Χ2 Values Research Articles

Study on the development of public health and safety literacy assessment scale for university freshmen

Objective: To develop a measurement scale for the public health and safety literacy of university freshmen. Methods: Item pooling was conducted through literature review and in-depth interview with public health experts, and a nominal group was organized to develop the initial items to form the questionnaire. A total of 250 freshmen were randomly selected to complete the questionnaire, and the assessment of psychometric properties were performed to carry out item reduction by using classical test theory and item response theory. Exploratory factor analysis method (EFA) was employed to calculate the item-factor loadings. The data collected from another 318 freshmen were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis method (CFA). Results: The scale contained 3 dimensions and 9 items with all content validity index ≥0.8. The difficulty coefficient of 9 items was 1.18-2.43. The discriminative validity analysis showed that the difficulty index was 0.41-0.78, and the discrimination index was 0.38-0.64. Each of the remaining items had a statistically significant difference in the score value between the top 27% and lowest 27% of respondents (t>3, P<0.05). The item's Cronbach's α was 0.72-0.77, corrected item-total correlation was 0.33-0.60 and the overall α of the scale was 0.77. EFA indicated all item-factor loading were higher than 0.680, and the accumulated variance contribution of the 3 factors was 62.484%. Results of CFA showed that the overall fitness index of the model reached the fitness standard except for the χ2 value. There was no statistical significance in the total score of the scale and the scores of each item among groups with different demographic characteristics (P>0.05). Conclusions: The newly developed public health safety literacy scale had a good reliability,validity,stability and item constancy.It can be used in measurement of the public health and safety literacy of university freshmen.

Clinical value of tumor-associated autoantibodies in diagnosis of early non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: To investigate the auxiliary diagnostic value of seven tumor-associated autoantibodies (AABs) P53, PGP9.5, SOX2, GAGE7, GBU4-5, MAGEA1 and CAGE in early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: The case-control study enrolled 195 patients with early NSCLC [71 males and 124 females, aged (55.70±11.78) years old], 114 patients with benign lung disease [44 males and 70 females, aged (52.85±12.31) years old] and 100 healthy subjects [39 males and 61 females, aged (53.62±9.97) years old] from the First Affiliate Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2020 to December 2020. AABs were detected by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay (ELISA), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA),cytokeratin 19-fragments (CYFRA21-1) and neuron specific enolase (NSE) were detected by electrochemiluminescence. The levels of AABs,CEA,CYFRA21-1 and NSE in the 3 groups were compared. Patients with benign lung diseases and healthy subjects were combined into the control group, and the positive rate of each indicator in the NSCLC group and the control group was compared. The diagnostic efficacy of single and combined tests for NSCLC were obtained using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Besides, the relationship between the levels of AABs, CEA, CYFRA21-1 and NSE and their clinicopathological features and preoperative imaging parameters in NSCLC patients was assessed. Results: The levels of SOX2 [0.70 (0.10, 2.40) U/mL] and GBU4-5 [1.30 (0.30, 8.90) U/mL] in NSCLC group were higher than those in benign disease group [SOX2: 0.50 (0.10, 1.60) U/mL, GBU4-5: 0.80 (0.10, 2.30) U/mL, Z values were 27.258 and 45.797; P values were all<0.05] and health control group [SOX2: 0.45 (0.10, 1.08) U/mL, GBU4-5: 0.75 (0.20, 1.78) U/mL, Z values were 32.551 and 40.456; P values were all<0.05], and there was no significant difference between benign disease group and health control group (Z values were 5.293 and 5.340, P values were all>0.05). The levels of CEA [1.75 (1.08, 2.72) U/mL] and CYFRA21-1 [1.81 (1.41, 2.36) U/mL] in NSCLC group were higher than those in healthy control group [CEA: 1.22 (0.68, 1.81) U/mL, CYFRA21-1: 1.43 (1.14, 1.74) U/mL, Z values were 64.100 and 37.597; P values were all<0.05], but there was no significant difference between NSCLC group and benign group [CEA: 1.74 (1.01, 2.51) U/mL, CYFRA21-1: 1.82 (1.45, 2.46) U/mL, Z values were 7.275 and 10.621; P values were all>0.05]. The positive rates of P53, SOX2, GAGE7, GBU4-5 and CEA in NSCLC group were higher than those in the control group [P53: 10.3% vs 0.9%, SOX2: 11.3% vs 2.3%, GAGE7: 11.3% vs 0.5%, GBU4-5: 30.1% vs 5.6%, CEA: 9.7% vs 0.9%, χ2 values were 17.420, 13.242, 22.485, 43.211, 16.255, respectively; P values were all<0.05]. The diagnostic efficiency of the combined detection of seven AABs was better than that of single detection. Seven AABs combined with CEA [area under curve (AUC): 0.732, sensitivity: 64.10%] and with CYFRA21-1 (AUC: 0.737, sensitivity: 58.97%) greatly improved the diagnostic efficiency and sensitivity of CEA (AUC: 0.583, sensitivity: 50.77%) and CYFRA21-1 (AUC: 0.552, sensitivity: 44.10%). The levels of SOX2 and CEA in NSCLC patients were correlated with the degree of tumor invasion (H values were 6.436 and 14.071; P values were all<0.05); the levels of GAGE7 and CEA were correlated with the nodule density (H values were 7.643 and 12.268; P values were all<0.05); and the levels of SOX2, GAGE7, CEA and CYFRA21-1 were all correlated with the nodule size (H values were 10.837, 11.528, 31.835, 20.338; P values were all<0.05). Conclusion: The detection of AABs combined with CEA and CYFRA21-1 is helpful for the early auxiliary diagnosis of NSCLC, and plays an important role in prevention and screening for early lung cancer.

The Prognostic Value of the Albumin to Gamma-Glutamyltransferase Ratio in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Radiofrequency Ablation.

Albumin to gamma-glutamyltransferase ratio (AGR) is a newly developed biomarker for the prediction of patients' prognosis in solid tumors. The purpose of the study was to establish a novel AGR-based nomogram to predict tumor prognosis in patients with early-stage HCC undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA). 394 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who had received RFA as initial treatment were classified into the training cohort and validation cohort. Independent prognostic factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. The value of AGR was evaluated by the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and likelihood ratio tests (LAT). Logistic regression and nomogram were performed to establish the pretreatment scoring model based on the clinical variables. As a result, AGR = 0.63 was identified as the best cutoff value to predict overall survival (OS) in the training cohort. According to the results of multivariate analysis, AGR was an independent indicator for OS and recurrence-free survival (RFS). In both training cohort and validation cohort, the high-AGR group showed better RFS and OS than the low-AGR group. What is more, the C-index, area under the ROC curves, and LAT χ2 values suggested that AGR outperformed the Child-Pugh (CP) grade and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade in terms of predicting OS. The AGR, AKP, and tumor size were used to establish the OS nomogram. Besides, the results of Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve analysis displayed that both nomograms in the training and validation cohorts performed well in terms of calibration. Therefore, the AGR-based nomogram can predict the postoperative prognosis of early HCC patients undergoing RFA.

Cardiovascular Events in People With Type 2 Diabetes: Performance of Framingham, UKPDS, and ADVANCE Risk Equations

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the Framingham, UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), and the Action in Diabetes and Vascular disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) risk equations in the prediction of 4-year cardiovascular disease CVD) in Iranian people with type 2 diabetes. The 4-year risks of CVD were estimated using the three equations in a community of 557 patients with type 2 diabetes and free of CVD at baseline. A trained physician evaluated all of the participants regarding the occurrence of CVD events during follow-up. CVD was defined as major events including fatal/non-fatal myocardial infarction as well as fatal/non-fatal stroke, minor events including treated coronary heart disease (CHD), and established peripheral arterial disease (PAD). During four years of follow-up, 64 CVD events were observed (66% minor CVD events). Despite having a good calibration (estimated to observed ratio ranging from 91.37 to 98.2 percent, Hosmer–Lemeshow χ2 (HLχ2) values &lt;15), both general (Framingham) and diabetes-specific (UKPDS and ADVANCE) equations did not have adequate discriminative ability (Area Under the Curve (AUC) ranging from 0.48 to 0.56). Framingham, UKPDS, and ADVANCE risk equations, regardless of being general or diabetes-specific, could not precisely predict 4-year risk of CVD in Iranian individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in the progression of sepsis to chronic critical illness in elderly patients

To explore the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the progression of sepsis to chronic critical illness (CCI) in elderly patients. Patients with sepsis who were hospitalized more than 24 hours and older than 60 years old admitted to the department of medical intensive care unit (MICU) of General Hospital of Southern Theatre Command from August 2019 to April 2021 were enrolled. The neutrophil count (NEU), lymphocyte count (LYM) and NLR of peripheral blood cells were recorded on the 1st, 4th and 7th day after admission. Patients were divided into the CCI group and the non-CCI group according to whether they progressed to CCI, and differences between the two groups were compared. The CCI was defined as a MICU length of stay (LOS) ≥ 14 days and persistent organ dysfunction [sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score ≥ 2]. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the risk factors for predicting CCI. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was plotted for evaluating the predictive value of NLR in the progression of sepsis to CCI in elderly patients. (1) Among 103 sepsis patients enrolled, 16 (15.5%) died within 2 weeks of admission to the MICU, 46 (44.7%) developed CCI, and 41 (39.8%) were non-CCI. (2) Compared between the two groups, the NEU of CCI group on day 7 was significantly higher than that of non-CCI group [×109/L: 9.80 (6.72, 16.80) vs. 6.66 (5.14, 9.29), P < 0.01], LYM was significantly lower than that of non-CCI group [×109/L: 0.77 (0.46, 1.20) vs. 1.00 (0.86, 1.48), P < 0.05], and NLR on day 4 and day 7 were significantly higher than those of non-CCI group [12.85 (6.56, 17.56) vs. 8.26 (5.34, 13.17), 13.76 (6.97, 23.66) vs. 6.14 (4.04, 8.84), both P < 0.05]. Compared with different time points in the same group, NEU and NLR decreased gradually and LYM increased gradually in non-CCI group (χ2 values were 10.216, 28.343, 7.189, respectively, all P < 0.05), which tended to be normal. There were no significant differences in NEU, LYM and NLR of CCI group at each time point (χ2 values were 0.798, 4.478, 5.783, respectively, all P > 0.05). (3) Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that NLR on day 7 was an independent risk factor for sepsis progression to CCI [odds ratio (OR) = 1.155, P = 0.005]. (4) ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of NLR predicting the sepsis progression to CCI on day 7 was 0.775, and the 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.670-0.860, P < 0.01; when the cut-off value was 9.25, the sensitivity was 69.57% and the specificity was 80.56%. Dynamic monitoring of NLR is helpful to determine the progress of sepsis in elderly patients, NLR on day 7 has a certain predictive value for the occurrence of CCI.

Vitamins Composition in &lt;i&gt;Clarias gariepinus&lt;/i&gt; Fish Body Parts (Liver, Muscle, Head): Reporting on Samples on Fresh, Smoked-Dried and Dry Extract Bases

An investigation into the vitamins composition levels in Clariasgariepinus fish was carried out and reported in dry extract/fresh; dry extract / smoked-dried on individual vitamins and the sum of the whole vitamins. Parts investigated were liver, muscle and head. Whereas fresh and smoked-dried data were laboratory results, the dry extract portions were calculated and reported as dry extract /fresh sample, dry extract / smoked-dried sample for liver, muscle and head. Results obtained ran thus and all values were in mg/100g vitamin where d = difference, CV% = coefficient of variation and % difference = % value that shows what made dry extract value greater than its reported comparison: dry extract/fresh, % d = 74.5 (all), CV% = 84.0 (all), in liver; dry extract/smoked, % d =24.5 (all), CV% = 19.7 (all), in liver; dry extract/fresh, % d = 74.3 (all), CV% = 83.6 (all), in muscle; ndry extract/smoked, % d = 10.2 (all), CV% =7.60 (all), in muscle;m dry extract/fresh, % d = 68.5 (all), CV% = 73.7 (all), in head; dry extract/smoked, % d = 9.10 (all), CV% = 6.74 (all), in head; dry extract/fresh, % d = 71.9- 74.5, CV% = 79.4 - 82.4 in total vitamin body load; dry extract/smoked, % d = 9. 69- 24.5, CV% = 7.20 - 19.7 in total vitamin body load; dry extract (fresh) – dry extract (smoked), %d = 69.6 - 82.0 in liver; dry extract (fresh) – dry extract (smoked), %d = 72.3 - 76.3 in muscle; dry extract (fresh) – dry extract (smoked), %d = 62.9 - 75.2 in head; dry extract (fresh) – dry extract (smoked), %d = 69.7- 79.0 in total vitamins body load.Among the dry extract values calculated from fresh samples and subjected to chi-square (χ2) values, significant values were observed in vitamins B6, C, A, B1, D, E and total at α=0.05. In the dry extract values from smoked samples, only three significant χ2 values in vitamins A, E and total were observed. In reflection to vitamin concentration levels, percentage higher levels in dry extracts (from fresh) had these trends: liver (74.5%) &gt; muscle (74.3%) &gt; head (68.5%) whereas from smoked, we had liver (24.5%) &gt; muscle (10.2%) &gt; head (9.10%). Also total vitamin body load from dry extract (fresh) was 71.9-74.5% difference and dry extract (smoked) was 9.69 -24.5% difference. It should be noted that liver occupied the higher part of the range in the two comparisons, like 74.5% (fresh) and 24.5% (smoked).

Role of comorbidity in assessment of long-term prognosis after myocardial infarction

The aim of the study. To compare different methods for assessing comorbidity in terms of its long-term predictive value after myocardial infarction (MI).Materials and methods. The analysis included 1176 patients with MI who were consecutively admitted to the hospital. The incidence of STsegment elevation MI was 60%; every second patient underwent endovascular intervention. All patients underwent an analysis of the severity of comorbidity according to the CIRS system (Cumulative lllness Rating Scale), according to the CCI (the Charlson’s comorbidity index), the CDS scale of chronic diseases (Chronic Disease Score), as well as according to their own model ‘K9’ (patent RU2734993C1 dated 10.27.2020) based on the summation of nine diseases: type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, anemia, stroke, arterial hypertension, obesity, peripheral atherosclerosis, thrombocytopenia.Results. Long-term mortality was 12.1 %. In Cox regression analysis of long-term survival after MI, the K9 model showed the best operational characteristics with a p &lt; 0.00001 level. In multivariate analysis, when comorbidity data were added to GRACE, an increase in the χ2 value for GARCE + CCI and GRACE + K9 to 102.5 and 99.3, respectively, and the values of the area under the ROC curve to 0.78 (0.74–0, 82) and 0.77 (0.72–0.81), respectively. Regardless of the initial level of risk assessed by the GRACE scale, severe comorbidity (four or more diseases according to the K9) significantly increased the relative risk of mortality. In patients with severe comorbidity, the predictive value of the GRACE scale was the lowest.Conclusions. Among the analyzed methods of assessing comorbidity, only CCI and its own K9 scale have an acceptable predictive value, allowing better adaptation of the GRACE scale for stratification of the long-term risk of death after MI. At the same time ‘K9’, based on the summation of nine previously described diseases, is much more convenient than CCI in practical application

A novel computational strategy to predict the value of the evidence in the SNP-based forensic mixtures.

This study introduces a methodology for inferring the weight of the evidence (WoE) in the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-typed DNA mixtures of forensic interest. First, we redefined some algebraic formulae to approach the semi-continuous calculation of likelihoods and likelihood ratios (LRs). To address the allelic dropouts, a peak height ratio index (“h,” an index of heterozygous state plausibility) was incorporated into semi-continuous formulae to act as a proxy for the “split-drop” model of calculation. Second, the original ratio at which a person of interest (POI) has entered into the mixture was inferred by evaluating the DNA amounts conferred by unique genotypes to any possible permutation of any locus of the typing protocol (unique genotypes are genotypes that appear just once in the relevant permutation). We compared this expected ratio (MRex) to all the mixing ratios emerging at all other permutations of the mixture (MRobs) using several (1 - χ2) tests to evaluate the probability of each permutation to exist in the mixture according to quantitative criteria. At the level of each permutation state, we multiplied the (1 - χ2) value to the genotype frequencies and the h index. All the products of all the permutation states were finally summed to give a likelihood value that accounts for three independent properties of the mixtures. Owing to the (1 - χ2) index and the h index, this approach qualifies as a fully continuous methodology of LR calculation. We compared the MRs and LRs emerging from our methodology to those generated by the EuroForMix software ver. 3.0.3. When the true contributors were tested as POIs, our procedure generated highly discriminant LRs that, unlike EuroForMix, never overcame the corresponding single-source LRs. When false contributors were tested as POIs, we obtained a much lower LR value than that from EuroForMix. These two findings indicate that our computational method is more reliable and realistic than EuroForMix.

Constraining the magnetic vector in the quiet solar photosphere and the impact of instrumental degradation

Context. With the advent of next generation high resolution telescopes, our understanding of how the magnetic field is organized in the internetwork (IN) photosphere is likely to advance significantly. Aims. We aim to evaluate the extent to which we can retrieve accurate information about the magnetic vector in the IN photosphere using inversion techniques. Methods. We use a snapshot produced from high resolution three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations and employ the Stokes Inversions based on Response functions (SIR) code to produce synthetic observables in the same near infrared spectral window as observed by the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS), which contains the highly magnetically sensitive photospheric Fe I line pair at 15 648.52 Å and 15 652.87 Å. We then use a parallelized wrapper to SIR to perform nearly 14 million inversions of the synthetic spectra to test how well the ‘true’ MHD atmospheric parameters can be constrained statistically. Finally, we degrade the synthetic Stokes vector spectrally and spatially to GREGOR resolutions and examine how this influences real observations, considering the impact of stray light, spatial resolution and signal-to-noise (S/N) in particular. Results. We find that the depth-averaged parameters can be recovered by the inversions of the undegraded profiles, and by adding simple gradients to magnetic field strength, inclination, and line of sight velocity we show that an improvement in the χ2 value is achieved. We also evaluate the extent to which we can constrain these parameters at various optical depths, with the kinematic and thermodynamic parameters sensitive deeper in the atmosphere than the magnetic parameters. We find the S/N and spatial resolution both play a significant role in determining how the degraded atmosphere appears. At the same time, we find that the magnetic and kinematic parameters are invariant upon inclusion of an unpolarized stray light. We compare our results to recent IN observations obtained by GREGOR. We studied a linear polarization feature which resembles those recently observed by GRIS in terms of appearing as ‘loop-like’ structures and exhibiting very similar magnetic flux density. Thus, we demonstrate that realistic MHD simulations are capable of showing close agreement with real observations, and the symbiosis between them and observations continues to prove essential. We finally discuss the considerations that must be made for DKIST-era observations.

Estimates of heterosis and potence through model fitting of ten quantitative traits in onion

This investigation was undertaken to measure the heterotic effects and adequacy of the additive-dominance model in onion. Maximum crosses exhibited significant heterosis over mid and better-parents for most of the characters indicating good sign for improvement onion varieties. Potence found to be non-significant in maximum crosses indicating the absence of dominance. Significant and non-significant χ2 values with [h] and without [h] were noted in different crosses for different characters. In all the crosses for number of leaves except P1  P3 with dominance showed non-significant χ2 values indicated that the model is adequate. Besides, P1  P3 and P1  P5 for bulb weight, P2  P5 for bulb yield/plot with dominance showed non-significant χ2 values as well as significant potence indicated the adequacy of the model. Again, crosses P2  P3 and P3  P4 without dominance for bulb weight and bulb yield/plot showed the adequacy of the model. A similar trend was recorded for bulb volume in all the crosses except P1  P4 and P2  P5. The adequacy of the model indicated that only additive and dominant genes are responsible for controlling these traits. From this study, it may conclude that crosses P1  P3 ,P1  P5, P2  P5, P3  P4 and P3  P5 are promising in respect of bulb weight, bulb yield/plot and bulb volume and indicate that they would likely help do successful breeding plan easily for the improvement of potential varieties in onion.

Diagnosis of Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions with Transbronchial Lung Cryobiopsy by Guide Sheath and Radial Endobronchial Ultrasonography: A Prospective Control Study.

Objective We design a prospective control study on the utilization of transbronchial cryobiopsy guided by EBUS-GS (EBUS-GS-TBCB) to diagnose PPLs. Methods PPLs were defined as pulmonary nodules or masses with a diameter from 10 mm to 50 mm. PPLs were randomly divided into group EBUS-GS-TBCB and transbronchial biopsy by forceps guided under EBUS-GS (EBUS-GS-TBB). Results 28 cases were involved in group EBUS-GS-TBCB and 31 cases were in group EBUS-GS-TBB. The mean sizes of PPLs were 30.23 ± 11.10 mm in group EBUS-GS-TBCB and 28.69 ± 8.62 mm in group EBUS-GS-TBB (t = 0.600, p=0.551). The diagnostic yields of EBUS-GS-TBCB and EBUS-GS-TBB were 75% and 64.52% respectively, and the difference between the two groups was not significant (χ2 value = 0.137, p=0.711). If only the first specimen was taken into account, the diagnostic yields from EBUS-GS-TBCB and EBUS-GS-TBB were 64.29% (18/28 cases) and 35.48% (11/31 cases), respectively. The difference was statistically significant by Fisher's Exact Test (χ2 value = 4.883, p=0.038). The total incidence rates of bleeding were 21.43% and 6.45%, respectively, in groups EBUS-GS-TBCB and EBUS-GS-TBB. The total incidence rates of pneumothorax were 7.14% and 0, respectively, in groups EBUS-GS-TBCB and EBUS-GS-TBB. Conclusion The diagnostic yield of EBUS-GS-TBCB was slightly higher than that of EBUS-GS-TBB for the diagnosis of PPLs. EBUS-GS-TBCB might be useful if only the first sample was taken into account.

Detoxification of aflatoxin M1 in sarshir by viable and nonviable Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Limosilactobacillus rhamnosus: Kinetic, equilibrium and desorption studies

The main aim of this study was to assess the ability of viable and nonviable Limosilactobacillus strains consisting of L. reuteri and Limosilactobacillus rhamnosus on AFM1 detoxification from Sarshir. Nonviable L. reuteri was the most effective adsorbent and lowered the AFM1 concentration from 0.5 μg kg−1 to 0.02 μg kg−1, followed by nonviable L. rhamnosus, viable L. reuteri and viable L. rhamnosus. The equilibrium data analysis indicated that the Redlich–Peterson gave the best fit with the highest coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.9959–0.9967%) and the lowest standard error of the estimate (SEE = 0.0097–0.0118). In both Limosilactobacillus strains, the kinetics of AFM1 adsorption obeyed pseudo-first-order model with R2 and Chi-square (χ2) values equal to 98.55–99.94% and 0.0062–0.0578, respectively. The desorption efficiency of AFM1 through the regenerated nonviable L. reuteri using distilled water was 72.72% after three cycles, suggesting it could be a preferred recyclable candidate for the detoxification of AFM1.

Drying Characteristics and Mathematical Modeling of Without Pretreatment and Pretreatment Zucchini (Cucurbita Pepo L.) Slices in a Solar Tunnel Dryer

With/without pretreated zucchini samples were dried in a solar tunnel dryer to determine drying characteristic and modelling. Solar irradiation at ambient, drying air temperature and air velocity at specific intervals in various parts of the dryer were measured. In the study, it was investigated how pretreatment of zucchini affected the drying time, moisture ratio and drying rate of it in solar tunnel dryer. In addition, the data on the drying process were applied to eight different mathematical models (Newton, Page, Henderson and pabis, Logarithmic, Diffusion, Midilli et al., Alibas, Logistic Equation Models). The performance levels of the models compared according to R2, χ2, besides RMSE between moisture ratios that were observed and predicted. Furthermore, considering all selected models, Midilli et al. and Alibaş model equations gave the highest R2, the lowest χ2 and RMSE values and were found to reveal the ratio of drying in a satisfactory way for all the methods of drying.

Rasch Analysis of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales Administered to Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL 4.0 GCS) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare, severely debilitating, and ultimately fatal neuromuscular disease. MethodsPatients with DMD were recruited from 20 centers across 9 countries as part of the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group Duchenne Natural History Study (NCT00468832). The psychometric properties of the PedsQL 4.0 GCS were examined using Rasch analysis. ResultsIn total, 329 patients with DMD (mean age 9 years, range 3–18 years, 75% ambulatory) completed the PedsQL 4.0 GCS. The most difficult instrument items, expressing the greatest loss in health-related quality of life, were those associated with emotional well-being (eg, being teased by other children, feeling sad, and not making friends), as opposed to somatic disability (eg, lifting heavy objects, participating in sports, and running). The mean item and person fit residuals were estimated at 0.301 (SD: 1.385) and −0.255 (1.504), respectively. In total, 87% (20 of 23) of items displayed disordered thresholds, and many exhibited nontrivial dependency. The overall item-trait interaction χ2 value was 178 (115 degrees of freedom, P<.001). Our analysis also revealed significant issues with differential item functioning, and by investigating residual principal component loadings, the PedsQL 4.0 GCS total score was found to be multidimensional. ConclusionsThe PedsQL 4.0 GCS records information clinically relevant to patients with DMD, but the total scale score may not be fit for purpose as a measure health-related quality of life in this disease population.

ATHENA: A unique radiation environment platform at the National Ignition Facility

This paper describes the ATHENA platform, an energy tuning assembly, which was developed to spectrally shape the National Ignition Facility (NIF) deuterium–tritium fusion neutron source to a thermonuclear (fusion) plus prompt fission neutron spectrum with a capability to act as a short-pulse neutron source. This unique, otherwise inaccessible radiation environment complements existing experimental facilities and capabilities. The flexible ATHENA irradiation positions were modeled using an ensemble of Monte Carlo simulations with stochastic sampling of the nuclear cross-sections to characterize the radiation environments and uncertainty for the platform. Validation of the internal neutron spectrum produced from fielding ATHENA at NIF occurred through neutron flux unfolding with 20 measured activation products. The STAYSL unfolded neutron flux resulted in a reduced χ2 value of 1.4 with a larger contribution from 46Ti(n,2n) reaction channel. The total ionizing dose was measured to be 515 ± 7.9% rad(TLD-400), whereas the modeled values indicated a lower value of 290 ± 4.6% rad(TLD-400). The NIF experiment demonstrated that ATHENA is capable of producing a thermonuclear and prompt fission neutron spectrum with a 50 nanosecond pulse width and a 1-MeV equivalent neutron fluence of 3.6×1012ncm2 with strong radial uniformity over the sample volume. Example case studies of ATHENA for integral experiments and microelectronic device responses are also presented.

Chi-squared test for planetary orbits after the impact of a single flyby and multiple stellar flybys

Aims. In this work, I present the cumulative effects of passing stars on planetary disks and I explore the orbital modification of their components as a consequence of multiple stellar encounters. I analyze the effects of masses of the passing stars and look for differences between the effects of four encounters with low masses of 0.1 M⊙, as well as a single 0.4 M⊙ stellar encounter on a 100 a.u. planetary disk. Methods. I applied the chi-squared (χ2) test to estimate the correlation between the resulting parameters of orbits after single and multiple impacts. I found that the χ2 value is equal to 0.666 and the probability index is equal to 0.955. Results. This first approach suggests that three or four low-mass multiple encounters can produce comparable orbits of planets as produced by a single massive encounter.

Quality control measures of thermoluminescent dosimetry system used in environmental radiation monitoring

Objective To discuss the quality control measures of the thermoluminescent dosimetry system and to verify its propriety of when used in environmental radiation monitoring. Methods The quality control measures included the stability test, the dispersibility screening and the uncertainty evaluation of measurement results of the TLD reader and TLD detector, in addition, the environmental radiation accumulated dose monitoring results obtained by the high pressure ionization chamber were compared with those by the thermoluminescent dosimetry system. Results The variation range of TLD reader’s light source coefficient is within 0.070~0.073 during the preheating and measuring process, which meets the requirements of stability; The χ 2 value of the TLD detector is 2.088, which obeys the normal distribution; The thermoluminescent dosimetry system’s nonlinear response, coefficient of variation and energy response meet the measurement requirements; There is a deviation of −6.58% the largest between the cumulative dose obtained by TLD and the high pressure ionization chamber. Conclusion The quality control measures discussed in this paper can be used as a reference for similar thermoluminescent dosimetry system. Our system has passed all the tests and can meet the environmental radiation cumulative dose monitoring requirements. 摘要： 目的 探讨热释光测量系统的质量控制方法, 验证热释光测量系统能否准确有效的用于环境辐射水平监测。 方法 采取的环境辐射监测用热释光测量系统质量控制方法包括热释光测量系统的稳定性检验、热释光探测器的分 散性筛选、测量结果不确定度评定, 并与高气压电离室测量方法进行对比。 结果 读出器预热及测读过程中光源系数 变化范围在 0.070~0.073, 稳定性符合使用要求; 热释光探测器的 χ 2 值为 2.088, 服从正态分布;热释光测量系统满足 非线性响应、变异系数和能量响应的计量要求; 热释光累积剂量测量结果与高气压电离室相比偏差最大 −6.58%。 结论 本实验室采取的质控措施可作为同类热释光测量系统的质控措施的参考;本实验室的热释光测量系统通过了 各项检验, 满足环境辐射累积剂量监测的使用要求。

Evaluating the Effective Factors of Hospital Rooms on Patients' Recovery Using the Data Mining Method.

This study aims to investigate the effective environmental factors of hospital rooms in patients' recovery through data mining techniques. Previous studies have shown the positive effect of the interior environment of the hospitals on patients' recovery. The methods of these studies were mainly based on the evidence and patients' perception while hospital environments are associated with a large amount of data that make them an appropriate case for data mining studies. But data mining studies in hospitals mainly focused on medical and management purposes rather than evaluating the interior environment condition. We analyzed the hospital information system data of a hospital using Python programming language and some of its libraries. Preprocessing and eliminating the outliers, labeling and clustering of diseases, data visualization and analysis, final evaluation, and concluding were done using the knowledge discovery in databases process. Pearson coefficient value for rooms' area was .5 and, respectively, for the distance from the ward entrance and nursing station were .75 and .70. The χ2 values for the variables of room types, location, and occupation were 24.62, 18.98, and 21.53, respectively, and for the beds' location was 0.12. The results confirmed the correlation of the length of stay with the room types, location, and occupation, distance from the nursing station and ward entrance and also showed a moderate correlation with the rooms' area. However, no evidence was found about the relationship between the beds' location in rooms and patients' length of hospital stay.

Deeper Insights into the Bohart-Adams Model in a Fixed-Bed Column.

The Bohart-Adams model was one of the most widely used breakthrough models in column experiments. However, it usually provided a poor fit for the modeling of an asymmetric breakthrough curve. This work proposed the n-order Bohart-Adams and fractal-like Bohart-Adams models. The former indicated a nonlinear decay process of the concentration of the adsorbate or residual capacity of the adsorbent, while the latter reflected a diffusion-limited process on the heterogeneous surfaces. The Bohart-Adams and modified Bohart-Adams models were mathematically equivalent. The applicability of the n-order Bohart-Adams and fractal-like Bohart-Adams models was validated by norfloxacin and Cu(II) adsorption in a fixed-bed column. Compared with the Bohart-Adams model, the two new models had better fitting performance with higher R2 and lower χ2 values, and all of the residuals were randomly distributed. The fractal-like Bohart-Adams and modified dose-response models provided the best fitting quality for the adsorption of Cu(II) (R2 = 0.9956 and χ2 = 7.56 × 10-4) and norfloxacin (R2 = 0.9991 and χ2 = 1.37 × 10-4), respectively. This work may provide a practical method for the modeling of the asymmetric breakthrough curves.

Effect of pretreatments and temperature on rehydration kinetics of naga chili (Capsicum chinense)

Naga chili (Capsicum chinense) is rich in capsaicin content that provides a distinctive aroma and strong pungency. Drying with pretreatment is regarded as a cost-effective approach to retain better nutrient quality, whereas rehydration properties consider a quality index to optimize the drying conditions. This study aimed to determine rehydration kinetics and rehydration characteristics of pretreated hot-air dried Naga chili. The pretreatment was consisting of water blanching (90°C for 5 mins), steam blanching (100° C for 1 min), microwave treatment (650 W for 100 s), and dipping into sugar 70°Bx, 0.5% citric acid, 2% ethyl oleate + 3% potassium carbonate, and 2% potassium meta bi-sulfite solution. After drying at 60°C, the rehydration was done at 25°C, 50°C, and 75°C, respectively. The rehydration kinetics were evaluated by fitting the experimental data into empirical kinetic models: Peleg's model, 2nd order, 1st order, and Zero-order kinetics. Among these models, the rehydration behavior was best described by Peleg's model, where the highest R2 (0.9964), lowest χ 2 (0.0001) and RMSE (0.0064) values were obtained. Different rehydration characteristics such as moisture content, equilibrium moisture content, rehydration ratios were also determined. The highest moisture content (8.10 g moisture/g dry sample) was found at higher rehydration temperature (75°C), whereas the lowest moisture content ranges were recorded at 25°C. After moisture contents got equilibrium, the rehydrated samples gain weight to 100.15% at 75°C in comparison to the untreated samples. The rehydration ratios were also getting higher with increasing rehydration temperatures.