Proxy For Quality Research Articles

Explaining wine scores through stochastic frontier analysis. An intent to measure sensory non-observable attributes

ABSTRACT Experts give scores to wines, which are quality proxies for marketers and buyers. The production of scores proxying wine quality is explained by a set of observable objective attributes, plus another set of unobservable and subjective (sensory) features, and randomness. Is it possible to use a Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) to understand whether objective and subjective (sensory) characteristics of wines explain the differences in ‘producing’ wine scores? We estimate a wine quality stochastic frontier production function, using a database of 1800 top-scored wines, in 18 years-window encompassing objective determinants that largely explain the scores (price, production, year, grape, country, etcetera), being aware that sensory aspects related to wine grading are unobservable. We find that the observable variables explain part of the ‘efficiency’ in attaining scores and suggest that ‘inefficiency’ in score generation can be attributed to unobservable (sensory) variables.

The synergy of renewable energy consumption, green technology, and environmental quality: Designing sustainable development goals policies

AbstractGreen technology (GT) and the utilization of renewable energy (RE) are widely acknowledged as a catalyst for energy efficiency, economic growth, and a tool for combating environmental degradation. Although various studies have examined the ecological repercussions of these two improvements, they have primarily used traditional pollution indicators (namely, carbon emissions and ecological footprint) and ignored nations with the highest cleaner energy adoption. To bridge this gap, the present research seeks to analyze the relationship between GT, RE consumption, economic growth, trade, and load capacity factor in the top‐10 renewable economies. In addition to environmental pollution indicators, the study utilizes the load capacity factor as a novel proxy for environmental quality and investigates the load capacity curve hypothesis using the Cross‐sectional‐autoregressive distributed lag model from 1990 to 2021. According to the empirical findings, all explanatory variables have a significant long‐term effect on the load capacity. More precisely, GT and RE consumption contribute to the sustainability of the ecosystem, while trade increases the ecological deficit. Furthermore, the findings do not support the validity of the load capacity curve hypothesis, implying that the environmental restorative benefits of economic well‐being may not manifest in the latter stages of economic growth. Given these findings, policymakers in the top‐10 renewable economies should seize the environmental prospects offered by GT and RE and update trade and growth policies in a way that promotes biocapacity while simultaneously reducing the ecological footprint to reach the long‐term sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 7 and 13.

FreshSense: Transforming Supply Chains with Low-Cost and Dynamic Food Quality Sensing at the Pallet-Level

Food wastage is a pervasive issue that affects millions of people worldwide. Approximately 40% of produced food goes to waste after harvest[1], while 10% of the world's population goes to bed hungry each night[2]. The food industry is also known to have some of the highest emissions, and the environmental impact from produce that gets wasted post-harvest is a significant overhead to the industry's carbon footprint. On these accounts, there is an imminent need to detect and reduce food loss. In an effort to reduce such loss, in this work, we ask the question: Can we use wireless technology to track the change in food quality and nutrition, post-harvest, as it travels through the global supply chain? Current methods for monitoring food quality are sparse and prone to manual error. Literature shows that moisture content in produce is a good proxy for quality and nutritionnutrition[3,12]. However, the inability to accurately and efficiently track moisture content at scale leads to substantial loss. To address this challenge, we propose FreshSense, a novel wireless sensing system that enables real-time, non-invasive monitoring of moisture content in produce as it moves through the supply chain.

The implications of digital school quality information for neighbourhood and school segregation: Evidence from a natural experiment in Los Angeles

A digital information explosion has transformed cities’ residential and educational markets in ways that are still being uncovered. Although urban stratification scholars have increasingly scrutinised whether emerging digital platforms disrupt or reproduce longstanding segregation patterns, direct links between one theoretically important form of digital information – school quality data – and neighbourhood and school segregation are rarely drawn. To clarify these dynamics, we leverage an exogenous digital information shock, in which the Los Angeles Times’ website revealed measures of a particularly important school quality proxy – schools’ value-added effectiveness – for nearly all elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Results suggest that although the information shock had no detectable effects on residential sorting or neighbourhood racial segregation, it did exert modest effects on school sorting – particularly for Latino and Asian students – albeit not in ways that materially diminished school racial segregation because the racial compositions of high- and low-value-added schools were broadly similar both before and after the information shock. We conclude that the urban stratification implications of digital information may be more nuanced than often appreciated, with effects operating through mechanisms beyond residential segregation and reflecting racial heterogeneity in constraints and preferences vis-à-vis specific types of information.

Predicting Proximal Humerus Fracture Mechanical Complications: Are Computed Tomography Hounsfield Units the Answer?

The purpose was to determine whether computed tomography (CT) Hounsfield units (HU) as a proxy for bone quality can predict postoperative complications following surgical treatment of proximal humerus fractures. Sixty-six patients with 2-, 3-, or 4-part proximal humerus fractures who underwent surgical fixation at single institution and had complete radiographic data available were included. Radiographic measurements included the deltoid tuberosity index (DTI) on preoperative anterior-posterior shoulder radiographs, and the HU value from the surgical proximal humerus was determined by measuring the humeral head at the midaxial/coronal/sagittal CT image using a circle-type region of interest (≥35 mm2). Postoperative complications recorded were implant failure, development of osteonecrosis, nonunion, and acute periprosthetic fracture. Patients with and without complications were statistically compared, and binary logistic regression was performed to determine whether preoperative proximal humerus CT HU were predictive of complications. Eight patients (12.1%) developed 11 overall complications, with three patients experiencing multiple complications each. Complications included osteonecrosis (4), implant failure (5), nonunion (1), and acute periprosthetic fracture (1). No difference was observed in demographics or Neer or AO/OTA classification between those with and without complications. Patients with complications had markedly lower DTI and overall HU as well as HU in the coronal and sagittal planes. Regression analysis for average DTI demonstrated a higher DTI and had a 10 times decreased risk of complication (P = 0.040, odds ratio = -10.5, 95% confidence interval, 0.000 to 0.616). Regression analysis for average total HU also found a higher HU associated with a decreased risk of complications (P = 0.034, odds ratio = -0.020, 95% confidence interval, 0.980 to 0.962). Logistic regression analysis, including age, age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean DTI, and mean total HU, only found mean total HU to be notable within the model. CT HU may identify patients with poorer bone quality and thus help predict postoperative complications. Diagnostic Level III.

Behind closed doors: unveiling earnings management in private subsidiaries of public firms

PurposeThis study examines the earnings quality of private-subsidiary firms using a large sample data from India.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of parent–subsidiary relationship on earnings quality is examined using two common proxies. Findings are robust to alternative research designs, including different earnings quality proxies, endogeneity and matching techniques.FindingsThe study finds that private firms that are subsidiaries of listed firms tend to have lesser (greater) earnings quality (manipulation). Further, the study reports that this relationship is more pronounced when the parent firm is relatively larger than the subsidiaries. The study finds no evidence that Big 4 affiliation of the parent company improves earnings quality among private subsidiaries; instead, it exacerbates earnings manipulation in some cases. Finally, the authors document that subsidiary firms use tax management, as proxied by book tax differences, to engage in income-increasing earnings manipulation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examines how affiliation with a listed entity as a subsidiary impacts the earnings quality of private companies. Future research could investigate the financial reporting practices of both private subsidiary firms and standalone private firms, comparing them in similar or differing regulatory environments across various countries.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study will help investors, bankers, creditors and regulators to understand the financial reporting of private firms. The study calls for enhanced audit quality at the subsidiary level by making the auditor of the parent firm responsible for auditing a subsidiary, a practice that is currently absent in India.Originality/valueThe results contribute to the existing debate on how firms manage earnings using data of private firms in a large emerging market setting. Previous research has not paid enough attention to the earnings quality of private subsidiaries. The study also emphasizes the necessity for a more robust system of governance and supervision for private firms, particularly in India and generally in other countries.

Blast Exposure, Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, and Postdeployment Quality of Life in U.S. Veterans: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Examine the association between military blast exposure and functional status among veterans with a focus on functional disability as a proxy for quality of life and explore the potential modifying effect of hearing loss on this association. Prospective cohort. Multi-institutional tertiary referral centers. 540 veterans. Self-reported military blast exposure with and without tinnitus; high-frequency hearing loss (yes/no). WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 questionnaires at baseline and annually over 5 years. The odds of membership into three functional disability trajectory groups: low functional disability, moderate functional disability, and high functional disability. Of 540 veterans, 197 (36.5%) self-reported a blast exposure history, and 106 of 197 (53.8%) reported tinnitus as a direct result of the blast. Blast exposure without tinnitus increased the odds of moderate functional disability compared with low functional disability (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-2.51), which strengthened among those with blast with tinnitus (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 2.1-6.1). Blast exposure without tinnitus also increased the odds of membership to high functional disability versus low functional disability (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1-4.8). Hearing loss further increased the odds of reporting functional disability. The probability of low functional disability was approximately 60% if there was no history of blast or hearing loss, dropping to 20% if there was blast, tinnitus, and hearing loss history. Blast exposure negatively affects the quality of life of veterans, especially when compounded with tinnitus and hearing loss.

Enhancing environmental quality and economic growth through potential effects of energy efficiency and renewable energy in Asian economies

This study examines the potential impacts of energy efficiency and renewable energy on economic growth proxies by gross domestic product and environmental quality proxies by carbon dioxide emissions across eight selected Asian countries from 2000 to 2020. This study contributes by calculating green total factor productivity and carbon total factor productivity based on the famous Solow’s residual via employing a modified extensive growth accounting model that internalized ignored factors such as energy efficiency and renewable energy. The employed panel cointegration techniques confirm that all variables are co-integrated with carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth. The pooled mean group/autoregressive distributed lag model analysis results indicate that energy efficiency is positively associated with both environmental quality and economic growth. Renewable energy hurts economic growth but has a positive effect on environmental quality which suggests the necessity of implementing an effective strategy for renewable energy alongside energy efficiency measures to enhance economic growth and environmental quality in the selected Asian countries. The findings from the fully modified ordinary least squares estimator are consistent with the environmental quality model. The average growth rate of green total factor productivity is positive despite negative contributions from energy efficiency and renewable energy. Similarly, the average growth rate of carbon total factor productivity is negative despite positive contributions from labor and capital. This discrepancy may be attributed to the beneficial effects of labor and capital as input productivity-driven. Embracing renewable energy sources can take significant steps toward improving environmental quality for future generations. Focusing on green technologies that enhance energy efficiency can substantially promote environmental quality and stimulate sustainable economic growth through innovation and climate change integration to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

TAX PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY OF GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Government cannot run in isolation, they need revenue to run their operations and one of the sources of this revenue is taxation. Despite government lamentations of a lack of funds for infrastructure development, there is a scarcity of literature in Nigeria on how tax performances may influence the quality of governance. This study examined the impact of tax performance on the quality of governance in Nigeria. Data for the study were taken from the OECD, the World Bank, and the Central Bank of Nigeria's annual reports, and the research design used is ex-post facto. The Hausman test was employed to analyze the data collected after subjecting it to the unit root test. Tax performance is proxy by company income tax, personal income tax, and value-added tax while the corruption perception index was used as a proxy for quality of governance. This study's findings revealed that the quality of governance and personal income tax are positively and significantly related, with a p-value of 0.0000, a t-statistic of 6.320390, and coefficients of 0.200227. This study's findings revealed that quality of governance and company income tax are negatively and significantly related, with a p-value of 0.0000, t-statistic of -9.743164, and coefficients of -0.228796. However, this study's findings revealed that the quality of governance and value-added tax are not related, with a p-value of 0.3252, a t-statistic of -0.984622, and a coefficient of -0.033803. This study concluded that tax performance had a significant impact on governance quality in Nigeria. This study recommends that taxation if appropriately controlled will improve the quality of governance, create jobs in the country, lower inflation, and boost economic growth.

Political connections of independent directors and earnings quality: The case of French firms

This paper examines the impact of political connections of independent board directors on earnings quality. We used two proxies of earnings quality, namely, discretionary accruals and real earnings management. Based on a sample of 1,936 firm-year observations from 2012 to 2022, our results reveal that firms with politically connected independent directors are more likely to display lower earnings quality in higher discretionary accruals and greater real activities manipulation. These results suggest that the monitoring role of independent directors in constraining earnings management practices, as emphasized by the agency theory, may be compromised by political connections.

Auditor mood and audit quality: evidence from music sentiment measure

Purpose Extant studies propose music sentiment as a novel measure of individuals’ sentiment. These studies argue that individuals’ choice of music reflects their emotional condition in real time and influences their cognitive ability, making it a powerful tool for assessing their mood. This study aims to use music sentiment as a proxy for auditors’ mood and explore its impact on audit quality. Design/methodology/approach A sample of the US firms from 2017 to 2020 is used in the study. The authors apply the ordinary least squares regressions and the logit regressions to the audit quality models. The authors use absolute discretionary accruals and the propensity to meet or beat earnings forecasts as proxies for audit quality and calculate a stream-weighted average sentiment measure for Spotify’s Top-200 songs of each day during the audit period of a client firm to capture the sentiment of auditors. Findings The authors find that music sentiment is positively associated with audit quality. The result is consistent with the mood maintenance hypothesis, which suggests that a positive mood can induce auditors to be more careful in risky situations. Furthermore, the result is robust to various sensitivity analyses. Originality/value The study contributes to the scarce literature that focuses on auditors’ emotional state and highlights the importance of monitoring auditor mindset during the audit period.

Resource selection at fine scale: what drives the decision of a generalist herbivore?

Abstract Spatial patterns in topography and forage distribution significantly influence the movements and choices of large herbivores. However, understanding the foraging strategies of free-grazing herbivores at different temporal and spatial scales remains limited, as different behavioral decisions can apply at different hierarchical levels. This study investigates the fine-scale foraging strategies of the Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) in a South African savanna, with a specific focus on their selection of green vegetation at the plant and feeding patch levels. We used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index as a proxy for vegetation productivity and quality. Our findings reveal that zebras adapted their foraging strategies according to scale and season. During the late-dry season and early-wet season, selection for greenness was at both the grass tuft and feeding site levels. In contrast, during the mid-dry season, selection was predominantly at the tuft level, focusing solely on greenness. These insights emphasize the importance of conducting multilevel studies when investigating factors influencing foraging decisions. Findings at 1 hierarchical level may not necessarily apply across other levels of investigation, highlighting the need for a nuanced and comprehensive approach to understanding the complex foraging behaviors of animals.

A study of mediating and moderating effects on the relationship between audit quality and integrated reporting quality among Jordanian firms

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the link between external audit quality and integrated reporting (IR) quality in the Jordanian market, a developing market. Furthermore, the research model considers the mediating effect of earnings management practices and the moderating effect of board gender diversity. As a result, it intends to provide further empirical evidence in this area.Design/methodology/approachThis research investigates its model using data from Jordanian services companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) during the period 2013–2022. With 430 company-year observations, the current research’s sample includes all companies in the research population for which complete data were available during the period under investigation. Data relevant to the research setting were obtained from annual disclosures and the ASE's database.FindingsThe findings of this research show that audit firm size and audit firm specialty have a positive influence on IR quality, but audit firm tenure does not. External audit quality (as proxied by the size, specialty and turnover of the audit firm) had a negative impact on earnings management practices, while earnings management practices had a negative impact on IR quality. Additionally, the findings reveal that earnings management practices completely mediate the relationship between two external audit quality proxies (audit firm size and audit firm specialty) and IR quality. Furthermore, in terms of the moderating impact of board gender diversity, it is obvious that board gender diversity favorably moderates the relationships between all external audit quality proxies and IR quality.Originality/valueUsing agency theory and stakeholder theory, this investigation fills a gap in previous literature by adding scientific explanations and empirical evidence from the Jordanian market, a developing market, in the context of the impact of audit quality on IR quality, mediated by earnings management and moderated by board gender diversity.

Turbidity assessment in coastal regions combining machine learning, numerical modeling, and remote sensing

ABSTRACT Machine learning models for water quality prediction often face challenges due to insufficient data and uneven spatial-temporal distributions. To address these issues, we introduce a framework combining machine learning, numerical modeling, and remote sensing imagery to predict coastal water turbidity, a key water quality proxy. This approach was tested in the Great Lakes region, specifically Cleveland Harbor, Lake Erie. We trained models using observed and synthetic data from 3D numerical models and tested them against in situ and remote sensing data from PlanetLabs' Dove satellites. High-resolution (HR) data improved prediction accuracy, with RMSE values of 0.154 and 0.146 log10(FNU) and R2 values of 0.92 and 0.93 for validation and test datasets, respectively. Our study highlights the importance of unified turbidity measures for data comparability. The machine learning model demonstrated skill in predicting turbidity through transfer learning, indicating applicability in diverse, data-scarce regions. This approach can enhance decision support systems for coastal environments by providing accurate, timely predictions of water quality variables. Our methodology offers robust strategies for turbidity and water quality monitoring and holds significant potential for improving input data quality for numerical models and developing predictive models from remote sensing data.

Genetic and environmental determinants of Immunoglobulin G in kid serum and adult colostrum of dairy goats

Immune competence is a key factor in the health and resilience of dairy ruminants. The aim of this study was to study immunoglobulin G concentration in serum shortly after birth and in colostrum of lactating animals as proxy of passive immune transfer and colostrum quality, respectively, and thus provide new health and resilience indicators for selection. Data from 424 female kids and 203 primiparous goats, reared on an INRAE experimental farm, were analyzed. IgG concentration was measured in kid serum and goat colostrum, respectively, using the radial immunodiffusion technique. Linear models were used to identify factors of variation in serum and colostrum IgG concentration, and health events were monitored for 5 weeks after birth to measure the impact of passive immune transfer on kids' health. We found a significant effect of serum IgG level on hindquarters cleanliness score (as a proxy of digestive troubles) and nasal and ocular discharge. As expected, the absorption of IgG in the days following birth is essential to ensure the passive transfer of immunity from the mother to the youngster, and provide immune protection. Genetic parameters were estimated for serum IgG concentration in kids and for colostrum characteristics in primiparous goats. Heritability of serum IgG in kids was not significantly different from zero. This low value, with large SE, may be due to the limited sample size and large environmental variability likely not accounted for. Especially, we could not adjust for the amount of IgG that was ingested by the kid, which can have a significant effect on serum IgG and possibly on heritability estimates. Heritability of colostrum traits were moderate, with estimates of 0.25 (±0.16), 0.35 (±0.16), and 0.25 (±0.16) for IgG concentration, IgG mass and colostrum volume, respectively. Genetic correlations with milk production showed high standard errors due to small numbers. However, estimates suggest a negative genetic association between production and IgG concentration in colostrum (rg = -0.44 ± 0.33), probably linked to a positive association with total colostrum volume. The significant heritabilities that were estimated for the first time demonstrate the existence of genetic control of colostrum quality in goats, and open up opportunities for selection in this species.

Five problems plaguing publishing in the life sciences-and one common cause.

Although publication in scholarly peer-reviewed journals remains the gold standard for communication of findings in the life sciences, the gold has been debased in the digital age by various impurities, including (a) reviewer fatigue, (b) fraud, paper mills, and the perils of artificial intelligence, (c) predatory journals, (d) the ongoing use of journal impact factor as a proxy for individual article quality, and (e) salami-slicing and other unethical practices. In this article, I present a detailed overview of these problems, as well as solutions proposed and implemented to counter them. Finally, I suggest that these are all symptomatic of a wider problem, namely the culture of 'publish or perish' and ongoing issues with how researcher performance is evaluated for grant, hiring, and promotion decisions. Only by working towards a global shift in the way scientists view the purpose of publication can we finally remove the impurities and refine the gold.

Productive foraging grounds enhance maternal condition and offspring quality in a capital breeding species.

Feeding ecology is an essential component of an organism's life, but foraging comes with risks and energetic costs. Species in which populations exhibit more than one feeding strategy, such as sea turtles, are good systems for investigating how feeding ecology impacts life-history traits, reproduction and carried over effects across generations. Here, we investigated how the feeding ecology of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at the Cabo Verde archipelago correlates with reproductive outputs and offspring quality. We determined the feeding ecology of female turtles before and during the breeding season from stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and correlated isotopic ratio with female and offspring traits. We found that female turtles feeding at higher trophic positions produced larger clutches. We also found that females with higher δ13C values, typical of productive foraging areas, had greater fat reserves, were less likely to be infected by leech parasites and produced heavier offspring. The offspring of infected mothers with higher δ13C values performed best in crawling and self-righting trials than those of non-infected mothers with higher δ13C values. This study shows adult female loggerheads that exploit productive areas build capital reserves that impact their reproductive success and multiple proxies for offspring quality. Overall, our findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between feeding ecology and reproductive success, and reveal the transgenerational carry-over effects of both feeding ecology and health on offspring quality in sea turtles.

The Association between PCAOB Revenue-Deficient Audit Engagements and Revenue Quality

ABSTRACT The Big 4 auditors are inspected annually by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), with the summarized findings (labeled “audit deficiencies”) being publicly available on its website. Although the PCAOB claims that its inspection findings and process are designed to increase audit quality, there is limited empirical evidence to support this claim. We examine whether changes in revenue-deficient audit engagements are associated with subsequent year changes in client revenue quality. A revenue-deficient audit engagement is an inspected engagement that has at least one revenue-related audit deficiency. To infer audit quality, we link year-over-year changes in revenue-deficient audit engagements to the subsequent year’s change in engagement-level revenue quality—a common financial reporting quality proxy. We predict that audit firms will react asymmetrically to changes in revenue-deficient audit engagements: increases will prompt audit quality improving actions, but decreases will not. Our results support our prediction. JEL Classifications: M42.

The Influence of Earnings Quality and Dividend Policy on Company Value

Company value is an important aspect that needs to be considered It highlights the company's performance, which can shape investors' perceptions of the business. The aim of the research is to provide empirical evidence regarding the influence of earnings quality and dividend policy on company value. Company size and leverage are used as control variables in this research. The research uses PBV as a proxy for company value, DACC as a proxy for earnings quality, DPR as a proxy for dividend policy, total assets as a proxy for company size and DER as a proxy for leverage. This research was conducted on companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in 2012-2022. The number of samples taken was 6325 observation samples using the non-probability sampling method, especially using the sampling technique, namely purposive sampling. Data collection was carried out using non-participant observation. The analysis technique used is multiple linear regression analysis technique. The results of this research indicate that earnings quality has no effect on company value and dividend policy has a positive effect on company value.

Diagnosing Sarcopenia with AI-Aided Ultrasound (DINOSAUR)-A Pilot Study.

Background: Sarcopenia has been recognized as a determining factor in surgical outcomes and is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications and readmission. Diagnosis is currently based on clinical guidelines, which includes assessment of skeletal muscle mass but not quality. Ultrasound has been proposed as a useful point-of-care diagnostic tool to assess muscle quality, but no validated cut-offs for sarcopenia have been reported. Using novel automated artificial intelligence (AI) software to interpret ultrasound images may assist in mitigating the operator-dependent nature of the modality. Our study aims to evaluate the fidelity of AI-aided ultrasound as a reliable and reproducible modality to assess muscle quality and diagnose sarcopenia in surgical patients. Methods: Thirty-six adult participants from an outpatient clinic were recruited for this prospective cohort study. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 guidelines. Ultrasonography of the rectus femoris muscle was performed, and images were analyzed by an AI software (MuscleSound® (Version 5.69.0)) to derive muscle parameters including intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) as a proxy of muscle quality. A receiver operative characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive capability of IMAT and its derivatives, with area under the curve (AUC) as a measure of overall diagnostic accuracy. To evaluate consistency between ultrasound users of different experience, intra- and inter-rater reliability of muscle ultrasound parameters was analyzed in a separate cohort using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. Results: The median age was 69.5 years (range: 26-87), and the prevalence of sarcopenia in the cohort was 30.6%. The ROC curve plotted with IMAT index (IMAT% divided by muscle area) yielded an AUC of 0.727 (95% CI: 0.551-0.904). An optimal cut-off point of 4.827%/cm2 for IMAT index was determined with a Youden's Index of 0.498. We also demonstrated that IMAT index has excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.938, CI: 0.905-0.961) and good inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.776, CI: 0.627-0.866). In Bland-Altman plots, the limits of agreement were from -1.489 to 1.566 and -2.107 to 4.562, respectively. Discussion: IMAT index obtained via ultrasound has the potential to act as a point-of-care evaluation for sarcopenia screening and diagnosis, with good intra- and inter-rater reliability. The proposed IMAT index cut-off maximizes sensitivity for case finding, supporting its use as an easily implementable point-of-care test in the community for sarcopenia screening. Further research incorporating other ultrasound parameters of muscle quality may provide the basis for a more robust diagnostic tool to help predict surgical risk and outcomes.