The Synthesis of Fibrinolysin by Fungi

Author Institution: Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 1

Relationships Between Demographic Characteristics, Functional Status And Quality of Life of Stroke Survivors in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Stroke is one of non-communicable disease that causes long term disability, which can affect the quality of life among stroke survivors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between demographic characteristics, functional status and quality of life among stroke survivors.The design for this study was a descriptive design which involving 138 participants selected by simple random sampling at National Stroke Center Hospital Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Each participant was interviewed according to structured questionnaires consisting of the demographic information, stroke specific quality of life (SS-QOL), and functional status. Data were analyzed by using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient, and Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient. A significance level was established at p < 0.05. Main results found that the stroke survivors had a good quality of life (M=3.55, SD=0.64). 43.5 % of participants were independent in activities daily living (Mdn=18.00), they were independent in mobility and transfer (Mdn=3.00). Functional status was statistically has a positive correlation with the quality of life (r=-0.670, p<0.001). However, age, gender, occupation, education, and duration of stroke were not statistically associated with the quality of life. In conclusion, independent in functional status could influence the quality of life of stroke survivors. Therefore, this study can be as a reference for nurses to promote and maintain the functional status focused on mobility and transferring to enhance the independence in activity daily living and the quality of life of stroke survivors in Bukittinggi.

Teacher perspectives on the development of business English programmes in the Thai tertiary context : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Business English has emerged as an important aspect of English for Specific Purposes in Thailand and is currently provided as an undergraduate programme in about one third of all universities. However, to date we know relatively little about how the Business English programme has been developed in the Thai tertiary context. The current study aimed to explore the development of Business English programmes in the past, present, and future, through the perspectives of Thai tertiary teachers. Firstly, the development of Business English programmes in two university contexts was explored, based on retrospective interviews with five experienced teachers. In addition, a survey which included open-ended scenarios was completed by Business English teachers (N=84) from throughout Thailand (North, Northeast, Central, and South), regarding their contemporary perspectives on Business English in the Thai tertiary context and future prospects for the field. Finally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 Business English teachers, focusing particularly on their contemporary perspectives on Business English and the trajectory of Business English as a tertiary subject. Overall, the findings revealed that the contemporary tertiary Business English programmes emerged from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives, and were shaped by local factors such as ongoing changes to curriculum and teaching practices. The development of the programmes was also influenced by a combination of external factors, including the government policy, English as a Lingua Franca in the Asia region and global pressures. The teachers who participated in this study thought that the future changes would be in line with these contemporary changes. It was also evident that future programmes might continue to face both internal and external challenges. The thesis concluded by reflecting on future challenges which needed to be addressed and the resulting implications for research, professional development, and practice

Predictors of diabetes self-management among type 2 diabetics in Indonesia: Application theory of the health promotion model

Objective This study aimed to identify factors predicting diabetes self-management among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Malang City, East Java, Indonesia. Methods A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Participants were selected from five primary health centers in Malang City, East Java, Indonesia using the multistage sampling method. A total of 127 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited. Data were collected by questionnaires which were the general diabetes knowledge, the Beliefs of Treatment Effectiveness, the Diabetes Distress Scale, the Self-efficacy for Diabetes Scale, the brief Chronic Illness Resources Survey, the Situational Questionnaire and the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Multiple linear regression with stepwise method was used toanalyze the data. Results The scores of seven questionnaires (i.e, diabetes knowledge, perceived benefit of diabetes self-management, diabetes distress, perceived self-efficacy, social support, situational influence, and diabetes self-management) were 13.75 ± 3.59, 34.9 ± 4.89, 3.03 ± 0.86, 3.60 ± 0.53, 27.79 ± 5.56, 3.27 ± 0.58,3.81 ± 1.08, respectively. The significant predictors of diabetes self-management were treatment, perceived self-efficacy, and situational influences. These variables explained 20.8% (adjusted R2 = 0.208) of the variance in diabetes self-management among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Malang City. Conclusion Diabetes self-management among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus could be improved by enhancing their perceived self-efficacy to achieve their self-management behavior, such as having a healthy diet, exercising regularly, actively monitoring blood glucose level, taking medication and foot care, and providing support to promote good situational influence

The Relationships among Socio-demographic Characteristics, Structural Empowerment, and Job Satisfaction of Community Health Volunteers in Indonesia

Among different kinds of community resources, human resources are the most essential for the process of developing healthy communities. One of them is community health volunteers. However, it is not easy to keep voluntary workers as part of health programs even though they have been trained. A descriptive correlation study design was used to examine the relationships among socio-demographic characteristics, structural empowerment, and job satisfaction of community health volunteers. A total of 341 of community health volunteers participated in this study. The results showed that some of socio-demographic characteristics of community health volunteers including age, years of experience and training experience were significantly related to job satisfaction. However, the marital status, level of education and occupation of respondents were not significantly associated with job satisfaction. Structural empowerment was significantly associated with job satisfaction of community health volunteers. The study concludes that community health volunteers who had a chance to improve structural empowerment was more likely to have higher level of job satisfaction

The Effect of Lifestyle Modification Program on Behavior Change and Physical Condition among Hypertensive Elders

High blood pressure is a significant health problem worldwide and increase the risks of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and blindness. The Joint National Committee suggested a lifestyle modification besides drug medication in the prevention and treatment of hypertension. The aspects that highly affected behavior when intervention of health behavior done by nursing was interpersonal aspects that was guided by the Social Cognitive Theory [SCT]. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the lifestyle modification program with SCT as a guideline on self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C. A quasi experiment with two groups, pre and post- test was the design of this study. The sample was randomly selected 29 hypertensive elders in each group from two different primary health centers in the North-Bekasi sub district, West Java, Indonesia. The instrument used consists of 2 parts, the lifestyle modification program and a self-administered questionnaire including physical examination. Paired t-test and independent t- test were used for data analysis. The results showed there was a significant difference of self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C within the intervention group (p<.001) and there was a significant difference of self-efficacy, outcome expectation, heart rate, and LDL-C between the intervention group and the comparison group (p<.001). In conclusion, the results indicate that the lifestyle modification program has a positive effect on improving hypertensive elders’ self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and maintaining their heart rate, and LDL- C.

Factors Affecting Stress in Elderly Staying in Public Nursing Home in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The elderly people are vulnerable to the impact of stress. Previous studies reported that the elderly who had lived in nursing homes may be stimulated stress more often than other groups. The purpose of this study is to examine the factor affecting stress in elderly who staying in public nursing homes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A total of 178 elderly people were recruited from three public nursing homes. Statistical analyses were conducted by employing descriptive and logistic regression. The finding also showed that the model of the logistic regression accounted 33.4% of the variance in stress in elderly staying in public nursing home. The result showed that the strongest contribution to stress in elderly was activity of daily living, followed by social support, perceived health status, and education.

Global assessment of manure management policies and practices

In 2014 an assessment of livestock manure policies was performed in 34 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, followed by an in-depth assessment of manure management practices in Bangladesh, Viet Nam, Ethiopia, Malawi, Argentina and Costa Rica. The assessments revealed the key barriers for improving integrated manure management and identified six opportunities for actual practice changes to improve manure related policies as well as farm practices with the overall objective of improving food security while mitigating methane emissions at the same tim

Design with neotribes

The neotribe is a sociological concept which postulates the return of tribes in a contemporary form. French sociologist Michel Maffesoli sees them as an emotional community, sometimes ephemeral, changeable in composition and which often lacks organisation and routinisation, in contrast to the original form of a tribe. This paper reflects on three interactive design projects made to test this theory, undertaken in 2017 and 2018. The projects were developed around three tribes: the People’s Fridge, the Freegans in Brixton (London) and the Tuskers on the EVE Online game. These groups are of interest because of their strong purpose and shared values. The notion of emergence is of particular interest in their development as it unites ethnographic and design approaches. This paper explores the research (divergence) and the making process (convergence). The research engages with theory and object analysis as catalysers. Finally, the process allows us to explore concepts such as DIY citizenship, the gift economy, values in an online game community and critique the notion of ‘smart’ in the Internet of Things. Hence, we hope this methodology allows more designers to contribute to a subject that goes beyond practice

Developments in Transduction, Connectivity and AI/Machine Learning for Point-of-Care Testing

We review some emerging trends in transduction, connectivity and data analytics for Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) of infectious and non-communicable diseases. The patient need for POCT is described along with developments in portable diagnostics, specifically in respect of Lab-on-chip and microfluidic systems. We describe some novel electrochemical and photonic systems and the use of mobile phones in terms of hardware components and device connectivity for POCT. Developments in data analytics that are applicable for POCT are described with an overview of data structures and recent AI/Machine learning trends. The most important methodologies of machine learning, including deep learning methods, are summarised. The potential value of trends within POCT systems for clinical diagnostics within Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are highlighted