A Self-Paced Online Library Orientation: Development, Implementation, and Assessment.

Health sciences librarians may find it difficult to meet demands for in-person or online synchronous library orientations for various reasons, including short-staffing of librarians, expansion of online programs, and temporary campus closures caused by emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors discuss the development, implementation, and assessment of an asynchronous online orientation tutorial created for use across various health sciences degree, certificate, and training programs. The tutorial can either replace or supplement synchronous orientations, and the original tutorial can be copied and customized for specific programs.

Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Published in High-Impact Otolaryngology Journals.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the methodological quality of intervention-focused systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) published in high-impact otolaryngology journals. DATA SOURCES: Ovid Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library. REVIEW METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed for SR and MA citations from 2012 to 2017 in the 10 highest impact factor otolaryngology journals. Abstracts were screened to identify published manuscripts in which the authors indicated clearly that they were performing an SR or MA. Applying a modified typology of reviews, 4 reviewers characterized the review type as SR, MA, or another review type. A simplified version of the AMSTAR 2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2) tool was used to assess the reporting and methodological quality of the SRs and MAs that were focused on interventions. RESULTS: Search and abstract screening generated 499 manuscripts that identified themselves as performing an SR or MA. A substantial number (85/499, 17%) were review types other than SRs or MAs, including 34 (7%) that were literature reviews. In total, 236 SRs and MAs focused on interventions. Over 50% of these SRs and MAs had weaknesses in at least 3 of the 16 items in the AMSTAR 2, and over 40% had weaknesses in at least 2 of the 7 critical domains. Ninety-nine percent of SRs and MAs provided critically low confidence in the results of the reviews. CONCLUSION: Intervention-focused SRs and MAs published in high-impact otolaryngology journals have important methodological limitations that diminish confidence in the results of these reviews.

Cross-talk in the gut.

Modulation of host signaling by the products of microbial activity in the gut may affect weight gain and fat formation.