Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a severe condition resulting from the dengue virus, with four serotypes known as DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4. Genetic variations play a crucial role in influencing susceptibility to DHF. Therefore, this investigation conducted a meta-analysis to uncover genetic changes that might have remained undetected in individual studies due to small sample sizes or methodological differences. Among 2212 initially identified studies, 23 were deemed suitable for analysis based on PRISMA guidelines. Toll-like receptors (TLR) and CD209 showed significant association with DHF (odds ratios: TLR=0.56, CD209 =0.55), indicating protective effects. However, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) did not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with DHF. This study emphasizes the relevance of TLR and CD209 in DHF susceptibility and resistance across diverse geographical locations.

Genetic variants associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

To evaluate if there is a connection between the causes of pulp necrosis (eg, caries, trauma, dental anomaly) and the success of regenerative endodontic treatment.
Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase) were searched for studies on regenerative endodontic treatment, which used both clinical and radiographic evaluation of root maturation after at least 6 months of follow-up. The search terms "necrotic pulp", "regenerative endodontic treatment", "revascularization", and "revitalization" were combined using Boolean operators. The main journals on endodontics and dental traumatology were additionally hand-searched. Studies were included if they specified the causes of pulp necrosis. The primary question under review was, "Does the cause of pulp necrosis affect the outcome of regenerative endodontic treatment?" Other factors such as tooth type, intracanal medicament, irrigation protocol, use of a collagen matrix, and the type of scaffold were evaluated for possible relation with the outcome. The risk-of-bias assessment for randomized and nonrandomized studies was performed separately, using a modified Cochrane Collaboration's tool and risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions-I tool, respectively. Meta-analysis was performed, when possible, between studies comparing treatment outcomes of teeth whose pulp necrosis had different etiology. The search strategy yielded 1197 items. After screening, 18 studies reporting 445 regenerative endodontic treatment cases were included.
The overall success rate for 274 teeth with trauma etiology was 94.8%, for 95 teeth with dens evaginatus etiology was 93.1%, and for 24 teeth with caries etiology was 96%. No significant difference was found between the results of regenerative endodontic treatment among teeth with trauma, dens evaginatus, and caries etiology (P = .055). Meta-analysis of studies comparing teeth with caries vs dens evaginatus and those with trauma vs caries confirmed that there was no evidence for difference in outcomes.
Further randomized studies specifically testing such hypothesis are needed to confirm the preliminary results of this review.

Does the Etiology of Pulp Necrosis Affect Regenerative Endodontic Treatment Outcomes? A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.

Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a molecule that is predominantly expressed by damaged alveolar type II cells, and has been proposed as a marker of COVID-19 and the severity of the disease. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to determine whether KL-6 could be used as a prognostic factor for severe COVID-19.
PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar were searched until April 20, 2021, and 7 studies were included. KL-6 was considered as the outcome and pooled in meta-analyses.
All included studies compared KL-6 in severe and non-severe patients. Serum KL-6 was higher in severe COVID-19 patients compared to non-severe (n = 6; SMD = 1.25; 95% CI: 0.99-1.5; P < 0.001) and healthy controls (n = 4; SMD = 3.07; 95% CI: 1.36-4.8; P < 0.001).
This data collection revealed the potential clinical significance of KL-6 as a non-expensive predictive biomarker in severe COVID-19 and for the categorization of COVID-19 clinical severity.

Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) as a clinical marker for severe COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analyses.

Travel-related control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review.

To systematically search the scientific literature concerning the influence of playing a wind instrument on tooth position and/or facial morphology.
The PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched up to September 2019. Orthodontic journals were hand searched and grey literature was sought via Google Scholar. Observational studies and (randomized) controlled clinical trials that assessed tooth position and/or facial morphology by profile cephalograms, dental casts or clinical examination were included. The potential risk of bias was assessed. Data from wind instrument players and controls were extracted. Descriptive analysis and meta-analysis were performed.
In total, 10 eligible studies with a cross-sectional (n = 7) or longitudinal design (n = 3) and an estimated low to serious risk of bias were included. Sample sizes ranged from 36 to 170 participants, varying from children to professional musicians. Descriptive analysis indicated that adults playing a single-reed instrument may have a larger overjet than controls. Playing a brass instrument might be associated with an increase in maxillary and mandibular intermolar width among children. Longitudinal data showed less increase in anterior facial height among brass and single-reed players between the age of 6 and 15. Children playing a wind instrument showed thicker lips than controls. Meta-analysis revealed that after a follow-up of 6 months to 3 years, children playing brass instruments had a significant reduction in overjet as compared to controls. The magnitude of the effect was of questionable clinical relevance and the generalizability was limited.
Playing a wind instrument can influence tooth position and facial morphology in both children and adults. Aspects that stand out are overjet, arch width, facial divergence/convergence and lip thickness. However, evidence was sparse and the strength of the premise emerging from this review was graded to be "very low".
Systematische Suche nach wissenschaftlicher Literatur zum Einfluss des Spielens eines Blasinstruments auf die Zahnstellung und/oder die Gesichtsmorphologie.
Die Datenbanken PubMed, Embase und Cochrane wurden bis September 2019 durchsucht. Darüber hinaus wurden die wichtigsten kieferorthopädischen Zeitschriften per Hand und Google Scholar nach grauer Literatur durchsucht. Thematisch passende Studien wurden kritisch beurteilt und analysiert. Beobachtungsstudien und (randomisierte) kontrollierte klinische Studien, in denen die Zahnstellung und/oder die Gesichtsmorphologie anhand von Fernröntgenseitbild, Kiefermodellen bzw. klinischer Untersuchung beurteilt wurden, wurden einbezogen. Das potenzielle Bias-Risiko wurde bewertet. Daten von Blasinstrumentenspielern und Kontrollen wurden extrahiert, sowohl eine deskriptive Analyse als auch eine Metaanalyse wurden durchgeführt.
Die Suche führte zu 10 geeigneten Studien, 7 Querschnitts- und 3 Längsschnittstudien mit einem geschätzten geringem bis erheblichem Bias-Risiko. Die Fallzahl reichte von 36 bis 170 Teilnehmern und die Merkmale der Studiengruppe variierten von Kindern bis hin zu professionellen Musikern. Die deskriptive Analyse zeigte, dass Erwachsene, die Einzelrohrblattinstrumente spielen, einen größeren Overjet haben können als Kontrollen. Das Spielen eines Blechblasinstruments steht bei Kindern möglicherweise in Zusammenhang mit einer Zunahme der intermolaren Breite im Ober- und Unterkiefer. Langzeitdaten zeigten eine geringere Zunahme der anterioren Gesichtshöhe bei Blechbläsern und Einzelrohrblattspielern im Alter zwischen 6 und 15 Jahren. Kinder, die ein Blasinstrument spielen, hatten im Vergleich zu den Kontrollen vollere Lippen. Die Metaanalyse zeigte, dass Kinder, die ein Blasinstrument spielen, bei einer Nachuntersuchungsdauer von 6 Monaten bis 3 Jahren eine signifikante Verkleinerung des Overjet im Vergleich zu den Kontrollen hatten. Das Ausmaß des Effekts war von fraglicher klinischer Relevanz, und die Generalisierbarkeit war begrenzt.
Das Spielen eines Blasinstruments kann Zahnstellung und Gesichtsmorphologie bei Kindern und bei Erwachsenen beeinflussen. Hervorzuheben sind hierbei Overjet, Kieferbogenbreite, faziale Divergenz/Konvergenz und Lippendicke. Allerdings war die Evidenz spärlich und die Stärke der aus dieser Untersuchung hervorgehenden Prämisse wurde als „sehr gering“ eingestuft.

Does playing a wind instrument influence tooth position and facial morphology? : Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Previous studies have found several biomarkers for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the accuracy of most biomarkers is still in doubt due to the occurrence of other comorbidities. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to explore ideal ARDS biomarkers which can reflect pathophysiology features precisely and better identify at-risk patients and predict mortality. Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, OVID, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for studies assessing the reliability of pulmonary-originated epithelial proteins in ARDS. A total of 32 studies appeared eligible for meta-analysis, including 2654 ARDS/ALI patients in this study. In the at-risk patients' identification group, the highest pooled effect size was observed in Krebs von den Lungren-6 (KL-6) (SMD: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.55, 1.79]), followed by club cell proteins 16 (CC16) (SMD: 0.74 [95% CI: 0.01, 1.46]), and surfactant proteins-D (SP-D) (SMD: 0.71 [95% CI: 0.57, 0.84]). For the mortality prediction group, CC16 exhibited the largest effect size with SMD of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.42, 1.43). Meanwhile, the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) of CC16 for ARDS diagnosis reached an AUC of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.76, 0.83). In conclusion, this study provides a ranking system for pulmonary-originated epithelial biomarkers according to their association with distinguishing at-risk patients and predicting mortality. In addition, the study provides evidence for the advantage of biomarkers over traditional diagnostic criteria. The performance of biomarkers may help to clinically improve the ARDS diagnosis and mortality prediction.

Circulating Pulmonary-Originated Epithelial Biomarkers for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a specific form of chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia with various etiology. The severity and progression of ILD usually predict the poor outcomes of ILD. Otherwise, Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a potential immunological biomarker reflecting the severity and progression of ILD. This meta-analysis is to clarify the predictive value of elevated KL-6 levels in ILD.
EBSCO, PubMed, and Cochrane were systematically searched for articles exploring the prognosis of ILD published between January 1980 and April 2021. The Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were computed as the effect sizes for comparisons between groups. For the relationship between adverse outcome and elevated KL-6 concentration, Hazard Ratio (HR), and its 95%CI were used to estimate the risk factor of ILD.
Our result showed that ILD patients in severe and progressive groups had higher KL-6 levels, and the KL-6 level of patients in the severe ILD was 703.41 (U/ml) than in mild ILD. The KL-6 level in progressive ILD group was 325.98 (U/ml) higher than that in the non-progressive ILD group. Secondly, the KL-6 level of patients in acute exacerbation (AE) of ILD was 545.44 (U/ml) higher than stable ILD. Lastly, the higher KL-6 level in ILD patients predicted poor outcomes. The KL-6 level in death of ILD was 383.53 (U/ml) higher than in survivors of ILD. The pooled HR (95%CI) about elevated KL-6 level predicting the mortality of ILD was 2.05 (1.50-2.78), and the HR (95%CI) for progression of ILD was 1.98 (1.07-3.67).
The elevated KL-6 level indicated more severe, more progressive, and predicted the higher mortality and poor outcomes of ILD.

KL-6 as an Immunological Biomarker Predicts the Severity, Progression, Acute Exacerbation, and Poor Outcomes of Interstitial Lung Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

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