Conceptual Heterogeneity Research Articles

Elevated Blood-Based Brain Biomarker Levels in Patients with Epileptic Seizures: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Recently, growing attention has been paid to the changes of brain biomarkers following the epilepsy. However, establishing specific epilepsy-related biomarkers has been impeded due to contradictory findings. This study systematically reviewed the evidence on brain biomarkers in epilepsy and determined reliable biomarkers in epileptic patients. A comprehensive systematic search of online databases was performed to find eligible studies up to August 2019. The quality of studies methodologically was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score. Among the several biomarkers, S100 calcium binding protein B (S100B) and neuron specific enolase (NSE) have been qualified for meta-analysis of the association between epilepsy and the brain biomarkers. Inverse-variance weights method was used to calculate pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) estimate with 95% CI, and random effects meta-analysis was conducted taking into account conceptual heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias assessment was performed using Stata. Of 29 studies that were qualified for further analysis, only 22 studies were eligible to quantify by meta-analysis. Significant increase of serum S100B levels (SMD = 0.80; 95% CI 0.18 to 1.42) but not NSE (SMD = 0.45; 95% CI -0.09 to 1.00) has been found in epileptic patients compared with healthy controls. Subgroup meta-analysis by age demonstrated that S100B could be found in pediatric (SMD = 1.15; 95% CI 0.03 to 2.27) not adult patients (SMD = 0.43; 95% CI -0.12 to 0.98). Findings of this meta-analysis indicate that serum level of S100B is significantly increased in epileptic patients, suggesting the elevation and release of the brain biomarkers from brain to blood following epileptic seizures.

Key Approaches to the Study of History of Altai in 18th Century in Modern Russian Historiography

The article is devoted to a comprehensive examination of theoretical approaches to the study of the history of Altai in the 18th century, developed by Russian specialists over the past three decades. The relevance of the study is associated with the emerging trend in domestic science towards a holistic understanding of the retrospective of individual regions, including through understanding the interdependent role of various social and administrative factors in the colonization process. Special attention is paid to the conceptual assessment of the nature of the initial development of Altai. The methodological grounds for applying the theories of military colonization, frontier, frontier modernization to the history of the region are outlined. The authors state the presence in the scientific literature of two non-identical approaches to the characterization of the Russian border in the south of Western Siberia. The authors demonstrate the obvious desire of historians to carry out comprehensive studies of regional and local levels of civil and mining management, which has emerged against the background of the preservation of the heuristic significance of microhistorical analysis of the role of individual fortified (fortresses, forts) or production facilities (factories). The diversity and conceptual heterogeneity of modern Russian historiography of the history of Altai in the 18th century is summarized. Some forecasts of the development of the historiographic situation are formulated.

Challenges in measuring integrated care models: International knowledge and the case of Québec

Introduction The implementation of integrated care models requires significant efforts, especially due to institutional and organisational inertial forces that characterize health and social care systems of developed countries. It is therefore crucial to deploy strategies that promote continuous adjustment to these barriers so as to improve the benefits of integrating care. Measuring the implementation and effects of integrated care models are key component of these strategies. However, measuring integrated care also faces major challenges. This study aims to identify and characterise integrated care measurement challenges. Methods A review of reviews on the measurement of integrated care identified 12 papers. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify and categorize measurement challenges. Document analysis was done on the measurement of an integrated care model for older adults in Québec. Results Eight categories of measurement challenges were identified. These challenges include difficulties in measuring structures, processes, and effects of models; conceptual ambiguity and heterogeneity of organisational forms; involving multiple actors in the measurement strategy; and including multiple data sources, amongst others. These challenges revealed and explained potential gaps in the measurement of integrated care for older adults in Québec. For instance, the Québec measurement strategy did not include effects indicators. Conclusion Although the measurement of integrated care is a complex endeavour, there is a need for adequate measurement strategies that allow to appreciate important elements of integrate care. The findings of this study could be used as a reflexive tool in advancing research and practice of measuring integrated care.

The use and abuse of meta-analysis.

The use and abuse of meta-analysis.

Association of antibiotics therapy during pregnancy with spontaneous miscarriage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies were conducted to assess the association between antibiotics use during pregnancy and spontaneous miscarriage. A systematic search of online databases as well as reference lists of retrieved studies were performed up to September 2018 to identify observational studies that investigated the association between antibiotics use and spontaneous miscarriage. The retrieved studies were assessed for methodological quality. Pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using DerSimonian and Laird method. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to account for conceptual heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of pooled estimates using Stata software. Of 1435 retrieved studies, 89 were reviewed in depth and 12 (8 prospective cohort and 4 population-based case-control studies) met the criteria for inclusion in a systematic review with 1,084,792 participants and 7015 cases of spontaneous miscarriage. Finally, 11 studies were included in the meta-analysis (one study was not included in the meta-analysis owing to methodological issues and low-quality score). Overall percentage of miscarriage in women who received antibiotics was 2.6%. After adjusting for important potential confounders, use of macrolides (RR: 1.42; 95% CI 1.04, 1.93), quinolones (RR: 2.48; 95% CI 1.46, 4.20), and tetracyclines (RR: 2.57; 95% CI 1.95, 3.38) during pregnancy were significantly associated with spontaneous miscarriage. In macrolides class, a significant positive association was found between clarithromycin and spontaneous miscarriage (RR: 1.98; 95% CI 1.46, 2.70). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the consistency of the results, indicating that the meta-analysis model was robust. Findings support a significant positive association between use of macrolides (especially clarithromycin), quinolones, and tetracyclines during pregnancy and spontaneous miscarriage, although it should be interpreted with caution in the context of limitations of the available data. International register for systematic reviews; PROSPEROCRD42018093465.

THE PLANE OF THE TRANS-THEORETIC EXISTENTIAL-SYSTEMIC CONCEPT OF REORGANIZATION OF THE SEMANTIC ARCHITECTONICS OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S CONSCIOUSNESS

The article substantiates a list of questions about the mechanisms and conditions of the dynamics of semantic architectonics of an individual’s consciousness as a text. The link between self-organization and reorganization of the semantic architectonics of an individual’s consciousness and the generative property of personality as a complex system to self-movement and self-transformation, characterized by self-attribution, is proved. The postulated trans-theoretic existential-systemic concept is validated. We examined the concept composition, substantive elements, the rules of their interactions and mutual influence, the model of their organization, their participation and relevance at request solving and processing of levels, stages and procedural actions reorganizing the semantic architectonics of an individual’s consciousness. The procedure of theoretical-methodological research consisted of the following methods: the synergistic method to analyze interaction and consistency of paradigm bases when creating a new concept; the modeling method to determine the foundations of a built model; and the reconstruction method to determine a coordinate space as a unified methodological background for describing the diversity and heterogeneity of concepts used in the initial research approaches. The heuristic model of the trans-theoretic concept was constructed, which consisted of existential analysis, the theory of dynamical systems, individual psychology, transpersonal psychology, psychodrama and some practical branches - system modeling, decoding of experience, neurological levels, holotropic breathing. These components exhibited fundamental diversity, but at the same time, the essential unity of the existential-system concept and influence on the dynamics of an individual’s meanings, in particular, intentionally created meanings and the individual’s identity basis, and on a certain acqured life position as a source of meaning in a life situation. The integrative unity of the examined concept was achieved by the construct from the theory of dynamical systems, namely: the nonlinearity of development of complex systems, to which personality belongs. The synergistic relationships between the elements of the trans-theoretic existential-systemic concept were determined on the plane of the microstructure. The internal interaction of the concept elements covered five perspectives of actions, namely: system-determined, ontological, genetic, functional and content-contextual. The dynamic processes of the reorganization of the semantic architectonics of consciousness are determined by common actions of the genetic, systemic and contextual planes of the existential-systemic concept, which shape and fill with content the ontological field of an individual’s existential reality; so the following key categories can be revealed: “self-attribution” and “dialogue exchange between the Self and the world”, “intentionality”, “the experience of meeting with oneself, the world and the world of other people”, “evolution”. The reorganization of the semantic architectonics of an individual’s consciousness is presented as a three-dimensional coordinate space with vectors. The protocol of the psychological assistance for clients with panic attacks is described, containing sequential steps and tasks of each of the vectors and the corresponding operations. &nbsp

Harm Prevalence Due to Medication Errors Involving High-Alert Medications: A Systematic Review.

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and main types of harm caused by high-alert medication after medication errors (MEs) in hospitals. A literature systematic review was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs. Eligible studies published until June 2017 were included. Of 6244 studies identified through searching four electronic databases, five studies meeting the selection criteria of this study were analyzed. There was wide variation in the overall prevalence of harm due to MEs involving HAM, from 3.8% to 100%, whereas the pooled prevalence was 16.3%. Overall, 0.01% of harm caused by MEs involving HAM resulted in death. The severity of errors ranged from 0.1% to 19.2% for moderate errors, 0.2% to 15.4% for serious errors, and 1.9% lethal to the patients. The highest prevalences of harm occurred after errors involving potassium chloride 15%, insulin, and epoprostenol. The lowest prevalence of harm was related to errors of anticoagulants administration. The methodological heterogeneity limited direct comparisons among the studies. Of the 15 drugs on the list of Institute for Safe Medication Practices HAMs in the United States and Brazil, nine did not present scientific evidence of the potential for harm. In general, few studies, characterized by methodological and conceptual heterogeneity, were performed to determine the harm prevalence resulting from errors involving these drugs.

Commoning beyond ‘commons’: The case of the Russian ‘obshcheye’

How do the semantic logics that different words accommodate in different languages map onto studies of social realities internationally and interdisciplinarily? This article is an ethnographic study of obshcheye – a corpus of phenomena pertaining to communal life in Russia. Similar to the English term ‘commons’, it marks the zone of the public – that which is shared and collective. In contrast to the commons, it displays greater semantic polyphony, bringing together social, discursive and affective qualities. Our analysis demonstrates that various semantic subsets of obshcheye sensitize research differently from the commons by indexing different societal concerns. They tune us into a wide set of concerns – with time (not wanting to be ‘Soviet’), ownership (worrying about what is ‘no one’s’), affective connectivity (one sits and waits for a conversation), and the act of caring for people and for spaces. Each word and each relationship in the semantic network reflects what is important to social actors as they go about ordering their lives together. The article concludes that obshcheye is so definitively a semantic network that expunging its conceptual heterogeneity and narrowing the multiple logics to encompass one in particular would amount to analytical reductionism and the impoverishment of social analysis.

Resilience After Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Review.

Rehabilitation medicine has recently embraced resilience, and research in this area has surged within the past decade. Several systematic reviews of resilience research have been conducted in traumatic brain injury, chronic diseases, and stroke populations. A decade into research into the role of resilience in the lives of individuals with spinal cord injury, a review of the current state of the research literature is needed to identify trends and knowledge gaps. The aims of this scoping review were (a) to classify study methods and designs used for resilience research in spinal cord injury to date, (b) to describe how researchers have defined "resilience," and (c) to identify knowledge gaps and suggest future directions for research. Literature searches were conducted to identify English-language, peer-reviewed articles on resilience and spinal cord injury. Most of the 40 studies reviewed were correlational using cross-sectional data, although descriptive, longitudinal, qualitative, test development, and intervention studies and review articles were found as well. As is the case outside of rehabilitation medicine, there is considerable definitional and conceptual heterogeneity that limits our ability to apply resilience research to clinical practice. Moving forward, the field needs model-driven, longitudinal research that offers clear, conceptual distinctions between risk and protective factors, processes, and outcomes.

Transitional care quality indicators to assess quality of care following hospitalisation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure: a systematic review protocol

IntroductionThe period following hospitalisation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart failure (HF)—when patients transition between settings and clinicians—is one of high risk. Transitional care services that bridge the...

Efficacy of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Inflammatory Markers in Patients Undergoing Dialysis: A Systematic Review with Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

The effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on inflammatory markers among patients receiving dialysis have been discussed for a long time, but previous syntheses made controversial conclusion because of highly conceptual heterogeneity in their synthesis. Thus, to further understanding of this topic, we comprehensively gathered relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) before April 2019, and two authors independently extracted data of C-reactive protein (CRP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) for conducting network meta-analysis. Eighteen eligible RCTs with 962 patients undergoing dialysis were included in our study. The result showed that with placebo as the reference, PUFAs was the only treatment showing significantly lower CRP (weighted mean difference (WMD): −0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.07 to −0.68), but the CRP in PUFAs group was not significantly lower than vitamin E, PUFAs plus vitamin E, or medium-chain triglyceride. Although no significant changes were noted for hs-CRP and IL-6 levels, PUFAs showed the best ranking among treatments according to surface under the cumulative ranking. Therefore, PUFAs could be a protective option for patients receiving dialysis in clinical practice.

Conceptual heterogeneity and the legacy of organicism: thoughts on the life organic

Conceptual heterogeneity and the legacy of organicism: thoughts on the life organic

Towards a universal concept of vulnerability: Broadening the evidence from the elderly to perinatal health using a Delphi approach.

BackgroundThe concept 'vulnerability' is prevalent in the public domain, health care, social institutions and multidisciplinary research. Conceptual heterogeneity is present, hampering the creation of a common evidence-base of research achievements and successful policies. Recently an international expert group combined a specific literature review with a 2-stage Delphi procedure, arriving at a seemingly universal concept of vulnerability for the elderly with applications for research instruments. We replicated and extended this study, to generalize this result to health in general, and perinatal health in particular.MethodsTwo independent expert panels (general health, perinatal health) repeated the Delphi-procedure, using an extended and updated literature review to derive statements on the concept and defining pathways of vulnerability. Additional views were collected on research tools. Consensus-by-design was explicitly avoided. Data collection and processing was independent.ResultsBoth panels showed surprising convergence on the pathways of vulnerability to health/ill-health, and their interaction. The agreed conceptual model describes a dynamic relation between health and ill-health and vulnerability. The 2 key pathways that link to vulnerability, are complementary, but not symmetrical as biological processes of maintaining health or obtaining better health are not reciprocal to recovery, so also not in terms of vulnerability impacts. An individual's degree of vulnerability is the net balance of risk effects and protective and healing factors (socially, biologically and in terms of health literacy and health care access). These factors can for measurement purposes (according to the panels: interview for exploration, checklists for population research) be grouped into ‘material resources’, ‘taking responsibility for one’s own health’, ‘risky activities and behaviors’, and ‘social support’.Supportive and transforming action can thus be undertaken.ConclusionA universal concept of vulnerability in the context of health was successfully derived after careful replication and extension of an international Delphi study on vulnerability among the elderly.

A text mining and topic modelling perspective of ethnic marketing research

This study presents an enhanced automated approach based on literature analysis and synthesis for establishing the dimensions of the ethnic marketing literature, covering a set of 239 journal articles published by nine major publishers. The approach reported is enhanced by two novel procedures to address previously identified limitations, namely: definition of a relevant dictionary based on both a sufficient lexicon extracted from a definition of the core theme and a conditional dictionary, with related but non-core terms; and a visually appealing pictorial representation to summarize the discovered topics. The application of the method to ethnic marketing indicates that ethnic marketing research is characterized by high conceptual heterogeneity, although a clear definition of “ethnic marketing” is imperative for research development. Overall, the paper advances an approach with considerable scalability advantages when compared with extant approaches, an important issue to consider when textual sources become big data.

BondValuation: An R Package for Fixed Coupon Bond Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the R package BondValuation for analysis of large datasets of fixed coupon bonds. The conceptual heterogeneity of fixed coupon bonds traded in the global markets imposes a high degree of complexity on their comparative analysis. Contrary to baseline fixed income theory, in practice, the majority of bonds feature coupon period irregularities. In addition, there is a multitude of day count methods, which determine the interest accrual, the cash flows and the discount factors used in bond valuation. Several R packages, e.g., fBonds, RQuantLib, and YieldCurve, provide tools for fixed income analysis. However, none of them is capable of evaluating bonds featuring irregular first and/or final coupon periods, and neither provides adequate coverage of day count conventions currently used in the global bond markets. The R package BondValuation closes this gap.

BondValuation: An R Package for Fixed Coupon Bond Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the R package BondValuation for analysis of large datasets of fixed coupon bonds. The conceptual heterogeneity of fixed coupon bonds traded in the global markets imposes a high degree of complexity on their comparative analysis. Contrary to baseline fixed income theory, in practice, the majority of bonds feature coupon period irregularities. In addition, there is a multitude of day count methods, which determine the interest accrual, the cash flows and the discount factors used in bond valuation. Several R packages, e.g., fBonds, RQuantLib, and YieldCurve, provide tools for fixed income analysis. However, none of them is capable of evaluating bonds featuring irregular first and/or final coupon periods, and neither provides adequate coverage of day count conventions currently used in the global bond markets. The R package BondValuation closes this gap.

Bringing It All Together: Mapping Continuing Resources Vocabularies for Linked Data Discovery

ABSTRACTOut of the many Linked Data vocabularies available for use, several have emerged in the past few years as candidates for the description of continuing resources. Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative (BIBFRAME) 2.0, PRESSoo, Resource Description and Access Registry, and Schema.org all contain classes and properties designed for the application of Linked Data for serials, but are not necessarily alike in their conceptual frameworks or completeness. This article examines possible alignments between elements most likely to be employed for describing serials, as well as how such alignments might remedy previously identified issues with certain vocabularies and aid discovery. Conceptual heterogeneity between the vocabularies remains the principle challenge to greater alignment.

Association of sugar sweetened beverages consumption with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The relationship between consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and NAFLD has been reported in several epidemiological studies, but the results are inconsistent. The present systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies was carried out to assess the relationship between sugar sweetened beverages consumption and NAFLD. Online databases were searched systematically through December, 2016 for studies investigating association between SSB consumption and NAFLD but limited to observational studies in human. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Der-Simonian and Laird method while random effects meta-analysis was used, taking into account conceptual heterogeneity. Heterogeneity was assessed with the Cochran Q statistic and quantified with the I2 statistic. Of the 1015 identified articles, 42 were reviewed in depth and six studies (four cross-sectional, one case-control, and one cohort) met the criteria for inclusion in our systematic review with 6326 participants and 1361 cases of NAFLD in both men and women. Finally, four cross-sectional studies were included in the meta-analysis. Higher intake of SSBs (highest compared to lowest categories) was significantly associated with NAFLD, with a 40% increased Odds of NAFLD after adjusting for important potential confounders (pooled odds ratio 1.40; 95% CI 1.07, 1.82). There was no evidence for significant heterogeneity across studies [P = 0.226 (Q statistics), I2 = 31.0%]. A significant positive association between SSB consumption and NAFLD was observed consistently in a sensitivity analysis [range of summary ORs 1.39-1.49]. There was no evidence of publication bias for the association between SSB and NAFLD. This meta-analysis supports a positive significant association between higher consumption of SSB and NAFLD in both men and women. These findings strengthen the evidence that intake of SSBs should be limited to reduce fatty liver disease.

Cross-cultural invariance of NPI-13: Entitlement as culturally specific, leadership and grandiosity as culturally universal.

The current study explores the problem with the lack of measurement invariance for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) by addressing two issues: conceptual heterogeneity of narcissism and methodological issues related to the binary character of data. We examine the measurement invariance of the 13-item version of the NPI in three populations in Japan, Poland and the UK. Analyses revealed that leadership/authority and grandiose exhibitionism dimensions of the NPI were cross-culturally invariant, while entitlement/exploitativeness was culturally specific. Therefore, we proposed NPI-9 as indicating scalar invariance, and we examined the pattern of correlations between NPI-9 and other variables across three countries. The results suggest that NPI-9 is valid brief scale measuring general levels of narcissism in cross-cultural studies, while the NPI-13 remains suitable for research within specific countries.

A Rose by Other Names: Some General Musings on Lawrence and Colleagues' Hidden Curriculum Scoping Review.

In this Commentary, the authors explore the scoping review by Lawrence and colleagues by challenging their conclusion that with over 25 years' worth of "ambiguous and seemingly ubiquitous use" of the hidden curriculum construct in health professions education scholarship, it is time to either move to a more uniform definitional foundation or abandon the term altogether. The Commentary authors counter these remedial propositions by foregrounding the importance of theoretical diversity and the conceptual richness afforded when the hidden curriculum construct is used as an entry point for studying the interstitial space between the formal and a range of other-than-formal domains of learning. They document how tightly delimited scoping strategies fail to capture the wealth of educational scholarship that operates within a hidden curriculum framework, including "hidden" hidden curriculum articles, studies that employ alternative constructs, and investigations that target important tacit sociocultural influences on learners and faculty without formally deploying the term. They offer examples of how the hidden curriculum construct, while undergoing significant transformation in its application within the field of health professions education, has created the conceptual foundation for the application of a number of critical perspectives that make visible the field's political investments in particular forms of knowing and associated practices. Finally, the Commentary authors invite readers to consider the methodological promise afforded by conceptual heterogeneity, particularly strands of scholarship that resituate the hidden curriculum concept within the magically expansive dance of social relationships, social learning, and social life that form the learning environments of health professions education.