Assessing Mediating Role of Financial Satisfaction in the Relationship of Financial Literacy With Quality of Life in Retired Older Adults

Objectives The world’s population is rapidly aging; hence, paying attention to the quality of life (QoL) of the elderly is of great importance. Financial satisfaction is one of the important components of QoL. The present study aims to determine the association between financial literacy and QoL among retired older adults mediated by their financial satisfaction. Methods & Materials This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 270 retired older adults in Qazvin, Iran. The samples were selected through stratified random sampling method from 8 retirement centers in Qazvin, Iran. The data were collected using demographic checklist, the control, autonomy, self-realization, and pleasure (CASP) scale, financial literacy scale, and financial satisfaction scale. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the mediating role of financial satisfaction in the relationship of financial literacy with the QoL. Results The mean age of older adults was 65.17±4.57 years. The majority of them were male (n=166, 61.85%) and married (n=245, 90.7%). Their Mean score of financial literacy and financial satisfaction were 51.60 and 35.11 out of 100, respectively. Their quality of life was at a moderate level (Mean= 63.89 out of 100). The results of the regression analysis showed the significant association of financial literacy (P=0.006, β=-0.17) and financial satisfaction (β=0.25, P<0.001) with the quality of life. The results also confirmed the mediating role of financial satisfaction (P=0.014). Conclusion Financial literacy of the elderly has a significant and positive association with their quality of life mediated by financial satisfaction. Therefore, policymakers in Iran are recommended to develop preretirement financial education programs for improving the financial literacy of the elderly

Predictive factors of Quality of Life in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Given the vulnerability of older people to COVID-19, it is important to consider their physical and mental wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) in the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study was aimed to identify the QoL and its predictive factors among a sample of Iranian older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 older people residing in Qazvin, Iran, from May 22th to November 21rd, 2021. Multistage cluster sampling method was used for selecting the eligible older adults. Data were collected using the demographic checklist, fear of COVID-19 scale, and Elderly Quality of Life Questionnaire (LIPAD). The multivariate regression model was used for determining the predictive factors of QoL in older people. Results: The mean age of older participants was 69.17±6.75 years old. The results of multivariate regression model showed that fear of COVID-19, age, marital status, level of education, living arrangement, and economic situation were the signifcant predictors of QoL in the older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: It is recommended to pay close attention to divorced, lonely, and illiterate older people and those with low economic situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Aged, Quality of life, COVID-19, Fea

Rethinking database index in the Iranian housing planning system

Objective: Housing is one of the necessities of life all over the world and in cities, it is a big problem for citizens and officials. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the effective indicators in the housing sector and explain them in urban housing planning in Iran over 40 years (1978 to 2017) extracted from the Statistics Center of Iran. Methods: The present article is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of method. The general approach is qualitative content analysis in which documents and reports, upstream documents including economic, social and cultural development plans and the comprehensive housing plan and other documents related to the subject of housing are examined. In the analysis section, in order to better clarify and understand the matter, the graphs related to the statistical means prepared in SPSS and Excel software have been used. Results: The results Indicate that the number of effective indicators of the housing sector in the 60s due to events that occurred during this period such as war, the adoption of urban land law, etc. and policies considered by the government in allocating housing to higher citizens was higher than other periods. The amount of these indicators has decreased in the following years, especially in the 80s and 90s, but in these decades, the frequency of housing indicators has increased. Conclusion: The indicators in these decades are similar and have not changed much over time and have remained constant and traditional. Changing these indicators in housing planning in Iranian cities is necessary

Reproductive factors influencing bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

Objective: This study examined the relationship between reproductive characteristics and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women who had been referred to the menopause clinics of the National Population and Family Development Board and of the Hospital Kuala Lumpur from July 2011 to January 2012. Method: The participants of this study were 201 postmenopausal Malaysian women aged 45–71 years. Some socio-demographic, life style and reproductive factors were recorded. Calcaneal bone mineral density was measured by quantitative ultra-sonography. Correlations of reproductive factors with bone mineral density were assessed by Pearson’s correlation test and multiple regression analysis. Results: Age at menopause was not significantly correlated with bone mineral density, while the years after menopause, age at the first menstrual period, number of pregnancies and total lactation periods were inversely correlated with it. Among reproductive factors, only the association between lactation duration and bone mineral density remained significant after adjusting for age, body mass index, activity, and calcium intake. Conclusion: The results indicated that except for prolonged total time of lactation, other reproductive factors were not significantly associated with bone mineral density in post-menopausal women

Leisure Activity Engagement as a Predictor for Quality of Life in Community‑Dwelling Older Adults

Introduction: Participation in leisure activities is greatly associated with the health and well‑being of older adults. This study investigated the role of leisure activities in predicting the quality of life of community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In this descriptive and cross‑sectional study, 141 older adults were selected by cluster sampling method from public places. Data were collected through demographic characteristics, leisure time activities, and Lipad QoL questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed through face‑to‑face interviews. A regression model was used for data analysis. Results: The mean age of older adult participants was 70.36 years (standard deviation = 8.99; range: 60–100 years) and 63.8% were male. The results also showed a low level of leisure time engagement and high level of QoL among older adults. The results of the current study indicated that education level and leisure time activity engagement were associated with a better QoL. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, engagement in leisure activities is related to improvements in the QoL of community‑dwelling older adults. It is recommended that policymakers and families plan for and implement leisure time activities for older adults

Validation of the Persian version of Skindex-16 among older patients with skin diseases

Background: Skin conditions often considerably impact the older patients’ psycho-social health and quality of life (QoL). The present study was aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of Skindex-16 among older people with skin diseases. Methods: In this validation study, 260 older patients sufering from a range of skin conditions were recruited from a dermatology clinic in Rasht, Iran. Data were collected using a checklist for demographic and clinical characteristics and the Skindex-16 questionnaire. In this study, validity (face, content, and construct) and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of the Skindex-16 were assessed and reported. Results: The mean age of participants was 64.51±5.04 years. The results of confrmatory factor analysis showed that the model had acceptable ftness into the expected three-factor structure [χ 2 /df=249.363, P < 0.001; GFI=0.961; TLI =0.952; RMSEA=0.078 (90% CI=0.06, 0.09) and SRMR=0.06]. The reliability analysis results confrmed that the values of Cronbach’s alpha coefcient for Skindex-16 were in the acceptable range (0.923). Conclusions: Our evaluation of the Skindex-16 indicates that it is reliable and a valid instrument that can be used for measuring QoL for Iranian dermatologic patients. Keywords: Aging, Health-related quality of life, Skindex-16, Validatio

Two massive rocky planets transiting a K-dwarf 6.5 parsecs away

Support for this work was provided by NASA. M.G. is grateful to NASA and SSC Director for having supported his searches for RV planets with Spitzer. M.G. and V.V.G. are Research Associates at the Belgian Scientific Research Fund (F.R.S.-FNRS). The research leading to these results has received funding from the ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions, financed by the Wallonia–Brussels Federation.HD 219134 is a K-dwarf star at a distance of 6.5 parsecs around which several low-mass planets were recently discovered1,2. The Spitzer Space Telescope detected a transit of the innermost of these planets, HD 219134 b, whose mass and radius (4.5 M⊕ and 1.6 R⊕ respectively) are consistent with a rocky composition1. Here, we report new high-precision time-series photometry of the star acquired with Spitzer revealing that the second innermost planet of the system, HD 219134c, is also transiting. A global analysis of the Spitzer transit light curves and the most up-to-date HARPS-N velocity data set yields mass and radius estimations of 4.74 ± 0.19 M⊕ and 1.602 ± 0.055 R⊕ for HD 219134 b, and of 4.36 ± 0.22 M⊕ and 1.511 ± 0.047 R⊕ for HD 219134 c. These values suggest rocky compositions for both planets. Thanks to the proximity and the small size of their host star (0.778 ± 0.005 R ⊙ )3, these two transiting exoplanets — the nearest to the Earth yet found — are well suited for a detailed characterization (for example, precision of a few per cent on mass and radius, and constraints on the atmospheric properties) that could give important constraints on the nature and formation mechanism of the ubiquitous short-period planets of a few Earth masses.PostprintPeer reviewe

The Kepler-10 planetary system revisited by HARPS-N: A hot rocky world and a solid Neptune-mass planet

Kepler-10b was the first rocky planet detected by the Kepler satellite and con- firmed with radial velocity follow-up observations from Keck-HIRES. The mass of the planet was measured with a precision of around 30%, which was insufficient to constrain models of its internal structure and composition in detail. In addition to Kepler-10b, a second planet transiting the same star with a period of 45 days was sta- tistically validated, but the radial velocities were only good enough to set an upper limit of 20 Mearth for the mass of Kepler-10c. To improve the precision on the mass for planet b, the HARPS-N Collaboration decided to observe Kepler-10 intensively with the HARPS-N spectrograph on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo on La Palma. In to- tal, 148 high-quality radial-velocity measurements were obtained over two observing seasons. These new data allow us to improve the precision of the mass determina- tion for Kepler-10b to 15%. With a mass of 3.33 +/- 0.49 Mearth and an updated radius of 1.47 +0.03 -0.02 Rearth, Kepler-10b has a density of 5.8 +/- 0.8 g cm-3, very close to the value -0.02 predicted by models with the same internal structure and composition as the Earth. We were also able to determine a mass for the 45-day period planet Kepler-10c, with an even better precision of 11%. With a mass of 17.2 +/- 1.9 Mearth and radius of 2.35 +0.09 -0.04 Rearth, -0.04 Kepler-10c has a density of 7.1 +/- 1.0 g cm-3. Kepler-10c appears to be the first strong evidence of a class of more massive solid planets with longer orbital periods.Comment: 44 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Kepler-21b: A Rocky Planet Around a V = 8.25 Magnitude Star

HD 179070, aka Kepler-21, is a V = 8.25 F6IV star and the brightest exoplanet host discovered by Kepler. An early detailed analysis by Howell et al. (2012) of the first thirteen months (Q0 - Q5) of Kepler light curves revealed transits of a planetary companion, Kepler-21b, with a radius of about 1.60 ± 0.04 R⊕ and an orbital period of about 2.7857 days. However, they could not determine the mass of the planet from the initial radial velocity observations with Keck-HIRES, and were only able to impose a 2σ upper limit of 10 M⊕. Here we present results from the analysis of 82 new radial velocity observations of this system obtained with HARPS-N, together with the existing 14 HIRES data points. We detect the Doppler signal of Kepler-21b with a radial velocity semi-amplitude K = 2.00 ± 0.65 m s-1, which corresponds to a planetary mass of 5.1 ± 1.7 M⊕. We also measure an improved radius for the planet of 1.639 +0.019/-0.015 R⊕, in agreement with the radius reported by Howell et al. (2012). We conclude that Kepler-21b, with a density of 6.4 ± 2.1 g cm-3, belongs to the population of small, ≤6 M⊕ planets with iron and magnesium silicate interiors, which have lost the majority of their envelope volatiles via stellar winds or gravitational escape. The RV analysis presented in this paper serves as example of the type of analysis that will be necessary to confirm the masses of TESS small planet candidates.PostprintPeer reviewe

A 1.9 Earth Radius Rocky Planet and the Discovery of a Non-Transiting Planet in the Kepler-20 System*

Kepler-20 is a solar-type star (V = 12.5) hosting a compact system of five transiting planets, all packed within the orbital distance of Mercury in our own Solar System. A transition from rocky to gaseous planets with a planetary transition radius of ∼ 1.6 R⊕ has recently been proposed by several publications in the literature (Rogers 2015; Weiss& Marcy 2014). Kepler-20b (Rp ∼ 1.9 R⊕) has a size beyond this transition radius, however previous mass measurements were not sufficiently precise to allow definite conclusions to be drawn regarding its composition. We present new mass measurements of Kepler-20 three of the planets in the Kepler-20 system facilitated by 104 radial velocity measurements from the HARPS-N spectrograph and 30 archival Keck/HIRES observations, as well as an updated photometric analysis of the Kepler data and an asteroseismic analysis of the host star (M* = 0.948 ± 0.051 M☉ and R* = 0.964 ± 0.018 R☉).Kepler-20b is a 1.868+0.066 −0.034 R⊕ planet in a 3.7 day period with amass of 9.70+1.41 −1.44 M⊕ resulting in a mean density of 8.2 +1.5 −1.3 g cm−3 indicating a rocky composition with an iron to silicate ratio consistent with that of the Earth. This makes Kepler-20b the most massive planet with a rocky composition found to date. Furthermore, we report the discovery of an additional non-transiting planet with a minimum mass of 19.96+3.08 −3.61 M⊕ and an orbital period of ∼ 34 days in the gap between Kepler-20f (P ∼ 11 days) and Kepler-20d (P ∼78 days).PostprintPeer reviewe