28 research outputs found
PEMANFAATAN TEKNOLOGI INDERAJA UNTUK PENINGKATAN EKONOMI NELAYAN DI DESA LILIBOY
Remote sensing technology has developed very rapidly and has a very significant role in the fisheries and marine sector as a provider of data and information. Liliboy Country is a coastal village located on the island of Ambon which has very productive waters with potential for fishing activities. This Community Service is made in the form of counseling, with the aim of introducing technological knowledge and providing information about fishing areas, as well as developing skills for the fishermen of Liliboy village to get more effective and efficient catches. It is hoped that the fishing community of Liliboy village will understand the use of sensing technology to determine fishing areas so that it will grow the community's economy and improve the welfare of lif
Sosialisasi Mitigasi Bencana Daerah Pesisir Bagi Siswa SD Negeri Rutong
Disaster mitigation is an effort to reduce casualties and provide a proper and good understanding to the public regarding natural disasters. This activity aims to provide early insight and knowledge regarding natural disasters. The method of implementing this community service uses the socialization method with Rutong State Elementary School students as participants. This socialization material focuses on mitigating the tsunami and earthquake disasters, a major threat to Rutong Village, located in a coastal area
The only African wild tobacco, Nicotiana africana: Alkaloid content and the effect of herbivory
Herbivory in some Nicotiana species is known to induce alkaloid production. This study examined herbivore-induced defenses in the nornicotine-rich African tobacco N. africana, the only Nicotiana species indigenous to Africa. We tested the predictions that: 1) N. africana will have high constitutive levels of leaf, flower and nectar alkaloids; 2) leaf herbivory by the African bollworm Helicoverpa armigera will induce increased alkaloid levels in leaves, flowers and nectar; and 3) increased alkaloid concentrations in herbivore-damaged plants will negatively affect larval growth. We grew N. africana in large pots in a greenhouse and exposed flowering plants to densities of one, three and six fourth-instar larvae of H. armigera, for four days. Leaves, flowers and nectar were analyzed for nicotine, nornicotine and anabasine. The principal leaf alkaloid was nornicotine (mean: 28 µg/g dry mass) followed by anabasine (4.9 µg/g) and nicotine (0.6 µg/g). Nornicotine was found in low quantities in the flowers, but no nicotine or anabasine were recorded. The nectar contained none of the alkaloids measured. Larval growth was reduced when leaves of flowering plants were exposed to six larvae. As predicted by the optimal defense theory, herbivory had a localized effect and caused an increase in nornicotine concentrations in both undamaged top leaves of herbivore damaged plants and herbivore damaged leaves exposed to one and three larvae. The nicotine concentration increased in damaged compared to undamaged middle leaves. The nornicotine concentration was lower in damaged leaves of plants exposed to six compared to three larvae, suggesting that N. africana rather invests in new growth as opposed to protecting older leaves under severe attack. The results indicate that the nornicotine-rich N. africana will be unattractive to herbivores and more so when damaged, but that potential pollinators will be unaffected because the nectar remains alkaloid-free even after herbivory
Stepped-wedge randomised trial of laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy in adults with chronic constipation: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) is an established treatment for external full-thickness rectal prolapse. However, its clinical efficacy in patients with internal prolapse is uncertain due to the lack of high-quality evidence. METHODS: An individual level, stepped-wedge randomised trial has been designed to allow observer-blinded data comparisons between patients awaiting LVMR with those who have undergone surgery. Adults with symptomatic internal rectal prolapse, unresponsive to prior conservative management, will be eligible to participate. They will be randomised to three arms with different delays before surgery (0, 12 and 24 weeks). Efficacy outcome data will be collected at equally stepped time points (12, 24, 36 and 48 weeks). The primary objective is to determine clinical efficacy of LVMR compared to controls with reduction in the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) at 24 weeks serving as the primary outcome. Secondary objectives are to determine: (1) the clinical effectiveness of LVMR to 48 weeks to a maximum of 72 weeks; (2) pre-operative determinants of outcome; (3) relevant health economics for LVMR; (4) qualitative evaluation of patient and health professional experience of LVMR and (5) 30-day morbidity and mortality rates. DISCUSSION: An individual-level, stepped-wedge, randomised trial serves the purpose of providing an untreated comparison for the active treatment group, while at the same time allowing the waiting-listed participants an opportunity to obtain the intervention at a later date. In keeping with the basic ethical tenets of this design, the average waiting time for LVMR (12 weeks) will be shorter than that for routine services (24 weeks)
HIV-1 co-receptor usage:influence on mother-to-child transmission and pediatric infection
Viral CCR5 usage is not a predictive marker of mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1. CXCR4-using viral variants are little represented in pregnant women, have an increased although not significant risk of transmission and can be eventually also detected in the neonates. Genetic polymorphisms are more frequently of relevance in the child than in the mother. However, specific tissues as the placenta or the intestine, which are involved in the prevalent routes of infection in MTCT, may play an important role of selective barriers
Regulation of outside-in signaling and affinity by the β(2) I domain of integrin α(L)β(2)
The adhesiveness of integrin α(L)β(2) is modulated by divalent cations. We mutated three metal ion-binding sites in the β(2) I domain. The metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) and the ligand-induced metal-binding site are required for ligand binding and sufficient for synergism between Ca(2+) and Mg(2+). Adjacent to MIDAS (ADMIDAS) mutants are constitutively active but remain bent, with poor exposure of a β(2) stalk region epitope. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer between fluorescent protein-fused α(L) and β(2) cytoplasmic domains showed that ADMIDAS mutation abrogated ligand binding-induced spatial separation of cytoplasmic domains. Furthermore, ADMIDAS mutation abolished spreading on ligand-bearing substrates. Thus, β(2) I domain metal ion-binding sites regulate α(L) I domain affinity, and the ADMIDAS is required for outside-in signaling