Impacts of gender bias

Gender bias are most obvious in the distribution of income and wealth. This reflects women’s unequal position in the labour market , their less favorable treatment in most social security systems and their lower status within the household. Discrimination against women is also evident in the political sphere. Their access to power is not commensurate with their numbers, their needs or their contributions as citizens. As well as affecting women’s physical and mental health, gender bias also affect the quality of the services they receive. In most developed countries, women are offered equal access to basic health care. However their use of those service may be hindered by a number of gender related factors which are likely to affect poor women in particular. In health organization, gender bias gives significant impact to the evaluation of staff performance, increase stress level and miscommunication. It is also influence the leadership style and also can create ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon. Job dissatisfaction , absenteeism and high turn over are also the consequences of gender bias. Alongside the development of gender sensitive methods of routine data collection, gender bias in health research will also need to be addressed. Most biomedical research continues to be based on the unstated assumption that women and men are physiologically similar in all respects apart from their reproductive systems. Other biological differences are ignored, as are the social/gender differences that have such a major impact on health

Expert System Diagnosis Disease of Oil Palm Plants Using Forward Chaining and Dempster Shafer

This research is motivated by the problem of inhibiting crop production from oil palm plants, namely disease. Diseases of oil palm plants can be caused by viruses, fungi and, the host plant or an unfavorable environment. The process of diagnosing oil palm plant diseases requires expertise, knowledge and experience. Therefore, this study aims to build an expert system that can diagnose 9 types of plant diseases in oil palm from 29 symptoms based on the knowledge of 1 expert with the forward chaining method of reasoning and the web-based Dempster Shafer calculation method. The testing technique used is black box testing, validation testing, testing and theoretical calculations. The results of the black box test state that the expert system has 100% conformity in terms of functionality. The results of the expert validation test state that the expert system has 100% conformity. The results of the theoretical calculation test state that the expert system calculations are in accordance with the results of manual calculations. The results of the test with a questionnaire based on 32 respondents said it went very well. The results of this study provide the information needed by farmers to be able to diagnose and increase knowledge about how to overcome the problems faced by their oil palm plantations even without direct expert assistance in order to improve quality and stabilize the amount of production according to farmers' expectations

Antituberculosis activity, phytochemical identification of Costus speciosus (J. Koenig) Sm., Cymbopogon citratus (DC. Ex Nees) Stapf., and Tabernaemontana coronaria (L.) Willd. and their effects on the growth kinetics and cellular integrity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv

Abstract Background Costus speciosus, Cymbopogon citratus, and Tabernaemontana coronaria are herbal plants traditionally used as remedies for symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) including cough. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the in vitro anti-TB activity of different solvent partitions of these plants, to identify the phytochemical compounds, and to assess the effects of the most active partitions on the growth kinetics and cellular integrity of the tubercle organism. Methods The in vitro anti-TB activity of different solvent partitions of the plant materials was determined against M. tuberculosis H37Rv using a tetrazolium colorimetric microdilution assay. The phytochemical compounds in the most active partition of each plant were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The effects of these partitions on the growth kinetics of the mycobacteria were evaluated over 7-day treatment period in a batch culture system. Their effects on the mycobacterial cellular integrity were observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results The respective n-hexane partition of C. speciosus, C. citratus, and T. coronaria exhibited the highest anti-TB activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 100–200 μg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 200 μg/mL. GC-MS phytochemical analysis of these active partitions revealed that majority of the identified compounds belonged to lipophilic fatty acid groups. The active partitions of C. speciosus and T. coronaria exhibited high cidal activity in relation to time, killing more than 99% of the cell population. SEM observations showed that these active plant partitions caused multiple structural changes indicating massive cellular damages. Conclusions The n-hexane partition of the plant materials exhibited promising in vitro anti-TB activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Their anti-TB activity was supported by their destructive effects on the integrity of the mycobacterial cellular structure

H274Y\u27s effect on oseltamivir resistance

Increased reports of oseltamivir (OTV)-resistant strains of the influenza virus, such as the H274Y mutation on its neuraminidase (NA), have created some cause for concern. Many studies have been conducted in the attempt to uncover the mechanism of OTV resistance in H274Y NA. However, most of the reported studies on H274Y focused only on the drug-bound system, so the direct effects of the mutation on NA itself prior to drug binding still remain unclear. Therefore, molecular dynamics simulations of NA in apo form, followed by principal component analysis and interaction energy calculations, were performed to investigate the structural changes of the NA binding site as a result of the H274Y mutation. It was observed that the disruption of the NA binding site due to the H274Y mutation was initiated by the repulsive effect of Y274 on the 250-loop, which in turn altered the hydrogen-bonding network around residue 274. The rotated W295 side chain caused the upward movement of the 340-loop. Consequently, sliding box docking results suggested that the binding pathway of OTV was compromised because of the disruption of this binding site. This study also highlighted the importance of the functional group at C6 of the sialic acid mimicry. It is hoped that these results will improve the understanding of OTV resistance and shed some light on the design of a novel anti-influenza drug

Correction: Association between elder abuse and poor sleep: A cross-sectional study among rural older Malaysians.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180222.]

Efficient Fuel Pretreatment: Simultaneous Torrefaction and Grinding of Biomass

Combining torrefaction and grinding of biomass in one reactor may be an attractive fuel pretreatment process. A combined laboratory torrefaction and ball mill reactor has been constructed for studies of the influence of temperature and residence time on the product yields and particle size reductions of Danish wheat straw, spruce chips, and pine chips. On the basis of initial experiments, which evaluated the influence of reactor mass loading, gas flow, and grinding ball size and material, a standard experimental procedure was developed. The particle size reduction capability of the torrefaction process has been evaluated by the relative change in d50, and this method was compared to the Hardgrove grindability index (HGI), showing reasonably similar results. Significant differences in torrefaction behavior have been observed for straw and spruce chips torrefied at 270−330 °C. Torrefaction of straw for 90 min yielded a higher mass loss (27−60 wt %) and relative size reduction (59−95%)compared with spruce (mass loss of 10−56 wt % and size reduction of 20−60%). The two types of biomass investigated differ with respect to hemicellulose type, lignocellulosic composition, particle morphology, and ash composition, where straw has a higher alkali content. This and other studies indicate that the large difference in the alkali contents of the biomasses is the main cause for the observed difference in torrefaction characteristics. Experiments with separate particle heating and grinding showed a swift grinding of the torrefied biomass. This implies that the rate-limiting step in the laboratory reactor is the heat transfer and not the grinding process. Large pine particles (8−16 mm) showed a slightly higher mass loss than 4−8 and <4 mm particles. This could be the consequence of exothermic reactions in the particle core, which locally increase the temperature and conversion

Association between elder abuse and poor sleep: A cross-sectional study among rural older Malaysians

<div><p>Objectives</p><p>To examine the association between elder abuse and poor sleep using a Malay validated version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).</p><p>Design</p><p>This study was divided into two phases. Phase I tested the construct validity and reliability of the Malay version of PSQI. Phase II was a population-based, cross-sectional study with a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Home-based interviews were conducted by trained personnel using a structured questionnaire, to determine exposure and outcome.</p><p>Setting</p><p>Kuala Pilah, a district in Negeri Sembilan which is one of the fourteen states in Malaysia.</p><p>Participants</p><p>1648 community-dwelling older Malaysians.</p><p>Results</p><p>The Malay version of PSQI had significant test re-test reliability with intra-class correlation coefficients of 0.62. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that one factor PSQI scale with three components (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep disturbances) was most suitable. Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.60 and composite reliability was 0.63. PSQI scores were highest among neglect (4.11), followed by physical (4.10), psychological (3.96) and financial abuse (3.60). There was a dose-response relationship between clustering of abuse and PSQI scores; 3.41, 3.50 and 3.84 for “no abuse”, “1 type of abuse” and “2 types or more”. Generalized linear models revealed six variables as significant determinants of sleep quality–abuse, co-morbidities, self-rated health, income, social support and gait speed. Among abuse subtypes, only neglect was significantly associated with poor sleep.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The Malay PSQI was valid and reliable. Abuse was significantly associated with poor sleep. As sleep is essential for health and is a good predictor for mortality among older adults, management of abuse victims should entail sleep assessment. Interventions or treatment modalities which focus on improving sleep quality among abuse victims should be designed.</p></div

Influence of Biomass Chemical Properties on Torrefaction Characteristics

Different biomass types may differ with respect to torrefaction characteristics, and an improved understanding and ability to predict the torrefaction performance is, therefore, desired. In this study, the influence of the chemical properties (lignocellulose composition and alkali content) on the torrefaction behavior with respect to mass loss and grindability is investigated by simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and by using a combined torrefaction and grinding reactor. The torrefaction behavior of six raw biomass samples and selected pretreated samples (washed and impregnated with KCl and K2CO3) has been studied. The investigated biomasses have reasonably similar carbohydrate compositions (hemicelluloses 18–25 wt % db; cellulose 38–48 wt % db; lignin 17–29 wt % db) with the exception of spruce bark, which is lower in hemicellulose content (12.9 wt % db) and cellulose content (24 wt % db), and higher in lignin content (36.8 wt % db). An increasing biomass potassium (K) content decreases the temperature of maximal conversion for both raw and alkali-impregnated biomass samples, thus decreasing the solid product yield at 270 and 300 °C. This was especially pronounced when the biomass potassium content increased from 0 to 0.2 wt %. However, the higher lignin content in bark causes a higher solid yield than what would be expected from the alkali content, illustrating that both potassium content and lignocellulose composition affect the solid yield obtained by torrefaction. The grindability of the torrefied products was evaluated by determining the d50 value of the particle size distribution of the biomass before and after torrefaction in the combined torrefaction and mill reactor. A significant decrease in d50 value was observed when the alkali content increased from 0 to 0.2 wt % db, whereas no additional effect is seen for higher potassium contents

Basic characteristics of study respondents (N = 1648).

<p>Basic characteristics of study respondents (N = 1648).</p