Univariate Techniques Research Articles

Evaluation of homeothermy, acid-base and electrolytic balance of black goats and ewes in an equatorial semi-arid environment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of environmental conditions and species on thermoregulatory responses, acid-base and electrolyte balance of black goats and ewes in an equatorial semi-arid environment. Ten Canindé goats and seven Morada Nova ewes with black coat color, all multiparous, aged between 2 and 3 years, non-lactating, non-pregnant, and body weight (BW) of 22.84±4.17kg for goats and 22.60±3.18kg for ewes were used in this study. Air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) were measured. Respiratory rate (RR), Rectal temperature (RT), sweating rate (SR), hydrogen potential (pH), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2), venous oxygen pressure (PO2), bicarbonate (HCO3), base excess (BE), total carbon dioxide concentration (TCO2), venous oxygen saturation (SO2), sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) were recorded. Animal species (caprine and ovine) and environmental conditions (Thermoneutral condition, TC and Heat condition, HC) were considered as fixed effects. Univariate and multivariate analysis techniques were used. Differences were observed between the two environmental conditions. Significant changes in all thermoregulatory responses for goats and ewes were observed according to the environmental condition effect. The general means of the species showed that only SR was high in ewes (P<0.05), following a reverse change when compared to goat SR. For the environmental condition effect, only the blood pH of goats did not change under HC (P<0.05), while the BE and TCO2 did not change for ewes. The general means of PCO2, HCO3, BE, TCO2 and SO2 were higher in ewes compared to goats. For electrolytic balance, Na+demonstrated elevations in HC. Brazilian black goats and ewes raised in an equatorial semi-arid environment tend to have particular homeothermy, acid-base and electrolytic balance which mostly depend on the environmental conditions they are raised. The results support the changes in physiological mechanisms between black goats and ewes; however, both are locally adapted.

Factors Influencing Bicycle Use in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Gombak Campus

The use of bicycles on-campus at higher learning institutions including International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is at a very low level. It is imperative to understand what influences bicycle use on-campus. This paper identifies factors that influence bicycle use in IIUM from the opinion of bicyclists. The main data used in this paper were from literature reviews, observational surveys, and field survey questionnaires. Univariate and bivariate analysis techniques were applied to the data to achieve the objectives of this study. The major findings show that good conditions and adequate bicycle facilities are some of the main factors, among others, that encourage students to cycle on-campus. At the end of this paper, few recommendations are suggested to increase bicycle use among the IIUM community on-campus.

Selego: robust variate selection for accurate time series forecasting

Naïve extensions of uni-variate prediction techniques lead to an unwelcome increase in the cost of multi-variate model learning and significant deteriorations in the model performance. In this paper, we first argue that (a) one can learn a more accurate forecasting model by leveraging temporal alignments among variates to quantify the importance of the recorded variates with respect to a target variate. We further argue that, (b) for this purpose we need to quantify temporal correlation, not in terms of series similarity, but in terms of temporal alignments of key “events” impacting these series. Finally, we argue that (c) while learning a temporal model using recurrence based techniques (such as RNN and LSTM—even when leveraging attention strategies) is difficult and costly, we can achieve better performance by coupling simpler CNNs with an adaptive variate selection strategy. Relying on these arguments, we propose a Selego framework (Selego is a word of latin origin meaning “selection”) for variate selection and experimentally evaluate the performance of the proposed approach on various forecasting models, such as LSTM, RNN, and CNN, for different top-X% variates and different forecasting time in the future (lead) on multiple real-world datasets. Experiments show that the proposed framework can offer significant (\(90-98\%\)) drops in the number of recorded variates that are needed to train predictive models, while simultaneously boosting accuracy.

Forecasting Euro against US dollar via combination of NARDL and Univariate techniques during COVID-19

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the accuracy of combined models with the individual models in terms of forecasting Euro against US dollar during COVID-19 era. During COVID, the euro shows sharp fluctuation in upward and downward trend; therefore, this study is keen to find out the best-fitted model which forecasts more accurately during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe descriptive design has been adopted in this research. The three univariate models, i.e. autoregressive integrated moving averages (ARIMA), Naïve, exponential smoothing (ES) model, and one multivariate model, i.e. nonlinear autoregressive distributive lags (NARDL), are selected to forecast the exchange rate of Euro against the US dollar during the COVID. The above models are combined via equal weights and var-cor methods to find out the accuracy of forecasting as Poon and Granger (2003) showed that combined models can forecast better than individual models.FindingsNARDL outperforms all remaining individual models, i.e. ARIMA, Naïve and ES. By applying a combination of different models via different techniques, the combination of NARDL and Naïve models outperforms all combination of models by scoring the least mean absolute percentage error value, i.e. 1.588. The combined forecasting of NARDL and Naïve techniques under var-cor method also outperforms the forecasting accuracy of individual models other than NARDL. It means the euro exchange rate against the US dollar which is dependent upon the macroeconomic fundamentals and recent observations of the time series.Practical implicationsThe findings could help the FOREX market, hedgers, traders, businessmen, policymakers, economists, financial managers, etc., to minimize the risk indulged in global trade. It also helps to produce more accurate results in different financial models, i.e. capital asset pricing model and arbitrage pricing theory, because their findings may not be useful if exchange rate fluctuations do not trace effectively.Originality/valueThe NARDL models have been applied previously in different time series and only limited to the asymmetric or symmetric relationships. This study is using it for the forecasting exchange rate which is almost abandoned in earlier literature. Furthermore, this study combined the NARDL with univariate models to produce the accuracy which itself is a novelty. Moreover, the findings help to enhance the effectiveness of different financial theories as well.

Evaluation of Harvested Rainwater Quality As a Drinking Water Source in Urban Land Uses in Western Province Sri Lanka

Increasing of population around the world has imposed considerable strains on the water resources. Hence, regulatory authorities have faced significant challenges to expand their water supply schemes not only due to financial constraints but also due to limited water resources. Consequently, there has been a growing interest, especially in developing countries, in harvested roof run off as an alternative source of drinking water. However, in determining the end use and the potential success of such an option, the possible problems associated with water quality need to be analyzed and the feasibility of using rainwater as a source of water for household use should be determined. Therefore, this research study was focus on evaluating roof runoff as a drinking water source in different urban land uses where different urban activities are present. For this purpose, a roof runoff samples were collected from three selected land uses namely industrial, commercial and residential. The samples have collected from each land use with three selected roofing materials which are common to the area. This is to evaluate the roof runoff quality based on the variability of land use pattern as well as the variability on roofing materials. All the collected samples have tested for a range of water quality parameters namely, pH, alkalinity, Hardness, Turbidity, TS, COD, Nitrogen (Ammonia), chloride and biological contaminations. Both uni-variate and stacked area analysis techniques were used in the analysis of test results. Based on the outcomes, recommendations are provided to use harvested roof runoff as a drinking water source in urban land uses in Sri Lanka. Keywords urban land uses; drinking water quality parameters; rainwater harvesting

Improving the accuracy of global forecasting models using time series data augmentation

Forecasting models that are trained across sets of many time series, known as Global Forecasting Models (GFM), have shown recently promising results in forecasting competitions and real-world applications, outperforming many state-of-the-art univariate forecasting techniques. In most cases, GFMs are implemented using deep neural networks, and in particular Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), which require a sufficient amount of time series to estimate their numerous model parameters. However, many time series databases have only a limited number of time series. In this study, we propose a novel, data augmentation based forecasting framework that is capable of improving the baseline accuracy of the GFM models in less data-abundant settings. We use three time series augmentation techniques: GRATIS, moving block bootstrap (MBB), and dynamic time warping barycentric averaging (DBA) to synthetically generate a collection of time series. The knowledge acquired from these augmented time series is then transferred to the original dataset using two different approaches: the pooled approach and the transfer learning approach. When building GFMs, in the pooled approach, we train a model on the augmented time series alongside the original time series dataset, whereas in the transfer learning approach, we adapt a pre-trained model to the new dataset. In our evaluation on competition and real-world time series datasets, our proposed variants can significantly improve the baseline accuracy of GFM models and outperform state-of-the-art univariate forecasting methods.

Anaemia status of preconception young married women in India.

The early detection of anaemia is important for its subsequent control and incidence among women of childbearing age. This study aimed to assess the anaemia status of preconception young married women in India using National Family Health Survey-4 data collected in 2015-16. A total 65,238 sample preconception young married women were analysed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques. A majority belonged to the Hindu religion (81.7%), lived in rural areas (64.5%) and had secondary level education (51.8%), and 41.7% had not yet given birth. The percentage suffering from anaemia was 51.3%. The prevalence of anaemia was higher among younger women (55.3%), those from Scheduled Tribes (59.0%), those living in rural areas (52.8%), the non-educated (55.9%), those in the poorest wealth quintile (56.9%), those from the East region (57.0%) and those with a low body mass index (BMI) (58.4%). The adjusted odds ratios indicated that, after controlling for significant background factors, Hindu, Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, East region, already having a child, too thin for their height and poorer and poorest wealth quintiles had higher odds of suffering from anaemia compared with the reference groups. The odds of suffering from anaemia decreased with age and education. The study showed a high burden of anaemia and associated risk factors among preconception young married women in India. The finding will inform decision-makers when planning interventions to decrease anaemia among women of childbearing age in India.

COVID-19, Alcohol Consumption and Stockpiling Practises in Midlife Women: Repeat Surveys During Lockdown in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Introduction: This project examined the impact of COVID-19 and associated restrictions on alcohol practises (consumption and stockpiling), and perceptions of health risk among women in midlife (those aged 45–64 years).Methods: We collected online survey data from 2,437 midlife women in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia in May 2020, recruited using a commercial panel, in the early days of mandated COVID-19 related restrictions in both countries. Participants were surveyed again (N = 1,377) in July 2020, at a time when COVID-19 restrictions were beginning to ease. The surveys included the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) and questions alcohol stockpiling. Analysis involved a range of univariate and multivariate techniques examining the impact of demographic variables and negative affect on consumption and acquisition outcomes.Results: In both surveys (May and July), UK women scored higher than Australian women on the AUDIT-C, and residence in the UK was found to independently predict stockpiling of alcohol (RR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.91). Developing depression between surveys (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.04) and reporting pessimism (RR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.81), and fear/anxiety (RR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.70) at the beginning of the study period also predicted stockpiling by the end of the lockdown. Having a tertiary education was protective for alcohol stockpiling at each time point (RR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.87).Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with increases in risky alcohol practises that were predicted by negative emotional responses to the pandemic. Anxiety, pessimism and depression predicted stockpiling behaviour in UK and Australian women despite the many demographic and contextual differences between the two cohorts. Given our findings and the findings of others that mental health issues developed or were exacerbated during lockdown and may continue long after that time, urgent action is required to address a potential future pandemic of alcohol-related harms.

IDENTIFICATION OF NURSE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS PALLIATIVE CARE IN RSUD Dr. M. YUNUS BENGKULU

This study aims to identify the knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards palliative care in Dr. M. Yunus Bengkulu. The type and research method used is descriptive quantitative with a cross sectional study. The research subjects were 63 nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Intensive Coronary Care Unit (ICCU), the Seruni Room and the Hemodialysis Room (HD) at Dr. M. Yunus Bengkulu. Data collection techniques using a questionnaire (Questionnaire). The data analysis technique used the Univariate technique. There are 3 types of data processing techniques, namely; Editing, Coding, and Scoring. The validity test for the Knowledge level questionnaire used the The Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses- Indonesian (PCQN-I) questionnaire while for attitudes the Frommelt's Attitude Toward Care of The Dying Care Form B (FATCOD-B) questionnaire was used to measure knowledge. with a result of 0.71 (Kuder-Richardson Formula Score) while to measure attitudes the result is 0.68 (Alpha Cronbach). The results showed that the nurses studied in 4 rooms in RSUD M. Yunus Bengkulu were mostly female, namely 65%, then the latest education of nurses was 48%, the majority were Ners and 60,3%, the nurses studied were average -the average age ? 35 - 50. The results obtained the knowledge and attitude value of 63 nurses in 4 rooms of RSUD Dr. M. Yunus Bengkulu as many as 52% of respondents have less knowledge and most of the respondents have a negative attitude towards palliative care.. It can be concluded that the nurses studied have less knowledge and attitudes towards palliative care.

THE EFFECT OF PREGNANT WOMEN CLASSES ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN SEGERAN KIDUL VILLAGE

Currently, maternal and child health education is generally still carried out through counseling, individual consultations or on a case-by-case basis, which is given when a mother is checking her womb or during posyandu activities. To overcome these various weaknesses, a learning method for pregnant women was developed.This activity is designed face-to-face by discussing the material in the MCH Handbook accompanied by discussions and sharing of experiences between pregnant women/husbands/families and health workers. This study group activity is named the class of pregnant women as a form of preventive and promotive efforts based on the Regulation of the Minister of Health No. 97 of 2014.Mothers who have attended the Pregnant Women Class are expected to have a change in behavior or an increase in knowledge so that they are aware of the importance of coming to health services. Research Purposes: This is to determine the effect of the class of pregnant women on increasing the knowledge of pregnant women in Segeran Kidul villages. Research Methods: The type of research used is analytical research, with a pre-experimental design, with a one group Pre-Post Design approach. In this study, researchers used a total sampling of 32 people. Data collection was in the form of a questionnaire that was filled in by pregnant women before and after the implementation of the class for pregnant women. Univariate and bivariate data analysis techniques used paried t-test.Research Results: The results showed that the mean score of pre-test knowledge was 16.88, and post-test knowledge increased by an average of 21.59, which means that there was an increase of 4.719. The results of statistical calculations obtained the t value of -8.354 and the p value of 0.000 so that the p value<0.05 means that there is an influence of the class of pregnant women on the increase in knowledge.

Determinants of Catalan public primary care professionals' intention to use digital clinical consultations (eConsulta) in the post-COVID-19 context: optical illusion or permanent transformation?

BackgroundTelemedicine has become a necessary component of clinical practice for the purpose of providing safer patient care during lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been used to support the health care needs of patients with COVID-19 and routine primary care patients alike. However, this change has not been fully consolidated.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze the determinants of health care professionals’ intention to use the eConsulta digital clinical consultation tool in the post–COVID-19 context.MethodsA literature review of the Technology Acceptance Model allowed us to construct a theoretical model and establish a set of hypotheses on the influence of a variety of different factors relating to health care professionals, as well as the institutions where they work, on their intention to use eConsulta. In order to confirm the proposed model, a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology was used, and a questionnaire was designed to serve as the data collection instrument. The data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis techniques. To confirm the theoretical model, exploratory factor analysis and binary logistic regression were applied.ResultsThe most important variables were related to perceived benefits (B=2.408) and the type of use that individuals habitually made of eConsulta (B=0.715). Environmental pressure (B=0.678), experience with technology (B=0.542), gender (B=0.639), and the degree to which eConsulta had been implemented (B=0.266) were other variables influencing the intention to use the tool in the post–COVID-19 context. When replicating the previous analysis according to professional group, experience with technology and gender in the physician group, and experience with tool use and the center where a professional worked in the nurse group, were found to be of considerable importance.ConclusionsThe implementation and use of eConsulta had increased significantly as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the majority of health care professionals were satisfied with its use in practice and planned to incorporate it into their practices in the post–COVID-19 context. Perceived benefits and environmental pressure were determining factors in their attitude toward and intention to use eConsulta.

Risk, efficiency and financial performance in the GCC banking industry: Islamic versus conventional banks

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to critically evaluate how conventional and Islamic banks trade off risk, efficiency and financial performance in their business models, to investigate how patterns of risk and efficiency vary between conventional and Islamic banks and to critically evaluate how the profitability of conventional and Islamic banks varies following the financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses univariate and multivariate statistical techniques by investigating 12 Islamic banks and 34 conventional banks operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has been studied over the period 2011–2018.FindingsThe results suggest that Islamic and conventional banks differ not in the levels of efficiency, risk and profitability, but rather in how risk and efficiency influence banks’ financial performance. Islamic banks are found to be less influenced by the adverse effects of credit risk, which is consistent with the risk-sharing nature of Islamic financing. However, the results only hold for return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) while the net interest margin is observed to be negatively influenced by credit risk. Lower cost-income efficiency is also found to boost ROA and ROE of Islamic banks which could be attributed to a larger share of non-interest revenues due to Sharīʿah-compliance.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical point of view, this study helps to understand the risk, efficiency and financial performance of Islamic banks in comparison with conventional banks.Practical implicationsThe results of this study can serve bank managers, regulators and shareholders. Policymakers should encourage a more risk-sharing structure of Islamic financing as it brings less adverse effects of credit risk and increases income sustainability for Islamic banks. The present study may help bank managers to improve the financial performance of their firms by controlling risk and efficiency. The study results also have implications for shareholders and depositors of Islamic and conventional banks as they should have a predetermined position about the level of credit risk and efficiency in each banking system.Originality/valueThe foremost contribution is that this is one of the few studies to compare risk, efficiency and financial performance of Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC region. By using the latest data, this paper hopes that the findings will be more relevant than previous studies to the current situation of the banking industry in the region.

The Role of Housewives’s on Sanitation of Management in Slum Area,Palembang

Various environmental health diseases can arise as a result of slum settlements which indicate that environmental sanitation management inadequate and unhealthy, where housewives play an essential role in improving the health status of their families. This study aims to analyze the role of housewives in sanitation management in the slum areas of Palembang, which include the provision of clean water/drinking water, disposal of human waste (feces/latrines), garbage disposal, and wastewater disposal. Sampling method used Non-Probability Sampling with purposive sampling technique. The univariate data analysis technique was then carried out to determine the category level of the role of housewives, including active, participatory, and passive roles. The respondents consisted of 67 housewives from 37th neighbourhood (RT), RT 44, and RT 61 of the Lima Ulu Urban. The analysis of the role of housewives in environmental sanitation management shows a participatory role with a role achievement level of 57%. This role is considered not maximal enough in the management of basic sanitation in their area.

Analytic Morphomics Are Related to Outcomes After Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

:Lung volume reduction surgery continues to have a high morbidity despite National Emphysema Treatment Trial selection criteria. This study evaluated the association between analytic morphomics on chest computed tomography scans and outcomes after lung volume reduction surgery. In a retrospective review of 85 lung volume reduction surgery patients from 1998-2013, dorsal muscle group area, subcutaneous and visceral fat area, and bone mineral density were assessed using analytic morphomics. Lung density was divided into five levels of increasing density (Lung density 1, emphysema; 2, normal lung; 4-5, scarring). Outcomes including survival, hospital length of stay, readmission at 30 days, and pulmonary complications were analyzed using univariate and multivariable techniques. Pulmonary complications developed in 27.1% (23/85). Mortality at 90 days was 9.4% (8/85). On multivariable analysis, lower bone mineral density (Odds ratio 0.61; 95% confidence interval 0.39-0.95) was associated with decreased survival, longer length of stay (0.83; 0.77-0.89), and readmissions (0.39; 0.15-1.00). Higher lung density 5:lung density 2 volume (1.84; 1.05-3.23), possibly due to scarring, was associated with pulmonary complications and longer length of stay (1.32; 1.23-1.41) while lower subcutaneous fat area:height was associated with readmissions which may reflect decreased metabolic reserve (0.35; 0.13-0.93). Patients with signs of frailty including lower bone mineral density may be at increased risk of adverse outcomes including decreased survival after lung volume reduction surgery. The results of this hypothesis-generating study will need to be confirmed in larger, multicenter trials to determine whether analytic morphomics can improve risk stratification and patient selection.

PREVALENCE AND FORMS OF ONLINE HARASSMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY

The upsurge in accessing and utilizing the internet and social networking sites for social activities predisposes adolescents and young adults globally to online harassment, Nigerian undergraduates inclusive. The impacts of online harassment have attracted many research interests, especially in the developed world and the dearth of inquiries among Nigerian undergraduates. This work inquired about the prevalence and forms of online harassment perpetrated by undergraduates in a Nigerian university. A descriptive research design was adopted, data were amassed utilizing a three-sectioned self-report form administered on a sample of 420 undergraduates. The selection of the sample was made following a multistage procedure. Percentage and univariate analysis techniques were used for data analysis. The result of the inquiry revealed widespread online harassment among the undergraduates of the university. All the forms of online harassment assessed were perpetrated; dog pilling topped the list (63.1%), followed by trolling (44.0%). The high rate of occurrence demands the urgent attention of the university authority, professionals across relevant fields should create awareness; the need to develop interventions and policies to deal with online harassment is obvious

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2) Through Age 5: What We’ve Learned, What Questions Remain, and How You Can Use This Longitudinal Dataset

Abstract Objectives By the end of the session, attendees will be able to: (1) Articulate the methodology of and notable findings from the USDA WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2); and (2) Summarize the major domains of data available through age 5 in the WIC ITFPS-2 public use dataset. Methods The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the premier public health nutrition program for low-income, nutritionally at-risk pregnant and post-partum women, infants, and children up to age five. To better understand how WIC participation is associated with the health and nutrition outcomes of young children, USDA funded the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (ITFPS-2) in 2011. WIC ITFPS-2 is a national, longitudinal study of 3775 mother-child dyads who enrolled in WIC either during the mother's pregnancy or shortly after the child was born. The study interviews participants every 2 to 6 months through the child's fifth birthday, with two additional follow-ups at ages 6 and 9 years. The study captures information on children's health and nutrition status, including 24 hour dietary recall data; mothers’ feeding practices and beliefs; household food security; and WIC participation patterns. Data are weighted to produce national estimates. As of June 2021, data through children's fifth birthday (i.e., all years during which children were categorically eligible for WIC) are publicly available. Results Using descriptive, univariate, and multivariate techniques, analyses across the first 6 study reports have demonstrated positive associations between WIC and diet outcomes among young children. After controlling for other factors, longer WIC participation was associated with higher Health Eating Index-2015 scores at various time points, with lower daily energy intake, and with meeting the Dietary Guidelines recommendation to limit added sugar. Conclusions Across children's first five years of life, WIC participation has been associated with improved dietary intake and better diet quality, among other positive outcomes. The WIC ITFPS-2 dataset is publicly available and should be leveraged by researchers to further explore the health and nutrition status of low-income children during the early years of life. Funding Sources WIC ITFPS-2 is funded by USDA contract number AG-3198-B-11–0020 with Westat.

Conceptualization of college students' COVID-19 related mask-wearing behaviors using the Multi-Theory Model of health behavior change.

Background: Recommendations and policies, regarding the use of face coverings, have been instituted to control transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Understanding of psychosocial factors related to the use of face coverings within the context of COVID-19 is needed. This study aimed to conceptualize mask-wearing behavior among students using the Multi-theory Model (MTM) of behavior change. Methods: In October 2020, students (n = 595) enrolled in a large public southeastern US university were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, using a valid and reliable instrument. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate techniques described mask-wearing behavior and differentiated theoretical drivers of mask-wearing between individuals compliant and non-compliant with guidelines. Results: Compliant individuals reported significantly higher scores (P <0.05) for initiation and sustenance of mask-wearing, participatory dialogue, behavioral confidence, emotional transformation, practice for change, changes in the social environment, and significantly lower scores for disadvantage. Among multivariable models, all theoretical predictors exhibited significant relationships to their respective outcomes (initiation and sustenance). Specifically, MTM constructs explained approximately 35% of variance in initiation (R2 = 0.346, F(3,526) = 94.32, P <0.001) and 33% of variance in sustenance of mask wearing (R2 = 0.328, F(3,529) = 87.71, P <0.001) for compliant individuals. Behavioral confidence and emotional transformation exhibited the strongest relationships to initiation (ß = 0.403, P <0.001) and sustenance (ß = 0.450, P <0.001), respectively. Conclusion: Findings suggest a need to design educational programming based on the MTM to promote mask-wearing behavior among laggards who defy face mask guidelines, recommendations, and mandates.

Human Development by Gender and National Culture: A Comparative Analysis

The differences between female and male human development indicators are evidence that the general scenario (whole population) presents a blurred analytical viewpoint. Female schooling and life expectancy have advanced, but income is far from keeping pace. For women, legislation does not seem to be enough without the cultural legitimisation; for men, the cultural dependency on psychopathologies derived from the subjective expectations of masculinity is more evident. However, no study has apparently analysed the influence of national culture (NC) on human development (HD), by comparing the General, Female, and Male scenarios. This research sought to fill this gap by applying univariate and multivariate techniques to the data from 59 countries, using the Hofstede cultural dimensions as independent variables, HD indicators as dependent variables, and democracy, agricultural dependence, and urbanisation as controls. The influence of culture is a reality in all scenarios, but differs according to gender. For women, individualism appears to be a more powerful ally, and masculinity and uncertainty avoidance more harmful factors than for men; for men, power distance and indulgence have a greater impact than on women. Considering HD as a whole, an autonomous thinking society that rejects unjustifiable inequalities seems to be the most important cultural enabler.

Risk factors of diabetes and hypertension among women in Karnataka

Background and aimsThe growth in prevalence of diabetes and hypertension has become a major health issue for women in Karnataka. In India, for the first time, the National Family Health Survey has collected information on diabetes and hypertension across the states within India (NFHS-4, 2015–16). Hence there is the need to estimate the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among women and the associated risk factors using the national represented data. MethodsThis study has used data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey, which was conducted in 2015–16. Furthermore, the present study included 26,291 women of Karnataka aged 15–49 years. And data analysis was carried out by univariate, bivariate and Binary Logistic Regression techniques. ResultsThis study revealed a high prevalence of diabetes (6.3%) and hypertension (10.5%) among women in Karnataka. Overweight women were more likely to have diabetes (11.7%) and hypertension (20.6%) than normal and underweight women. The detailed analysis indicated demographic and socio-economic diversity in the burden of diabetes and hypertension. The factors responsible for co-morbidities were the changes in the demographic situation and socio-economic status, overweight and substance use. ConclusionsThe findings point to the need for raising awareness about the prevention and management of diabetes and hypertension through health education and community-based disease management programs with the help of trained peers and community health workers.

Screening major depressive disorder using vocal acoustic features in the elderly by sex

BackgroundVocal acoustic features are potential biomarkers of elderly depression. Previous automated diagnostic tests for depression have employed unstandardized speech samples, and few studies have considered differences in voice reactivity. We aimed to develop a voice-based screening test for depression measuring vocal acoustic features of elderly Koreans while they read a series of mood-inducing sentences (MIS). MethodsIn this case-control study, we recruited 61 individuals with major depressive disorder and 143 healthy controls (mean age [SD]: 72 [6]; female, 70%) from the community-dwelling elderly population. Participants were asked to read MIS and their variation pattern of acoustic features represented by the correlation distance between two MIS were analyzed as input features using the univariate feature selection technique and subsequently classified by AdaBoost. ResultsAcoustic features showing significant discriminatory performances were spectral and energy-related features for males (sensitivity 0.95, specificity 0.88, and accuracy 0.86) and prosody-related features for females (sensitivity 0.73, specificity 0.86, and accuracy 0.77). The correlation distance between negative and positive MIS was significantly shorter in the depressed group than in the healthy control (F = 18.574, P < 0.001). LimitationsSmall sample size and relatively homogenous clinical profile of depression could limit the generalizability. ConclusionsWhile reading MIS, spectral and energy-related acoustic features for males and prosody-related features for females are good discriminators for major depressive disorder. These features may be used as biomarkers of depression in the elderly.