Valid Index Research Articles

The Thai version of the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale: a valid instrument for the psychometric assessment of the community members in Bangkok, Thailand

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can develop into a long-term COVID in some cases, which can have a major impact on various health systems requiring appropriate treatment involving multi-disciplinary healthcare. The COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS) is a standardized tool widely used for screening the symptoms and severity of long-term COVID. Translation of the English version of the C19-YRS into the Thai language and testing it is essential for the psychometric evaluation of the severity of the long-term COVID syndrome prior to providing rehabilitation care for community members.MethodsForward-and back-translations including cross-cultural aspects were conducted in order to develop a preliminary Thai version of that tool. Five experts evaluated the content validity of the tool and produced a highly valid index. A cross-sectional study was then conducted on a sample of 337 Thai community members recovering from COVID-19. Assessment of internal consistency and individual item analyses were also performed.ResultsThe content validity resulted in valid indices. The analyses showed that 14 items had acceptable internal consistency, based on the corrected item correlations. However, five symptom severity items and two functional ability items were deleted. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the final C19-YRS was 0.723, indicating acceptable internal consistency and reliability of the survey instrument.ConclusionsThis study indicated that the Thai C19-YRS tool had acceptable validity and reliability for the evaluation and testing of the psychometric variables in a Thai community population. The survey instrument also had acceptable validity and reliability for screening the symptoms and severity of long-term COVID. Further studies are warranted in order to standardize the various applications of this tool.

Calibrating contact parameters of typical rotary tillage components cutting soil based on different simulation methods

This report analyzes the problem of complex soil movement patterns under the action of coupled forces, such as tension and shear, in agricultural processes and aims to improve the accuracy of contact parameters used in discrete element simulation studies of rototiller-soil interactions. This study focuses on the soil of Shihezi cotton field in the 8th division of Xinjiang and investigates the rotating tiller roller as a soil-touching component of tillage machinery. A combination of simulations and physical testing is used. We perform angle of repose tests and use edge detection, fitting, and other image processing methods to automatically, quickly, and accurately detect the soil accumulation and angle calibration of the contact parameters with soil particles. Additionally, soil slip tests are conducted to calibrate the contact parameters between the soil and the rotary blades. Optimization is achieved based on orthogonal simulations and the Box-Behnken response surface method using physically measured values as the target. A regression model of the stacking angle and rolling friction angle is established to determine the optimal combination of simulation contact parameters: between soil and soil, the recovery coefficient is 0.402, static friction coefficient is 0.621, and rolling friction coefficient is 0.078; between soil contact parts and soil, the recovery coefficient is 0.508, static friction coefficient is 0.401, and rolling friction coefficient is 0.2. Furthermore, the calibration parameters are selected as contact parameters for the discrete element simulation. By combining the above two simulation methods to analyze and compare the simulation process of cutting soil from rototiller roller parts to rototiller single blade parts, we obtained the changes in energy, cutting resistance, and soil particle movement at different depths of the soil cutting process. Finally, the average cutting resistance was used as an index for validation in the field tests. The measured value is 0.96 kN and the error of the discrete element simulation is 13%. This demonstrates the validity of the calibrated contact parameters and the accuracy of the simulation, which can provide a theoretical reference and technical support for the study of the interaction mechanisms between of tillage equipment parts and soil, as well as the design and optimization of these interactions in the future.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Bangla version of the Psoriasis Disability Index.

The Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) is used for the quality-of-life assessment of psoriasis patients. However, a locally adapted Bangla version of the PDI (B-PDI) instrument is currently lacking in Bangladesh. To translate the instrument, adapt, and validate it among psoriatic patients of the country was the objective of the study. Translation, adaptation, and back-to-back translation to Bangla were made from the original English PDI. The final Bangla instrument was applied among 83 psoriasis patients twice at 10 days intervals. The psychometric property of the instrument was evaluated. Item-level content-validity index (CVI) was used to check the content validity of the instrument. Convergent validity was tested by comparing the B-PDI with the validated Bangla version of Short Form 36(SF-36) and the Psoriasis Area Disability Index (PASI) score. Necessary testing was used to assess internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The B-PDI was well-accepted by the patients. It showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.76) and very high test-retest reliability (Pearson r = 0.92, p < 0.001). The scale demonstrated excellent content validity (Content Valid Index [CVI] = 1). The instrument had satisfactory convergent validity with four components of SF-36. Pearson correlation coefficient for physical, emotional, social, and pain domains of SF-36 was 0.663, 0.644, 0.808, and 0.862, respectively, and for PASI score was 0.812. Factor exploration using Principal Component Analysis revealed four factors reflecting working disabilities, social, and hygienic disabilities, lifestyle difficulties, and leisure-associated disabilities. This study supports the reliability and validity of the B-PDI instrument for measuring health-related quality-of-life for Bangla-speaking psoriasis patients.

Improved Initialization Method for Simple and Fast K-medoids Clustering

Initial solution selection is an important process in determining an optimal solution for the efficient classification of clustering methods in machine learning. This study proposes an improved initialization method for a simple and fast Kmedoids clustering algorithm, considering not only the sum of the relative distance rates for each data point, but also the distance between the previously selected medoids (representative objects). Selection of the balanced initial medoids causes the dissimilarity of patterns in the same cluster to be small and the dissimilarity of patterns in different clusters to be large. The performance of the proposed method is verified and validated based on two valid indices of clustering solutions by employing seven machine learning repository datasets of prominent applications with large improvements. The Mann–Whitney test is employed to assess the statistical significance of the performance differences between the method proposed by Park and Jun (2009) and the initialization method for clustering proposed here. The proposed initial selection method is effective, highly reliable, and computationally practical even for large problems.

Evaluation on game concentration with multi-scale fuzzy entropy based on EEG signals

Concentration is the index to measure a person concentrating on certain thing or activity. Finding a valid physiological characteristic index to represent concentration level is important for attention training and experience improvement. In this study, the multi-scale fuzzy entropy (MSFEn) was proposed as an EEG feature to evaluate concentration level. Firstly, a game platform was designed independently to arouse the players’ concentration during the game, and the physical characteristics index Rect_y was defined to directly represent the players’ emotional concentration. Secondly, a portable single-channel EEG device was adopted to collect EEG signals of players during the experiment. Hilbert–Huang transform, the MSFEn and Grey correlation analysis were used for signal processing. The behavioral performances of participants were investigated with a questionnaire after each participant playing game. The statistical results showed that the MSFEn maintained a high correlation with the Rect_y at different game speeds and different scale factors for each player, with the median of about 70%. Compared with conditional entropies, the MSFEn can better reflect relatively short-term concentration and long-term overall game concentration of participants during the game.

Against the use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2-15 years.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is a widely used screening tool for emotional and behavioural problems in children. Recent quantitative analyses have raised concerns regarding its structural validity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This paper aims to extend upon existing findings by analysing the factor structure of both the parent- and teacher-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in this population across a broader age range than in previous studies. Participants were the caregivers and teachers of 1624 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (820 male, 804 female) aged 2-15 years from Waves 2-11 of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children. The majority of children were Aboriginal living in major cities and inner regional areas. Internal consistency was estimated with McDonald's Omega. Exploratory structural equation modelling was conducted to investigate the factor structure of the parent-reported and teacher-reported versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Responses from teachers demonstrated higher internal consistency than responses from parents, which was unacceptably low across most age groups. The purported five-factor structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire failed to be replicated across both parent- and teacher-reported questionnaires. The results of bifactor and hierarchical exploratory structural equation models also failed to approximate the higher-order summary scales. These results indicate that the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire subscales and summary scores do not provide a valid index of emotional and behavioural problems in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire should not be used with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Prognostic Association Between Frailty and Post-Arrest Health Outcomes in Patients Receiving Home Care: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

AimTo evaluate the association between frailty and post-cardiac arrest survival, functional decline, and cognitive decline, among patients receiving home care. MethodsFrailty was measured using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and a valid frailty index. We used multivariable logistic regression to measure the association between frailty and post-arrest outcomes after adjusting for age, sex, and arrest setting. Functional independence and cognitive performance were measured using the interRAI ADL Long-Form and Cognitive Performance Scale, respectively. We conducted sub-group analytics of in-hospital and out-of-hospital arrests. ResultsOur cohort consisted of 7,901 home care clients; most patients arrested out-of-hospital (55.4%) and were 75 years or older (66.3%). Most were classified as frail (94.2%) with a CFS score of 5 or greater. The 30-day survival rate was higher for in-hospital (26.6%) than out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (5.2%). Most patients who survived to discharge had declines in post-arrest functional independence (65.8%) and cognitive performance (46.5%). A one-point increase in the CFS decreased the odds of 30-day survival by 8% (aOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87–0.97). A 0.1 unit increase in the frailty index reduced the odds of 30-day survival by 9% (aOR = 0.91; 95%CI = 0.86–0.96). The frailty index was associated with declines in functional independence (OR = 1.16; 95%CI = 1.02–1.31) and cognitive performance (OR = 1.24; 95%CI = 1.09–1.42), while the CFS was not. ConclusionFrailty is associated with cardiac arrest survival and post-arrest cognitive and functional status in patients receiving home care. Post-cardiac arrest cognitive and functional status are best predicted using more comprehensive frailty indices.

A164 IDENTIFYING THE MOST IMPORTANT PREDICTORS TO CORRELATE SERUM METABOLITES WITH MRE CHANGES IN PATIENTS WITH PEDIATRIC CROHN DISEASE

Abstract Background Endoscopy has been the gold standard for assessing activity in Pediatric Crohn disease (pCD); however, it is limited by its invasiveness and partial assessment of small intestine and transmural inflammation. To that end, the Pediatric Inflammatory Crohn's MRE Index (PICMI) is a valid, reliable, non-invasive, and responsive index that includes transmural inflammation when assessing disease activity. The pathogenesis of pCD remains poorly understood, but evidence suggests that endogenous metabolites produced in the intestinal tract might mediate pathogenesis. Despite the important applicability of metabolomics in increasing the understanding of pCD, there has been limited research on this topic. Purpose Serum metabolomic profiles are linked to disease activity in pediatric Crohn disease. Method ImageKids is a multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study, designed to develop PICMI for pCD. The study was conducted over 18 months with paired serum specimens collected at study initiation and completion for 56 pCD patients. Due to the long time between the visits and the fact that during the study variables that highly affect serum metabolites were not controlled, we considered each patient visit as an individual measure point. Metabolites were identified using a quantitative metabolomics approach through The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC; University of Alberta). Disease activity was determined by the cutoff values in the total PICMI score of each patient. The most relevant serum metabolites were identified by medium-level and high-level variable selection analysis. Pearson correlation and hypothesis testing were used to select important metabolites. Decision trees, regularization techniques, and support vector machines were used to assess explicit importance of metabolites in disease activity. Result(s) This work provides a strategy to reduce a dimensional dataset from a metabolomic experiment. By medium-level selection analysis we were able to identify 117 statistical important metabolites for disease activity. The high-level selection analysis allowed to indicate the importance of the top 10 metabolites trough disease activity (defined by PICMI index). Results, also show that the evaluation of importance of metabolites through multivariate statistical models is dependent of the intrinsic variable selection model. Figure 1 reveals that Tryptophan ranked highest in the feature importance scoring. Histidine, Methylhistidine, Citric acid, Isoleucine, and Decanoylcarnitine also correlated well with disease severity. Image Conclusion(s) This work uses a unique approach of multivariate statistical analyses, to identify metabolites associated with pCD disease activity. Tryptophan has been previously identified as significantly altered in the blood of IBD patients compared to controls. Histidine is known to be involved in the mediation of oxidative stress, potentially influencing intestinal inflammation. These metabolites could serve as biomarkers and help define pCD pathogenesis. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Flatfoot in the neglected age group of adolescents

The foot arches in humans are the complex musculo-skeletal-ligamentous structure that helps in shock absorption because of the elasticity and provides stability while transmitting the muscle force for walking. Primarily we observed the prevalence of flatfoot among adolescents going to college. Thereafter we determined the correlation of flatfoot with the body mass index and gender of the adolescents being studied. Footprint analysis of undergraduate students was obtained based on Harris – the Beath mat principle. Clarke’s angle, Chippaux-Smirak index, and Staheli arch index were observed in the footprints. Subsequently, the correlation between the flatfoot, body mass index, and gender of the participants was assessed. The prevalence of flatfoot in college-going adolescents was 18.28% by footprint analysis, presenting a female predilection (20% of the footprint analysis) for the condition. The most valid and reliable plantar arch index for diagnosing flatfoot was the Staheli arch index, followed by the Chippaux-Smirak index having a moderate to strong correlation (R = 0.7, 0.95; p &lt; 0.05). Only 1.1% of females and up to 2.2% of males were observed to have flatfoot and were obese. Eighteen out of a hundred (approximately one–fifth) adolescents in the studied group had flatfoot. The gender predilection for females was observed. Contradictory to the findings of the previous study, obesity was not observed as a foot arch-altering factor in adolescents.

Profiles of adolescents' sadness, anger, and worry regulation: Characterization and relations with psychopathology.

Adaptive emotion regulation (ER) reflects competence in effective emotion expression and emotion coping, both of which are critical to mitigating psychopathology risk. The current study extends past work on adolescent ER in three ways. First, using a functionalist framework, we focused on discrete emotions, examining how adolescents may differentially express and cope with sadness, anger, and worry. Second, we used a person-centered approach to determine whether subgroups of youth report different patterns of managing emotions. Third, to provide indices of validity and replicability, we characterized ER profiles in two independent community samples of adolescents and in relation to psychological adjustment (i.e., depression, anxiety, aggression), concurrently and longitudinally. Sample A comprised 202 youths (Mage = 12.90 years, 52.5% girls) participating at two time points 2 years apart. Sample B comprised 500 adolescents (Mage = 14.06 years, 60.2% girls), 99 of whom participated again 6 months later. Latent profile analyses per sample revealed similar three-profile solutions, such that adolescents were classified into the Expressive Coping (i.e., high regulation coping, low inhibition), Inhibited Coping (i.e., high regulation coping, high inhibition), or Dysregulated Anger (i.e., low anger coping, low anger inhibition) group. Youth in the Dysregulated Anger group reported elevations in depression and, in some instances, anxiety and aggression. Psychological adjustment for the other groups differed by sample. Profile membership did not predict change in symptoms over time. As such, adolescents vary in the extent to which their ER is global versus emotion-specific, in both replicable and, potentially, clinically meaningful ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Validation study of the Persian version of behavioral pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating scale (BEHAVE-AD) and the empirical BHAVE-AD (E-BEHAVE-AD)

Introduction Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are observed in more than 90% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). BPSDs are remediable if detected early and managed appropriately. Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer’s disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD) and Empirical BEHAVE-AD (E-BEHAVE-AD) were designed to identify BPSD. The aim of this study is to validate and prepare BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD in Persian language for clinical and research applications. Method 120 patients were selected through a combination of intentional and convenience sampling. All participants should fulfill the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group criteria for a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Functional Assessment Staging Tool (FAST) was used to determine the rate of AD progression. All patients were evaluated using the BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD questionnaires, as well as the Persian version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The Content Validity Index (CVI) is determined based on the compatibility of the Persian and the original version of the two scales according to the opinion of expert panels. Correlation of MMSE with BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD as well as the BPSD pattern on AD progression continuum by FAST were considered as indices of construct validity. Concurrent validity was estimated by correlating NPI-Q scores with BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD scores. For both scales, interrater reliability was extracted as a reliability index. Results Pearson correlation coefficients for the BEHAVE-AD scale were as follows: with NPI-Q (r = 0.77, p-value <0.01), with MMSE (r = −0.34, p-value <0.01), indicating concurrent and construct validity, respectively. The result for E-BEHAVE-AD was as follows: with NPI-Q-total (r = 0.59, p-value <0.01), and with MMSE (r = 0.31, p-value <0. 01). BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD scores increased in parallel with AD severity according to FAST, but not on the most severe AD stage. The area under the curve was estimated to be 0.84 (p-value <0.001) for BEHAVE-AD and 0.78 (p-value <0.001) for E-BEHAVE-AD. Correlation between BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD scores ranged from 0.45 to 0.63. The inter-rater reliability index ranged from 0.88 to 0.99 for BEHAVE-AD and from 0.74 to 0.95 for E-BEHAVE-AD. Conclusions The Persian version of BEHAVE-AD and E-BEHAVE-AD is valid and reliable for the assessment of BPSD in patients with AD.

The use of the consensual approach for the improvement of existing multidimensional poverty data in Latin America: an illustration based on data from the City of Buenos Aires

This article aims at contributing to the current literature on poverty data limitations and measurement by discussing the process for producing the first multidimensional poverty measure based on the consensual approach for the City of Buenos Aires. The results show a remarkable level of consensus about the necessities of life in the twenty-first century, underline the importance of generating more suitable indicators of deprivation and show that unmet basic needs-type variables are no longer adequate for measuring poverty in countries like Argentina. According to the valid and reliable poverty index, 20.3% of the city’s population live in households in multidimensionally poor households, this being the social dimension that shows the highest deprivation rate.

Psychometric Properties of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International, Cut-off Points, and Validating its Short Version Among Iranian Older People.

Older people have a fear of falling, which is far more difficult than falling itself. We measured the extent of this feeling using a short and valid Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) 7-item questionnaire for the aging community in Iran. The present psychometric work deals with outlining the validation and translation of FES-I (short version) among 9117 Persian-speaking elderly people with a mean age of 70.2±8.3 years (54.1% female and 45.9% male) in July 2021. Investigations were performed on confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, and construct validity along with test-retest reliability, receiver operating characteristic analysis, inter-rater, and convergent validity. 72.4% of the subjects were living alone, 92.9% required support in activities of daily living, and 93.0% experienced falling in the past two years. A one-factor solution was assigned by exploratory factor analysis for FES-I. Thus, this model was proved by the confirmatory factor analysis with valid fit indices. Based on Cronbach's alpha, intra-cluster correlation coefficient, and McDonald's omega (≥ 0.80), internal consistency was confirmed. The exact cut-off value was represented by the receiver operating characteristic analysis for male/female and between with/without fear of falling among older samples with higher measures of specificity and sensitivity. Moreover, a significant effect of age, aging in place, loneliness, hospitalization rate, frailty, and sense of anxiety (effect size ≥ 0.80, p ≤ 0.05) on fear of falls was detected using analysis of variance. The psychometric properties of the original scale were preserved by the Persian version of FES-I seven items as a self-reported measure of fear of falling. It could be assuredly a measure in both community and clinical settings. The possible uses and limitations of the Iranian FES-I were also discussed.

Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire: translation, cultural adaptation, and validation.

The aim was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the APFQ (Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire) for the population of Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women. The translation and validation of the APFQ were performed according to Beaton's guideline recommendations, with a sample of 150 patients (75 pregnant, 75 postpartum). Cronbach's alpha assessed the scale's internal consistency and reproducibility with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). To analyze the construct validity, two questionnaires were applied, and the Spearman correlation was performed. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was executed to assess the fit of the data to the theoretical model. The ability to generate diagnosis was analyzed by sensitivity and specificity. Only 1% of the sample scored in the prolapse domain, so it was removed from the validation analyses. Cronbach's alpha values greater than 0.70 were obtained for the bladder and bowel domains, and 0.69 for sexual function. As for reproducibility, the ICC was greater than 0.75 for all domains. Spearman's correlation was good for bowel (r=0.74), moderate for bladder (r=0.58), and poor for sexual function (r=0.23). CFA results showed a non-optimal adherence: despite the Chi-squared value being significant (p<0.001), the CMIN- which is the adherence of the data to the model- value is less than 3. Sensitivity above 80% was obtained, whereas specificity of 43%, 16%, and 12% was obtained for bowel, bladder, and sexual functions respectively. The APFQ was translated, culturally adapted, and validated for Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women. It showed good indexes of internal consistency, construct validity, reproducibility, and sensitivity. However, the prolapse domain could not be validated.

Spatial distribution of poverty in Pakistan: an asset-based approach

The main objective of this study is to construct a valid and reliable asset index at household level by using NSER-BISP data in order to compute asset poverty for provinces, districts, and tehsils of the Pakistan. An asset index may be better measure than current income or expenditure for gauging household’s long-term capacity for buying goods and services and its potential resilience to economic shocks. The study employs multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to construct asset index contrary to principal component analysis (PCA), as MCA provides us weights and contributions of each dimension of binary variable separately. The average MCA score is showing the level of asset-based poverty wherein higher values of index are representing higher level of poverty. The findings indicate that incidence of asset-based poverty is differently observed across provinces and within provinces through disaggregation of the MCA score at district and tehsil levels. By and large, the poorest districts of Pakistan are belonging to Baluchistan (i.e., Sherani, Kohlu, Chaghi, and Dera Bugti) and Sindh (i.e., Badin, Umerkot, Tando Muhammad Khan, and Tharparker) provinces; however, districts of Punjab (i.e., Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Gujranwala) province are found relatively lower asset-based poverty. Further, the analysis highlights the prevalence of asset-based poverty at tehsils level as well where again the tehsils of Baluchistan and Sindh provinces are bearing the highest asset-based poverty. Furthermore, the study also contributes by visualizing the prevalence of geographical asset-based poverty at district level for all four provinces of Pakistan by GIS mapping.

Turkish Validity and Reliability of the Self-care of Hypertension Inventory (SC-HI) among Older Adults

ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Self-care of Hypertension Inventory (SC-HI) among older adults with hypertension. Design This was a methodological study. Methods The study sample enrolled 176 older adults. The study carried out preliminary psychometric analyses. Findings Item-level content validity index ranged between 0.87 to 1.0, and the index of content validity was 0.98. The Cronbach’s α for the total scale was 0.84. Conclusion The cross-cultural adaptation of SC-HI has been realized successfully in Turkish. Clinical Evidence Health care providers may utilize the scale to evaluate “older individuals” hypertension self-care abilities.

The Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale as an instrument for assessing quality - a psychometric evaluation.

Basic indices of reliability, validity, and feasibility of the Polish language version of the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale (SLDS) were assessed - this is one of the self-assessment measures of the subjective quality of life. The combined database included 1,246 people from previous studies on stigma (n = 316) and recovery (n = 110), and individuals seeking psycho-social support (n = 820). Apart from SLDS, other measures of life functioning, experiences of stigma and discrimination, factors of personal recovery, and self-rated and clinician-rated psychopathology were used. The SLDS results were characterized by a good item performance and high internal consistency (α = 0.92). Significant improvement in life satisfaction was noted, while maintaining some correlational stability in the re-test. Satisfaction with life did not depend on gender, education and age, but on diagnostic qualification (mental problems < somatic diseases) and methodological qualification (patients > persons seeking support). The direction and strength of the correlation of SLDS scores with a number of social, personal and clinical variables supports its theoretical validity, as does the principal components analysis indicating both the value of a one- and three-dimensional solution (satisfaction with social conditions, living conditions and interpersonal relationships). The feasibility of SLDS is also indicated by the low frequency (< 2.8%) of no responses in the surveyed population. The basic psychometric indicators of the Polish language version of the SLDS confirm its satisfactory reliability and validity as well as a sufficient level of feasibility for various clinical and research aims.

Turkish validity and reliability of the level of sitting scale in children with cerebral palsy.

The Level of Sitting Scale (LSS) is a valid and reliable classification index that categorizes sitting ability. The aim of this study is to establish the Turkish validity and reliability of the LSS in children with cerebral palsy (CP). In total, 165 children (75 girls and 90 boys) between the ages of 4 and 18 years who were diagnosed with CP were included in the study. All children were evaluated by two independent physiotherapists for the interrater reliability analysis of the LSS and were reevaluated 1 week later by the same physiotherapist for the intrarater reliability analysis. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was used for validity analysis. The intrarater reliability analyses of the LSS showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.999 (ICC 95% CI [0.999-1]),and the interrater reliability analyses showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.998 (ICC 95% CI [0.998-0.999]). A statistically significant, negative, and strong correlation was found between the GMFCS and the LSS (p < 0.001, r = -0.770). The Turkish version of the LSS in children with CP is a valid and reliable scale. The Turkish LSS can be used by researchersand clinicians in research and to determine the sitting level of children with CP.

The reverse association of dietary antioxidant index with osteoporosis in postmenopausal iranian women: A case-control study.

Osteoporosis, a prevalent bone malady, is prevalent in Iran. Several studies have represented the role of dietary antioxidants on osteoporosis. The dietary antioxidant index (DAI) is a valid and reliable index, which indicates a comprehensive view of dietary antioxidant capacity. This study aimed to survey the relationship of the DAI with the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in Iran. This research aimed to examine the association between the DAI and the risk of osteoporosis among postmenopausal women in Iran. In this case-control study, 440 postmenopausal women (220 cases and 220 controls) were enrolled. The dietary intake of contributors was evaluated using a 147-item food frequency questionnaire. To estimate the DAI, the amount of six antioxidant micronutrients such as Vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, manganese, and zinc was standardized. Then, the DAI was estimated by collecting the standardized consumption of these antioxidant micronutrients. Our findings represented the participants in the first (crude odds ratio [OR] = 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-2.85, P = 0.013) and second (crude OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.01-2.55, P = 0.043) tertiles of the DAI scores had significantly higher odds of osteoporosis compared to those in the third one; while after modifying for confounding factors, this significant reverse relationship was observed just between women in the first and third tertiles of the DAI scores (adjusted OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.34-3.18, P = 0.015). The consequence of this study suggested that adherence to a diet rich in antioxidant compounds may have protective effects against osteoporosis.

Evaluating the influence of environmental risk factors on inflammatory bowel diseases: a case-control study.

This study aimed to examine the environmental factors associated in Iranian patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The role of environmental factors in the development of IBD remains uncertain. In this case-control study, the patients with IBD referred to the Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were recruited from 2017 to 2019. Controls were matched by sex. Data were collected using the designed questionnaire and also valid questionnaire such Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for sleep quality and anxiety/depression, respectively. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs). The study population included 200 individuals: 100 (50%) IBD patients and 100 (50%) controls. Age under 50, marital status, sleep difficulties, vitamin D insufficiency, anxiety/depression, dietary fiber deficit, post-menopausal hormone treatment, oral contraceptives, and antibiotics were all prognostic factors for IBD on the univariate analysis (P< 0.005). In multivariate analysis, the risk of IBD was significantly increased with 50 years (OR: 6.699, 95%CI: 3.271-8.662, P=0.017), abnormal sleep status (OR: 6.383, 95%CI: 3.389-7.19, P=0.001), and using oral contraceptive (OR: 7.426, 95%CI: 5.327-9.865, P=0.001). However, the risk of IBD was significantly decreased with older age (OR: 0.795, 95%CI: 0.697-0.907, P=0.001) and married status (OR: 0.008, 95%CI: 0.001-0.438, P=0.018). Data suggest that the environmental factors play a significant role in the etiology of IBD and probably on the disease course. While the evidence for some factors is strong, many factors require further supportive data.