Factors In Order Of Importance Research Articles

Modifiable dementia risk and protective factors in persons with subjective cognitive decline or mild cognitive impairment: a systematic literature review and Delphi study

AbstractBackgroundMany studies showed that addressing modifiable risk factors has an impact on dementia prevalence and incidence. Most studies have focussed on universal prevention, irrespective of individual risk stage, with risk factors for dementia mainly identified in the general population. Less is known about the most important target risk factors in persons with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and hence, whether they have a similar potential for risk reduction as the general population. Therefore, this study aims to identify modifiable risk and protective factors for cognitive deterioration and dementia in persons with SCD or MCI.MethodWe use a mixed‐methods approach combining findings from a systematic literature review and an online Delphi study. Four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science) were searched to review relevant literature. A broad search term was developed in consultation with an experienced librarian and consisted of terms linked to SCD, MCI, dementia, modifiable risk factors and disease progression. Observational studies with at least 50 participants and 1 year of follow‐up were considered for inclusion. Twenty international dementia prevention experts were invited to participate in the online Delphi study. In two rounds, experts were asked to spontaneously name, rank and weigh modifiable risk and protective factors in order of importance for the target population.ResultOur search yielded 19,128 abstracts in total. After removal of duplicates, 9,862 abstracts were considered for inclusion and 203 full‐texts were read, of which 69 were included in our review. Several risk and protective factors were encountered including somatic, lifestyle and neuropsychiatric factors, and they are further scrutinized. Eighteen experts named 31 risk and protective factors in the first Delphi study round, of which physical activity, social isolation and hypertension were ranked highest. Results of round two are being collected.ConclusionFindings from the current study will result in an inventory of relevant modifiable risk and protective factors linked with clinical progression in persons with SCD or MCI. Results will serve as the basis for the development and testing of an online dementia risk reduction tool for use in clinical populations with SCD and MCI.

Selecting a chest masculinization plastic surgeon: a survey of transgender patients.

Chest masculinization is a commonly performed gender-affirming procedure in transmasculine and non-binary patients and has increased in prevalence in recent years despite continued barriers to surgical care. With the expansion of insurance coverage and trained surgeons, patients at times have the opportunity to be selective in choosing their gender-affirming surgeon. This study aimed to investigate factors that transmasculine individuals consider important when selecting their chest masculinization plastic surgeon. All patients who underwent chest masculinization with a single surgeon between January 2018 and December 2021 were surveyed via an online questionnaire to rate 21 factors associated with surgeon selection. Multiple-choice questions and free text space were included to further clarify patient preferences. Results were analyzed to rate factors in order of importance. One hundred three individuals completed the survey, generating a response rate of 49.5%. Average patient age at time of surgery was 27.0years, and 2.0% of patients had prior gender affirmation surgery (GAS). The top five most important factors were surgeon specialization in GAS, insurance coverage, board certification, number of times surgeon has performed procedure, and availability of Before and After photographs. The five least important factors were age of surgeon, medical publications, availability of YouTube videos, location of training, and surgeon presence on social media. Transmasculine patients employ distinct criteria when selecting a chest masculinization gender-affirming plastic surgeon. An improved understanding of these factors informs providers of ways to enhance patient access to information and gender-affirming care.Level of evidence: Not gradable.

Assessing the Impact of Changes to USMLE Step 1 Grading on Evaluation of Neurosurgery Residency Applicants in the United States: A Program Director Survey

Neurosurgery (NS) is among the most selective specialties in the United States. As the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 transitions to a binary pass/fail score, residency programs face unclear challenges in screening and evaluating applicants. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the perceived impact of changes to the USMLE Step 1 grading in the applicant selection process. We created a survey using questions regarding NS program demographics, the perceived predictive abilities of Step 1 and Step 2 clinical knowledge (CK), and several factors that programs consider when assessing applicants. We queried program directors (PDs), program coordinators (PCs), and assistant PDs at 117 NS residency programs. Respondents were asked to rank these factors in order of importance for selection at their respective training program. We used descriptive statistics and a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test to evaluate the effects of these changes using STATA17. A total of 35 (30%) residency programs responded with 26 (74%) completing the factor ranking questions. 86% (95% confidence interval, 71.5%-94.3%) disagreed that the changes will better prepare students clinically. USMLE Step 2 CK scores, class rank, and away rotations saw significant increases in priority in the absence of a graded Step 1, whereas letters of recommendation and surrogates for research productivity saw notable, but not significant, changes after adjusting for multiple testing. Reporting binary Step 1 grades marks a significant shift in assessing applicants for NS residency by emphasizing Step 2 CK, class rank, and research productivity.

Identification of Success Factors in Construction Projects- A systematic literature review

Abstract: The study was conducted to write a review paper on the identification of most important factors in order of importance after reviewing various studies on the subject. These factors can serve as a guideline while undertaking any project related to the construction industry. Moreover, var- ious aspects of the project have also been explored regarding key traits of Project Team, Project stakeholders, and Project management practices. These highlighted areas can play an important role in the successful project management of any project related to the construction industry. There are many factors that need to be considered during the course project planning, Project execution/implementation, and finishing of the projects. These factors play vital role for on-time completion of the construction Project. Out of the numerous factors involved, there are some critical factors which are compulsory to be considered for the success of the construction project. Index Terms: Construction project success, Project success factor, Project success criteria, Literature review

Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients underwent radical resection

Objectives: To investigate the clinical value of adjuvant chemotherapy(ACT) in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(ICC) who underwent radical resection and to explore the optimal population that can benefit from ACT. Methods: A retrospective cohort study method was adopted. The clinical and pathological data of 685 patients with ICC who underwent curative intent resection in 10 Chinese hepatobiliary surgery centers from January 2010 to December 2018 were collected;There were 355 males and 330 females. The age(M(IQR)) was 58(14) years (range: 22 to 83 years). Propensity score matching(PSM) was applied to balance the differences between the adjuvant and non-adjuvant chemotherapy groups. Log-rank test was used to compare the prognosis of the two groups of patients. A Bayesian network recurrence-free survival(RFS) prediction model was constructed using the median RFS time (14 months) as the target variable, and the importance of the relevant prognostic factors was ranked according to the multistate Birnbaum importance calculation. A survival prognostic prediction table was established to analyze the population benefiting from adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: Among 685 patients,214 received ACT and 471 did not receive ACT. A total of 124 pairs of patients were included after PSM, and patients in the ACT group had better overall survival (OS) and RFS than those in the non-ACT group(OS: 32.2 months vs. 18.0 months,P=0.003;RFS:18.0 months vs. 10.0 months,P=0.001). The area under the curve of the Bayesian network RFS prediction model was 0.7124. The results of the prognostic factors in order of importance were microvascular invasion (0.158 2),perineural invasion (0.158 2),N stage (0.155 8),T stage (0.120 9), hepatic envelope invasion (0.090 3),adjuvant chemotherapy (0.072 1), tumor location (0.057 5), age (0.042 3), pathological differentiation (0.034 0), sex (0.029 3), alpha-fetoprotein (0.028 9) and preoperative jaundice (0.008 5). A survival prediction table based on the variables with importance greater than 0.1 (microvascular invasion,perineural invasion,N stage,T staging) and ACT showed that all patients benefited from ACT (increase in the probability of RFS≥14 months from 2.21% to 7.68%), with a more significant increase in the probability of RFS≥14 months after ACT in early-stage patients. Conclusion: ACT after radical resection in patients with ICC significantly prolongs the OS and RFS of patients, and the benefit of ACT is greater in early patients.

A Spatial Assessment of Wildfire Risk for Transmission-Line Corridor Based on a Weighted Naïve Bayes Model

In order to improve the wildfire prevention capacity of transmission lines, a wildfire risk assessment method for transmission-line corridors based on Weighted Naïve Bayes (WNB) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the importance of 14 collected types of wildfire-related factors is analyzed based on the information gain ratio. Then, the optimal factors set and the most accurate sampling table are constructed by deleting the factors in the lowest order of importance one by one. Finally, the performance of the WNB model is compared to that of NB and BNW models according to the ROC curve and visualization. A total of 76.36% of fire events in 2020 fell in high-risk and very-high-risk regions, indicating the acceptable accuracy of the proposed assessment method of wildfire risk.

Decision-making regarding oral nutritional supplements for nursing home residents with advanced dementia: A cross-sectional pilot study.

Surrogate decision-making regarding oral nutritional supplements (ONS) for nursing home residents with advanced dementia is a complex process. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed whether Dutch dietitians, elderly care physicians (physicians) and surrogate decision-makers (SDMs) differ in the factors that they regard important when considering ONS. We also investigated differences in opinion regarding whether or not ONS is a life-prolonging measure. Through an online survey, 90 dietitians, 53 physicians and 70 SDMs of nursing home residents (all aged ≥65years old with advanced dementia) rated the level of perceived influence of 11 pre-defined factors on their decision-making, ranked factors in order of importance and stated whether they considered ONS a life-prolonging measure or not. By statistical analysis, we tested differences in the mean sum of ranks for perceived influence differing between groups. We also tested differences in proportions between groups of those who considered ONS a life-prolonging measure. Rating of perceived influence significantly differed for six factors. Quality of life was ranked as the most influential factor by all groups. Dietitians significantly differed in their opinion on the life-prolonging effect of ONS from physicians (odds ratio=0.29, 95% confidence interval = 0.13-0.65), as well as from SDMs (odds ratio=0.22, 95% confidence interval = 0.10-0.45). Although all groups proclaimed quality of life to be first priority in decision-making, we found that Dutch dietitians, physicians and SDMs differed in what they regarded important when considering ONS for nursing home residents with advanced dementia. Regarding the life-prolonging effect of ONS, dietitians differed in opinion from physicians, as well as from SDMs.

Machine Learning Prediction of Liver Allograft Utilization From Deceased Organ Donors Using the National Donor Management Goals Registry.

Several machine learning classifiers were trained to predict transplantation of a liver graft. We utilized 127 variables available in the DMG dataset. We included data from potential deceased organ donors between April 2012 and January 2019. The outcome was defined as liver recovery for transplantation in the operating room. The prediction was made based on data available 12-18 h after the time of authorization for transplantation. The data were randomly separated into training (60%), validation (20%), and test sets (20%). We compared the performance of our models to the Liver Discard Risk Index. Of 13 629 donors in the dataset, 9255 (68%) livers were recovered and transplanted, 1519 recovered but used for research or discarded, 2855 were not recovered. The optimized gradient boosting machine classifier achieved an area under the curve of the receiver operator characteristic of 0.84 on the test set, outperforming all other classifiers. This model predicts successful liver recovery for transplantation in the operating room, using data available early during donor management. It performs favorably when compared to existing models. It may provide real-time decision support during organ donor management and transplant logistics.

Epilepsy Surgery

Abstract INTRODUCTION Surgical resection can offer select patients with refractory epilepsy seizure freedom in 50–70% of cases. However, surgery remains highly underutilized. Understandably, undergoing brain surgery can be intimidating and many good surgical candidates ultimately decline surgery. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors most important to patients in their decision to undergo or decline surgery. In this study we sought to identify those factors and shed light onto patient's decision-making process. METHODS We surveyed 16 patients with history of seizures undergoing monitoring in our epilepsy monitoring unit. The survey was limited to surgery naïve patients. We developed a novel rank list questionnaire that addressed a variety of potential social, economic, medical, and personal factors. Patients were asked to rank the factors in order of importance to their decision making regarding undergoing brain surgery if offered as a treatment option for their epilepsy. RESULTS The average age of those surveyed was 42 and average age of seizure onset was 24. Frequency of seizures ranged from none to 7 per day. Nine patients were currently taking 1 antiepileptic medication, and seven were taking 2 or more medications. On average patients had tried and discontinued approximately 3 other medications. Among the factors that patients considered most important when deciding on surgery were the likelihood of seizure freedom, ability to again drive, and likelihood of complications such as motor, sensory, speech and memory deficits. Factors considered least important included time commitment and discomfort associated with surgery. CONCLUSION Surgical intervention can offer well selected patients a relatively high likelihood of seizure freedom that can significantly improve their quality of life. However, about 30–40 percent of surgical candidates declined surgery. Gaining a better understanding of the factors that play an important role in patient's decision making regarding surgical management of their epilepsy can empower their provider to address and mitigate those concerns.

Location Choice of Overseas High-Level Young Returned Talents in China

International talent’s mobility has increased over the last decade, especially in the wake of globalization and knowledge economy. China no longer exclusively shows an asymmetrical flow to developed countries, but it often turns out to be the most desirable destination of brain circulation for some overseas high-level young returned talents. In this context, based on the data obtained from the “Thousand Youth Talents Plan” (2011–2016) publicized by the Central Millennium Plan Office, the methods of the Moran’s I index, the Getis-Ord Gi* index, and the Poisson regression model are adopted in this study to analyze the location choice of overseas high-level young returned talents in China and its driving factors. The spatial configuration shows up that the United States is the most important origin overseas and China’s municipalities or provincial capitals are the most remarkable destinations. Moreover, the analysis reveals the distribution by academic majors is uneven, which may be caused by knowledge priority and legacies of China’s Soviet-style innovation system. The main analysis is extended with the Poisson regression model to estimate the significance of the influence factors. The empirical results show that the factors in order of importance are academic opportunity, urban amenity, and place attachment. Concretely, the most important factors for location choice of overseas high-level young returned talents, namely research and development (R&D) investment, internal convenience and hierarchy level in science and technology (S&T) system, external accessibility, transportation accessibility, university endowment, and health care are the substantial secondary factors, while place-oriented talent agglomeration and prior alumni connection play a minor role.

Identifying the relative importance of predictors of survival in out of hospital cardiac arrest: a machine learning study

IntroductionStudies examining the factors linked to survival after out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have either aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA in different parts of the world, or focused on certain factors and whether they were associated with survival. Unfortunately, this approach does not measure how strong each factor is in predicting survival after OHCA.AimTo investigate the relative importance of 16 well-recognized factors in OHCA at the time point of ambulance arrival, and before any interventions or medications were given, by using a machine learning approach that implies building models directly from the data, and arranging those factors in order of importance in predicting survival.MethodsUsing a data-driven approach with a machine learning algorithm, we studied the relative importance of 16 factors assessed during the pre-hospital phase of OHCA. We examined 45,000 cases of OHCA between 2008 and 2016.ResultsOverall, the top five factors to predict survival in order of importance were: initial rhythm, age, early Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR, time to CPR and CPR before arrival of EMS), time from EMS dispatch until EMS arrival, and place of cardiac arrest. The largest difference in importance was noted between initial rhythm and the remaining predictors. A number of factors, including time of arrest and sex were of little importance.ConclusionUsing machine learning, we confirm that the most important predictor of survival in OHCA is initial rhythm, followed by age, time to start of CPR, EMS response time and place of OHCA. Several factors traditionally viewed as important, e.g. sex, were of little importance.

SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PART-TIME EDUCATIONAL SERVICE BY TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Tra Vinh University (TVU) is the first green university in the Mekong Delta and is one of two universities in Vietnam to enter the top 300 most sustainable and eco-friendly universities of the UI GreenMetric rankings. Besides. TVU is certified to accredit national and international education by FIBBA and AUN-QA quality standards. TVU has launched 28 postgraduate programs. 58 Undergraduate programs and 8 Advanced diploma programs with full-time training. associate training. part-time training and distance training. This study aims to find factors that impact satisfaction with the quality of educational service. specifically about part-time students of TVU and propose solutions to improving the quality of this service type of education. This study was carried out by interviewing experts and analyzing primary data by questionnaire with sample size n = 598 and statistical error ∝=5%. The results indicated 6 factors in order of importance as follows: (1) Supporting Services (2) Reliability. (3) Empathy. (4) Responsiveness. (5) Assurance and (6) Tangibles. These findings of this study are not only applied to improve the satisfaction of the students about the quality of educational support service of part-time education of TVU in particular but also for other universities in general.

Understanding Export Diversification: Key Drivers and Policy Implications

We identify key factors, from large set of potential determinants, that explain the variation in export diversification across countries and over time using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA), which addresses model uncertainty and ranks factors in order of importance vis-a-vis their explanatory power. Our analysis suggests, in order to diversify, policy makers should prioritize human capital accumulation and reduce barriers to trade. Other policy areas include improving quality of institutions and developing the financial sector. For commodity exporters reducing barriers to trade is the most important driver of diversification, followed by improving education outcomes at the secondary level andfinancial sector development.

Hisse Senedi Seçim Kararı Vermede Etkili Olan Bireysel Yatırımcı Davranışları: BIST Örneği

The study seeks to determine the main factors influencing stock selection decisions of individual investors in Borsa Istanbul (BIST). To achieve this objective, an integrated Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) method was used and a five-point Likert scale survey questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire included twenty one factors that belong to five categories, namely, accounting information; recommendations; personal financial needs, firm specific attributes and other factors. The results show that there are six most important factors affecting the stock selection decisions of individual investors at the BIST which are brokerage house recommendations, willingness of taking risk for high returns, get rich quick, opinions of the firm’s majority stockholders, suggestions from friends and family and diversification needs. On the other hand, three factors were found to be the least influencing factors on individual investors’ stock selection decisions. The least influencing factors in order of importance were sensitivity of firm performance to overall market performance, fluctuations/developments in the indices of the major markets, affordable share price.

Relationship between primary structure or spatial conformation and functional activity of antioxidant peptides from Pinctada fucata

Antioxidant peptides from Pinctada fucata are ubiquitous in nature and can be utilized as ingredients in cosmetics or functional foods to positively regulate oxidative species in the human body against oxidation. Here, mutated peptides and a homologous series of peptides were designed and prepared, based on the original peptide sequence of an antioxidant peptide from Pinctada fucata meat (PFMAP), to better understand the structural relationships, including primary structure, spatial conformation and activity. The results showed that the antioxidant activity factors in order of importance were spatial conformation, amino acid sequence, amino acid position, amino acid composition, peptide chain length and degree of side-chain amino acid glycosylation. Moreover, this protocol had incomparable advantages in purity, speed and cost of preparing polypeptides, relative to enzymatic hydrolysis or chemosynthesis methods. This study also supplies test data information and a theoretical basis for the higher-value application of polypeptides from marine sources.

Assessment of Medical Waste Generation at a Medical Center in Keffi Metropolis

Healthcare waste represents an important stream of pollutants that impacts on medical personnel and attendees of such facilities. This study examined the quantities of waste generated among 14 different wards and units at the federal medical center, Keffi in Nasarawa state, Nigeria. It also evaluated crucial factors that influence the selection of hospitals by patients as well as the methods employed in waste treatment. The results from the study revealed that an average volume (Kg/bed/day) of 1.97 (Accident & Emergency), 2.27 (Male Medical), 1.71 (Female Medical), 1.79 (Female Surgical), 1.98 (Pediatric), 2.11 (Orthopedic), 1.91 (Lying-in), 1.42 (Amenity), 2.53 (Main theatre), 1.17 (Pediatric surgical), 0.41 (Intensive care unit), 2.03 (Pharmacy), 2.34 (Laboratory) and 4.82 (Labour room). It was established that infectious waste represented the highest rate of hazardous waste (21.3%), while pathological (18.0%), sharp objects (15.8%) and pharmaceuticals (11.4%) represented the sum total of the non-hazardous waste stream. Very strong correlations existed between the Male Medical Ward and Main Theatre (rs 0.9), Female Medical and Female Surgical wards (rs 0.94), Pediatric and Pediatric Surgical wards (rs 0.90), Lying-in and Amenity wards (rs 0.88), Accident & Emergency and Orthopedic units (rs 0.86), with strong correlation between the pharmacy and the laboratory (rs 0.65) and a moderate correlation between the intensive care unit and the Labour room (rs 0.46). The study showed that financial capability was the most important factor that influenced public decision on the choice of the medical center ranked 1, with a relative important index (RII) of 10 in the choice of facilities and methods used to manage waste generated. Other factors in order of importance were ownership of the medical center (2) with an RII of 9 with cultural and social bias ranked as 7 with an RII of 4.

Population-level effects of risk factors for bovine respiratory disease in Australian feedlot cattle

Results obtained from a nationwide longitudinal study were extended to estimate the population-level effects of selected risk factors on the incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) during the first 50days at risk in medium-sized to large Australian feedlots. Population attributable fractions (PAF) and population attributable risks (PAR) were used to rank selected risk factors in order of importance from the perspective of the Australian feedlot industry within two mutually exclusive categories: ‘intervention’ risk factors had practical strategies that feedlot managers could implement to avoid exposure of cattle to adverse levels of the risk factor and a precise estimate of the population-level effect while ‘others’ did not. An alternative method was also used to quantify the expected effects of simultaneously preventing exposure to multiple management-related factors whilst not changing exposure to factors that were more difficult to modify.The most important ‘intervention’ risk factors were shared pen water (PAF: 0.70, 95% credible interval: 0.45–0.83), breed (PAF: 0.67, 95% credible interval: 0.54–0.77), the animal’s prior lifetime history of mixing with cattle from other herds (PAF: 0.53, 95% credible interval: 0.30–0.69), timing of the animal’s move to the vicinity of the feedlot (PAF: 0.45, 95% credible interval: 0.17–0.68), the presence of Bovine viral diarrhoea virus 1 (BVDV-1) in the animal’s cohort (PAF: 0.30, 95% credible interval: 0.04–0.50), the number of study animals in the animal’s group 13days before induction (PAF: 0.30, 95% credible interval: 0.10–0.44) and induction weight (PAF: 0.16, 95% credible interval: 0.09–0.23). Other important risk factors identified and prioritised for further research were feedlot region, season of induction and cohort formation patterns.An estimated 82% of BRD incidence was attributable to management-related risk factors, whereby the lowest risk category of a composite management-related variable comprised animals in the lowest risk category of at least four of the five component variables (shared pen water, mixing, move timing, BVDV-1 in the cohort and the number of animals in the animal’s group-13). This indicated that widespread adoption of appropriate interventions including ensuring pen water is not shared between pens, optimising animal mixing before induction, timing of the animal’s move to the vicinity of the feedlot, and group size prior to placing animals in feedlot pens, and avoiding BVDV-1 in cohorts could markedly reduce the incidence of BRD in medium-sized to large Australian feedlots.

The Relationship Between Personality Characteristics and Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance at the Students of Medical Sciences the Alborz Province

Introduction Study useful agents or harmful on the achievement always has been one of the challenges of the researcher's education system. In several studies, these factors in order of importance and their impact identification and sorted. The most important factors on the educational p

DETERMINANTS OF THE INTENTION TO USE TELEMEDICINE: EVIDENCE FROM PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS

While most studies have focused on analyzing the results of telemedicine use, it is crucial to consider the determinants of its use to fully understand the issue. This article aims to provide evidence on the determinants of telemedicine use in clinical practice. The survey targeted a total population of 398 medical professionals from a healthcare institution in Spain. The study sample was formed by the ninety-three primary care physicians who responded. Using an extended Technology Acceptance Model and microdata for the ninety-six physicians, binary logistic regression analysis was carried out. The analysis performed confirmed the model's goodness-of-fit, which allowed 48.1 percent of the dependent variable's variance to be explained. The outcomes revealed that the physicians at the healthcare institution placed greater importance on telemedicine's potential to reduce costs, and on its usefulness to the medical profession. The perception of medical information security and confidentiality and the patients' predisposition toward telemedicine were the second explanatory factors in order of importance. A third set of moderating effects would appear to corroborate the importance of the physicians' own opinions. These results have revealed the need for a dynamic approach to the design of telemedicine use, especially when it targets a variety of end-users. Hence, the importance of conducting studies before using telemedicine, and attempting to identify which of the above-mentioned predictors exert an influence and how.

Hierarchical effects of local factors on zooplankton species diversity

We investigated the hierarchical importance of local factors including lake area, macrophyte cover, and phytoplankton chlorophyll a (Chl-a) influencing zooplankton diversity (i.e., number of species) and the response of planktonic and littoral zooplankton species to these factors in 23 lakes in a Neotropical floodplain. Results of a regression tree clustered 4 groups of lakes separated according to the following factors in order of importance: percentage of macrophyte cover (environmental complexity), lake area (size of environment), and phytoplankton Chl-a(food resource). Macrophytes were significantly related to species diversity, as found by simple regression, whereas area and Chl-awere not significantly related to total zooplankton diversity. Planktonic species diversity correlated positively with area and Chl-abut negatively with macrophyte cover. By contrast, the opposite occurred for the littoral species, which correlated positively with macrophyte cover but negatively with lake area and Chl-a. We conclude that, in tropical shallow lakes, macrophytes are the most important factor influencing total zooplankton diversity; thus, maintenance and management of macrophytes should increase and promote conservation of aquatic biodiversity in these lakes.