Life Satisfaction Development in the Transition to Adulthood: Differences by Gender and Immigrant Background

Life satisfaction is crucial for healthy development into adulthood. However, it is yet largely unknown how life satisfaction develops in the transition to adulthood. This study examined life satisfaction development in this transition and paid special attention to differences between boys, girls, children of immigrants, and nonimmigrants. Unique longitudinal data of seven waves (2010–2018) of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey Germany were used. Respondents (N = 3757, 54% girls, 78% nonimmigrants, Mage weighted = 14.6, SD = 0.6 at wave 1) were followed between ages 14 and 23 and multi-level random effect models were applied. Life satisfaction developed in a nonlinear way in the transition to adulthood (M-shape), with overall decreases between age 17 and 18 and between age 20 and 23. Girls reported lower life satisfaction levels in adolescence and more unstable trajectories than boys, where girls with immigrant backgrounds represented the least advantageous life satisfaction trajectory. Differences in life satisfaction between groups decreased from age 19 onwards.

The relationship between dividend policy and bank growth

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between bank growth and the retained earnings amount for Jordanian banks between 2010 and 2020. The method to be used is regression models. Bank growth is measured using the change in total assets; income retention is measured by subtracting dividends from earnings per share and by deducting dividend per share from the operating cash flow on the accrual basis and cash basis. In addition, another specification will be used to the association between the growth of a bank’s total assets and income retention using the percentage change in the growth of a bank’s total assets and income retention on the accrual and cash basis. The findings of pooled OLS regression models and random effect models show that there is no relationship between income retention using the accrual basis and the bank total assets growth (Adj-R2 was –005). There is a significant relationship between income retention using the cash basis and the bank growth in total assets (Adj-R2 was 14%). There is no significant association between change in income retention using the cash basis and the bank growth in total assets, and bank size affects the relationship between income retention and bank growth in total assets. Users of financial statements need to be aware of the association between the several variables used in this study to make sound decisions.

SOES CORPORATE PERFORMANCE ON IDX AND SOME INFLUENCED FACTORS

State-owned enterprises are government-owned businesses that have been privatized and can be close to politicians from political parties. They are also notorious for being poorly managed. The purpose of this research is to examine how political connections, institutional ownership, cash holdings, company size, and leverage affect the performance of state-owned enterprises on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The data for this study comes from the annual reports of 20 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) listed on the IDX from 2014 to 2018. This research model is a panel regression model that tests the common effect, fixed-effect, and random effect models. Based on the Chow test and Hausman test, the best model in this study is the random effect model. The results found that political connections, institutional ownership, and cash holding are significant factors affecting the performance of state-owned companies. Another finding was that companies with stronger political connections affect the performance of state-owned companies. On the other hand, this study did not find companies having political connections affect the performance of state-owned companies. This finding is expected to provide benefits for investors to consider SOEs companies to invest.

Phenological Variation in Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoro-Egneria Spicata): Implications for Seed Sourcing, Harvest, and Restoration

To reduce maladaptation in cultivated seed lots, seed transfer zones (STZs) have been developed for grasslands and other habitats using morphological traits and phenological measurements that only capture the first day of events such as flowering and seed ripening. Phenology is closely linked to plant fitness and may affect genetic loss during harvests of seed raised for ecological restoration. Here, we measured the detailed phenologies of 27 populations from six STZs of bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) (Pursh) Á. Löve (Poaceae) raised in a common garden to test whether existing STZs created using a combination of plant morphology and “first-day” phenological measurements adequately capture population-level variation in season-long, detailed phenologies. We also used detailed phenologies to test whether genetic losses may occur during single-pass harvests of commercial seed. Mixed and random effect models revealed differences in detailed reproductive phenology among populations within two of six STZs. The number of individual plants within an STZ not producing harvestable seed during peak harvest levels indicated that 10–27% of individuals from a seed lot could be excluded from a single-pass harvest. Although our findings generally support current STZ delineations for P. spicata, they point to the possible precautionary importance of sourcing from multiple populations and harvesting with multiple passes when resources permit.

Meta-Analysis of miRNA Variants Associated with Susceptibility to Autoimmune Disease

Purpose. Various studies have shown an association between miRNA polymorphisms and susceptibility to autoimmune disease (AD); however, the results are inconclusive. To evaluate whether miRNA polymorphisms account for a significant risk of AD, a total of 87 articles, including 39431 patients and 56708 controls, were identified to estimate their association with 12 AD subtypes. Methods. Several electronic databases were searched to analyze population-based studies on the relationship between miRNA variants and AD risk. Fixed effects or random effect models were used in the meta-analysis for the risk assessment. Results. In our meta-analysis, miR-146a rs2910164/rs57095329 conferred a marginally elevated risk for AD (allele model, OR = 1.08 , 95% CI: 1.01-1.15, P = 0.019 ; allele model, OR = 1.09 , 95 CI: 1.05-1.15, P < 0.001 , respectively). Furthermore, miR-196a2 rs11614913 was also associated with AD risk (allele model, OR = 0.92 , 95% CI: 0.88-0.97, P = 0.001 ) as well as miR-499 rs3746444 (allele model, OR = 1.16 , 95% CI: 1.03-1.29, P = 0.011 ). In addition, associations were observed between miR-149 rs2292832/miR-27a rs895819 and AD susceptibility in the overall population (allele model, OR = 1.15 , 95% CI: 1.06-1.24, P < 0.001 ; allele model, OR = 1.11 , 95% CI:1.01-1.22, P = 0.043 , respectively). Conclusions. Evidence from our systematic review suggests that miR-146a, miR-196a2, miR-499, miR-149, and miR-27a polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to AD.

Bidirectional Relationship between Firm Performance and Dividend Payout Policy: A Study of Chemical Sector in Emerging Economies in Pakistan

The study explains the relationship of dividend payout policy on the business performance of companies that exist in Chemical of Pakistan. 100 companies are selected from Chemical sector. Relationship of dividend payout policy and business performance was controlled with four variables based on relevant theories. These variables include size of company, growth of company, leverage (debt to equity ratio) and corporate governance index. Panel data is collected from 2012-2017 (six years) and then analyzed with unit root, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, OLS regression, Lagrange multiplier, Huasman test, Fixed effect and Random effect models. Following key findings for each research objective were obtained by applying the adopted research method on the data through the adopted method of analyses: The results showed that the no sign of a relationship between their dividend payout policy and profitability and so there is no controlling factor effective due to the absence of any relationship. Thus, the hypotheses were rejected.

Random effect models for multivariate mixed data: A Parafac-based finite mixture approach

We discuss a flexible regression model for multivariate mixed responses. Dependence between outcomes is introduced via the joint distribution of discrete outcome- and individual-specific random effects that represent potential unobserved heterogeneity in each outcome profile. A different number of locations can be used for each margin, and the association structure is described by a tensor that can be further simplified by using the Parafac model. A case study illustrates the proposal.

Determinants Affecting Profitability of State-Owned Commercial Banks: Case Study of China

The study examines the relationship between internal determinants, external determinants and the profitability of state-owned commercial banks. We use pooled regression, fixed effect, and random effect models on the case of the top five Chinese state-owned commercial banks from 2007 to 2019. The results show that internal factors, measured by size, credit quality, and liquidity, significantly positively influence banks’ profitability. State-owned banks that have larger sizes, higher credit quality, and higher liquidity have accordingly higher profitability than other banks. On the contrary, the external factor, measured by the natural logarithm of GDP, negatively influences banks’ profitability. The decrease in GDP leads to higher profitability of state-owned commercial banks in China. Our results provide insight into the profitability of state-owned commercial banks, considering the latest changes in the Chinese banking industry.

Analysis of the Effect of Unemployment Rate, RMW, and HDI on Poverty Rates in the Special Region of Yogyakarta

Poverty is one of the most complex problems in a country's economy, including in a region. Therefore, efforts to reduce poverty must be carried out comprehensively. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the unemployment rate, the Regional Minimum Wage (RMW), and the Human Development Index (IPM) on the poverty rate in the districts of Bantul, Sleman, Gunung Kidul, Kulon Progo, and the City of Yogyakarta in 2015-2019. The analytical method used is panel data regression random effect models (REM). This study indicates that the unemployment rate, regional minimum wage, and HDI simultaneously affect the poverty level. Partially, the unemployment rate is positively and not significantly correlated with the poverty rate.

Impact of cardiovascular disease on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with Covid-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Contrasting data have been published about the impact of cardiovascular disease on Covid-19. A comprehensive synthesis and pooled analysis of the available evidence is needed to guide prioritization of prevention strategies. To clarify the association of cardiovascular disease with Covid-19 outcomes, we searched PubMed up to 26 October 2020, for studies reporting the prevalence of cardiovascular disease among inpatients with Covid-19 in relation to their outcomes. Pooled odds-ratios (OR) for death, for mechanical ventilation or admission in an intensive care unit (ICU) and for composite outcomes were calculated using random effect models overall and in the subgroup of people with comorbid diabetes. Thirty-three studies enrolling 52,857 inpatients were included. Cardiovascular disease was associated with a higher risk of death both overall (OR 2.58, 95% confidence intervals, CI 2.12–3.14, p < 0.001, number of studies 24) and in the subgroup of people with diabetes (OR 2.91, 95% CI 2.13–3.97, p < 0.001, number of studies 4), but not with higher risk of ICU admission or mechanical ventilation (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.73–2.50, p = 0.34, number of studies 4). Four out of five studies reporting OR adjusted for confounders failed to show independent association of cardiovascular disease with Covid-19 deaths. Accordingly, the adjusted-OR for Covid-19 death in people with cardiovascular disease dropped to 1.31 (95% CI 1.01–1.70, p = 0.041). Among patients hospitalized for Covid-19, cardiovascular disease confers higher risk of death, which was highly mitigated when adjusting the association for confounders.