Infection with Blastocystis spp. and its association with enteric infections and environmental enteric dysfunction among slum-dwelling malnourished adults in Bangladesh

Background Blastocystis spp. (Blastocystis) is a widely distributed gastrointestinal protist frequently reported in countries with tropical and sub-tropical climate. We sought to determine the factors associated with Blastocystis infection and investigate its role on biomarkers of intestinal health among slum-dwelling malnourished adults in Bangladesh. Methodology Total 524 malnourished adults with a body mass index ≤18.5 kg/m2 were included in this analysis. Presence of Blastocystis in feces was evaluated by TaqMan Array Card assays. Principal findings Blastocystis was tested positive in 78.6% of the participants. Prevalence of infection with atypical strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) (56% vs. 38%, p<0.001), and Trichuris trichiura (28% vs. 15%, p-value = 0.02) was significantly greater in adults with Blastocystis, while Giardia intestinalis was significantly lower (8% vs. 14%, p-value = 0.04) in Blastocystis positive adults. Malnourished adults who were living in households with high crowding index (aOR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.11, 4.65; p-value = 0.03), and infected with aEPEC (aOR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.35, 3.44; p-value = 0.001) and Trichuris trichiura (aOR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.08, 3.77; p = 0.03) were more likely to be infected with Blastocystis. A significant negative relationship was observed between Blastocystis and fecal concentrations of alpha-1 antitrypsin (β = -0.1; 95% CI = -1.7, -0.1; p-value<0.001) and Reg1B (β = -3.6; 95% CI = -6.9, -3.0; p-value = 0.03). Conclusions The study findings suggest that the presence of Blastocystis in human intestine influences gut health and may have potential pathogenic role in presence of other pathogens.

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Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium status of rice co-planted with a novel phytoremediator, Marsilea minuta L.

Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.3329/bjar.v43i2.37326 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 211-218

Author(s):

U Hassi ◽

MT Hossain ◽

SMI Huq

Keyword(s):

Oryza Sativa L ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Control Treatment ◽

P Value ◽

Aquatic Fern ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Phosphorus And Potassium ◽

Nitrogen Phosphorus

A pot experiment was carried out to assess the effects of arsenic and aquatic fern (Marsilea minuta L.), when applied as a phytoremediator, on the nutrient content (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) of rice. Two sets of pot experiments were conducted in the net house on rice (Oryza sativa L.) together with aquatic fern (M. minuta) and on aquatic fern (M. minuta) alone where soils were treated with 1 mg/L As-solution at 80% arsenite and 20% arsenate. No significant difference was found in the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations of rice, in the absence of arsenic, whether grown in the presence of M. minuta or not. The uptake of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium was found to be 36%, 23%, and 22% more, respectively in rice plants treated with M. minuta and arsenic over the control treatment, although the results were statistically insignificant. However, a significant negative relationship was found between arsenic and root nitrogen (P-value of 0.0017) when grown together with arsenic and M. minuta. A significant positive relationship was found between arsenic and shoot phosphorus (P-value of 0.0025) as well as arsenic and shoot and root potassium (P-values were 0.0045 and 0.0115, respectively). The results indicate that Marsilea minuta might be used as a phytoremediator of As together with rice plants.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 43(2): 211-218, June 2018

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Globalization, Poverty, Environmental Degradation and Economic Growth Nexus: Empirical Analysis of SAARC Regions

Studies of Applied Economics ◽

10.25115/eea.v39i1.3757 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adiqa Kiani ◽

Ejaz Ullah ◽

Khair Muhammad

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Empirical Analysis ◽

Environmental Degradation ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

The Impact

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of poverty, globalization, and environmental degradation on economic growth in the selected SAARC countries. This study is employed panel Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) technique for empirical analysis using selected SAARC regions including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka over the period of 1980 to 2018. Globalization impacts economic growth positively and significantly. In addition to this the significant negative relationship is found between population and economic growth. The results show that poverty is positively related with environmental degradation. Furthermore, the results indicate that globalization is positively and significantly associated with environmental degradation in the SAARC region. Finally, the results show that urbanization is positive and significantly associated with environmental degradation, which could be the serious concerns for the policy makers to control.

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Organization-Based Self-Esteem Affects Employees' Exchange Relationship Perceptions and Extrarole Behavior

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.2016.44.3.509 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 509-517 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yanhan Zhu

Keyword(s):

Social Exchange ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Mainland China ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Moderating Effect ◽

Exchange Relationship ◽

Significant Positive Relationship ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Practical Implications

The 2 types of exchange relationship perceptions—social exchange relationship perceptions (SERPs) and economic exchange relationship perceptions (EERPs)—constitute the primary concept for understanding individual behavior in the workplace. Using a sample of 581 employees from Mainland China, I explored the effects of SERPs and EERPs on employee extrarole behavior (ERB), as well as the moderating effect of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) on the relationships between SERPs and ERB, and between EERPs and ERB. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between SERPs and ERB, a significant negative relationship between EERPs and ERB, and a significant moderating effect for OBSE. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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Financial Performance of Iranian Banks from 2013 to 2019: A Panel Data Approach

Journal of Risk and Financial Management ◽

10.3390/jrfm14060257 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 257

Author(s):

Pejman Ebrahimi ◽

Maria Fekete-Farkas ◽

Parisa Bouzari ◽

Róbert Magda

Keyword(s):

Financial Performance ◽

Inflation Rate ◽

Banking Sector ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

Screening Method ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Statistical Population ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Research Population

It is widely believed that the financial system is dependent on the banking industry, and its strength and development are vital for economic prosperity. This paper tried to show the financial performance of Iranian banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during 2013–2019, as the research population. The statistical population included 18 banks listed on the TSE from 2013 to 2019, which were sampled using a screening method. The results indicated a significant relationship between explanatory variables of capital ratio and the financial performance of banks in all models. However, a significant negative relationship was found between the inflation rate and the financial performance of banks in all models. Furthermore, it seems that banks with high asset strength are more profitable than the others. Regulators should guarantee that banks remain highly capitalized for a viable banking sector in Iran.

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Young L2 learners’ online processing of information in a graded reader during reading-only and reading-while-listening conditions: A study of eye-movements

Applied Linguistics Review ◽

10.1515/applirev-2018-0102 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Raquel Serrano ◽

Ana Pellicer-Sánchez

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Reading Fluency ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Auditory Input ◽

Reading Tests ◽

Textual Information ◽

Multimodal Texts ◽

Time Processing ◽

Online Processing ◽

Significant Negative Relationship

AbstractCombining reading with auditory input has been shown to be an effective way of supporting reading fluency and reading comprehension in a second language. Previous research has also shown that reading comprehension can be further supported by pictorial information. However, the studies conducted so far have mainly included adults or adolescents and have been based on post-reading tests that, although informative, do not contribute to our understanding of how learners’ processing of the several sources of input in multimodal texts changes with the presence of auditory input and the effect that potential differences could have on comprehension. The present study used eye-tracking to examine how young learners process the pictorial and textual information in a graded reader under reading only and reading-while-listening conditions. Results showed that readers spent more time processing the text in the reading only condition, while more time was spent processing the images in the reading-while-listening mode. Nevertheless, comprehension scores were similar for the readers in the two conditions. Additionally, our results suggested a significant (negative) relationship between the amount of time learners spent processing the text and comprehension scores in both modes.

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Workplace disability and job satisfaction in Britain: A co-worker test?

Economic and Industrial Democracy ◽

10.1177/0143831x211014258 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0143831X2110142

Author(s):

Getinet Astatike Haile

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Organisational Culture ◽

Seemingly Unrelated Regression ◽

Unrelated Regression ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Using Data

The article examines the link between workplace disability (WD) and workplace job satisfaction (JS) using data from WERS2011. Controlling for a rich set of workplace characteristics including organisational culture, the study finds a significant negative relationship between JS and the share of disabled respondents within workplaces. Notably, Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR)-based analysis distinguishing between disabled and non-disabled respondents reveals that the negative relationship found is specific to non-disabled respondents. Moreover, disability equality policies are found to be significantly positively related with disabled respondents’ JS while they are negatively related with the JS of their non-disabled counterparts. The article ponders if there is a co-worker aspect to the WD–JS link and whether HR policies may need to take heed of co-worker dynamics in this respect.

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A-161 Swiping Left on External Reminders, Internal Monitoring, and Recollections: Level of Importance Predicts Greater Likelihood of Prospective Memory Success during Smartphone Use

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acab062.179 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 1216-1216

Author(s):

Holly E Cooke ◽

Claudia Jacova

Keyword(s):

Prospective Memory ◽

Online Survey ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Monitoring Strategies ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Perceived Importance ◽

Smartphone Use ◽

Event Based ◽

Level Of Importance

Abstract Objective This study aimed to understand the implications that smartphones have for prospective memory (PM) performance. We examined normal adults’ performance on an event-based PM task embedded in an online survey, and its relationship with the PM strategies used prior to the PM cue. Method Participants included 349 individuals aged >18— (M = 38.31; SD = 11.15); 62% male; non-Hispanic (83.38%); with education = HS diploma or less (8.31%), some college (12.61%), and college degree (79.08%)—recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants completed the survey on their smartphones. The PM task required participants to respond “N/A” to a question presented later in the survey. Follow-up questions were asked about the use of external reminders, internal monitoring, recollections, and level of importance participants attributed to the PM task. Results One third of participants were successful on the PM task. Of those who had PM success, 11.50% used external reminders, 53.10% used internal monitoring strategies, 62.83% had recollections, and 95.56% considered the task at least somewhat important to remember. Logistic regression revealed that non-Hispanic ethnicity, ≤ high school education, and high perceived importance predicted PM success (Table 1). Interestingly, 40% of individuals with PM failure used external reminders, showing a significant negative relationship with PM success. Conclusions We found that external reminders, internal monitoring, and recollections may make PM success less likely during smartphone use—strategies which were associated with PM success in previous research. Only perceived importance predicted PM success, akin to previous findings. Implications reveal that smartphones may change the demands of PM tasks.

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Entering the Mental Backstage: Mindfulness and Mind-Wandering among Performing Artists

10.53350/pjmhs211572068 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 2068-2071

Author(s):

Avneet Kaur ◽

Shwetha T.S

Keyword(s):

Negative Relationship ◽

Positive Association ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Self Report ◽

Years Of Experience ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Performing Artists ◽

Creative Processes ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Significant Difference

Existing literature has explored the role of mindfulness and mind-wandering on creative processes. However, it has overlooked the diversity in the creative domains as well as the experience of the artist while accounting for their relationship. In the present study, mindfulness and mind wandering- deliberate and spontaneous were explored among performing artists, i.e. musicians, theatre artists, and dancers. The study also looked at the artists’ experience in their field. After an initial screening using a creativity tool, 66 performing artists were recruited, following which two self-report indices that assessed mind wandering and mindfulness were administered. The data collected was subjected to quantitative data analysis in SPSS. A Oneway ANOVA showed significant effect of the creative domain on mindfulness for the three groups, with a significant difference between musicians and dancers. Among the musicians, a significant negative relationship between mind wandering spontaneous and years of experience was seen. Among the dancers, there was a significant positive association between mind wandering spontaneous, mind wandering deliberate and years of experience. The current study highlighted the need to approach the study of creativity using a contextual perspective. Keywords: Creativity, Dance, Music, Theatre.

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Incidental specialised vocabulary acquisition: a case of incidental medical terms acquisition from students’ perspective

10.7764/onomazein.53.05 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elham Abdullah Ghobain ◽

Keyword(s):

Negative Relationship ◽

Extended Period ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Medical Terms ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Post Test ◽

Two Phases ◽

The Relationship ◽

Technical Terms

This study observes a particular group of students learning medical terms (MT) implicitly through studying medical subjects. That is, based on the policy followed in the context of the study, students shall not receive any deliberate terms instruction. This paper investigates their experiences and attitudes towards acquiring MT in such a situation. Students’ acquisition and proficiency, hypothesizing a positive relationship between the two constructs, are self-assessed through pre- and post-test surveys. The surveys included 114 and 95 students in each phase, respectively. Prior to the surveys, focus group discussions were conducted, according to which the questionnaire was developed. A statistical correlational Pearson test was done to examine the relationship between students’ proficiency and incidental terms acquisition. The results indicated a significant negative relationship between the two constructs tested. The study also tested the effect of time on increasing acquisition through conducting a paired independent t-test between the two sets of data. The results found that a more extended period was significant to incidental acquisition. Overall, through comparing the means, modes, and medians in the two phases (pre- and post-test), the findings reveal an increase in the students’ terms acquisition volume. However, students seem not to favour the approach and still advocate explicit instruction for technical terms.

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Influence of habitat on home-range size in the short-beaked echidna

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo11098 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 46 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jenny Sprent ◽

Stewart C. Nicol

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Spatial Ecology ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Range Size ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Location Data ◽

Significant Negative Relationship ◽

Solitary Species

The size of an animal’s home range is strongly influenced by the resources available within it. In productive, resource-rich habitats sufficient resources are obtainable within a smaller area, and for many species, home ranges are smaller in resource-rich habitats than in habitats with lower resource abundance. Location data on 14 male and 27 female echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) fitted with tracking transmitters, in the southern midlands of Tasmania, were used to test the influence of habitat type on home-range size. We hypothesised that as woodland should offer more shelter, food resources and refuges than pasture, echidnas living in woodland would have smaller home ranges than those living in pasture areas. We found significant differences between the sexes. Male echidnas had a significantly larger mean home range than females and a quite different relationship between home-range size and habitat type from females. There was no relationship between the proportion of woodland within male home ranges and home-range size whereas female echidnas had a highly significant negative relationship. This suggests that home-range size of female echidnas is highly influenced by the amount of woodland within it, but the home-range size of male echidnas is controlled by factors other than habitat. This pattern is consistent with the spatial ecology of many other solitary species with a promiscuous mating system. The home ranges of females are scaled to encompass all necessary resources for successfully raising their young within a minimal area, whilst the large home ranges of males are scaled to maximise access to females.

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