Statistical Significance Tests Research Articles

The Motivation Towards Work Among Teachers of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in the Directorate of Najaf Governorate, According to Years of Experience

The research aimed to identify the motivation towards work among teachers of physical education and sports sciences in the Directorate of Najaf Governorate. The research included four chapters, including: Chapter One Introduction and the importance of motivation in the field of educational psychology and its importance in various fields, as well as its relationship to years of experience, which has a direct impact on the relationship. And the second chapter, the researchers used the descriptive approach in the style of the correlational relations for its suitability for the research sample. The research sample was teachers of physical education and sports sciences in the Directorate of Najaf Governorate, and they were chosen randomly. The researchers used tools and means of collecting information that are commensurate with their research. (1990), which consisted of (25) paragraphs and was adopted in the research. As for the exploratory experiment conducted by the researcher to identify the negatives and obstacles that they encounter, The researcher distributed the questionnaire to the sample that is not included in the basic research sample, and the two researchers conducted the scientific foundations, which included stability, honesty and objectivity, to verify the main results that were conducted on the sample by distributing the aforementioned questionnaire to them. As for the statistical methods, the researcher used the arithmetic mean - the standard deviation - Pearson's correlation coefficient - the t-test for one sample - the t-test for two independent samples - the statistical significance test for the correlation coefficient. The teacher had more years of experience and had a motivation towards work. And the fourth chapter, the researcher concluded, the emergence of positive motivation for teachers with more experience, meaning that the more positive the motivation towards work, the greater the motivation towards work among the research sample. In the light of the results, the researcher presented some recommendations and proposals, as the two researchers recommended training courses for teachers of physical education and sports sciences in their field of work. Achieving effectiveness and motivation towards work.

Problems and future tasks of the statistical significance test

Problems and future tasks of the statistical significance test

On the Statistical Significance Test for the Procedure of Polarity Classification by Types of Acoustic Emission Sources

Using a mathematical statistics approach, we review the procedure for type classification of acoustic emission (AE) events into shear, tension, and collapse, proposed by Zang et al. (1998). The procedure is based on counting the signs of first pulses of waves arriving at acoustic sensors and is widely used in rock physics experiments. Under the assumption that the determination errors of first-pulse signs at sensors have uniform and independent distribution, the statistical significance and power of the type separation test are evaluated for a given number of sensors used. We consider and compare three methods of the construction of a statistical test based on the P-value approach and symmetric and asymmetric statistical hypothesis tests. Considering the results of the statistical study, we propose some practical recommendations for selecting a threshold to classify AE event types in experimental studies.

Significance of digital innovations of Industry 4.0. for Polish enterprises on the example of Podkarpackie and Lubuskie voivodeships

Purpose: The article examines the relevance of specific Industry 4.0 (I4.0) solutions for enterprises in Poland. It also verifies whether there is a positive relationship between the level of digital sophistication of enterprises and their innovation and competitiveness, and whether there is a need to cooperate with external entities in the implementation of these technologies. Design: A survey of 673 enterprises in Podkarpackie Voivodeship and a qualitative survey of 23 experts from Lubuskie Voivodeship were conducted. Data from the quantitative survey were analyzed using the tetrachoric correlation coefficient, the statistical significance test for differences in shares, and logit regression. An Internet query was also conducted. Findings: The research shows that the most complex solutions are still relatively the least implemented. More companies have advanced software than I4.0 solutions. Digital sophistication is higher for medium and large entities, companies with foreign participation, those with a presence in foreign markets, as well as those belonging to the region's strategic innovation industries and companies in the market services sector. The share of entities expecting to increase profits and revenues, as well as R&D expenditures and increase innovation was significantly higher among digitally advanced entities. It was confirmed that implementing digital innovations requires cooperation with external partners. Digital solutions are key to innovative industries in Lubuskie, and public support for digital transformation of businesses is present. Research limitations: The main limitation is the lack of overall domestic survey data. Practical implications: The presence of relevant organizations supporting the successful implementation of I4.0 technologies is needed. They provide expertise for companies. Companies can become more competitive and sustainable by implementing IT solutions. However, dissemination of knowledge about the benefits of I4.0 technologies is required, as well as public support for digital transformation. Social implications: In the face of shrinking labor resources, automation and robotization, with fewer workers, will allow production to be maintained at current levels. Originality: The originality of the article lies in the analysis of the level of digitization versus the innovation and competitiveness of companies, and the analysis of the importance of various external partners for the implementation of I4.0 technologies. Keywords: Industry 4.0 technologies, Enterprises, IT solutions, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Lubuskie Voivodeship. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Overweight and Obesity in Students of the Primary School “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla”. Polyuc, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Background: The Body Mass Index also called the Quetelet Index is a measure (kg/m²) used as an indicator of the adequacy of weight for a certain height. The resulting value is interpreted as an indicator of different nutritional situations, both physiological (normal weight) and pathological (low weight, overweight and obesity). Objective: Evaluate the nutritional situation of the students of the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School of the Polyuc community of the Mayan municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico, during the period from 6 de March de 2019 to 7 de December de 2020. Material and Methods: Descriptive cross–sectional epidemiological study with no directionality and prospective temporality. In the period from 6 de March de 2019 to 7 de December de 2020, 136 students from the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School were evaluated. The Mantel–Haenszel Chi–Square statistic (x²M–H) was used as a hypothesis test or test of statistical significance. Likewise, the Epi Info software for Windows, version 7.1.4.0, was used to obtain the values of both the x²M–H statistic and the probability (p). Results: Seventy–one (52.21%), 54 (39.71%), 9 (6.62%) and 2 (1.47%) students presented low weight, normal weight, overweight and obesity, respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that the students of the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School have health problems with respect to their nutritional situation since 60.29% (82/136) have a pathological nutritional situation (low weight, overweight and obesity).

Influence of Working Environment and Job Stress on Subjective Happiness Female Police Officer

본 연구는 여성 경찰관의 근무환경, 직무스트레스 및 주관적 행복 간의 관계를 탐색하기 위해 수행하였다. 설문조사는 2021년 7월 21일부터 9월 5일까지 실시하였으며, 총 251부를 수집하였고 이 설문 모두를 분석에 활용하였다. 측정도구는 근무환경, 직무스트레스 척도 및 주관적 행복 척도를 사용하여 조사를 실시하였다. 수집한 자료는 SPSS 25.0 프로그램을 이용하여 분석하였으며, 기술통계분석, 독립표본 t-검증, 일원분산분석, Pearson 적률상관분석 및 위계적 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 모든 통계적 유의도 검증은 .05 수준에서 분석하였다. 연구 결과는 첫째, 여성 경찰관의 일반적 특성에 따른 근무환경, 직무스트레스 및 주관적 행복의 차이를 분석한 결과, 연령, 학력, 결혼상태, 근속, 계급, 근무지, 근무유형, 직무만족에서 유의한 차이가 나타났다. 둘째, 주요 변인들 간의 상관관계를 분석한 결과, 근무환경은 직무스트레스와 부적 상관관계가 있고, 주관적 행복과는 정적 상관관계가 있으며, 직무스트레스는 주관적 행복과 부적 상관관계가 있었다. 셋째, 위계적 회귀분석 결과, 근무환경과 직무스트레스가 주관적 행복의 유의한 예언 변인으로 나타났다. 근무환경은 주관적 행복에 유의한 정적 영향, 직무스트레스는 유의한 부적 영향을 미친다는 것을 확인할 수 있었다.This study was conducted to explore the relationship between the working environment, job stress, and subjective happiness of female police officers. The survey was conducted from July 21 to September 5, 2021, and a total of 251 copies were collected and all of these surveys were used for analysis. As measurement tools, the survey was conducted using the work environment, job stress scale, and subjective happiness scale. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program, and descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson moment correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were performed. All statistical significance tests were analyzed at the .05 level. The main research results are as follows. First, as a result of analyzing the differences in working environment, job stress, and subjective happiness according to the general characteristics of female police officers, significant differences were found in age, educational background, marital status, tenure, class, work location, work type, and job satisfaction. Second, as a result of analyzing the correlation between major variables, the work environment had a negative correlation with job stress, a positive correlation with subjective happiness, and a negative correlation with subjective happiness. Third, as a result of hierarchical regression analysis, work environment and job stress were found to be significant predictors of subjective happiness. It was confirmed that the working environment had a significant positive effect on subjective happiness, and job stress had a significant negative effect.

Spatio-Temporal Forecasting of Global Horizontal Irradiance Using Bayesian Inference

Accurate global horizontal irradiance (GHI) forecasting promotes power grid stability. Most of the research on solar irradiance forecasting has been based on a single-site analysis. It is crucial to explore multisite modeling to capture variations in weather conditions between various sites, thereby producing a more robust model. In this research, we propose the use of spatial regression coupled with Gaussian Process Regression (GP Spatial) and the GP Autoregressive Spatial model (GP-AR Spatial) for the prediction of GHI using data from seven radiometric stations from South Africa and one from Namibia. The results of the proposed methods were compared with a benchmark model, the Linear Spatial Temporal Regression (LSTR) model. Five validation sets each comprised of three stations were chosen. For each validation set, the remaining five stations were used for training. Based on root mean square error, the GP model gave the most accurate forecasts across the validation sets. These results were confirmed by the statistical significance tests using the Giacommini–White test. In terms of coverage probability, there was a 100% coverage on three validation sets and the other two had 97% and 99%. The GP model dominated the other two models. One of the study’s contributions is using standardized forecasts and including a nonlinear trend covariate, which improved the accuracy of the forecasts. The forecasts were combined using a monotone composite quantile regression neural network and a quantile generalized additive model. This modeling framework could be useful to power utility companies in making informed decisions when planning power grid management, including large-scale solar power integration onto the power grid.

Data and model bias in artificial intelligence for healthcare applications in New Zealand

IntroductionDevelopments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are adopted widely in healthcare. However, the introduction and use of AI may come with biases and disparities, resulting in concerns about healthcare access and outcomes for underrepresented indigenous populations. In New Zealand, Māori experience significant inequities in health compared to the non-Indigenous population. This research explores equity concepts and fairness measures concerning AI for healthcare in New Zealand.MethodsThis research considers data and model bias in NZ-based electronic health records (EHRs). Two very distinct NZ datasets are used in this research, one obtained from one hospital and another from multiple GP practices, where clinicians obtain both datasets. To ensure research equality and fair inclusion of Māori, we combine expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI), New Zealand clinical context, and te ao Māori. The mitigation of inequity needs to be addressed in data collection, model development, and model deployment. In this paper, we analyze data and algorithmic bias concerning data collection and model development, training and testing using health data collected by experts. We use fairness measures such as disparate impact scores, equal opportunities and equalized odds to analyze tabular data. Furthermore, token frequencies, statistical significance testing and fairness measures for word embeddings, such as WEAT and WEFE frameworks, are used to analyze bias in free-form medical text. The AI model predictions are also explained using SHAP and LIME.ResultsThis research analyzed fairness metrics for NZ EHRs while considering data and algorithmic bias. We show evidence of bias due to the changes made in algorithmic design. Furthermore, we observe unintentional bias due to the underlying pre-trained models used to represent text data. This research addresses some vital issues while opening up the need and opportunity for future research.DiscussionsThis research takes early steps toward developing a model of socially responsible and fair AI for New Zealand's population. We provided an overview of reproducible concepts that can be adopted toward any NZ population data. Furthermore, we discuss the gaps and future research avenues that will enable more focused development of fairness measures suitable for the New Zealand population's needs and social structure. One of the primary focuses of this research was ensuring fair inclusions. As such, we combine expertise in AI, clinical knowledge, and the representation of indigenous populations. This inclusion of experts will be vital moving forward, proving a stepping stone toward the integration of AI for better outcomes in healthcare.

The Effect of Freeze Drying and Determination of Heat Transfer on Various Maturity Levels of Robusta Coffee Fruits

The quality of coffee beans is influenced by the level of maturity, which can be determined based on the skin color of the coffee fruit and post-harvest processing. The study was conducted to determine the effect of freeze-drying on various variations in the level of maturity of water content, caffeine, and heat transfer value. The freeze-drying method was chosen because it can maintain the chemical content of the food. Robusta coffee was obtained from Karawang Regency, West Java, Indonesia. Coffee fruit is sorted by skin color using a colorimeter. Fresh beans are obtained by stripping the fruit skin and epidermis and washing mucus. Fresh bean is reduced in size until it passes the 18-mesh sieve. Freeze-drying is operated at an initial temperature of -20 ℃, sublimation temperature of 40 ℃, and operating pressure of 1 to 6 mbar abs. Water content analysis using gravimetric methods, caffeine content analysis using UV-Vis spectrophotometry method, and fat content using the Soxhlet method. The total heat transfer value is determined from the cup to the material. The results showed that the freeze-drying process at semi-ripe to over-ripe maturity levels could reduce the water content to the permissible limit but cannot be used for unripe. The results of the statistical significance test show that the freeze-drying process at various maturity levels can significantly reduce the water content but can maintain the caffeine content in robusta coffee beans. The highest heat transfer value occurs at the un-ripe maturity level of 86.50 kJoule.

Microstructural analysis, physical, chemical components and tensile properties of coir fibre long-term exposed in Ca(OH)2 as representative of concrete pore solution

In this study, the microstructure, chemical composition, linear density, tensile modulus of elasticity, tensile strength and strain at break of coir fibres exposed to saturated Ca(OH)2 solution (i.e., pH = 12.5) up to 24 weeks were investigated. Different fibre surface modification methods were applied on coir fibres to investigate their effectiveness on the long-term tensile performance of coir fibres. The surface modification methods included treating fibres in: (1) boiling water, (2) 0.01 g/ml NaOH solution, or (3) 5% H2O2 solutions for 2 h, respectively. Coir fibres after modifications were then immersed in Ca(OH)2 solution up to 12 weeks and tested in tension at time intervals of 0, 4 and 12 weeks, respectively. Coir fibres without surface treatment were also immersed in both Ca(OH)2 solution and distilled water up to 24 weeks and tested in tension at intervals of 0, 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks, respectively. Statistical significance test was used to discuss the change in the fibre linear density and tensile properties. The results showed that all the surface modifications selected had no significant influence on the linear density of coir fibres. Thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the decomposition of hemicellulose of coir fibres and the generation of CaCO3 on the fibre surface after exposure to Ca(OH)2 solution. The average tensile strength of the coir fibre reduced to 74% and 66% respectively after 12 and 24 weeks exposure in the Ca(OH)2 solution in comparison with that of fibre exposed in distilled water. The corresponding average ultimate strain also reduced to 53% and 27% at 12 and 24 weeks. No obvious tendency could be identified in the average tensile E-modulus of coir fibre after long-term exposure. Through scanning electron microscopy, it was found that failure along the microfibrils and tensile failure of the microfibrils were the two main failure modes of coir fibre under tension. Surface modification with NaOH changed the permeability of coir fibre surface. Tylosis decomposition occurred due to H2O2 solution modification. Neither H2O2 solutions nor boiling water modification had significant influence on the tensile behaviour of coir fibre.

Breast biomarkers profile of invasive lobular carcinoma in a cohort of arab women shows no significant differences from carcinoma of no special type.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast is known for its common presentation at an older age, and the frequent expression of favourable profile of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER & PR) positivity, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negativity combined with low proliferation rate as measured by Ki67. This study aimed to test these clinicopathological features of ILC in an Arabic cohort. All breast biopsies diagnosed as IDC or ILC were retrospectively reviewed over 2 years period (2017-2018) in an academic centre. Variables were compared using Fisher's exact test for statistical significance. A total of 134 cases were recruited, 12.7% were ILC. The median age was 52 years for both types. Clustering of ILC cases was noticed in luminal A subtype (47.1%), but there was no statistically significant difference in subtyping between the 2 histologic groups. Ki67 was significantly lower in ILC than IDC category. Our study showed that ILC in our cohort lacks the advantage of older age and the common high expression of ER positivity in comparison to IDC. There is, however, significant difference of the value of Ki67 proliferation marker. The prognosis of lobular morphology is questionable in our cohort.

Information quantity evaluation of nonlinear time series processes and applications

Among several models proposed in the time series literature, the Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive (SETAR) model is non-linear and considers threshold values to model time series affected by regimes. Beyond the linear models, the computation of information and dependence metrics in non-linear time series is of great interest to compare processes and test non-linearity. This paper considers the stationary marginal density of a SETAR(2;1,1) process to compute explicit differential entropy and Kullback–Leibler and Jeffrey’s divergences. In addition, an asymptotic homogeneity test for statistical significance of the disparity between two SETAR(2;1,1) processes was built. Numerical illustrations and applications to fish condition factor and Chilean economic perception time series are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology. Besides, a numerical algorithm based on Riemann–Stieltjes integral definition is implemented to calculate information measures based on stationary cumulative density functions of other types of nonlinear stationary stochastic processes, such as the first-order double autoregressive bilinear threshold moving average and threshold autoregressive moving average processes.

The impact of neuroradiology collaboration in head and neck cancer radiotherapy peer review.

To quantify the impact of neuroradiologist presence on head and neck cancer (HNC) radiotherapy peer review (PR) changes. Prospective data were collected from HNC radiotherapy PR meetings; major, minor, and organ at risk (OAR) changes recorded. Differences in changes made with a neuroradiologist present were determined. χ2 tests of statistical significance were performed. Multivariate logistic regression identified potential predictors of changes. Prospective PR was performed in 125/160 (78%) patients undergoing radical (chemo)radiotherapy for HNC between October 2018 and September 2019. Full PR documentation was available for 120/160 meetings (75%), with a neuroradiologist present in 53/120 (44%). Overall, 51/120 (42.5%) had changes made to target volumes or OARs. When a neuroradiologist was present, 29/53 (55%) of plans had changes made, compared to 22/67 (33%) in their absence. On multivariate analysis, neuroradiologist presence significantly influenced any changes made during the PR meetings (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.05-6.43; p = 0.039). Neuroradiologist presence at PR meetings significantly influences changes made to HNC contouring, likely improving consistency and enhancing quality assurance. This is the first published UK series demonstrating that a collaborative approach between radiology and oncology in PR meetings is significant in leading to contour changes for HNC.

Parameter estimation in unbalanced three-phase distribution lines using general regression neural networks with inconsistent data handling capacity

The feeder parameters of a power system play an important role in its operation and analysis. However, in many situations, the values used in the calculations differ from the actual parameters, resulting in large errors. Therefore, in this study, a highly accurate feeder parameter estimation method for a three-phase distribution line was proposed. The proposed method uses the measured node voltages and power quantities from the two ends of the distribution line. A precise electrical model of the three-phase distribution line was used. An improved type of neural network, namely general regression neural networks (GRNN), is used to solve the complex non-linear equation and then estimate the actual parameters. However, the proposed estimation process does not require synchronised phasors or phasor-measurement units installed at the point of measurement. Nonetheless, the estimation process is also capable of handling incorrect data information, noisy datasets, and measurement errors while maintaining accuracy at the desired level. The estimator process is examined and analysed using four different IEEE unbalanced three-phase systems. In addition, the proposed methodology is compared with standard algorithms of radial basis function networks, quasi-Newton, and multi-run optimisation methods on the basis of maximum absolute percentage error and other standard error functions. The hyperparameter-tuned GRNN model was also tested using several statistical significance tests. In all scenarios, the performance and accuracy of the proposed methodology and model exceeded those of the other methods.

The role of ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection in treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

Background. Lung cancer occupies the leading place in the structure of cancer incidence and death rate. Treatment results are still not satisfactory. Five-year postsurgical survival rate is 24–30%. Patients die in different periods of time from local recurrences and distant metastases. To this day, there is no unambiguous attitude towards ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection in surgical treatment of patients with lung cancer. Despite the oncologic relevance of the abovementioned lymph node dissection, there are still concerns on worsening of recovery conditions of bronchial stump, increase in the amount of lymphorrhea and additional injury rate of the surgery. There is also an opinion that the risk of development of postsurgical complications, and, as a result, the increase in lethality rate, outweigh the positive impact of ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection on radicality and long-term treatment results.
 Purpose – to study the impact of ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection on the course of postsurgical period in patients with lung cancer, clarifying diagnostics of spread of tumor process and survival rate of the patients.
 Materials and methods. Treatment results of 187 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer with different clinical stages from T1-3N0 M0 to T1-2N1 M0 were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group (comparison group) consisted of 72 patients, who underwent radical operations with selective lymph node dissection. The patients of the second group, the study group (115 patients), obligatorily underwent ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection. The number of removed lymph nodes in one patient ranged from 5 to 10 in the first group and from 18 to 25 in the second one. In the cases when no cancer cells were found in lymph nodes, they were managed with monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratins, expressed with cancer cells, with further microscopic evaluation. During the postsurgical period the following values were studied: duration of the surgery, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, the amount and duration of exudation, frequency and character of postsurgical complications. Comparison of survival rates of the patients was performed with the test of statistical significance of differences by χ2 criterion. Methods of non-parametric statistical estimate were used for statistical analysis of the results by the means of Statistica 6.0, SPSS 17.0 software.
 Results. Adding ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection to surgical interference increased its duration by 30 minutes on average. An increase in the volume of exudate by 136,2 ± 18,4 ml was observed in early postsurgical period. Structure and frequency of postsurgical complications in both groups was similar. In most cases heart rhythm disorder, namely ciliary arrhythmia, was observed in the first days after the surgery. Postsurgical lethality rate in both groups was caused by various factors and equaled 1,4% in the first, and 0,8% in the second one. Additional usage of immunohistochemicalanalysis of lymph nodes with monoclonal antibodies to tumoral cytokeratins in patients after performing ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection led to their lesion being found more frequently. Indeed, metastases were detected in 21% of 19 patients, in which N0 status was previously established in light microscopy. Also, a significant increase in three-year survival rate by 15,3% (p=0,042) was observed in patients with lung cancer, who underwent ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection and had no signs of mediastinal lymph nodes lesion, and 23,2% (p=0,014) in patients with the signs of the lesion.
 Conclusions. Performing ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection in patients with lung cancer during surgical interference does not have an impact on postsurgical lethality rate and frequency and structure of complications. During the study of lymph nodes, which, according to light microscopy, were considered unaffected by cancer, additional lymphogland metastases were found in 20,7% of the patients by the means of monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratins. It allows the stage of the disease to be more accurately determined and optimal type of adjuvant therapy to be chosen. Detection rate of metastases in regional lymph nodes significantly increases from 51,4% to 67,8% in patients with lung cancer after radical operations with additional ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection. Obligatory ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection in surgeries for lung cancer increases overall three-year survival rate, especially in patients with affected lymph nodes by 16,3%.

Associations of aspirin and other anti-inflammatory medications with breast cancer risk by the status of COX-2 expression.

We investigated the associations of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with breast cancer risk by the status of COX-2 protein expression. This study included 421 cases and 3,166 controls from a nested case-control study within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII) cohorts. Information on medication use was first collected in 1980 (NHS) and 1989 (NHSII) and was updated biennially. Medication use was defined as none, past or current; average cumulative dose and frequency were calculated for all past or current users using data collected from all biannual questionnaires preceding the reference date. Immunochemistry for COX-2 expression was performed using commercial antibody (Cayman Chemical and Thermo Fisher Scientific). We used polychotomous logistic regression to quantify associations of aspirin and NSAIDs with the risk of COX2+ and COX2- breast cancer tumors, while adjusting for known breast cancer risk factors. All tests of statistical significance were two-sided. In multivariate analysis, we found no differences in associations of the aspirin exposures and NSAIDs with breast cancer risk by COX2 expression status. In stratified analyses by COX2 status, significant associations of these medications with breast cancer risk were observed for dosage of aspirin among current users in COX2- tumors (OR for > 5 tablets per week vs. none 1.71, 95% CI 1.01-2.88, p-trend 0.04). Regular aspirin use was marginally associated with the risk of COX2- tumors (p-trend = 0.06). Our findings suggested no differences in associations of aspirin and other NSAIDs with COX2+ and COX2- tumors.

The Impact of Urban Expansion on the Urban Thermal Environment: A Case Study in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

Urban expansion has been changing the urban thermal environment. Understanding the spatial distribution and temporal trends in the urban thermal environment is important in guiding sustainable urbanization. In this study, we focused on the land use/land cover (LULC) changes and urban expansion in Nanchang city, Jiangxi province, China. The four elements in the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) are heat, greenness, dryness, and wetness, which correspond to the land surface temperature (LST), NDVI, NDBSI, and WET, respectively. According to the synthetic images of the average indices, we conducted temporal trend analysis together with statistical significance test for these images. We conducted partial correlation analyses between LST and NDVI, NDVSI, as well as WET. In addition, we used the LULC maps to analyze the multi-year trends in urban expansion. Then, we superimposed the trends in daytime and nighttime LST in summer on urban expansion area to extract the LST trends at sample locations. The results showed that LULC in Nanchang has substantially changed during the study period. The areas with statistically significant trends in LST coincided with the urban expansion areas. Land cover change was the main reason for LST change in Nanchang. In particular, artificial surfaces showed the greatest increase in LST; for per 100 km2 expansion in artificial surfaces, the daytime and nighttime LST increased by 0.8 °C and 0.7 °C, respectively. Among all the study land cover types, water bodies showed the greatest differences in LST change between the daytime and nighttime. There were statistically significant correlations between increases in LST and increases in NDBSI as well as decreases in NDVI and WET. In view of the considerable impact of urban expansion on the urban thermal environment, we urge local authorities to emphasize on urban greening when carrying out urban planning and construction.

Computer-aided classification of successional stage in subtropical Atlantic Forest: a proposal based on fuzzy artificial intelligence

Due to the continuous variability of the forest regeneration process, patterns of indicator variables with membership in more than one successional stage may occur, making the classification of such stages a challenging and complex task. This study aims at presenting a comparative analysis of artificial intelligence methods as an alternative for computer-aided classification of successional stages in subtropical Atlantic Forest. As a research hypothesis, the authors consider that a fuzzy inference system should provide the best performance due to its ability to deal with uncertainties inherent to complex processes. The analyses were carried out using a database of the forest inventory of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. The data are composed of 177 sampling units of subtropical Atlantic Forest (mixed ombrophilous forest), characterized according to eighth indicator variables verified from the field by experts. This database was employed to train several machine learning methods under a tenfold cross-validation process. The overall accuracy (θ) and kappa coefficient were used to compare the performance between FIS and neural networks, classifier committees and support vector machine. Then, to verify if the classification by the FIS differed from the one performed by experts, the Kappa index and a statistical significance analysis by Pearson's [Formula: see text] test were determined. The hypotheses were verified with two-way tests at a significance level (α) 0.05, for a test power (1-β) 0.8 and minimum expected effect size between medium (ρ = 0.3). Statistical significance tests confirmed the hypothesis that FIS achieved the highest performance, with θ = 98.3% and a kappa value equal to 0.93 (almost perfect agreement) and showed no significant difference ([Formula: see text] = 0.047, p = 0.976) in comparison with the classification by experts. The use of FIS represents a promising alternative as a tool applicable for computer-aided classification of successional stages in subtropical Atlantic Forest. The results and conclusions should substantially impact the guidelines and decision-making process for deforestation authorizations and applicable compensation measures, which are based on the forest succession stage.

Minimum false-positive risk of primary outcomes and impact of reducing nominal P-value threshold from 0.05 to 0.005 in anaesthesiology randomised clinical trials: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundReproducibility of research is poor; this may be because many articles report statistically significant findings that are false positives. Two potential solutions are to lower the P-value for statistical significance testing from 0.05 to 0.005 and to report the minimum false-positive risk (minFPR). This study determined these metrics for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in general anaesthesiology journals. MethodsWe identified superiority RCTs published between January 1, 2019 and March 15, 2021 from seven leading anaesthesia journals. P-values for primary outcomes were collected, and minFPRs for these outcomes were calculated using a formula assuming a 50% prior probability of an intervention being effective (minFPR50). The primary outcomes were the percentage of RCTs maintaining statistical significance at P<0.005 and minFPR50. ResultsWe included 318 RCTs. P-values below 0.05 were reported in 205/318 (64%) of RCTs. Of these 205 RCTs, 119/205 (58%) maintained statistical significance at the P<0.005 threshold. The mean (standard deviation) minFPR50 was 22% (20). At P=0.005, the minFPR50 was approximately 5%. ConclusionsThese proposed metrics aimed at mitigating reproducibility concerns would call a significant portion of the anaesthesiology literature into question. We found a minFPR of 22% and determined that 42% of primary outcomes would not maintain statistical significance if the P-value threshold changed from 0.05 to 0.005. These findings could partially explain the lack of reproducibility of research findings.

Phoneme Frequencies in Slovene (Text vs. Dictionary)

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; In this paper Slovene phoneme frequencies from a Slovene–German learner’s dictionary are analysed. The structure of the dictionary allows the determination of phoneme frequencies on two distinct linguistic levels: the level of dictionary (analysis of headwords) and the level of text (example sentences, illustrating a prototypical context of a given headword). By applying various statistical significance tests it can be shown that no significant differences between the rank-frequency distributions are observable. The same holds true for testing the differences, based on the repetition rate of phoneme frequencies on the dictionary and text levels. In contrast to this, only dichotomised data (by grouping them into vowels and consonants) show a significantly different frequency behaviour. Overall it can be shown that based on the given empirical observations, the conceptual importance and relevance of the levels of dictionary vs. text for quantitative phoneme studies has to be reconsidered and critically reflected in future studies.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;