Properties of the amniotic membrane for potential use in tissue engineering

An important component of tissue engineering (TE) is the supporting matrix upon which cells and tissues grow, also known as the scaffold. Scaffolds must easily integrate with host tissue and provide an excellent environment for cell growth and differentiation. Most scaffold materials are naturally derived from mammalian tissues. The amniotic membrane (AM) is considered an important potential source for scaffolding material. The AM represents the innermost layer of the placenta and is composed of a single epithelial layer, a thick basement membrane and an avascular stroma. The special structure and biological viability of the AM allows it to be an ideal candidate for creating scaffolds used in TE. Epithelial cells derived from the AM have the advantages of stem cells, yet are a more suitable source of cells for TE than stem cells. The extracellular matrix components of the basement membrane of the AM create an almost native scaffold for cell seeding in TE. In addition, the AM has other biological properties important for TE, including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-fibrosis, anti-scarring, as well as reasonable mechanical property and low immunogenicity. In this review, the various properties of the AM are discussed in light of their potential use for TE

PENGARUH IMPLEMENTASI ETIKA KERJA ISLAM DAN KUALITAS PELAYANAN TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN PADA RUMAH SAKIT X KOTA BANDAR LAMPUNG

ABSTRAK Rumah sakit X berusaha memperbaiki pelayanan yang terbaik pada pasien namun kenyataanya tetap terjadi gap antara harapan yang diinginkan pasien dengan perlakuan yang diterima pada saat memanfaatkan pelayanan kesehatan. Kondisi menurunnya jumlah karyawan dan kunjungan pasien menjadi permasalahan yang harus diperhatikan oleh manajerial rumah sakit. Etika kerja Islami merupakan penyebab tinggi rendahnya kinerja karyawan. Etika kerja Islami bisa memperkuat atau memperlemah hubungan antara penilaian kinerja dan kinerja karyawan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif. Sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 332 responden. Tujuannya adalah untuk penelitian meliputi pengaruh etika kerja Islam dan kualitas pelayanan terhadap kinerja karyawan secara parsial dan simultan. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan yaitu penyebaran kuesioner. Data diolah dengan menggunakan SPSS versi 25. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh secara simultan atau bersamaan dari seluruh variabel independen yaitu etika kerja islam dan kualitas pelayanan terhadap kinerja karyawan. Dalam uji T (parsial), Variabel Etika Kerja Islam menunjukkan nilai thitung sebesar 6,025 dengan signifikansi sebesar 0,000 dan nilai ttabel sebesar 1,650 dengan jumlah N=332, sehingga nilai Thitung > Ttabel dan nilai signifikansi berada di bawah 0,05 atau nilai signifikansi thitung (0,000) < 0,05. Maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa H1 diterima dan H0 ditolak. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel etika kerja Islam berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap Kinerja Karyawan. Variabel Kualitas Pelayanan menunjukkan nilai Thitung sebesar 8,392 dengan signifikansi sebesar 0,000 dan nilai Ttabel sebesar 1,650 dengan jumlah N=332, sehingga nilai Thitung > Ttabel dan nilai signifikansi berada di bawah 0,05 atau nilai signifikansi thitung (0,000) < 0,05. Maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa H1 diterima dan H0 ditolak. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel kualitas pelayanan berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap Kinerja Karyawan. Kata Kunci : Etika Kerja Islam, Kualitas Pelayanan, dan Kinerja Karyawan. Abstract Hospital The condition of the decreasing number of employees and patient visits is a problem that must be paid attention to by hospital management. Islamic work ethics are the cause of high and low employee performance. Islamic work ethics can strengthen or weaken the relationship between performance appraisal and employee performance. This research uses quantitative methods. The sample used in this research was 332 respondents. The aim is to conduct research covering the influence of Islamic work ethics and service quality on employee performance partially and simultaneously. The data collection technique used was distributing questionnaires. Data was processed using SPSS version 25. The research results show that there is a simultaneous or simultaneous influence of all independent variables, namely Islamic work ethics and service quality on employee performance. In the T test (partial), the Islamic Work Ethics variable shows a tcount value of 6.025 with a significance of 0.000 and a ttable value of 1.650 with a total of N=332, so that the tcount > Ttable and the significance value is below 0.05 or the tcount significance value ( 0.000) < 0.05. So it can be concluded that H1 is accepted and H0 is rejected. This shows that the Islamic work ethics variable has a significant positive effect on employee performance. The Service Quality variable shows a T value of 8.392 with a significance of 0.000 and a T table value of 1.650 with a total of N=332, so that the T value > T table and the significance value is below 0.05 or the significance value of t count (0.000) < 0.05. So it can be concluded that H1 is accepted and H0 is rejected. This shows that the service quality variable has a significant positive effect on employee performance. Keywords: Islamic work ethics, Quality of Services, and Employee Performance

Comparing The Effects of Small Molecules BIX-01294, Bay K8644, RG-108 and Valproic Acid, and Their Different Combinations on Induction of Pluripotency Marker-Genes by Oct4 in The Mouse Brain

Objective: Every cell type is characterized by a specific transcriptional profile together with a unique epigenetic landscape. Reprogramming factors such as Oct4, Klf4, Sox2 and c-Myc enable somatic cells to change their transcriptional profile and convert them to pluripotent cells. Small molecules such as BIX-01294, Bay K8644, RG-108 and valproic acid (VPA) are reported as effective molecules for enhancing induction of pluripotency in vitro, however, their effects during in vivo reprogramming are addressed in this experimental study. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, Oct4 expressing lentiviral particles and small molecules BIX-01294, Bay K8644 and RG-108 were injected into the right ventricle of mice brain and VPA was systematically administered as oral gavages. Animals treated with different combinations of small molecules for 7 or 14 days in concomitant with Oct4 exogenous expression were compared for expression of pluripotency markers. Total RNA was isolated from the rims of the injected ventricle and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to evaluate the expression of endogenous Oct4, Nanog, c-Myc, klf4 and Sox2 as pluripotency markers, and Pax6 and Sox1 as neural stem cell (NSC) markers. Results: Results showed that Oct4 exogenous expression for 7 days induced pluripotency slightly as it was detected by significant enhancement in expression of Nanog (p<0.05). Combinatorial administration of Oct4 expressing vector and BIX-01294, Bay K8644 and RG-108 did not affect the expression of pluripotency and NSC markers, but VPA treatment along with Oct4 exogenous expression induced Nanog, Klf4 and c-Myc (p<0.001). VPA treatment before the induction of exogenous Oct4 was more effective and significantly increased the expression of endogenous Oct4, Nanog, Klf4, c-Myc (p<0.01), Pax6 and Sox1 (p<0.001). Conclusion: These results suggest VPA as the best enhancer of pluripotency among the chemicals tested, especially when applied prior to pluripotency induction by Oct4

Aqueous Methanol Extracts of Cochlospermum tinctorium (A. Rich) Possess Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory Activities

Cochlopermum tinctorium A. Rich. (Cochlospermaceae) is a commonly used medicinal plant in the West Africa sub-region for the management of various conditions including pain and inflammatory conditions. In the present study, we report the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the aqueous methanol leaf (20–80 mg/kg), root (7.5–30 mg/kg), and root bark (20–80 mg/kg) extracts of the plant. The analgesic potentials of the extracts were studied using acetic acid induced writhing and hot plate tests in mice while the anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats.The extracts significantly and dose dependently inhibited the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. However, the highest protection against writhing was produced by aqueous methanol leaf extract at the dose of 80 mg/kg (96.65%) which even was greater than that of the standard agent, ketoprofen (82.30%). The extracts did not significantly increase mean latency of response in the hot plate test. However, aqueous methanol root bark extract at the dose of 20 mg/kg significantly (P < 0.05) increased the mean latency of pain response. While the extracts of the root and root bark extracts of the plant afforded non dose-dependent protection against carrageenan-induced edema, the aqueous methanol leaf extract significantly and dose-dependently inhibited carrageenan-induced hind paw edema at the end of the third hour.The present study suggests that the aqueous methanol leaf, root, and root bark extracts of Cochlopermum tinctorium possess analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities which lend some credence to the ethnomedical claim of the use of the plant in the management of pain and inflammatory conditions

Well-being Effects of Extreme Weather Events in the US

This paper estimates the effect of extreme weather and climate events on the subjective wellbeing of US residents. We match forty two billion-dollar disaster events with individual survey data between 2005 and 2010. We find that being affected by a disaster has a negative and robust impact on life satisfaction that disappears 6 to 8 months after the event. In our sample severe storms are the main culprit in the reduction of life satisfaction; droughts also have a negative impact on life satisfaction and exhibit a more persistent effect

Economic Value of Multi-peril Coastal Hazard Insurance

Expanding the National Flood Insurance Program to allow policyholders to purchase optional erosion coverage eliminate coverage disputes when erosion and flood both contribute to a loss, and provide affordable national erosion coverage. We examine the household welfare effect of multi-peril hazard insurance coverage by coupling information on NFIP policy in force with a survey data for a sample of coastal households in the US southeast. Our results indicate that the value of multi-peril hazard insurance is substantially higher for households who live in the coastal zone. We also test effect of risk perception (subjective risk assessment) on individuals’ decision to purchase multi-peril hazard insurance and find that higher risk perception lead to higher probability of purchasing multi-peril insurance coverage and increases the mean willingness to pay for insurance

Developing mass spectrometry-based proteomics and immunopeptidomics platforms to analyze stability profiles and PTMs in peptides bound to HLA class I molecules.

A comprehensive snapshot of immune specificity can be achieved by studying the interaction between peptide-MHC class I (pMHCI) and CD8+ T cells. Since the stability of pMHCI complexes has been postulated to influence the immunogenicity of virus-derived epitopes and cancer neoepitopes, we sought to further establish the correlation between thermostability and immunogenicity. A panel of more than 100 Vaccinia virus (VACV)-derived pMHCI with known CD8+ T cell response profiles were then used to investigate the extent to which their thermostability profiles correlated with their immunogenicity. We successfully developed two machine learning-based models to predict VACV peptide immunogenicity