Systematic characterization of faecal sludge from various sources for its use as a solid fuel.

Faecal sludge (FS) is not extensively evaluated for its potential as a solid fuel mainly due to the general conception of its "highly variable characteristics" in relation to the wide range of on-site sanitation systems. An extensive and systematic FS characterization was therefore conducted on twenty-four samples collected directly from pit latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs) and urine-diverting dehydrating toilets (UDDTs) at two depths to understand the impact on properties relevant for combustion. The higher heating value (HHV) for these samples lies between 13 to 22 MJ/kg DM (dry matter).

Cross-mapping of terms used in chemical risk assessment with those used in systematic review: research protocol.

The focus on implementation of systematic review (SR) principles in chemical risk assessments (CRAs) is growing as it has the potential to advance the rigour and transparency of the CRAs. However, the SR and CRA communities use their own specific terminologies. Understanding the meaning of core SR and CRA terms and where they overlap is critical for application of SR methods and principles in CRAs.

Identifying assessment criteria for in vitro studies: a method and item bank.

To support the development of appraisal tools for assessing the quality of in vitro studies, we developed a method for literature-based discovery of study assessment criteria, used the method to create an item bank of assessment criteria of potential relevance to in vitro studies, and analyzed the item bank to discern and critique current approaches for appraisal of in vitro studies. We searched four research indexes and included any document that identified itself as an appraisal tool for in vitro studies, was a systematic review that included a critical appraisal step, or was a reporting checklist for in vitro studies. We abstracted, normalized, and categorized all criteria applied by the included appraisal tools to create an "item bank" database of issues relevant to the assessment of in vitro studies.

The effectiveness of acellular nerve allografts compared to autografts in animal models: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Treatment of nerve injuries proves to be a worldwide clinical challenge. Acellular nerve allografts are suggested to be a promising alternative for bridging a nerve gap to the current gold standard, an autologous nerve graft.

Objective: To systematically review the efficacy of the acellular nerve allograft, its difference from the gold standard (the nerve autograft) and to discuss its possible indications.

Protocol for designing INVITES-IN, a tool for assessing the internal validity of studies.

This protocol describes the design and development of a tool for evaluation of the internal validity of studies, which is needed to include the data as evidence in systematic reviews and chemical risk assessments. The tool will be designed specifically to be applied to cell culture studies, including, but not restricted to, studies meeting the new approach methodology (NAM) definition. The tool is called INVITES-IN (IN VITro Experimental Studies INternal validity).

Fetal and post-natal outcomes in offspring after intrauterine metformin exposure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal experiments.

Aims: The impact of maternal metformin use during pregnancy on fetal, infant, childhood and adolescent growth, development, and health remains unclear. Our objective was to systematically review the available evidence from animal experiments on the effects of intrauterine metformin exposure on offspring's anthropometric, cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PUBMED and EMBASE from inception (searched on 12th April 2023).

Kinetics of Inflammatory Mediators in the Immune Response to Burn Injury: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies.

Burns are often accompanied by a dysfunctional immune response, which can lead to systemic inflammation, shock, and excessive scarring. The objective of this study was to provide insight into inflammatory pathways associated with burn-related complications. Because detailed information on the various inflammatory mediators is scattered over individual studies, we systematically reviewed animal experimental data for all reported inflammatory mediators.

The potential protective effects of pre-injury exercise on neuroimmune responses following experimentally-induced traumatic neuropathy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Pre-clinical evidence shows that neuropathy is associated with complex neuroimmune responses, which in turn are associated with increased intensity and persistence of neuropathic pain. Routine exercise has the potential to mitigate complications of future nerve damage and persistence of pain through neuroimmune regulation. This systematic review aimed to explore the effect of pre-injury exercise on neuroimmune responses, and other physiological and behavioural reactions following peripheral neuropathy in animals.

Establishing a health-based recommended occupational exposure limit for isoflurane using experimental animal data: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Isoflurane is used as an inhalation anesthetic in medical, paramedical, and veterinary practice. Epidemiological studies suggest an increased risk of miscarriages and malformations at birth related to maternal exposure to isoflurane and other inhalation anesthetics. However, these studies cannot be used to derive an occupational exposure level (OEL), because exposure was not determined quantitatively and other risk factors such as co-exposures to other inhalation anesthetics and other work-related factors may also have contributed to the observed adverse outcomes.

Occupational Health Risk Assessment for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Kanpur, India.

The treatment and reuse of wastewater for irrigation can lead to occupational health risks for sewage treatment plant (STP) workers and farmers. Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) is an approach which can be used to measure and mitigate these risks. This paper explores what impact a novel secondary treatment process, consisting of an integrated permeate channel (IPC) membrane combined with a constructed wetland plus, has on the occupational health risks compared with the existing activated sludge wastewater treatment process and reuse system in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Calcification in Pulmonary Heart Valve Tissue Engineering: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Large-Animal Studies.

Tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHVs) are emerging alternatives to current valve prostheses and prospectively a lifelong replacement. Calcification, a pathological complication for biological protheses, has been reported in preclinical TEHV studies. Systematic analysis of its occurrence is missing.

Exposure to halogenated ethers causes neurodegeneration and behavioural changes in young healthy experimental animals: a systematic review and meta analyses.

The FDA issued a warning that repeated and prolonged use of inhalational anaesthetics in children younger than 3 years may increase the risk of neurological damage. Robust clinical evidence supporting this warning is however lacking. A systematic review of all preclinical evidence concerning isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane and enflurane exposure in young experimental animals on neurodegeneration and behaviour may elucidate how severe this risk actually is PubMed and Embase were comprehensively searched on November 23, 2022.

The effects of aerobic exercise on neuroimmune responses in animals with traumatic peripheral nerve injury: a systematic review with meta-analyses.

Background: Increasing pre-clinical evidence suggests that aerobic exercise positively modulates neuroimmune responses following traumatic nerve injury. However, meta-analyses on neuroimmune outcomes are currently still lacking. This study aimed to synthesize the pre-clinical literature on the effects of aerobic exercise on neuroimmune responses following peripheral nerve injury.

The Effect of Growth Factors on Vaginal Wound Healing: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Surgical outcomes of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery are poor, resulting in a 20% recurrence risk. Following the hypothesis that impaired wound healing is the main determinant of recurrent POP, growth factors have the potential to promote wound healing and may improve surgical outcomes. In this study, we systematically reviewed the effect of growth factors on vaginal wound healing in both and animal studies.

The effect of SSRIs on fear learning: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Rationale: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered first-line medication for anxiety-like disorders such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Fear learning plays an important role in the development and treatment of these disorders. Yet, the effect of SSRIs on fear learning are not well known.

Application of amniotic membranes in reconstructive surgery of internal organs-A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Amniotic membrane (AM) has great potential as a scaffold for tissue regeneration in reconstructive surgery. To date, no systematic review of the literature has been performed for the applications of AM in wound closure of internal organs. Therefore, in this systematic review and meta-analysis, we summarize the literature on the safety and efficacy of AM for the closure of internal organs.

Enduring effects of early-life adversity on reward processes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.

Two-thirds of individuals experience adversity during childhood such as neglect, abuse or highly-stressful events. Early-life adversity (ELA) increases the life-long risk of developing mood and substance use disorders. Reward-related deficits has emerged as a key endophenotype of such psychiatric disorders.

Assessment of key characteristics, methodology, and effect size measures used in meta-analysis of human-health-related animal studies.

Since the early 1990s the number of systematic reviews (SR) of animal studies has steadily increased. There is, however, little guidance on when and how to conduct a meta-analysis of human-health-related animal studies. To gain insight about the methods that are currently used we created an overview of the key characteristics of published meta-analyses of animal studies, with a focus on the choice of effect size measures.

Influence of the Sludge Retention Time on Membrane Fouling in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) Treating Lipid-Rich Dairy Wastewater.

This study evaluated the effects of sludge retention time (SRT) on the membrane filtration performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) fed lipid-rich synthetic dairy wastewater. The membrane filtration performance was evaluated in two AnMBR systems operated at two different SRTs, i.e.

Effects of the sludge physical-chemical properties on its microwave drying performance.

Thermal drying is an effective sludge treatment method for dealing with large volumes of sludge. Microwave (MW) technology has been proposed as an effective and efficient technology for sludge drying. The physical-chemical properties of the sludge depend both on the origin of the sludge, as well as on the treatment process at which the sludge has been exposed.

Animal studies for the evaluation of in situ tissue-engineered vascular grafts - a systematic review, evidence map, and meta-analysis.

Vascular in situ tissue engineering (TE) is an approach that uses bioresorbable grafts to induce endogenous regeneration of damaged blood vessels. The evaluation of newly developed in situ TE vascular grafts heavily relies on animal experiments. However, no standard for in vivo models or study design has been defined, hampering inter-study comparisons and translational efficiency.

Systematic Evaluation of Spinal Cord Injury Animal Models in the Field of Biomaterials.

The large number of animal models used in spinal cord injury (SCI) research complicates the objective selection of the most appropriate model to investigate the efficacy of biomaterial-based therapies. This systematic review aims to identify a list of relevant animal models of SCI by evaluating the confirmation of SCI and animal survival in all published SCI models used in biomaterials research up until April 2021. A search in PubMed and Embase based on "spinal cord injury," "animal models," and "biomaterials" yielded 4606 papers, 393 of which were further evaluated.

Nerve recovery from treatment with a vascularized nerve graft compared to an autologous non-vascularized nerve graft in animal models: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Treatment of nerve injuries proves to be a worldwide clinical challenge. Vascularized nerve grafts are suggested to be a promising alternative for bridging a nerve gap to the current gold standard, an autologous non-vascularized nerve graft. However, there is no adequate clinical evidence for the beneficial effect of vascularized nerve grafts and they are still disputed in clinical practice.

Novel semi-decentralised mobile system for the sanitization and dehydration of septic sludge: a pilot-scale evaluation in the Jordan Valley.

The provision of effective sanitation strategies has a significant impact on public health. However, the treatment of septic sludge still presents some challenges worldwide. Consequently, innovative technologies capable of an effective and efficient sludge treatment, mostly at a decentralized level, are in high demand to improve sanitation provision.