Structural PCA-MLR model of the innovation environment in BRICS countries

The process of globalization forces market changes in the form of intense competition.Economies can survive by getting competitive advantage in the global market through developinginnovation. The main target of this empirical research is to discover the most important innovationcomponents that constitute structure of the global innovation index (GII) and judge their influence inemerging BRICS economies. Innovation process is discussed on the grounds of GII ranking scoresaccumulated from 2011 to 2021. The research outcome of the Principal Component Analysis adoptednine components that represent seven dimensions. Extracted components are further used in theregression analysis to establish a multiple linear regression (MLR) equation for predicting the GIIscore used in the overall ranking. Derived regression solution introduced valuable MLR results withhigh coefficient of determination where 98.2% of the GII values are explained by the extractedcomponents. The dominant effects on GII are attained in innovation components that include generalinfrastructure and knowledge workers. Moreover, comparison analysis of the actual and computedGII scores illustrated 99.1% overlap between the two values. Evaluated results of the PCA-MLRanalysis serve to investigate the success in developing innovation performances in emergingeconomies by comparing innovation index accomplished by BRICS

Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolic syndrome in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In adults, there is a substantial body of evidence that physical inactivity or low cardiorespiratory fitness levels are strongly associated with the development of metabolic syndrome. Although this association has been studied extensively in adults, little is known regarding this association in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness levels with metabolic syndrome in Brazilian adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random sample of 223 girls (mean age, 14.4 ± 1.6 years) and 233 boys (mean age, 14.6 ± 1.6 years) was selected for the study. The level of physical activity was determined by the Bouchard three-day physical activity record. Cardiorespiratory fitness was estimated by the Leger 20-meter shuttle run test. The metabolic syndrome components assessed included waist circumference, blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose levels. Independent Student <it>t</it>-tests were used to assess gender differences. The associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with the presence of metabolic syndrome were calculated using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high prevalence of metabolic syndrome was observed in inactive adolescents (males, 11.4%; females, 7.2%) and adolescents with low cardiorespiratory fitness levels (males, 13.9%; females, 8.6%). A significant relationship existed between metabolic syndrome and low cardiorespiratory fitness (OR, 3.0 [1.13-7.94]).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is high among adolescents who are inactive and those with low cardiorespiratory fitness. Prevention strategies for metabolic syndrome should concentrate on enhancing fitness levels early in life.</p