The Bacterial Vaginosis among Pregnant Women in Jatinangor

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is polymicrobial that causes superficial vaginitis due to a shift in vaginal flora. In pregnant women, BV can result in a significant risk of some serious consequences. The objective of this study was to identify the BV prevalence and to explore the characteristics and personal hygiene practices among pregnant women.Methods: This study was conducted in Desa Cipacing, Jatinangor, using the cross-sectional descriptive method, including pregnant women. The BV was detected by Gram-stained vaginal smears using Nugent Score. Furthermore, other microorganisms such as trichomoniasis and candidiasis were detected by direct microscopic observation. The questionnaire was distributed, consisting of details of personal hygiene practices.Results: In total, 17.9% of 52 pregnant women included were diagnosed with BV and 14.3% with mixed infection. Pregnant women with BV were predominantly aged younger than 25 years (61.1%), nullipara (50%) and in a second-trimester pregnancy (50%).Conclusions: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is common among young pregnant women, predominantly in their first pregnancy. It is related to personal hygiene practices, indicating the need for targeted interventions of healthcare education among these young pregnant women to reduce the BV prevalence

Identification of donor-derived dendritic cell progenitors in bone marrow of spontaneously tolerant liver allograft recipients

Multilineage donor-derived hematopoietic cell chimerism is a persistent feature of spontaneously tolerant mouse liver allograft recipients. We have shown previously that normal liver-derived precursors of “chimeric” dendritic cells (DC) propagated in vitro migrate in vivo to T-dependent areas of allogeneic lymphoid tissue, where they or their progeny appear to persist indefinitely. In this study, granu-locyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)+interleukin-4 (IL-4) were used to propagate DC progenitors from freshly isolated mouse bone marrow. The progenitor cells gave rise in 7-10 days to potent antigen-presenting cells (APC) that stimulated naive allogeneic T cells in primary mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC). The culture method, together with the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of donor and recipient strain major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II mRNA was used to test whether donor-derived DC could be propagated from the bone marrow of unmodified, orthotopic liver allograft recipients. Freshly isolated bone marrow from these transplanted animals contained small numbers of donor cells and responded to GM-CSF+IL-4 stimulation. In addition to cells expressing recipient (BIO) phenotype (H-2Kb+; Iab+), a minor population of donor (BlO.BR)-derived cells (H-2Kk+; Iak) were also propagated from liver graft recipients euthanized two weeks posttransplant. DC sorted from these cultures exhibited stimulatory activity for recipient strain T cells consistent with a low level (<1%) of donor DC propagation. The immunologic role of donor-derived DC progenitors in liver allograft recipients and its relation to the induction and maintenance of donor-specific unresponsiveness remains to be determined. © 1995 by Williams & Wilkins

Sintering behavior of hydroxyapatite ceramics prepared by different routes

The sintering behaviour of three different HA, i.e. a commercial HA(C) and synthesized HA by wet precipitation, HA(W) and mechanochemical method, HA(M) were investigated over the temperature range of 1000°C to 1350°C. In the present research, a wet chemical precipitation reaction was successfully employed to synthesize highly crystalline, high purity and single phase stoichiometric HA powder that is highly sinteractive particularly at low temperatures below 1100°C. It has been revealed that the sinterability and mechanical properties of the synthesized HA by this method was significantly higher than that of the commercial material and HA which was synthesized by mechanomical method. The optimum sintering temperature for the synthesized HA(W) was 1100°C with the following properties being recorded: 99.8% relative density, Vickers hardness of 7.04 GPa and fracture toughness of 1.22 MPam½. In contrast, the optimum sintering temperature for the commercial HA(C) and synthesized HA(M) was 1300°C with relative density of 98% and 95.5%, Vickers hardness of 5.47 GPa and 4.73 GPa, fracture toughness of 0.75 MPam½ and 0.82 MPam½ being measured, respectively

Effect of Erythropoietin on Haematological Parameters in Chronic Renal Failure Patients Undergoing Dialysis in Malaysia

Background: The worldwide rise in the number of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Chronic Renal Failure is a major health problem resulting in considerable increase in mortality and morbidity, decreased quality of life and heavy cost of therapies. . Objective: This study aims to evaluate the haematological parameters and iron status during monitoring of Chronic Renal Failure patients and to study the effects of subcutaneously and intravenously administered erythropoietin (EPO) in treating anaemia in Chronic Renal Failure patients. Methods: A retrospective record review study was conducted among the CRF patients treated at Hospital Pulau Pinang between 2005 and 2009. A total of 45 patients were randomly selected by using simple random sampling. The parameters were taken one to two weeks prior to EPO treatment and at 1 month and 3 months after EPO therapy was started. Data analyses were performed by using paired t test and independent t test via SPSS Version. 18.0.0. Results: After one month post-EPO, there was a significant difference of mean serum iron between continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and haemodialysis groups where the mean value of serum iron was higher in CAPD group. After three months post-EPO, there were significant differences of mean white blood cells and serum iron between the two groups. Conclusions: Chronic renal failure patients undergoing dialysis responded to EPO treatment and subcutaneous EPO administration appeared to give more favourable results compared to intravenous EPO.The authors of this study wish to thank the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, for thier giving us perminssion to conduct in this study and health staff of the Hospital Pulau Pinang, for their assistance during this study period. We would like to send our deepest thanks to all the partcipants who partcipated in this study

Anatomical features, fiber morphological, physical and mechanical properties of three years old new hybrid Paulownia: green Paulownia

Objective: Green Paulownia (hybridization of Paulownia elongata × Paulownia fotunei and tropical Paulownia spp.) is new hybrid claimed as one of the fast-growing woody plants with the high potential as a fiber material or lignocellulosic material. The material for this study originates from the area of Nanning in China. Methodology: Cell morphology and anatomical appearances were observed and evaluated under the image analysis system (Leica DMLS). Physical and mechanical properties were evaluated based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Results: From the results, average value of the mean fiber length was 0.905 mm, mean fiber length 34.59 μm, lumen thickness 26.80 μm and cell wall thickness 3.89 μm. Fiber dimensions of green Paulownia are in the normal range for hardwoods. The physical and mechanical properties of 3 years old green Paulownia have similar properties than those 7-11 years old Paulownia published in China. Conclusion: The 3 years old green Paulownia timbers can be used as materials for furniture

The effect of masking on tinnitus: residual inhibition outcomes by different types of tinnitus maskers

The phantom auditory sensation or tinnitus can be supp-ressed by presenting external sounds. Residual inhibition (RI) method is typically used in clinical settings to determ-ine the suppressive ability of sounds towards tinnitus. The present study aimed to compare the RI outcomes produced by broadband noise (BBN). Amplitude modulated (AM) and ocean wave (OW) sounds in subjects with tinnitus. Employing a repeated measures design, fifteen eligible subjects with the main complaint of subjective and contin-uous tinnitus were enrolled in this study. The mean age of subjects was 47.0 years and 53.3% of them were males. Generally, most of the subjects showed the presence of RI (either full or partial RI) for all stimuli. The percentage of subjects who showed RI was the highest for the OW sound (86.7%). The percentage of subjects with RI effect was similar for BBN and AM tone (i.e., 73.3%). The non-parametric Friedman test found the duration of suppression to be not statistically different between the three stimuli (p = 0.162). To conclude, the occurrence of RI was the highest for the OW sound. On the other hand, the duration of RI was comparable between the three stimuli. The information gathered from this study might be useful for clinicians in choosing the optimum masker for sound therapy. Further studies with larger samples are encouraged to ascertain the present study findings

The development of path integration: combining estimations of distance and heading

Efficient daily navigation is underpinned by path integration, the mechanism by which we use self-movement information to update our position in space. This process is well-understood in adulthood, but there has been relatively little study of path integration in childhood, leading to an underrepresentation in accounts of navigational development. Previous research has shown that calculation of distance and heading both tend to be less accurate in children as they are in adults, although there have been no studies of the combined calculation of distance and heading that typifies naturalistic path integration. In the present study 5-year-olds and 7-year-olds took part in a triangle-completion task, where they were required to return to the startpoint of a multi-element path using only idiothetic information. Performance was compared to a sample of adult participants, who were found to be more accurate than children on measures of landing error, heading error, and distance error. 7-year-olds were significantly more accurate than 5-year-olds on measures of landing error and heading error, although the difference between groups was much smaller for distance error. All measures were reliably correlated with age, demonstrating a clear development of path integration abilities within the age range tested. Taken together, these data make a strong case for the inclusion of path integration within developmental models of spatial navigational processing

Effect of emulsifier diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM) and enzyme transglutaminase on quality characteristics of rice bran croissants

Rice bran (RB) is a good source of dietary fibre. Addition of rice bran into croissant interferes with the gluten formation of dough and hence affect the physicochemical properties of croissant. The effect of RB addition on physicochemical properties of croissant were determined by using 0%, 10% and 15% RB. Besides, additives such as emulsifiers and enzymes can be used in pastry to enhance the physicochemical properties of croissant. Diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono-diglycerides (DATEM) and transglutaminase (TGase) were used respectively on 0%, 10% and 15% RB to investigate the effect of such additives on physicochemical properties of croissant. Increased % RB and DATEM, produced a significant decrease in specific volume, together with a significant increase in colour, hardness and chewiness. With increased % RB, TGase caused significant increase in colour, hardness and chewiness but significant decrease in specific volume. The overall moisture sorption isotherm curves of the croissant belong to the Type III isotherm, also known as Flory-Huggins Isotherm (J-shaped). The critical aw obtained from the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) equation showed that the shelf life of croissants were not positively impacted by the addition of DATEM and TGase and the addition of RB did not cause any significant positive effects on quality characteristics of croissants