Akupunktur Manual sebagai Terapi pada Pasien Depresi

Depresi adalah gangguan kejiwaan pada alam perasaan (affective/mood disorder), yang ditandai dengan kemurungan, ketiadaan gairah hidup, perasaan tidak berguna dan putus asa. Prevalensi gangguan depresi di dunia sekitar 8-20% dan perempuan lebih banyak menderita depresi dari pada laki-laki. Tatalaksana gangguan depresi dilakukan secara komprehensif berupa terapi farmakologis, terapi somatik, psikoterapi, psikoreligius dan akupunktur. Penelitian terakhir menunjukkan akupunktur dapat menimbulkan efek antidepresan dengan meningkatkan pelepasan serotonin dan norepinefrin di celah sinaps. Pada makalah ini dilaporkan pasien perempuan berusia 65 tahun yang menderita gangguan depresi selama 8 tahun dan mengalami perbaikan skor hamilton rating scale for depression 17 (HAM-D 17) setelah terapi akupunktur

Properties of fly ash concrete containing tropical soil bacteria

The autonomous crack healing process using microbiologically induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a sustainable alternative to overcome propagation of micro-cracks and restore the durability of concrete. This paper presents the potential use of tropical soil bacteria as a self-healing agent for fly ash concrete. A solution of 107 cells/mL Lysinibacillus sphaericus (L. sphaericus), was selected to be the self-healing agent by replacing partially the amount of water. Concrete cube specimens with 30% fly ash, were cured under two conditions, which are water and air curing. The potential effects of the self-healing agent was evaluated in terms of the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), initial surface absorption test (ISAT) and compressive strength. The initial results show an improvement of UPV and between 12% and 54% improvement on the compressive strength for the bacterial concrete compared to the control specimen. It was probably due to the presence of the microbial calcium carbonate that fills the concrete pores through the inclusion of bacteria in the concrete. However, based on the ISAT value, the direct addition of bacterial solution increased the concrete's permeability. Thus, further investigation is suggested to assess the self-healing effect towards permeability and compressive strength of bacterial concrete

Nucleophilic Functionalization of the Calix[6]arene Para- and Meta-Position via p‑Bromodienone Route

It is here demonstrated that the p-bromodienone route, previously reported for calix[4]arenes, is also effective for the functionalization of the calix[6]arene macrocycle. Thus, alcoholic O-nucleophiles can be introduced at the calix[6]arene exo rim. In addition, the reaction of a calix[6]arene p-bromodienone derivative with an actived aromatic substrate, such as resorcinol, led to the first example of a meta-functionalized, inherently chiral calix[6]arene derivativ

AB-INITIO CALCULATIONS OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT, OPTICAL ABSORPTION AND THE REFRACTIVE INDEX OF ZN1-XBEXO ALLOY

The optical properties of Zn1-xBexO were studied by first principle method using the density functional theory. The dielectric function and optical constants are calculated using PP-PW method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The theoretical calculated optical properties yield a static dielectric constant for Zn1-xBexO are 4.08, 3.86, 3.60, 3.12 and 2.85 along polarization direction (001). It indicates that the static dielectric constants reduce with increasing Be concentration. However a static refractive indices for Zn1-xBexO are found to be 2.05, 1.98, 1.88, 1.77 and 1.70 with the increasing x, respectively. The obtained results agree well with the available theoretical and experimental values.

Characterization of Date Palm Wood Used as Composites Reinforcement

This work reports the results of an experimental investigation on physical and mechanical properties of Algerian date palm tree residues in order to optimize their performances when used as reinforcement. The results have shown that all the samples are characterized by porous and fibrous structure with irregular surface, which contains a large number of uncompleted grown fibers (expected to be residual lignin). Concerning the mechanical properties of date palm fibers (DPF), the results show that they are comparable to those reported for coir and are lower than those reported for other natural fibers. However with regard to the specific mechanical properties, date palm fibers show higher values than those of other natural fibers. This is due to the low values of bulk density of date palm wood, especially of that of Petiole

Anti-rods/rings autoantibody seropositivity does not affect response to telaprevir treatment for chronic hepatitis C infection

Autoantibodies to intracellular 'rods and rings' structures (anti-rods/rings or anti-RR) are strongly associated with hepatitis C (HCV) patients treated with interferon-α/ribavirin (IFN/RBV) and are linked with non-responsiveness to IFN/RBV or relapse, especially in Italian patients. This is the first study to determine whether there is any correlation of anti-RR with non-responsiveness to IFN/RBV treatment in patients also treated with telaprevir (TPV), one of several new therapies for chronic HCV recently implemented. METHODS: From 2013 to 2014, 52 HCV-infected patients were treated with IFN/RBV and TPV at five Italian clinics. Patient sera were collected and analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence for the presence of anti-RR antibodies. Patients were classified as anti-RR positive or anti-RR negative, and then various biological and clinical variables were analyzed to compare the two groups, including gender, age, HCV genotype, previous IFN/RBV treatment, and IFN/RBV/TPV treatment outcome. RESULTS: Of these 52 HCV patients treated with IFN/RBV/TPV, 10/32 (31%) who previously received IFN/RBV were anti-RR positive, compared to 0 of 20 treatment-naïve patients. Anti-RR-positive patients relapsed more than anti-RR-negative patients (3/10, 30% vs. 2/42, 5%; p < 0.05). However, zero anti-RR-positive patients were non-responsive, and frequencies of sustained virological response were similar (anti-RR positive: 7/10, 70% vs. anti-RR negative: 33/42, 79%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the data suggest that anti-RR seropositivity is not associated with resistance to TPV treatment in this patient cohort, but monitoring anti-RR-positive patients for relapse within the first 6 months after treatment may be useful