94 research outputs found
Factors Associated with Physical Activity Increases and Decreases Among a Sample of Appalachian Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study
Introduction: Physical activity (PA) can prevent and reduce the deleterious physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 and associated lockdowns. Research conducted early in the pandemic demonstrates that a greater proportion of adults in the U.S. have decreased than increased PA, and the effects vary by sociodemographic factors. Ongoing evidence is important to identify patterns in PA changes during the pandemic.
Purpose: This study aims to identify factors associated with increases and decreases in PA during the COVID-19 pandemic in a convenience sample of adults residing in Appalachia.
Methods: Surveys were collected from a convenience sample of adults from eight counties in West Virginia from January to March 2021. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify sociodemographic, health, and rurality factors associated with (1) increased PA and (2) decreased PA during the pandemic, assessed retrospectively via self-report.
Results: Analysis of 1,401 survey responses revealed that better self-rated health, lower body mass index, and higher income and education were associated with a greater likelihood of more time spent doing PA during the pandemic (p †.05). Respondents with lower self-rated health, higher body mass index, lower income, and lower levels of educationâplus females and those living in a more urban countyâwere more likely to spend less time doing PA during the pandemic (p †.05).
Implications: Analyses suggest that pre-pandemic disparities in PA by health, wealth, and education were exacerbated during the pandemic. These must be addressed before physical inactivity and ill health become endemic to the Appalachian Region
Warfare, Fiscal Capacity, and Performance
We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal innovations, which persisted and helped to shape current fiscal institutions. Economic historians claim that greater fiscal capacity was the key long-run institutional change brought about by historical conflicts. Using casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to instrument for current fiscal institutions, we estimate substantial impacts of fiscal capacity on GDP per worker. The results are robust to a broad range of specifications, controls, and sub-samples
Change point analysis of historical battle deaths
It has been claimed and disputed that World War II has been followed by a
`long peace', an unprecedented decline of war. We conduct a full changepoint
analysis of well-documented, publicly-available battle deaths datasets, using
new techniques that enable the robust detection of changes in the statistical
properties of such heavy-tailed data. We first test and calibrate these
techniques. We then demonstrate the existence of changes, independent of data
presentation, at around 1910 and 1950 CE, bracketing the World Wars, and around
the 1830s and 1994 CE. Our analysis provides a methodology for future
investigations and an empirical basis for political and historical discussions.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figure
A Project Portfolio Management Approach to Tacklingthe Exploration/Exploitation Trade-off
Organizational ambidexterity (OA) is an essen-tial capability for surviving in dynamic business environ-ments that advocates the simultaneous engagement inexploration and exploitation. Over the last decades,knowledge on OA has substantially matured, coveringinsights into antecedents, outcomes, and moderators of OA.However, there is little prescriptive knowledge that offersguidance on how to put OA into practice and to tackle thetrade-off between exploration and exploitation. To addressthis gap, the authors adopt the design science researchparadigm and propose an economic decision model asartifact. The decision model assists organizations inselecting and scheduling exploration and exploitation pro-jects to become ambidextrous in an economically reason-able manner. As for justificatory knowledge, the decisionmodel draws from prescriptive knowledge on projectportfolio management and value-based management, andfrom descriptive knowledge related to OA to structure thefield of action. To evaluate the decision model, its designspecification is discussed against theory-backed designobjectives and with industry experts. The paper alsoinstantiates the decision model as a software prototype andapplies the prototype to a case based on real-world data
Chitosan: A Natural Substitute of EDTA Solution for Final Irrigation in Endodontics Treatment
Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the quantity of the chelated calcium ions and the smear layer removal efficiency after root canal final irrigation with three different solutions.
Materials and Methods: Fortyâfive teeth were instrumented with rotaryâfiles, then randomly divided into 3 equal groups (n = 15) depending on the final irrigation solution; group I: 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), group II: 0.2% chitosan, and group III: 10% trisodium citrate. According to the time of application, every group was divided into 3 subgroups (1 min, 5 min, and 24 h). The quantification analysis of chelated calcium ions was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Then, the presence of smear layer was examined by splitting the samples longitudinally and using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine coronal, middle, and apical root canal levels. Oneâway analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used for the evaluation of treatment effect. KruskalâWallis test was executed to detect a significant difference between groups, while MannâWhitney U test has determined the difference between each two groups for smear layer.
Results: Both 17% EDTA and 0.2% chitosan had not been statistically significant difference for smear layer removal efficiency and observed calcium ion concentrations. Although, they were more efficient of 10% trisodium citrate with a significant difference (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The application time of the chelatorsâ solutions must not exceed 5 min to completely remove smear layer, and 0.2% chitosan is a natural substitute for 17% EDTA with a safety application for 24 h.
Keywords: Calcium ion, chelator, chitosan, scanning electron microscopy, smear laye
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