The study examined the types of explanations students provide for fraction magnitude problems. Student responses were coded into one of five explanation types: (a) absent, (b) faulty, (c) conceptual-partially developed, (d) algorithmic, and (e) conceptual-fully developed. When examining latent classes specific to students’ explanations of their knowledge of fraction magnitude, a five-class model was the most tenable, conveying the presence of five distinct student profiles. The algorithmic class represented the largest percentage of student explanations and also revealed the strongest correlation with criterion measures. A combined algorithmic-conceptual class was not identified.

Since 2017, Japan has been establishing a community-based integrated mental health care system, which includes first-line consultations provided by local authorities (i.e., municipalities). This study aimed to (1) investigate factors related to the challenge municipalities encounter when providing mental health consultations, and (2) identify collaboration patterns between municipalities and public health agencies. Data were obtained from a nationwide municipal survey and publicly available government statistics. Municipal staff difficulty in providing mental health consultations was measured using a four-point scale, and its association with local psychiatric and social care resources and collaboration activities across local institutions was examined by ordinal logistic regression analysis. Latent class analysis was also conducted based on how the municipality collaborated with public health agencies. Lower difficulty providing mental health consultations was associated with the existence of municipally established public health centres (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.53, p=0.001), which minimises the organisational barrier between the two entities, and frequent meetings with local service providers (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.96, p=0.032). Variables indicating local psychiatric and social care resources showed no significant associations. Municipalities were classified into four latent classes based on collaboration patterns: Overall frequent (18.1%), Overall infrequent (22.0%), Frequent for individual support (49.1%), and Infrequent for individual support (10.8%). The difficulty faced by local authorities in providing mental health consultations may be reduced by fostering collaboration with other institutions, specifically public health agencies, and by hosting frequent meetings with local service providers.

Preferred strategies for obtaining abortion care among pregnant Texans: A latentclass analysis.

Association of physical activity with incident chronic kidney disease in patients with cardiovascular metabolic disease: A UK Biobank observational study.

Obesity and inactivity cluster the strongest risk factor for the development of heart failure in a population-based study.

Anti-black police violence and harassment have been identified as public health issues. However, studies have primarily focused on direct and/or vicarious police encounters. A dearth of studies has also examined vigilance related to future police encounters, and to our knowledge, no studies have examined all 3 kinds of police-related stress among African American women. We employed a latent class analysis (LCA) approach to identify classes of African American women ( N = 422), aged 30 to 46, based on the patterning of various forms of self-reported police-related stress: direct, vicarious, police-related vigilance for self, and police-related vigilance for children. We then examined associations between latent class membership and carotid intima media thickness (IMT), a marker of cardiovascular risk. We identified 3 latent classes of police-related stress: (1) high child vigilance-high personal exposure, (2) no child vigilance-high personal exposure, and (3) moderate child vigilance-low self vigilance-low personal exposure class. Findings from the fully adjusted model reveal that the no child vigilance-high personal exposure class had lower common carotid artery (CCA) IMT than the high child vigilance-high personal exposure and moderate child vigilance-low self vigilance-low personal exposure classes. Vigilance for children's future police encounters may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk in African American women. Agency, system, and policy-level solutions may be needed to reduce anti-black police violence and improve the cardiovascular health of this high-risk population.

Black women in the United States experience a high burden of incident cardiovascular (CV) disease, yet research often focuses on midlife and beyond. One psychological correlate of CV health for Black young adults is mental health. The current study fills a gap in existing CV health prevention knowledge by using an intersectional (ie, racially gendered age-specific) person-centered approach to investigate the CV health groups of Black young adult women and group differences in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Data came from a non-probability sample of 482 Black young adult women (ages 18 to 35). Participants completed an online survey in which they self-reported depression, anxiety, and stress, 6 indicators of CV health, and sociodemographics using standardized measures. A latent class analysis was used to identify CV health classes and test differences in class membership by mental health symptoms. Four classes of CV health were uncovered: moderate high CV health (36.93% of the sample), healthy fiber (12.67%), healthy BMI (17.01%), and moderately healthy physical activity (33.4%). Black young adult women in the moderate high CV health class had fewer depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms compared with all other classes (P<.005). Additional differences in symptoms between suboptimal CV health classes emerged. Groups with varied combinations of CV health indicators and associations with mental health emerged. These nuances might help tailor prevention efforts for Black young adult women based on the heterogeneity in cardiovascular health groups and mental health symptoms for this population.

Understanding patterns of hope from informal mentoring through latent class analysis

Mapping adolescent problematic social media use patterns across 41 countries/regions: A multilevel latent class analysis with social determinants.

Association Between SES and Healthy Lifestyle With Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: Evidence From 5 Prospective Cohort Studies.

Adverse childhood experiences and gaming disorder among Chinese adolescents: Insights from multiple approaches.

Problematic behaviors can occur without distress: A person-centered analysis of behavioral, substance-related, and mental health indicators.

Risk factors of adolescent psychological distress: A study based on latent class analysis.

This study investigates parents’ perceptions of communication behaviors in WeChat class groups and how these perceptions are closely related to their attitudes toward educational responsibility allocation in Chinese primary education. A total of 1,286 parents participated in the study. Using latent class analysis, four distinct communication perception profiles were identified: Active, Negative, Detached, and Passive. These profiles reflect varying levels of engagement and perceived communicative value. Correspondence analysis was employed to explore the relationship between these profiles and parents’ attitudes toward responsibility allocation, which include school-dominant, parent-led, parent-school cooperation, and parental coordination. Findings suggest that digital communication behaviors are closely linked to underlying beliefs about responsibility, with trust and role construction playing important roles in fostering effective collaboration. The study highlights the need for differentiated communication strategies that take into account varying parental attitudes and perceptions of school-family roles. Additionally, the findings emphasize the importance of fostering trust between parents and schools, particularly in digital communication settings. This study provides valuable insights into how digital tools can either enhance or hinder parent-school cooperation and offers practical implications for improving communication strategies within educational contexts.

Objectives: Anatomical variations within the craniocervical and craniomandibular systems, along with their interrelationships, are important considerations in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. The dimensions of the cervical vertebrae have been linked to head posture, cranial base angulation, and the shape and growth pattern of the mandible. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cervicovertebral measurements and inclination, and its correlation with cranial base angle in various sagittal skeletal malocclusion in dist. Solan population. Material and Methods: Ninety pretreatment lateral cephalograms were taken of patients aged 18–30 years by a single observer and divided into 3 equal groups as Skeletal Class I, Class II, and Class III. Various linear and angular parameters denoting the cervicovertebral measurements were measured for all the 3 groups. Appropriate statistical tests were done to analyze the data. Results: Inter-group comparison showed statistically significant results in the study parameters when compared using one-way analysis of variance. A good correlation was seen with the height of the atlas and Sella-Nasion-A point angle (Steiner’s Analysis) in Class I patients, suggestive of a standard maxillo-mandibular skeletal relationship with respect to the morphology of cervical vertebrae. Conclusion: Individuals with skeletal Class I malocclusion have a greater correlation in terms of cervical vertebral morphology and cranial base relationship among all the skeletal malocclusion groups in the study.

ABSTRACT Background The paper provides a novel perspective beyond existing theoretical frameworks by integrating the COM-B model with discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to quantify parental decision-making dynamics for adolescent HPV vaccination. Research design and methods Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Wuxi, China, before and after the introduction of free domestic bivalent vaccines. Multinomial logistic regression identified COM-B predictors of vaccination intention, whereas DCEs quantified parental preferences. Latent class analysis (LCA) linked preference heterogeneity to COM-B domains with policy simulations comparing 20 vaccination scenarios. Results Health benefit perception (motivation), financial/temporal self-efficacy (motivation), and social influence (opportunity) are key predictors. Generally, parents prioritized HPV vaccines with low cost, high efficacy, and low side effect risks, while hesitant and refusing parents showed less concern with appointment difficulties but preference for imported producers. Five distinct HPV vaccination preference groups are identified: domestic-affordable, cost-sensitive, efficacy-focused, safety-oriented, and accessibility-driven. Hesitant and refusing parents were representative in cost-sensitive and accessibility-driven, which were sensitive in simulated incentives or convenience-enhancing scenarios. Free domestic 2-valent vaccine maintained its dominance in choice probability across simulated scenarios, except for the National Immunization Program. Conclusions Findings support stratified interventions targeting motivation (education, persuasion) and opportunity (cost subsidies, accessibility) based on the free domestic 2-valent vaccine policy.

Background Depression is a common mental disorder in hemodialysis patients. The present study aimed to identify subgroups of patients receiving hemodialysis based on depression and explore the influencing factors in a multicenter hemodialysis population in China. Methods A total of 1,090 hemodialysis patients (682 men, mean aged 61.5 ± 12.6 years) from 7 facilities in Shanghai of China during 2020–2023. Depression was assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify homogeneous groups of depressive symptoms. Analysis of variance and chi-square test were performed to establish class-dependent differences in depression severity. Multinomial logistic regression revealed the associations and related factors on most probable class. Results Three latent classes were identified: High depressive symptoms (Class 1, N = 130, 11.9%), Moderate depressive symptoms (Class 2, N = 424, 38.9%) and Low depressive symptoms (Class 3, N = 536, 49.2%). The multinomial logistic regression results indicated that compared with the Class 3, the factors influencing depression in the Class 1 and Class 2 were age, body mass index (BMI), fall history, malnutrition and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Conclusions The current study provides evidence for the heterogeneity of depression severity. A better understanding of depression risk factor profiles could help develop targeted prevention and intervention programs for the hemodialysis population.

Background: Non-typhoidal (NT) Salmonella spp. constitutes a major cause of foodborne illness. Culture is the gold standard, but it is time consuming, whereas multiplex nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs)/Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) offer faster detection with variable reported performance. Objectives: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of multiplex NAAT/PCR and culture for Salmonella spp. using various statistical models with or without a gold standard assumption. Methods: A systematic search (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus; up to April 2024) identified 44 studies (55 comparisons). Diagnostic performance was evaluated using the frequentists bivariate model (BM) and Split Component Synthesis (SCS) and the Bayesian bivariate models (BBMs) and hierarchical summary ROC (BHSROC). Results: Across models, multiplex NAAT/PCR demonstrated high specificity (&gt;98%) but model-dependent variability in sensitivity (85.5–94.8%), consistently substantial between study heterogeneity and threshold variation. The BM and BBM yielded a higher sensitivity estimate with narrower non-overlapping confidence intervals while SCS and BHSROC models, which are more robust to threshold differences, produced more conservative estimates with wider uncertainty. In Bayesian latent class analyses, culture remained highly accurate (Se: 97.17%, 95% CrI: 70.3–99.99; Sp: 96.06%, 95% CrI: 78.9–99.99), but with wide credible intervals indicating variation between studies, perhaps due to the different protocols used. Conclusion: Model choice affects inferred diagnostic accuracy, particularly when high heterogeneity is present. Both multiplex NAAT/PCR and culture showed high accuracy; hence, a combination of the two tests could optimise rapid diagnosis and treatment. Future research should include cost effectiveness and decision analysis to update the diagnostic algorithms.

This manuscript is dedicated to the qualitative analysis of a novel class of nonlinear fractional differential equations designed to model multi-stage phenomena. The main focus is on a system that is controlled by an advanced piecewise hybrid fractional derivative and a nested p-Laplacian operator. This operator captures dynamic regime shifts by successively using the modified Atangana-Baleanu Caputo (ABC) derivatives, and traditional integer-order derivatives over different time intervals. In order to establish strict requirements for the existence and uniqueness of the solution, we use the Banach Fixed-Point Theorem to reformulate the issue into an analogous system of Volterra integral equations. Additionally, the system's resilience is ensured by a detailed investigation of its Ulam-Hyers (U-H) stability. An application of this theoretical framework to a multi-stage Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) epidemic model demonstrates its usefulness, as the piecewise operator successfully replicates the long-term effects of public health measures.

This study investigates the interrelationships among 10th-grade students’ career preferences, science-related anxiety, perceived science competence, and transversal skills using a mixed-methods approach. Data from 95 Estonian students were analyzed through Latent Class Analysis, revealing six distinct self-perception profiles. The largest group (40.6%) exhibited low anxiety, high science competence, and strong transversal skills – characteristics aligned with high self-efficacy and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM)-oriented career interest. Other profiles demonstrated more complex combinations, such as elevated anxiety paired with strong transversal skills but low competence, or moderate competence with domain-specific anxieties. Violin plot visualizations illustrated nuanced differences in central tendency, dispersion, and distribution shape across classes, uncovering intra-group variability often obscured by mean comparisons. The findings underscore the need for differentiated educational strategies that address both emotional and cognitive dimensions of learning. Specifically, reducing science-related anxiety and fostering transversal skills may support more equitable and inclusive engagement in STEM education and career exploration.