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Background: Community-based exercise is a continuation and complement to inpatient rehabilitation for Parkinson's disease and does not require a professional physical therapist or equipment. The effects, parameters, and forms of each exercise are diverse, and the effect is affected by many factors. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect and the best parameters for improving motor symptoms and to explore the possible factors affecting the effect of community-based exercise. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of six databases: PEDro, PubMed/Medline, CENTRAL, Scopus, Embase, and WOS. Studies that compared community-based exercise with usual care were included. The intervention mainly included dance, Chinese martial arts, Nordic walking, and home-based exercise. The primary outcome measure was the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS-III) score. The mean difference (95% CI) was used to calculate the treatment outcomes of continuous outcome variables, and the I2 statistic was used to estimate the heterogeneity of the statistical analysis. We conducted subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis to determine the optimal parameters and the most important influencing factors of the exercise effect. Results: Twenty-two studies that enrolled a total of 809 subjects were included in the analysis. Exercise had a positive effect on the UPDRS-III (MD = -5.83; 95% CI, -8.29 to -3.37), Timed Up and Go test (MD = -2.22; 95% CI -3.02 to -1.42), UPDRS ((MD = -7.80; 95% CI -10.98 to -6.42), 6-Minute Walk Test (MD = 68.81; 95% CI, 32.14 to 105.48), and Berg Balance Scale (MD = 4.52; 95% CI, 2.72 to 5.78) scores. However, the heterogeneity of each included study was obvious. Weekly frequency, age, and duration of treatment were all factors that potentially influenced the effect. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that community-based exercise may benefit motor function in patients with PD. The most commonly used modalities of exercise were tango and tai chi, and the most common prescription was 60 min twice a week. Future studies should consider the influence of age, duration of treatment, and weekly frequency on the effect of exercise. PROSPERO trial registration number: CRD42022327162. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased awareness of consumers on the health benefits of organically produced animals has triggered interest on the use of phytogenics to boost broiler chicken productivity. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) supplementation on feed intake, feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and body weight gain (BWG) in broiler chickens. Data from 31 studies that met the selection criteria for the meta-analysis were pooled using a random-effects model and expressed as a natural log of the response ratio (InR) at 95% confidence interval (CI) for each investigation. Results indicated that broiler chickens fed treatment diets had better FCE and BWG than controls. Furthermore, broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with turmeric at 5–10 g/kg consumed less feed and exhibit better FCE (InR = -0.06 g/bird, 95% CI: -0.07 to -0.04) and BWG (InR = 0.05 g/bird, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.08) in comparison to the controls. Meta-regression results showed that studied moderators (broiler strain, dosage and supplementation duration) had an impact on the results of the meta-analysis. It was concluded that turmeric supplementation increased broiler chicken performance, and could be used as a performance enhancing agent in the broiler chicken industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analysis of the effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on outcome measures (health and production indices) in laying hens was investigated. A database of eighteen studies on the subject was systematically compiled based on set inclusion criteria and were used for the analysis. Outcome measures were pooled using a random-effects model and quantified using standardised mean difference (SMD) at 95% confidence interval (CI). The pooled results indicate that ginger supplementation improved blood antioxidant markers in laying hens. The results also showed that layers on ginger supplementation had significantly better plasma cholesterol concentrations (SMD = -1.140 mg/dl, 95% CI: -1.622 to -0.658) and hen day egg production (SMD = 0.217%, 95% CI: 0.080 to 0.354) compared to the controls. In addition, layers on ginger supplementation had significantly higher egg mass (SMD = 0.245 g egg/hen/day, 95% CI: 0.017 to 0.473) and egg weight (SMD = 0.096 g, 95% CI: 0.029 to 0.163) when compared to the controls, taking cognizance of heterogeneity. Meta-regression found that studied moderators explained most of the sources of variation.This meta-analysissuggeststhat ginger could improve health indices, hen day egg production, egg mass and egg weight in laying hens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this experiment was to use a meta-analysis approach to resolve conflict, identify knowledge gap and develop new insights on the effect of turmeric on plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) concentrations in broiler chickens. The authors found 64 studies following a systematic search conducted in 3 electronic databases and the World Wide Web using several search queries. Eighteen out of the 64 publications met the predefined eligibility criteria to assess the impact of turmeric on plasma TC, HDL-c and LDL-c concentrations in broiler chickens. Data collected were analysed in OpenMEE software and pooled estimation revealed that turmeric-based diets significantly reduced the concentrations of TC and LDL-c (p<0.01), and improved the concentrations of HDL-c (p<0.01) in chicken blood when compared to those on the control diets. Sub-analysis found significant associations between covariates (chicken strain, supplementation level, number of birds per treatment and duration of supplementation) and measured outcomes (TC, HDL-c and LDL-c). Significant heterogeneity (I2) existed in the meta-analysis, and meta-regression analysis found that chicken strain and duration of supplementation were predictors of HDL-c and LDL-c, and explained 72% of the sources of heterogeneity among the studies used in the meta-analysis. The results of the present meta-analysis showed the potential of turmeric-based diets to modulate the production of blood cholesterol in broiler chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]