Salivary Biomarkers (Opiorphin, Cortisol, Amylase, and IgA) Related to Age, Sex, and Stress Perception in a Prospective Cohort of Healthy Schoolchildren

Background. The use of easily accessible biomarkers for assessing young patients’ health is weighty. This cohort study is aimed at measuring stress/immune biomarkers in the saliva of healthy school-age children and comparing subgroups according to age, sex, and stress perception. Material and Methods. 503 children under 12 years old ( 8.7 ± 1.3 ) were included with anthropometric evaluation (height, waist, hip circumference, body weight, and body mass index (BMI)). Levels of opiorphin (OPI), free cortisol, alpha-amylase (sAA), and secreted immunoglobulin (sIgA) were determined by quantitative assays (ELISA) in unstimulated saliva. Unpaired t -test, Welch test, and Mann–Whitney U test were applied for appropriate group comparisons, and the correlation between variables was analyzed with Spearman’s rank coefficient. Results were considered significant at p < 0.05 . Results. sIgA and sAA exhibited significant differences depending on age and sex: IgA (ng/mL): 86 ± 68.6 vs. 104.9 ± 72.1 for (6-7 y.o.) and (8-11 y.o.), respectively, and 108.1 ± 80.1 vs. 94.6 ± 62.2 for male and females, respectively; sAA (U/mL): 78.9 ± 54.4 vs. 100.5 ± 81.2 for (6-7 y.o.) and (8-11 y.o.). No difference related to age or sex between groups was observed for cortisol and OPI. However, OPI levels were higher and correlated to prior stress exposure in children ( 0.31 ± 0.4 vs. 0.26 ± 0.5 ng / mL , p = 0.031 ). sAA was negatively correlated to low mood self-declaration in children in the last two weeks ( r = − 0.10 , p = 0.045 ). Conclusions. sIgA and sAA can be used as sex- and age-related biomarkers in children 6-12 y.o., which is not the case for free cortisol and opiorphin. However, OPI reflected previous exposure to stress, suggesting its use for evaluating stress-related changes in children

Why COVID-19 is not so spread in Africa: How does Ivermectin affect it?

Background: Scientists have so far been unable to determine the reason for the low number of COVID-19 cases in Africa. Objective: To evaluate the impact of ivermectin interventions for onchocerciasis on the morbidity, mortality, recovery, and fatality rates caused by COVID-19. Method: A retrospective statistical analysis study of the impact of ivermectin against COVID-19 between the 31 onchocerciasis-endemic countries using the community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) and the non-endemic 22 countries in Africa. The morbidity, mortality, recovery rate, and fatality rate caused by COVID-19 were calculated from the WHO situation report in Africa. We investigated the onchocerciasis endemic 31 countries and the non-endemic 22 countries. Statistical comparisons used by the Welch test of them in the two groups were made. Results: The morbidity and mortality were statistically significantly less in the 31 countries using CDTI. The recovery and fatality rates were not statistically significant difference. The average life expectancy was statistically significantly higher in the non-endemic countries. Conclusions: The morbidity and mortality in the onchocerciasis endemic countries are lesser than those in the non-endemic ones. The community-directed onchocerciasis treatment with ivermectin is the most reasonable explanation for the decrease in morbidity and fatality rate in Africa. In areas where ivermectin is distributed to and used by the entire population, it leads to a significant reduction in mortality.

Differences in Early Adult Anxiety during COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis Rasch Model

Since COVID-19 pandemic entered Indonesia, mental health experts have also investigated the increase in psychological problems, one of which is anxiety. The fear of being infected or unknowingly infecting other people is a major source of anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to describe the differences in early adult anxiety during COVID-19 in terms of gender. This study is a comparative study at the early adult development stage in Indonesia, obtained through random sampling. The sample of this study was 206 people (male = 66; female = 140). The analysis technique used is the Welch Test on the Rasch model with the help of WINSTEPS Version 3.73. The analysis showed that there was no difference in anxiety during COVID-19 between male and female early adulthood. This condition is caused by early adulthood male and female depending on the internet and smartphones to find information when quarantining at home, increasing feelings of anxiety about being infected with COVID-19. The implementation of guidance and counseling is discussed further

Serum Interleukin-2 (IL-2) Levels in Untreated and Treated in Batak Tribe Patients with Schizophrenia

To find out the difference of serum IL-2 levels between untreated and treated in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia and healthy control and also to find out the association between serum IL-2 levels with PANSS score in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia. This study was cross-sectional approach using a one-way ANOVA welch test and to find a correlation between serum IL-2 levels with PANSS score in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia which is conducted in Prof. Dr. M. Ildrem Psychiatric Hospital Medan and Dr. Pirngadi General Hospital Medan from September 2019-November 2019. Subjects of untreated were 55 subjects and treated in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia were 55 subjects and healthy control were 55 subjects. There were significant differences between these three groups using post hoc Games-Howell test on the value of p<0.001 and also been found there was a significant correlation between serum IL-2 levels with PANSS score in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia using the Pearson correlation test (r=0.599, p=0.001 and r=0.501, p=0.001). It was founded that there were significant differences between serum IL-2 levels in three groups and also founded there was a significant correlation between serum IL-2 levels with PANSS score in the Batak tribe patients with schizophrenia.

Perbedaan Nomophobia mahasiswa : analisis Rasch

Penggunaan <em>smartphone</em> pada era digital saat ini sudah menjadi kebiasaan karena seluruh aktivitas di masyarakat sudah terintegrasi dengan aplikasi pada <em>smartphone</em>. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis perbedaan <em>nomophobia</em> mahasiswa ditinjau dari gender, akses internet per-hari, dan jumlah media sosial (sosmed) di Universitas Negeri Padang. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian komparatif pada mahasiswa Universitas Negeri Padang, yang diperoleh melalui <em>cluster random sampling</em>. Sampel penelitian ini adalah 236 mahasiswa (43 laki-laki dan 193 perempuan). Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah <em>Welch test</em> pada model rasch dengan bantuan WINSTEPS Version 3.73. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada perbedaan <em>nomophobia</em> antara mahasiswa laki-laki dan perempuan, serta mahasiswa yang menggunakan media dengan jumlah banyak sangat membutuhkan akses internet yang banyak juga (&gt; 8 jam) atau adanya hubungan positif antara akses internet perhari dengan jumlah media yang dimiliki. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa baik individu berjenis kelamin perempuan atau laki-laki memiliki akses internet dan media sosial yang banyak , sehingga hal demikian meningkatkan kecenderungan individu memiliki perilaku <em>nomophobia</em>.

Die Bedeutung medizinpsychologischer/soziologischer Themen für ÄrztInnen und Medizinstudierende: Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Das Fach „Medizinische Psychologie/Soziologie“ steht durch die aktuell anstehenden Studienreformen im Rahmen des „Masterplans Medizinstudium 2020“ verschiedenen inhaltlichen Änderungen gegenüber. Diese beinhalten u. a. eine Weiterentwicklung des Gegenstandskatalogs (GK) und des Nationalen Kompetenzbasierten Lernzielkatalogs Medizin (NKLM) sowie der Ärztlichen Approbationsordnung (ÄAppro). Hier stellt sich die Frage, welche Ausbildungsinhalte der „Medizinische Psychologie/Soziologie“, mit denen Medizinstudierende konfrontiert sind, von besonderer Bedeutung für die spätere ärztliche Tätigkeit sind. Methodik 332 ÄrztInnen und 265 Studierende bewerteten im Rahmen der Studie Lehrinhalte des Gegenstandskatalogs der Medizinischen Psychologie/ Soziologie (GK-MPS) nach ihrer Bedeutung für ihr Studium bzw. ihr Berufsleben. Die ÄrztInnen gaben zudem in Freitextangaben an, auf welche Situationen im Berufsalltag sie durch das Studium gerne besser vorbereitet worden wären. In einem kombiniert quantitativ-qualitativen Analyseansatz wurden Unterschiede zwischen beiden Gruppen durch t-Tests für unabhängige Stichproben bei ungleichen Varianzen (Welch-Test) identifiziert sowie Freitextangaben durch 3 Rater im Rahmen einer qualitativ orientierten kategoriengeleiteten Textanalyse den verschiedenen Themen des GK-MPS zugeordnet und inhaltlich ausgewertet. Ergebnisse Sowohl ÄrztInnen als auch Studierende schätzten jene Themenbereiche des GK-MPS als am wichtigsten ein, die die unmittelbare Arzt-Patient-Kommunikation beschreiben. Die ÄrztInnen maßen den Themenbereichen der Arzt-Patient-Kommunikation, Statistik sowie Prävention eine höhere Wichtigkeit bei als die Studierenden. Die ÄrztInnen beschrieben im Freitext, dass sie durch das Studium gerne besser auf besondere und herausfordernde medizinische Situationen in der Arzt-Patienten-Interaktion vorbereitet worden wären. Diskussion Nach wie vor werden den Themen der Arzt-Patienten-Kommunikation bei ÄrztInnen als auch Studierenden eine besondere Bedeutung für die medizinische Ausbildung beigemessen, jedoch schätzen ÄrztInnen diese Wichtigkeit noch einmal als höher ein als Studierende. Schlussfolgerung Die Studienergebnisse unterstützen die aktuellen Studienreformen hin zu einer stärkeren Gewichtung der Arzt-Patienten-Kommunikation und Vermittlung wissenschaftlicher Grundlagen sowie die Verknüpfung vorklinischer und klinischer Studieninhalte.

Genomic prediction of ordinal traits via application of the BLASSO and BayesCπ methods in simulated data

This paper aims at evaluating the use of BLASSO and BayesCπ methods for the genomic prediction of ordinal traits, studying factors that influence the performance of the models, and if there is a difference in the ranking of individuals. Genotypic and phenotypic information from a simulated population of 4,100 animals, genotyped by 10k markers (QTL-MAS Workshop) were used. 3,000 animals were used for estimation of the predictive ability and bias accessed through 5-fold cross-validation with five repetitions. The other animals were used as a population of selection. One ANOVA and the Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welch test were performed to verify, respectively, which factors influence significantly the genomic prediction and if there is a statistical difference between the models. The results show that the four main factors significantly (p < 0.05) affect the predictive ability of GEBVs (genomic estimated breeding values), and that heritability and the number of categories are the most influential factors. Only for ordinal trait 2, with a density of 9k, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between the predictive ability of the methods. In general, the BayesCπ method proved to be more efficient in the identification of relevant SNPs and in the ranking of individuals. Finally, there is a slight superiority of the BayesCπ method for the genomic prediction of ordinal traits.

Impact of Various Demographic Factors on Customer Satisfaction in Telecommunication Sector

Satisfaction of customers is extremely critical for any industry especially the highly competitive Telecom industry in India. This research examines statistical association of various demographic factors like age, gender, marital status, income, qualification, profession and locality with customer satisfaction of the mobile users of Gujarat, the 5th largest state of India in terms of area. In this research, responses of 800 mobile users with various demographic factors and from 4 different zones of Gujarat were gathered using various close ended questionnaires and simple random sampling. To capture the information and attributes related to satisfaction from mobile services a 5 point Likert Scale was used. The results were analyzed using ANOVA (Welch test, Brown-Forsythe and F test as applicable) and independent samples T test to reach to the desired objectives. Further post hoc tests (Games Howell and Tukey tests) as applicable were also carried out to pin point the group with significant difference in their mean values. These findings will be useful from telecom operator’s perspective for enhancing the customer retention and accusation of new customer base.

Efectividad del i_map en la prevención de plagio académico a nivel universitario

El plagio académico es una práctica común entre estudiantes universitarios. Tradicionalmente esta temática ha sido abordada a través de estudios que determinan los factores generadores de la misma, sin ahondar en estrategias efectivas que prevengan dichas prácticas. Por tanto, para este estudio se utilizó una estrategia novedosa llamada i_map, que reduce el plagio académico a través del fortalecimiento de las habilidades de búsqueda y manejo de información, documentación del proceso de investigación y generación de ideas propias por parte del estudiante.El objetivo de este estudio es determinar la efectividad del i_map en la prevención del plagio académico y compararla con estrategias tradicionales como el reforzamiento en el uso de paráfrasis y citas textuales. La investigación fue desarrollada en tres espacios pedagógicos de la Carrera de Ciencias Naturales del CUED-UPNFM, cada espacio fue diferenciado según el tipo de estrategia utilizada (i_map, talleres de paráfrasis y citas textuales, equipo control) para la elaboración de ensayos académicos. En total fueron analizados 74 ensayos. El análisis de los datos fue realizado a través de un ANOVA de factor único y Welch test. Los niveles más bajos de plagio (p=0.0003246) y los valores medios más altos de fuentes académicas citadas (p=0.0100) fueron registrados en los trabajos de los estudiantes que utilizaron el i_map. Este estudio concluye la efectividad, estadísticamente significativa, del uso del i_map en la prevención de plagio académico, por lo que sugerimos la inclusión de esta estrategia como herramienta para prevenir dicha práctica y a la vez mejorar la redacción de asignaciones escritas.