Influence Of Selected Factors Research Articles

The influence of Effective Microorganisms and number of buds per cane in viticulture on chemical composition in fruits

As a result of climate warming, wine-growing zones have moved to the north, where conditions exist may result in poor fruit quality. Fruits may develop significant amounts of tannin compounds, which are not acceptable to all consumers. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the influence of selected factors on the quality and content of polyphenols in grapevine fruits. The differentiating factors were as follows: two grapevine cultivars, varied number of buds per cane, and treatment with Effective Microorganisms (EM). To determine the total content of polyphenols and individual polyphenolic compounds in the tested fruits, the UPLC-PDA-MS method was used. The results indicated that the studied factors had no effect on total soluble solids and titratable acidity in grapes. The experiment revealed that polyphenol content was most dependent on the cultivar, followed by the number of buds per cane; EM treatment had the least effect. The fruit of the ‘Regent’ cultivar was characterised by higher polyphenol content. ‘Cabernet Cortis’ berries had higher levels of phenolic acids and flavan-3-ols, while ‘Regent’ berries were higher in anthocyanins and flavonols. EM treatment had a large impact on the reduction of tannic acid compounds. Fruits from untreated plants with four buds per cane had a significantly increased content of polyphenols, including flavan-3-ols.

Influence of demographic characteristics on adoption of improved potato varieties by smallholder farmers in Mumberes Division, Baringo County, Kenya

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is widely consumed as a staple world over with direct consumption by humans as food being 31.3 kg per capita. Ministry of Agriculture through collaborative efforts with other stakeholders has developed improved potato varieties and released them for farmers to plant in Kenya. The main aim of this study was to investigate the influence of selected factors on adoption of improved potato varieties in Mumberes division, Baringo country. The study used a cross sectional survey research design where 128 household heads were sampled and interviewed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.5 aided data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize key observations in the study. Ordinal Logit regression was used to test the study hypothesis. It was revealed that perception, access to extension services, family size and access to credit were the key factors influencing adoption of improved potato varieties. The study recommended that there is need to increase access to extension services in the study area. Credit service providers should intensify their provision of these services. The research institutions should endeavor to look for varieties more resistant to blights so as to promote further adoption. Key words: Adoption, Baringo County, demographic characteristics, improved potato varieties, perception, smallholder farmers.

Some Determinants of Student Performance in Principles of Financial Accounting (II) – Further Evidence from Kuwait

The purpose of this study was to perform an empirical investigation of the influence ofselect factors on the academic performance of students studying Principles of FinancialAccounting (II). This study attempts to fill some of the gaps in the existing local and regionalaccounting education literature and to provide comparative evidence for the harmonizationof international accounting education. A stepwise regression model using a sample of 205students from the College of Business Studies, one of the tributaries of accounting educationin Kuwait, was used to test the study’s hypotheses. The results indicate that the influences ofthe selected factors are diverse in their effects on student performance. The prerequisite gradehad the most significant influence on student performance, followed by student GPA, time-lag(the time elapsed between studying the two parts of Principles of Financial Accounting), andfinally college experience. Student gender, age, and major showed no significant influence onstudent performance. The study concludes by considering the implications of these findingsfor the administration of the College of Business Studies and similar institutions, and suggestsavenues for future research.

Atherosclerotic renovascular disease in the United States

Atherosclerotic renovascular disease (ARVD) is an increasingly recognized clinical condition that is diagnosed predominantly in older patients. Here we used annual United States Medicare 5% Denominator Files and studied 16,036,904 patients, 66 years of age and older, to quantify trends in diagnostic rates, associations, treatment, and outcomes of ARVD over a 13-year period. Overall, there was an ARVD rate of 3.09 per 1000 patient-years, which rose progressively with an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.35, comparing data from 1992 to 2004. Within 6 months of disease diagnosis, 13.4% of patients had undergone revascularization. A biphasic pattern of revascularization was found where the adjusted hazard ratios significantly increased in a progressive manner until 1999, following which there was a decline through 2004, which was not significant. The method of revascularization changed markedly over time with endovascular intervention steadily replacing direct surgical revascularization. As a time-dependent variable, ARVD was associated with excess mortality in each calendar year, albeit with declining hazard ratio estimates in more recent years. Among patients with this disease, revascularization was associated with mortality adjusted hazard ratios <1 in each year. Our study shows the diagnosis of ARVD has substantially risen in the United States but the survival implications were not fully explained by other comorbid vascular diseases.

The influence of selection factors on evolutionary change methods

PurposeThe basic purpose of this research is to study the influence selection factors have on the effectiveness of evolutionary change methods in civil engineering companies in Slovenia.Design/methodology/approachA combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research work was applied. In the process of quantitative data analysis, the statistical methods of bivariant and multivariant analysis were used.FindingsBased on the results of the research, the authors can conclude that the size of a company has no effect on any of the dimensions in selection factors. On the other hand, in seven of the 16 evolutionary change methods applied by the companies, the research results have confirmed the importance of selection factors.Research limitations/implicationsIn the interpretation of research findings, it should be taken into account that, at the time the research was conducted, the civil engineering industry was undergoing a period of crisis and was ranked among the least profitable industries within the Slovene economy. For this reason, a generalisation of the research findings is not appropriate.Practical implicationsThe research findings will allow executive managements to make a more efficient selection from the many available change methods, and also to apply them with greater efficiency. As a result, efficiency and effectiveness in companies can be expected to increase, which is of crucial importance when it comes to corporate entities operating in late‐transition or post‐transition environments.Originality/valueThe article represents an original contribution to understanding the change method selection factors related to the size of companies, as well as their influence on the selected method of evolutionary change process.

Wpływ wybranych czynników na aktywność inwestorów na Warszawskiej Giełdzie Papierów Wartościowych

Wpływ wybranych czynników na aktywność inwestorów na Warszawskiej Giełdzie Papierów Wartościowych

Examination of the Influence of Selected Factors on Performance on Alberta Learning Achievement Tests

In this study , we identified factors that influence the academic performance of grade ‐ 6 students in a large city school system in language arts and mathematics. For language arts, five student variables, seven class variables, and two school level variables accounted for approximately 50 per cent, 75 per cent, and 90 per cent of the initial variability at the corresponding levels. For mathematics, seven student, five class, and three school level variables accounted for approximately 40 per cent, 60 per cent, and 90 per cent of the initial variability at the school level. Taken together, the results reveal that the majority of variability is at the student level, and additional variables need to be identified to better explain the variability at this level. Key words: school effectiveness, hierarchical linear multi ‐ level modeling, large ‐ scale testing Dans cette etude portant sur le systeme scolaire d’une grande ville, les auteurs identifient les facteurs ayant une incidence sur le rendement scolaire d’eleves de 6 e annee en langue (anglais) et en mathematiques. Pour le domaine de la langue, cinq variables ayant trait aux eleves expliquent environ la moitie de la variabilite initiale quant aux eleves, sept variables ayant trait a la classe expliquent environ 75 % de la variabilite initiale quant aux classes et deux variables ayant trait a l’ecole, environ 90 % de la variabilite initiale quant aux ecoles. En mathematiques, sept variables ayant trait aux eleves, cinq ayant trait aux classes et trois aux ecoles expliquent respectivement environ 40 %, 60 % et 90 % de la variabilite initiale. Pris en bloc, les resultats revelent que la majeure partie de la variabilite se situe au niveau des eleves et que d’autres variables doivent etre identifiees afin de mieux expliquer la variabilite a ce niveau. Mots cles : efficacite de l ʹ ecole, regression hierarchique multiple, tests communs.

Effect of young age on prostate cancer survival: a population-based assessment (United States).

To assess whether men diagnosed with prostate cancer at younger ages have a poorer prognosis. The influence of select factors (race, marital status, stage, histological grade, histology, presence of comorbid cancer, and time of diagnosis) on the relation between age at diagnosis and survival was considered. Analyses were based on 289,809 men diagnosed with malignant prostate cancer, ages 40 years and older in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program between 1973 and 1997, actively followed for vital status through 31 December 1998. Cases diagnosed through autopsy or death certificate were excluded. Five-year relative survival and Cox proportional hazards were used for assessment. Five-year relative survival increased, leveled off, and then decreased over the age span. This pattern was most pronounced in men with advanced stage and poor grade tumors. Conditional death hazards that showed significantly higher hazard ratios in younger age groups (i.e. 40-44 and 45-49) represented local/regional stage and poorly differentiated/undifferentiated tumors, distant stage and moderately differentiated, poorly differentiated/ undifferentiated, or unknown grade, and unknown stage and unknown grade. The influence of young age on prostate cancer prognosis for advanced stage and poorly differentiated/undifferentiated cases was not significantly influenced by year of diagnosis or race. Younger age is a prognostic factor for prostate cancer survival. The relationship between young age at diagnosis and survival is significantly influenced by stage and histological grade at diagnosis.

Mortality among German vegetarians: first results after five years of follow-up.

A prospective study of vegetarians recruited from all regions of the Federal Republic of Germany, including West Berlin, was started in 1978 after a preparatory phase of two years in which the cohort was established. The mortality of the 1,904 study participants was evaluated after a follow-up of five years, comparing observed deaths with expected rates based on the national mortality statistics. Of the 858 men and 1,046 women, 89% had followed their diet for at least five years at study entry, the majority of them as strict vegetarians (1,163). By the end of 1983, only 82 persons had died, whereas 219 deaths were expected. In both sexes, the mortality was lowest from cardiovascular diseases [standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for ischemic heart disease about 20] and from cancer (SMR 58 for men, 54 for women). Deaths from diseases of the respiratory and digestive system were also reduced. For individual cancer sites the observed numbers were extremely small, but the risk of dying from lung cancer was significantly reduced; however, deaths from cancers of the colon and rectum, prostate, and breast were rare or even absent. More deaths than expected were observed from stomach, pancreatic, testicular, and brain cancers. An internal comparison of mortality between strict and moderate vegetarians (741) suggests a higher mortality from all causes and malignant neoplasms among strict vegetarians in both sexes, although not statistically significant, and a lower mortality from circulatory system diseases for males. The possible influence of selection factors (e.g., "healthy participant effect," socioeconomic level, and body weight) on the findings of a decreased mortality is discussed together with the role of diet.