Validity and Reliability of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) to Assess Dietary Intake of Preschool Children

As there are few food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to assess the dietary intake of preschool children, this study examined the validity and reliability of an FFQ for this purpose. A total of 210 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years participated in the validation study, while a subsample of 66 participants joined the reliability study. The FFQ is modified from the ToyBox-study and South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS), and comprised 108 food items from 13 food groups. A three-day estimated dietary record (3DR) was used as reference and reliability was assessed through a second administration of the FFQ (FFQ2), four weeks after the first administration (FFQ1). For the validation study, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ and 3DR. Cross-classification of quartile analysis showed moderate agreement between the two methods. As for reliability, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ1 and FFQ2. Cronbach’s alpha values (0.708 to 0.824) and intraclass correlation coefficients (0.710 to 0.826) showed good agreement between repeated FFQs. The results suggest that the FFQ has acceptable validity and good reliability. Hence, the FFQ can be used to assess preschool children’s food intake

External auditors' reliance on the internal audit function

This study surveyed the extent of reliance on internal auditors by external auditors . Two sets of questionnaires were designed for our study . The first set of questionnaire was administered in mid-July to more than 50 CPA firms whereas the second set of questionnaire was administered in mid-August to act as a validity check. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney-U tests, one-way and two-way Anova were used to analyze the data. Results of the survey showed that competence, objectivity, coordination and risk were among the factors that had significant effect on the reliance on internal auditors . Further, it was also found that demographic factors such as experience and age of external auditors affected the reliance level on internal audit .ACCOUNTANC

Organizational environment factors associated with corporate social responsibility: effects on communication and guanxi relationship between supervisors and subordinates in SMEs

Effective communication within an organization as part of CSR benchmarking factor that helps align employee expectations facilitates problem solving, builds cooperative relationships and channels employee efforts to achieve common goals. This paper seeks to determine how CSR benchmarking factors of the organizational environment (such as management style, organizational structure and workplace culture) affect the effectiveness of intra-organizational communication and to examine the moderating effect of supervisor – subordinate guanxi. Data for the study was collected using self-administered questionnaires from working respondents in Kuala Lumpur in Selangor State, Malaysia. This study found that a more participative management style, less formalized organizational structure of SMEs and a healthier workplace culture are positively related to intra-organizational communication effectiveness. It was also discovered that the supervisor – subordinate relationship known as guanxi, has a positive moderating effect on all three relationships between management style, organizational structure and workplace culture with intra-organizational communication effectiveness. This study concludes that an organization’s management attitude towards employee participation, formalization of structure and healthiness of culture play important roles in encouraging effective communication and close supervisor – subordinate guanxi and further promotes communication, in addition to the mentioned environmental conditions

Validity and Reliability of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) to Assess Dietary Intake of Preschool Children

As there are few food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to assess the dietary intake of preschool children, this study examined the validity and reliability of an FFQ for this purpose. A total of 210 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years participated in the validation study, while a subsample of 66 participants joined the reliability study. The FFQ is modified from the ToyBox-study and South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS), and comprised 108 food items from 13 food groups. A three-day estimated dietary record (3DR) was used as reference and reliability was assessed through a second administration of the FFQ (FFQ2), four weeks after the first administration (FFQ1). For the validation study, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ and 3DR. Cross-classification of quartile analysis showed moderate agreement between the two methods. As for reliability, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ1 and FFQ2. Cronbach’s alpha values (0.708 to 0.824) and intraclass correlation coefficients (0.710 to 0.826) showed good agreement between repeated FFQs. The results suggest that the FFQ has acceptable validity and good reliability. Hence, the FFQ can be used to assess preschool children’s food intake

The Structure of N-phenyl-pyrazoles and Indazoles: Mononitro, Dinitro, and Trinitro Derivatives

This review explores the heterocyclic family of N-nitrophenyl pyrazoles and indazoles covering mainly their structural aspects, with special emphasis on the X-ray diffraction data. NMR spectroscopy and the theoretical calculations will also be briefly summarized. The synthesis and reactivity aspects will be reported when they are specific to these compounds.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (CTQ2012-35513-C02-02, CTQ2014-56833-R) and Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (S2013/MIT-2841, Fotocarbon). Computer, storage, and other resources from the CTI (CSIC) are gratefully acknowledged.Peer Reviewe