Microclimate-based mortality analysis of the Cibodas Botanic Gardens plant collection

Despite the routinely conducted treatment and maintenance of garden plant collection, the monthly mortality figures of the Cibodas Botanic Gardens (CBG) plant collections remain significant. It is presumed that the microclimate has a crucial influence on plant survivorship in the field. This study aimed to analyze the effect of microclimate conditions on the mortality rate of the CBG plant collection. The study was conducted by correlating the number of mortal plants with CBG monthly microclimatic conditions from 2017 to 2018. The analyzed microclimate parameters were temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind velocity, and solar radiation. The multiple regression modeling, t-test, and Pearson correlation test (r) were utilized to measure the level of significance of the correlation (α = 0.05). The findings were shown that the maximum wind velocity was the primary unit correlated to the number of mortality. The correlation was strong positive (r = 68.8%), and significant (p-value α). We suggested anticipating the disadvantages influences of strong wind supported by other extreme microclimate units, such as heavy rain. These events frequently caused high damage to the tree and other plant collections. These are expected to be taken into a consideration by the CBG operator and management in order to forecast and mitigate the risks of future plant collection losses.

Exploring post-Covid-19 Lockdown Students’ Satisfaction in Ethiopian Higher Education Context in case of some Selected Universities

This study aimed to explore post Covid-19 lockdown students’ satisfaction from some higher education institutions in Ethiopia. The study used descriptive and explanatory research designs. A total of 480 students were taken from twelve public Universities as a sample and 366 valid questionnaires were collected. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to select the employees from each University. Also, cross- sectional survey method was applied to collect data via a Likert scale questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regression modeling were used to predict the relationships. Initially, a pilot test was a sample of 35 students to check data scale reliability. The study found that all the independent variables (crush time, leadership, and students’ initiation, instructors’ commitment) variables had a statistically significant correlation with Students’ satisfaction. Moreover, the study founded that all the studied variables were predictors of students’ satisfaction (R2= 0.672); however, the predictors that had highest influence were instructors’ commitment and crushes time. Significant emphasis and devotion is required particularly on variables such as instructors’ commitment and crush time as they are identified as a significant influencer of students’ satisfaction. Universities shall focus on enhancing instructors’ commitment and they have to allocate adequate time as before COVID -19.

Examining the Relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and Seropositivity and Serointensity and Depression in Adults from the United Kingdom and the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

Infecting approximately one-third of the world’s population, the neurotropic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii has been associated with cognition and several neuropsychiatric diseases including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Findings have been mixed, however, about the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and depression, with some studies reporting positive associations and others finding no associations. To further investigate the association between Toxoplasma gondii and depression, we used data from the UK Biobank and the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES). Results from adjusted multiple-regression modeling showed no significant associations between Toxoplasma gondii and depression in either the UK Biobank or NHANES datasets. Further, we found no significant interactions between Toxoplasma gondii and age, sex, educational attainment, and income in either dataset that affected the association between Toxoplasma gondii and depression. These results from two community-based datasets suggest that in these samples, Toxoplasma gondii is not associated with depression. Differences between our findings and other findings showing an association between Toxoplasma gondii and depression could be due to several factors including differences in socioeconomic variables, differences in Toxoplasma gondii strain, and use of different covariates in statistical modeling.

Antecedents of Employees Work Engagement: A Study on an Ethiopian Universities in Case of Amhara Regional State

This study aimed to investigate the antecedents influencing employees’ engagement at universities in Amhar Reginal state Ethiopia. The study used descriptive and explanatory research designs. A total of 320 academics staffs were taken from ten Amhara Reginal State public Universities as a sample and 282 valid questionnaires collected. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to select the employees from each University. Also, cross sectional survey method applied to collect data via Likert scale questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regression modeling were used to appraisal association and predict the relationships. Initially, a pilot test was a sampled of 30 instructors to check data scale reliability. The study found that all the independent variables (work environment, leadership, reward, organizational support, work motivation) variables had statistically significant correlation with employees’ engagement. Morover the study founded that all the studied variables were predictors of workers engagement(R2= 0.662); but the predictors that had foremost influence were working environment, leadership and work motivation. Remarkable emphasis and devotion is required particularly on variables such as working environment, leadership and work motivation as they have reveled significantly greater influence on employees engagement. Universities shall focus on creating better work environment, working on instructors motivating factors and more work is required to improve the leadership to boost work engagement.

Analisis Dampak Covid-19 Terhadap Indeks Harga Konsumen dengan K-Means dan Regresi Berganda

<p>The Indonesian economy during the global pandemic entered the brink of economic recession. This problem occurs because the state of public consumption has decreased due to the limited space for community movement and sluggish economic activities due to preventing the transmission of Covid-19. This affects the decline in public consumption in economic activities. In this case, it can be seen from the statistical news published by the official website of the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) which reports that the inflation rate in the previous months was around 0.10%, while in April 2020 it decreased by 0.08%. Based on these, a <em>K</em>-means grouping study was conducted by dividing the cluster into 3 parts and modeling using multiple regression methods. In this study, the variable used was the price index. The results of the <em>K</em>-means cluster analysis with the division of 3 clusters, namely cluster 3 (high CPI cluster) consisting of 66 cities, cluster 1 (moderate CPI cluster) consisting of 2 cities, and cluster 2 (low CPI cluster) consisting of 22 cities. Furthermore, the multiple regression results obtained 12 variables that have a significant effect on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The results of regression modeling are the highest coefficient is food at 0.236 and the lowest coefficients are cigarettes and tobacco at 0.008. Therefore can be concluded that the grouping of the CPI indicator obtained 75% of cities with high index prices, especially in big cities such that economic activity, in general, was still consumptive during the pandemic and multiple regression modeling resulted from 37 indicator variables, only 12 indicator variables had a significant effect on the CPI.</p><strong>Keywords: </strong><em>k</em>-means, CPI, multiple regression, and price index

Vaping in the Workplace: Awareness and Support for E-cigarette Workplace Policies

Objectives: Clean indoor air policies have been an important tool protecting the health of working adults. The purpose of this study was to examine awareness of and support for e-cigarette-free workplace policies among working adults in the United States. Methods: Employees of companies with at least 150 employees (N = 1607, ages 18-65 years) were recruited from an opt-in national panel for an online survey. Results: Nearly half of respondents (48.4%) reported that their employer had a written policy addressing e-cigarette use, 30.2% reported their employer did not have such a policy, and 21.4% reported that they did not know. Most respondents (73.5%) supported e-cigarette-free workplaces, including the majority of current e-cigarette users (53.5%). Multiple regression modeling found that odds of support for e-cigarette workplace policies was significantly higher among never (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.19-2.64) and former e-cigarette users (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.15-2.54) relative to current users. Policy support also varied by perceived harm and other perceptions of workplace vaping, and demographic and workplace characteristics. Conclusions: E-cigarette-free workplace policies have high levels of support among employees, including both current and former e-cigarette users. Policies restricting workplace vaping can improve the health of all employees.

Assessment of post-trauma complications in eight million trauma cases over a decade in the USA

BackgroundTrauma is associated with a significant risk of post-trauma complications (PTCs). These include thromboembolic events, strokes, infections, and failure of organ systems (eg, kidney failure). Although care of the trauma patient has evolved during the last decade, whether this has resulted in a reduction in specific PTCs is unknown. We hypothesize that the incidence of PTCs has been decreasing during a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017.MethodsThis is a descriptive study of trauma patients originating from level 1, 2, 3, and 4 trauma centers in the USA, obtained via the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database from 2007 to 2017. PTCs documented throughout the time frame were extracted along with demographic variables. Multiple regression modeling was used to associate admission year with PTCs, while controlling for age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and Injury Severity Score.ResultsData from 8 720 026 trauma patients were extracted from the TQIP database. A total of 366 768 patients experienced one or more PTCs. There was a general decrease in the incidence of PTCs during the study period, with the overall incidence dropping from 7.0% in 2007 to 2.8% in 2017. Multiple regression identified a slight decrease in incidence in all PTCs, although deep surgical site infection (SSI), deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and stroke incidences increased when controlled for confounders.DiscussionOverall the incidence of PTCs dropped during the 10-year study period, although deep SSI, DVT, stroke, and cardiac arrest increased during the study period. Better risk prediction tools, enabling a precision medicine approach, are warranted to identify at-risk patients.Level of evidenceIII.

Multiple Regression Modeling for Age Estimation by Assessment and Comparison of Spheno-Occipital Synchondrosis Fusion and Cervical Vertebral Maturation Stages

Objectives The aim of this study was (1) to evaluate the relationship between spheno-occipital synchondrosis (SOS) fusion stages, cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages, and clivus sizes with chronological age on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, and (2) to compare these methods for accurate age estimation using regression analysis. Materials and Methods The CBCT images of 200 individuals (102 females and 98 males) were included in the study. The SOS fusion stages and CVM stages were evaluated. The width and length of the clivus were measured. The effects of SOS fusion stages, CVM stages, clivus width, and clivus length on age estimation were evaluated by univariate tests and the effects of coexistence with ANCOVA and regression model. Spearman rank correlation analysis was also used to investigate the relationship between the SOS fusion stage, CVM stage, clivus width, and clivus length. Results The SOS stages, CVM stages, and clivus width were not shown statistically significant differences between the sexes (p-values = 0.205, 0.162, and 0.277, respectively), whereas clivus length was significantly longer in males (42.9 ± 4.26 mm) than in females (41.04 ± 3.74 mm). Multiple regression analysis showed 80% success when all parameters (SOS fusion stages, CVM stages, clivus width, and clivus length) were taken into consideration. Conclusion In conclusion, with the use of CVM stages and SOS fusion stages together, an accurate and reliable age estimation can be obtained in forensic medicine.