Information retrieval for systematic reviews in food and feed topics: a narrative review

Introduction Systematic review methods are now being used for reviews of food production, food safety and security, plant health, and animal health and welfare. Information retrieval methods in this context have been informed by human healthcare approaches and ideally should be based on relevant research and experience. Objective This narrative review seeks to identify and summarise current research-based evidence and experience on information retrieval for systematic reviews in food and feed topics. Methods MEDLINE (Ovid), Science Citation Index (Web of Science) and ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/) were searched in 2012 and 2016. We also contacted topic experts and undertook citation searches. We selected and summarised studies reporting research on information retrieval, as well as published guidance and experience. Results There is little published evidence on the most efficient way to conduct searches for food and feed topics. There are few available study design search filters, and their use may be problematic given poor or inconsistent reporting of study methods. Food and feed research makes use of a wide range of study designs so it might be best to focus strategy development on capturing study populations, although this also has challenges. There is limited guidance on which resources should be searched and whether publication bias in disciplines relevant to food and feed necessitates extensive searching of the grey literature. Conclusions There is some limited evidence on information retrieval approaches, but more research is required to inform effective and efficient approaches to searching to populate food and feed reviews

Preparatory Work for the Future Development of Scientific Opinions on Animal Health

This final report summarizes the results of two reviews and a scoping study related to Canine leishmaniosis (CanL). Three objectives were addressed in this project. Objective 1 was to summarize relative sensitivity and specificity estimates of assays used to detect infection in dogs with Leishmania infantum in studies of naïve dogs in areas where Leishmania infantum infection is endemic. Objective 2 was to summarize data available to estimate the prevalence of parasitological cure (failure to detect organism) after a 12-month follow-up period in animals treated with meglumine antimoniate, miltefosine, and allopurinol or combinations of these drugs for canine leishmaniosis. Objective 3 was to assess diagnostic test characteristics of PCR assays and serological assays (ELISA or IFAT) from studies that use experimental models of Canine leishmaniosis. The same comprehensive search was used for all objectives. The searches yielded 7,405 records. After duplicates were removed, 3,865 records remained. Of these, 243 were broadly identified as diagnostic test evaluation studies and at the 2nd level of screening 18 were considered longitudinal studies. The 18 references were then assessed based on the full text and 7 were considered relevant to the review. The assays assessed by these studies were PCR on skin, buffy coat, bone marrow, blood and conjunctiva, and IFAT and ELISA. For objective 2, 40 potentially relevant records were identified as treatment comparison studies. After full-text screening, 13 studies were included in the review. The treatments varied greatly, and few comparative efficacy estimates were provided. No treatment was associated with 100% cure after 180 days follow-up. For objective 3, 513 citations were identified and the full texts of 169 articles were obtained. Sixty-two articles described at least one of the assays requested (PCR, ELISA or IFAT) and 18 articles described the use of a PCR and either ELISA and/or IFAT

Systematic Review of the Effect of Perch Height on Keel Bone Fractures, Deformation and Injuries, Bone Strength, Foot Lesions and Perching Behavior

This report provides a summary of four systematic reviews on the impact of perch height on laying hen keel bone fractures, deformation and injuries, bone strength, foot lesions and perching behavior. After conducting a scoping review and identifying outcomes of interest, the review protocols were developed. An extensive literature search was conducted in information sources such as CABI, PUBMED and relevant conference proceedings. 1518 abstracts were assessed for relevance and 9 studies reported perch use and 1 reported keel injuries. No studies reported summary effect sizes; therefore it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis. In lieu of a formal meta-analysis, a descriptive analysis was conducted, which plotted reported perch height against metrics of perch use. This descriptive analysis was not able to account for lack of independence, differences in sample size and other importance sources of heterogeneity such as cage height. The descriptive analysis suggested a positive association with metrics that measured perch use and height, i.e., increased usage was associated with increased height

Media industries and engagement: A dialogue across industry and academia

This article focuses on media engagement within the industry. The article takes the form of a dialogue between industry and academic researchers involved in a collaborative project on production and audience research on engagement (funded by the Wallenberg Foundation and in collaboration with Endemol Shine Group). Speakers from the film and television industry, and academic researchers working on media engagement, discuss how engagement is multifaceted, working across political and public spheres, policy and industry sectors, audiences and popular culture

The efficacy of teat sealants in dairy cows at dry-off to prevent new intra-mammary infections during the dry-period or clinical mastitis during early lactation: A protocol for a systematic review

Rationale: The majority of antibiotic use in the dairy industry is for intramammary infections (IMI), with a large portion of this aimed at treating and preventing IMI during the dry period (Lam et al., 2102). During dry off, formation of the teat-canal keratin plug plays an important role in susceptibility to IMI (Huxley et al., 2002), but there is wide variation between cows on time to complete closure of the teat-canal, or indeed if closure occurs at all (Dingwell et al., 2003). In heifers, pre-partum IMI is an important risk factor for the development of clinical mastitis in early lactation, and the impact of this disease on future udder health and productivity is far greater than in multiparous animals (Piepers et al., 2009). Moreover, the incidence of clinical mastitis at freshening in heifers is roughly double that of multiparous cows (Ali Naqvi et al., 2018). Teat sealants provide a non-antibiotic strategy to prevent IMI in the pre-calving period, which is of increasing importance due to concern for antimicrobial use and its relationship with the development of antimicrobial resistance (WHO, 2015). Understanding the efficacy of these products is essential to optimizing their use in order to decrease reliance on antibiotics for both treatment and prevention. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials in these areas will yield the highest level of evidence for efficacy of treatment under field conditions (Sargeant and O’Connor, 2014). Establishing the efficacy of teat sealants at dry-off, and pre-partum in heifers, to reduce the incidence of both clinical mastitis and/or IMI, will serve to improve decision makers’ ability to engage in effective stewardship of antibiotics thorough the strategic use of non-antibiotic alternatives

The efficacy of antibiotic treatments in dairy cows at dry-off to prevent new intramammary infections during the dry-period or clinical mastitis during early lactation: A protocol for a systematic review

Rationale: The majority of antibiotic use in the dairy industry is for the treatment and prevention of intramammary infections (IMI); in the Netherlands, approximately 60 % of all antimicrobial use in dairy is for this purpose, with two-thirds being dry cow therapy (Lam et al., 2012). In the United States, over 90 % of dairy cows receive dry cow therapy after every lactation (USDA-APHIS, 2016), with the goal of treating or preventing IMI during the dry period. These infections are strongly associated with risk of development of clinical mastitis in the first two weeks post-calving, which represents the highest risk period for this disease (Green et al., 2002). To combat this, blanket dry cow therapy (intramammary antimicrobial treatment of all quarters of all cows after the last milking of the lactation) was recommended for decades as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce IMI in the dry period (Neave et al., 1969), and has been widely adopted in North America and the United Kingdom (Ruegg, 2017). Although cow2 level selective dry cow therapy has been in use in some regions for several decades (Schultze, 1983), interest has more recently increased worldwide, in part driven by concern for antimicrobial use and its relationship with the development of antimicrobial resistance between species (WHO, 2015), including nation-specific regulations (Santman-Berends et al., 2016). Selective dry cow therapy has been employed because it is a means to rapidly reduce the amount of antimicrobials used in dairy cattle (Vanhoudt et al., 2018), rather than because it is known to contribute importantly to antimicrobial resistance (Oliver et al., 2011). With a greater concern for prudent antibiotic use in the dairy industry, it is important that decision making with regards to dry cow therapy at both the cow and herd levels be evidencebased. Choosing ineffective antibiotics, or using antibiotic when not warranted, unnecessarily contributes to use while having little impact on controlling disease, which has substantial bearing to both profitability and animal welfare (Leslie & Petersson-Wolfe, 2012). Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials yield the highest level of evidence for efficacy of treatment under field conditions (Sargeant and O’Connor, 2014), and comparative efficacy can be examined using network meta-analysis for multiple comparisons. Establishing the efficacy of both cow-level antibiotic therapy and herd-level dry cow antibiotic protocols for the prevention of IMI will serve to improve decision makers’ ability to engage in effective stewardship of antibiotics

What is the efficacy of metaphylaxis using antibiotics for the prevention of Bovine Respiratory Disease in beef cattle?

Bovine respiratory disease complex is the most economically significant disease of feedlot cattle. Putative causal organisms include Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni and Mycoplasma bovis, bovine herpesvirus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza type 3 virus. Although vaccination against the putative causal organisms is a frequently used approach to aid in the prevention of BRD, it is also common and legal for antibiotics to be used for metaphylaxis at the arrival of beef cattle at feedlots. With a more significant concern for prudent antibiotic use in the beef industry, it is essential for decision making with regards BRDC management to understand the efficacy of metaphylaxis as a preventive management practice for BRDC. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials yield the highest level of evidence for the efficacy of treatment under field conditions, and comparative efficacy can be examined using network meta-analysis for multiple comparisons. Establishing the efficacy of metaphylaxis for the prevention of BRDC will serve to improve decision makers’ ability to engage in effective stewardship of antibiotics

Blue carbon benefits from global saltmarsh restoration

Coastal saltmarshes are found globally, yet are 25%–50% reduced compared with their historical cover. Restoration is incentivised by the promise that marshes are efficient storers of ‘blue’ carbon, although the claim lacks substantiation across global contexts. We synthesised data from 431 studies to quantify the benefits of saltmarsh restoration to carbon accumulation and greenhouse gas uptake. The results showed global marshes store approximately 1.41–2.44 Pg carbon. Restored marshes had very low greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and rapid carbon accumulation, resulting in a mean net accumulation rate of 64.70 t CO2e ha−1 year−1. Using this estimate and potential restoration rates, we find saltmarsh regeneration could result in 12.93–207.03 Mt CO2e accumulation per year, offsetting the equivalent of up to 0.51% global energy-related CO2 emissions—a substantial amount, considering marshes represent <1% of Earth's surface. Carbon accumulation rates and GHG fluxes varied contextually with temperature, rainfall and dominant vegetation, with the eastern coasts of the USA and Australia particular hotspots for carbon storage. While the study reveals paucity of data for some variables and continents, suggesting need for further research, the potential for saltmarsh restoration to offset carbon emissions is clear. The ability to facilitate natural carbon accumulation by saltmarshes now rests principally on the action of the management-policy community and on financial opportunities for supporting restoration