Adaptation and validation of a scale to evaluate the quality of virtual courses developed for medical students in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical education migrated to digital environments, without clear guidelines for virtual courses or evaluations of how these courses have been developed. Objective: To adapt and validate a scale to evaluate the quality of virtual courses developed for human medicine students in Peru. Methods: Cross-sectional study that adapted a scale to assess the quality of virtual courses to the context of Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Delphi methodology and pilot tests for a rigorous evaluation of the items, resulting in a scale of 30 items that were described with summary statistics. In addition to the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Oblimin rotation, together with the adequacy and sample fit with Bartlett test and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), while the internal consistency was estimated with the alpha coefficient. Results: A total of 297 medical students in Peru were surveyed. The descriptive statistics for the items showed a normal distribution, while the Bartlett test showed no inadequacy (X2=6134.34, p<0.01) and with the KMO test an overall value greater than 0.92 was found, therefore an AFE was performed where five factors were identified (General Quality and Didactic Methodology, Design and Navigation of the Virtual Platform, Multimedia Resources, Academic Materials) with 30 items. In the internal consistency, an alpha coefficient greater than 0.85 was estimated for the factors evaluated. Conclusions: The adapted scale of 30 items grouped into five factors or domains, show adequate evidence of validity and reliability to be used in the evaluation of the quality of virtual courses developed for Peruvian human medicine students during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Education, Medical; Education, Distance; Validation; Surveys and Questionnaires; COVID-19.

The Development of the Democratic Behavior Scale: A Validity and Reliability Study

This study aimed to develop a scale to determine the democratic behavior levels of children in early childhood. The study group included a total of 486 children attending kindergartens and primary school nursery classes in Melikgazi, Kayseri. Scale reliability was tested by using intra-group correlation values, item analysis coefficients, Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient (0,98), and the Hotelling T2 test result [ 830,12 and (p<0.001)]. For validity testing purposes, the Cronbach Alpha coefficient, KMO test result (0,97), the Bartlett test and item analysis (p<0.001) were calculated. It was consequently decided that the scale was suitable for factoring, and AFA was used in principal component analyses. Following this, the structural equation model of DFA was performed, which confirmed that the model suited the data and that the 3-factor structure of the scale was valid. Confirmed as valid and reliable, the scale consisted of a total of 38 items in the sub-dimensions of "Knowing Your Rights", "Autonomous Behaviors" and "Democratic Behaviors". The highest score possible from the scale is 190, while the lowest possible score is 38.

Effect of Chemical Challenges on the Properties of Composite Resins

Objective. To evaluate the chemical degradation effect on microhardness and roughness of composite resins after aging. Materials and Methods. Specimens (n = 10) were used for Filtek Z350 XT (Z350), Filtek Bulk Fill (BULK), Micerium HRI (HRI), Micerium BIOFUNCION (BIO), and Vittra APS (VITTRA). Microhardness and roughness were performed before and after degradation with the followed solutions: citric acid, phosphoric acid, 75% alcohol, and distilled water. Samples were to a 180-day chemical cycling protocol. After degradation, one sample of each group was selected for scanning electron microscope evaluation. The data were analyzed with normal distribution (Kolmogorov–Smirnov) and similarities of variations for the Bartlett test. ANOVA (two-way) followed by Tukey’s test was performed considering treatment and composite resin P < 0.05 . Results. For microhardness and roughness, variations were noted to different solution and resin formulations. Z350 and HRI showed higher microhardness percentage loss, and it was more evident after storage in alcohol (−48.49 ± 20.16 and −25.02 ± 14.04, respectively) and citric acid (−65.05 ± 28.97 and 16.12 ± 8.35, respectively). For roughness, Z350 and VITTRA showed less delta values after alcohol storage (−0.047 ± 0.007 and −0.022 ± 0.009, respectively). HRI had the worst roughness for citric acid (−0.090 ± 0.025). All resins were not statistically different between each other in water and phosphoric acid. Conclusion. The formulations of restorative resin materials influenced in degree of surface degradation after 180 days of chemical degradation. Water was considered the solution that causes less degradation for microhardness and roughness evaluations. For microhardness, alcohol was considered the worst solution for Z350 and HRI. For superficial roughness, Z350 and VITTRA showed less degradation in alcohol and citric and phosphoric acid solutions.

Development of Distance Education Attitude Scale for Teachers: A Study of Validity and Reliability

The purpose of this study is to examine the validity and reliability of the Distance Education Attitude Scale for Teachers, which was developed to reveal teachers’ attitudes towards distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak. Statistical analyses were performed on 458 of the collected forms. The study group was randomly divided into two and the EFA process was conducted with 205 participants and the CFA process with 253 participants. KMO and Bartlett tests were performed to determine the suitability of the data for EFA. The KMO value was 0.0885 and the Bartlett test was statistically significant (χ2=3141, df=703, p<0.001). EFA results show that the DEASFT structure consists of 21 items and two factors, and these factors are named as “Benefits of Distance Education” and “Limitations of Distance Education”. CFA was applied on the data of 253 different people to the factor structures obtained as a result of AFA Analyses. One item was dropped from the scale because p values (0.178) is bigger than 0.05. According to fit indices (χ²/df < 1.5, CFI=0.953 > 0.9, TLI=0.942 > 0.9, SRMR=0.0735 < 0.8, RMSEA=0.0427 < 0.05), the scale is validated. The final version of scale has two factors and 20 items. Cronbach Alpha and composite reliability coefficients were calculated for reliability. For factor 1 Cronbach α=0.847 and McDonald’s ω=0.836. For factor 2 Cronbach α=0.815 and McDonald’s ω=0.845. The results of the analysis show that the scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool for determining teachers’ attitudes towards distance education.

Construcción y validación del Cuestionario de autopercepción sobre las Competencias docentes del profesorado

El análisis de las competencias docentes del profesorado es una tarea preferente dentro de las políticas educativas de los diferentes países. Los docentes son una pieza clave en el éxito educativo. El objetivo de esta investigación es construir y validar un Cuestionario de autopercepción acerca de las Competencias docentes del profesorado de Educación Primaria, sustentado en el Modelo de la Acción Planificada (Ajzen y Fishbein). Para ello, partimos de un grupo de discusión y de expertos, posteriormente, realizamos los estadísticos Alfa de Cronbach, Prueba de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin y Prueba de esfericidad de Bartlett. Tras estos resultados se ha construido y validado el cuestionario definitivo, con una fiabilidad 0.917, dividido 60 ítems, con 6 factores, que responden al Modelo teórico propuesto. The analysis of the teaching competences of the teaching staff is a preferred task within the educational policies of countries worldwide as teachers are a key piece in educational success. The objective of this research is to design and validate a self-perception questionnaire about the teaching competencies of primary education teachers, based on the Planned Action Model (Ajzen and Fishbein). To do this, we started from a group of discussion and a group of experts. Then, we performed the Cronbach Alpha test, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and the Bartlett test of sphericity. Following the conduction of these tests, the definitive questionnaire was designed and validated, with a reliability of .917. It comprised 60 items, divided within 6 factors which respond to the proposed theoretical model.

Pengaruh Dosis Pupuk NPK dan Jenis Pupuk Pelengkap terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Cabai (Capsicum annuum L.)

This study aims to determine the effect of NPK dosage, types of complementary fertilizers and their interactions on the growth and production of chilies pepper. This research was conducted in Sukabanjar Village, Gedong Tataan, Pesawaran Regency from July-December 2020. The experimental design used in this study was a two-factor randomized block design (RBD), namely the dose of NPK fertilizer and the type of complementary fertilizer (4 × 2) with 3 replications. Each plot consisted of 8 plants so that there were 192 plants. The first factor was NPK Mutiara fertilizer dose (16:16:16)(N) with N0:0 g/plant, N1:10 g/plant, N2:20 g/plant and N3:30 g/plant. The second factor is the type of complementary fertilizer (P) with P1 Plant Catalyst and P2 Gandasil D. Homogeneity of variance was tested by Bartlett test, additivity was tested by Tukey test. Then it was continued with analysist of variance and with the Least Significant Difference test (LSD) at the 5% level. Treatment of NPK fertilizer dosage significantly increases growth and yield. The interaction between the NPK dosage of 20g/plant and type of complementary fertilizers gave highest plant height (95.58 cm). The best combination was NPK dosage of 20 g/plant and Plant Catalyst fertilizer that gave highest yield (753,17 g/plant equivalent 15.06 ton/ha at population 20,000 plant/ha.Keywords : Chili pepper, complimentary fertilizer, growth, NPK, yield

Pengaruh Ekstrak Buah Lerak (Sapindus rarak) dan Beberapa Adjuvan terhadap Perkecambahan Gulma Fimbristylis miliacea

Adjuvant is an ingredient added in a formulation to increase the effectiveness of lerak fruit in inhibiting weeds. This study aims to determine the type of adjuvant in lerak fruit extract that can increase the inhibition of germination of Fimbristylis miliacea and to determine the type of adjuvant in lerak fruit extract that is most effective in inhibiting the germination of F. miliacea. The research was conducted from December 2019 to March 2020 in the Weed Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Lampung. This study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) to determine the type of adjuvant given to lerak fruit extract on F. miliacea germination with 4 replications. The treatments consisted of lerak fruit extract, lerak fruit extract + VCO adjuvant, lerak fruit extract + KAO adjuvant, lerak fruit extract + Polysorbate 80 adjuvant, and control. The Bartlett test was used to test the homogeneity of variance, if the assumptions of the analysis of variance were met, then the mean value of the treatment was continued with the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at the 5% level. The results showed that adjuvants and without adjuvants added to lerak fruit extract at a concentration of 50% (500 g/l) were able to suppress the percentage of germination and the speed of germination of Fimbristylis miliace seeds.Keywords: adjuvants, lerak fruit extract, Fimbristylis miliacea, weed

Validation and reliability of the Bahasa Malaysia language version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale among Malaysian patients with cancer

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and the challenges in accepting the diagnosis can bring a devastating emotional impact on the patient’s mental and psychological wellbeing. Issues related to illness acceptance among cancer patients are not well studied in Malaysia. To date, the Acceptance of Illness Scale has not been translated to the Malay language (Bahasa Malaysia) nor validated for use in the oncology setting. The objective of the study is to translate, validate and determine the reliability of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale among Malaysian patients with cancer. A total of 129 patients newly diagnosed with cancer were consecutively sampled and the scale was administered via face-to-face interviews. A pilot test (n = 30) was conducted and test-retest reliability was determined. The Bartlett Test of Sphericity was statistically significantly (p<0.001), while the Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was adequate at 0.84. Scale item mean scores ranged between 3.02 and 4.33, while the item-total correlation ranged between 0.50 to 0.66 (p<0.05). The internal reliability coefficient was 0.84. The test-retest reliability indicated a high correlation, r = 0.94 with p = 0.001. The Bahasa Malaysia version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale is a valid and reliable instrument that is appropriate for use in Malaysian patients with cancer. Use of this scale to assess illness acceptance among the Malay-speaking patients with cancer can act as a guide for delivery of psycho-oncological services to help patients have a better mental wellbeing and life adjustment in living with cancer.

Az Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale kérdőív magyar nyelvű validálása

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A nemzetközi szakirodalomban számos betegséget illetően elérhető betegségspecifikus tudást és attitűdöt mérő kérdőív. Magyarországon az osteoporosis témakörében validált kérdőívek tárháza meglehetősen hiányos. Célkitűzés: Célunk volt a csontritkulás-specifikus magatartás és attitűd vizsgálatára alkalmas Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS-) kérdőív magyar nyelvre történő validációja, melynek segítségével mérhetővé válna a magyar anyanyelvű nők csontritkulással kapcsolatos attitűdje. Módszer: A kérdőív magyar nyelvre validálása a 2000-ben megfogalmazott hatlépcsős irányelv szerint történt. A külső validitás vizsgálatához az Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT-) kérdőívet használtuk. Mintánkat 600 fő alkotta; statisztikai számításaink során leíró statisztikát készítettünk, különbözőségi vizsgálatokat végeztünk, a belső konzisztencia vizsgálatára Cronbach-alfa-értéket számítottunk, a konvergens validitás és a teszt-reteszt mérések vizsgálatához Spearman-féle korrelációs koefficienst számítottunk. A kérdőív belső struktúrájának vizsgálatához faktorelemzést végeztünk. Ennek megfelelően Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO)-tesztet és Bartlett-próbát számítottunk. Eredmények: Mintánk (37,7 ± 13,15 életév) az OHBS (126,28 ± 14,85 pont) és az OKAT (8,78 ± 3,1) tekintetében egyaránt alacsony pontszámot ért el. A teljes kérdőívre kivetített Cronbach-alfa-érték 0,802 volt. A faktorelemzés (KMO = 0,886; Bartlett-próba p<0,001) 7 faktort különített el, melyek megfeleltethetők az eredeti faktoroknak. A teszt-reteszt során a Spearman-féle korrelációs koefficiens 0,921 és 1,000 közötti értéket mutatott. Az OKAT- és az OHBS-dimenziók összevetésekor számos szignifikáns kapcsolatot találtunk. Megbeszélés: A vizsgálati eredmények megfelelnek az eredeti kérdőív szerinti, továbbá a más nyelvre történt validálás során kapott eredményeknek. Következtetés: Eredményeink alapján a magyar nyelvű OHBS csontritkulás-specifikus attitűdöt és magatartást vizsgáló kérdőívet megbízható és valid kérdőívnek tartjuk. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(37): 1494–1501. Summary. Introduction: In the international literature, several disease-specific questionnaires are available for many diseases. The opportunities of validated questionnaires are incomplete about osteoporosis in Hungarian language. Objective: The aim of the study was to validate the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) into Hungarian that would make it possible to measure the osteoporosis-related attitude for Hungarian-speaking women. Method: The questionnaire was validated into Hungarian according to the six-step guideline outlined in 2000. The Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) questionnaire was used to examine external validity. Our sample consisted of 600 women. We performed descriptive statistics; Cronbach’s alpha value was calculated for internal consistency, we calculated Spearman’s correlation coefficient to examine external validity. We carried out factor analysis (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin [KMO] test, Bartlett test) to examine whether the new questionnaire is suitable for measurements in the given language the same way as the original questionnaire. Results: Our sample (37.7 ± 13.15 years of age) achieved low score for both OHBS (126.28 ± 14.85) and OKAT (8.78 ± 3.1). The Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.802. Factor analysis (KMO = 0.886; Bartlett test p<0.001) identified 7 factors that can be similar to the original factors. During the test-retest, the Spearman correlation coefficient showed a value between 0.921 and 1.000. When comparing the OKAT and OHBS dimensions we found several significant relationships. Discussion: The results of the study are similar to the results of the original questionnaire validation as well as to other OHBS validation studies. Conclusion: Based on the results, we consider that the Hungarian form of the OHBS is a reliable and valid questionnaire. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(37): 1494–1501.

Comparative Effects of Suture and Non-Suture Surgical Techniques on Platysma after Thyroid SurgeryFast Food Intake Affecting Physical and Mental Well-Being of Medical Students in Lahore

Background: Fast food consumption is being significantly affecting physical and mental health of children and adolescent. Unhealthy diet is designated as the major cause of various medical illness. Among these most common is obesity. This also leads to anxiety, sleep disorder, verbal abuse and hence responsible for mental issues as well. Aim: To observe factors affected by fast food consumption among youngsters. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was used to conduct a study for factor analysis of physical and mental health issues related to fast food consumption at a private medical college in Lahore, Pakistan. The data was collected using self-designed questionnaire to collect information about the physical health, mental health, routine exercise, workout and fast -food consumption attitude. Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to access the total explained variation through varimax rotation. Kaiser-Meyer Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett test of sphericity was seen to have a p-value 0.000 which is significant. Significant results of KMO and Bartlett test allows for EFA. It has been seen that thirteen factors contributed to explain more than 70% of the variation Conclusion: Most commonly affected factors were physical and mental well-being that explained maximum variation. These factors comprised minor mental issues like emotional health, anger, mood swings and anxiety and physical health such as worse effect on health, less physical activity/ inactivity and irregular exercise. Major Keywords: Fast food, Mental Health, Obesity, Physical Health, Risk.