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

ارزیابی ویژگیهاي روانسنجی مقیاس افسردگی مرگ در زنان مبتلا به سرطان پستان

مقدمه و اهداف: ارزیابی دقیق افسردگی مرگ بیماران، مستلزم ابزاري اختصاصی و متناسب با فرهنگ هر جامعه است. این مطالعه با هدف ارزیابی ویژگیهاي روانسنجی مقیاس افسردگی مرگ در زنان مبتلا به سرطان پستان انجام شد. روش کار: در این مطالعه روششناختی، 246 نفر از بیماران مبتلا به سرطان پستان مراجعه کننده به بیمارستان ولایت شهر قزوین، مقیاس 17 گویهاي افسردگی مرگ تمپلر را تکمیل کردند. ویژگیهاي روانسنجی این مقیاس با روش تحلیل عاملی اکتشافی و تأییدي مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. همچنین پایایی با استفاده از ضریب آلفاي کرونباخ، امگا و پایایی مرکب بررسی شد. یافتهها: تحلیل عاملی اکتشافی نشان داد که 6 گویه در نسخه فارسی بار عاملی لازم را کسب نکردند و حذف شدند. یازده گویه 66 درصد از واریانس این مفهوم را تبیین میکرد. در تحلیل عامل تأییدي، 11 گویه داراي شاخصهاي / باقیمانده بهصورت تکعاملی 91 (χ2 = 97.664, p < .001, χ2/df = 2.504, GFI = .932, CFI = .972, IFI = .973, TLI = برازش مناسبی بودند 0/ 0 و ضریب پایایی مرکب 96 / 0، ضریب امگاي 95 / 961 . ضریب آلفاي کرونباخ 95 , SRMR = .030, and RMSEA = .079) نشان دهنده پایایی قابل قبول نسخه 11 گویهاي بود. نتیجهگیري: نتایج این مطالعه نشان داد مقیاس افسردگی مرگ با 11 گویه از روایی و پایایی مناسبی در بین مبتلایان به سرطان پستان ایرانی برخوردار بود. با توجه به پارامترهاي مناسب روانسنجی، این ابزار میتواند در مطالعههاي بعدي بهمنظور ارزیابی افسردگی مرگ بهکار گرفته شود

A psychometric lens for e-learning: Examining the validity and reliability of the persian version of University Students’ Engagement Inventory (P-USEI)

Student engagement is a critical component of e-learning, which became an important focus for most academic institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. University students’ engagement is measured using various scales with diferent subscales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the University Student Engagement Inventory (P-USEI). A cross-sectional methodology study was conducted among Iranian university students (n =667) from April to May 2020. After forward–backward translation, the content, and construct validity, and reliability of the scale were assessed. The results obtained from the confrmatory factor analysis confrmed that the P-USEI has three factors: cognitive, emotional, and behaviour. The fndings of the study supported the adequate reliability, factorial, convergent, and discriminant validities of P-USEI in a sample of Iranian students. The P-USEI dimensions have predictive value for important academic variables that can be generalized by developing the research through a psychometric evaluation on student engagement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Student satisfaction and academic efficacy during online learning with the mediating effect of student engagement: A multi-country study.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented changes to educational institutions, forcing their closure and a subsequent shift to online education to cater to student learning requirements. However, successful online learning depends on several factors and may also vary between countries. As such, this cross-sectional study sought to investigate how engagement of university students, a major driver of online learning, was influenced by course content, online interaction, student acceptance, and satisfaction with online learning, as well as self-efficacy across nine countries (China, India, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a questionnaire-based approach, data collected from 6,489 university students showed that student engagement was strongly linked to perception of the quality of the course content and online interactions (p < .001). The current study also indicated that online interactions are a major determinant of academic efficacy but only if mediated by engagement within the online learning context. A negative correlation between student engagement and satisfaction with online learning was found, demonstrating the importance of students being engaged behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively to feel satisfied with learning. Academic efficacy and student satisfaction were explained by course content, online interaction, and online learning acceptance, being mediated by student engagement. Student satisfaction and, to a lesser degree academic efficacy, were also associated with online learning acceptance. Overall, the structural equation model was a good fit for the data collected from all nine countries (CFI = .947, TLI = .943; RMSEA = .068; SRMR = .048), despite differences in the percentage variations explained by each factor (no invariance), likely due to differences in levels of technology use, learning management systems, and the preparedness of teachers to migrate to full online instruction. Despite limitations, the results of this study highlight the most important factors affecting online learning, providing insight into potential approaches for improving student experiences in online learning environments

The relationship among positive body image, body esteem, and eating attitude in Iranian population

Background and aimThe correlation between eating attitudes, positive body image, and body esteem is a pivotal area of research that has garnered substantial attention in recent years, given its implications for both mental and physical well-being. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between positive body image, body esteem, and eating attitudes within an Iranian population.Materials and methodsThis study employed a cross-sectional study design and was conducted in the year 2022. A convenience sample of 752 participants residing in Tehran, Iran, was included in the study. The data collection tools were comprised of a demographic registration form, the Adolescence/Adults Scale (PBIAS), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), and the Body Esteem Scale (BES) as measurement instruments.ResultsMean age of participants was 26.36 (SD = 8.49). Significant relationships were found among positive body image (B = − 0.095, β = −0.150, p &lt; 0.001), and body esteem (B = 0.175, β = 0.149, p &lt; 0.001) with eating attitudes.ConclusionThese findings suggest that individuals with positive body image and high body esteem may have healthier eating attitudes, while those with negative body image and low body esteem may be more likely to have unhealthy eating attitudes

Path Analysis on Effective Factors Affecting 305-D Milk Yield in Simmental Cattle

WOS: 000291155500013This study was done to evaluate the relationships between some features that affect milk yield in Simmental cattle and was aimed to determine the direct or indirect effects of these features on 305 days milk yield. In this study, the direct and indirect relationships between Simmental cattle's number of lactation (X-1), the age of animal (X-2), calving season (X-3), dry period (X-4), age in the first conception (X-5), age in the first calving (X-6), with 305 d milk yield (Y) was determined by path analysis. With this aim, milk yield records of 341 Simmental cattle were kept during the period of 2006-2009 at Gokhoyuk state farm. According to the results, the relationships between calving season and 305 d milk yield were found to be weak or unimportant in all years (P > 0.05). It was ascertained that the highest relationship between 305 d milk yield and the age of animal was obtained (r=0.712**). Also, there was a very significant positive relationship between the number of lactation and 305 d milk yield (P < 0.01). It was determined that the number of lactation affects 305 d milk yield in the highest level directly by age variable S and indirectly throughout dry period. It was observed that the strongest one of these effects was direct effect. (C) 2011 Friends Science Publisher

Path Analysis for Milk Yield Characteristics in Jersey Dairy Cows

WOS: 000294652400008This study was made to the direct and indirect influences of some important milk yield components on 305 days milk yield in breeding by adopting correlation and path coefficient analysis. Path analysis was used to determine the interrelationships between age (X(1)), number of lactation (X(2)), calving season (X(3)), lactation period (X(4)) and 305 days milk yield (Y) in jersey dairy cattle. For this purpose, milk production record of 898 Jersey cattle raised in 2005 and 2009 years in Kocas State Farm was used. The results show that age and number of lactation were the most important factors affecting milk yield components. During 5 years, the correlations between age and 305 days milk yield and number of lactation and 305 days milk yield were positive with statistical significance. Age had the highest positive direct effect on 305 days milk yield when data evaluated of 5 years. Number of lactation had a positive and direct effect on 305 days milk yield. The correlation coefficients between calving season and 305 days milk yield were not significant between 2005 and 2009 years

Classification of Dairy Cattle in Terms of Some Milk Yield Characteristics Using By Fuzzy Clustering

WOS: 000281923700011Fuzzy clustering algorithms have been widely studied and applied in a variety of areas. They become the major techniques in cluster analysis. When using conventional clustering techniques, dairy cows can only belong to a group, having a particular performance. But actually, the same cows could be important from different perspectives at the same time to a different degree. Therefore, a fuzzy clustering approach is needed. The objective of the study was to show that whether fuzzy cluster analysis which has been used in different disciplines, may be used in dairy cow breeding studies or not. As a fuzzy cluster method, the fanny algorithm method was applied in this study. In terms of determination of clusters, the parameters were the number of lactations, 305-days milk yield, age at the first insemination, age at the first calving, the length of dry period, and the interval time between calving season. 136 dairy cows divided into four clusters using by fuzzy clustering technique. The four clusters differed significantly (p<0.05) from each other. The results show that fuzzy clustering can be used effectively on dairy cows breeding.General directorate of agricultural enterprises (TIGEM)Gida Tarim Ve Hayvancilik BakanligiI thank Agr. Eng. M. Selim OKYAY and Vet. Cuma MERCAN. This work has bee supported in part by general directorate of agricultural enterprises (TIGEM)

Prediction of 305-day milk yield in Brown Swiss cattle using artificial neural networks

WOS: 000312057000010Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been shown to be a powerful tool for system modelling in a wide range of applications. In this paper, we focus on the capability of ANNs to predict 305-d milk yield in early lactation of Brown Swiss cattle, based on a few test-day records, and some environmental factors such as age, number of lactation and season of calving. The ANNs that were developed were compared with multiple linear regressions (MLR). The various ANNs were modelled and the best performing number of hidden layers, neurons and training algorithms retained. The best ANN model had input, hidden and output layers of tansig transfer function. The layers had 4, 8, and 1 neurons, respectively. It was determined that the mean predicted values calculated by the ANNs were closer to the real mean values without showing any statistical difference. On the other hand, the predicted mean values calculated by MLR and the real mean values were significantly different from each other. The best prediction in ANN method was seen in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th test-day records when these were recorded to the system as X-1-X-8 in the ANN system. In this study, the prediction of 305-d milk yield by ANN gave better results that those of MLR, suggesting that ANN can be used as an alternative prediction tool

Effects of the elixhauser comorbidity index on the time of discharge and 30-day mortality rate in geriatric and non-geriatric patients undergoing partial hip prosthesis arthroplasty

In this study, we aimed to analyse the non-routine discharge period of the ECI and its predicted effect on the 30-day mortality rate in geriatric and non-geriatric patients admitted for partial hip replacement. 215 patients who underwent elective partial hip arthroplasty under spinal anaesthesia in our tertiary hospital were included in the study. This was a single-centre retrospective descriptive study. Data were collected by reviewing the electronic patient data system and patient files. The patients were divided into two groups as non-geriatric (18-64-year-old, n=125) and geriatric (&#8805;65-year-old, n=90). The impact of the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI) on postoperative mortality rates and the discharge time from the hospital was analysed by comparing the age groups. The ECI percentage values (80.86 ± 3.99) of recovered patients were higher than patients discharged as exitus (71.5 ± 7.74) (p 0.05). When ECI&#8804;77.8%, it predicts mortality with 77.8% sensitivity and 85.92% specificity. The Elixhauser Comorbidity index could not predict the time of discharge due to complications developed after transfer of patients to the postoperative intensive care unit. There was no significant correlation between ECI and discharge time in non-geriatric and geriatric patients. [Med-Science 2021; 10(2.000): 287-92