Simplified Chinese Version of the International Prostate Symptom Score and the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Impact Index: Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability, and Validity for Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Purpose: The aim of this study was to translate and cross-cultural adapt the international prostate symptom score (IPSS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia impact index (BII) into simplified Chinese for mainland Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).Methods: The original English IPSS and BII were translated into simplified Chinese versions, based on cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach’ α, then test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in stable patients. The validity of these two adaptations was tested by the correlation between the IPSS, and BII with visual prostate symptom score (VPSS), and 36 items Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The floor and ceiling effects were calculated by the proportion of participants who obtained the highest and lowest possible score.Results: A total of 105 native Chinese-speaking patients with BPH were enrolled. Cronbach’ α were over 0.75 for the simplified Chinese IPSS (IPSS 0.815; IPSS-symptom 0.782), and 0.709 for the simplified Chinese BII, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The ICCs for the test-retest reliability were over 0.75 (IPSS, r = 0.836; IPSS-symptom, r = 0.801; IPSS-quality of life, r = 0.794; BII, r = 0.758), indicating excellent test-retest reliability. There were very good positive correlations between IPSS and BII (r = 0.605), as well as VPSS (r = 0.634), and very good or good negative correlations between IPSS-Qol and SF-36 physical functioning (r = -0.621), and vitality (r = -0.659), and between BII and SF-36 physical functioning (r = -0.421). No floor or ceiling effect was detected in the simplified Chinese IPSS and BII.Conclusions: This study indicates that the simplified Chinese IPSS and BII are reliable and valid measurement of the symptom and quality of life among Chinese patients with BPH, which is likely to be widely used in this population.

Producción científica en Relaciones Públicas a través de las revistas de mayor impacto del Caribe Latinoamericano / Scientific production in Public Relations through the journals with the greatest impact in the Latin American Caribbean

Scientific production in Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced great growth in recent years (Álvarez-Muñoz y Pérez-Montoro, 2016; Santa y Herrero, 2010), due in part to the increase in public investment in science in these countries and the indexing of their journals in global (Scopus or Wos) and regional (Latindex or Redalyc) databases of bibliographic references. However, in the area of communication, the publication of academic articles is still embryonic. There are several academic studies (Flores-García y Becerril-García, 2020; López- Ornelas et al., 2017; Rogel-Salazar et al., 2017) that highlight the scarce of disclosure of scientific knowledge in this region, remarking the limited presence of communication journals published in Latin America and indexed in databases. In the specific area of public relations, the conceptualization and recognition of this discipline in the academic and professional field has been increasing since the mid-twentieth century. However, despite the progress experienced, the small number of existing studies on the subject in these journals, justify this investigation line. In this sense, this research, within the framework of bibliometric studies, proposes to determine the position occupied by public relations in the academic production about communication of the main journals of the Latin American Caribbean in the last ten years (2010-2020); as well as analyzing the main characteristics of these publications by examining the areas of knowledge of the published texts, the institutions from which they come or its authorship, among other aspects such as the object of study and the methodological procedure used in the research. The scientific journals that make up the sample (Comunicación y Sociedad, from Mexico, Palabra Clave and Signo y Pensamiento, both from Colombia) have been selected on the basis of representativeness criteria such as the impact index in the Scopus bibliographic database and the geographical scope of the Latin American Caribbean. The results indicate that the discipline of public relations is marginal in the overall scientific production in the area of communication in the Latin American Caribbean. Most of the texts published by the journals with the highest impact index in the region focus on fields related to communication, but are far removed from the specific area of public relations. However, it is noticeable that in recent years greater attention has been paid to this discipline, with an increase in scientific production in the period between 2016 and 2020. The findings obtained also allow us to establish a profile of the scientific production on public relations disseminated in the decade from 2010 to 2020 by the leading journals in the Latin American Caribbean. A collective authorship, balanced in terms of the sex of the signatories, mainly from universities in Latin America and Spain, and the use of empirical approaches from a qualitative perspective, define the type of academic production analysed. Despite the limitations that this research presents when it comes to extrapolating the results to the whole of the scientific production on public relations in territories other than the Latin American Caribbean, it is outlined as an exploratory study and a first approach to the still incipient research on the discipline of public relations in Caribbean academic journals.

Study on Spatial Measurement and Influence Mecha- nism of the Correlation between Traditional Villages and River Systems:A case study of Hunan, China

River systems acts as the critical factor for site selection. In the process of rural evolution, river adaptability created by human settlement is fading away due to inadequate understanding of inherent spatial characteristics. To better understand the inherent law of the applicability of traditional villages river systems , this study proposed the concept of inheritance based on spatial measurement of the correlation between traditional villages and river systems. With the help of GIS10.8 and SPSS26.0 software, this study takes 658 national traditional villages of Hunan and domestic river systems as an example to measure the spatial correlation characteristics,which concludes spatial pattern, spatial density and spatial distance. Summarize the similarity and differences characteristics of spatial distribution. Analyse and interpret the impact index of spatial correlation through the stepwise regression model. The results actually showed that traditional villages are uneven distributed along river systems, which are mainly affected by minority population, elevation and farming industry. In addition, traditional villages are less with the increase of spatial distance from river systems. The values of spatial quantitative measurement and mechanism can reflect the traditional survival wisdom.It can guide significance for spatial growth mechanism of integration with environment and provide references for future conservation and utilization of spatial heritage sustainability.

Interconnectedness and systemic risk measures of Chinese financial institutions

PurposeIn this paper the interconnectedness among financial institutions and the level of systemic risks of four types of Chinese financial institutions are investigated.Design/methodology/approachBy the means of RAS algorithm, the interconnection among financial institutions are illustrated. Different methods, including Linear Granger, Systemic impact index (SII), vulnerability index (VI), CoVaR, and MES are used to measure the systemic risk exposures across different institutions.FindingsThe results illustrate that big banks are more interconnected and hold the biggest scales of inter-bank transactions in the financial network. The institutions which have larger size tend to have more connection with others. Insurance and security companies contribute more to the systemic risk where as other institutions, such as trusts, financial companies, etc. may bring about severe loss and endanger the financial system as a whole.Practical implicationsSince other institutions with low levels of regulation may bring about higher extreme loss and suffer the whole system, it deserves more attention by regulators considering the contagion of potential risks in the financial system.Originality/valueThis study builds a valuable contribution by examine the systemic risks from the perspectives of both interconnection and tail risk measures. Furthermore; Four types financial institutions are investigated in this paper.

Incorporating Glucose Variability into Glucose Forecasting Accuracy Assessment Using the New Glucose Variability Impact Index and the Prediction Consistency Index: An LSTM Case Example

Background: In this work, we developed glucose forecasting algorithms trained and evaluated on a large dataset of free-living people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) using closed-loop (CL) and sensor-augmented pump (SAP) therapies; and we demonstrate how glucose variability impacts accuracy. We introduce the glucose variability impact index (GVII) and the glucose prediction consistency index (GPCI) to assess the accuracy of prediction algorithms. Methods: A long-short-term-memory (LSTM) neural network was designed to predict glucose up to 60 minutes in the future using continuous glucose measurements and insulin data collected from 175 people with T1D (41,318 days) and evaluated on 75 people (11,333 days) from the Tidepool Big Data Donation Dataset. LSTM was compared with two naïve forecasting algorithms as well as Ridge linear regression and a random forest using root-mean-square error (RMSE). Parkes error grid quantified clinical accuracy. Regression analysis was used to derive the GVII and GPCI. Results: The LSTM had highest accuracy and best GVII and GPCI. RMSE for CL was 19.8 ± 3.2 and 33.2 ± 5.4 mg/dL for 30- and 60-minute prediction horizons, respectively. RMSE for SAP was 19.6 ± 3.8 and 33.1 ± 7.3 mg/dL for 30- and 60-minute prediction horizons, respectively; 99.6% and 97.6% of predictions were within zones A+B of the Parkes error grid at 30- and 60-minute prediction horizons, respectively. Glucose variability was strongly correlated with RMSE (R≥0.64, P < 0.001); GVII and GPCI demonstrated a means to compare algorithms across datasets with different glucose variability. Conclusions: The LSTM model was accurate on a large real-world free-living dataset. Glucose variability should be considered when assessing prediction accuracy using indices such as GVII and GPCI.

Detour-Impact Index Method and Traffic Gathering Algorithm for Assessing Alternative Paths of Disrupted Roads

Infrastructure plays a key role in society. Recent collapses of bridges have underlined their importance for road functionality, causing disruptions to commuters and emergency vehicles. Major issues arise on rural roads, where the lack of redundancy leads to the isolation of entire communities. Actual approaches to assess the resilience of countryside roads rely on the availability of specific datasets, limiting their practical application; this issue is typically related to traffic data. This research aims to propose innovative algorithms to assess the road network’s vulnerability in rural areas, including a novel traffic data collection process and its calibration. The aggregate metric is called Detour-Impact Index (DII) and compares user costs before and after a disruptive event. The method uses traditional network-impact metrics in combination with a new algorithm that allows us to gather quantitative traffic data starting from qualitative information. User travel time showed good agreement between the proposed procedure and traditional web-based methods. Furthermore, the paper provides user delay costs functions accounting for traffic composition, trip purposes, vehicle operative costs, nonlinear volume–capacity relation, and average daily traffic. A significant aspect is the adaptability of this framework, as it is designed to be coupled with existing approaches. The method is demonstrated on a case study in Tuscany (Italy).

Impactos ambientais macroscópicos e qualidade microbiológica das águas em nascentes da área urbana de Santo Antônio do Monte – MG

Resumo Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar e avaliar a qualidade ambiental e microbiológica de nascentes presentes na área urbana de Santo Antônio do Monte -Minas Gerais. Os impactos ambientais nas nascentes foram avaliados a partir da interpretação do Índice de Impacto Ambiental em Nascentes – IIAN. A análise microbiológica da água foi realizada através do Teste do Substrato Cromogênico (Colitest®), que mostra a presença ou ausência de coliformes totais e termotolerantes. Foram identificadas 14 nascentes, porém em quatro destas não foi possível a aplicação dos testes (nascentes 11, 12, 13 e 14), pois encontravam-se secas, soterradas ou tomadas pelo despejo de esgoto. Das nascentes avaliadas, nenhuma atingiu classificação "Ótima" (Classe A) ou "Boa" (Classe B). Apenas uma foi classificada como "Razoável" (Nascente 1; Classe C), cinco como "Ruim" (Nascentes 2, 3, 6, 7 e 8, Classe D) e quatro como "Péssima" (Nascentes 4, 5, 9 e 10, Classe E). Todas apresentaram resultados positivos para presença de coliformes totais e termotolerantes (Escherichia coli). Palavras-chave: Mananciais. Hidrologia. Poluição. Degradação. Abstract This work aimed to identify and evaluate the environmental and microbiological quality of springs present in the urban area of Santo Antônio do Monte -Minas Gerais. The environmental impacts on the springs were assessed based on the interpretation of the Environmental Impact Index on Springs - IIAN. The microbiological analysis of the water was performed using the Chromogenic Substrate Test (Colitest®), which shows either the presence or absence of total and thermotolerant coliforms. Fourteen springs were identified, but in four of them, the application of the test was not possible (springs 11, 12, 13 and 14), as they were dry, buried or taken over by sewage discharge. Out of the springs evaluated, none reached a classification of "Excellent" (Class A) or "Good" (Class B). Only one was classified as "Reasonable" (Source 1; Class C), five as "Bad" (Source 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8, Class D) and four as "Terrible" (Source 4, 5, 9 and 10, Class E). All the springs showed positive results for the presence of total and thermotolerant coliforms (Escherichia coli). Keywords: Springs. Hydrology. Pollution. Degradation. Resumen Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo identificar y evaluar la calidad ambiental y microbiológica de los manantiales presentes en el área urbana de Santo Antônio do Monte - Minas Gerais. Los impactos ambientales en los manantiales se evaluaron sobre la base de la interpretación del Índice de Impacto Ambiental en Manantiales – IIAM. El análisis microbiológico del agua se realizó por medio de la Prueba del Sustrato Cromogénico (Colitest®), que muestra la presencia o ausencia de coliformes totales y termotolerantes. Se identificaron 14 manantiales, pero en cuatro de ellos no fue posible aplicar las pruebas (Manantiales 11, 12, 13 y 14), ya que estaban secos, enterrados o absorbidos por la descarga de aguas residuales. De los manantiales evaluados, ninguno alcanzó clasificación de "Excelente" (Clase A) o "Bueno" (Clase B). Solo uno fue clasificado como "Aceptable" (Manantial 1; Clase C), cinco como "Malo" (Manantiales 2, 3, 6, 7 y 8, Clase D) y cuatro como "Muy malo" (Manantiales 4, 5, 9 y 10, clase E). Todos mostraron resultados positivos para la presencia de coliformes totales y termotolerantes (Escherichia coli). Palabras-clave: Mananciales. Hidrología Contaminación. Degradación.

Assessing Industrial Impact on Water Sustainability in El Bajío, Guanajuato State, Mexico

Five municipalities in El Bajío present the highest industrial investments: Celaya, Irapuato, León, Salamanca, and Silao. Public and private investments, further to the support received from the government, have been decisive to industrialize the zone. The official discourse to encourage these activities has emphasized the economic and social benefits for inhabitants, the decrease in the use of water volumes, and the consequent improvement of water sources in each region. The main objective of the present work is to present a global industrial impact index to evaluate the industrial impact on water management by analyzing the evolution of some parameters regarding the official data available, in order to determine whether the industry has a positive outcome on the environmental, social, economic and hydrological aspects. For this study, we use Fuzzy Logic (FL) to complete a previous study, which was conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). A combination of both approaches is used to define the global impact of industrialization, and the results obtained show that the benefits claimed by governmental policies are not being achieved. The use of this proposed index may guide the decision-making processes to encourage water sustainability.