The menopausal experience among indigenous women of Sarawak, Malaysia

Objectives To document the common menopausal symptoms and quality of life in indigenous women of Sarawak in Malaysia. Methods A face-to-face interview using the Menopause-specific Quality of Life questionnaire was conducted with 276 indigenous Sarawakian women aged 40–65 years to determine the mean age of menopause and common symptoms (divided into vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains) associated with menopause. Results The mean age at menopause of postmenopausal women was 50.78+2.47 years (range 47.3–58.2 years). The most common symptoms reported were aching in muscles and joints (82.6%), lack of energy (77.5%) and low backache (77.2%). The typical menopausal symptoms of hot flushes, night sweats, sweating and vaginal dryness were experienced by 42.4%, 34.8%, 29.7% and 49.3%, respectively of the women studied. Perimenopausal women (n¼114) experienced the most physical and psychosocial symptoms, while postmenopausal women (n¼102) experienced most sexual symptoms. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were reported to suffer more than premenopausal women (p50.001) within the four domains of symptoms (vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual). Conclusions The menopausal symptoms in this study correspond to those in other studies on Asian women but the prevalence of typical and classical menopausal symptoms was lower compared to studies on Caucasian women. The perimenopausal women had the most significant decrease in quality of life, followed by postmenopausal women and premenopausal women. Vasomotor symptoms had a predominant influence on the quality of life

The Profile of Creativity and Proposing Statistical Problem Quality Level Reviewed From Cognitive Style

This research aims to reveal the profile about the level of creativity and the ability to propose statistical problem of students at Mathematics Education 2014 Batch in the State University of Makassar in terms of their cognitive style. This research uses explorative qualitative method by giving meta-cognitive scaffolding at the time of research. The hypothesis of research is that students who have field independent (FI) cognitive style in statistics problem posing from the provided information already able to propose the statistical problem that can be solved and create new data and the problem is already been included as a high quality statistical problem, while students who have dependent cognitive field (FD) commonly are still limited in statistics problem posing that can be finished and do not load new data and the problem is included as medium quality statistical problem

Maternal risk factors for the VACTERL association: a EUROCAT case-control study

International audienc

Brand Image Mediates Product Quality and Electronic Word of Mouth Towards Purchase Decision

The purpose of this research was to identify and analyze the role of Brand Image in mediating Product Quality and Electronic Word of Mouth on Purchase Decisions at Taman Prakerti Bhuana consumers. The research population is consumers of Taman Prakerti Bhuana whose number is unknown. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with 102 respondents. The research instruments used were questionnaires, observation, interviews and literature and analysis methods used were descriptive analysis and inferential analysis with Structural Equation Model-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) analysis. The results of the research show that product quality, eWOM and brand image have a positive and significant effect on purchase decision, product quality and eWOM have a positive and significant effect on brand image, brand image can positively and significantly mediate the effect of product quality and eWOM on purchase decision. The implication of the research is for Prakerti Bhuana Park to provide the best service as much as possible so that product quality and eWOM are still perceived very well by consumers so that it will have implications for increasing purchase decisions at Prakerti Bhuana Park. Researchers suggest to Prakerti Bhuana Park to be able to evaluate and innovate in efforts to increase product quality and eWOM so that it has implications for increasing consumer purchase decisions. &nbsp

Oscillation detection of a quadrotor system carrying suspended payload using image processing technique

This paper proposes using an image processing technique to detect the oscillation deflection of a quadrotor system carrying a suspended payload. A wireless smart camera is attached underneath the quadrotor to capture the payload oscillation in transit from one place to another. The image processing technique was used to measure the oscillation and response based on the output signal captured by the smart camera. A Parrot BEPOP quadrotor drone was used for the experiment and the image processing technique was realised using MATLAB software. Experiments were carried out to detect and analyse the payload oscillation response under different payload masses. The experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the image processing technique in detecting the payload oscillation under different payload masses

Clonal propagation and cryogenic storage of the medicinal plant Stevia rebaudiana

Successful clonal propagation of Stevia rebaudiana was achieved using microshoots as a primary step for in vitro conservation. Maximum proliferation was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L�1 benzyl amino purine and 0.2 mg L�1 indole-3-butyric-acid (IBA). Auxin increased rooting percentage of shoots at concentration of 0.4 mg L�1 IBA, indole-3-acetic-acid or naphthalene acetic acid and no rooting occurred without plant growth regulator. A survival of 90% was achieved when rooted explants were acclimatized in vivo in 1 soil: 1 perlite: 1 peat. In vitro S. rebaudiana shoots were successfully stored for up to 32 weeks on MS medium supplemented with an appropriate concentration of sucrose, sorbitol or mannitol, at 24 ± 2°C. After 32 weeks, 93.6% of the shoots were able to survive. Moreover, 89.3% of them were able to regrow when stored under light conditions. Cryopreservation by vitrification was successfully achieved (65.6% regrowth) when shoot tips were precultured on a medium supplemented with 0.4 M sorbitol for 2 d, followed by loading shoot tips with 80% concentrated plant vitrification solution 2 (PVS2) for 20 min; then dehydrated with 100% PVS2 for 60 min at 0°C prior to storage in liquid nitrogen. This procedure is easy to handle and produced a high levels of shoot formation. This protocol could be useful for longterm storage of S. rebaudiana germplasm.Se logró con éxito la propagación clonal de Stevia rebaudiana, utilizando microtallos como primer paso para su conservación in vitro. Se obtuvo la proliferación máxima en el medio Murashige y Skoog (MS) suplementado con 1,5 mg L�1 de bencil amino purina y 0,2 mg L�1 de ácido indol-3-butírico (IBA). Las auxinas aumentaron el porcentaje de enraizamiento de los brotes en la concentración de 0,4 mg L�1 de IBA, ácido indol-3-acético o el ácido naftalen acético, pero no se produjo enraizamiento sin regulador del crecimiento vegetal. Se logró una supervivencia del 90% cuando los explantes enraizados fueron aclimatizados in vivo en 1 suelo: 1 perlita: 1 turba. Se almacenaron con éxito brotes de S. rebaudiana in vitro hasta 32 semanas a 24 ± 2°C, en medio MS suplementado con una concentración apropiada de sacarosa, sorbitol o manitol. Después de 32 semanas, el 93,6% de los brotes fueron capaces de sobrevivir y el 89,3% fueron capaces de rebrotar cuando se almacenaron bajo condiciones de luz. Se logró con éxito (65,6% rebrotes) la criopreservación por vitrificación cuando los ápices se pre-cultivaron durante 2 días en un medio suplementado con sorbitol 0,4 M, y a continuación con una solución de vitrificación de la planta 2 (PVS2) al 80% durante 20 minutos, seguido de una deshidratación con PVS2 al 100% durante 60 min a 0°C antes de su almacenamiento en nitrógeno líquido. Este procedimiento es fácil de ejecutar y puede ser útil para el almacenamiento a largo plazo del germoplasma de S. rebaudiana

PD-L1 hotspot in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of radically treated esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Pattern of recurrence and long-term clinical outcomes

Poster discussion: no. PD-006Most cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) recurred and eventually succumbed to the disease despite radical treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitor showed early promise in metastatic disease and preliminary evidence has suggested PD-L1 staining on tumor cells as a predictive marker for treatment outcomes. On the other hand, the role of PD-L1 on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has not been fully elucidated. We retrospectively analysed PD-L1 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining on both tumor cells and TILs. The pattern of recurrence and long-term clinical outcomes are presented