Ordinal Scale Research Articles

Enhanced bone assessment of the shoulder using zero-echo time MRI with deep-learning image reconstruction.

To assess a deep learning-based reconstruction algorithm (DLRecon) in zero echo-time (ZTE) MRI of the shoulder at 1.5 Tesla for improved delineation of osseous findings. In this retrospective study, 63 consecutive exams of 52 patients (28 female) undergoing shoulder MRI at 1.5 Tesla in clinical routine were included. Coronal 3D isotropic radial ZTE pulse sequences were acquired in the standard MR shoulder protocol. In addition to standard-of-care (SOC) image reconstruction, the same raw data was reconstructed with a vendor-supplied prototype DLRecon algorithm. Exams were classified into three subgroups: no pathological findings, degenerative changes, and posttraumatic changes, respectively. Two blinded readers performed bone assessment on a 4-point scale (0-poor, 3-perfect) by qualitatively grading image quality features and delineation of osseous pathologies including diagnostic confidence in the respective subgroups. Quantitatively, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of bone were measured. Qualitative variables were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for ordinal data and the McNemar test for dichotomous variables; quantitative measures were compared with Student's t-testing. DLRecon scored significantly higher than SOC in all visual metrics of image quality (all, p < 0.03), except in the artifact category (p = 0.37). DLRecon also received superior qualitative scores for delineation of osseous pathologies and diagnostic confidence (p ≤ 0.03). Quantitatively, DLRecon achieved superior CNR (95 CI [1.4-3.1]) and SNR (95 CI [15.3-21.5]) of bone than SOC (p < 0.001). DLRecon enhanced image quality in ZTE MRI and improved delineation of osseous pathologies, allowing for increased diagnostic confidence in bone assessment.

Safety and Efficacy of the Ayurvedic Formulation Guduchi Ghana Vati as a Preventive Remedy in COVID-19.

Background and objectives Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) is a well-known Ayurvedic herb used as a preventive and curative remedy for various infections and immunity-related conditions. This study aimed to evaluate Guduchi Ghana Vati as a preventive remedy for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 infections in a healthy population. Materials and methods An open-labeled, multi-centric, randomized, comparative, interventional, prospective community-based clinical study was conducted on healthy individuals at the community level in five different districts of Rajasthan by the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, India. Participants were divided into two groups. One group received Guduchi Ghana Vati as an intervention for 45 days, and the control group did not receive any intervention. Incidences of COVID-19 infection, non-COVID-19 infections, their severity, and hospitalization requirements were assessed. Safety was evaluated through monitoring of adverse reactions. Results Among the 10,022 participants who completed the study, the incidence of COVID-19 infection was found to be lower in those taking Guduchi Ghana Vati compared to the control group; however, the difference was statistically non-significant. The severity of COVID-19 based on the WHO ordinal scale was found to be significantly lower in the Guduchi Ghana Vati group compared to the control group. The number of episodes and severity of non-COVID-19 illness were also significantly lower in participants taking Guduchi Ghana Vati compared to the control group. No major adverse drug reactions were observed. Conclusion Guduchi Ghana Vati has the potential to act as a safe and effective remedy for the prevention of infection and immunity-related conditions, including COVID-19.

Interrelation of Zakat Literacy, Social Behavior and Perceived Value on Intention of paying Zakat

: Through data from Puskas Baznas (2022), measurement results in the Sulawesi Region were found in general, the value of the Zakat Literacy Index in 2020 falls into the literacy level category moderate, namely 65.73 where the value of basic understanding gets a score of 71.30 (literacy level moderate) and the value of advanced understanding of zakat is included in the literacy level category the low is 55.40. It can be concluded that in the Sulawesi Region the level pRespondents' understanding of aspects of basic knowledge falls into the sufficient category baik, but the respondents' understanding of the aspects of zakat management in the institution official zakat is still relatively low. The purpose of this research is to find out whether Zakat literacy affects the intention to give zakat, how does social behavior influence the intention of paying zakar, then to find out the perceived value as a mediating variable affect the intention to tithe. This research is an associative quantitative, with non-technical probability sampling. The object of this research is muzakki with different backgrounds in Makassar which is easy to reach. Respondents were rounded up to 100 people collected through a questionnaire, with an ordinal scale, which is distributed to respondents to determine literacy, social behavior, perceived value and intention of muzakki. Data analysis method used in this study moderation uses SmartPLS by entering all data and tested convergent validity, discriminant validity, and significance test.

DO ORTHOPAEDIC TRAUMA SOCIETY (OTS) SIMPLE FRACTURES RECEIVE A DIFFERENT STANDARD OF TREATMENT TO OTS COMPLEX FRACTURES?

IntroductionOpen fractures of the tibia are disabling injuries with a significant risk of deep infection. Treatment involves early antibiotic administration, early and aggressive surgical debridement, and may require complex soft tissue coverage techniques. The extent of disruption to the skin and soft-tissue envelope often varies, with ‘simple’ open fractures (defined by the Orthopaedic Trauma Society (OTS) open fracture severity classification) able to be closed primarily, whilst others may require shortening or soft-tissue reconstruction. This study aimed to determine whether OTS simple tibial open fractures received different rates of adequate debridement and plastic surgical presence at initial debridement, compared with OTS complex injuries, and whether rates of fracture-related infection, nonunion, or reoperation differed between the groups.Materials &amp; MethodsA consecutive series of open tibia fractures managed at a tertiary UK Major Trauma Centre between January 2021 and November 2022 were included. Patient demographics, injury characteristics, timing of antibiotic delivery, timing and method of definitive fixation, and frequency of plastic surgical presence at initial debridement were retrospectively collected. The delivery of bone ends at initial debridement was used as a proxy for adequacy of surgical debridement. The primary outcome measure was rate of fracture-related infection, secondary outcomes included rates of reoperation, nonunion, and amputation. Chi2 Tests and independent samples T-tests were used to assess nominal and continuous outcomes respectively between simple and complex injuries. Ordinal data was assessed using nonparametric equivalent tests.Results79 patients with open fractures of the tibia were included. 70.8% of patients were male, with mean age 50.4 years (SD 19.2) and BMI 26.4 Kg/m2 (SD 6.0). Injuries were mostly sustained by low-energy falls (n = 28, 35.4%) and from road traffic accidents (n = 26, 32.9%). 27 (34.2%) were OTS simple open fractures. Simple open fractures were most commonly Gustillo-Anderson grade 1 (38.5%), or 2 (30.8%), whilst complex open fractures were mostly grade 3B (66.7%) (p &lt; 0.001). Fracture-related infection rates in OTS simple and complex open fractures were 25.9% and 25.5% respectively (p = 0.967), and nonunion rates were 32% and 37.8% (p = 0.637). Primary amputation was less common in simple (0%) than in complex open fractures (20%, p = 0.012), there were no differences in delayed amputation rates (7.4% and 6% respectively, p = 0.811). Simple open fractures were less likely to have plastic surgeons present at initial debridement compared to complex open fractures (18.5% and 44%, p = 0.025), and less likely to have bone ends delivered through the skin at initial debridement (25.9% and 61.2%, p = 0.003). There were no differences in patient age, delays to antibiotic administration, or reoperation rates between OTS simple and OTS complex fractures (p &gt; 0.05).ConclusionsDespite involving less significant soft tissue injury, OTS simple open tibia fractures had comparable deep infection and nonunion rates to complex fractures and received early plastic surgical input and adequate debridement less frequently. The severity of open fractures with less significant soft tissue injury may be underrecognized and therefore undertreated, although further prospective study is needed.

Measurement Scales on Investment Decision-making. Empirical Evidence Based on MiFID Questionnaires.

The MiFID European directive regulates the provisions of investment services and improves the protection of retail investors. To know the financial knowledge and experience of investors, this directive uses basically two types of questionnaires: appropriateness and suitability tests in which are employed different measurement scales. Since some sub-fields of Behavioral Finance are focused on the study of perception biases, the main objective of this paper is to analyze some advantages and drawbacks of numerical and verbal rating scales, and to examine their effects on investors’ perceptions. To do that, it was carried out an empirical study based on different measurement scales: verbal, numerical rating scale, and verbal scale considering proximities. In this contribution, the concept of ordinal proximity measure is employed to collect the individuals’ perceptions about ordinal scales.

Improved Fault Diagnosis of Roller Bearings Using an Equal-Angle Integer-Period Array Convolutional Neural Network

This article presents a technique to carry out fault classification using an equal-angle integer-period array convolutional neural network (EAIP-CNN) to process the electrostatic signal of working roller bearings. Firstly, electrostatic signals were collected using uniform angle sampling to ensure the angle intervals between two adjacent data points stayed the same and the signal length was fixed to a pre-determined number of rotation cycles. Then, this one-dimensional signal was transformed into a two-dimensional matrix, where the component of each row was the signal in one period, and the ordinate value of each row represented the corresponding rotation period. Therefore, the row and column indexes of the matrix had a specific meaning instead of simply splitting and stacking the data. Finally, the matrixes were utilized to train the CNN network and test the classification performance. The results show that the classification rate using this technique reaches 95.6%, which is higher than that of 2D CNNs without equal-angle integer-period arrays.

Measuring synovial thickness on knee MRI in pediatric patients with arthritis: is contrast necessary?

The use of contrast-enhanced imaging has long been standard for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments of synovitis in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). However, advancements in MRI technology have allowed for reliable identification of synovium without contrast. To assess the equivalence of unenhanced MRI with contrast-enhanced MRI in evaluating synovial thickness. This is an institutional review board approved, retrospective study performed in a tertiary children's hospital. Pediatric JIA patients under 21 years old were included who underwent knee MRI scans (1.5 T or 3 T) without and with contrast between January 2012 and January 2022. Two radiologists independently measured synovial thickness at 6 knee sites on contrast-enhanced and unenhanced sequences. Numerical measurements and ordinal scores based on juvenile idiopathic arthritis magnetic resonance imaging scoring (JAMRIS) system were recorded, and tests of equivalence were conducted, as well as between-reader and within-reader reliability by concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). All tests were considered significant at the 5% level. A total of 38 studies from 35 patients (25 females, median age 14 years; interquartile range 7 to 15.7) were included. Equivalence was demonstrated at each of the 6 sites for both continuous measurements (P-values < 0.05) and ordinal scores (P-values < 0.05) based on the average over readers. Within-reader reliability was moderate to high (CCC 0.50-0.89), except for the cruciate ligaments site. Averaged over the 6 sites, reliability between readers was low for unenhanced (CCC 0.47, with 95% CI: [0.41, 0.53]) and moderate for contrast-enhanced (CCC 0.64, with 95% CI: [0.59, 0.69]) sequences. Unenhanced knee MRI is equivalent to contrast-enhanced MRI in assessment of synovial thickness using conventional MRI sequences. Contrast material helped improve inter-reader reliability.

Palliative care in the emergency department: An observational study of doctors in KwaZulu-Natal.

The World Health Organization advocates the early, appropriate provision of palliative care (PC) to patients throughout the life course. Patient consultations to the emergency department (ED) have been recognised as opportunities to initiate or optimise their PC needs. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of and attitudes towards PC among doctors at emergency physician staffed EDs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 for doctors employed out at emergency physician staffed EDs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, using the validated Palliative Care Attitude and Knowledge questionnaire. The variables assessed were the self-rated and basic knowledge and attitudes towards core domains of PC. Ordinal data were compared using thet-test or ANOVA as appropriate, using MedCalc® Statistical Software version 22.009. Of the 39 participants, the scores for the knowledge questions showed that 15.3% participants had good knowledge, 53.8% had fair knowledge and 30.7% had poor knowledge. Participants had either favourable (58.8%) or an uncertain (41.0%) attitude towards PC. No correlation was seen between the knowledge and attitudes scores (Spearman's rho = 0.13, 95% CI -0.19 to 0.43,p= 0.43). There appears to be a deficit in knowledge of PC among doctors in the ED and a need for in-service training in PC for emergency care physicians.Contribution:This study provides new knowledge around PC practices at EDs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Clodronate disodium does not produce measurable effects on bone metabolism in an exercising, juvenile, large animal model.

Bisphosphonates are commonly used to treat and prevent bone loss, but their effects in active, juvenile populations are unknown. This study examined the effects of intramuscular clodronate disodium (CLO) on bone turnover, serum bone biomarkers (SBB), bone mineral density (BMD), bone microstructure, biomechanical testing (BT), and cartilage glycosaminoglycan content (GAG) over 165 days. Forty juvenile sheep (253 ± 6 days of age) were divided into four groups: Control (saline), T0 (0.6 mg/kg CLO on day 0), T84 (0.6 mg/kg CLO on day 84), and T0+84 (0.6 mg/kg CLO on days 0 and 84). Sheep were exercised 4 days/week and underwent physical and lameness examinations every 14 days. Blood samples were collected for SBB every 28 days. Microstructure and BMD were calculated from tuber coxae (TC) biopsies (days 84 and 165) and bone healing was assessed by examining the prior biopsy site. BT and GAG were evaluated postmortem. Data, except lameness data, were analyzed using a mixed-effects model; lameness data were analyzed as ordinal data using a cumulative logistic model. CLO did not have any measurable effects on the skeleton of sheep. SBB showed changes over time (p ≤ 0.03), with increases in bone formation and decreases in some bone resorption markers. TC biopsies showed increasing bone volume fraction, trabecular spacing and thickness, and reduced trabecular number on day 165 versus day 84 (p ≤ 0.04). These changes may be attributed to exercise or growth. The absence of a treatment effect may be explained by the lower CLO dose used in large animals compared to humans. Further research is needed to examine whether low doses of bisphosphonates may be used in active juvenile populations for analgesia without evidence of bone changes.

Lamb feeding preference for maize, bean, and broad bean stubble treated with silage effluent, urea-molasses, or phosphoric acid

molasses (MaUM), silage effluent with phosphoric acid (MaEflAcP), and control (MaTes); bean stubble treated with silage effluent (FrEfl), effluent silage with urea-molasses (FrEflUM), and control (FrTes); and broad bean stubble treated with silage effluent and urea-molasses (HaEflUM), urea-molasses and phosphoric acid (HaUMAcP), and control (HaTes). Design/Methodology/Approach: Six Dorper/Katahdin lambs of 21 kg (LW) were used to carry out the feeding preference test. In the morning, lambs were fed with a mixture of the three treatments of each stubble (70% of the dry matter (DM) requirement/40 min); meanwhile, in the evenings, they were offered each treatment in independent feeders (10% of the DM requirement/20 min). This treatment lasted 7 days. Intake was measured in grams (offer minus rejection). Once the ordinal qualitative variables of consumption frequency (1=low, 2=medium, and 3=high) were classified, the data were analyzed using the ordinal logistic regression model. The results were expressed as the estimated proportion of incidence of the frequencies (1, 2, or 3). Results: The proportion estimated for the high consumption frequency recorded higher results for MaUM, HaUMAcP, and FrEflUM, reaching 95.24, 73.44, and 43.49%, respectively. The proportion estimated for the low consumption frequency for HaTes, MaTes, and FrTes was 95.12, 88.11, and 48.77%, respectively. Study Limitations/Implications: The diets with different quality and flavors did not meet the assumptions of normality and homoscedasticity; however, the results provide valuable information for the improvement of dry matter intake and animal production. Finding/Conclusions: Urea-molasses (UM) promoted consumption preference both alone or in combination with other ingredients, in all the stubbles tested.

A survey on the practice of phlebotomy in Lithuania and adherence to the EFLM-COLABIOCLI recommendations: continuous training and clear standard operating procedures as tools for better quality.

The aim of this study was to determine the level of compliance of venous blood sampling (VBS) in Lithuania with the joint recommendations of the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine and the Latin American Confederation of Clinical Biochemistry (EFLM-COLABIOCLI) and to analyse possible causes of errors. A survey was conducted between April and September 2022. A self-designed questionnaire was distributed to the Lithuanian National Societies. Error frequencies and compliance score were computed. Differences between groups were analysed using Pearson's chi-square, Fisher's exact criterion, Mann-Whitney U (for two groups), or Kruskal-Wallis (for more than two groups) for categorical and discrete indicators. The association between ordinal and discrete variables was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was determined at P < 0.05. A total of 272 respondents completed the questionnaire. Median error rate and compliance score were 31.5% and 13/19, respectively. Significant differences were found among professional titles, standard operating procedures availability, training recency, and tourniquet purpose opinions. A negative correlation was noted between compliance and time since training (rs = - 0.28, P < 0.001). The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant need for improvement in compliance with the EFLM-COLABIOCLI recommendations on VBS among specialists in Lithuania. Essential measures include prioritizing ongoing phlebotomy training and establishing national guidelines. Harmonisation of blood collection practices across healthcare institutions is crucial.

Learning Bayesian Networks: A Copula Approach for Mixed-Type Data.

Estimating dependence relationships between variables is a crucial issue in many applied domains and in particular psychology. When several variables are entertained, these can be organized into a network which encodes their set of conditional dependence relations. Typically however, the underlying network structure is completely unknown or can be partially drawn only; accordingly it should be learned from the available data, a process known as structure learning. In addition, data arising from social and psychological studies are often of different types, as they can include categorical, discrete and continuous measurements. In this paper, we develop a novel Bayesian methodology for structure learning of directed networks which applies to mixed data, i.e.,possibly containing continuous, discrete, ordinal and binary variables simultaneously. Whenever available, our method can easily incorporate known dependence structures among variables represented by paths or edge directions that can be postulated in advance based on the specific problem under consideration. We evaluate the proposed method through extensive simulation studies, with appreciable performances in comparison with current state-of-the-art alternative methods. Finally, we apply our methodology to well-being data from a social survey promoted by the United Nations, and mental health data collected from a cohort of medical students. R code implementing the proposed methodology is available at https://github.com/FedeCastelletti/bayes_networks_mixed_data .

Development and validation of the aristotelian virtue of conscientiousness scale using Rasch methodology

AbstractIn the dominant Aristotelian view, virtues are traits that contribute to human flourishing, happiness and well-being. Although some scales in psychology are partially based on Aristotelian virtue theory, few of them operationalise all the aspects of virtues that Aristotle took to be essential. The aim of this project was to develop and validate the Aristotelian Virtue of Conscientiousness Scale (AVCS). The initial 60 scale items were developed based on Aristotelian virtue theory. This item pool was piloted and administered to a sample (n = 301) together with measures of distress, satisfaction with life and Big Five Conscientiousness. The twenty-eight most reliable items were selected based on psychometric criteria and subjected to Rasch analysis. The best model fit was achieved when items were combined into six testlets to address local dependency. The AVCS scale displayed excellent reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.88) and was invariant across gender and age. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables were generated for the AVCS ordinal scores, which strongly correlated with life satisfaction. The AVCS is a reliable and valid measure with good psychometric properties that can be used in future happiness research. The ordinal AVCS scores can be transformed into interval level data using conversion tables published here, which improves accuracy of measurement.

Multivariate Multinomial Logit Models with Associations among Dependent Variables

The authors introduce a new group of multinomial logit models with special contrasts to identify covariate effects on multiple categorical dependent variables that are strongly associated with each other. The authors first develop the method for a case with two dependent variables and then extend the method to a case with three dependent variables. The model can account for both nominal and ordinal scales of categorical dependent variables. The authors formulate the covariate effects to represent unique effects on each dependent variable so that they become independent across different dependent variables. The application focuses on the multiplicity of occupational attainments by analyzing how gender, race, educational attainment, and parental occupation characteristics affect three distinct but nonindependent dimensions of occupations: socioeconomic status, social skill level, and math and science skill levels.

Cross-national examination of the Distress Tolerance Scale using Rasch methodology

AbstractThe 15-item Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) is a widely used psychometric measure with evidence generally supporting its reliability and validity. However, limitations related to its ordinal response format and lack of cross-cultural comparisons have yet to be investigated using appropriate methods. The Partial Credit Rasch model was used to evaluate and enhance the psychometric properties of the DTS using responses from 2550 adult participants from the United States of America (USA), England, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Argentina. The initial poor fit of the DTS to the Rasch model was improved by removing one item and combining locally dependent items into three testlets. These modifications resulted in the best fit of the 14-item DTS to the Rasch model for all the countries in our study, providing evidence of unidimensionality, high reliability and invariance across countries, meditation practice, and gender. Meeting the expectations of the Rasch model permitted the development of ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithms derived from person estimates of the Rasch model. Using the ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithms published in this article, ordinal DTS scores can be transformed into interval-level data, enhancing the precision of this scale for future research and clinical use across people from the six countries in this study and across the English and Spanish versions of the 14-item DTS.

Detection of distracted driving through the analysis of real-time driver, vehicle, and roadway volatilities

Distracted driving adversely impacts drivers’ decision-making and leads to safety-critical events (SCEs). Early detection of driver distraction is critical to prevent traffic crashes by providing warning messages to drivers and the surrounding vehicles. This study harnesses real-time multidimensional data collected through sensors that examine the variations in driver biometrics, vehicle kinematics, and roadway surroundings in different driving scenarios conducted on a Multimodal Virtual Reality Simulator. The driving behaviors of the study participants were examined under various visual detection response tasks of increasing complexity. The study classifies driving behaviors on a 5-level ordinal scale by estimating a Panel Ordered Logit Model, Random Forest, and Artificial Neural Network, using real-time volatilities in driver biometric signals, vehicle speed and acceleration, and roadway surroundings. The study results reveal that the driver gaze and the coefficients of variation in vehicle speed, driver eye movements, vehicular distances from the lane centerline, and the following vehicle significantly impact distracted driving. The study’s findings align with the principles of the safe systems approach by emphasizing the development of proactive safety measures in the form of feedback and warning the driver and surrounding vehicles of a potential distracted driving event, helping to foster safer user behavior and vehicles.

Дозовая зависимость смертности от болезней системы кровообращения у работников ядерной индустрии (систематический обзор и pooled-анализ): отсутствие эффекта малых доз и подтверждение порога, установленного НКДАР и МКРЗ при 0,5 Гр

Based on the maintained database (source database) on effects in nuclear workers (NW), a selection of major studies of the relationship between mortality from diseases of the circulatory system (CVD; codes 390–459 according to ICD-9 and I00–I99 according to ICD-10) and external radiation dose. The sample included 30 papers and covered cohorts from 6 countries plus an NW cohort from 15 countries. For the sample, in most cases based on published standardized mortality rates (SMR), the relative risks (RR) of mortality from CVD were calculated for the selected dose groups with subsequent processing of the material for outliers. Initial: n = 207; final sample: n = 199; covers very low (0–10 mSv; 15.8 % of the sample), low (&gt;10–100 mSv; 45.8 %) and moderate (&gt;100–1000 mSv; 36.4 %) doses; data for high doses (&gt;1000 mSv; n = 4; 2 % of the sample), due to dubiousness, were excluded. A systematic review and pooled analysis of the RR for mortality from CVD depending on the dose on an ordinal scale was performed on the final sample. For the entire dose range (0–1000 mSv) and for moderate doses, statistically significant trends in increasing RR were found when expressed in five types of regressions (except for the logarithmic one for the entire range). Although the r values were small (0.230–0.293), the effect was clear. The ERR per 1 Gy (Sv) calculated for moderate doses using linear regression was 0.54. This value is higher than those obtained previously in meta-analyses, but should be considered as the most adequate. No dose relationship was found for the very low + low dose range (0–100 mGy); the r coefficients for the regressions were either negligible or negative at statistical insignificance. For the subthreshold dose range for CVD mortality after exposure (according to UNSCEAR and ICRP: 500 mSv), only a weak trend towards an increase in RR was found, statistically insignificant, despite the large sample size (n = 191), while for the dose range 500–1000 mSv, the highest tendency among the pooled analyzes was revealed to increase the risk depending on the level of exposure (r = 0.297–0.423; statistically insignificant due to the small sample size: n = 8). It is concluded that for mortality from CVD after irradiation, the threshold value of 0.5 Gy established by UNSCEAR and ICRP and confirmed in the present pooled analysis should be strictly adhered to. Due to the lack of effects of low doses, it is inappropriate to raise the issue of low dose effects in the context of these pathologies.

PENGARUH MODEL PEMBELAJARAN THINK PAIR SHARE TERHADAP MAHĀRAH AL QIRĀAH DI MA’HAD ‘ALY NURUL JADID

&lt;em&gt;The cooperative learning model known as Think Pair Share (TPS) emphasizes students' cooperation to help each other and discuss the Arabic text they will read. The purpose of this study was to find out how the learning model of TPS Ma'had Aly Nurul Jadid influenced the &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;maha&amp;gt;arah al qira&amp;gt;ah&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; in I'dadiyah students. This study used quantitative research techniques and survey types based on variable characteristics. The population of this study consisted of 140 Ma'had Aly Nurul Jadid students from Tamhidiyah, I'dadiyah, and Ma'had Aly programs. using a sample size of 25 students from I'dadiyah Ma'had Aly Nurul Jadid. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaires for the independent variable (x) and oral tests for the dependent variable (y). While the analysis technique based on the hypothesis is associative or correlative (cause or cause) and uses Somer's D method with the help of the SPSS 16.0 for Windows application, which uses ordinal data, Based on the results of the data analysis, the results showed no influence between the TPS Learning Model and &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;maha&amp;gt;rah al qira&amp;gt;ah,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;as evidenced by Approx. Sig., which obtained a value of 0.171 &amp;gt; 0.05, then it was declared insignificant because the value was greater than the value of statistical provisions (criticism value), which was 0.05. So the TPS Learning Model has no influence on the &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;maharah al qiraah&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;

Bayesian relative composite quantile regression approach of ordinal latent regression model with L1/2 regularization

AbstractOrdinal data frequently occur in various fields such as knowledge level assessment, credit rating, clinical disease diagnosis, and psychological evaluation. The classic models including cumulative logistic regression or probit regression are often used to model such ordinal data. But these modeling approaches conditionally depict the mean characteristic of response variable on a cluster of predictive variables, which often results in non‐robust estimation results. As a considerable alternative, composite quantile regression (CQR) approach is usually employed to gain more robust and relatively efficient results. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian CQR modeling approach for ordinal latent regression model. In order to overcome the recognizability problem of the considered model and obtain more robust estimation results, we advocate to using the Bayesian relative CQR approach to estimate regression parameters. Additionally, in regression modeling, it is a highly desirable task to obtain a parsimonious model that retains only important covariates. We incorporate the Bayesian penalty into the ordinal latent CQR regression model to simultaneously conduct parameter estimation and variable selection. Finally, the proposed Bayesian relative CQR approach is illustrated by Monte Carlo simulations and a real data application. Simulation results and real data examples show that the suggested Bayesian relative CQR approach has good performance for the ordinal regression models.

Coronary artery calcium assessment on non-gated chest CT to optimize pre-operative cardiac screening in liver transplantation

BackgroundGuidelines recommend standard pre-operative cardiac screening in all liver transplantation (LT) recipients, despite the relatively low prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Most LT recipients often have non-gated computed tomography (CT) performed of the chest and abdomen. This study evaluated the ability of coronary artery calcification (CAC) assessment on consecutively available scans, to identify a selection of low-risk patients, in whom further cardiac imaging can be safely withheld. MethodsLT recipients with prior non-gated CT chest-abdomen were included. CAC was visually scored on a semi-quantitative ordinal scale. Stress myocardial perfusion, coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were used as golden standard. The sensitivity and specificity of CAC to exclude and predict obstructive CAD were assessed. In addition, peri- and postoperative mortality and cardiac events were analyzed. Results149 LT recipients (ranged 31–71 years) were included. In 75% of patients, no CAC and mild CAC could rule out obstructive CAD on CCTA and ICA with 100% certainty. The threshold of mild CAC had a sensitivity of 100% for both CCTA and ICA and a specificity of 91% and 68%, respectively. None of the patients with no or mild calcifications experienced peri- and post-operative cardiac events or died of cardiac causes. ConclusionVisual evaluation of CAC on prior non-gated CT can accurately and safely exclude obstructive CAD in LT recipients. Incorporation of these already available data can optimize cardiac screening, by safely withholding or correctly allocating dedicated cardiac imaging in LT recipients. Thereby, reducing patients' test burden and save health care expenses.