Chinese herbal medicine combined with Western medicine for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children:An overview of systematic reviews

Objective:To summarize the characteristics and evaluate the quality of the methodology and evidence within systematic reviews(SRs)of Chinese herbal medicine(CHM)for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MPP)inchildren.Methods:SRs of randomized controlled trials were searched using PubMed,the Cochrane Library,Embase,the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Databases(CNKI),the Chinese Scientific Journals Database(VIP),Wanfang,and the SinoMed Database.SRs on the use of CHM alone or in combination with Western medications for MPP in children were included.The study compared the effects of Western medicine alone with those of CHM.The evidence quality using the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews(AMSTAR)2,the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)2020,and the Grading of Recommendations,Assessment,Development,and Evaluation(GRADE)criteria.The primary indicators were the total effective rate,fever subsidence time,and cough disappearance time.The secondary outcomes were pulmonary rale disappearance time,average hospitalization time,lung X-ray infiltrate disappearance time,immunological indices,and inflammatory cytokine levels.Results:Twelve relevant SRs were included;75%(9/12)were assessed as very low quality,and 25%(3/12)Were rated as low quality using the AMSTAR 2 criteria.According to the PRISMA 2020 checklist,the average SR score was 20.3 out of a 27 point maximum.In all SRs,CHM demonstrated improvement in symptoms and signs among children with MPP.The evidence quality using the GRADE criteria ranged from"very low"(>50%)to"moderate"(<5%).The most common downgrading factor was imprecision,followed by publication bias and inconsistency.Conclusion:This overview highlights the limited quality of the methodology and evidence of the included SRs.Although the included studies showed the beneficial effects of CHM on MPP in children,it was difficult to draw firm conclusions owing to methodological flaws.

Chinese medicine formulas for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Overview of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)affects more than one-quarter of the global population.Due to the lack of approved chemical agents,many patients seek treatment from traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)formulas.A variety of systematic reviews have been published regarding the effectiveness and safety of TCM formulas for NAFLD.AIM To critically appraise available systematic reviews and sort out the high-quality evidence on TCM formulas for the management of NAFLD.METHODS Seven databases were systematically searched from their inception to 28 February 2020.The search terms included“non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,”“Chinese medicines,”“systematic review,”and their synonyms.Systematic reviews involving TCM formulas alone or in combination with conventional medications were included.The methodological quality and risk of bias of eligible systematic reviews were evaluated by using A Measure Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2(AMSTAR 2)and Risk of Bias in Systematic Review(ROBIS).The quality of outcomes was assessed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment,Development and Evaluation(GRADE)system.RESULTS Seven systematic reviews were ultimately included.All systematic reviews were conducted based on randomized controlled trials and published in the last decade.According to the AMSTAR 2 tool,one systematic review was judged as having a moderate confidence level,whereas the other studies were rated as having a low or extremely low level of confidence.The ROBIS tool showed that the included systematic reviews all had a high risk of bias due to insufficient consideration of identified concerns.According to the GRADE system,only two outcomes were determined as high quality;namely,TCM formulas with the HuoXueHuaYu principle were better than conventional medications in ultrasound improvement,and TCM formulas were superior to antioxidants in alanine aminotransferase normalization.Other outcomes were downgraded to lower levels,mainly because of heterogeneity among studies,not meeting optimal information sample size,and inclusion of excessive numbers of small sample studies.Nevertheless,the evidence quality of extracted outcomes should be further downgraded when applying to clinical practice due to indirectness.CONCLUSION The quality of available systematic reviews was not satisfactory.Researchers should avoid repeatedly conducting systematic reviews in this area and focus on designing rigorous randomized controlled trials to support TCM formula applications.

An overview of systematic reviews of clinical evidence for cupping therapy

Background:As a traditional treatment method,cupping therapy is widely used in Asian countries.This overview of systematic reviews (SRs) investigated the effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy through an evidence-based approach.Methods:SRs that assessed the effectiveness of cupping therapy for any type of disease were searched through 6 electronic databases.Target diseases,cupping methods,numbers and types of included studies,quality of included trials,main results (including meta-analysis re sults),and authors' conclusions of SRs were extracted.The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews measurement was used to evaluate methodologic quality of the SRs.Results Eight SRs met the inclusion criteria and effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy for 11 diseases were assessed.All included SRs were of good methodologic quality.However,quality of trials included in the SRs was generally poor.Meta-analysis was performed in 4 studies.Results:showed cupping therapy (alone or combined with other interventions) was better than medications (or other interventions alone) for herpes zoster,acne,facial paralysis,low back pain,or cervical spondylosis.One review reported adverse events,including hematoma,increased pain and tingling following cupping treatment.Conclusions:Cupping therapy may be beneficial for pain-related conditions,acne,and facial paralysis.However,a firm conclusion could not be drawn due to the insufficient number of included reviews and the low quality of the original studies.

Overview of Analysis on State Evaluation of Relaying Protection System

With the rapid development of the smart grid, it is necessary to do good corresponding work in relaying protection so as to meet the overall requirements of the smart grid better. So we must focus on the state division, risk analysis and fault diagnosis methods in the relaying protection system, in the basis of fully understanding the advantages and disadvantages of relaying protection system, and then improve the problems existing of relaying protection system at this stage according to the actual situation. This paper aims at the overview of analysis on state evaluation of relaying protection systems.

Acupuncture for post-stroke dysphagia: An overview of systematic reviews

Objective: To overview the systematic reviews of acupuncture for Post-stroke Dysphagia. Methods: The Chinese and English databases were searched for the systematic reviews of dysphagia after acupuncture treatment. The retrieval time was until October 30, 2019. The final literature was evaluated for bias risk, methodology quality and evidence quality by using ROBIS tool, AMSTER-2 scale and GRADE method. Results: 9 systematic reviews and 36 outcomes were included. ROBIS bias risk assessment results show that all the studies are high bias risk;AMSTER-2 methodology quality assessment results show that all the systems are of very low quality;GRADE grading shows that there are only 7 intermediate evidences in 36 clinical evidences, the rest are low-level evidences or very low-level evidences, and there are multiple intermediate evidences in the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of dysphagia after stroke. In addition, acupuncture can significantly improve the scores of all kinds of swallowing function related scales, such as Tengdao food intake swallowing function grade, swallowing disorder specific quality of life score, standard swallowing function evaluation scale, and the incidence of adverse reactions is low. Conclusion: Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of dysphagia after stroke. It can improve the scores of various swallowing function scales and has high safety. However, the risk of systematic evaluation bias is high, the quality of methodology is low, and the level of clinical evidence is low as a whole. In the future, the relevant research design should be more rigorous, and the research report should be written in strict accordance with the PRISMA statement.

Wenxin granule for cardiac arrhythmia: an overview of systematic reviews

Objectives: Evaluating the quality of systematic reviews/meta-analysis of Wenxin granule in treating cardiac arrhythmia to provide evidence for clinical practice, and analyzing the problems in the research to identify potential research priorities for researchers. Method: The systematic reviews of Wenxin granule in treating cardiac arrhythmia were searched from 8 databases. The methodological quality and evidence quality were assessed by AMSTAR and GRADE respectively. Results: Nineteen eligible systematic reviews with 52,905 participants were included. The overall scores of AMSTAR ranged from 3 to 10 with a mean score of 6.5, the median score was 6. There were 9 (9/19, 47.37%) systematic reviews had the score of 7 or more. 6 of them with appropriate information were assessed the quality of evidence by GRADE. The results showed that the overall quality of evidence was limited (range from “very low” to “low”), no “moderate” or “high” quality of evidence existed. For the outcome reporting, no systematic reviews reported endpoints and limited evidence showed that there is causality between Wenxin granule and adverse effects/events. The outcome matrix showed that there are obvious heterogeneity and incompleteness for the outcome reporting in included systematic reviews, so that some included studies cannot be conducted meta-analysis. Meanwhile, there were studies excluded because of inappropriate outcome measures, such as outcome measures did not meet inclusion criteria, treatment time did not meet inclusion criteria, treatment time was unclear, incomplete data or the data cannot be extracted. Conclusions: Wenxin granule have limited efficacy and safety for treating arrhythmia. In the future, high quality of RCTs and systematic reviews should be conducted. Core outcome set for cardiac arrhythmia is needed to improve outcome reporting and decrease waste.

Common traditional Chinese medicine therapies for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: An overview of systematic reviews

Objective: To critically evaluate and summarize the methodological quality of systematic reviews(SRs)and present objective and important outcomes on the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) therapies, including Chinese herbal medicine(CHM), acupuncture, and moxibustion, for diarrheapredominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D).Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search for SRs in 7 databases until April 16, 2022.Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the reviews according to the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2(AMSTAR-2), the Risk of Bias in Systematic reviews(ROBIS) tool, and the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis(PRISMA) statement. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation(GRADE) was used to rate the quality of evidence.Results: IBS-D patients included in 12 reviews were diagnosed in accordance with the Rome criteria, 9 reviews focused on CHM, 2 articles observed moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion, 1 article studied acupuncture and CHM. The outcomes of the SRs were the effectiveness rate, the total effectiveness rate,global symptom improvement, and adverse effects. Based on AMSTAR-2, which measures the quality of methodology, all of the included studies were of low or critically low quality. According to the ROBIS tool, 10 SRs(83.33%) had a high risk of bias. With the PRISMA checklist, only 3 SRs reached over 90% compliance.Based on GRADE, most evidence was of low quality, and there was a moderate quality of evidence that the effectiveness rate of modified-Tongxie Yaofang was superior to Western medicine in the treatment of IBS-D.Conclusion: Given the suboptimal reporting and methodological quality of existing SRs, more studies are needed to clarify whether TCM therapies are more effective or safe than pharmacological medicine.Future studies should combine evidence-based medicine with TCM research according to the characteristics of TCM.

Chinese herbal medicine for hand-foot-and-mouth disease in children: An overview of systematic reviews

Objective:To summarize the use of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) for the treatment of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in children and to provide high-level evidence for clinical decision-making.Methods:We conducted an overview of systematic reviews (SRs).Two English-language and four Chinese-language electronic databases were searched from inception to March 31,2018.Published SRs and meta-analyses evaluating CHM use in children with HFMD and reporting clinically-relevant outcomes such as time to fever resolution were eligible for inclusion in this overview.Reviews were accepted if the intervention featured CHM with or without other treatment.Two authors evaluated the methodological quality of the included SRs by using ASMTAR and ROBIS.Results:Thirty SRs comprising 90 244 children with HFMD were included in this overview of SRs.All SRs were published in Chinese between 2011 and 2017.All intervention arms received CHM with or without conventional treatment and were compared against control arms receiving no treatment,conventional treatment alone,or placebo.All 30 reviews reported the time to fever resolution and results demonstrated that CHM had a greater benefit in reducing fever compared with controls.Twenty-three reviews reported the time to rash resolution which presented similar results.Fourteen SRs reported the time to oral ulcer healing and CHM demonstrated a significantly reduced time to resolution compared to controls.The quality of the included SRs was low to moderate as assessed by the AMSTAR tool.Conclusion:Published reviews demonstrated potential benefits of CHM in children with HFMD.Overall,the methodological quality of reviews included in this overview of SRs was low and our findings should be interpreted with caution.We would strongly recommend that future SRs be designed and reported rigorously following PRISMA in order to provide more robust evidence on which to base clinical guidance.

EU Taxonomy:Overview of All“Green”Economic Activities as of June 2023

In June,the EU Commission published an update of the economic activities that can be classified as“green”.The article provides an updated tabular overview of now 152 economic activities in total,covering 17 sectors.In particular,the table shows in which of the four different delegated regulations the technical screening criteria for the economic activities are located.These are necessary in order to determine whether a concrete economic activity is taxonomy aligned.

Overview of the systematic reviews of premature ovarian insufficiency treated with acupuncture

Objective:To assess the reliability of the methodological quality and outcome measures of systematic reviews(SR)/meta-analysis of premature ovarian insufficiency(POI) treated with acupuncture.Methods:SR/meta-analysis of POI treated with acupuncture were searched on POI from the databases including PubMed,Web of Science,EMBase,the Cochran Library,Chinese biomedical literature database(SinoMed),China journal full-text database(CNKI),Wanfang data knowledge service platform(Wanfang)and VIP information Chinese periodical service platform(VIP),from inception to 1 st May 2021.Using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2(AMSTAR 2) scale and Grades of Recommendations Assessment,Development and Evaluation(GRADE) system,the methodological quality and outcome measures of the included studies were appraised.Results:Ten articles of SR/meta-analysis were included,published from 2015 to 2020.Using AMSTAR 2,5 articles of SR/meta-analysis were rated as critical low quality in methods,3 articles as low quality,and2 articles as moderate quality.The results of GRADE showed that among the 50 outcomes the quality of evidence of 22 outcomes was very low,that of 25 outcomes was low and that of 3 outcomes was moderate.Conclusion:The methodological quality and the reliability of outcome measures were not high in existing SR/meta-analysis on POI treated with acupuncture,which may affect the translation of the SR/metaanalysis findings into clinical practice.It is necessary to further strengthen the methodological quality and reporting standard of SR/meta-analysis,as well as the robustness of design and implementation of randomized controlled trials(RCTs),in order to generate high quality evidences for clinical decision-making and practice.

大豆蛋白质含量QTL的“整合”及Overview分析

在物理整合的基础上,选用元分析方法将已发表的与蛋白质相关的QTL整合到物理整合中重复次数较多的6个QTL区间处,并且选用基于统计学原理的Overview方法进行优化,得到连锁群上QTL的有效遗传位置,最终筛选出稳定性较强的标记Satt127,研究结果为标记辅助鉴定提供了理论依据。

大豆株高QTL的“整合”及Overview分析

株高是作物株型的重要组成因子,与作物种植密度、抗倒伏性及产量等密切相关。文章利用Soybase数据库和文献报道的201个与大豆株高相关的QTL信息,在物理整合的基础上,采用软件BioMercator2.1进行元分析,得到15个株高的"通用"QTL,分别位于大豆的6号、7号、11号、13号和18号染色体。同时,利用基于统计学原理的Overview方法进行优化,将这些QTL位点的置信区间最小缩至0.1 cM,从而明确了QTL位点在染色体上的遗传位置。对重演性较好的QTL位点所对应的区段内的基因进行分析,初步筛选出可能与株高相关的候选基因17个。文章为大豆株高相关QTL位点的精细定位及分子标记辅助育种奠定了基础。

基于Overview和物理图谱的大豆株高性状候选基因挖掘

为更加准确地挖掘大豆株高性状候选基因,本研究利用已有研究中与大豆株高性状相关的249个QTL位点,以大豆基因组物理图谱为背景进行整合,并通过Overview分析得到32个重演性较好的置信区间,分布在大豆D1b、N、C1、A1、C2、M、K、O、B1、F、J、D2、G和L连锁群上,其中D1b、A1、C2、M、F、L连锁群的重演性较好的置信区间较多。对候选区段进行基因注释,分析得出植物激素信号转导通路(ID:Ko04075)可能为大豆株高调控的主要通路,该通路与植物细胞增大、分化、茎生长、休眠、果实成熟和抗逆性等植物生理过程紧密相关。通路中13个候选基因与大豆株高性状相关,9个基因被注释为编码生长素响应蛋白,3个基因被注释为编码脱落酸相关蛋白,1个基因为GH3生长素响应启动子。本研究为挖掘大豆株型性状候选基因、构建大豆理想株型和促进分子辅助育种提供新思路。

大豆倒伏性相关QTL的整合及Overview分析

倒伏性是影响大豆产量的重要因素,发掘与大豆倒伏相关的基因对于培育抗倒伏优良高产大豆品种具有重要意义。目前利用不同群体所构建的遗传图谱已经定位了大量与大豆倒伏性相关的QTLs。本研究在对已报道的QTLs进行物理整合的基础上,选择元分析方法将这些倒伏性相关的QTLs进一步整合,鉴定出位于C2(6号染色体)、F(13号染色体)、L(19号染色体)这3个连锁群上重复次数较多的QTL区间6个。选用基于统计学原理的Overview方法进行优化,获得了这些QTL在各个连锁群上的有效遗传位置,这些QTL的置信区间长度最小可缩至0.2 cM。通过在这些区间内进一步筛选,获得一个稳定性较好的标记Satt277。本研究可为大豆抗倒伏基因发掘及分子标记辅助选择育种提供理论依据。

基于Overview和物理图谱的大豆主茎节数候选基因挖掘

利用与大豆主茎节数性状相关的54个原始QTL位点,应用Overview方法首次以大豆参考基因组物理图谱为背景进行整合和分析,得到11个重演性较好的置信区间,分布在大豆D1b、C2、B1、F、L和I连锁群上,其中L连锁群重演性较好的置信区间较多。对得到的候选区段进行基因注释得到488个候选基因,其中Glyma.11G087300、Glyma.20G014300、Glyma.13G221400、Glyma.06G243500、Glyma.13G052900、Glyma.13G052700参与植物激素信号转到通路(ID:Ko04075),推测这6个基因通过该通路的赤霉素途径和生长素途径参与大豆主茎节数的遗传调控。本研究所挖掘到的与茎生长发育及主茎节数直接相关的通路和候选基因能够为构建理想株型和大豆分子辅助育种提供新思路。

Benefits and Safety of Tripterygium Glycosides and Total Glucosides of Paeony for Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

Objective: To summarize the evidence from systematic reviews(SRs) on the benefits and safety of Tripterygium glycosides(TG) and total glucosides of paeony(TGP), commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis(RA) in China, for patients with RA. Methods: SRs of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) on TG or TGP in treating RA were included, by searching 8 databases from their inception until December 2017. Two authors extracted data independently. We assessed the quality of SRs using AMSTAR and graded the quality of evidence according to the GRADE approach. Results: Eleven SRs containing an average of 7.6 RCTs, involving a total of 7,012 participants were included in this overview. On the basis of included SRs, TG and TGP could improve the following indexes for RA patients: American College of Rheumatology(ACR) 20 response rate, ACR50 response rate and ACR70 response rate, swollen joint count, tender joint count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. Moreover, TGP could reduce incidence of hepatotoxicity. The most common adverse effects of TG were gastrointestinal discomfort and gonad toxicity, while for TGP was mild to moderate diarrhea. The overall quality of evidence for these findings ranged from "low" to "moderate". Conclusions: TG and TGP might be 2 potentially effective complementary and alternative drugs for patients with RA. Nevertheless, due to gonad toxicity, TG should only be considered in elderly patients or patients without reproductive needs. More evidence from high quality RCTs and SRs is warranted to support the use of TG and TGP for RA patients.

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating functional constipation: An overview of systematic reviews

Background: Functional constipation(FC) is one of the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders. Dissatisfaction with medications prescribed to treat FC may lead patients to seek alternative treatments. Numerous systematic reviews(SRs) examining the use of acupuncture to treat FC have reported inconsistent results, and the quality of these studies has not been fully evaluated.Objective: In this overview, we evaluated and summarized clinical evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating FC and evaluated the quality and bias of the SRs we reviewed.Search strategy: The search strategy was structured by medical subject headings and search terms such as‘‘acupuncture therapy" and ‘‘functional constipation." Electronic searches were conducted in eight databases from their inception to September 2020.Inclusion criteria: SRs that investigated the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for managing FC were included.Data extraction and analysis: Two authors independently extracted information and appraised the methodology, reporting accuracy, quality of evidence, and risk of bias using the following critical appraisal tools:(1) A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2(AMSTAR 2);(2) Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews(ROBIS);(3) Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses for Acupuncture(PRISMA-A);and(4) the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations(GRADE). A j index was used to score the level of agreement between the 2 reviewers.Results: Thirteen SRs that examined the clinical utility of acupuncture for treating FC were identified.Using the AMSTAR 2 tool, we rated 92.3%(12/13) of the SRs as ‘‘critically low" confidence and one study as ‘‘low" confidence. Using the ROBIS criteria, 38.5%(5/13) of the SRs were considered to have ‘‘low risk"of bias. Based on PRISMA-A, 76.9%(10/13) of the SRs had over 70% compliance with reporting standards.The inter-rater agreement was good for AMSTAR 2, ROBIS, and PRISMA-A. Using the GRADE tool, we classified 22.5%(9/40) of the measured outcomes as ‘‘moderate" quality, 57.5%(23/40) as ‘‘low" quality, and 20.0%(8/40) as ‘‘very low" quality. The inter-rater agreement was moderate when using GRADE.Descriptive analyses indicated that acupuncture was more efficacious than sham acupuncture for improving weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements(CSBMs) and for raising the Bristol Stool Form Scale(BSFS) score. Acupuncture appeared to be superior to anti-constipation drugs for improving weekly spontaneous bowel movements, the total effective rate, and the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life score. Although ten SRs mentioned the occurrence of adverse events, serious adverse events were not associated with acupuncture treatment.Conclusion: Acupuncture may be more efficacious than sham acupuncture for improving CSBMs and BSFS scores and may be superior to anti-constipation drugs for improving bowel movement frequency, as well as quality of life. Limitations to current studies and inconsistent evidence suggest a need for more rigorous and methodologically sound SRs to draw definitive conclusions.

Acupuncture and/or moxibustion for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation:quality assessment of systematic reviews

Objective:In the current systematic review on acupuncture and/or moxibustion for lumbar disc herniation(LDH),we evaluated the methodology and quality of evidence and reports to provide necessary information for accurate clinical decision-making regarding acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH.Methods:From databases such as CBM(Chinese biomedical literature database),VIP(China science and technology journal database),CNKI(China national knowledge infrastructure),WF(Wanfang database),Web of Science,Embase,Medline,and Cochrane Library,systematic reviews on acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH were retrieved,and the methodological quality of the literature was evaluated according to the assessment of multiple systematic reviews(AMSTAR)list.Furthermore,the grading of recommendations assessment,development and evaluation(GRADE)system was used to grade the quality of evidence and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses(PRISMA)statement to evaluate the quality of the report.Results:A total of 18 systematic reviews were included,and the conclusion is that acupuncture and/or moxibustion have some advantages in terms of efficacy and safety with regard to LDH treatment.According to the AMSTAR score,there were 4 high-quality studies,13 moderate-quality studies,and 1 low-quality study.GRADE showed that quality of evidence such as total effective rate of LDH and VAS was low and that of other forms of evidence was lower.The PRISMA statement showed that 8 articles were in line with 20 or more of the 27 items,and 10 articles were in line with 10-19 of the 27 items.Conclusion:At present,acupuncture and/or moxibustion for LDH has a good curative effect.More importantly,its methodological quality was of moderate level and the report quality was generally good and relatively complete.However,the poor quality of the original research results was reflected in the quality of evidence.More studies are needed to make sure whether acupuncture is more effective than other treatment methods.

An Overview of Research on Przewalskia tangutica Maxim., an Endangered Tibetan Medicinal Plant

Przewalskia tangutica Maxim. （Solanaceae： Przewalskia） is a perennial herbaceous plant, which is endemic to Tibet and is a rare and endangered Tibetan medicinal plant. In this paper, the morphological characteristics, seed germination, tissue culture, flower development characteristics, chemical composition, element content and resource characteristics of P. tangutica are summarized and analyzed. Combined with the survival status of P. tangutica, it is suggested that the research on ecological adaptation, survival mechanism, endangerment mechanism and eco- logical functions of P. tangutica should be strengthened.

Application of artificial intelligence in clinical diagnosis and treatment:an overview of systematic reviews

Objective This study aimed to summarize the characteristics and methodological quality of systematic reviews on the application of artificial intelligence(AI)in clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods We systematically searched seven English-and Chinese-language literature databases to identify sys-tematic reviews on the application of AI,deep learning,or machine learning in the diagnosis and treatment of any disease published in 2020.We evaluated the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews using“A Measurement tool for the assessment of multiple systematic reviews”(AMSTAR).We also conducted meta-analyses on the diagnostic accuracy of AI on selected disease categories with a large number of included studies and low clinical heterogeneity.Results A total of 40 systematic reviews reporting 1,083 original studies were included,covering 31 diseases from 11 groups of diseases.Eleven systematic reviews were related to neoplasms and nine were systematic reviews related to diseases of the digestive system.We selected digestive system diseases for the meta-analysis.The pooled sensitivities(with 95%confidence interval(CI))of AI to assist the diagnosis of helicobacter pylori,gastrointestinal ulcers,hemorrhage,esophageal tumors,gastric tumors,and intestinal tumors(with 95%CI)were 0.91(0.83-0.95),0.99(0.76-1.00),0.95(0.83-0.99),0.90(0.85-0.93),0.90(0.82-0.95),and 0.93(0.88-0.96),respectively,and the pooled specificities were 0.82(0.77-0.87),0.97(0.86-1.00),1.00(0.99-1.00),0.80(0.71-0.87),0.93(0.87-0.97),and 0.89(0.85-0.92),respectively.The AMSTAR items“the list of included studies”(n=39,97.5%)and“the characteristics of the included studies”(n=39,97.5%)had the highest compliance among the reviews;the compliance was relatively low to the items“the consideration of publication status”(n=1,2.5%),“the consideration of scientific quality”(n=19,47.5%),“data synthesis methods”(n=18,45.0%),and“the evaluation of publication bias”(n=13,32.5%).Conclusions The main subjects of systematic reviews on AI applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment pub-lished in 2020 were diseases of the digestive system and neoplasms.The methodological quality of the systematic reviews on AI needs to be improved,paying particular attention to publication bias and the rigorous evaluation of the quality of the included studies.