Aim/Purpose: The research aims to investigate the factors that influence the continuous use of mobile banking applications to complete banking monetary transactions.
Background: Despite a significant ...increase in the use of mobile banking applications, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, new evidence indicates that the use rate of mobile banking applications for operating banking monetary transactions has declined.
Methodology: The study proposed an integrated model based mainly on the process virtualization theory (PVT) with other novel factors such as mobile banking application anthropomorphism and virtual process failure risk. The study model was empirically validated using structural equation modeling analysis on quantitative data from 484 mobile banking application users from Jordan.
Contribution: The study focuses on continuing use or post-adoption behavior rather than pre-adoption behavior. This is important since the maximum and long-term viability, as well as the financial investment in mobile banking applications, depend on regular usage rather than first-time use or initial experience.
Findings: The results indicate that process virtualizable and anthropomorphism have a strong positive impact on bank customers’ decisions to continue using mobile banking applications to complete banking monetary transactions. Meanwhile, the negative impact of virtualization process failure risk on continuous use has been discovered. The found factors explain 67.5% of the variance in continuous use.
Recommendations for Practitioners: The study identified novel, significant factors that affect bank customers’ decisions to use mobile banking applications frequently, and these factors should be examined, matched, satisfied, or addressed when redesigning or upgrading mobile applications. Banks should provide users with clear directions, processes, or tutorials on how to complete monetary transactions effectively. They should also embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to improve their applications and products with anthropomorphic features like speech synthesizers, Chatbots, and AI-powered virtual bank assistants. This is expected to help bank customers conduct various banking services conveniently and securely, just as if interacting with real people. The study further recommends that banks create and publish clear norms and procedures, as well as promote tolerance and protect consumers’ rights when the process fails or mistakes occur.
Recommendation for Researchers: The study provides measurement items that were specifically built for the context of mobile banking applications based on PVT notions. Researchers are invited to reuse, test, and modify existing measurement items, as well as submit new ones if necessary. The study model does not consider psychological aspects like trust and satisfaction, which would provide additional insight into factors affecting continuing use. Researchers could potentially take a different approach by focusing on user resistance and non-adoption.
Impact on Society: Financial inclusion is problematic, particularly in underdeveloped nations. According to financial inclusion research, Jordanians rarely utilize mobile banking apps. Continuous usage of mobile banking applications will be extremely beneficial in closing the financial inclusion gap, particularly among women. Furthermore, it could help the country’s efforts to transition to a digital society.
Future Research: The majority of study participants are from urban areas. Future studies should focus on consumers who live in rural areas. It was also suggested that the elderly be targeted because they may have different views/perspectives on the continued use of mobile banking applications.
We aimed to investigate how dietary fructose and sodium impact blood pressure and risk of hypertensive target organ damage 10 years later. Data from
= 3116 individuals were obtained from the Coronary ...Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Four groups were identified based on the four possible combinations of the lower and upper 50th percentile for sodium (in mg) and fructose (expressed as percent of total daily calories). Differences among groups were ascertained and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the risk of hypertensive target organ damage (diastolic dysfunction, coronary calcification and albuminuria). Individuals in the low-fructose + low-sodium group were found to have lower SBP compared to those in the low-fructose + high-sodium and high-fructose + high-sodium groups (
< 0.05). The highest risk for hypertensive target organ damage was found for albuminuria only in the high-fructose + high-sodium group (OR = 3.328,
= 0.006) while female sex was protective across all groups against coronary calcification. Our findings highlight that sodium alone may not be the culprit for hypertension and hypertensive target organ damage, but rather when combined with an increased intake of dietary fructose, especially in middle-aged individuals.
Hydrocephalus is an excessive accumulation of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain, without treatment it leads in brain damage. The usual treatment is a shunt procedure ...implanted into the ventricles of the brain to drain the excess fluid to another part of the body. Current shunts are controlled by a pressure dependent valve, while recent developed shunts are utilising mechatronic valves. Compared to the current differential pressure valves, mechatronic valves are regulated by time-based schedule rather than differential pressure across the valve. Therefore, it is important that this time schedule is chosen properly for each patient so that a normal ICP is preserved. Choosing proper time schedule for each patient is still one of the challenges facing the implementation of such valves. This work presents a new method to propose optimal valve time-schedule using an ICP dynamics model and patient's ICP traces, so that shunt valves can be configured accordingly. This method presents a precise and efficient way of how the ICP model can be utilised in evaluating the patient's ICP traces and hence proposing a personalised optimal valve time-schedule as a function of mean measured ICP for each individual patient that can keep the ICP within the normal levels.
Mobile phones are reliable devices for communication and entertainment. However, their utilization for prolonged periods in flexed neck position is linked to neck and shoulders pain. The main purpose ...of this study is to investigate the association between neck pain and the duration of device use, taking into consideration gender, age, and the most frequent position in which students use their devices.
Based on a self-administered online questionnaire, we filled 500 questionnaires between February 15th, 2017 and March 18th, 2017. The study sample included healthy students from health care faculties regardless of their age, gender, or handedness.
Analysis of the predictors for pain severity showed that age (p = 0.04) and duration of use (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with the severity of neck pain, while only the duration of use was significantly associated with pain duration (p = 0.036). Subjects were divided into two groups according to the pain score, 75.8% had pain severity equal or less than 4/10 and 24.2% had pain severity more than 4/10. Of those with pain severity >4, 5.8% of students sought medical help at the emergency department and 12.4% visited clinics, compared to only 0.3% seeking medical advice at an emergency department and 4.2% visiting clinics in the group with pain severity of ≤4 (p<0.001). Regarding the use of analgesia in the two groups, 44.6% of subjects with pain severity of >4 used analgesia, compared to only 12.1% in subjects with pain severity of ≤4 (p< 0.001).
This study demonstrates a significant positive correlation between the duration of mobile phone use and the duration and severity of neck pain. Furthermore, the increased severity of neck pain places a huge burden on the healthcare system.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neurological disorder characterized by the progressive damage of the peripheral nerves. We generated a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) ...line JUCTCi019-A using dermal fibroblasts-derived from a 50-year-old CMT2A2 patient carrying a heterozygous missense substitution c.2119C > T (p.Arg707Trp) in the MFN2 gene. Fibroblasts were reprogrammed by Sendai viruses encoding for the reprogramming factors: OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC. Characterization showed normal iPSC morphology and karyotype, expression of pluripotency markers and differentiation into three-germ layers. This iPSC line represents an ideal source for disease modelling and drug development of CMT2A2 disease.
Long‐term follow‐up of multiple myeloma (MM) clinical trials are needed to assess long‐term outcomes. We aimed to investigate the length of follow‐up of all phase III MM clinical trials. Median ...follow‐up duration of clinical trials of newly diagnosed MM was longer when compared to relapsed/refractory MM clinical trials (42.7 vs. 20.5 months, respectively). The follow‐up duration of phase III clinical trials in MM is relatively short when compared to the improved outcomes in the current era. Efforts should be made to facilitate long‐term clinical trials follow‐up and/or publication of results of updated results.
Photodegradation is an important mechanism that affects carbon and nutrient cycling; a significant amount of data has been reported previously. The present review includes the effect of a wider ...spectrum of solar radiation (sun light, UV, and visible light) on plant litter decay in terrestrial ecosystems. Although the positive effect of photodegradation on decomposition is most common, a substantial number of studies reports contrasting results. Litter from 148 plant species, from 41 families, have been used in photodegradation studies, representing functional groups of trees (33%), graminoids (30%), shrubs (23%), forbs (11%), and peat (1%). Although the majority of studies focused on mass loss, a growing number focuses on nutrient release. Positive effects on mass loss are most common across different climate regions and laboratory studies, whereas “positive” influence and “no effect” on nitrogen and lignin release are equally common in temperate and sub-tropical environments. This may potentially be due to other decomposition processes which increase in relevance with increasing moisture and can facilitate microbial activity, leaching, and fractioning by soil fauna. In addition to climate region, initial litter quality influences photodegradation. Field-based and laboratory experiments frequently obtain contrasting results, suggesting that the mechanisms controlling the responses are unclear and might be dependent on several interactions, and/or the differences in experimental approaches (such as UV filters), or coverage by particles. Future research should focus on interactions between different factors, and on conducting experiments that test specific relationships such as the potential interaction between photodegradation, soil moisture, microbial communities, soil fauna, and their effects on litter decomposition (both mass loss and nutrient release). Furthermore, the topic would benefit from international studies applying the same experimental approach, as has successfully been conducted in other fields.
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Background: Studies show that women and early career faculty members have less access to career development opportunities and leadership positions. These disparities slow the process of change ...and may affect leadership roles, promotions, and career advancements in academic medicine. Here, we provide the first analysis of speakers’ gender and early faculty disparities in hematology and medical oncology board review series. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of speakers at all major hematology and/or oncology board review series meetings, which were held in the United States between January 2017 and December 2021. Six major board review series were involved: Baylor/M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Brigham and Dana-Farber, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and the American Society of Hematology. Details of the lectures were acquired via accessing brochures available on the institutions’ official websites. Data on board certification and maintenance of certificate (MOC) were obtained from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) website. We extracted the number of publications from the PubMed website (MEDLINE). Results: Our analysis included 1224 board review lectures presented by 386 speakers. Of which, 315 (81.6%) were American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certified, and MOC was active in 56.1% of speakers. Females accounted for 37.7% of all speakers, with a representation of less than 50% in 5 out of 6 board review series. The least proportion of female participation was among lectures discussing malignant hematology topics (24.8%), followed by solid tumors (38.9%), and benign hematology topics (44.1%). Faculty members with more than 15 years of experience since initial certification presented more than half of the lectures. The median time from initial hematology or medical oncology certification to lecture presentation was 12.5 years and 14 years, respectively, which varied significantly among different series (p < 0.001). Speakers’ median number of publications was 84. We also investigated how frequently the same speaker gave lectures. Thirteen male speakers conducted more than or equal to 10 lectures across all board review series, compared to only two female speakers who did the same. An upward trend of improvement in females participation was found at all board review conference meetings across the years. Conclusions: Our data suggest that women and early career faculty members are underrepresented in hematology and oncology board review series. Therefore, efforts should be made to ensure equal participation of them in such important activities needed to advance academic careers.
Patellofemoral pain is a common condition. The Kujala score is a well-established scoring system to assess anterior knee pain and has been translated into many languages including Arabic. The purpose ...of this cross-sectional study is to culturally adapt the Arabic version of the Kujala score and determine its validity.
The Kujala score is composed of 13 multiple-choice questions. We modified two questions in the score; running and squatting, and were replaced with questions related to walking on different terrain and prostration, each with the same number of answer choices as the original questions so as not to affect the final score. These modifications were written in Arabic by the same group who translated and validated the original score into Arabic. The original and modified Kujala scores was printed and given to patients complaining of patellofemoral pain to be filled during their visit to the orthopedic outpatient clinics. Final scores for the original and modified questionnaires were calculated. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistics version 21.0 measuring Cronbach's alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient, and Pearson correlation.
Ninety-four patients were included in the study, 28 (29.8%) men and 66 (70.2%) women. The mean age for the included patients was 43.67 (± 14.46) years. The mean score for the modified initial questionnaire was 63.91 (± 16.32), and the mean score for the modified re-test questionnaire was 66.52 (± 17.50). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores (p = 0.041), with a mean difference of 1.97 (95% CI 0.08 to 3.856). We found a significant strong correlation between the score before and after changing the questions with a p value of < 0.001.
The culturally modified Arabic Kujala questionnaire is shown to be a valid, well-designed tool and an appropriate method of measuring patellofemoral pain.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging disease threatening the world with a rapid increase in cases and deaths since it was first identified in December 2019. Adequate knowledge, ...practice, and attitudes (KPA) toward COVID-19 among physicians at the frontline defense against the COVID-19 pandemic may enhance their ability to avoid the risk of self-infection, decrease mortality, and provide adequate medical care service in this pandemic. This study aimed to assess KPA toward COVID-19 among physicians in Jordan and Palestine.
This is a cross-sectional study using an online survey conducted from 10 April to 26 April 2020 among Jordan and Palestine physicians. Invitations were sent to physician groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. This survey contains 36-items, divided into four main sections to assess the participants' socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, practice, and attitude about COVID-19.
A total of 454 physicians participated in this study. The mean score of basic knowledge was 4.4 ± 0.8 (range 2-4). There were significant differences between basic knowledge mean scores among physicians in different professional degrees and physicians in various health sectors (P=0.0315, P=0.0137, respectively). The mean scores of self-protection measures, were 6.1 ± 1.1 (range 3-7) and measures if physician self-suspected of COVID-19 were 9.9± 1.1 (range 5-11). The mean score of attitudes toward COVID-19 was 41.5 ± 3.3 (range 21-45) and significantly related to the age and different experience years (P=0.0022, P=0.0077, respectively).
As the global threat of COVID-19 continues to emerge, physicians from Jordan and Palestine showed adequate KPA toward COVID-19. There was a significant difference in knowledge level and attitude between physicians. Policymakers and physicians should keep continuous educational activities, training, and follow-up updates during this pandemic.
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