Reliability and validity of a quick test of cognitive speed (AQT) in screening for mild cognitive impairment and dementia

Background Cognitive disorders are one of the important issues in old age. There are many cognitive tests, but some variables affect their results (e.g., age and education). This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of A Quick Test of Cognitive Speed (AQT) in screening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Methods This is a psychometric properties study. 115 older adults participated in the study and were divided into three groups (46 with MCI, 24 with dementia, and 45 control) based on the diagnosis of two geriatric psychiatrists. Participants were assessed by AQT and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, independent t-test, and ROC curve by SPSS v.23. Results There was no significant correlation between AQT subscales and age and no significant difference between the AQT subscales in sex, educational levels. The test-retest correlations ranges were 0.84 from 097. Concurrent validity was significant between MMSE and AQT. Its correlation was with Color − 0.78, Form − 0.71, and Color-Form − 0.72. The cut-off point for Color was 43.50 s, Form 52 s, and Color-Form 89 s were based on sensitivity and specificity for differentiating older patients with MCI with controls. The cut-off point for Color was 62.50 s, for Form 111 s, and Color-Form 197.50 s based on sensitivity and specificity measures for differentiating older patients with dementia and MCI. Conclusion The findings showed that AQT is a suitable tool for screening cognitive function in older adults.

ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ПСИХОМЕТРИЧНИХ МОЖЛИВОСТЕЙ МЕТОДИК ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ СТУПЕНЯ ЗАДОВОЛЕНОСТІ ПОТРЕБ

У статті проведено порівняльний аналіз двох найчастіше використовуваних методик, спрямованих на досліджен- ня ступеня задоволеності потреб особистості, – «Ієрархія потреб» у модифікації І.А. Акіндінової та «Методики експрес-діагностики потреб і мотиваційної сфери особистості МQТ – Maslow quick test» (А. Chapman). За допомогою кількісної та якісної обробки отриманих результатів було визначено переваги й недоліки кожної з методик і зроблено вибір на користь однієї з них. За допомогою методів математичної статистики проведено порівняльний аналіз між схожими шкалами. Результати демонструють, що між шкалами методик є незначні розбіжності. Проте шкали зі схожими назвами корелюють між собою, що дає змогу говорити про можливість використання методики на розсуд дослідника. У статті представлено опис пілотного дослідження, яке було проведено з метою визначення методології, яка най- кращим чином відповідала б меті вивчення потреб окремої людини. Однак широкий спектр запропонованих методів породжує проблему пошуку дійсного й надійного інструменту дослідження, адекватного його меті. Таким чином, готуючись до емпіричного дослідження, експериментатор повинен уважно прочитати не тільки опис методу та його тлумачення, а й дослідження вчених, які мали на меті перевірити правильність запропонованих психодіагностичних методів. Тому мета статті – розглянути особливості тестових методів дослідження сфери потреб особистості, емпірично порівняти діагностичні можливості методик «Ієрархія потреб» у модифікації І.А. Акіндінової та «Мето- дики експрес-діагностики потреб і мотиваційної сфери особистості МQТ – Maslow quick test» (А. Chapman). Осно- вними методами для виконання поставленого завдання є загальнонаукові методи синтезу, порівняння, узагальнення; використано методи кількісної обробки, математичної статистики.

Validating the Reliability of Predictive Models for the Companies in the Slovak Creative Industry

Globalization of business environment has brought new challenges and trends. The importance of human capital has been growing especially since the 1990s when the Creative Industry was recognized as a full-fledged component of the national economy. There are a number of models available to analyse the financial health of the companies operating in the Creative Industry. The authors first focused on Acts No. 513/1991 Coll. and 7/2005 of the Commercial Code, as amended, which define the financial health of a company. After applying Altman Z-Score, IN05 and Creditworthiness Index, Quick Test and Binkert and Taffler models, it follows from the results that Quick Test shows the highest level of agreement with the legislative definition of a non-prosperous company. Therefore, the authors decided to analyse this predictive model further. The results of their study show that, while very reliable for the category of non-prosperous companies, the model does not achieve sufficient reliability for other categories, the average/grey zone in particular. Based on the results of the study, the authors conclude that a new predictive model to assess a company’s financial health is necessary.

Utilization of Molecular Quick Test as an Effort to Accelerate Case Findings of Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis in South Sulawesi Province

The discovery of TB and MDR TB cases increases every year along with the addition of TCM machines, which currently number 46 machines and have spread across 24 districts/cities in the roadmap towards TB elimination in 2030. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the use of Molecular Rapid Tests to accelerate the diagnosis of TB and MDR TB in South Sulawesi and to evaluate the utilization of TCM examinations for examination of TB and MDR TB during the Covid 19 pandemic. The method used in collecting TB and MDR TB data is to compile secondary data from several data sources, namely eTB Manager, TCM monthly reports, SITT and SITB. The data that has been collected will be processed and analyzed descriptively and presented in the form of tables and trend charts for 3 years. The number of case discoveries between 2018 and 2019 showed an increase in cases as more suspects were referred for TCM examination. In 2020 the discovery of TB cases has decreased, namely TB RO cases as many as 483 and TB SO cases as many as 7,736 cases. The decline in cases in 2020 was due to the Covid 19 pandemic where many suspects did not want to visit health facilities. The addition of the number of TCM can increase the case finding of TB SO and TB RO which is accompanied by strengthening the specimen referral network system, especially in areas with difficult transportation or remote areas so that the diagnosis of TB, especially TB with Rifampicin resistance can be found early. Keywords: Molecular Quick Test, Case Findings of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis.

Development of an Agar Bioassay Sensitivity Test in Alopecurus myosuroides for the Pre-Emergence Herbicides Cinmethylin and Flufenacet

Rapid and reliable tests for pre-emergence herbicide susceptibility in weeds are important to test a wider range of accessions on their baseline sensitivity, as well as to provide information on putative resistance. This study focused on the development of an agar quick test to determine sensitivity differences in Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. to pre-emergence herbicides containing flufenacet and cinmethylin. The new agar quick test and a standardized whole plant pot bioassay were conducted twice in 2019. For both test systems, seeds of 18 populations of A. myosuroides originated from Southwest Germany and Great Britain were used and treated with discriminating rates of herbicides in dose-response studies. After 28 days, the above-ground dry matter of the plants was determined and the resistance factors were calculated. The agar test was able to provide information on the resistance status of the tested biotype within 12 days. All populations did not show reduced sensitivity to cinmethylin. Within three populations, differences in sensitivity levels were observed between the two test systems. As cinmethylin is not yet marketed in Europe, these resistance factors can also be considered as a baseline sensitivity for A. myosuroides. For flufenacet, the resistance factors differed significantly from the whole plant pot bioassay and the agar test for the biotypes A (0.35, 13.1), C (0.56, 13.2), D (1.87, 12.4), E (15.5, 3.5) and H (2.95, 14). It was possible for the most part for the cinmethylin tested populations to confirm the results of the standardized whole plant pot bioassay in the agar bioassay sensitivity tests, and hence create a promising, faster test system.