Analisis Faktor Sosial Ekonomi yang Mempengaruhi Keputusan Petani dalam Program Tunda Jual Gabah di Dusun Krajan, Desa Selodakon, Kecamatan Tanggul, Kabupaten Jember

Tunda jual merupakan suatu tindakan melakukan stabilisasi harga komoditas pertanian dengan cara tidak langsung menjual komoditas tersebut pada saat panen (harga rendah) melainkan menyimpan terlebih dahulu dan menjual pada saat harga dirasa stabil. Petani dalam memasarkan hasil USAhatani memiliki pertimbangan dalam memutuskan untuk menjual langsung atau tunda jual setelah panen. Keputusan petani dipengaruhi oleh sejumlah faktor. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan sistem resi gudang di tingkat petani dan menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi biaya transaksi di tingkat petani. Persepsi petani padi di Dusun Krajan Desa Selodakon mengenai indikator input termasuk kategori sangat baik, sedangkan persepsi petani padi mengenai indikator ouput, hasil, dampak, dan manfaat termasuk kategori baik. Variabel yang berpengaruh terhadap keputusan petani menerapkan sistem tunda jual adalah variabel jumlah kehadiran sosialisasi mengenai sistem tunda jual dan jarak lahan ke gapoktan. Semakin sering petani padi di Dusun Krajan Desa Selodakon meghadiri sosialisasi penyuluhan tunda jual maka petani akan berpeluang untuk memutuskan melakukan sistem tunda jual sebesar 3,244 kali. Sedangkan semakin jauh jarak lahan ke gapoktan maka petani akan berpeluang untuk memutuskan tidak melakukan sistem tunda jual sebesar 0,135 kali

Gottron's Papules Exhibit Dermal Accumulation of CD44 Variant 7 (CD44v7) and Its Binding Partner Osteopontin: A Unique Molecular Signature

The accumulated mucin in non-Gottron's dermatomyositis (DM) lesions is primarily chondroitin-4-sulfate (C4S), which is immunomodulatory in vitro. Gottron's papules are a particularly resistant manifestation of DM that often persist after other lesions have resolved with therapy. We examined non-Gottron's DM lesions and Gottron's papule skin biopsies for C4S, CD44 variant 7 (CD44v7), a chondroitin sulfate-binding isoform causally implicated in autoimmunity, and osteopontin (OPN), a CD44v7 ligand implicated in chronic inflammation. Gottron's papule dermis contained more C4S and CD44v7 than non-Gottron's lesions. Normal skin showed less CD44v7 over joints relative to Gottron's lesions. All DM dermis had increased OPN compared with healthy skin. Mechanically stretching cultured fibroblasts for 6hours induced CD44v7 mRNA and protein, whereas IFN-γ treatment induced OPN mRNA and protein. OPN alone did not induce CD44v7, but stretching dermal fibroblasts in the presence of OPN increased human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) monocyte binding, which is blunted by anti-CD44v7 blocking antibody. C4S, CD44v7, and OPN are three molecules uniquely present in Gottron's papules that contribute to inflammation individually and in association with one another. We propose that stretch-induced CD44v7 over joints, in concert with dysregulated OPN levels in the skin of DM patients, increases local inflammatory cell recruitment and contributes to the pathogenesis and resistance of Gottron's papules

Efficient Circular Repeated Measurements Designs Nearly Strongly Balanced for Carryover Effects

Repeated measurements designs (RMDs) are always economical but with the use of these designs, there may arise carryover effects. Minimal strongly balanced RMDs are well known to estimate the treatment effects and carryover effects independently. Where these minimal designs cannot be constructed, minimal nearly strongly balanced RMDs are used to balance the carryover effects. In this article, efficient circular nearly strongly balanced RMDs are constructed in periods of two and three different sizes with the smallest of size four

Free radical scavenging potential of methanol extract of Ficus thonningii leave and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LCMS) profiling

This study evaluated the in vitro and in vivo free radical scavenging potentials of methanol extract of Ficus thonningii leaf and its liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LCMS) profiling. The qualitative phytochemical screening was carried out and the results show the presence of tannins, flavonoids, saponins glycoside and triterpenes. Antioxidant activities were carried out in vitro and in vivo and the reducing power shows a value of 0.53 ± 0.007 with a significant (p < 0.05) difference compared to the control and Diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) value of 59.0 ± 0.007 with a significantly different (p < 0.05) compared to the control. However, the two assays are concentration-dependent. The in vivo analysis shows that lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities have values of 24.03± 8.04, 1.60± 0.03 and 0.003± 0.001 respectively. All the values are significantly different when compared to the control and are concentration-dependent. The LCMS results revealed the presence of some important metabolites; phenolic glycosides and quassin, which are potential molecules against free radicals. Therefore, Ficus thonningii leaf contains vital antioxidants and could be used in health management to boost the immune system or in drug development

Determining Project Performance: The Role of Training and Compensation

The HR is one of the important departments for any organization to accomplish its management tasks in an effective and efficient manner. Major failures of projects may occur due to lack of proper HR planning. This study is aimed to assess whether training and compensations of a project team have any links with the project performance. The data was collected from 73 employees from four main consultant companies working together on a project, located in Lahore, Pakistan. Responses were gone through EFA and Cronbach's Alpha test to assure consistency and reliability. Finally, path analysis in SEM using Amos was run to explore the nature and strength of the links. Results suggest that both training and compensation of project team members are positively associates with project performance. Keywords: HR Planning, Training, Project performance, Compensation, Pakista

Antibiogram of Bacteria Isolated from Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infection at the general outpatient department of some hospitals in Kebbi State, Nigeria

The rise in antibiotic resistance could be a growing public health concern among agents of respiratory tract infection, which is liable for morbidity, mortality, and costs in Africa. This study was designed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from patients with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) attending some Kebbi State, Nigeria hospitals. Three hundred and fifty sputum samples were collected from consented patients with the symptoms of LRTI attending six different hospitals in Kebbi State. The samples were all screened for significant bacterial growth using standard microbiological techniques. The bacterial isolates were identified using conventional biochemical tests and then confirmed using a commercial biochemical test kit (MICROBACT) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were identified using the disc diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus was the foremost predominant bacteria isolated, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, with an estimated percentage occurrence of 31.1% and 22.2%, respectively. Other bacteria isolated include Klebsiella oxytoca (13.9%), Escherichia coli (11.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.6%), Aeromonas hydrophila (5.6%), Acinetobacter baumannii (4.6%), B. pseudomallei (2.8%) and Proteus spp (2.8%). Most of the isolates were ssusceptible to piperacilin (51%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (61%), Azithromycin (70%), Ciprofloxacin (71%) and Gentamycin (74%), so as of ranking. High resistance was recorded in βeta-lactam antibiotics, erythromycin and vancomycin tested. Finally, it was revealed that Staphylococcus aureus is the most predominant bacteria isolated. Most of the isolates were resistant to the β-lactam antibiotic tested. Azithromycin, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamycin, and piperacillin remain helpful antibiotics for treating LRTIs in these centers

Tapping into the Power Lines of Project Success: The Strategic Role of Ethical Climate

Success has continued to elude many projects world over and hence raised the need to step up measures aimed at reversing this trend. Given the unique nature of particular projects, any efforts to cause project success ought to be targeted at a clearly defined set of projects. This study aimed at investigating the strategic role that the ethical climate components of Egoism, Principle and Benevolence play in enhancing the performance of Poverty Eradication Projects in LDCs, particularly Uganda. Cross sectional and quantitative survey designs were used with a study sample of 323 National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) projects.  The results revealed that the ethical climate components of Egoism, Principle and Benevolence positively relate with and predict performance of poverty eradication projects. These findings generate implications and inform particular recommendations on the success of projects in LDCs as this article articulates. Keywords: Project, Ethical Climate, Poverty, Performance, Strateg

Direct maternal morbidity and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: A population-based prospective cohort study in 8 countries

Background: Maternal morbidity occurs several times more frequently than mortality, yet data on morbidity burden and its effect on maternal, foetal, and newborn outcomes are limited in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to generate prospective, reliable population-based data on the burden of major direct maternal morbidities in the antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods and its association with maternal, foetal, and neonatal death in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.Methods and findings: This is a prospective cohort study, conducted in 9 research sites in 8 countries of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted population-based surveillance of women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) to identify pregnancies. Pregnant women who gave consent were include in the study and followed up to birth and 42 days postpartum from 2012 to 2015. We used standard operating procedures, data collection tools, and training to harmonise study implementation across sites. Three home visits during pregnancy and 2 home visits after birth were conducted to collect maternal morbidity information and maternal, foetal, and newborn outcomes. We measured blood pressure and proteinuria to define hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and woman\u27s self-report to identify obstetric haemorrhage, pregnancy-related infection, and prolonged or obstructed labour. Enrolled women whose pregnancy lasted at least 28 weeks or those who died during pregnancy were included in the analysis. We used meta-analysis to combine site-specific estimates of burden, and regression analysis combining all data from all sites to examine associations between the maternal morbidities and adverse outcomes. Among approximately 735,000 women of reproductive age in the study population, and 133,238 pregnancies during the study period, only 1.6% refused consent. Of these, 114,927 pregnancies had morbidity data collected at least once in both antenatal and in postnatal period, and 114,050 of them were included in the analysis. Overall, 32.7% of included pregnancies had at least one major direct maternal morbidity; South Asia had almost double the burden compared to sub-Saharan Africa (43.9%, 95% CI 27.8% to 60.0% in South Asia; 23.7%, 95% CI 19.8% to 27.6% in sub-Saharan Africa). Antepartum haemorrhage was reported in 2.2% (95% CI 1.5% to 2.9%) pregnancies and severe postpartum in 1.7% (95% CI 1.2% to 2.2%) pregnancies. Preeclampsia or eclampsia was reported in 1.4% (95% CI 0.9% to 2.0%) pregnancies, and gestational hypertension alone was reported in 7.4% (95% CI 4.6% to 10.1%) pregnancies. Prolonged or obstructed labour was reported in about 11.1% (95% CI 5.4% to 16.8%) pregnancies. Clinical features of late third trimester antepartum infection were present in 9.1% (95% CI 5.6% to 12.6%) pregnancies and those of postpartum infection in 8.6% (95% CI 4.4% to 12.8%) pregnancies. There were 187 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 births, 27 stillbirths per 1,000 births, and 28 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births with variation by country and region. Direct maternal morbidities were associated with each of these outcomes.Conclusions: Our findings imply that health programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia must intensify their efforts to identify and treat maternal morbidities, which affected about one-third of all pregnancies and to prevent associated maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths.Trial registration: The study is not a clinical trial

Arsenic speciation and biotransformation pathways in the aquatic ecosystem: The significance of algae

© 2020 Elsevier B.V. The contamination of aquatic systems with arsenic (As) is considered to be an internationally-important health and environmental issue, affecting over 115 countries globally. Arsenic contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a global threat as it can enter the food chain from As-rich water and cause harmful impacts on the humans and other living organisms. Although different factors (e.g., pH, redox potential, iron/manganese oxides, and microbes) control As biogeochemical cycling and speciation in water systems, the significance of algal species in biotransformation of As is poorly understood. The overarching attribute of this review is to briefly elaborate various As sources and its distribution in water bodies and factors affecting As biogeochemical behavior in aqueous ecosystems. This review elucidates the intriguing role of algae in biotransformation/volatilization of As in water bodies under environmentally-relevant conditions. Also, we critically delineate As sorption, uptake, oxidation and reduction pathways of As by algae and their possible role in bioremediation of As-contaminated water (e.g., drinking water, wastewater). The current review provides the updated and useful framework for government and water treatment agencies to implement algae in As remediation programs globally