MyMedR

Fulltext Interval estimation for parameters of a bivariate time varying covariate model

Arasan, Jayanthi

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2009;17(2):-.

MyJurnal

This paper investigates several asymptotic confidence interval estimates, based on the Wald, likelihood ratio and the score statistics for the parameters of a parallel two-component system model, with dependent failure and a time varying covariate, when data is censored. This model is an extension of the bivariate exponential model. The procedures are investigated via a coverage probability study using the simulated data. The results clearly indicate that the interval estimates, based on the likelihood ratio method, work better than any of the other two methods when dealing with the censored data.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Bootstrapping the confidence intervals of R2 MAD for samples from contaminated standard logistic distribution

Fauziah Maarof, Lim, Fong Peng, Noor Akma Ibrahim

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2010;18(1):-.

MyJurnal

This paper investigates the confidence intervals of R2 MAD, the coefficient of determination based on
median absolute deviation in the presence of outliers. Bootstrap bias-corrected accelerated (BCa)
confidence intervals, known to have higher degree of correctness, are constructed for the mean and standard deviation of R2 MAD for samples generated from contaminated standard logistic distribution. The results indicate that by increasing the sample size and percentage of contaminants in the samples, and perturbing the location and scale of the distribution affect the lengths of the confidence intervals. The results obtained can also be used to verify the bound of R2 MAD.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext The effects of data distribution on the confidence interval of the number of projected items

Tan, Yih Tyng, Abdul Rahman Othman, Lai, Choo Heng

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2011;19(2):285-291.

MyJurnal

Setting a question paper for test, quiz, and examination is one of the teachers’ tasks. The factors that are usually taken into consideration in carrying out this particular task are the level of difficulty of the questions and the level of the students’ ability. In addition, teachers will also have to consider the number of questions that have impact on the examination. This research describes a model-based test theory to study the confidence intervals for the projected number of items of a test, given the reliability of the test, the difficulty of the question, and the students’ ability. Using the simulated data, the confidence intervals of the projected number of items were examined. The probability coverage and the length of the confidence interval were also used to evaluate the confidence intervals. The results showed that the data with a normal distribution, the ratio variance components of 4:1:5 and reliability equal to 0.80 gave the best confidence interval for the projected number of items.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Modeling repairable system failure with repair history and covariates

Samira Ehsani, Jayanthi Arasan, Noor Akma Ibrahim

Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42:981-987.

In this paper, we extended a repairable system model under general repair that is based on repair history, to incorporate covariates. We calculated the bias, standard error and RMSE of the parameter estimates of this model at different sample sizes using simulated data. We applied the model to a real demonstration data and tested for existence of time trend, repair and covariate effects. Following that we also conducted a coverage probability study on the Wald confidence interval estimates. Finally we conducted hypothesis testing for the parameters of the model.The results indicated that the estimation procedure is working well for the proposed model but the Wald interval should be applied with much caution.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Interval estimations for parameters of gompertz model with time-dependent covariate and right censored data

Kiani K, Arasan J, Habshah Midi

Sains Malaysiana, 2012;41:471-480.

There are numerous parametric models for analyzing survival data such as exponential, Weibull, log-normal and gamma. One of such models is the Gompertz model which is widely used in biology and demography. Most of these models are extended to new forms for accommodating different types of censoring mechanisms and different types of covariates. In this paper the performance of the Gompertz model with time-dependent covariate in the presence of right censored data was studied. Moreover, the performance of the model was compared at different censoring proportions (CP) and sample sizes. Also, the model was compared with fixed covariate model. In addition, the effect of fitting a fixed covariate model wrongly to a data with time-dependent covariate was studied. Finally, two confidence interval estimation techniques, Wald and jackknife, were applied to the parameters of this model and the performance of the methods was compared.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Determination of ¹³⁷Cs in seawater surrounding Peninsular Malaysia - a case study

Yii, Mei Wo, Zaharuddin Ahmad

Journal of Nuclear and Related Technologies, 2004;2004(2):19-28.

MyJurnal

The studies of ¹³⁷Cs content in the seawater surrounding Peninsular Malaysia had been carried out as part of the Malaysia Marine Radioactivity Database Project. The results of the measurement will serve as the baseline data and reference level to Malaysia. A numbers of sampling locations, including coastal and offshore at the East Coast (South China Sea) and West Coast (Straits of Malacca) of Peninsular Malaysia had been selected for the study. From each location at the coastal area, water samples were collected from the surface of the seawater. Meanwhile, for the offshore area, water samples have been collected at three different depths. Due to usual low concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in the marine environment, large volumes of seawater were collected and the co precipitation technique was employed to concentrate the ¹³⁷Cs. The activity of ¹³⁷Cs was determined by measuring the peak area under photo peak of the gamma spectrum at 661 keV, which is equivalent to the gamma intensity corrected to the HpGe detection efficiency and percentage of gamma ray abundance of the ¹³⁴Cs. At each study location, there were no significant differences for ¹³⁷Cs activities at 95% confidence interval. The activities of ¹³⁷Cs found to be quite uniformly distributed in the range of 2.33 to 5.00 Bq/m3and 1.76 to 4.76 Bq/m3for the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, respectively.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Measurement of electroweak production of a W boson in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te

Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Ambrogi F, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.

Eur Phys J C Part Fields, 2020;80(1):43.

PMID: 32026888 DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-7585-7

A measurement is presented of electroweak (EW) production of a
W
boson in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at

s

=
13

Te

. The data sample was recorded by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9

fb

-
1

. The measurement is performed for the

ℓ
ν

jj final state (with

ℓ
ν

indicating a lepton-neutrino pair, and j representing the quarks produced in the hard interaction) in a kinematic region defined by invariant mass

m
jj

>
120

Ge

and transverse momenta

p

T
j

>
25

Ge

. The cross section of the process is measured in the electron and muon channels yielding

σ
EW

(
W
jj
)

=
6.23
±
0.12

(stat)
±
0.61

(syst)

pb

per channel, in agreement with leading-order standard model predictions. The additional hadronic activity of events in a signal-enriched region is studied, and the measurements are compared with predictions. The final state is also used to perform a search for anomalous trilinear gauge couplings. Limits on anomalous trilinear gauge couplings associated with dimension-six operators are given in the framework of an effective field theory. The corresponding 95% confidence level intervals are

-
2.3
<

c

W
W
W

/

Λ
2

<
2.5

Te

-
2

,

-
8.8
<

c
W

/

Λ
2

<
16

Te

-
2

, and

-
45
<

c
B

/

Λ
2

<
46

Te

-
2

. These results are combined with the CMS EW
Zjj
analysis, yielding the constraint on the

c

W
W
W

coupling:

-
1.8
<

c

W
W
W

/

Λ
2

<
2.0

Te

-
2

.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext The Population Size of the Lesser Bandicoot (Bandicota bengalensis) in Three Markets in Penang, Malaysia

Khairuddin NL, Raghazli R, Sah SA, Shafie NJ, Azman NM

Trop Life Sci Res, 2011 Dec;22(2):81-92.

PMID: 24575219 MyJurnal

A study of the population size of Bandicota bengalensis rats in three markets in Penang was conducted from April 2004 through May 2005. Taman Tun Sardon Market (TTS), Batu Lanchang Market (BTLG) and Bayan Lepas Market (BYNLP) were surveyed. Six sampling sessions were conducted in each market for four consecutive nights per session. The total captures of B. bengalensis in TTS, BTLG and BYNLP were 92%, 73% and 89% respectively. The total population of B. bengalensis in TTS was estimated as 265.4 (with a 95% confidence interval of 180.9-424.2). The total population at BTLG was estimated as 69.9 (with a 95% confidence interval of 35.5-148.9). At BYNLP, the total population was estimated as 134.7 (with a 95% confidence interval of 77.8-278.4). In general, adult male rats were captured most frequently at each site (55.19%), followed by adult females (31.69%), juvenile males (9.84%) and juvenile females (3.27%). The results showed that the number of rats captured at each site differed significantly according to sex ratio and maturity (χ(2) = 121.45, df = 3, p<0.01). Our results suggest that the population sizes found by the study may not represent the actual population size in each market owing to the low numbers of rats recaptured. This finding might have resulted from the variety of foods available in the markets.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext A retrospective review of cryoprecipitate transfusion practice in Kuala Lumpur Hospital

Iliassa II, Mohammad WM, Tan JJ, Ayob Y

Asian J Transfus Sci, 2016 Jul-Dec;10(2):145-9.

PMID: 27605853 DOI: 10.4103/0973-6247.187934

BACKGROUND: Cryoprecipitate is generally used to treat bleeding patients with hypofibrinogenemia, and the transfusion decision is guided based on published guidelines.
AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the practice appropriateness in accordance to cryoprecipitate transfusion guidelines in Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study of 117 cryoprecipitates transfused adult patients was conducted in Kuala Lumpur Hospital from January to June 2012. The compliance of the indication of cryoprecipitate was considered as appropriate if indicated for patients who have hypofibrinogenemia (<1.0 g/L) with bleeding, or otherwise inappropriate if pretransfusion fibrinogen level was more than 1.0 g/L, pretransfusion fibrinogen level was not examined and posttransfusion fibrinogen level more than 1.5 g/L.
RESULTS: Most of the cryoprecipitate prescriptions were found to be inappropriate, which read 81.2% (95% confidence interval = 0.740, 0.880). Patients who underwent neurovascular surgery were the major recipient of cryoprecipitate, but majority of the prescription was found not appropriate. The decision to transfuse cryoprecipitate was found mostly appropriate when was guided by fibrinogen (52.2%), but the percentage dropped to 10.6% when pretransfusion fibrinogen test was not performed. Regrettably, only 19.7% of total cryoprecipitate were given based on pretransfusion fibrinogen level.
KEYWORDS: Appropriateness; bleeding; cryoprecipitate transfusion; guideline

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Performance characteristics and estimation of measurement uncertainty of two plating procedures for Listeria monocytogenes enumeration in chicken meat

Yong, W.Z., Haresh, K.K., Wong, W.C., 1 Pui, C.F., Son, R.

International Food Research Journal, 2012;19(2):409-416.

MyJurnal

The objectives highlighted in the present study were to determine the estimates of measurement uncertainty associated with PALCAM and CHROMagarTM Listeria media, to compare the efficacy between both media in relation to their measurement uncertainties. In addition, this study was carried out to assess the performance characteristics of spread and spiral plating procedures based on the comparison of Listeria monocytogenes enumeration between PALCAM and CHROMagarTM Listeria media. This work involved pure culture experiment, artificially contaminated samples experiment and naturally contaminated samples experiment. In pure culture experiment, PALCAM performance was relatively inferior to CHROMagarTM Listeria medium for both plating procedures. From the artificially contaminated samples, the results revealed that the values of repeatability, reproducibility, and measurement uncertainty at 95% confidence interval were comparable between both media under evaluation. However, at the level of naturally contaminated samples, the performance of CHROMagar
TM Listeria medium was refutable as the presence of high number of competitive microorganisms reduced the clarity of the medium. The current emphasis in ensuring microbiological safety which requires use of accredited laboratories has led to measurable need for measurement uncertainty to ensure reliability of test results for global acceptance.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Quantitative exposure assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in cooked ham

Titik, B., Naiyana, C.

International Food Research Journal, 2010;17(2):267-280.

MyJurnal

The objectives of this study were predicting the transmission and survival of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham during supply chain. Cooked ham are frequently contaminated with L. monocytogenes during postprocessing steps through contact on surface of processing, handling, packaging equipment. Transfer rate of L. monocytogenes on static and dynamic condition in various surface type was investigated. The prevalence and level of L. monocytogenes in cooked ham at plant as well as the prevalence of unsatisfactory processing at retail were studied. A Monte Carlo simulation model was created by using @risk. The simulation predicted that the prevalence was 11.76 % with 90% confidence interval of 2% to 25% and estimated level was -4.02 log CFU/cm2. It was estimated to be occurred on slicing step at plant. Our results suggest that, the prevalence and level of L. monocytogenes can be reduced by Good Handling Process application and/or HACCP application.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Risk of transmission of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in foods

New, C.Y., Ubong, A., Nur Hasria, K., Nur Fatihah, A., Son, R.

International Food Research Journal, 2016;23(5):2249-2257.

MyJurnal

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is well known to be abundantly distributed in marine, coastal and
estuarine environments. Since 1951, V. parahaemolyticus had been the source of numerous
outbreaks related to contaminated or mishandled seafood. However, V. parahaemolyticus
had been detected on other types of food. This issue has prompted this study to investigate
on the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in various food samples and determine the risk
associated with it. The results of the MPN-plating technique of the study indicated that V.
parahaemolyticus was detected in seafood (33.3%, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 31.9 – 34.8 ,
94 – 290 MPN/g) and vegetables (10.0%, 95% CI 9.7 – 10.3 , 9.2 – 23 MPN/g) while negative
V. parahaemolyticus was detected in fruits (0.0%, 95% CI 0 – 1,

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Intraclass correlation in practice: assessment of reliability of manual blood pressure measurement among assessors in a clinical trial

Wan Nor Arifin, Wan Arfah Nadiah, Muhammad Irfan, Chen, Xin Wee, Nani Draman, Nyi, Nyi Naing

Education in Medicine Journal, 2011;3(2):44-52.

MyJurnal

To ensure the reliability of manual blood pressure (BP) readings in a clinical trial, sources of error due to measurement must be reduced as much as possible. Apart from following standard procedure for BP measurement and ensuring good equipments, the measurement errors that come from the assessors themselves should be assessed. Objective: To demonstrate the use of two-way random effects, interactions absent, absolute agreement (Type A), single measures (Type 1) intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) in the assessment of reliability of manual BP readings among assessors involved in a clinical trial using manual BP measurement, by using an interrater reliability study conducted by the authors as an example study. Methods: The steps involved in obtaining ICC in the study were discussed. Sample size given the number of assessors in the study was calculated. BP was measured using regularly maintained mercury sphygnomanometers, following recommendations by Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) for BP measurement in office setting. The outcomes were systolic and diastolic BP readings. A type of ICC, two-way random effects, interactions absent, absolute agreement (Type A), single measures (Type 1) ICC was chosen for the analysis and specifically discussed. Pre-requisite assumptions for ICC were meticulously checked and described. The interrater reliability for systolic and diastolic BP readings as expressed by ICC (single measure) were presented with confidence interval (CI). The ICCs obtained in the example study were discussed and concluded. The flaws of the study were also criticised. Results: The interrater reliability for systolic and diastolic BP measurements as expressed by ICC (single measure) were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.722, 0.956) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.560, 0.918) respectively. Conclusion: We demonstrated the steps required to obtain ICC. Since the use of manual BP measurement using mercury sphygmomanometer is still considered as gold standard of BP measurement, it is important that studies in which the BP outcome is measured using such method conduct interrater reliability studies properly.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Accounting for black carbon lowers estimates of blue carbon storage services

Chew ST, Gallagher JB

Sci Rep, 2018 02 07;8(1):2553.

PMID: 29416101 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20644-2

The canopies and roots of seagrass, mangrove, and saltmarsh protect a legacy of buried sedimentary organic carbon from resuspension and remineralisation. This legacy's value, in terms of mitigating anthropogenic emissions of CO2, is based on total organic carbon (TOC) inventories to a depth likely to be disturbed. However, failure to subtract allochthonous recalcitrant carbon overvalues the storage service. Simply put, burial of oxidation-resistant organics formed outside of the ecosystem provides no additional protection from remineralisation. Here, we assess whether black carbon (BC), an allochthonous and recalcitrant form of organic carbon, is contributing to a significant overestimation of blue carbon stocks. To test this supposition, BC and TOC contents were measured in different types of seagrass and mangrove sediment cores across tropical and temperate regimes, with different histories of air pollution and fire together with a reanalysis of published data from a subtropical system. The results suggest current carbon stock estimates are positively biased, particularly for low-organic-content sandy seagrass environs, by 18 ± 3% (±95% confidence interval) and 43 ± 21% (±95% CI) for the temperate and tropical regions respectively. The higher BC fractions appear to originate from atmospheric deposition and substantially enrich the relatively low TOC fraction within these environs.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Measurement of the [Formula: see text] cross section in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeVand limits on anomalous gauge couplings

Khachatryan V, Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.

Eur Phys J C Part Fields, 2016;76(7):401.

PMID: 28286414 DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4219-1

A measurement of the W boson pair production cross section in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV is presented. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.4[Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text] candidates are selected from events with two charged leptons, electrons or muons, and large missing transverse energy. The measured [Formula: see text] cross section is [Formula: see text], consistent with the standard model prediction. The [Formula: see text] cross sections are also measured in two different fiducial phase space regions. The normalized differential cross section is measured as a function of kinematic variables of the final-state charged leptons and compared with several perturbative QCD predictions. Limits on anomalous gauge couplings associated with dimension-six operators are also given in the framework of an effective field theory. The corresponding 95 % confidence level intervals are [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], in the HISZ basis.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext A Longitudinal Analysis of Daily Pill Burden and Likelihood of Optimal Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among People Living With HIV Who Use Drugs

Mohd Salleh NA, Richardson L, Kerr T, Shoveller J, Montaner J, Kamarulzaman A, et al.

J Addict Med, 2018 3 10;12(4):308-314.

PMID: 29521670 DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000403

OBJECTIVES: Among people living with HIV (PLWH), high levels of adherence to prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) is required to achieve optimal treatment outcomes. However, little is known about the effects of daily pill burden on adherence amongst PLWH who use drugs. We sought to investigate the association between daily pill burden and adherence to ART among members of this key population in Vancouver, Canada.

METHODS: We used data from the AIDS Care Cohort to Evaluate Exposure to Survival Services study, a long-running community-recruited cohort of PLWH who use illicit drugs linked to comprehensive HIV clinical records. The longitudinal relationship between daily pill burden and the odds of ≥95% adherence to ART among ART-exposed individuals was analyzed using multivariable generalized linear mixed-effects modeling, adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioural, and structural factors linked to adherence.

RESULTS: Between December 2005 and May 2014, the study enrolled 770 ART-exposed participants, including 257 (34%) women, with a median age of 43 years. At baseline, 437 (56.7%) participants achieved ≥95% adherence in the previous 180 days. Among all interview periods, the median adherence was 100% (interquartile range 71%-100%). In a multivariable model, a greater number of pills per day was negatively associated with ≥95% adherence (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.87 per pill, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84-0.91). Further analysis showed that once-a-day ART regimens were positively associated with optimal adherence (AOR 1.39, 95% CI 1.07-1.80).

CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, simpler dosing demands (ie, fewer pills and once-a-day single tablet regimens) promoted optimal adherence among PLWH who use drugs. Our findings highlight the need for simpler dosing to be encouraged explicitly for PWUD with multiple adherence barriers.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Calculation of narrower confidence intervals for tree mortality rates when we know nothing but the location of the death/survival events

Arellano G

Ecol Evol, 2019 Sep;9(17):9644-9653.

PMID: 31534682 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5495

Many ecological applications, like the study of mortality rates, require the estimation of proportions and confidence intervals for them. The traditional way of doing this applies the binomial distribution, which describes the outcome of a series of Bernoulli trials. This distribution assumes that observations are independent and the probability of success is the same for all the individual observations. Both assumptions are obviously false in many cases.I show how to apply bootstrap and the Poisson binomial distribution (a generalization of the binomial distribution) to the estimation of proportions. Any information at the individual level would result in better (narrower) confidence intervals around the estimation of proportions. As a case study, I applied this method to the calculation of mortality rates in a forest plot of tropical trees in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia.I calculated central estimates and 95% confidence intervals for species-level mortality rates for 1,007 tree species. I used a very simple model of spatial dependence in survival to estimate individual-level risk of mortality. The results obtained by accounting for heterogeneity in individual-level risk of mortality were comparable to those obtained with the binomial distribution in terms of central estimates, but the precision increased in virtually all cases, with an average reduction in the width of the confidence interval of ~20%.Spatial information allows the estimation of individual-level probabilities of survival, and this increases the precision in the estimates of mortality rates. The general method described here, with modifications, could be applied to reduce uncertainty in the estimation of proportions related to any spatially structured phenomenon with two possible outcomes. More sophisticated approaches can yield better estimates of individual-level mortality and thus narrower confidence intervals.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

A systematic review of the prevalence of limited health literacy in Southeast Asian countries

Rajah R, Hassali MAA, Murugiah MK

Public Health, 2019 Feb;167:8-15.

PMID: 30544041 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2018.09.028

OBJECTIVES: Health literacy is increasingly recognized as a public health concern. Most of the literature on health literacy concentrate in the Western countries. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and examine the available studies on health literacy in Southeast Asian countries and estimate its prevalence in this region.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review.

METHODS: A search for relevant articles was carried out using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and MEDLINE (via EBSCOhost), Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar with multiple search terms. Inclusion criteria comprised articles published in English language and assessing general health literacy. Risk of bias reduced with the involvement of two independent reviewers in the screening of the literature and the quality assessment process.

RESULTS: A total of 11 studies were included, which only consist of studies from five countries out of 11 making up the Southeast Asian region. The overall prevalence of limited health literacy varied considerably, 1.6%-99.5% with a mean of 55.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 35.1%-75.6%). A much higher prevalence was noted in studies conducted in healthcare settings, 67.5% (95% CI: 48.6%-86.3%). The most common factors associated with limited health literacy were education attainment, age, income and socio-economic background. Other factors identified were gender and health behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS: In summary, despite the little evidence available and existences of high heterogeneity among studies, limited health literacy is still prevalent in Southeast Asian countries. Urgent strategies to improve and promote health literacy in the region are highly warranted. Besides, more studies on health literacy with better quality on the methodology aspect are needed.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Fulltext Physical and mechanical properties of cassava-bamboo composite lumber

Ros Syazmini Mohd Ghani, Razak Wahab, Noor Maisarah Che Musthafa, Nasihah Mokhtar, Mohamad Saiful Sulaiman, Lee, Man Djun

Journal of Engineering and Science Research, 2018;2(6):6-9.

MyJurnal

The study was carried out to determine the physical and mechanical properties of composite lumber made from cassava (Mahinot esculenta Crantz) and bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) in different ratios which is 100% cassava with 0% bamboo, 75% cassava with 25% bamboo, 50% cassava with 50% bamboo, 25% cassava with 75% bamboo and 0% cassava with 100% bamboo. The tests samples for determining the strength properties were divided into two categories namely mechanical testing and physical testing. Basic density of the samples was carried out for physical testing. The lowest basic density was in samples with 100% cassava which is 0.49 g/cm3 and highest in samples with 100% bamboo which is 0.68 g/cm3. Two tests for the mechanical testing are bending test and compression test. In bending test, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were both highest for samples with 100% bamboo which the reading of MOE was 16794.03 N/mm2 and 122.52 N/mm2 for MOR. Similar to the bending test, compression test is the highest for the samples with 100% bamboo which are 65.58 N/mm2. From statistical analysis, the basic density, static bending can compression strength give significant value at 95% confidence interval.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

Does Lower Lean Body Mass Mediate the Relationship Between Falls and Higher Body Mass Index in Asian Older Persons?

Kioh SH, Mat S, Kamaruzzaman SB, Ibrahim F, Mokhtar MS, Hairi NN, et al.

J Aging Phys Act, 2019 Nov 21.

PMID: 31756717 DOI: 10.1123/japa.2019-0011

The current evidence on the relationship between a higher body mass index (BMI) and falls in older adults is conflicting. This study, therefore, evaluated the relationship between BMI and falls and explored underlying mechanisms for this relationship. Data from 1,340 individuals from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research study, obtained through home-based computer-assisted interviews and followed by hospital-based health checks, were utilized. A history of the presence of falls in the previous 12 months was obtained. The presence of at least one fall in the past 12 months was associated with a higher BMI (odds ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [1.01, 1.06]). The relationship between a higher BMI and falls was, however, attenuated by a lower percentage of lean body mass, which accounted for 69% of the total effect of BMI on the risk of falls. Future studies should now investigate this aforementioned relationship prospectively.

Matched MeSH terms: Confidence Intervals

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