• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.44-53
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• 2020

Objectives: Our review aimed to summarize and evaluate evidence on the effectiveness of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) in the treatment of shoulder pain. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of BVA on shoulder pain were searched up to October 2019 in 11 electronic databases (Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CiNii, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, Kmbase, NDSL, RISS, OASIS). The methodological quality of the included RCTs were evaluated using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and a meta-analysis was performed. Results: Seven studies were included in the review, and four studies were included in the meta-analysis. Comparing BVA plus conventional therapy (CT) with saline injection plus CT, it showed an effect in favor of BVA plus CT in visual analog scale (VAS) and pain rating scale (PRS) (p = 0.02, p = 0.009, respectively). Comparing BVA plus physiotherapy (PT) with saline injection plus PT, it showed that there was no significant difference in VAS and verbal rating scale (VRS) between the two groups. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that BVA could be beneficial as an adjuvant treatment for shoulder pain.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.22
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• 2023

This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to answer the following focused research question: "Does the type of endodontic sealer affect the postoperative pain in patients who received endodontic treatment?" Different databases and grey literature were surveyed. Only one randomized controlled trial were included. The risk of bias in the studies was evaluated by using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to compare the risk and intensity of postoperative pain. The quality of the body of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Out of 11,601 studies, 15 remained for qualitative analyses and 12 for meta-analysis. Seven studies were classified at high risk of bias, and 8 studies raised some concerns. No significant differences between the endodontic materials were observed in the direct comparisons, both in risk and in intensity of postoperative pain (pairwise comparisons with 2 studies: I² = 0%; p > 0.05 and 8 studies: I² = 23%; p > 0.05, respectively). The certainty of the evidence was graded as low or moderate. There was no difference in the risk and intensity of postoperative pain after filling with different endodontic sealers. Further systematic reviews should be conducted.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.797-806
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• 2013

Meta-analysis is used in variety of areas to synthesize the results of previous studies. Among the methods for Meta-analysis, combining p-values is the simplest method; in addition Tippett (1931), Fisher (1932), Stuoffer at al. (1949), proposed various methods to combine p-values. We propose a new method to combine p-values based on exponential distribution. A Monte Carlo simulation study compares the power of the proposed methods with previous methods.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1757-1762
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• 2011

Aflatoxins are natural contaminants of poultry feeds and feed ingredients and cause liver damage, immunosuppression, reduction in performance and mortality in broilers. A number of studies have been carried out to study the effects of aflatoxin on feed conversion ratio in broilers. The results on feed conversion ratio of 10 research articles in broilers fed with aflatoxin from first day of age to six weeks of age were compiled and were subjected to meta-analysis. Chi-square test and $Tau^2$ (heterogeneity co-efficient) were applied to test for significance of heterogeneity of studies. To integrate results, fixed effect model by Inverse Variance method (IV method) was used when heterogeneity was insignificant and otherwise random effect model by DerSimonian and Laird Method (DL method) was used. The results of meta-analysis showed that the adverse effect of aflatoxin on feed conversion ratio at the end of first week was negligible, second week was medium and third to six weeks was very large.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.81-89
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• 2018

In this paper, we propose to investigate the existing EPL education related studies and to collect the total effect size for the improvement of high-level thinking through meta-analysis and to confirm the effect size according to various variables. So, we have objectively identified and generalized the practical effects of EPL education on the various elements of high-level thinking and high-level thinking. The results of the meta-analysis showed that 1) EPL is a teaching-learning tool that greatly improves students' high-level thinking. 2) Education based EPL has greatly contributed to the enhancement of creative thinking and logical thinking among high-level thinking. 3) Kodu, App Inventor, Scratch, and Dolittle was confirmed that the effect on the improvement of high-level thinking was great.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.41.1-41.13
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• 2019

Objectives: This paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of preheating on the hardness of nanofilled, nanoceramic, nanohybrid, and microhybrid resin composites. Materials and Methods: An electronic search of papers on MEDLINE/PubMed, ScienceDirect, and EBSCOhost was performed. Only in vitro studies were included. Non-English studies, case reports, clinical trials, and review articles were excluded. A meta-analysis of the reviewed studies was conducted to quantify differences in the microhardness of the Z250 microhybrid resin composite using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results: Only 13 studies met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The meta-analysis showed that there were significant differences between the non-preheated and preheated modes for both the top and bottom surfaces of the specimens (p < 0.05). The microhardness of the Z250 resin composite on the top surface in the preheated mode (78.1 ± 2.9) was higher than in the non-preheated mode (67.4 ± 4.0; p < 0.001). Moreover, the microhardness of the Z250 resin composite on the bottom surface in the preheated mode (71.8 ± 3.8) was higher than in the non-preheated mode (57.5 ± 5.7, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Although the results reported in the reviewed studies showed great variability, sufficient scientific evidence was found to support the hypothesis that preheating can improve the hardness of resin composites.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.208-215
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• 2017

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a cardiomyopathy characterized by predominant right ventricular fibro-fatty replacement, right ventricular dysfunction and ventricular arrhythmias. It is a rare but important cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. A meta-analysis on risk stratification of major ventricular tachyarrhythmic events indicating the need for implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in ARVC was performed. Methods: The pubmed database was searched from its inception to May 2015. Of the 433 citations identified, 12 were included in this meta-analysis. Data regarding major ventricular tachyarrhythmic events were retrieved in 817 subjects from the studies. For the variables, a combined odds ratio (OR) was calculated using a fixed-effects meta-analysis. Results: Extensive right ventricular dysfunction (OR, 2.44), ventricular late potential (OR, 1.66), inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmia during electrophysiology study (OR, 3.67), non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (OR, 3.78), and history of fatal event/sustained VT (OR, 5.66) identified as significant risk factors (p<0.0001). Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that extensive right ventricular dysfunction, ventricular late potential, inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmia during electrophysiological study, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, and history of sustained ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation are consistently reported risk factors of major ventricular tachyarrhythmic events indicating implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in patients with ARVC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3285-3291
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• 2015

Background: Non-synonymous polymorphisms in XRCC1 hase been shown to reduce effectiveness of DNA repair and be associated with risk of certain cancers. In this study we aimed to clarify any association between XRCC1 Arg399Gln and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk by performing a meta-analysis of published case-control studies. Materials and Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to explore the association between XRCC1 and CRC. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the association strength. Publication bias was assessed by Egger's and Begg's tests. Results: Up to January 2015, 35 case control studies involving 9,114 CRC cases and 13,948 controls were included in the present meta-analysis. The results showed that the Arg399Gln polymorphism only under an allele genetic model was associated with CRC risk (A vs. G: OR 0.128, 95% CI 0.119-0.138, p<0.001). Also, this meta-analysis suggested that the XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism might associated with susceptibility to CRC in Asians (A vs G: OR 0.124, 95% CI 0.112-0.138, p<0.001) and Caucasian (A vs G: OR 0.132, 95% CI 0.119-0.146, p<0.001) only under an allele genetic model. Conclusions: This meta-analysis confirms the association between XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism and CRC risk and suggests that the heterogeneity is not strongly modified by ethnicity and deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.329-345
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• 2021

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Evidence has suggested an association between serum vitamin D and metabolic syndrome (MetS), but prospective studies are very limited. The objective was to assess the dose-response association between serum vitamin D concentration and MetS risk using a systematic review and meta-analysis of updated observational studies. MATERIALS/METHODS: Using MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase, a systematic literature search was conducted through February 2020 and the references of relevant articles were reviewed. A random-effects model was used to estimate the summary odds ratio/relative risk and 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated with I² statistic. In total, 23 observational studies (19 cross-sectional studies, and four cohort studies) were included in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The pooled estimates (95% CI) for MetS per 25-nmol/L increment in serum vitamin D concentration were 0.80 (95% CI, 0.76-0.84; I² = 53.5) in cross-sectional studies, and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.72-0.98; I² = 85.8) in cohort studies. Similar results were observed, irrespectively of age of study population, study location, MetS criteria, and adjustment factors. There was no publication bias for the dose-response meta-analysis of serum vitamin D concentrations and MetS. CONCLUSIONS: Dose-response meta-analysis demonstrated that a 25-nmol/L increment in the serum vitamin D concentration was associated with 20% and 15% lower risks of MetS in cross-sectional studies and cohort studies, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.425-437
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• 2001

This study is based on the uses meta-analysis methodology to examine the statistical consistency and importance of random variation among results of epidemiologic studies between air pollutants exposure and childhood asthma. Studies for this meta-analysis were conducted by reviewing previous results and by asking researcher active in this field for recommendations. Overall, 10 cases of air pollutants exposures and childhood asthma were reviewed. A variety of statistical methods for meta-analysis have been used to assess the combined effects, to identify heterogeneity, and to provide a single summary risk estimate based on a set of simiar epidemiologic studies. In this study, classification of exposure metircs on air environmental epidemiologic studies are reported for (1) aggravation of childhood asthma by a 50 ppb increase SO$_2$(6 individual studies); (2) aggravation of childhood asthma by a 50 ppb increase NO$_2$(5 individual studies); (3) aggravation of childhood asthma by a 50 ppb increase $O_3$(7 individual studies); (4) aggravation of childhood asthma by a 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/m$^3$increase PM$_{10}$ (4 individual studies); (5) aggravation of childhood asthma by a 1 ppm increase CO (2 individual studies); and (6) comparison of results between a Korean study results and this meta-analytic study. Results of this study indicated that an inverse-variance weighted pooling of the hospital admission risk at a 1ppm increment of CO levels was 1.12% (95% CI : 1.01 ~ 1.24). The hospital admission risk was estimated to increase 5% (95% CI : 1.02~1.08), 6%(95% CI : 1.04~1.09), and 5% (95% CI : 1.02~1.09) with each 50ppb increase of SO$_2$, NO$_2$, and $O_3$, respectively. In addition, our results lead to a small but significant elevation in risk of 2% (RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.01~1.04) with each 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/m$^3$increase of PM$_{10}$ among 4 individual studies. We found a small elevation in risk of childhood asthma, and pooled results of 10 epidemiologic studies of childhood asthma using increase a cut-off-point levels of air pollutants showed a few pieces of evidence. The results of this meta-analysis suggested that air pollution associated with an increased incidence of childhood asthma. According to this study, relationship between exposure to air pollutants and childhood asthma in Korea seem to be high than results of this meta-analysis.sis.