Influence Of Other Determinants Research Articles

Interaction of CYP3A4 with Rationally Designed Ritonavir Analogues: Impact of Steric Constraints Imposed on the Heme-Ligating Group and the End-Pyridine Attachment.

Controlled inhibition of drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is utilized to boost bioavailability of anti-viral and immunosuppressant pharmaceuticals. We investigate structure–activity relationships (SARs) in analogues of ritonavir, a potent CYP3A4 inhibitor marketed as pharmacoenhancer, to determine structural elements required for potent inhibition and whether the inhibitory potency can be further improved via a rational structure-based design. This study investigated eight (series VI) inhibitors differing in head- and end-moieties and their respective linkers. SAR analysis revealed the multifactorial regulation of inhibitory strength, with steric constraints imposed on the tethered heme-ligating moiety being a key factor. Minimization of these constraints by changing the linkers’ length/flexibility and N-heteroatom position strengthened heme coordination and markedly improved binding and/or inhibitory strength. Impact of the end-pyridine attachment was not uniform due to influence of other determinants controlling the ligand-binding mode. This interplay between pharmacophoric determinants and the end-group enlargement can be used for further inhibitor optimization.

Financial Determinants of Liquidity Positions of Listed Manufacturing Firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange

The study evaluated the influence of financial determinants on cash holdings of selected quoted manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Specifically, the effect of these determinants (return on assets, financial leverage, dividend payment, cash flow volatility and market to book ratios) on cash holdings was examined. Influence of other determinants used in extant literature designated control variables in this instance was also investigated. Ex-post-facto research approach via quantitative panel methodology was employed to ascertain the effect of the predictors on corporate cash holdings. Data were collated from the audited annual reports of forty-one (41) firms for the thirteen year period: 2006-2018. Diagnostic tests confirmed the consistency and suitability of the Fixed Effects (FE) panel regression models. In other words, data were analyzed by means of Prais-Winsten Regression Correlated Panels Corrected Standard Errors (PCSEs) . Findings indicate the existence of a significant positive influence of cash flow volatility, net working capital, market to book ratio on corporate cash holdings, but a significant negative effect of dividend payment and return on assets on cash and cash equivalents. These results imply that stockpiling cash and liquid assets substitutes decreases the value of the firm through market capitalization as they move in opposite direction. Further, highly levered firms may be operating sub-optimally given that the lingering local recession has made borrowing too expensive if not impossible. The study surmised that cash holdings of Nigerian manufacturing firms is significantly influenced by cash flow dynamics and availability of both liquid asset substitutes, market value of the firm and profitability. The study recommends that these firms maintain adequate cash budget and cash flow planning to ensure smooth running of operations, sufficient liquid and near liquid resources to cover maturing loans / debentures, and opt for an optimal liquidity – profitability trade-off at least in the short run given that it boosts the magnitude of both liquidity and profitability. Keywords: Financial Determinants, Cash Holding, Firm Size. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-14-06 Publication date: May 31 st 2020

Self-care confidence mediates self-care maintenance and management in patients with heart failure

BackgroundLiterature highlights the influence of self-care confidence on self-care in patients with heart failure (HF), but little is known whether it explains the influence of other determinants of self-care. ObjectivesTo examine whether confidence explained the associations of social support and HF-knowledge with self-care. MethodsIn a descriptive, correlational study, 100 patients with HF completed questionnaires on self-care, social support, and HF-specific knowledge. Regression analyses were used to examine associations between perceived support and HF-knowledge and self-care. ResultsSelf-care confidence mediated the association between social support and self-care maintenance (path reduced from Beta = 0.713 to 0.395) and HF-knowledge and maintenance (path reduced from Beta = 2.569 to 1.798) and management (path reduced from Beta = −0.272 to −0.144). ConclusionSelf-care confidence explains the influence of social support and knowledge on self-care. Supporting self-care confidence may be a key target for interventions to improve disease management and behaviors in patients with HF.

The role of foreign direct investment in Indonesia's manufacturing exports

This article examines whether foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed to the changing structure of Indonesia's manufacturing exports. It uses industry-level data from 1990 to 2008, classified by factor intensity. Our analysis reveals that FDI promotes exports in most panel observations, especially exports from physical-capital-intensive (PCI), human-capital-intensive (HCI) and technology-intensive (TI) industries. Yet by applying a differentiated cross-section-effect model, we determine that the export-generating potential of FDI is stronger in PCI, HCI and TI industries than in natural-resource-intensive or unskilled-labour-intensive industries, in which Indonesia has a comparative advantage. We also assess the influence of other determinants of export performance – namely, private domestic capital investment, GDP growth and exchange rates. Our findings have implications for policymakers seeking to sustain Indonesia's export performance.

Shock as a Determinant of Poor Patient‐Centered Outcomes in Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Patients: Is There More to It Than Meets the Eye?

The medical benefits of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are well established, but ICD shocks are known to influence patient-centered outcomes. In this viewpoint, we examine the strength of the evidence as found in primary and secondary prevention trials that used quality of life as an outcome, and compare the influence of ICD shock with other factors (e.g., heart failure and psychological factors) as determinants of outcomes, with a view to providing recommendations for clinical practice and future research. Based on the large-scale primary and secondary prevention trials (i.e., CABG-PATCH, CIDS, AVID, AMIOVIRT, SCD-HeFT, MADIT-II, and DEFINITE), evidence for an association between ICD shocks and quality of life is mixed, with some indication that the influence of shocks may depend largely on the interval between shocks and assessment of quality of life. In order to improve the clinical management of ICD patients, we need to adopt a more rigorous and standardized methodology in future studies in order to be able to draw firm conclusions about the impact of ICD shocks on individual patients. We also need to acknowledge that the impact of shocks on psychological functioning and quality of life may not be as straightforward as previously assumed. Given that programming of the ICD is changing, leading to fewer shocks and improved quality of life, it may be timely to also examine the influence of other determinants (e.g., heart failure progression and the patient's psychological profile) of patient-centered outcomes both in research and in clinical practice.

Quality of life in Lithuanian population: the impact of country residence and socio-economic status

Abstract Quality of life (QoL) and individual perception of health has become a subject of great interest in Lithuania. The relationships between country residence, socio-economic status (SES), and QoL have not been well characterized among the Lithuanian urban and rural populations. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of country residence and SES on QoL in Lithuanian urban and rural population adjusting for the influence of other known determinants of QoL. The study population was randomly selected from 1193 urban and 264 rural men and women aged 45–72 years and have been filled in the self-administered the WHOQOL-100 questionnaire. The survey participation rate was 62.8%. Psychometric evaluation of the WHOQOL-100 showed good internal reliability of Cronbach’s α from 0.78 to 0.94. Multiple linear regression models were used to study the influence of country residence and SES on the WHOQOL-100 scores while adjusting for the influence of other determinants of QoL. After adjusting for the influence of these factors, country residence and SES independently influenced QoL. Rural residence negatively affected the overall QoL, psychological domain, level of independence and spirituality. Higher education level and income directly and positively influenced the WHOQOL-100 scores, while retired, unemployed and residents with chronic medical conditions had negative influence WHOQOL-100 scores. The study results conclude that country residence and SES are associated with differences in QoL among urban and rural Lithuanian population.

Willingness‐to‐pay for reductions in care need: estimating the value of informal care in Alzheimer's disease

To estimate the value of informal care in Alzheimer's disease using contingent valuation. A questionnaire was administered to 517 primary carers in four countries (UK, Spain, Sweden, and US). Dichotomous choice and bidding game methods were used to elicit their willingness to pay for a reduction in care burden by 1 h per day, or a total elimination of care needs. Further, the relationship between carer willingness to pay and carer and patient characteristics including disease severity and income was examined. Carers spend on average about 7-9 h per day on giving care to their patient, of which 4-5 h constituted basic and instrumental ADL tasks. For a 1 h reduction in need for care per day, carers in the UK, Spain, Sweden, and US said that they were willing to pay pound105, pound121, pound59, and pound144 per month respectively. The willingness to pay was higher for carers with higher disposable income while the influence of other determinants varied across countries. About one-third of carers were not willing to pay anything for a reduction in care. Carers' stated willingness to pay for reductions in care giving time is substantial and comparable to the prices currently paid for treatments that achieve this benefit. Its determinants seem more directly related to carer status than directly to patient status and may vary by region and by cultural and sociologic factors.

Incarceration Rates of Persons With First-Admission Psychosis

Incarceration Rates of Persons With First-Admission Psychosis

The impact of privatization on firm performance in a transition economy

AbstractThe Vietnamese privatization programme, launched in 1992, differs from the usual Western privatization programmes in terms of the residual percentage of shares owned by the state and the portion of shares owned by insiders. This begs the question whether these differences influence the effects of the programme on firm performance. This study measures the impact of privatization on firm performance in Vietnam by comparing the pre‐ and post‐privatization financial and operating performance of 121 former state‐owned enterprises (SOEs). We find significant increases in profitability, sales revenues, efficiency and employee income. Results of applying the ‘difference‐in‐difference’ (DID) method, wherein a control group of firms is used to pick up the influence of other determinants of firm performance, suggest that the performance improvements may indeed be associated with equitization. Regression analyses reveal that firm size, residual state ownership, corporate governance and stock market listing are key determinants of performance improvements.

Exploring explanatory models

<titre>R&#233;sum&#233;</titre>Ce travail relie de fa&#231;on empirique analyses factorielles et r&#233;gressions lin&#233;aires g&#233;n&#233;ralis&#233;es (r&#233;gression logistique, de Cox, etc.). Nous montrons comment ce couplage permet de faciliter l&#8217;exploration de donn&#233;es complexes comme les donn&#233;es biographiques (variant dans le temps, incompl&#232;tement observ&#233;es) en vue de leur mod&#233;lisation. Nous associons une m&#233;thode de r&#233;gression &#224; une nouvelle m&#233;thode factorielle &#8211; l&#8217;analyse en composantes th&#233;matiques &#8211; qui permet de tenir compte, d&#232;s le d&#233;part, d&#8217;un mod&#232;le conceptuel explicatif des donn&#233;es. Cette m&#233;thode est ensuite appliqu&#233;e &#224; l&#8217;analyse du divorce des hommes &#224; Dakar, ce qui permet d&#8217;illustrer simplement chaque point m&#233;thodologique abord&#233;.

Quality of life in an urban Asian population: the impact of ethnicity and socio-economic status

The relationships between ethnicity, socio-economic status (SES) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been well characterised in most Asian populations. We therefore studied the influence of ethnicity and SES on HRQoL in a multi-ethnic urban Asian population, adjusting for the influence of other known determinants of HRQoL. In a disproportionately stratified, cross-sectional, population-based survey, Chinese, Malay and Indian subjects in Singapore completed the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) HRQoL measure and were assessed to determine demographic, socio-economic, psychosocial and other characteristics. Multiple linear regression models were used to study the influence of ethnicity and SES on SF-36 scores while adjusting for the influence of other determinants of HRQoL. The survey participation rate was 92.8%. Ethnic differences in HRQoL were present for all 8 SF-36 scales ( p<0.001 for all scales except General Health) among the 4122 Chinese, Malays and Indians surveyed. These ethnic groups also differed in several known determinants of HRQoL (e.g., Chinese had more years of education and Indians had more chronic medical conditions). After adjusting for the influence of these factors, ethnicity and SES independently influenced HRQoL, with mean differences in SF-36 scores due to ethnicity ranging from 1.4 to 13.1 points. Educational level and housing type (markers of SES) were also associated with SF-36 scores (0.5–0.6 point increase per year of education and 3.5–4.0 point increase with better housing type, respectively). Better HRQoL was also associated with better family support, and poorer HRQoL with acute and chronic medical conditions and sick days. The study concludes that ethnicity and SES are associated with clinically important differences in HRQoL in a multi-ethnic, urban Asian population.

Household Educational Level as a Determinant of Consumption of Raw Vegetables among Male and Female Adolescents

Background. This study aimed to examine the association between household educational level and consumption of raw vegetables among adolescents and to assess the influence of other determinants on the association, such as family factors, school achievement, health behavior, meal pattern, and weight-related factors. A further aim was to investigate whether the associations were the same for male and female adolescents.Methods. The study is based on data from the School Health Promotion Survey 1997–1998. Data were collected by a classroom-administered questionnaire, which was completed by 76,201 secondary school pupils. The study recorded the consumption of raw vegetables, but not the consumption of cooked vegetables. Multivariate logistic regressions were used in the analyses.Results. A clear positive association between educational level of the household and daily consumption of raw vegetables was found among adolescents. The adolescent's own school achievement explained part of the association between household educational level and consumption of raw vegetables. Other factors explained the association to a small degree, with meal pattern and weight factors having no effect. The associations were similar for both genders.Conclusions. Educational level in the household is an important determinant of consumption of raw vegetables. A household with a high educational level will also presumably contain adolescents who have good school achievement, another strong predictor of frequent consumption of raw vegetables.

Dental and social effects of malocclusion and effectivenessof orthodontic treatment: a review.

The relationship between malocclusion and the health of the masticatory apparatus is reviewed. While there is evidence that certain features such as traumatic deep overbite, unprotected incisors and impacted teeth may adversely affect the longevity of the dentition, the relationship of dental irregularity to periodontal disease, caries and mandibular dysfunction is less certain. Studies in the field of social psychology indicate that an unattractive physical appearance may evoke an unfavourable social response in many facets of social interaction but the place of dentofacial anomalies in this context has not been satisfactorily assessed. The individual's adjustment to his own imperfections in dental alignment is variable and there is no evidence that children with visible irregulaities will in general be emotionally handicapped. Effectiveness studies have yet to be undertaken but the factors which will have to be taken into account in assessing the benefits of orthodontic treatment are the definition of treatment need, treatment standards, the disadvantages of treatment and the influence of other determinants of dental health. The need for further research is underlined.