Assessing the quality of meta-analyses in systematic reviews in pharmaceutical research in Iran by 2016: A systematic review

© Iran University of Medical Sciences. Background: Meta-analyses, like all other studies, may be poorly designed and implemented. This study was designed to determine the quality of meta-analyses in systematic reviews in the field of pharmaceutical research in Iran. Methods: Web of Science Core Collection, EMBASE, Ovid Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and PubMed were systematically searched on June 4, 2017. The search was limited to the researches in the field of pharmaceutical studies. Based on inclusion criteria, 104 systematic reviews with meta-analysis (SRMA) were selected and assessed using quality assessment tools introduced by Higgins. Results: Participants, experimental interventions, and outcomes were reported in all the articles. Comparator intervention and study design were correctly reported in 103 (99.04%) and 101 (97.12%) articles, respectively. The comprehensive search strategy was available only in 48 articles (46.16%), and there was no evidence of a comprehensive search in 56 articles (53.84%). Risk of bias was investigated in 78 articles (75%). Also, funnel plots were the most commonly used method for reporting the bias in 64 articles (46.42%). Conclusion: In many of the meta-analyses, several items of the tool that represented a high-quality meta-analysis were absent. According to the findings, the comprehensive search and quality assessment were not at an appropriate level. Thus, the importance of reproducibility of information and quality assessment of included studies should be emphasized

PENGENALAN DAN PELATIHAN PENGAMBILAN SAMPEL TANAH DISTURBED DAN UNDISTURBED UNTUK SISWA SMK 7 BIDANG KEAHLIAN KONSTRUKSI JALAN, IRIGASI, DAN JEMBATAN

One of the challenges faced by students from SMK is the learning atmosphere and learning system applied by PTV. This is due to the gap between the SMK curriculum and PTV. State Vocational High School (SMKN) 7 Semarang is one of the vocational schools located in the city of Semarang. SMKN 7 Semarang has 8 expertise competencies, one of which is competence in the field of civil engineering, namely Building Construction, Sanitation and Maintenance (KGSP) and Road, Irrigation, and Bridge Construction (KJIJ). Students of SMKN 7 Semarang already have a basic understanding of civil engineering, but when they enter the PTV world, they still experience difficulties in several fields. Therefore, to bridge and fill the gap from the SMK curriculum to PTV, it is necessary to introduce and train related fields of civil engineering, one of which is field testing. Semarang State Polytechnic as one of the universities has competent human resources to provide solutions to these problems. The PKM team provided introduction and training on the use of hand drill and vane shear tools used for soil testing. The hand drill is used to take disturbed and undisturbed soil samples, while the shear vane is used to determine the shear condition of the soil. After conducting the introduction and training activities, students can better understand how to use the test equipment. In addition, students also understand better in analyzing soil data obtained from testing

Correction: Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214738.]