ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder causes a great burden on patients and societies. Venlafaxine and mirtazapine are commonly prescribed as second-line treatment for patients with major depressive disorder worldwide. Previous systematic reviews have concluded that venlafaxine and mirtazapine reduce depressive symptoms, but the effects seem small and may not be important to the average patient. Moreover, previous reviews have not systematically assessed the occurrence of adverse events. Therefore, we aim to investigate the risks of adverse events with venlafaxine or mirtazapine versus 'active placebo', placebo, or no intervention for adults with major depressive disorder in two separate systematic reviews. METHODS: This is a protocol for two systematic reviews with meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis. The assessments of the effects of venlafaxine or mirtazapine will be reported in two separate reviews. The protocol is reported as recommended by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols, risk of bias will be assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool version 2, clinical significance will be assessed using our eight-step procedure, and the certainty of the evidence will be assessed with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. We will search for published and unpublished trials in major medical databases and trial registers. Two review authors will independently screen the results from the literature searches, extract data, and assess risk of bias. We will include published or unpublished randomised clinical trial comparing venlafaxine or mirtazapine with 'active placebo', placebo, or no intervention for adults with major depressive disorder. The primary outcomes will be suicides or suicide attempts, serious adverse events, and non-serious adverse events. Exploratory outcomes will include depressive symptoms, quality of life, and individual adverse events. If feasible, we will assess the intervention effects using random-effects and fixed-effect meta-analyses. DISCUSSION: Venlafaxine and mirtazapine are frequently used as second-line treatment of major depressive disorder worldwide. There is a need for a thorough systematic review to provide the necessary background for weighing the benefits against the harms. This review will ultimately inform best practice in the treatment of major depressive disorder. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022315395.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder, Major , Humans , Adult , Mirtazapine/adverse effects , Depressive Disorder, Major/drug therapy , Venlafaxine Hydrochloride/adverse effects , Quality of Life , Meta-Analysis as Topic , Review Literature as TopicABSTRACT
During the spring semester of 2020, four different team formation strategies were employed to assign student working groups in four otherwise identical sections of an undergraduate introductory mechanical engineering course. The four team formation strategies were 1) random, 2) by merit, with teams based on similar performance on previous exams, 3) student-selected, and 4) geographical proximity of student housing. Students were supposed to complete three team assignments during the semester, but due to COVID-19, they completed only one team assignment before being sent home. The completed assignment was a lab which included the writing of a formal report. Performance on this assignment was compared across the different teams, sections, and individual students' results, with the goal being to determine if certain team formation strategies have a beneficial effect on performance for both the teams and the individuals. Analysis of the data indicates that student-selected teams performed better on the team assignment than teams formed using other strategies, but the observed improvement was not statistically significant. We believe this was due to the small sample size. In addition, while there was no statistical difference in the incoming average student GPA for different course sections, the incoming GPA of students did have a predictive effect on team assignment performance. Finally, the transition to remote learning (in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic) had a negative effect on student performance, and this negative consequence disproportionately affected students who were already poor performers. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
To support current demanding customer need while adapting with new work norm after COVID-19 strike, digital services organizations need to redefine their strategy. They need to adopt CKM concept that can have an ability to flow information easily and smoothly between the organization and customer. On top of that, they can't afford any adoption failure, so they must ensure that their strategy is successfully implemented. However, there are lack of studies that come out with the CKM adoption and its enabling factors while delivering digital services. Hence, this research is aimed to identify factors to ensure organization' strategy can be implemented successfully, and thus service quality can be enhanced and simultaneously will increase customer satisfaction. Extracted findings from literature review and further verified by an interview with the digital services expert shows that there are eleven enabling factors that have a beneficial effect on CKM adoption to enhance organization's service quality. The factors were categorized into three perspectives which are technological, organizational, and human factors. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The mainstay of management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is mainly supportive as to date there is no effective antiviral treatment, apart from remdesivir which has been approved by Food and Drug administration (FDA) for treatment of COVID-19, or vaccine. Supplementation with micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, has gained an increasing interest as part of the supportive management of COVID-19. Vitamin C levels in serum and leukocytes are depleted during the acute stage of infection owing to increased metabolic demands. High-dose vitamin C supplement helps to normalise both serum and leukocytes vitamin C levels. Vitamin C has multiple pharmacological characteristics, antiviral, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, which make it a potential therapeutic option in management of COVID-19. The use of high dose of intravenous vitamin C for management of COVID-19 in China and the United Stated has shown promising results. There were no reported adverse reactions with the short-term use of high dose of vitamin C. Given the fact that vitamin C is cheap, available and safe drug with beneficial effects in management of viral infections and critically ill patients reported in previous clinical trials, it is sensible to add it to COVID-19 management protocol particularly if the current ongoing clinical trials testing the effect of vitamin C in management of COVID-19 show positive results.