The Most Dangerous Game: A Review of Head and Neck Injuries in American Football and Rugby

Study Design The investigators designed and implemented a 20-year cross-sectional study using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. Objective The purpose of this study is to estimate and compare hospital admission (danger) rates between rugby and football of those who presented to the emergency department with head and neck injuries after playing these sports. Methods The primary predictor variable was sport played. The primary outcome variable was danger, measured by hospital admission rates. Results Over the past 20 years, there has been a trend of decreasing incidence of injuries presenting to the emergency department in both sports. There was no difference in the rate of hospital admission when comparing football and rugby (OR, 1.2; P = .1). Male gender was associated with an increased risk of admission. Other variables associated with hospital admission included white racial group, injury taking place in the fall, being either young (15–24 years old) or senior (65 years of age and over), and being injured at school or at a sport/recreational facility. Conclusions There is no difference in danger as measured by admission rates between American football and rugby. There exists, however, several variables that are associated with admission when sustaining injury to the head and neck, when playing these two sports.

Identifying the strongest self-report predictors of sexual satisfaction using machine learning

Sexual satisfaction has been robustly associated with relationship and individual well-being. Previous studies have found several individual (e.g., gender, self-esteem, and attachment) and relational (e.g., relationship satisfaction, relationship length, and sexual desire) factors that predict sexual satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to identify which variables are the strongest, and the least strong, predictors of sexual satisfaction using modern machine learning. Previous research has relied primarily on traditional statistical models which are limited in their ability to estimate a large number of predictors, non-linear associations, and complex interactions. Through a machine learning algorithm, random forest (a potentially more flexible extension of decision trees), we predicted sexual satisfaction across two samples (total N = 1846; includes 754 individuals forming 377 couples). We also used a game theoretic interpretation technique, Shapley values, which allowed us to estimate the size and direction of the effect of each predictor variable on the model outcome. Findings showed that sexual satisfaction is highly predictable (48–62% of variance explained) with relationship variables (relationship satisfaction, importance of sex in relationship, romantic love, and dyadic desire) explaining the most variance in sexual satisfaction. The study highlighted important factors to focus on in future research and interventions.

Determinants of financial performance in Albanian economic entities, case of construction industry in Albania

Financial performance mainly reflects the overall financial health of the business sector over a period of time. It shows how well an entity is using its resources to maximize shareholder’s wealth. Although a thorough assessment of a firm's financial performance takes into account many other measures, the most common performance measurement used in the area of finance are financial ratios. This paper provides a comprehensive study of the financial performance measurement literature related to the construction sector in Albania. The literature covers studies from Albania, Iran, India and Pakistan, but some international evidence has also been presented. The construction sector is chosen because of its impact on economic growth in Albania, it represents the second main sector according to its share effect on Albanian GDP. The financial ratios used to measure the financial performance of the construction sector are the debt ratio, the liquidity ratio and the profitability ratio from the period 2018-2020 for 100 construction companies in Albania. Return on Assets (ROA) is taken as the predictor variable and three financial ratios are taken as the predictive variables. This research reveals that the financial ratios have positive correlation with the dependent variable whereas the leverage ratio has negative correlation. To overcome the limitations of the forthcoming studies, the considered number of years need to be increased and other models such as Market Value Added, Capital Asset Pricing Model and Economic Value Added can be used to be tested for research to analyze other factors that may affect financial performance.

Decision-making, aggression, age, and type of crime as predictors of coping among young adult male maximum-security incarcerated offenders

Correctional environments are regarded as degrading, dangerous, difficult, stigmatizing, stressful, unsafe, and violent. Young adult male incarcerated offenders need to acquire the necessary coping skills to survive in the correctional environment. This research study aimed to determine which variable(s) or set of variables explain a significant percentage of the variance in coping among young adult male incarcerated offenders in a South African private maximum-security correctional center. The research approach in this study was quantitative, and the nature of the research was nonexperimental. A correlational research design was used. The sample consisted of 187 young adult male incarcerated offenders. The hierarchical regression analysis results indicated that vigilance was the only predictor variable that statistically and practically significantly predicted seeking social support and problem-solving. This finding implies that young adult offenders who are more vigilant regarding decision-making are more inclined to solve problems better and use social support to cope better.

Is mother’s financial autonomy associated with stunting among children aged 7–35 months: An empirical study from India

Stunting depicts chronic deprivation and is a huge public health problem in several developing countries. Considering the sociocultural and sociodemographic factors of India, we aimed to examine the relationship between maternal autonomy and stunting among children <35 months. We have used the data from the latest round of National Family health survey conducted in 2015–16. The main exposure variable was women’s autonomy which are represented in our study by the four dimensions- decision-making, physical mobility, financial autonomy, attitudes towards domestic violence, the main predictor variable was stunting among children. Chi-square analysis, univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis were performed to find the association of childhood stunting and women’s autonomy. The results were reported at 5% level of significance. All the autonomy variables have shown a significant association with child stunting at 5% level of significance. The unadjusted odds of stunting were found to be significant with respect to all the four dimensions of autonomy variables except physical autonomy. However, after adjusting for other explanatory factors attenuated these relationships and made them statistically insignificant except for women’s economic autonomy (AOR = 0.91; 95% C.I.-(0.85, 0.98)) which was found to be significantly affecting the child’s status of stunting. Our study reinforces that maternal autonomy is a significant predictor of childhood stunting. Hence, we recommend that policy makers, while designing interventions and policies, must address the socioeconomic inequalities at the community level while devising ways to improve women’s empowerment. As it has far-reaching consequences on the nutrition status of the upcoming generations.

The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons: A Follow-Up Survey After One Year

Study Design Comparative cross-sectional. The Objective To measure the impact that COrona VIrus Disease-19 (COVID-19) has had on craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgeons after 1 year and compare it with 2020 data by ( 1) measuring access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), ( 2) performance of elective surgery, and ( 3) the vaccination status. This should be investigated because most CMF surgeons felt that hospitals did not provide them with adequate PPE. Methods The investigators surveyed the international AO CMF membership using a 30-item online questionnaire and compared it to a previous study. The primary predictor variable was year of survey administration. Primary outcome variables were availability of adequate personal protective equipment (adequate/inadequate), performance of elective surgery (yes/no), and vaccination status (fully vaccinated/partly vaccinated/not vaccinated). Descriptive and analytic statistics were computed. Binary logistic regression models were created to measure the association between year and PPE availability. Statistical significance level was set at P < .05. Results The sample was composed of 523 surgeons (2% response rate). Most surgeons reported access to adequate PPE (74.6%). The most adequate PPE was offered in Europe (87.8%) with the least offered in Africa (45.5%). Surgeons in 2021 were more likely to report adequate PPE compared to 2020 (OR 3.74, 95% CI [2.59–4.39]). Most of the respondents resumed elective surgery (79.5% vs 13.3% in 2020) and were fully vaccinated (59.1%). Conclusion Most CMF surgeons now have access to adequate PPE, resumed elective surgery, and are either fully or partly vaccinated. Future studies should investigate the long-term impact of the fast-evolving COVID-19 pandemic on CMF surgeons.

Employee Wellbeing English Language Proficiency a Key to Knowledge Sharing and Social Interaction

This chapter discusses the significance of employee wellbeing at the workplace and self-perceived English language proficiency as a predictor variable. The importance of employee wellbeing has been recognized all around the world. To generalize the findings of previous literature this study has examined the proposed model in the context of telecom MNCs in Pakistan. This chapter starts with what is wellbeing at the workplace? And moves towards it significance in the context of developed and underdeveloped countries. Further, this chapter explains the empirical findings of the proposed model. The results revealed a strong correlation between self-perceived English language proficiency and dimensions of employee wellbeing at the workplace. This is a very important chapter for both researchers and managers.

Age at First Birth in Uttar Pradesh: How Much Has It Actually Changed? Over Inter-NFHS Period?

Culturally, there is always pressure among newly-wed to conceive early and have births in India. Previous studies have documented relationship between age at first birth &amp; fertility, besides the socio-demographic factors that influence age at first birth. The current study aims answering directions and quantum of such relationships using frailty models. The successive rounds of NFHS data (1, 2, 3 &amp; 4) from Uttar Pradesh is used in the study. Fertility in India is characterized as too-early-too-fast. By age-30 majority women would have completed the childbearing. However, the data from NFHS-4 shows some striking changes in the initiation of child bearing in Uttar Pradesh breaking away from the stereotypes of too early too fast characterization. While 44.67 percent of the women aged 30-34 had experienced first birth by age 18 in the year 1992-93 (NFHS-1), the percentages declined during 2015-16 (NFHS-4) to 28.25%. However, by ages 26 majority of women (&gt;95%) aged 30-34 have had experienced first birth. Births at younger age are also a reflection on enforcement of child-marriage restraint act &amp; adherence to legal minimum age at marriage which is 18 for girls &amp; 21 for boys. The data from NFHS-4 have some quality issues. Women aged as low as 5 have shown to have experienced first birth by that age. This may not be possible. The Kaplan Meier survival Graph provided the survival probabilities with respect of each predictor sub groups. The log rank test was used to test the equality of survivor function for each sub group of the predictor variable. The survivor function was significantly different among sub groups of the predictor variables except for the categories of ever use of contraception at NFHS1 and categories of religion across rounds of NFHS data. The Cox Proportional Hazards model was used to study the risk of first birth by socio demographic characteristics. The Frailty model capturing the unobserved heterogeneity in the event time was preferred over standard survival model. For the current study, gamma frailty with Weibull-hazard is used as it fits the data well. Age at marriage and women&rsquo;s literacy significantly determines the Age at First Birth. The inverse relationship with regard to ever use of contraception needs further analysis. The model also predicts significant frailty with variance parameter (theta) greater than one across the NFHS datasets.

RELATIONS OF MOTOR ABILITY OF BALANCE AND SUCCESS OF PERFORMANCE OF GYMNASTICS ELEMENTS ON THE FLOOR EXERCISE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between motor ability for balance and the performance of selected gymnastic elements on the floor in students aged 7-8 years, to provide an overview of the current motor status of the respondents at this age, and to develop suggestions for possible changes in the curriculum at this age, and to develop suggestions for supplementing training methodology. Training of selected gymnastics elements was conducted on a sample of 42 subjects who had no previous experience in performing gymnastics elements during regular physical education classes, and the predictor variable was tested using four tests assessing motor balance ability. The tests assessing motor balance ability showed a statistically significant predictive value for the performance of all three gymnastics exercises. It is noticeable that the value of the prediction model increased the more complex an item was derived, indicating the complexity of the motor balance space and the high and stable level of the same in the subjects at the time of testing. Regarding the tests used, it can be noted that the test FLAM was significantly involved in the prediction of performance success in all three gymnastic elements, while the other two tests showed their predictive value in the execution of the hand stand. On the other hand, the study shows that the gymnastic elements used should be used in physical education classes to contribute to the promotion and development of all motor skills of students and as part of the preparation for the execution of more complex elements on the floor and apparatus in higher grades.

Quantile Generalized Additive Model a Robust Alternative to Generalized Additive Model

Nonparametric regression is an approach used when the structure of the relationship between the response and the predictor variable is unknown. It tries to estimate the structure of this relationship since there is no predetermined form. The generalized additive model (GAM) and quantile generalized additive (QGAM) model provides an attractive framework for nonparametric regression. The QGAM focuses on the features of the response beyond the central tendency, while the GAM focuses on the mean response. The analysis was done using gam and qgam packages in R, using data set on live-births, fertility-rate and birth-rate, where, live-birth is the response with fertility-rate and birth-rate as the predictors. The spline basis function was used while selecting the smoothing parameter by marginal loss minimization technique. The result shows that the basis dimension used was sufficient. The QGAM results show the effect of the smooth functions on the response variable at 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th quantiles, while the GAM showed only the effect of the predictors on the mean response. The results also reveal that the QGAM have lower Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Generalized cross-validation (GVC) than the GAM, hence producing a better model. It was also observed that the QGAM and the GAM at the 50th quantile had the same R2adj(77%), meaning that both models were able to explain the same percentage of variation in the models, this we attribute to the fact that mean regression and median regression are approximately the same, hence the observation is in agreement with existing literature. The plots reveal that some of the residuals of the GAM were seen to fall outside the confidence band while in QGAM all the residuals fell within the confidence band producing a better smooth.