Summation Index Research Articles

Does employment before marriage exert autonomy after marriage? Evidence on female autonomy from India

This paper examines the determinants of female autonomy using data from India. We model female autonomy for movement as well as economic decision-making using a summative index approach. Our contributions to the literature include a careful examination of the regional differences, tests of economic and sociological hypotheses on female autonomy and the use of pre-marriage autonomy measures in terms of employment status to determine post-marriage autonomy. Our results suggest that economic, sociological and pre-marriage autonomy factors explain female autonomy. Regional differences regarding the economic, sociological and pre-marriage autonomy factors play a role in determining female autonomy.

A New Class of Functions Suggested by the Generalized Basic Hypergeometric Function

We introduce an extended generalized basic hypergeometric function rΦs+p in which p tends to infinity together with the summation index. We define the difference operators and obtain infinite order difference equation, for which these new special functions are eigen functions. We derive some properties, as the order zero of this function, differential equation involving a particular hyper-Bessel type operators of infinite order, and contiguous function relations. A transformation formula and an l-analogue of the q-Maclaurin's series are also obtained.

An integrated method for waterway health assessment: a case in the Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River, China

More and more importance has been placed on inland navigation due to the low costs, environmental friendliness, low use of energy per ton kilometer, and high degree of safety of this mode of transportation. A river typically serves multiple functions or provides multiple services in addition to inland navigation. River health assessment for waterways requires that the navigation function be developed in harmony with the other river functions. In the case of the Jingjiang waterway in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, river functions or services were analyzed, and an integrated method for waterway health assessment was proposed. Using this method, a hierarchical assessment indicator system was constructed, the weights for those indicators contributing to their parent indicators were obtained via the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and the Waterway Health Index (WHIc), a multimetric index reflecting the effect of the cask short board, was proposed alongside the commonly used linearly weighted summation index (WHI). Waterway health changes in the Jingjiang Reach were assessed in the context of a waterway regulation project. The results highlight potential mutual improvement between the ecosystem health and navigation functions using certain waterway regulation approaches.

Physiological properties of platelet aggregation in Ayrshire cattle during the first year of life

Surveys were performed with 248 healthy Ayrshire calves, including 74 newborn calves, 65 milkfed calves, and 42 vegetarian-fed calves. During the first year of life, the summation index of platelet aggregations induced by ADP, ristomicine, and collagen gradually increased, reaching 22.40 ± 2.16%, 8.23 ± 0.27%, and 8.14 ± 0.81%, respectively. The most stable aggregations were the aggregations induced by ristomicine. The index of platelet disaggregation induced by ristomicine reached the minimum values (2.21 ± 0.09) at the age of 12 months. The aggregations induced by ADP and collagen were less stable. The indices of platelet disaggregation induced by collagen and ADP tended to increase up to 2.70 ± 0.24% and 12.22 ± 0.76%, respectively. The low level of the platelet hemostatic activity, which is typical for the Ayrshire cattle during the first year of life, ensures both the adaptation of the hemostasis processes to the environmental conditions and the optimal capillary perfusion in the growing and maturing organs.

Electromagnetic scattering of a polarized plane wave from an ellipsoidal particle in the near field

Within the validity of the first-order Born approximation, we study the near-zone evanescent wave properties for a polarized plane wave scattering upon an ellipsoidal particle. Integral expressions are obtained for the three-dimensional electromagnetic field of the near-zone scattered evanescent wave, and the dependences of the scattered intensity distributions on the degree of polarization of the incident wave and the scattering potential profile of the particle are presented. The scattered intensity from the particle can exhibit a focused pattern concentrated around the central scattering region, but the scattered intensity generated from a circularly polarized wave shows a smooth distribution for different scattering angles. Moreover, the scattered intensity also enhances when either the summation index or the effective radius of the particle increases. Our results can be utilized to generate near-field focused scattered patterns that can be tuned flexibly by controlling the degree of the polarization of the plane wave and the scattering potential parameters of the ellipsoidal particle.

Scattering Properties of Near-Field Evanescent Wave From Medium With Ellipsoidal and Cylindrical Distributions

The evolution properties of the near-field evanescent wave scattered from two particles with the ellipsoidal and cylindrical scattering potentials are studied, respectively. Within the accuracy of the first-order Born approximation, the integrations are derived for the scattered fields from these two kinds of particles. It is found that the resultant scattered intensities are closely related to the scattering potential types. Compared with the ellipsoidal particle, the cylindrical one gives rise to less fluctuations of the scattered intensities. It also is shown that the scattered intensity strongly depends on the z-component of the effective radii and summation indices of both particles. Results indicate that the scattered intensity distribution can be tuned by controlling the Effective Radius of Scattering potentials (ERSPs) and summation indices of the medium. The obtained results are useful for determining the structural parameters of tiny particles and molecules by converting the scattering formulas.

Personalized life expectancy and treatment benefit index of antiretroviral therapy

BackgroundThe progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) within host includes typical stages and the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is shown to be effective in slowing down this progression. There are great challenges in describing the entire HIV disease progression and evaluating comprehensive effects of ART on life expectancy for HIV infected individuals on ART.MethodsWe develop a novel summative treatment benefit index (TBI), based on an HIV viral dynamics model and linking the infection and viral production rates to the Weibull function. This index summarizes the integrated effect of ART on the life expectancy (LE) of a patient, and more importantly, can be reconstructed from the individual clinic data.ResultsThe proposed model, faithfully mimicking the entire HIV disease progression, enables us to predict life expectancy and trace back the timing of infection. We fit the model to the longitudinal data in a cohort study in China to reconstruct the treatment benefit index, and we describe the dependence of individual life expectancy on key ART treatment specifics including the timing of ART initiation, timing of emergence of drug resistant virus variants and ART adherence.ConclusionsWe show that combining model predictions with monitored CD4 counts and viral loads can provide critical information about the disease progression, to assist the design of ART regimen for maximizing the treatment benefits.

Older Adults, Frailty, and the Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health

<abstract> <p><bold>Objective:</bold> To examine the associations between social and behavioral determinants of health (SBDH) and frailty among older adults using an existing Omaha System dataset collected in the community.</p> <p><bold>Design:</bold> Secondary exploratory data analysis.</p> <p><bold>Setting:</bold> An existing dataset of home health records from a Midwestern region, including Omaha System problems, interventions, and Knowledge (K), Behavior (B), and Status (S) outcomes.</p> <p><bold>Participants:</bold> Older adults (n = 1,618) that were 63.7% female with an average age of 80.1 years (SD = 7.6).</p> <p><bold>Methods:</bold> This exploratory data analysis study reused an existing Omaha System dataset to reveal hidden patterns in health outcomes of frail vs. non-frail older adults relative to SBDH. Two separate metrics were used to classify SBDH and frailty. An existing summative SBDH index was derived from measures recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). A new frailty index was created based on Omaha System terms mapped to frailty criteria established by Fried and colleagues. Heat maps and line graphs were developed using Microsoft Excel and R. Patterns were discovered and related hypotheses were evaluated using paired samples t-tests and two-way ANOVA tests in R.</p> <p><bold>Results:</bold> Records (n = 1,618) were divided into SBDH Group 0 with no SBDH Problems (n = 1,397) and SBDH Group 1 with one or more SBDH Problems (n = 221). Overall, there was significant improvement in KBS after home care interventions. SBDH, Frailty, and interactions between SBDH and Frailty were significantly associated with differences in KBS outcomes. Visualizations showed numerous potential patterns for further research.</p> <p><bold>Discussion:</bold> SBDH Group 1 was largely defined by having the Mental health problem. Being in SBDH Group 1 was negatively associated with KBS outcomes. This aligns with the literature on the impact of mental health on overall health and wellbeing. As frailty scores increased, KBS outcomes decreased, demonstrating a possible continuum of increasing frailty as related co-morbidities accrued. This is a new perspective on frailty that should be further investigated. SBDH group, Frailty, and SBDH-Frailty interaction were all important for understanding outcomes for final K, final S, and difference in K, B, and S. For final B, SBDH group and Frailty were important. Because interaction between SBDH and Frailty was observed for most problems and outcomes, researchers who study Frailty should account for SBDH, especially mental health. SBDH problems were infrequent in the data. This has implications for our ability to understand SBDH in home care. Future research should incorporate data that include SBDH problem assessments.</p> <p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> This exploratory data analysis study identified relationships between SBDH and frailty for older adults along a continuum of frailty using the Omaha System. Further research is needed to validate the findings and to evaluate the metrics with other datasets and populations.</p> </abstract>

Social Determinants and Health Disparities Associated With Outcomes of Women of Childbearing Age Who Receive Public Health Nurse Home Visiting Services

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between social and behavioral determinants of health (SBDH), health disparities, and the outcomes of women who received public health nurse home visits for pregnancy and parenting support. DesignObservational exploratory data analysis and comparative outcome evaluation. SettingAn extant dataset from women served in a Midwestern U.S. state, including demographics and Omaha System problems, signs/symptoms, interventions, and outcome assessments. ParticipantsWomen (N = 4,263) with an average age of 23.6 years (SD = 6.1); 21.4% were married, and 39.1% were White. MethodsAn evaluation dataset was constructed that included all women of childbearing age, their demographics, and outcome assessments. A summative SBDH Index based on Institute of Medicine-recommended instruments was computed based on sign/symptom data. Visualizations were developed using Microsoft Excel, and outcome significance statistics were computed using SPSS version 22 and SAS version 9.4. ResultsOutcome evaluation showed positive, significant changes from baseline after public health nurse intervention. Visualization showed variable concentrations of problem-specific signs/symptoms by SBDH Index subgroups. There were between-group differences in overall outcome attainment across SBDH Index subgroups. Compared with White women, minority women had greater improvement; however, despite these gains overall minority final ratings were lower. ConclusionAn informatics approach showed that SBDH are important factors for understanding a comprehensive and holistic view of health and health care outcomes. There is potential to use large datasets to further explore intervention effectiveness and progress toward health equity related to SBDH.

Reliability of Pain Measurements Using Computerized Cuff Algometry: A DoloCuff Reliability and Agreement Study

Computerized pneumatic cuff pressure algometry (CPA) using the DoloCuff is a new method for pain assessment. Intra- and inter-rater reliabilities have not yet been established. Our aim was to examine the inter- and intrarater reliabilities of DoloCuff measures in healthy subjects. Twenty healthy subjects (ages 20 to 29 years) were assessed three times at 24-hour intervals by two trained raters. Inter-rater reliability was established based on the first and second assessments, whereas intrarater reliability was based on the second and third assessments. Subjects were randomized 1:1 to first assessment at either rater 1 or rater 2. The variables of interest were pressure pain threshold (PT), pressure pain tolerance (PTol), and temporal summation index (TSI). Reliability was estimated by a two-way mixed intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) absolute agreement analysis. Reliability was considered excellent if ICC > 0.75, fair to good if 0.4 < ICC < 0.75, and poor if ICC < 0.4. Bias and random errors between raters and assessments were evaluated using 95% confidence interval (CI) and Bland-Altman plots. Inter-rater reliability for PT, PTol, and TSI was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.69 to 0.95), 0.86 (95% CI: 0.65 to 0.95), and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.42 to 0.94), respectively. The intrarater reliability for PT, PTol, and TSI was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.53 to 0.92), 0.89 (95% CI: 0.74 to 0.96), and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.28 to 0.91), respectively. Inter-rater reliability was excellent for PT, PTol, and TSI. Similarly, the intrarater reliability for PT and PTol was excellent, while borderline excellent/good for TSI. Therefore, the DoloCuff can be used to obtain reliable measures of pressure pain parameters in healthy subjects.

Seleção simultânea em progênies de sorgo-sacarino por meio de índices de seleção

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar ganhos genéticos obtidos por diferentes índices de seleção aplicados a múltiplos caracteres agronômicos de sorgo-sacarino (Sorghum bicolor). Foram feitas avaliações de 189 progênies F5 e sete testemunhas, em delineamento de blocos incompletos, com três repetições. Mensuraram-se os caracteres produtividade de matéria verde, teor de sólidos solúveis totais, extração de caldo, teor de sacarose no caldo e sólidos solúveis totais por hectare. Analisaram-se os índices de soma de postos de Mulamba e Mock (ou índice de ranks), da soma dos valores padronizados (ou índice Z), índice padronizado pela média e índice padronizado pela média modificado. As correlações e as percentagens de coincidência na seleção das progênies foram elevadas entre o índice Z, o índice padronizado pela média e o índice padronizado pela média modificado. Entre os índices de seleção testados, o de soma de postos de Mulamba e Mock foi o menos eficiente. A seleção simultânea de progênies de sorgo-sacarino permite ganhos genéticos expressivos para todos os caracteres mensurados.

Probabilistic evolution theory for the solution of explicit autonomous ordinary differential equations: squarified telescope matrices

Probabilistic evolution theory (PREVTH) is used for the solution of initial value problems of first order explicit autonomous ordinary differential equation sets with second degree multinomial right hand side functions. It is an approximation method based on Kronecker power series: a rewriting of multivariate Taylor series using matrices having certain flexible parameters. Kronecker power series have matrices which are called telescope matrices: \(n \times n^{j+1}\) matrices where j is the index of summation. The additive terms of each telescope matrix is formed through Kronecker product from both sides by Kronecker powers of identity matrices. Recently, squarification is proposed in order to avoid the growing of the matrices in size at each additive term of the series. This paper explains the squarification procedure: the procedure used in order to avoid Kronecker multiplications within PREVTH so that the sizes of the matrices do not grow and so that the amount of necessary computation is reduced. The recursion between squarified matrices is also given. As a numerical application, the solution of a Henon–Heiles system is provided.

Public Opinion and Framing Effects of Argentine Foreign Policy Toward Brazil: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Urban Centers in Argentina

Studies about the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy are rare in Latin America as civic participation in these issues is a recent phenomenon. The following research explores the general perception of Argentine citizens about the orientation of foreign policy towards Brazil. Also, it explores the effects of information and its influence on citizens. In particular, it studies the psychotropic and socio-tropic attitudes of Argentinians about foreign policy toward Brazil. Based on a survey experiment, the research evaluates the impact of economic and political information (framing-effects) on the public's opinion of foreign policy (dependent variable). The experimental treatment was designed in an ordinal model by providing different pieces of information. The experiment also introduces 'Citizen Perception' as a covariate generated from a summation index with the scores of two variables (Preference for the actions of Argentina toward Brazil and the Position of Brazil in a charted preference of potential investor countries). The results show that the previous ideological bias is very significant and that the effects of information reinforce it. The work was run as part of a survey conducted by the Instituto PASCAL Universidad Nacional de San Martin, in Argentina´s major urban centres during 2015.

The intensity properties of a Multi-Gaussian Schell-model pulse scattering from a sphere with semisoft boundaries

The scattering of a Multi-Gaussian Schell-model pulse from a sphere with semisoft boundaries within the accuracy of the first-order Born approximation is investigated. The analytic expression for the average intensity of the scattered pulse in the far zone is derived. The numerical calculations are performed in order to show the dependence of the average intensity of the scattered field on the incident pulse duration, the temporal coherence length of the incident pulse, the upper summation index and the effective radius of the medium. The effect of the boundary’s softness on the scattered intensity distribution is emphasized. It is shown that, comparing with that of scattering from a Gaussian sphere, the average intensity distribution of the pulse scattering from a sphere with semisoft boundaries has two or three peaks under certain circumstances.

Summative effects of vascular risk factors on cortical thickness in mild cognitive impairment

Vascular risk factors (VRFs) increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and contribute to neurodegenerative processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether increasing number of VRFs contributes to within-cohort differences in cortical thickness (CThk) among adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitively intact older controls from the AD Neuroimaging Initiative 1, GO, and 2 data sets. Multivariate partial least squares analysis was used to investigate the effect of VRF index on regional CThk measurements, which produced a significant latent variable and identified patterns of cortical thinning in the MCI group but not controls. Subsequent analyses tested the interaction effects between VRF index and cognitive grouping and examined 1-year follow-up data. There was evidence of a VRF index by cognitive group interaction. Partial least squares results were replicated at 1-year follow-up among MCI cohort in a subset of baseline CThk regions. This study provides evidence that a summative VRF index accounts for some of the variance in brain tissue loss in regions implicated in AD among MCI adults.

Flatness parameter influence on scintillation reduction for multi-Gaussian Schell-model beams propagating in turbulent air.

Reduction in the scintillation index of multi-Gaussian Schell-model beams propagating in turbulent air is demonstrated as a function of two source parameters: the r.m.s. coherence width and the summation index. The beams were generated with the help of a nematic phase-only, reflective spatial light modulator at a cycling rate of 333 frames per second and recorded after propagating through a weakly turbulent air channel over a distance of 70m. Experimental results are in good agreement with theory.

Depth Perception and Grasp in Central Field Loss.

PurposeWe set out to determine whether individuals with central field loss benefit from using two eyes to perform a grasping task. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that this advantage is correlated with coarse stereopsis, in addition to binocular summation indices of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and binocular visual field.MethodsSixteen participants with macular degeneration and nine age-matched controls placed pegs on a pegboard, while their eye and hand movements were recorded. Importantly, the pegboard was placed near eye height, to minimize the contribution of monocular cues to peg position. All participants performed this task binocularly and monocularly. Before the experiment, we performed microperimetry to determine the profile of field loss in each eye and the locations of eccentric fixation (if applicable). In addition, we measured both acuity and contrast sensitivity monocularly and binocularly, and stereopsis by using both a RanDot test and a custom stereo test.ResultsPeg-placement time was significantly shorter and participants made significantly fewer errors with binocular than with monocular viewing in both the patient and control groups. Among participants with measurable stereopsis, binocular advantage in peg-placement time was significantly correlated with stereoacuity (ρ = −0.78; P = 0.003). In patients without measurable stereopsis, the binocular advantage was related significantly to the overlap in the scotoma between the two eyes (ρ = −0.81; P = 0.032).ConclusionsThe high correlation between grasp performance and stereoacuity indicates that coarse stereopsis may benefit tasks of daily living for individuals with central field loss.

Electromagnetic Schell-model sources generating far fields with stable and flexible concentric rings profiles.

A class of electromagnetic sources with multi-cosine Gaussian Schell-model correlation function is introduced. The realizability conditions for such sources and the beam conditions for the beams generated by them are established. Analytical formulas for the cross-spectral density matrix of such beams propagating in free space are derived and used to examine their statistical properties by numerical simulations. The results demonstrate that such beams possess invariant far-field concentric rings-like intensity patterns, uniform polarization state on all rings, and generally different degree of polarization values on different rings. By changing the summation index and other source parameters, the number of rings along with the behavior of various beam characteristics can be tuned at will.

Counting votes in coupled decisions

We consider scenarios with distributed decision processes, e.g., coupled majorities and personal union in parliament chambers, supranational decisions and supervisory boards. When computing the adoption rate for reaching a decision in these scenarios, multiple linear inequality restrictions in combinatorial countings are present. These rates cannot be computed in closed form. We introduce a general method for incorporating multiple inequality conditions in multiple majority decisions, which significantly reduces the number of involved summations and removes restrictions on the summation indices. Exact solutions are provided through (a) integral representations which can be evaluated numerically, and (b) unrestricted, contracted sums over discrete events. Further, we provide methods to reduce the number of necessary summations by splitting or recurring the original problem to easier sub-problems. For five dedicated scenarios, full results are given which indeed require a single unrestricted summation only.

Spectral Properties of Near-Field Evanescent Waves Scattered From a Particulate Medium With Adjustable Boundaries

Within the accuracy of the first-order Born approximation, expressions are derived for the spectrum of near-zone evanescent waves, which scatter from a spatially deterministic particulate medium with semisoft edges. By assuming that the scattering potential of the medium suffices the multi-Gaussian profile, it is shown that the degree of red-shifted spectrum of scattered field can be modulated by changing the summation index and effective radius of the scatterer. Moreover, the spectral switch, which transforms from the red shifts to the blue shifts of the spectrum, can emerge when the effective radius is sufficiently small compared with the incident wavelength. In addition, the summation index is another factor influencing the degree of spectral switches of near-zone scattered fields. These results are of potential applications to the near-field biomedical imaging and determination of scattering potentials of tiny particles.