Alterations in Lipids and Adipocyte Hormones in Female-to-Male Transsexuals

Testosterone therapy in men and women results in decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). We sought to determine whether testosterone therapy has this same effect on lipid parameters and adipocyte hormones in female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals. Twelve FTM transsexuals provided a fasting lipid profile including serum total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides prior to and after 1 year of testosterone therapy (testosterone enanthate or cypionate 50–125mg IM every two weeks). Subjects experienced a significant decrease in mean serum HDL (52 ± 11 to 40 ± 7mg/dL) (P < .001). The mean LDL (P = .316), triglyceride (P = .910), and total cholesterol (P = .769) levels remained unchanged. In a subset of subjects, we measured serum leptin levels which were reduced by 25% but did not reach statistical significance (P =.181) while resistin levels remained unchanged. We conclude that testosterone therapy in FTM transsexuals can promote an increased atherogenic lipid profile by lowering HDL and possibly reduce serum leptin levels. However, long-term studies are needed to determine whether decreases in HDL result in adverse cardiovascular outcomes.National Institutes of Health (M01RR000533

The impact of patients' chronic disease on family quality of life : an experience from 26 specialties

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have assessed family quality of life in individual disease areas and specialties. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of disease on family members of patients over a wide range of specialties and identify key impact areas. This information is essential in order to reveal the extent of this impact and to allow strategies to be developed to support the family members of patients with chronic disease. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 133 family members of mostly chronically ill patients from 26 medical specialties. Family members were invited to discuss all areas of their lives that had been affected by having an unwell relative. Thematic analysis was carried out using NVivo9® software. RESULTS: Most family members were female (61%), the partner or spouse of the patient (56%), or the parent (22%). Their mean age was 56.1 years (range: 21-85 years) and the mean duration of the patient's disease was 8.9 years (range: 1 month to 60 years). Ten key themes of family quality of life were identified from interviews. The median number of themes reported by family members was six (range: 1-10). The key themes included: emotional impact (mentioned by 92% of subjects), daily activities (91%), family relationships (69%), sleep and health (67%), holidays (62%), involvement in medical care and support given to family members (61%), work and study (52%), financial impact (51%), social life (37%), and time planning (14%). Relationships between the themes were identified. CONCLUSION: This large scale multi-specialty study has demonstrated the significant, yet similar, impact that illness can have on the quality of life of patients' family members. Family quality of life is a previously neglected area of health care which needs to be addressed in order to provide appropriate support for the patient and the family unit.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PAWUBEA DALAM PEMBELAJARAN TEMATIK DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MODEL CTL (CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING) PADA SISWA KELAS III

Thematic learning is learning that combines several subjects into one theme to form a unified whole. Based on the results of needs analysis in observations and interviews, the problem was found that students still find it difficult to understand themed learning because they are related to one another. Learning media factors that influence class III students find it difficult to understand the content of the material because it tends to be monotonous. The learning process of class III students still does not use learning media concretely. The results of class III students' responses to PAWUBEA learning media were that students were enthusiastic in learning. The aim of this research is to develop PAWUBEA learning media to improve student learning outcomes in thematic learning for class III elementary school students. This research uses the ADDIE development model which consists of 5 stages, namely analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation. The data collection techniques used in this research and development are observation, interviews, questionnaires and documentation. Meanwhile, the data analysis techniques used are qualitative data analysis techniques and quantitative data analysis techniques. The location targeted by the researchers was SDN Kalisongo 2 Malang with research subjects namely class III elementary school students with a total of 4 people. The level of validity of the results of PAWUBEA learning media development obtained from expert validators and student responses. Validation of material experts received a percentage of 82.14% with very good qualifications, validation of learning media experts received a percentage of 78.125% with very good qualifications. These results show that PAWUBEA learning media is very interesting and suitable for use in the classroom learning process. Meanwhile, the results of this research and development are that students are very enthusiastic and interested in new things in the learning process, which can be seen from the student response questionnaire which received a percentage of 90.625% with very good qualifications

THE EFFECTS OF SEED SOAKING WITH PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON SEEDLING VIGOR OF WHEAT UNDER SALINITY STRESS

Effects of seed soaking with plant growth regulators (IAA, GA3, kinetin or prostart) on wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Auqab-2000) emergence and seedling growth under normal (4 dS/cm) and saline (15 dS/cm) conditions were studied to determine their usefulness in increasing relative salt-tolerance. During emergence test, emergence percentage and mean emergence time (MET) were significantly affected by most of priming treatments, however, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of seedlings were significantly increased by 25 ppm kinetin followed by 1% prostart for 2 h treatments under both normal and saline conditions. All pre-sowing seed treatments decreased the electrolyte leakage of steep water as compared to that of non-primed seeds even after 12 h of soaking. Seed soaking with 25 ppm kinetin induced maximum decrease in electrolyte leakage while an increase in electrolyte leakage was observed by 25, 50 or 100 ppm IAA treatments. It is concluded that priming has reduced the severity of the effect of salinity but the amelioration was better due to 25 ppm kinetin and 1% prostart (2 h) treatments as these showed best results on seedling growth, fresh and dry weights under non-saline and saline conditions whereas seed soaking with IAA and GA3 were not effective in inducing salt tolerance under present experimental material and conditions

Hubungan Pola Asuh Orang Tua Dengan Status Gizi Balita

Pola Asuh orang tua merupakan peran utama dalam pertumbuhan pada masa balita, Gizi adalah segala sesuatu yang dikonsumsi oleh manusia yang mengandung unsur-unsur zat gizi yaitu karbohidrat, vitamin, mineral, lemak, protein dan air yang digunakan untuk mempertahankan kehidupan, pertumbuhan dan perkembangan dari organ-organ tubuh manusia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan pola asuh orang dengan status gizi balita di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Kulo Tahun 2020. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah kuantitatif, dengan metode Deskriptif Analitik dengan pendekatan Cross sectional dimana peneliti mengukur variabel secara bersama dan hasil yang diperoleh menggambarkan kondisi yang terjadi saat penelitian dilakukan. Populasi penelitian adalah orang tua yang memiliki balita di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Kulo&nbsp; tahun 2020 dan tehnik pengambilan sampel dengan cara Purposive Sampling.&nbsp; Penelitian menggunakan uji Pearson Chi- Square, &nbsp;didapatkan ada hubungan pola asuh orang tua dengan status gizi balita di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Tahun 2020 (p=0,002). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp

Prospective evaluation of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of non-falciparum and mixed-species malaria in Gabon

Background: The recommendation of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) as first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria is supported by a plethora of high quality clinical trials. However, their recommendation for the treatment of mixed-species malaria and the large-scale use for the treatment of non-falciparum malaria in endemic regions is based on anecdotal rather than systematic clinical evidence. Methods: This study prospectively observed the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated non-falciparum or mixed-species malaria in two routine district hospitals in the Central African country of Gabon. Results: Forty patients suffering from uncomplicated Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale or mixed-species malaria (including Plasmodium falciparum) presenting at the hospital received artemether-lumefantrine treatment and were followed up. All evaluable patients (n = 38) showed an adequate clinical and parasitological response on Day 28 after oral treatment with artemether-lumefantrine (95% confidence interval: 0.91,1). All adverse events were of mild to moderate intensity and completely resolved by the end of study. Conclusions: This first systematic assessment of artemether-lumefantrine treatment for P. malariae, P. ovale and mixed-species malaria demonstrated a high cure rate of 100% and a favourable tolerability profile, and thus lends support to the practice of treating non-falciparum or mixed-species malaria, or all cases of malaria without definite species differentiation, with artemether-lumefantrine in Gabon. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0072577

Japanese version of the family dermatology life quality index: translation and validation

Skin conditions affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients and their family. To assess family members' QoL, a questionnaire uniquely designed for family members is necessary. We translated the Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI), originally created and validated by Basra et al., into Japanese, and evaluated its reliability and validity. For psychometric evaluations, 150 dermatology patients and their family members were included. The Japanese version of the FDLQI showed high test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.95) and internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). FDLQI scores significantly correlated with DLQI scores (r = 0.58, P < 0.01, Spearman's rho) and global question (GQ) which measured the patient's skin condition on a visual analog scale (r = 0.36, P < 0.01). Family members of patients with inflammatory skin diseases showed higher FDLQI scores than those with isolated lesions, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.062, Mann–Whitney U-test). Responsiveness to change was demonstrated in a group in which the patient's skin condition was assessed as improved (n = 37, r = 0.46, P < 0.01) but not in that in which it became worse. The difference of the change between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Additionally, the change in FDLQI scores and GQ were significantly correlated (r = 0.40, P < 0.01). Exploratory factor analysis suggested essential unidimensionality of the instrument. We showed acceptable validity and responsiveness of this Japanese version of FDLQI. Further clinical epidemiological studies are required to confirm this

Genetic Changes Leading to Antibiotic Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli

The spread of antibiotic resistance has limited the use of antibiotics in clinical settings, resulting in a huge threat to public health worldwide. Multidrug resistance causes thousands of deaths annually and is currently a significant financial burden in many countries. In this study, clinical isolates of Escherichia coli with varying drug resistance profiles were used to understand the genetic changes contributing to quinolone and β-lactam resistance. Novel genetic changes in gyrA and gyrB genes, known to contribute to quinolone resistance, were recorded. Furthermore, the CTX-M-14 and -15 genes were found in most β-lactam resistance strains. Significant correlations between mutations in novel genes and various phenotypic data were also observed, suggesting a role for these genes in determining these phenotypes. This work further increases our knowledge regarding causes of antibiotic resistance in clinical strains and lays foundation for future research