for abstracts guidelines.

Reporting completeness of abstracts of systematic reviews published in leading dental specialty journals

The aim of this study was to investigate the reporting completeness of systematic review (SR) abstracts in leading dental specialty journals. Electronic and supplementary hand searching were undertaken to identify SRs published in seven dental specialty journals and in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Abstract reporting completeness was evaluated using a checklist derived from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (prisma) guidelines. Descriptive statistics followed by univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Two-hundred and eighteen SR abstracts were identified. Reporting of interventions (94%), objectives (96%), data sources (81%), eligibility criteria (77%), and conclusions (97%) was adequate in the majority of reviews. However, inadequate reporting of participants (18%), results (42%), effect size (14%), level of significance (60%), and trial registration (100%) was commonplace. The mean overall reporting score was 79.1% (95% CI, 77.6-80.6). Only journal of publication was a significant predictor of overall reporting, with inferior results for all journals relative to Cochrane reviews, with scores ranging from -4.3% (95% CI, -8.74 to 0.08) to -35.6% (95% CI, -42.0 to -24.3) for the International Journal of Prosthodontics and the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, respectively. Improved reporting of dental SR abstracts is needed and should be encouraged, as these abstracts may underpin influential clinical decisions.

Unconscious relational encoding depends on hippocampus

Textbooks divide between human memory systems based on consciousness. Hippocampus is thought to support only conscious encoding, while neocortex supports both conscious and unconscious encoding. We tested whether processing modes, not consciousness, divide between memory systems in three neuroimaging experiments with 11 amnesic patients (mean age = 45.55 years, standard deviation = 8.74, range = 23-60) and 11 matched healthy control subjects. Examined processing modes were single item versus relational encoding with only relational encoding hypothesized to depend on hippocampus. Participants encoded and later retrieved either single words or new relations between words. Consciousness of encoding was excluded by subliminal (invisible) word presentation. Amnesic patients and controls performed equally well on the single item task activating prefrontal cortex. But only the controls succeeded on the relational task activating the hippocampus, while amnesic patients failed as a group. Hence, unconscious relational encoding, but not unconscious single item encoding, depended on hippocampus. Yet, three patients performed normally on unconscious relational encoding in spite of amnesia capitalizing on spared hippocampal tissue and connections to language cortex. This pattern of results suggests that processing modes divide between memory systems, while consciousness divides between levels of function within a memory system.

Search for contact interactions and large extra dimensions in the dilepton channel using proton-proton collisions at s√ = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is conducted for non-resonant new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions. The LHC 2012 proton–proton collision dataset recorded by the ATLAS detector is used, corresponding to 20 fb−1 at √ s = 8 TeV. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum is a discriminating variable in both searches, with the contact interaction search additionally utilizing the dilepton forward-backward asymmetry. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Lower limits are set on the ℓℓqq contact interaction scale ʌ between 15.4 TeVand 26.3 TeV, at the 95%credibility level. For large extra spatial dimensions, lower limits are set on the string scale MS between 3.2 TeV to 5.0 TeV.

Search for direct top squark pair production in events with a Z boson, b-jets and missing transverse momentum in √s=8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for direct top squark pair production using events with at least two leptons including a same-flavour opposite-sign pair with invariant mass consistent with the Z boson mass, jets tagged as originating from b-quarks and missing transverse momentum. The analysis is performed with proton–proton collision data at √ s = 8 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. No excess beyond the Standard Model expectation is observed. Interpretations of the results are provided in models based on the direct pair production of the heavier top squark state (˜t2) followed by the decay to the lighter top squark state (˜t1) via ˜t2 → Z ˜t1, and for ˜t1 pair production in natural gaugemediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios where the neutralino (˜χ 01 ) is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decays producing a Z boson and a gravitino ( ˜G ) via the ˜χ 01→ Z ˜G process.

HIV and human herpesvirus 8 co-infection across the globe: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

HIV-infection is an important risk factor for developing Kaposi sarcoma (KS), but it is unclear whether HIV-positive persons are also at increased risk of co-infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), the infectious cause of KS. We systematically searched literature up to December 2012 and included studies reporting HHV-8 seroprevalence for HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons. We used random-effects meta-analysis to combine odds ratios (ORs) of the association between HIV and HHV-8 seropositivity and conducted random-effects meta-regression to identify sources of heterogeneity. We included 93 studies with 58,357 participants from 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Overall, HIV-positive persons were more likely to be HHV-8 seropositive than HIV-negative persons (OR 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70-2.34) with considerable heterogeneity among studies (I(2) 84%). The association was strongest in men who have sex with men (MSM, OR 3.95, 95% CI 2.92-5.35), patients with hemophilia (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.19-8.11), and children (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.58-3.81), but weaker in heterosexuals who engage in low-risk (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.16-1.74) or high-risk sexual behavior (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.27-2.17), persons who inject drugs (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.28-2.14), and pregnant women (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.15-2.47), p value for interaction <0.001. In conclusion, HIV-infection was associated with an increased HHV-8 seroprevalence in all population groups examined. A better understanding of HHV-8 transmission in different age and behavioral groups is needed to develop strategies to prevent HHV-8 transmission.