Impact of Ocean Domain Definition on Sea Level Budget

Total sea level changes from space radar altimetry are mainly decomposed into two contributions of mass addition and volume expansion of oceans, measured by GRACE space gravimeter and Argo float array, respectively. However, the averages of altimetry, mass, and steric sea level changes have been usually examined over the respective data domains, which are different to one another. Errors arise from this area inconsistency is rarely discussed in the previous studies. Here in this study, an alternative definition of ocean domain is applied for examining sea level budgets, and the results are compared with estimates from different ocean areas. It shows that the impact of area inconsistency is estimated by about 0.3 mm/yr of global trend difference, and averages based on a consistent ocean area yield a closer agreement between altimetry and mass + steric in trend. This contribution would explain some discordances of past sea level budget studies.

Is it Possible to Assess the Two-Domain Definition of the Broad Autism Phenotype Using the Available Measurement Tools?

Although, the operationalization of the autism spectrum disorder has been updated around two domains, the broad autism phenotype (BAP) one has not. Additionally, the items of the three common BAP measures, the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ), the Autism Quotient, and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), remain organized around a non-consensual number of factors. We explored whether the items of these measures matched with the two-domain operationalization through a parallel analysis, which has suggested two main components, and two expert judgments which have assessed item wording, relevance, and construct representativeness. A remaining pool of 48 BAP-relevant items suggested a possible under-representation of two subdomains. Despite the relevance of all the BAPQ items, only the SRS ones tapped in all subdomains.

Applying meta-analysis to research on bilingualism: An introduction

Meta-analysis overcomes a number of the limitations of traditional literature reviews (Norris & Ortega, 2006). Consequently, the use of meta-analysis as a synthetic technique has been applied across a range of scientific disciplines in recent decades. This paper seeks to formally introduce the potential of meta-analysis to the field of bilingualism. In doing so, we first describe a number of advantages to the meta-analytic approach such as greater systematicity, objectivity, and transparency relative to narrative reviews. We also outline the major stages in conducting a meta-analysis, highlighting critical considerations encountered at each stage. These include (a) domain definition, (b) coding scheme development and implementation, (c) analysis, and (d) interpretation. The focus, however, is on providing a conceptual introduction rather than a full-length tutorial. Meta-analyses in bilingualism and nearby fields are referred to throughout in order to illustrate the points being made.

Prevalence and factors associated with frailty among community-dwelling older people in rural Thanjavur district of South India: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThere is sparse data on the prevalence of frailty from rural parts of India. Our aim was to estimate prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older people in rural South Indian population and explore socio-demographic factors associated with frailty. We further explored the associations between frailty with fear of falling and falls.DesignCommunity based cross-sectional study.SettingFour villages in Thanjavur district of Southern India.ParticipantsRandom sample of adults aged 60 years and above from four villages.MethodsWe sampled community-dwelling older adults from the electoral list of four villages using stratified random sampling. We report prevalence of frailty as defined by physical definition (Fried’s Phenotype), accumulation of deficits (Frailty Index) and multi-domain definition (Tilburg Frailty Indicator). We report proportion of agreement of frailty status between the frailty tools. We used logistic regressions with robust SEs to examine the associations between socio-demographic determinants with frailty and the association between frailty with fear of falling and falls.ResultsAmong the 408 participants, the weighted (non-response and poststratification for sex) prevalence and 95% CI of frailty was 28% (18.9 to 28.1) for physical definition, 59% (53.9 to 64.3) for accumulation of deficits and 63% (57.4 to 67.6) for multi-domain definition. Frailty Index and Tilburg Frailty Indicator had good agreement (80%). Age, female, lower education, lower socioeconomic status, minimum physical activity in routine work were independently associated with frailty irrespective of the frailty definitions. Frail elderly had higher odds of falls as well as fear of falling compared with non-frail, irrespective of the definitions.ConclusionPrevalence of frailty among older people in rural Thanjavur district of South India was high compared with low-income and middle-income countries. Understanding the modifiable determinants of frailty can provide a valuable reference for future prevention and intervention.