PREVALENCE, PATTERN, AND DETERMINANT OF SEX PREFERENCE IN INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM INDIA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SURVEY-II (2011-12)

Sex preference is highly dominated in India and its adjacent South Asian countries. The present study examines the pattern, prevalence, and determinants of sex preference for an extra child at India's national and regional levels. For this study, we have utilized the secondary data of the Indian Human Development Survey-II. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were carried out to understand the difference of sex preference for an extra child by selected background variable- prevalence of sex preference almost 40% in India. Sex preference is higher among women who have three alive children, where the son's preference is more who have at least four living children. Son preference is decreasing with the increase of women's educational levels. On the contrary, sex preference is more among lower age at marriage. The odds of sex preference are higher among those above bachelor's degrees than those with no formal education. On the contrary, sons' preference is higher who completed their primary education than those who have no education. Sex preference, especially son's preference, directly or indirectly affects on sex ratio. Therefore, Government should focus on an awareness program and make some policies for a venerable woman identified in this study.

Evaluation of Training with Elastic Bands on Strength and Fatigue Indicators in Paralympic Powerlifting

Background: Variable resistance training has recently become a component of strength and conditioning programs. Objective: This randomized counterbalanced cross-over study aimed to investigate the use of elastic bands (EB) and the traditional method (TRAD) and force indicators in a training session. Methods: 12 Paralympic athletes (age: 28.60 ± 7.60 years) participated in this three-week study. In the first week, the participants were familiarized with EB and TRAD and were tested for maximal repetition (1-RM). The research occurred in weeks 2 and 3, which included the pre-post training, during which the following measures were extracted: maximum isometric force (MIF), the peak torque (PT), rate of force development (RFD), fatigue index (FI), and time to MIF (Time). The athletes performed two tests, EB and TRAD, separated by a one-week interval. Results: Significant differences were found between the pre- and post-test for 1RM (p = 0.018, η2p = 0.412), MIF (p = 0.011, η2p = 0.415), PT (p = 0.012, η2p = 0.413), and RFD (p = 0.0002, η2p = 0.761). With the use of EB, there was a difference in RFD between TRAD before and EB after (p = 0.016, η2p = 0.761). There were significant differences in the before and after for FI between TRAD and EB (p < 0.001) and for Time (p < 0.001), indicating that training with the use of elastic bands promotes overload, characterized by increased fatigue and decreased strength. Conclusions: Training with EB did not decrease 1RM, PT, MIF or RFD, however, there was an increase in fatigue and time to reach MIF when compared to the method with fixed resistance.

Problem Solving Performance in Physics Among Secondary School Students in Dire Dawa Ethiopia

The main aim of this study was to assess problem solving performance in physics of grade 9th students. A test of reasoning was administered to a sample of 578 students. The results show differential performance of the students. Question based performance with background variable as school sector shows that performance of private school students was significantly better than students of public schools. Similarly female private school students performed well than male private school students.

Time and Democratic Deliberation

This chapter delves into debates about time and democratic deliberation. Deliberative democrats have developed sequential models but tend to think of time mainly as a background variable. Critics have drawn attention to the inadequacy of deliberation in accelerated society but, in so doing, have conflated arguments about the pace of democratic deliberation with arguments about its durational time. Democratic deliberation may be slow and inconclusive, but one aspect does not necessarily entail the other. It is against this backdrop that the chapter sheds light on a diachronic reading of fallibilism in order to advance a more favorable reading of inconclusiveness.

Pengaruh Latar Belakang Pendidikan, Lama Usaha, Dan Pemahaman Pengusaha Umkm Di Kota Bali Terhadap Tingkat Kepatuhan Pemenuhan Kewajiban Perpajakan

This study aims to analyze the effect of educational background, length of business, and understanding of MSME entrepreneurs on compliance with tax obligations. The subjects in this study were entrepreneurs who were involved in the UMKM business sector in the city of Bali. The number of samples used in this study were 78 respondents. The sampling method used in this study is by using convenience sampling, and the writing technique is done by using quantitative research methods. The data obtained by the researcher were then processed by multiple linear regression method using SPSS software. The results of the above research indicate that the educational background variable does not significantly influence the fulfillment of tax obligations. While the variables of length of business and understanding of MSME entrepreneurs have a significant effect on the fulfillment of tax obligations.

Neuroimaging Spectrum of Severe Hypernatremia in Infants with Neurological Manifestations

Background Variable neurological manifestations and imaging findings have been described in children with severe hypernatremia. We aimed to describe the spectrum of neuroimaging changes in infants with severe hypernatremia. Methods This retrospective study included infants with severe hypernatremia (serum sodium >160 mEq/L), abnormal neurological examination, and an abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain over a period of 2 years in a tertiary care hospital. Relevant clinical data, including the feeding practices, clinical features, complications, and biochemical and radiological parameters, were entered in a structured pro forma. MRI findings were classified as vascular (hemorrhages and cerebral sinus venous thrombosis), osmotic demyelination syndrome (pontine and extrapontine myelinolyses), and white matter changes. Results The common clinical features in the neonates were poor feeding (n = 4) and decreased urine output (n = 4); the older infants presented with gastrointestinal losses (n = 5). All cases had dehydration with encephalopathy. The patterns of radiological injury were vascular (hemorrhages, n = 5 and venous thrombosis, n = 3), osmotic demyelination (n = 8), and white matter changes (n = 7). Coagulopathy was correlated with the vascular complications (r = 0.8, p < 0.0001); the degree of dehydration was correlated with the venous thrombosis (r = 0.7, p < 0.04) and acute kidney injury (r = 0.8, p < 0.001). Neurological sequelae were seen in four cases and correlated with hypernatremia (r = 0.6, p = 0.03) and hyperosmolarity (r = 0.6, p = 0.03). Conclusion Characteristic neuroimaging findings are vascular changes in the form of venous thrombosis and hemorrhages, osmotic demyelination and white matter tract injury, and/or mostly combinations of these findings. Severe hypernatremia and resulting hyperosmolarity frequently cause neurological sequelae in neonates and infants.

Superdiversity: New paths for social sciences in the upcoming future

Contemporary society has been characterized by its social complexity, which was boosted thanks to international migration flows, among other factors. This phenomenon brought us ‘superdiversity’ as a concept, which has been very well received by many social scientists, as well as criticized by others due to its similarities with previous notions such as diversity, multiculturalism, interculturalism or even intersectionality. However, this concept, with all the semantic breadth and defining ramifications that characterize it, has opened an interpretive door, and made possible an analytical framework that differs from the rest. As a result, we find superdiversity as a guiding research concept throughout all social sciences areas assuming a whole variety of approaches, without necessarily considering international migrations as a background variable. This monograph reflects this reality and is presented as a hybridization of more orthodox positions with other more flexible and interpretive ones.

Imaging Predictive Factors of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Growth

Background: Variable imaging methods may add important information about abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression. The aim of this study is to assess available literature data regarding the predictive imaging factors of AAA growth. Methods: This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. A review of the literature was conducted, using PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Primary outcomes were defined as AAA growth rate and factors associated to sac expansion. Results: The analysis included 23 studies. All patients (2244; mean age; 69.8 years, males; 85%) underwent imaging with different modalities; the initial evaluation was followed by one or more studies to assess aortic expansion. AAA initial diameter was reported in 13 studies (range 19.9–50.9 mm). Mean follow-up was 34.5 months. AAA diameter at the end was ranging between 20.3 and 55 mm. The initial diameter and intraluminal thrombus were characterized as prognostic factors associated to aneurysm expansion. A negative association between atherosclerosis and AAA expansion was documented. Conclusions: Aneurysm diameter is the most studied factor to be associated with expansion and the main indication for intervention. Appropriate diagnostic modalities may account for different anatomical characteristics and identify aneurysms with rapid growth and higher rupture risk. Future perspectives, including computed mathematical models that will assess wall stress and elasticity and further flow characteristics, may offer valuable alternatives in AAA growth prediction.

Application of human motion recognition technology in extreme learning machine

Human motion recognition is a branch of computer vision research and is widely used in fields like interactive entertainment. Most research work focuses on human motion recognition methods based on traditional video streams. Traditional RGB video contains rich colors, edges, and other information, but due to complex background, variable illumination, occlusion, viewing angle changes, and other factors, the accuracy of motion recognition algorithms is not high. For the problems, this article puts forward human motion recognition based on extreme learning machine (ELM). ELM uses the randomly calculated implicit network layer parameters for network training, which greatly reduces the time spent on network training and reduces computational complexity. In this article, the interframe difference method is used to detect the motion region, and then, the HOG3D feature descriptor is used for feature extraction. Finally, ELM is used for classification and recognition. The results imply that the method proposed here has achieved good results in human motion recognition.

A comparative study to assess the effectiveness of Topical Insulin Dressing vs Normal Saline Dressing on wound healing of Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Diabetic foot ulcer (diabetic foot ulcer) is an injury entering through the profound vascular and collagenous (dermis) layers of the skin in diabetic patients. Helpless information by walking care and helpless foot care rehearses were distinguish as significant danger factors for foot issues in diabetes. The principle target of the investigation was to survey the effectiveness of topical insulin dressing versus saline dressing and analyze the degree of diabetic injury healing. Quasi-experimental with comparative research design was embraced for the investigation. Convenience sampling technique was utilized to choose 60 examples. Structured interview was used to collect background variable and Wagner diabetic wound assessment scale for assessing diabetic wound. The diabetic wound was dressed with topical insulin dressing and normal saline dressing for 6 days. The calculated paired 't' test value of t = 15.703 was found to be statistically highly significant at p<0.001 level whereas the calculated paired 't' test value of t = 3.247 was found to be statistically highly significant at p<0.01 level. There was significant that the topical insulin dressing is the more effective and improving the level of wound healing than normal saline dressing.