Random Probability Research Articles

Emotional Lability and Perceived Social Support in Association with Psychological Well-Being Among University Students: An Exploratory Analysis

The Current study examined correlation among emotional lability, perceived social support and psychological well-being of university students. Methods: Cross sectional study with quantitative method was used in the current study. Sample comprised of 300 university students from various backgrounds was recruited through random probability sampling technique. For assessment self-developed demographic sheet with standardized scales Affective Lability Scale, Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale 42-Items Version were administered. For analysis both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Results: Results revealed that perceived social support had a positive relationship with psychological well-being(r=0.49**), which means that with increase in social support, psychological well-being begun to improve. Moreover, PSS had negative relationship with emotional lability (r= -0.52**), indicating that emotional instability decreases with the increase of PSS. Furthermore, results of regression analysis explored that PSS is significant predictor of EL and PWB among university students. Mean score test results indicates that EL and PWB are affected by PSS. Hence, a significant relationship exists between perceived social support and PWB and EL. Conclusions: To conclude it is stated that perceived social support presented role as a moderator in predicting the relationship between emotional lability and psychological well-being.

Pengaruh marketing mix terhadap minat memiliki tabungan easy wadiah pada Bank Syariah Indonesia

Indonesia is a country with a majority Muslim population. Where many Indonesian people should manage their finances through Islamic banks. However, in reality, the market share of Islamic banks is still small compared to conventional banks. It is necessary to do research on the interest of the Indonesian people to have Islamic bank products. This study aims to analyze the influence of the marketing mix on the intention to have easy wadiah savings at Bank Syariah Indonesia. This study uses a data processing tool in the form of SPSS. This type of research is quantitative primary data with simple random probability techniques and data collection using a questionnaire of 142 respondents. The research variable uses the 4P marketing mix theory. Based on the test results, it shows that product, price, and promotion variables affect the interest in having easy wadiah savings at BSI. Meanwhile, the location variable does not affect interest in having easy wadiah savings at BSI

National and Sub-National Estimates of Household Coverage of Iodized Salt and Urinary Iodine Status among Women of Reproductive Age in India: Insights from the India Iodine Survey, 2018–19

BackgroundIodine deficiency is a significant public health problem for many populations worldwide, including India, particularly during the “first 1000 days” of life. Though Universal Salt iodization (USI) is mandatory in India, prior to 2018–19, there was no state-wide survey with estimates of iodine concentrations in salt using iodometric titration. Taking cognizance of this fact, Nutrition International commissioned the first-of-its-kind national-level survey in India, titled the India Iodine Survey 2018–19. ObjectivesThe study was conducted across the country to provide national and subnational estimates of iodine concentrations in household salt using iodometric titration and iodine nutrition status among women of reproductive age (15–49 y). MethodsThe survey adopted a multi-stage random cluster probability proportional to size sampling design, covering 21,406 households in all the states and union territories (UTs) of India. ResultsAt the national level, the household coverage of edible salt with adequate iodine (content ≥15 parts/million) was 76.3%. At the sub-national level, the coverage varied, with 10 states and 3 UTs achieving USI and 11 states and 2 UTs falling below the national average, with the highest among all the states and UTs, being Jammu and Kashmir and the lowest being Tamil Nadu. At the national level, the median urinary iodine concentration for pregnant women was 173.4 μg/L, for lactating women was 172.8 μg/L, and for non-pregnant, non-lactating women, it was 178.0 μg/L, which is within the adequate iodine nutrition range according to the WHO guidelines. ConclusionsThe survey results can be widely used by various stakeholders, including government, academia, and industry, to understand the iodine nutrition status of the population, enable the scale-up of sustained efforts toward consolidating gains and achieving USI, leading to the reduction and elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorders.

Influence of Personality on Technology Readiness and Intention to Use Online Vehicle Taxes Payment in Surabaya, Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the relationship between personality and technology readiness and the intention to use online vehicle taxes payment (SIGNAL application) in Surabaya, Indonesia. This study used a quantitative research methodology. The structural equation modeling (SEM) data analysis method was used in this investigation. Simple random sampling methodology and probability sampling to determine the sample. There are 100 respondents served as the sample. There were six hypotheses tested in this study. The findings demonstrated a favorable and substantial relationship between personality traits such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and a chance to experience and technological readiness for motor vehicle tax payment using the SIGNAL application. However, personality neuroticism has a detrimental impact on a person's ability to use technology when paying motor vehicle taxes using the SIGNAL application. Furthermore, technology readiness positively and significantly impacts the intention to use the SIGNAL application to pay motor vehicle taxes.

Assessing Combinations of Landsat, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 Time series for Detecting Bark Beetle Infestations

ABSTRACT Bark beetle infestations are among the most substantial forest disturbance agents worldwide. Moreover, as a consequence of global climate change, they have increased in frequency and in the size and number of affected areas. Controlling bark beetle outbreaks requires consistent operational monitoring, as is possible using satellite data. However, while many satellite-based approaches have been developed, the full potential of dense, multi-sensor time series has yet to be fully explored. Here, for the first time, we used all available multispectral data from Landsat and Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1 SAR data, and combinations thereof to detect bark beetle infestations in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Based on a multi-year reference dataset of annual infested areas, we assessed the separability between healthy and infested forests for various vegetation indices calculated from the satellite data. We used two approaches to compute infestation probability time series from the different datasets: Bayesian conditional probabilities, based on the best-separating index from each satellite type, and random forest regression, based on all indices from each satellite type. Five different sensor configurations were tested for their detection capabilities: Landsat alone, Sentinel-1 alone, Sentinel-2 alone, Landsat and Sentinel-2 combined, and data from all satellite types combined. The best overall results in terms of spatial accuracy were achieved with Sentinel-2 (max. overall accuracy: 0.93). The detections of Sentinel-2 also were the closest to the onset of infestation estimated for each year. Sentinel-2 detected infested areas in larger contiguous patches with higher reliability compared to smaller patches. The results achieved with Landsat were somewhat inferior to those of Sentinel-2 (max. accuracy: 0.89). While yielding similar results, the combination of Landsat and Sentinel-2 did not provide any advantages over using Landsat or Sentinel-2 alone (max. accuracy: 0.87), while Sentinel-1 was unable to detect infested areas (max. accuracy: 0.62). The combined data of all three satellite types did not achieve satisfactory results either (max. accuracy: 0.67). Spatial accuracies were typically higher for Bayesian conditional probabilities than for random forest-derived probabilities, but the latter resulted in earlier detections. The approach presented herein provides a flexible disturbance detection pipeline well-suited for the monitoring of bark beetle outbreaks. Furthermore, it can also be applied to other disturbance types.

Exploration versus exploitation: A laboratory test of the single‐agent exponential bandit model

AbstractThis paper analyzes how individuals resolve an exploration versus exploitation trade‐off in a laboratory experiment. The experiment implements the single‐agent exponential bandit model. We analyze how subjects respond to changes in the prior belief, safe action, and discount factor. We find that subjects respond in the predicted direction to these changes. However, we find that subjects under‐respond to the prior belief, under‐respond to the safe action, and typically explore less than predicted. Our results suggest that neither risk aversion nor the random termination probability are driving under‐experimentation. Our results are consistent with subjects having incorrect beliefs about exploration.

ANALISIS KELAYAKAN APP-INVENTOR SEBAGAI BAHAN AJAR MATAKULIAH MOBILE PROGRAMMING MENGGUNAKAN METODE SYSTEM USABILITY SCALE

Media in the learning process is a tool or intermediary in the delivery of learning material that can provide more knowledge and experience to students. The advantage of App Inventor lies in the ease of programming, where users do not need to have basic programming knowledge, understand code, or have experience in IT, but the most important thing in making applications using App Inventor is how programmers use logic like when someone puts together a puzzle. . In this research, a feasibility study and analysis was carried out using the System Usability Scale (SUS) method so that it could improve the quality of learning and the novelty of teaching materials in the Makassar Professional STMIK environment. The sampling technique used in this research is random sampling or probability sampling. Based on the results of the recapitulation of the respondents' assessment, the average usability of the system was 72.83, then the grade of the assessment was determined. It was concluded that the results of the Recap of Usability Values showed that all attributes had a usability acceptance value by the user, the average value was above 68.00, namely 72.83. For Android users to be able to use APP-Inventor properly so that it is useful to support special learning activities in the Mobile Programming course.

Population analysis of complete mitogenomes for 334 samples from El Salvador

The use of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the field of forensic genetics is widely spread mainly due to its advantages when identifying highly degraded samples. In this sense, massive parallel sequencing has made the analysis of the whole mitogenome more accessible, noticeably increasing the informativeness of mtDNA haplotypes. The civil war (1980–1992) in El Salvador caused many deaths and disappearances (including children) all across the country and the economic and social instability after the war forced many people to emigration. For this reason, different organizations have collected DNA samples from relatives with the aim of identifying missing people. Thus, we present a dataset containing 334 complete mitogenomes from the Salvadoran general population. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publication of a nationwide forensic-quality complete mitogenome database of any Latin American country. We found 293 different haplotypes, with a random match probability of 0.0041 and 26.6 mean pairwise differences, which is similar to other Latin American populations, and which represent a marked improvement from the values obtained with just control region sequences. These haplotypes belong to 54 different haplogroups, being 91% of them of Native American origin. Over a third (35.9%) of the individuals carried at least a heteroplasmic site (excluding length heteroplasmies). Ultimately, the present database aims to represent mtDNA haplotype diversity in the general Salvadoran populations as a basis for the identification of people that disappeared during or after the civil war.

Weak and Strong Confinement in the Freud Random Matrix Ensemble and Gap Probabilities

Weak and Strong Confinement in the Freud Random Matrix Ensemble and Gap Probabilities

Laboratory and field validation of a new Coriolis metering concept for better measurement uncertainty, reliability and process insight

Coriolis mass flowmeters are widely accepted in various industries for their high performance measurement of density and mass flow rate. Not only do they play a critical role in O&G custody transfer applications, they are also increasingly important in addressing the new challenges and applications related to the energy transition where the highest accuracy and reliability is also required. Analogous to multi-beam Ultrasonic flowmeters, a new measuring concept based on the Coriolis principle has been developed with a metering system consisting of two individual Coriolis meters arranged in parallel to measure the incoming flow into the overall system. There are numerous advantages of this arrangement, among which reducing measurement uncertainty, increasing reliability and gaining greater process insights are the most significant addressed in this paper. Statistic theory suggests that for a total measurement equally divided by two sub-measurements of two independent measuring devices, the measurement uncertainty caused by random errors is reduced by a factor of the square root of 2 for the combined total measurement if the two sub-measurements are not correlated. This advantage applies to the zero-point and repeatability performance of the metering system. Taking advantage of independently measuring the same or similar fluid parameters twice, the measurement reliability is enhanced by cross-checking the two sets of measured parameters. For certain special cases, such as the transient disturbance caused by entrained gas that often exists under real process conditions, the corresponding negative impact can even be mitigated or eliminated by utilizing the undisturbed measured parameter set from the two. The spacial arrangement of the two Coriolis meters makes it useful to monitor the measured fluid parameters such as two sets of density, flow and temperature values to obtain additional knowledge of the spacial distribution of these fluid parameters, which can provide greater process insights.A critical step has been the validation of the theoretical advantages in third-party laboratories and in the field. A test was done for the zero-point stability of the metering system under various temperatures, pressures and viscosities at NEL using the EPAT facility. The measurement results suggested that the zero-point deviations of the two Coriolis meters followed a random probability and tended to cancel each other to certain degree, leading to a reduced zero-point deviation for the complete metering system. Repeatability and reproducibility tests conducted both at NEL EPAT and at Euroloop oil rigs with provers, showed good and consistent results. Recognizing most hydrocarbon markets trade on a volumetric basis rather than mass, the advantages the design brings towards density measurement are discussed and measurement data is presented across varying fluid densities and viscosities. In step with the growing importance of gaseous fluids associated with the evolving energy markets, the influence the novel design has on performance in gas applications is described and measurement data in gases is also presented. Furthermore, an interesting phenomenon has been captured during the flow stabilization phase before proving at Euroloop that transient disturbance of gas bubbles could be present, and very often disturbed only one of the two measuring systems at the same time, which enables the possibility to remediate the effect of transient disturbances. The same phenomenon was observed in field tests of this novel metering system, indicating the high probability of the occurrence. In this paper, the laboratories data from the NEL EPAT rig, Euroloop rig, pigsar rig, and H&D Fitzgerald as well as the data from field applications are presented and analysed to validate the theoretical analysis.

Mini-Batch Risk Forms

Risk forms are real functionals of two arguments: a bounded measurable function on a Polish space and a probability measure on that space. They are convenient mathematical structures adapting the coherent risk measures to the situation of a variable reference probability measure. We introduce a new class of risk forms called mini-batch forms. We construct them by using a random empirical probability measure as the second argument and by post-composition with the expected value operator. We prove that coherent and law invariant risk forms generate mini-batch risk forms which are well defined on the space of integrable random variables, and we derive their dual representation. We demonstrate how unbiased stochastic subgradients of such risk forms can be constructed. Then, we consider pre-compositions of mini-batch risk forms with nonsmooth and nonconvex functions, which are differentiable in a generalized way, and we derive generalized subgradients and unbiased stochastic subgradients of such compositions. Finally, we study the dependence of risk forms and mini-batch risk forms on perturbation of the probability measure and establish quantitative stability in terms of optimal transport metrics. We obtain finite-sample expected error estimates for mini-batch risk forms involving functions on a finite-dimensional space.

Saudis Perceived Severity of Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Preventive Measures

While the world is struggling with a Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, one country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been tackling a different strain of the Coronavirus, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), since 2012. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has been working to ensure the safety and health of Saudi residents, particularly during the annual pilgrimage season. This study examined information-seeking behaviours among Saudi people regarding MERS-CoV and the level of adherence to health preventive measures during the Hajj season. The study used the Health Belief Model (HBM) to assess perceived severity among Saudis. The study aimed to measure Saudi’s levels of fear from being infected with MERS-CoV. Snowball sampling and simple random probability sampling methods were utilized. A total of 1,206 participated in the study. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-Square test of independence, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient tests were conducted. The study found that the MOH needed to be more effective in sharing MERS-CoV information and that most Saudis had high perceived severity of MERS-CoV but did not fear contracting MERS-CoV, nor did it impact decisions to attend Hajj. Further results found that respondents with high perceived severity of contracting MERS-CoV were less likely to seek Coronavirus information than those with lower scores.

Barriers to cervical cancer screening in a developing Middle Eastern country: A nationwide survey.

10545 Background: In addition to being ranked as the 4th leading malignancy worldwide, cervical cancer is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality resulting in significant burden. However, cervical cancer screening is available and has been proven to significantly minimize the associated morbidity and mortality through early detection. The identification of the barriers towards cervical cancer screening in Jordan, a developing middle eastern country, is of outstanding significance towards effective intervention and minimizing the collective health and socioeconomic burden imposed. Methods: The first consecutive 695 females aged 25 years and above with no prior history of cervical cancer and residing in Jordan across the different regions were enrolled via random probability sampling through a self-reporting survey that comprises of extensive questions regarding the participant’s demographics, medical history, awareness about cervical cancer and its screening methods. Single females were not included in the study due to culture unacceptability of performing pap smears on unmarried females. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the key barriers towards cervical cancer screening in Jordan. Results: The mean age of the enrolled participants was 42 ± 9 years with the majority of the participants having a higher level of education (84.5%), are medically insured (72.4%), and are non-smokers (74.7%). The majority of the participants, 77.7%, did not report a family history of cervical cancer. 472 participants (67.9%) were aware of the availability of a screening modality for cervical cancer, with the majority being informed through awareness campaigns (64.7%). Nonetheless, only 30.1% of the participants previously underwent pap smear for screening purposes. When the participants who did not undergo previous cervical cancer screening were compared with those who did, the participants who did not undergo any prior screening were more likely to identify the lack of information and knowledge towards screening (49.0% vs 9.6%) (p-value < 0.001), fear of the results (81.5% vs 7.2%) (p-value = 0.016), lack of belief in screening and its efficacy (2.1% vs 0.0%) (p-value = 0.037) as crucial and leading barriers. Additionally, the presence of a positive family history for cervical cancer was identified as a statistically significant promoter for screening uptake (p-value = 0.004). Nonetheless, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups when evaluating the financial aspects of screening or embarrassment from the test as potential barriers, p-value = 0.159 and 0.738, respectively. Conclusions: Lack of knowledge towards screening and belief in its efficacy, and fear of the results were identified as driving barriers towards screening. Effective formulation of comprehensive awareness campaigns is pivotal towards successful intervention to the reported barriers.

Factors associated with the gender gap in the STEM sector: Comparison of theoretical and empirical concept maps and qualitative SWOT analysis

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees represent a future employment scenario with low unemployment rates due to the high demand for qualified personnel. However, the STEM sector also represents an educational field marked by horizontal segregation and the gender gap. Different factors play a role in deciding which higher education studies to pursue. From a theoretical and empirical approach, this study aims to identify which factors are associated with the gender gap in the STEM higher education sector. Furthermore, as a research question, it is proposed: are the factors identified at a theoretical and empirical level associated with the gender gap in the STEM higher education sector the same? The empirically validated questionnaire “Questionnaire with university students on STEM studies in Higher Education” (QSTEMHE) was applied to the student community of public and private universities in Spain in 2021, using simple random probability sampling to answer the research question and objective. A final sample of 2101 participants of different genders belonging to different branches of knowledge was obtained. The data analysis was carried out using qualitative methodology and the phenomenological method, following different stages. Firstly, a theoretical conceptual map of the main factors identified in the literature and their authors was composed. Secondly, an empirical conceptual map has been designed with the factors identified in the narratives of the study participants. Finally, these maps were complemented with a SWOT analysis based on the participants' discourses. As a result, it has been observed that there are extrinsic and intrinsic factors and that social constructs and gender stereotypes strongly influence the perception of men, women, and professions and the masculinisation and feminisation of these. Outreach interventions should be proposed from the institutional educational spheres to alleviate existing biases about studies and professions.

On temporal scale-free non-periodic stimulation and its mechanisms as an infinite improbability drive of the brain's functional connectogram.

Rationalized development of electrical stimulation (ES) therapy is of paramount importance. Not only it will foster new techniques and technologies with increased levels of safety, efficacy, and efficiency, but it will also facilitate the translation from basic research to clinical practice. For such endeavor, design of new technologies must dialogue with state-of-the-art neuroscientific knowledge. By its turn, neuroscience is transitioning-a movement started a couple of decades earlier-into adopting a new conceptual framework for brain architecture, in which time and thus temporal patterns plays a central role in the neuronal representation of sampled data from the world. This article discusses how neuroscience has evolved to understand the importance of brain rhythms in the overall functional architecture of the nervous system and, consequently, that neuromodulation research should embrace this new conceptual framework. Based on such support, we revisit the literature on standard (fixed-frequency pulsatile stimuli) and mostly non-standard patterns of ES to put forward our own rationale on how temporally complex stimulation schemes may impact neuromodulation strategies. We then proceed to present a low frequency, on average (thus low energy), scale-free temporally randomized ES pattern for the treatment of experimental epilepsy, devised by our group and termed NPS (Non-periodic Stimulation). The approach has been shown to have robust anticonvulsant effects in different animal models of acute and chronic seizures (displaying dysfunctional hyperexcitable tissue), while also preserving neural function. In our understanding, accumulated mechanistic evidence suggests such a beneficial mechanism of action may be due to the natural-like characteristic of a scale-free temporal pattern that may robustly compete with aberrant epileptiform activity for the recruitment of neural circuits. Delivering temporally patterned or random stimuli within specific phases of the underlying oscillations (i.e., those involved in the communication within and across brain regions) could both potentiate and disrupt the formation of neuronal assemblies with random probability. The usage of infinite improbability drive here is obviously a reference to the "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" comedy science fiction classic, written by Douglas Adams. The parallel is that dynamically driving brain functional connectogram, through neuromodulation, in a manner that would not favor any specific neuronal assembly and/or circuit, could re-stabilize a system that is transitioning to fall under the control of a single attractor. We conclude by discussing future avenues of investigation and their potentially disruptive impact on neurotechnology, with a particular interest in NPS implications in neural plasticity, motor rehabilitation, and its potential for clinical translation.

Estimated Rates of Incident and Persistent Chronic Pain Among US Adults, 2019-2020

Chronic pain risk and prognosis estimates are needed to inform effective interventions. To estimate rates of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain (HICP) incidence and persistence in US adults across demographic groups. This cohort study examined a nationally representative cohort with 1 year of follow-up (mean [SD], 1.3 [0.3] years). Data from the 2019-2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Longitudinal Cohort were used to assess the incidence rates of chronic pain across demographic groups. The cohort was created using random cluster probability sampling of noninstitutionalized civilian US adults 18 years or older in 2019. Of 21 161 baseline participants in the 2019 NHIS who were randomly chosen for follow-up, 1746 were excluded due to proxy response(s) or lack of contact information, and 334 were deceased or institutionalized. Of the 19 081 remaining, the final analytic sample of 10 415 adults also participated in the 2020 NHIS. Data were analyzed from January 2022 to March 2023. Self-reported baseline sex, race, ethnicity, age, and college attainment. Primary outcomes were the incidence rates of chronic pain and HICP, and secondary outcomes were the demographic characteristics and rates across demographic groups. A validated measure of pain status ("In the past 3 months, how often did you have pain? Would you say never, some days, most days, or every day?") yielded 3 discrete categories each year: pain free, nonchronic pain, or chronic pain (pain "most days" or "every day"). Chronic pain present in both survey years was considered persistent; HICP was defined as chronic pain that limited life or work activities on most days or every day. Rates were reported per 1000 person-years (PY) of follow-up, and age standardized based on the 2010 US adult population. Among 10 415 participants included in the analytic sample, 51.7% (95% CI, 50.3%-53.1%) were female, 54.0% (95% CI, 52.4%-55.5%) were aged 18 to 49 years, 72.6% (95% CI, 70.7%-74.6%) were White, 84.5% (95% CI, 81.6%-85.3%) were non-Hispanic or non-Latino, and 70.5% (95% CI, 69.1%-71.9%) were not college graduates. Among pain-free adults in 2019, incidence rates of chronic pain and HICP in 2020 were 52.4 (95% CI, 44.9-59.9) and 12.0 (95% CI, 8.2-15.8) cases per 1000 PY, respectively. The rates of persistent chronic pain and persistent HICP in 2020 were 462.0 (95% CI, 439.7-484.3) and 361.2 (95% CI, 265.6-456.8) cases per 1000 PY, respectively. In this cohort study, the incidence of chronic pain was high compared with other chronic diseases. These results emphasize the high disease burden of chronic pain in the US adult population and the need for early management of pain before it becomes chronic.

Adaptive archive-based multifactorial evolutionary algorithm for constrained multitasking optimization

Evolutionary multitasking has attracted much attention in the field of evolutionary computing. Most of the existing multitasking evolutionary algorithms aim at solving unconstrained multitasking optimization problems. The study on constrained multitasking optimization problems is scarce. However, in practical applications, lots of optimization problems contain constraints. In this paper, an adaptive archive-based multifactorial evolutionary algorithm is proposed to solve constrained multitasking optimization problems. First, an archiving strategy is proposed to store infeasible solutions with better objective function values. With this strategy, useful information on infeasible solutions can be exploited to accelerate the convergence rate. Second, the random mating probability is adjusted through an adaptive strategy to facilitate positive knowledge transfer. Finally, a new mutation strategy is proposed to promote convergence by mutating some random individuals and replacing the individuals with the largest constraint violation. By comparing existing constrained multitasking evolutionary algorithms and some constrained single-task evolutionary algorithms, the results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in solving constrained multitasking optimization problems.

Classifying handwriting samples according to their type using discriminant analysis

Classifying handwriting samples according to their type (i.e. natural, disguised, traced, simulated or unintentionally unnatural) is an important task in handwriting analysis. It may facilitate the collection of writing standards and also help experts to assess the differences between questioned material and comparative samples or to choose the best writing features and the most relevant examination protocol for the case. Current research aimed to create a method for classifying the type of a handwriting sample using discriminant analysis. Five basic types (i.e. natural, disguised, traced, simulated and unintentionally unnatural) and some subtypes were included in this study. Participants (N = 139) wrote their full signatures, fictional signatures or a short sentence. Motor and dimensional features were assessed. The methods proved to be more than twice as accurate in classifying samples according to their type than a random choice probability (e.g. 44% as opposed to 17% for the 6-types classifier). This proof-of-a-concept study demonstrates that handwriting samples may be classified according to their type with satisfying accuracy based on their writing features and statistical tools of discriminant analysis. However, further studies are necessary to improve the accuracy of the method.

Políticas públicas como factor protector del consumo de alcohol en universitarios mexicanos

IntroductionIn environments where public policies regulating alcohol consumption are stricter, alcohol consumption decreases, by virtue of reduced availability, marketing, and price regulation of alcoholic beverages. ObjectiveTo determine the relationship and effect of the perception of policies to reduce alcohol-related problems with alcohol consumption and the four prevalence of alcohol consumption in young Mexican university students. MethodologyA descriptive, correlational and predictive study with a sample of 367 students from a public university in the state of Tabasco, Mexico, selected by stratified random probability sampling. A Personal Data and Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption Questionnaire, the Scale of Support for Public Policies to Reduce Problems Associated with Alcohol and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) were used. The study adhered to the provisions of the Regulations of the General Health Law on Research. ResultsThe general index of perception of public policies was negatively and significantly related (rs=−.34, P<.001) with alcohol consumption and with the three types of consumption, low risk, dependent and harmful. Perception of harm reduction public policy (B=−.356, P<.001) was identified as a predictor of alcohol consumption in college youth. The general index of perception of public policies has a protective effect on current and instantaneous prevalence (OR=.98), likewise the pricing policy has a protective effect on the four prevalence of alcohol consumption. ConclusionThe general perception of public policy, as well as the perception of harm reduction policies are predictor of alcohol consumption in young university students, therefore, these should be clear and widely known by this population, to facilitate compliance and have the expected effect.

Kernel based Dirichlet sequences

Let X=(X1,X2,…) be a sequence of random variables with values in a standard space (S,B). Suppose X1∼νandP(Xn+1∈⋅∣X1,…,Xn)=θν(⋅)+ ∑i=1nK(Xi)(⋅) n+θa.s. where θ>0 is a constant, ν a probability measure on B, and K a random probability measure on B. Then, X is exchangeable whenever K is a regular conditional distribution for ν given any sub-σ-field of B. Under this assumption, X enjoys all the main properties of classical Dirichlet sequences, including Sethuraman’s representation, conjugacy property, and convergence in total variation of predictive distributions. If μ is the weak limit of the empirical measures, conditions for μ to be a.s. discrete, or a.s. non-atomic, or μ≪ν a.s., are provided. Two CLT’s are proved as well. The first deals with stable convergence while the second concerns total variation distance.