Mathematics Education Undergraduates’ Utilization of Statistical Packages: Implications for Curriculum in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

To design a statistical software package to provide automated calculations of normal and weighted and 3 indices.Prompted by the lack of commonly available software to compute weighted kappa and the nonproportionate workload needed to calculate our 3 variability indices manually, the new statistical software package was designed. To demonstrate the performance of the new CONQUISTADOR software, a simulation study (both intralaboratory and interlaboratory) was designed using 5,000 clinical samples randomly selected from a data file of > or = 200,000 conventional Pap smears and programmed to become "analyzed" by 12 cytologists in 5 imaginary laboratories.A representative set of both complete and partial outputs provided by the software, in Excel format (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, U.S.A.) are shown to illustrate the different functions of the program. In the interlaboratory mode, the software calculates accuracy indicators (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and their 95% CI), which are not common features of regular statistical packages; kappa and weighted kappa; and their 95% CI (comparison of single laboratories to all laboratories and pairwise comparisons between single laboratories). The 3 diagnostic variability indices can be computed separately for all samples or for only the positive samples. In the intralaboratory mode, the software calculates the same indices for individual cytologists.The CONQUISTADOR statistical package has properties that are useful in monitoring cytologic laboratory quality in both intralaboratory and interlaboratory settings. The software will be distributed by the National Institute of Health, Rome, for the delivery costs only.

Datasets are often derived by manipulating raw data with statistical software packages. The derivation of a dataset must be recorded in terms of both the raw input and the manipulations applied to it. Statistics packages typically provide limited help in documenting provenance for the resulting derived data. At best, the operations performed by the statistical package are described in a script. Disparate representations make these scripts hard to understand for users. To address these challenges, we created Continuous Capture of Metadata (C2Metadata), a system to capture data transformations in scripts for statistical packages and represent it as metadata in a standard format that is easy to understand. We do so by devising a Structured Data Transformation Algebra (SDTA), which uses a small set of algebraic operators to express a large fraction of data manipulation performed in practce. We then implement SDTA, inspired by relational algebra, in a data transformation specification language we call SDTL. In this demonstration, we showcase C2metadata's capture of data transformations from a pool of sample transformation scripts in at least two languages: SPSS and Stata (SAS and R are under development), for social science data in a large academic repository. We will allow the audience to explore C2Metadata using a web-based interface, visualize the intermediate steps and trace the provenance and changes of data at different levels for better understanding of the process.

Response to van Ginkel and Kroonenberg In our paper we indicated that “the field has not advanced to provide methods for addressing repeated measures ANOVA analysis” and cited van Ginkel and Kroonenberg (2014). It should be clarified that this refers to van Ginkel and Kroonberg (2014)’s assertion that “the implementation of the combination rules needed for ANOVA in statistical software packages has either been quite limited or very well hidden.” It should also be clarified that van Ginkel and Kroonberg (2014) have proposed methods to conduct the analyses using additional macros and explanations not integrated into major statistical software packages and argue for the inclusion in future upgrades. As van Ginkel and Kroonenberg (2014) state: “To date, the implementation of the combination rules needed for ANOVA in statistical software packages has either been quite limited or very well hidden. SPSS 19.0 does not provide any pooled results for F tests for multiply imputed data. Using an SPSS macro (Van Ginkel, 2010a) the procedure may be carried out in SPSS but this still requires substantial manual preprocessing. For repeated-measures ANOVA the procedure is even more complicated. Although SAS 9.3 and Stata 10.0 have a procedure for carrying out the combination rules for ANOVA in Multiple imputation, the manual provides no clear practical guidance in how to use them in the specific context of ANOVA. The procedure outlined in this article should also be of assistance to any SAS or Stata user who intends to use Multiple imputation in this context. In the appendix, it is explained how exactly the procedures can be carried out in SAS 9.3, Stata 10.0, and SPSS 19.0 using Van Ginkel's (2010a) macro. Considering the involved task needed to actually carry out the described procedure, its implementation in future releases of SPSS and other software packages, as well as a clear guidance with examples in the SAS and Stata manuals, seems desirable if its use is to become commonplace.”

Objective To compare the difference of high-frequency ultrasound characteristics of lower limb arteries between athletes and normal people, and explore the effect of exercise time on the ultrasonic characteristics of lower limb arteries, so as to guide people to live a healthy lifestyle. Methods A total of 96 professional long-distance runners, short-distance runners, and cyclists who worked in the local sports bureau and the sports college from July 2015 to March 2016 and were engaged in sports training ranging from 5 months to 11 years were selected as an experimental group. Another 108 healthy young people without exercise habits were selected as a control group. The ultrasound diagnostic instrument American GE LOGIQ-7 was used to examine the anterior tibial artery, posterior tibial artery, and peroneal artery of the subjects and measure the blood vessel inner diameter (ID) and intima-media thickness (IMT). SPSS19.0 statistical software package was used for data analysis. The data were tested for normality and homogeneity of variance. Measurement data such as ID and IMT are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation and were compared using the t-test. Count data such as sex composition are expressed as percentages and were compared using the χ2 test. The comparisons of ID and IMT among the experimental subgroups A, B, and C were performed by analysis of variance, followed by pairwise comparisons between groups by the LSD method. Results There were no significant differences in the ID or IMT of the anterior tibial artery, posterior tibial artery, and peroneal artery between the two sides in both groups (P>0.05). The ID and IMT of the tibial artery (t=-3.323, 4.488, all P 0.05). Conclusion Lower limb exercise training can increase the diameter and reduce the intima-middle thickness of the artery. Moreover, when a certain extent of exercise time and intensity are reached, the arterial diameter will gradually increase and intima-middle thickness will gradually decrease with the extension of exercise time, thus delaying the process of atherosclerosis. Key words: Ultrasonography; Athlete; Lower extremity artery; Inner diameter; Intimal medial thickness

Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing teaching and learning processes in the 21st century. However, in public secondary schools in Northern Iloilo, teachers often face limited ICT resources, insufficient training opportunities, and a reliance on traditional teaching methods, hindering the full integration of technology into classroom instruction. This study assessed the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge levels of Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) teachers in selected secondary schools in Northern Iloilo during the academic year 2023-2024. Using a descriptive quantitative research design, the study involved 85 purposively selected teacher respondents. Frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviations were used for descriptive analysis. At the same time, the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to determine significant differences in TPACK levels across groups. The results showed that teachers generally had a "High" level of technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological content knowledge, and technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge, with no significant differences based on sex or educational attainment. However, a significant difference in technological knowledge was found based on years of service. To address this, targeted professional development programs should be implemented, offering technology integration workshops for experienced teachers and foundational training for newer teachers. This approach, along with fostering a collaborative learning environment, would help enhance teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge and improve their effectiveness in using technology in the classroom.

Genome-wide linkage analysis using multiple traits and statistical software packages is a tedious process which requires a significant amount of manual file manipulation. Different linkage analysis programs require different input file formats, making the task of analyzing data with multiple methods even more time-consuming. We have developed a software tool, AUTOGSCAN, that automates file formatting, the running of statistical analyses, and the summarizing of resulting statistics for whole genome scans with a push of a button, using several independent, and often idiosyncratic, statistical software packages such as MERLIN, SOLAR and GENEHUNTER. We also describe a program, ANALYZE, designed to run qualitative linkage analysis with several different statistical strategies and programs to efficiently screen for linkage and linkage disequilibrium for a given discrete trait. The ANALYZE program can also be used by AUTOGSCAN in a genome-wide sense.

Metaanalysis of the Efficacy of Sublingual Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Allergic Asthma in Pediatric Patients, 3 to 18 Years of Age

A Bayesian Hierarchical Regression Approach to Longitudinal Data in Empirical Legal Studies

Chapter 21 - Statistical forecasting—regression and time series analysis

Most cases of primary microvascular angina pectoris (PMVA) are diagnosed clinically, but the etiology and pathological mechanisms are unknown. The effect of routine clinical medications is minimal, and PMVA can progress to serious cardiovascular events. To improve the diagnosis and effective treatment of this disease, this study was designed to diagnose PMVA via cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and the coronary angiography thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) blood flow grade, as well as to analyze vascular endothelial function to elucidate the pathogenesis of PMVA and compare the effects of routine clinical medications.The present randomized controlled trial including a parallel control group will be conducted on 63 PMVA patients in our cardiovascular department. The patients will be selected and randomly divided into the control, diltiazem, and nicorandil groups. The control group will be administered routine drug treatments (aspirin, atorvastatin, betaloc ZOK, perindopril, and isosorbidemononitrate sustained-release tablets). The diltiazem group will be additionally treated with 90 mg qd diltiazem sustained-release capsules. The nicorandil group was additionally given 5 mg tid nicorandil tablets. Coronary angiography will be performed before treatment, the severity and frequency of chest pain will be evaluated before and after 9 months of treatment, and homocysteine and von Willebrand factor levels will be measured. Electrocardiography, echocardiography, dynamic electrocardiography, a treadmill exercise test, and CMR will be performed. Sex, age, body mass index, complications, smoking, and family history will also be recorded. The SPSS19.0 statistical software package will be used to analyze the data. The measurements will be expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. Measurement data will be compared between the groups using Student's t-test. A relative number description will be used for the counting data, and the chi-squaretest will be used to compare the groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis will be performed A P-value < .05 will be considered significant.The direct indices (CMR and coronary angiographic TIMI blood flow grade) may improve after adding diltiazem or nicorandil during routine drug treatments (such as aspirin, statins, and nitrates) in PMVA patients, and indirect indices (homocysteine and von Willebrand factor levels) may be reduced.Trial registration:Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=41894), No. CHiCTR1900025319, Registered on August 23, 2019; pre initiation.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of blood pressure (BP) control with fixed-dose combination of perindopril arginine/indapamide (Noliprel) in patients with uncontrolled hypertension.A total of 714 patients with uncontrolled hypertension from the PROTECT (noliPRel - efficacy of blood pressure cOnTrol on nEw diagnosed and unControlled patienTs) database, were included. At the beginning of the study the patients (mean age 64.9 ± 10.5 years; 223 men) were switched from antihypertensive drugs that had proven ineffective in BP control to Noliprel. BP was measured in the third and sixth months of the study. The primary end point was the number of patients reaching target BP levels in the intermediate phases of the study. The SPSS v.17.0 statistical software package was used for data collection and analysis. Results are presented as mean value ± standard deviation. Differences in mean values were analyzed using Student's paired-simple test.Mean systolic BP (SBP)/diastolic BP (DBP) declined significantly from 165.6 ± 14.4/96.8 ± 9.0 mmHg to 132.2 ± 10.7/80.1 ± 6.7 mmHg (p < 0.0001) over the course of the study. SBP/DBP reduction at three month was already -18.7 ± 14.2/-10.0 ± 9.6 mm Hg (p < 0.0001). Patients with BP values at target (<140/90 mmHg) represented 19.8% at 3 months, and 66.8% at 6 months. At the end of study, Noliprel was prescribed in 19.6% (perindopril arginine/indapamide 2.5 mg/0.625 mg), 61.8% (5 mg/1.25 mg), and 18.6% (10 mg/2.5 mg) of cases, respectively. No adverse effects were observed.The fixed-dose combination of perindopril arginine/indapamide was effective and safe in patients with uncontrolled hypertension in reducing BP and maintaining it at target levels.

Background Cross-cultural sensitivity is a prerequisite for learning and successful cross-cultural communication, but the research on the differences of cross-cultural sensitivity of Chinese English learners of different majors is still blank. The purpose of this study is to explore the significant correlation between different levels of cross-cultural sensitivity from the perspective of positive educational psychological effect, understand the differences of Chinese English learners in cross-cultural sensitivity, and find the main ways of understanding foreign culture in cross-cultural communication behavior, so as to provide theoretical and practical reference for cross-cultural communication researchers and English teachers. Therefore, based on the perspective of educational emotion regulation, this study discusses the cross-cultural sensitivity of Chinese English learners. Subjects and Methods Based on the cross-cultural sensitivity scale of Chen and starosta, this study conducted a questionnaire survey on the cross-cultural sensitivity of 331 Chinese EFL learners. They were divided into three professional groups: English, science, humanities and social sciences. The scale includes 24 five points scale questions about mental state, which measure the variables that constitute the level of sensitivity between five different cultures. In order to ensure the accuracy of the survey results, the author randomly selected 5 subjects from the three groups for in-depth interviews, and recorded and counted the interview results. SPSS 17.0 statistical software package was used for statistical analysis. At the same time, the anxiety level of foreign language learning was further explored in the study. The study took Kim's anxiety scale as the measurement scale, combined with Pearson correlation, standard deviation and statistical significance to illustrate the correlation. T-test of independent samples was used to verify the difference between high anxiety group and low anxiety group. It can be seen from the above table that there is a very significant positive correlation among state anxiety, trait anxiety and foreign language learning anxiety. It can be seen that the “anxiety” component of learners' personality characteristics plays a great role in the generation of foreign language learning anxiety. This finding is consistent with our experience and common sense, as well as the results of similar studies. For example, the test conducted by Wang caikang among college students in Guangzhou shows that the correlation coefficient between FLCAS and trait anxiety is 0.408, while the correlation coefficient with state anxiety is 0.395. Both reached a significant level (P &amp;lt; 0.01). Results The study shows that among the five factors of cross-cultural sensitivity, Chinese English learners have the highest respect for cultural differences, followed by interactive enjoyment, interactive attention and interactive self-confidence. The degree of interactive participation is much lower than the other four factors. Pearson's correlation analysis shows that there is a significant correlation between multiple factors of cross-cultural sensitivity, in which the degree of interactive attention and interactive participation are completely linear. Partial correlation analysis shows that there is a strong correlation between respect for cultural differences and interactive enjoyment. In addition, Chinese English learners are usually exposed to foreign cultures in a variety of ways. In terms of anxiety level, there are significant differences in the relationship between foreign language anxiety, self-efficacy and academic achievement of students of different majors and genders. It is found that compared with male college students, female college students' foreign language achievement and self-efficacy level are much higher. However, there is no significant difference in anxiety level between male and female college students. Conclusion This study shows that case-based cross-cultural teaching has a significant emotional impact on Chinese English learners' cross-cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communicative competence. Critical cultural awareness is the key to improve Chinese English learning achievement and establish a healthy attitude for future life. Due to the limitations of the research object, the research scope and quantity need to be further studied. In addition, in the design of language teaching methods and syllabus, we must change the paradigm from the traditional perspective of cross-cultural sensitivity. Acknowledgements This research was supported by Youth Innovation Team Development Plan of Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province, “Youth Innovation Talent Introduction and Education Plan project”; “Multilingual Language Education and Service Innovation Team”.

Background and Aim: As one of the most intricate aspects of a woman’s life, sex involves psychosomatic, sociocultural, economic, and spiritual dimensions to the extent that it influences the health status of individuals and their family life. Given the utmost importance of the quality of sexual life, there is a dire need to address the social determinants of health, which largely develop by economy, social policies, and politics. So the present study reflected on the relationship between the social determinants of health, the quality of sexual life, and marital satisfaction.Materials and Methods Using a descriptive cross-sectional research design, this study was conducted on 380 statistical population of married women of reproductive age, referred to the healthcare centers in the city of Behshahr, Iran, in 2023. The tools used are: socio-demographic questionnaire, sexual-female quality of life, Enrich marital satisfaction, multidimensional scale of perceived social support. SPSS Statistics (version 22) and AMOS (version 24) software packages were used for statistical calculations according to the significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Descriptive indices, including mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were used to quantify the data in this study. For inferential analysis, the assumption of normality of the study variables was further checked using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Pearson correlation coefficient was also utilized to find the correlation between the quantitative variables and multiple linear regression was operated to identify the major factors affecting the total score of the questionnaires and controlling the confounding variables.Results In total, 380 married women were included in the present study with the mean (standard deviation) age of 33.8 (5.31). The mean (standard deviation) of the sexual-female quality of life was also 90.92 ± 13.08, that of marital satisfaction was 162.16 ± 25.05, and this value for perceived social support was 48.63 ± 11.62. The study results demonstrated a significant direct correlation between marital satisfaction and the quality of sexual life (p &lt; 0.004). Also the results revealed that husband’s educational attainment (p &lt; 0.006), socioeconomic status (p &lt; 0.001), and place of living (p &lt; 0.048) were associated with the quality of sexual life score. And the results showed that occupation (p &lt; 0.007) and vehicle type (p &lt; 0.001) were significantly correlated with marital satisfaction. A significant direct relationship was spotted between marital satisfaction, the quality of sexual life, and perceived social support, but the relationship between the quality of sexual life and perceived social support was not significant.Conclusion Some social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status, occupation, vehicle type, and quality of sexual life were found to be related to marital satisfaction. Identifying the social determinants of health and their impact on the quality of sexual life and marital satisfaction could thus help in developing effective interventions to reduce them and even providing coping strategies in the future and implementing them by trustees to improve sexual health in individuals, families, and the society.

The use of Open source tools has been increasing over the years in various fields including the teaching and learning field. It is a better way of utilizing tools with a lower cost than the market tools that are available as well as the same tool can be customized to fit an institute (or a specialization). By integrating the collaborative methods and techniques with the open source tools that were customized, the students and teachers would be able to achieve collaborative teaching and learning more effectively as well as the teacher would have a better way of delivering the learning outcomes by the help of the tools. Moreover, the tools would assist in clearing the distractions that the students may have during the class by giving them a tasks through tools and keep them engaged and away from what can distract the students during a lecture. Furthermore, open source tools can provide a rather fun and unique experience for the students to interact with each other as well as with the teacher to meet the objectives of the modules as well as build a sense of teamwork between the students which can help the student not only achieve the learning outcomes but also assist in their careers after they finish with their studies. The open source tools will be divided into categories through which the teachers would be able to choose from depending on the learning outcomes of their lessons. A framework is suggested by the authors to use the open source tools in the most effective way.

Patents are an unused informational source in research and education. We state that patent documents are an information source opening a wide variety of usage (monitoring, strategic positioning, technical document for innovation and state of the art) for a wide variety of users (researchers, Small and medium Enterprises (SME) and start-ups). Hence, patents are a key resource in education but difficult to read. The European Patent Database (EspaceNet) offers 100 million of demands in free access mode, we consider it as a technological encyclopedia: most of its content is free of rights. As-it, Patent2Net, a free open-source patent analysis tool offers the potential to extract patents from the worldwide database and to explore huge sets of patents documents using several data mining tools and visualization techniques (dynamic networks, textometry application, classification). Scenarios of analysis are provided here to explore patent resources. We show some instances for using these to several key informational objectives for technical education: to provide cartographies of a technology using mind maps, to decompose an invention, to map the network of actors, and many other features directly in concern with innovation, knowledge, and education.