The Effect of Price, Land Area and Production Costs on Rice Farmer’s Income: Case in Bone Bolango Regency

This study aims to determine the effect of price, land area and production costs on the income of rice farmers in North Toto Village, Tilongkabila District, Bone Bolango Regency. Data collection techniques used in this study were observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documentation. With a total sample of 44 farmers in North Toto Village. This research method uses a quantitative approach with multiple linear regression model analysis. The results showed that the price had a negative and insignificant effect on the income of rice farmers in North Toto Village. This means that every 1% increase in price can reduce income by 0.237. Land area has a positive and significant effect on the income of rice farmers in North Toto Village. This means that every 1% increase in land area can increase income by 0.682. Production costs have a negative and significant effect on the income of rice farmers in North Toto Village. This means that every 1% increase can reduce income by -0.254. The coefficient of determination (R Square) is 0.596, this shows that the percentage of rice farmers' income variation which is explained by the variation of the independent variables, namely price, land area and production costs is 59.6% for the remaining 40.4% influenced by other variables.

Ultrasound findings in lateral elbow tendinopathy: A retrospective analysis of radiological tendon features

Background: Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is prevalent in the upper extremity, with various therapeutic options. Understanding the types and the relations between the radiological tendon features would help to develop more specific treatments. This study reviewed ultrasound exams of LET to investigate the types of degenerative findings and the relationships between them in one of the most prominent sports medicine clinics in Latin America. Methods: A retrospective study was performed. We evaluated 4335 ultrasonographic exams with LET from 2017 and 2018. Five principal degenerative ultrasound criteria with subtypes were selected: hypoechogenicity, neovascularity, calcification, enthesopathy, and intrasubstance tear. A multiple linear regression model was conducted to explore the association between the findings, sex, and age. Results: Overall, 4324 ultrasound exams were analyzed; 2607 (60.29%) were males. Multiple degenerative tendon findings were found in adults (≥18 years) with LET. Hypoechogenicity (67.77%) and neovascularity (37.8%) were the most frequent. The mean length of a tendon tear in both sexes was 4.44 (± 2.81) millimeters. Mild hypoechogenicity (P < .001), and depth intrasubstance tear (P < .01) were statistically significant between them. Severe hypoechogenicity was associated with an increase in all tendon tear dimensions for length 1.37 ([95% Confidence interval (CI), 0.57, 2.17]; P < .001), for width 1.10 ([95% CI, 0.33, 1.87]; P < .01) and for depth 1.64 ([95% CI, 0.40, 2.88]; P < .01). Additional findings associated with an increase in the length dimension were 0.42 associated with focal neovascularity ([95% CI, 0.19, 0.65]; P < .001), and 0.71 associated with multiple neovascularity ([95% CI, 0.27, 1.15]; P < .01). Conclusions: Hypoechogenicity and neovascularity findings presented a positive association with the size of tendon tear in patients with LET. This study reaffirms the increased predominance of tendon tear during the 4th to 6th decades of life.

Social interactions and mutual fund portfolios: the role of alumni networks in China

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the influence of social interactions on mutual fund portfolios from the perspective of alumni network in China.Design/methodology/approachBased on a data set that consists of 162 actively managed equity funds in China during the time period of 2003–2014, this study employs multiple linear regression model to control for organization- and location-based interpersonal connections as well as other confounding factors and clarify the causality relationship between alumni networks of mutual fund managers and their portfolios.FindingsAfter controlling for organization- and location-based interpersonal connections, we find that mutual fund managers who graduated from the same college/university have more similar stock holdings and are more likely to buy or sell the same stocks contemporaneously. As a result, alumni managers exhibit a higher correlation of fund returns. Moreover, the effect of alumni relationship on mutual fund investments becomes weaker when more managers are connected within the network. We also find that valuable information is shared among alumni managers: (1) the average returns for the alumni common holdings portfolios is significantly higher than those for non-alumni holdings portfolios and (2) a long-short strategy composed of stocks purchased minus sold by alumni managers yields positive and significant risk-adjusted returns.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that information dissemination among connected fund managers could be one of the driving forces for mutual fund herding behavior, and that a portfolio of funds whose managers are educationally connected could be highly exposed to certain stocks and risks.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the growing finance literature addressing the influence of personal connections on information dissemination that specifically contributes to price formation. It corresponds more closely to Cohen et al. (2008), who investigate college alumni connections between fund managers and corporate board members. Since the authors simultaneously examine three potentially overlapped social networks, which are based on education, locality and fund family, the authors are able to disentangle their effects on fund managers' investment decisions. Moreover, the findings suggest that institutional investors make investment decisions based on share private information, and therefore, it also contributes to the literature on fund herding behaviors (Grinblatt et al., 1995; Wermers, 1999).

Young Nursing and Medical Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Contraceptive Methods

Background: Living sexuality fully and without risk to one's health is an international priority. The youth age group has specific characteristics that make it a particularly vulnerable group for adverse consequences such as unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections. Health professionals are an important group to address this issue; however, to achieve a good result, sufficient knowledge is required to solve all the issues. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of young university students studying toward a nursing or medical degree.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of young medical and nursing students was conducted. The Sexuality and Contraceptive Knowledge Instrument scale was used to measure knowledge level. A bivariate analysis was conducted using the Mann–Whitney U test or the Kruskal–Wallis H test, depending on the number of categories of the independent variable. Finally, a multivariate analysis was conducted using a multiple linear regression model, establishing the level of knowledge as the dependent variable and all variables that obtained statistical significance in the bivariate analysis as predictors.Results: Participants had a good level of knowledge, with 77.9% answering 50% of the questions correctly. Before training, 34.15% of the participants did not pass 50% of the questions asked. This percentage decreased to 12.87% after receiving sexuality training during the university degrees. The main training gaps were found for the items on hormonal contraceptive methods. The bivariate analysis showed that female participants had significantly higher knowledge scores, as did those who had used a hormonal contraceptive method during the most recent intercourse or were aware of family planning centers. These variables maintained their significant effect at the multivariate level, obtaining two models with good explanatory power for participants of both university degrees. Conclusion: The general level of knowledge of the healthcare students was high and sufficient after receiving training during the university degree. The main training gap was found for items on hormonal contraceptive methods, which should be emphasized in future training programs.

Influence of the key account manager in the provisioning management: Evidence from staple companies during the events of COVID-19

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the degree of influence exercised by the Key Account Manager in the provisioning management in the main companies called Staple in Peru, during the events of COVID-19. The research was of type quantitative, cross-sectional and temporal, with a non-experimental design, using a multiple linear regression model and correlation analysis to determine the impact that exists between the variables. The data belongs to the Industrias San Miguel company, distributed in a weekly period from June 2019 to March 2021, which gives 88 observations. The results allow us to conclude that the Key Account Manager is an important manager of the supply of goods during the crisis caused by COVID-19 in staple companies.

Confidence to manage menstruation among university students in Australia: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey

Objectives: There has been increased attention to university students’ experiences of menstrual disorders, and access to menstrual products, in high-income countries. Less attention has been directed to other aspects of their menstrual experience, including confidence for menstrual management. This study aimed to understand the factors affecting university students’ confidence to manage menstruation at university. Methods: An online survey was completed by 410 participants (age range: 16–46 years, mean = 20.1 years) who menstruate and study at an Australian university. Participants reported demographic characteristics, confidence to manage menstruation at university, and personal, physical and environmental factors. A Mann–Whitney U-test analysed differences in confidence between groups of students. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and bivariate linear regressions determined associations between factors and confidence. Statistically significant associations were inputted into a multiple linear regression model. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: A minority of students (16.2%) felt completely confident to manage their menstruation at university. Menstrual knowledge, positive perceptions of menstruation and comfort to discuss menstruation with others positively predicted confidence. Physical menstrual symptoms, negative perceptions of menstruation, perceived stigma and using a menstrual cup or period underwear predicted lower confidence. In multiple regression, private and clean and sanitary university bathroom facilities, changing menstrual products at university, perceived stigma and negative perceptions of menstruation remained significant predictors. Conclusion: Most students did not have complete confidence to manage their menstruation at university. Several personal, physical and environmental factors were related to students’ confidence to manage menstruation. Assessment of these factors in future research with university students is recommended to enable a comprehensive understanding of their menstrual needs, and inform interventions aimed at improving their menstrual management confidence at university.

Prediction and investigation between impeller blade shape parameters and performance parameters in CFD and ANN

The blade shape parameters have a remarkable effect on the centrifugal pump performance. In order to reveal the relationship between these parameters and pump performance, a single channel was regarded as the research object to calculate its performance by numerical simulation, and the performance was measured on an experimental rig. The optimized ANN is proposed, and it is proved to be highly accurate. The ANN correlation coefficient of the total response could be above 0.997 after thousands of retaining. The sorts and degrees affecting performance parameters were found out by gray relation analysis. It was found that the blade angles at the leading edge were more influential for reaction force, head and minimum pressure, while the wrap angles had greater impact for efficiency. Furthermore, a multiple linear regression model was established to quantify the weight and trend of the influence of blade shape parameters on performance. The results provide a reference guide for the optimized design of centrifugal impeller to improve pump performance.

Artificial Neural Network for Markov Chaining of Rainfall Over India

Rainfall forecasting plays a significant role in water management for agriculture in a country like India where the economy depends heavily upon agriculture. In this paper, a feed forward artificial neural network (ANN) and a multiple linear regression model has been utilized for lagged time series data of monthly rainfall. The data for 23 years from 1990 to 2012 over Indian region has been used in this study. Convincing values of root mean squared error between actual monthly rainfall and that predicted by ANN has been found. It has been found that during monsoon months, rainfall of every n+3rd month can be predicted using last three months' (n, n+1, n+2) rainfall data with an excellent correlation coefficient that is more than 0.9 between actual and predicted rainfall. The probabilities of dry seasonal month, wet seasonal month for monsoon and non-monsoon months have been found.