The study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Third Edition(WPPSI-III)scores in a sample of kindergarten and lower primary pupils from Khartoum S...The study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Third Edition(WPPSI-III)scores in a sample of kindergarten and lower primary pupils from Khartoum State,Sudan.It also aims to examine whether test’s factor structure in this sample replicated that of the original WPPSI-III.The study sample consisted of 384 kindergarten and primary school children in Khartoum State(females=50%mean age=4.14,SD=1.37),selected using stratified random sampling across its seven localities:Khartoum,Jebel Awliya,Khartoum Bahri,East Nile,Omdurman,Ombada,Karari.For concurrent validation,the children additionally completed the Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test,and the Colored Progressive Matrices.WPPSI-III scores demonstrated high internal consistency across the subtest items.Confirmatory factor analysis indicators for total,verbal,and performance intelligence were all excellent.The scale also showed weak to strong score stability ranging from 0.25(weak)to 0.88(strong)based on the Spearman-Brown equation,0.25 to 0.75 based on the Guttman split-half method.The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient scores ranged from 0.54 to 0.93.The WPPSI-III and Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test scores concurrent validity scores were poor(0.05)to modest(0.31),and while those with the Colored Progressive Matrices test were poor(r=0.04–0.18).Thesefindings provide evidence to suggest that the WPPSI-III is appropriate for research use with kindergarten and lower primary school students in Khartoum State,Sudan.展开更多
This study examines the construct validity and reliability of the Malay language questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID) in women. Study Design: Random sampling design was used in this cross-sectional ...This study examines the construct validity and reliability of the Malay language questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID) in women. Study Design: Random sampling design was used in this cross-sectional survey. Materials and Methods: The Americanized English language questionnaire was translated to the Malay language and distributed to community-dwelling Malaysian women living in various locations in Selangor. The construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability was determined using Cronbach’s α. Results: A total of 111 women completed the Malay language QUID in this pilot study. The Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy of 0.675 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ2 = 284.633, df = 15, p = 0.001) indicated that the EFA was possible. The total variance and the scree plot identified two factors above the initial eigenvalue of 1 while a third factor was just below it (0.758). The CFA output showed a recursive model with the solution being not admissible because two unobserved and exogenous variables had negative variance estimates. The following values of absolute fit indices showed an acceptable level of fit: 1) Chi-square test with χ2 = 4.997, df = 5, p = 0.416, indicated a smaller difference between the expected and observed covariance matrices;2) GFI = 0.986, AGFI = 0.939, RMR = 0.021 and CMIN/DF = 1.0 indicated acceptable level of fit;3) The baseline comparison values of NFI = 0.983 and CFI = 1.0 also indicated a good fit to the data;4) RMSEA = 0.000 was considered a perfect fit indicating that the hypothesized model was a good fit to the observed data. Under the hypothesis of “close fit”, the probability of getting a sample RMSEA as large as 0.000 was 0.567. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.823 indicated good reliability. Conclusion: The Malay language QUID is a valid and reliable instrument for diagnosing female urinary incontinence in the Malaysian population.展开更多
A GC-MS method for the confirmation of benzthiazide is reported for the first time. This method is based on, the main decomposed product of the methylated derivative and provides a reliable detection of this drug. The...A GC-MS method for the confirmation of benzthiazide is reported for the first time. This method is based on, the main decomposed product of the methylated derivative and provides a reliable detection of this drug. The detection limit of the method is 1.0 ng with selected ion monitoring.展开更多
Research on Positive Youth Development (PYD) has been hampered by lack of a valid measure for the construct, particularly for research in sport. The Youth Experiences Scale for Sport (YES-S) [1], is a five-factor meas...Research on Positive Youth Development (PYD) has been hampered by lack of a valid measure for the construct, particularly for research in sport. The Youth Experiences Scale for Sport (YES-S) [1], is a five-factor measure of positive youth outcomes specifically designed for the sport context. The YES-S is a promising instrument that fills an important niche in PYD research, and MacDonald et al. provided support for many of its psychometric properties. However, the factor structure of the scale is currently based on an exploratory factor analysis and has not yet been subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The present study was designed to confirm the five-factor structure of the YES-S. A sample of 350 youth sport athletes (196 male, 153 female) completed the YES-S. A CFA showed that a modified version of the five-factor YES-S had excellent fit of the model to the data. An analysis of invariance showed no differences in responses in terms of gender. It is concluded that this short-form YES-S offers excellent psychometric properties while retaining the original factor structure of the YES-S. The results offer further support for the validity of the factor structure of the YES-S while providing a shorter version of the scale, which may be appealing for research with younger sport participants.展开更多
Experimental studies are usually designed with specific expectations about the results in mind. However, most researchers apply some form of omnibus test to test for any differences, with follow up tests like pairwise...Experimental studies are usually designed with specific expectations about the results in mind. However, most researchers apply some form of omnibus test to test for any differences, with follow up tests like pairwise comparisons or simple effects analyses for further investigation of the effects. The power to find full support for the theory with such an exploratory approach which is usually based on multiple testing is, however, rather disappointing. With the simulations in this paper we showed that many of the common choices in hypothesis testing led to a severely underpowered form of theory evaluation. Furthermore, some less commonly used approaches were presented and a comparison of results in terms of power to find support for the theory was made. We concluded that confirmatory methods are required in the context of theory evaluation and that the scientific literature would benefit from a clearer distinction between confirmatory and exploratory findings. Also, we emphasis the importance of reporting all tests, significant or not, including the appropriate sample statistics like means and standard deviations. Another recommendation is related to the fact that researchers, when they discuss the conclusions of their own study, seem to underestimate the role of sampling variability. The execution of more replication studies in combination with proper reporting of all results provides insight in between study variability and the amount of chance findings.展开更多
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) refers to the FA procedure with some loadings constrained to be zeros. A difficulty in CFA is that the constraint must be specified by users in a subjective manner. For dealing with ...Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) refers to the FA procedure with some loadings constrained to be zeros. A difficulty in CFA is that the constraint must be specified by users in a subjective manner. For dealing with this difficulty, we propose a computational method, in which the best CFA solution is obtained optimally without relying on users’ judgements. The method consists of the procedures at lower (L) and higher (H) levels: at the L level, for a fixed number of zero loadings, it is determined both which loadings are to be zeros and what values are to be given to the remaining nonzero parameters;at the H level, the procedure at the L level is performed over the different numbers of zero loadings, to provide the best solution. In the L level procedure, Kiers’ (1994) simplimax rotation fulfills a key role: the CFA solution under the constraint computationally specified by that rotation is used for initializing the parameters of a new FA procedure called simplimax FA. The task at the H level can be easily performed using information criteria. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated numerically.展开更多
After preclinical research, the effectiveness and safety of new drugs are finally verified by human clinical trials. As an important tool for clinical trial design, implementation and analysis, statistics is becoming ...After preclinical research, the effectiveness and safety of new drugs are finally verified by human clinical trials. As an important tool for clinical trial design, implementation and analysis, statistics is becoming more and more important in innovative drug research and development. Based on the guiding principles of international and domestic regulators and industry consensus, this paper expounds the key issues that should be considered in the statistical analysis plan of confirmatory drug clinical trials.展开更多
Background The brain death confirmation tests occupy a different position in each country＇s diagnostic criteria （or guideline）; the choices of tests are also different.China brain death criteria include clinical ju...Background The brain death confirmation tests occupy a different position in each country＇s diagnostic criteria （or guideline）; the choices of tests are also different.China brain death criteria include clinical judgment and confirmation tests.This study aimed to confirm the preferred confirmatory test and complementary confirmatory tests.Methods We did a clinical brain death determination on deep coma patients,and then divided them into brain death group and non-brain death group.According to the Chinese standards for determining brain death,both the groups accepted confirmatory tests including electroencephalograph （EEG）,somatosensory evoked potentials （SEP）,and transcranial Doppler （TCD）.The sensitivity,specificity,false positive rate,and false negative rate were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of the confirmatory tests.Results Among the 131 cases of patients,103 patients met the clinical criteria of brain death.Respiratory arrest provocation test was performed on 44 cases and 32 cases （73％） successfully completed and confirmed that they have no spontaneous breathing.Of the three confirmation tests,EEG had the highest completion rate （98％） and good sensitivity （83％） and specificity （97％）; TCD had followed completion rate （54％） and not good sensitivity （73％） and specificity （75％）; SEP had the lowest completion rate （49％）,good sensitivity （100％）,and not good specificity （78％）.After the combination of SEP or TCD with EEG,the specificity can increase to 100％.Conclusions The completion rate of respiratory arrest provocation test remains a problem in the clinical diagnosis of brain death.If the test cannot be completed,whether to increase a confirmatory test is debatable.SEP had an ideal sensitivity,and the specificity will reach 100％ after combining with TCD or EEG.When a confirmed test was uncertain,we suggest increasing another confirmatory test.展开更多
The co-adaptability theoretical solution to conflicting events in construction engineering projects has three problems. First, the transformation of constraint conditions of theoretical solution is very difficult in p...The co-adaptability theoretical solution to conflicting events in construction engineering projects has three problems. First, the transformation of constraint conditions of theoretical solution is very difficult in practical engineering applications; second, some coefficients are difficult to be determined; third, there are overfull circular arithmetic operations involved in it. To resolve these problems, a new method to reduce the theoretical solution complications is proposed. By analyzing the operating mechanism of theoretical solution model, redundancies in the theoretical solution can be eliminated, and the ISM mapping with the co-adaptability solution can be set up. Based on this approach, a procedure to solve practical conflicting events in construction projects is established by replacing characteristic variables with mathematic variables. The research results show that the procedure can replace the co-adaptability theoretical solution effectively and solve practical conflicting events in construction projects.展开更多
Background: From the two facts reported by previous research: 1) frequent co-occurrence of more than one addictive behavior, 2) childhood adversities identified as origins of different types of addictive behaviors, it...Background: From the two facts reported by previous research: 1) frequent co-occurrence of more than one addictive behavior, 2) childhood adversities identified as origins of different types of addictive behaviors, it is assumed that all types of addictive behaviors, regardless of substance, behavioral, or relationship, share common factors which have not yet been proven by epidemiological research. The Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire (SPQ) was previously developed to assess 16 types of addictive behaviors. Its factor structure, however, has not been fully investigated. Confirming the factor structure will enable us to hypothesize the common factor(s) shared by all, or if not all, most types of addictive behaviors. Aims: This study aimed at 1) examining the factor structure of the SPQ, 2) confirming the reliability of the questionnaire, and 3) examining the impacts of gender and age on each addictive behavior. Methods: Data obtained from 232 Japanese adults who completed all items of the SPQ were used for the analyses. After confirming the one-factor structure model for each of the 16 subscales, the validity of the one-factor structure of the SPQ was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), by adapting 16 subscale scores as observed variables. If its validity was not confirmed, another model which showed better compatibility to the data was explored. The reliability of the SPQ as well as that of all 16 subscales was evaluated. Also, the impacts of gender and age on each subscale score were examined. Results: The one-factor structure for each of the 16 subscales was confirmed. The compatibility of the SPQ one-factor model was not acceptable. The best fit model was a bi-factor model in which one main factor was shared by all 16 subscales, and three factors were shared by some specific addictive behaviors. Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to show high scores in Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling, Sex, and Recreational Drugs, and low scores only in Shopping. Respondents’ age did not impact any of the 16 subscale scores. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that there are common factors shared by all different types, as well as selected types of addictive behaviors, by conducting CFAs of the SPQ. Reliability was proven for the SPQ and for all 16 subscales. Male respondents were more likely to show physically hedonic addictive behaviors.展开更多
Objective:This study aimed to translate the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale(ANSE),assess its appropriateness for use in Korean nursing students,and evaluate the Korean Version of the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy sc...Objective:This study aimed to translate the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale(ANSE),assess its appropriateness for use in Korean nursing students,and evaluate the Korean Version of the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale’s(K-ANSE)validity and reliability.Methods:The data of 444 nursing college students at 10 universities across the country were collected from November 1,2020 to June 8,2021.The K-ANSE was analyzed utilizing SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 programs.The K-ANSE’s content validity,construct validity,convergent/discriminant validity,criterion-related validity,and reliability were evaluated.Results:Internal emotion management,auto-regulatory behavior,external emotion management,and sociality were established.The Cronbach’sαfor the overall scale was 0.87,and that of the 4 subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.89.Conclusions:The Korean version of the ANSE seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure Korean bachelor-level nursing students.展开更多
Zoo management has been approached from its financial guidelines in accordance with the SDGs,but without considering its adjustment to the SDGs.Therefore,the objective of this work was to compare the theoretical struc...Zoo management has been approached from its financial guidelines in accordance with the SDGs,but without considering its adjustment to the SDGs.Therefore,the objective of this work was to compare the theoretical structure reported in the literature with respect to the observations of this work.A cross-sectional and retrospective study was carried out with a sample of administrative managers linked to zoos committed to the implementation of the SDGs.The results suggest that age and gender determine the financial factor.In relation to the state of the art where dimensions related to learning financial administration are reported,this work suggests that age is a determinant of social responsibility.展开更多
Background:Recently,Mullen et al.(2011)presented an 8-item version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale(PACES)that provides a valid instrument for assessing enjoyment in physical activity.The present paper investi...Background:Recently,Mullen et al.(2011)presented an 8-item version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale(PACES)that provides a valid instrument for assessing enjoyment in physical activity.The present paper investigated the psychometric properties of a Portuguese adaptation of PACES.Methods:After a process of back-to-back translation into Portuguese,395 members of fitness centers who ranged in age from 18 to 66 years(31.11§8.90,mean§SD)completed the translated version of the PACES.On average,participants had 3.2 years of experience in fitness group classes and practiced for approximately 3.3 times per week.Results:An initial exploratory factor analysis(n=139)revealed a unidimensional structure with factor loadings ranging from 0.79 to 0.89.Results also showed acceptable internal consistency.A confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample(n=256)provided additional support for the unidimensional structure of the questionnaire.In addition,moderate positive correlations between enjoyment and intrinsic and identified regulation,and moderate negative correlations between enjoyment and external and amotivation,demonstrate the convergent validity of the instrument.Finally,measurement invariance between 2 independent samples was also found.Conclusion:The 8-item Portuguese version of PACES is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring enjoyment of physical activity in Portuguese adult fitness exercisers,and it is therefore suitable to use as a measure of affect in exercise adherence interventions studies.展开更多
Background:The pressure of pursuing an athletic career simultaneously with education may set adolescent student-athletes at risk for sport and school burnout.Although the 2 life domains of student-athletes are strongl...Background:The pressure of pursuing an athletic career simultaneously with education may set adolescent student-athletes at risk for sport and school burnout.Although the 2 life domains of student-athletes are strongly intertwined,so far,there has not been an instrument for investigating sport burnout parallel to school burnout.The aim of the present study was to introduce a sport burnout measure for adolescents in a dual career context and investigate its validity and reliability by using confirmatory factor analysis.Methods:The participants were 391 student-athletes(51%females)who filled in a questionnaire of sport burnout and background variables in the beginning of upper secondary school.Results:A 3-factor model or a second-order-factor model described the data better and gave better reliability indices than a 1-factor model.The 3 dimensions of sport burnout were shown to be separate,but closely related constructs.Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by correlating the 3 sport burnout dimensions with depressive symptoms,self-esteem,and sport task values.Conclusion:The results suggest that Sport Burnout InventoryDual Career Form(SpBI-DC)is a valid and reliable instrument for investigating sport burnout among adolescent student-athletes.展开更多
Objective:To translate the English version of Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale into Chinese and to validate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale(CISE).Method(s):Part...Objective:To translate the English version of Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale into Chinese and to validate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale(CISE).Method(s):Participants were recruited from the Gynecology Department of two city hospitals.Five main processes were involved in the formation of CISE[1]:scale translation based on expert consultation[2];pre-test questionnaire development with infertile women's feedback(N=20)[3];factor structure assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis(N=177)[4];assessment of reliability by internal consistency(N=177)and test-retest reliability(N=21);and[5]assessment of convergent validity with Self-rating Anxiety Scale,Self-rating Depression Scale,and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(N=177).Results:This study established a 16-item CISE.Factor analyses confirmed a onecomponent solution,which explained 54.59% of total variances and showed an acceptable model fit.Cronbach's a and test-retest correlation coefficients for the scale were 0.94 and 0.84,respectively.The CISE score was significantly correlated with anxiety(r=0.47),depression(r=0.60),positive coping style(r=0.37),and certain negative coping style items.Conclusion:This 16-item CISE is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate perceived selfefficacy among a sample of Chinese women who underwent infertility treatment.展开更多
Background:Animal models are widely applied in medical research for different purposes.In particular,results from translational experiments may be used for subsequent clinical development.However,transferability of th...Background:Animal models are widely applied in medical research for different purposes.In particular,results from translational experiments may be used for subsequent clinical development.However,transferability of these findings to the human organism is controversial.Among other factors,this may be traced back to a lack of clear differentiation of the evidence(explorative vs.confirmatory)provided by such experimental results.In general,inferential statistics(i.e.p values)should not be interpreted in as confirmatory unless crucial methodological requirements are met.Methods:Therefore,we propose a phase model which reflects the well-established process of clinical research,and we discuss its potential to improve decision making in translational research.The model aims to clarify the reliability of results derived from animal models.Results:The phase model proposes subdividing translational,pre-clinical research into pilot,exploration,and confirmation phases.Experiments for which there is no valid estimation of the expected effect size are designated as pilot studies.Based on these data,experiments in subsequent phases may be planned using both appropriate design and statistical methods.Conclusion:Separating the entire process of translational animal research into three phases could contribute to improved transparency of the evidence derived from such experiments.展开更多
This paper discusses the utilization of latent variable modeling related to occupational health and safety in the mining industry.Latent variable modeling,which is a statistical model that relates observable and laten...This paper discusses the utilization of latent variable modeling related to occupational health and safety in the mining industry.Latent variable modeling,which is a statistical model that relates observable and latent variables,could be used to facilitate researchers’understandings of the underlying constructs or hypothetical factors and their magnitude of effect that constitute a complex system.This enhanced understanding,in turn,can help emphasize the important factors to improve mine safety.The most commonly used techniques include the exploratory factor analysis(EFA),the confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)and the structural equation model with latent variables(SEM).A critical comparison of the three techniques regarding mine safety is provided.Possible applications of latent variable modeling in mining engineering are explored.In this scope,relevant research papers were reviewed.They suggest that the application of such methods could prove useful in mine accident and safety research.Application of latent variables analysis in cognitive work analysis was proposed to improve the understanding of human-work relationships in mining operations.展开更多
Background: Psychological stress and recovery monitoring is a key issue for increasing athletes' health, well-being, and performance. This multistudy report examined changes and the doseàresponse relationship...Background: Psychological stress and recovery monitoring is a key issue for increasing athletes' health, well-being, and performance. This multistudy report examined changes and the doseàresponse relationships between recoveryàstress psychological states, training load(TL), heart rate(HR), heart rate recovery(HRR), and heart rate variability(HRV) while providing evidence for the factorial validity of a short French version of the RecoveryàStress Questionnaire for Athletes(RESTQ-36-R-Sport).Methods: Four hundred and seventy-three university athletes(Study 1), 72 full expert swimmers(Study 2), and 11 national to international swimmers(Study 3) participated in the study. Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analyses(Study 1), repeated ANOVAs and correlational analyses(Study 2), t tests and correlational analyses(Study 3).Results: Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses showed that the RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores were partially invariant across gender, type of sport, and practice level(Study 1). A doseàresponse relationship was performed between TL and RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores during an ecological training program(Study 2). Finally, relationships were found between physiological(HRR) and psychological(RESTQ-36-R-Sport) states during an ecological tapering period leading to a national championship(Study 3).Conclusion: As a whole, these findings provided evidence for the usefulness of the short version of the RESTQ-36-R-Sport for regular monitoring to prevent potential maladaptation due to intensive competitive sport practice.展开更多
Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that is an important cause of nosocomial infections. Detection of ESBL producers’ poses a special challenge for clinical microbiology laboratories, although ESBL pro...Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that is an important cause of nosocomial infections. Detection of ESBL producers’ poses a special challenge for clinical microbiology laboratories, although ESBL producing pathogens are able to hydrolyze extended-spectrum penicillins, cephalosporins, and aztreonam, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of some and perhaps even all of these agents may be within the susceptible range. The third generation cephalosporins have the reputation for being useful against a broad range of bacterial infections. However, resistance to these agents is something that must still be considered and creates obstacles for their clinical use. A total of 80 multi drug resistant clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were obtained from a study on anaerobes associated with Pelvic Inflammatory disease (P.I.D), KEMRI S.S.C No.495. The isolates were identified by standard microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out by Kirby-Bauer method. Upon identification, the antibiogram profiles of the isolates were determined and those resistant to third-generation cephalosporins were tested for production of ESBL. ESBL production among the multi drug resistant isolates was detected using the phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT) and double disk synergy test (DDST). While using standard double disk synergy test (DDST) as screening method for identifying potential ESBL producers, ceftriaxone was the most efficient antimicrobial in screening isolates as potential ESBL producers followed by cefotaxime.展开更多
Organizational ethical climate is an effective way to solve organizational ethical problems and dilemmas. Therefore study on our organizational ethical climate has the great significance to solve ethical problems and ...Organizational ethical climate is an effective way to solve organizational ethical problems and dilemmas. Therefore study on our organizational ethical climate has the great significance to solve ethical problems and dilemmas faced by the organization and staff. Through semi-structured interview, structural interview and questionnaire survey and other methods this study gets to understand internal structural elements of organizational ethical climate under Chinese cultural background, and constructs organizational ethical climate questionnaire, which has good reliability and validity; carries out surveys in large scale by using the revised questionnaire, and recycles 709 valid questionnaires. The results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis show that Chinese organizational ethical climate＇ s internal structure includes five factors： egoism, altruism, independence orientated, organizational system orientated, and law and code orientated.展开更多
基金The authors extend their appreciation to the Ongoing Research Funding Program,number(ORF2025R705),King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia,for funding this work.
文摘The study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Third Edition(WPPSI-III)scores in a sample of kindergarten and lower primary pupils from Khartoum State,Sudan.It also aims to examine whether test’s factor structure in this sample replicated that of the original WPPSI-III.The study sample consisted of 384 kindergarten and primary school children in Khartoum State(females=50%mean age=4.14,SD=1.37),selected using stratified random sampling across its seven localities:Khartoum,Jebel Awliya,Khartoum Bahri,East Nile,Omdurman,Ombada,Karari.For concurrent validation,the children additionally completed the Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test,and the Colored Progressive Matrices.WPPSI-III scores demonstrated high internal consistency across the subtest items.Confirmatory factor analysis indicators for total,verbal,and performance intelligence were all excellent.The scale also showed weak to strong score stability ranging from 0.25(weak)to 0.88(strong)based on the Spearman-Brown equation,0.25 to 0.75 based on the Guttman split-half method.The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient scores ranged from 0.54 to 0.93.The WPPSI-III and Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test scores concurrent validity scores were poor(0.05)to modest(0.31),and while those with the Colored Progressive Matrices test were poor(r=0.04–0.18).Thesefindings provide evidence to suggest that the WPPSI-III is appropriate for research use with kindergarten and lower primary school students in Khartoum State,Sudan.
文摘This study examines the construct validity and reliability of the Malay language questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID) in women. Study Design: Random sampling design was used in this cross-sectional survey. Materials and Methods: The Americanized English language questionnaire was translated to the Malay language and distributed to community-dwelling Malaysian women living in various locations in Selangor. The construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability was determined using Cronbach’s α. Results: A total of 111 women completed the Malay language QUID in this pilot study. The Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy of 0.675 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ2 = 284.633, df = 15, p = 0.001) indicated that the EFA was possible. The total variance and the scree plot identified two factors above the initial eigenvalue of 1 while a third factor was just below it (0.758). The CFA output showed a recursive model with the solution being not admissible because two unobserved and exogenous variables had negative variance estimates. The following values of absolute fit indices showed an acceptable level of fit: 1) Chi-square test with χ2 = 4.997, df = 5, p = 0.416, indicated a smaller difference between the expected and observed covariance matrices;2) GFI = 0.986, AGFI = 0.939, RMR = 0.021 and CMIN/DF = 1.0 indicated acceptable level of fit;3) The baseline comparison values of NFI = 0.983 and CFI = 1.0 also indicated a good fit to the data;4) RMSEA = 0.000 was considered a perfect fit indicating that the hypothesized model was a good fit to the observed data. Under the hypothesis of “close fit”, the probability of getting a sample RMSEA as large as 0.000 was 0.567. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.823 indicated good reliability. Conclusion: The Malay language QUID is a valid and reliable instrument for diagnosing female urinary incontinence in the Malaysian population.
文摘A GC-MS method for the confirmation of benzthiazide is reported for the first time. This method is based on, the main decomposed product of the methylated derivative and provides a reliable detection of this drug. The detection limit of the method is 1.0 ng with selected ion monitoring.
文摘Research on Positive Youth Development (PYD) has been hampered by lack of a valid measure for the construct, particularly for research in sport. The Youth Experiences Scale for Sport (YES-S) [1], is a five-factor measure of positive youth outcomes specifically designed for the sport context. The YES-S is a promising instrument that fills an important niche in PYD research, and MacDonald et al. provided support for many of its psychometric properties. However, the factor structure of the scale is currently based on an exploratory factor analysis and has not yet been subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The present study was designed to confirm the five-factor structure of the YES-S. A sample of 350 youth sport athletes (196 male, 153 female) completed the YES-S. A CFA showed that a modified version of the five-factor YES-S had excellent fit of the model to the data. An analysis of invariance showed no differences in responses in terms of gender. It is concluded that this short-form YES-S offers excellent psychometric properties while retaining the original factor structure of the YES-S. The results offer further support for the validity of the factor structure of the YES-S while providing a shorter version of the scale, which may be appealing for research with younger sport participants.
文摘Experimental studies are usually designed with specific expectations about the results in mind. However, most researchers apply some form of omnibus test to test for any differences, with follow up tests like pairwise comparisons or simple effects analyses for further investigation of the effects. The power to find full support for the theory with such an exploratory approach which is usually based on multiple testing is, however, rather disappointing. With the simulations in this paper we showed that many of the common choices in hypothesis testing led to a severely underpowered form of theory evaluation. Furthermore, some less commonly used approaches were presented and a comparison of results in terms of power to find support for the theory was made. We concluded that confirmatory methods are required in the context of theory evaluation and that the scientific literature would benefit from a clearer distinction between confirmatory and exploratory findings. Also, we emphasis the importance of reporting all tests, significant or not, including the appropriate sample statistics like means and standard deviations. Another recommendation is related to the fact that researchers, when they discuss the conclusions of their own study, seem to underestimate the role of sampling variability. The execution of more replication studies in combination with proper reporting of all results provides insight in between study variability and the amount of chance findings.
文摘Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) refers to the FA procedure with some loadings constrained to be zeros. A difficulty in CFA is that the constraint must be specified by users in a subjective manner. For dealing with this difficulty, we propose a computational method, in which the best CFA solution is obtained optimally without relying on users’ judgements. The method consists of the procedures at lower (L) and higher (H) levels: at the L level, for a fixed number of zero loadings, it is determined both which loadings are to be zeros and what values are to be given to the remaining nonzero parameters;at the H level, the procedure at the L level is performed over the different numbers of zero loadings, to provide the best solution. In the L level procedure, Kiers’ (1994) simplimax rotation fulfills a key role: the CFA solution under the constraint computationally specified by that rotation is used for initializing the parameters of a new FA procedure called simplimax FA. The task at the H level can be easily performed using information criteria. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated numerically.
文摘After preclinical research, the effectiveness and safety of new drugs are finally verified by human clinical trials. As an important tool for clinical trial design, implementation and analysis, statistics is becoming more and more important in innovative drug research and development. Based on the guiding principles of international and domestic regulators and industry consensus, this paper expounds the key issues that should be considered in the statistical analysis plan of confirmatory drug clinical trials.
文摘Background The brain death confirmation tests occupy a different position in each country＇s diagnostic criteria （or guideline）; the choices of tests are also different.China brain death criteria include clinical judgment and confirmation tests.This study aimed to confirm the preferred confirmatory test and complementary confirmatory tests.Methods We did a clinical brain death determination on deep coma patients,and then divided them into brain death group and non-brain death group.According to the Chinese standards for determining brain death,both the groups accepted confirmatory tests including electroencephalograph （EEG）,somatosensory evoked potentials （SEP）,and transcranial Doppler （TCD）.The sensitivity,specificity,false positive rate,and false negative rate were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of the confirmatory tests.Results Among the 131 cases of patients,103 patients met the clinical criteria of brain death.Respiratory arrest provocation test was performed on 44 cases and 32 cases （73％） successfully completed and confirmed that they have no spontaneous breathing.Of the three confirmation tests,EEG had the highest completion rate （98％） and good sensitivity （83％） and specificity （97％）; TCD had followed completion rate （54％） and not good sensitivity （73％） and specificity （75％）; SEP had the lowest completion rate （49％）,good sensitivity （100％）,and not good specificity （78％）.After the combination of SEP or TCD with EEG,the specificity can increase to 100％.Conclusions The completion rate of respiratory arrest provocation test remains a problem in the clinical diagnosis of brain death.If the test cannot be completed,whether to increase a confirmatory test is debatable.SEP had an ideal sensitivity,and the specificity will reach 100％ after combining with TCD or EEG.When a confirmed test was uncertain,we suggest increasing another confirmatory test.
基金Beijing Municipal Government Build Projectsupported by the China Post-Doctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 20070420347)the Soft Science Foundation of Shanxi Province of China (Grant No. 2005KR121)
文摘The co-adaptability theoretical solution to conflicting events in construction engineering projects has three problems. First, the transformation of constraint conditions of theoretical solution is very difficult in practical engineering applications; second, some coefficients are difficult to be determined; third, there are overfull circular arithmetic operations involved in it. To resolve these problems, a new method to reduce the theoretical solution complications is proposed. By analyzing the operating mechanism of theoretical solution model, redundancies in the theoretical solution can be eliminated, and the ISM mapping with the co-adaptability solution can be set up. Based on this approach, a procedure to solve practical conflicting events in construction projects is established by replacing characteristic variables with mathematic variables. The research results show that the procedure can replace the co-adaptability theoretical solution effectively and solve practical conflicting events in construction projects.
文摘Background: From the two facts reported by previous research: 1) frequent co-occurrence of more than one addictive behavior, 2) childhood adversities identified as origins of different types of addictive behaviors, it is assumed that all types of addictive behaviors, regardless of substance, behavioral, or relationship, share common factors which have not yet been proven by epidemiological research. The Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire (SPQ) was previously developed to assess 16 types of addictive behaviors. Its factor structure, however, has not been fully investigated. Confirming the factor structure will enable us to hypothesize the common factor(s) shared by all, or if not all, most types of addictive behaviors. Aims: This study aimed at 1) examining the factor structure of the SPQ, 2) confirming the reliability of the questionnaire, and 3) examining the impacts of gender and age on each addictive behavior. Methods: Data obtained from 232 Japanese adults who completed all items of the SPQ were used for the analyses. After confirming the one-factor structure model for each of the 16 subscales, the validity of the one-factor structure of the SPQ was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), by adapting 16 subscale scores as observed variables. If its validity was not confirmed, another model which showed better compatibility to the data was explored. The reliability of the SPQ as well as that of all 16 subscales was evaluated. Also, the impacts of gender and age on each subscale score were examined. Results: The one-factor structure for each of the 16 subscales was confirmed. The compatibility of the SPQ one-factor model was not acceptable. The best fit model was a bi-factor model in which one main factor was shared by all 16 subscales, and three factors were shared by some specific addictive behaviors. Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to show high scores in Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling, Sex, and Recreational Drugs, and low scores only in Shopping. Respondents’ age did not impact any of the 16 subscale scores. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that there are common factors shared by all different types, as well as selected types of addictive behaviors, by conducting CFAs of the SPQ. Reliability was proven for the SPQ and for all 16 subscales. Male respondents were more likely to show physically hedonic addictive behaviors.
文摘Objective:This study aimed to translate the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale(ANSE),assess its appropriateness for use in Korean nursing students,and evaluate the Korean Version of the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale’s(K-ANSE)validity and reliability.Methods:The data of 444 nursing college students at 10 universities across the country were collected from November 1,2020 to June 8,2021.The K-ANSE was analyzed utilizing SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 programs.The K-ANSE’s content validity,construct validity,convergent/discriminant validity,criterion-related validity,and reliability were evaluated.Results:Internal emotion management,auto-regulatory behavior,external emotion management,and sociality were established.The Cronbach’sαfor the overall scale was 0.87,and that of the 4 subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.89.Conclusions:The Korean version of the ANSE seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure Korean bachelor-level nursing students.
文摘Zoo management has been approached from its financial guidelines in accordance with the SDGs,but without considering its adjustment to the SDGs.Therefore,the objective of this work was to compare the theoretical structure reported in the literature with respect to the observations of this work.A cross-sectional and retrospective study was carried out with a sample of administrative managers linked to zoos committed to the implementation of the SDGs.The results suggest that age and gender determine the financial factor.In relation to the state of the art where dimensions related to learning financial administration are reported,this work suggests that age is a determinant of social responsibility.
文摘Background:Recently,Mullen et al.(2011)presented an 8-item version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale(PACES)that provides a valid instrument for assessing enjoyment in physical activity.The present paper investigated the psychometric properties of a Portuguese adaptation of PACES.Methods:After a process of back-to-back translation into Portuguese,395 members of fitness centers who ranged in age from 18 to 66 years(31.11§8.90,mean§SD)completed the translated version of the PACES.On average,participants had 3.2 years of experience in fitness group classes and practiced for approximately 3.3 times per week.Results:An initial exploratory factor analysis(n=139)revealed a unidimensional structure with factor loadings ranging from 0.79 to 0.89.Results also showed acceptable internal consistency.A confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample(n=256)provided additional support for the unidimensional structure of the questionnaire.In addition,moderate positive correlations between enjoyment and intrinsic and identified regulation,and moderate negative correlations between enjoyment and external and amotivation,demonstrate the convergent validity of the instrument.Finally,measurement invariance between 2 independent samples was also found.Conclusion:The 8-item Portuguese version of PACES is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring enjoyment of physical activity in Portuguese adult fitness exercisers,and it is therefore suitable to use as a measure of affect in exercise adherence interventions studies.
基金funded by grant from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture(No.OKM/13626/2015).
文摘Background:The pressure of pursuing an athletic career simultaneously with education may set adolescent student-athletes at risk for sport and school burnout.Although the 2 life domains of student-athletes are strongly intertwined,so far,there has not been an instrument for investigating sport burnout parallel to school burnout.The aim of the present study was to introduce a sport burnout measure for adolescents in a dual career context and investigate its validity and reliability by using confirmatory factor analysis.Methods:The participants were 391 student-athletes(51%females)who filled in a questionnaire of sport burnout and background variables in the beginning of upper secondary school.Results:A 3-factor model or a second-order-factor model described the data better and gave better reliability indices than a 1-factor model.The 3 dimensions of sport burnout were shown to be separate,but closely related constructs.Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was obtained by correlating the 3 sport burnout dimensions with depressive symptoms,self-esteem,and sport task values.Conclusion:The results suggest that Sport Burnout InventoryDual Career Form(SpBI-DC)is a valid and reliable instrument for investigating sport burnout among adolescent student-athletes.
基金China Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department,the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation(10JJ3074)Health Department of Hunan Province,High-level Medical Talents“225”Project of Hunan Province(Xiangwei[2013]13).
文摘Objective:To translate the English version of Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale into Chinese and to validate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale(CISE).Method(s):Participants were recruited from the Gynecology Department of two city hospitals.Five main processes were involved in the formation of CISE[1]:scale translation based on expert consultation[2];pre-test questionnaire development with infertile women's feedback(N=20)[3];factor structure assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis(N=177)[4];assessment of reliability by internal consistency(N=177)and test-retest reliability(N=21);and[5]assessment of convergent validity with Self-rating Anxiety Scale,Self-rating Depression Scale,and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(N=177).Results:This study established a 16-item CISE.Factor analyses confirmed a onecomponent solution,which explained 54.59% of total variances and showed an acceptable model fit.Cronbach's a and test-retest correlation coefficients for the scale were 0.94 and 0.84,respectively.The CISE score was significantly correlated with anxiety(r=0.47),depression(r=0.60),positive coping style(r=0.37),and certain negative coping style items.Conclusion:This 16-item CISE is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate perceived selfefficacy among a sample of Chinese women who underwent infertility treatment.
文摘Background:Animal models are widely applied in medical research for different purposes.In particular,results from translational experiments may be used for subsequent clinical development.However,transferability of these findings to the human organism is controversial.Among other factors,this may be traced back to a lack of clear differentiation of the evidence(explorative vs.confirmatory)provided by such experimental results.In general,inferential statistics(i.e.p values)should not be interpreted in as confirmatory unless crucial methodological requirements are met.Methods:Therefore,we propose a phase model which reflects the well-established process of clinical research,and we discuss its potential to improve decision making in translational research.The model aims to clarify the reliability of results derived from animal models.Results:The phase model proposes subdividing translational,pre-clinical research into pilot,exploration,and confirmation phases.Experiments for which there is no valid estimation of the expected effect size are designated as pilot studies.Based on these data,experiments in subsequent phases may be planned using both appropriate design and statistical methods.Conclusion:Separating the entire process of translational animal research into three phases could contribute to improved transparency of the evidence derived from such experiments.
基金Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada(NSERC)(ID:236482)for supporting this research
文摘This paper discusses the utilization of latent variable modeling related to occupational health and safety in the mining industry.Latent variable modeling,which is a statistical model that relates observable and latent variables,could be used to facilitate researchers’understandings of the underlying constructs or hypothetical factors and their magnitude of effect that constitute a complex system.This enhanced understanding,in turn,can help emphasize the important factors to improve mine safety.The most commonly used techniques include the exploratory factor analysis(EFA),the confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)and the structural equation model with latent variables(SEM).A critical comparison of the three techniques regarding mine safety is provided.Possible applications of latent variable modeling in mining engineering are explored.In this scope,relevant research papers were reviewed.They suggest that the application of such methods could prove useful in mine accident and safety research.Application of latent variables analysis in cognitive work analysis was proposed to improve the understanding of human-work relationships in mining operations.
基金supported by the Conseil Régional de Bourgogne, the club of Alliance Dijon Natationthe Comité Régional de Natation Bourgogne under Grant number 2013-9201AAO048S02835
文摘Background: Psychological stress and recovery monitoring is a key issue for increasing athletes' health, well-being, and performance. This multistudy report examined changes and the doseàresponse relationships between recoveryàstress psychological states, training load(TL), heart rate(HR), heart rate recovery(HRR), and heart rate variability(HRV) while providing evidence for the factorial validity of a short French version of the RecoveryàStress Questionnaire for Athletes(RESTQ-36-R-Sport).Methods: Four hundred and seventy-three university athletes(Study 1), 72 full expert swimmers(Study 2), and 11 national to international swimmers(Study 3) participated in the study. Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analyses(Study 1), repeated ANOVAs and correlational analyses(Study 2), t tests and correlational analyses(Study 3).Results: Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses showed that the RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores were partially invariant across gender, type of sport, and practice level(Study 1). A doseàresponse relationship was performed between TL and RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores during an ecological training program(Study 2). Finally, relationships were found between physiological(HRR) and psychological(RESTQ-36-R-Sport) states during an ecological tapering period leading to a national championship(Study 3).Conclusion: As a whole, these findings provided evidence for the usefulness of the short version of the RESTQ-36-R-Sport for regular monitoring to prevent potential maladaptation due to intensive competitive sport practice.
文摘Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that is an important cause of nosocomial infections. Detection of ESBL producers’ poses a special challenge for clinical microbiology laboratories, although ESBL producing pathogens are able to hydrolyze extended-spectrum penicillins, cephalosporins, and aztreonam, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of some and perhaps even all of these agents may be within the susceptible range. The third generation cephalosporins have the reputation for being useful against a broad range of bacterial infections. However, resistance to these agents is something that must still be considered and creates obstacles for their clinical use. A total of 80 multi drug resistant clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were obtained from a study on anaerobes associated with Pelvic Inflammatory disease (P.I.D), KEMRI S.S.C No.495. The isolates were identified by standard microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out by Kirby-Bauer method. Upon identification, the antibiogram profiles of the isolates were determined and those resistant to third-generation cephalosporins were tested for production of ESBL. ESBL production among the multi drug resistant isolates was detected using the phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT) and double disk synergy test (DDST). While using standard double disk synergy test (DDST) as screening method for identifying potential ESBL producers, ceftriaxone was the most efficient antimicrobial in screening isolates as potential ESBL producers followed by cefotaxime.
文摘Organizational ethical climate is an effective way to solve organizational ethical problems and dilemmas. Therefore study on our organizational ethical climate has the great significance to solve ethical problems and dilemmas faced by the organization and staff. Through semi-structured interview, structural interview and questionnaire survey and other methods this study gets to understand internal structural elements of organizational ethical climate under Chinese cultural background, and constructs organizational ethical climate questionnaire, which has good reliability and validity; carries out surveys in large scale by using the revised questionnaire, and recycles 709 valid questionnaires. The results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis show that Chinese organizational ethical climate＇ s internal structure includes five factors： egoism, altruism, independence orientated, organizational system orientated, and law and code orientated.
