Suplementasi Probiotik terhadap Konsistensi Feses, Frekuensi dan Durasi Diare Akut pada Anak di RSUP Sanglah

Diare merupakan salah satu penyebab utama tingginya angka kesakitan dan kematian anak di dunia. Salah satu penyebab diare yaitu ketidakseimbangan flora normal usus. Suatu paradigma baru sedang dikembangkan dengan memanipulasi keberadaan probiotik dalam usus dan memelihara mikroekosistem sehingga dapat mencegah terjadinya kolonisasi patogen penyebab diare. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian suplementasi probiotik selain terapi baku terhadap konsistensi feses, frekuensi dan durasi diare akut pada anak di ruang rawat anak RSUP Sanglah Denpasar, Bali.Penelitian ini merupakan uji klinis eksperimental. Subjek penelitian dikelompokkan menjadi 3 kelompok, kelompok pertama dan kedua mendapat terapi baku dan penambahan suplementasi probiotik dengan regimen penggunaan 1 kali sehari dan 2 kali sehari, kelompok ketiga mendapat terapi baku tanpa suplementasi probiotik. Pengaruh probiotik terhadap konsistensi feses dianalisis dengan uji Kruskal-Wallis, sedangkan pengaruh probiotik terhadap frekuensi dan durasi diare dilakukan uji One-Way ANOVA dan dilanjutkan dengan LSD pada taraf kepercayaan 95%.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa probiotik tidak berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap konsistensi feses, frekuensi dan durasi diare akut pada anak

The thermal effect of internal exhaust gas recirculation on controlled auto ignition

Controlled Auto Ignition (CAI) uses compression heat to auto ignite a homogeneous air/fuel mixture. Using internal exhaust gas recirculation (IEGR) as an indirect control method, CAI offers superior fuel economy and pollutant emission reductions. Practically, this can readily be achieved by a method of early exhaust valve closure and late inlet valve opening to trap exhaust gas residuals within the cylinder from one cycle to the next. In order to understand the combustion mechanism, we did a comprehensive investigation on CAI fuelled with isooctane. Test data was gathered from a single cylinder research engine equipped with Lotus’ Research Active Valve Train (AVT) System, and the modelling study was based on detailed chemical kinetics. It was found that CAI can only occur when the thermal energy of the engine charge, which is a mixture of air / fuel and IEGR, reaches a certain level. This thermal energy is inherited from IEGR trapped inside the cylinder from the previous combustion cycle, when the air / fuel fresh charge was supplied at ambient conditions

Enlarging the operational range of a gasoline HCCI engine by controlling the coolant temperature

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine combustion uses heat energy from trapped exhaust gases enhanced by the piston compression heating to auto ignite a premixed air/gasoline mixture. As the HCCI combustion is controlled by the charge temperature, composition and pressure, it therefore, prevents the use of a direct control mechanism such as in the spark and diesel combustion. Using a large amount of trapped residual gas (TRG), is seen as one of the ways to achieve and control HCCI in a certain operating range. By varying the amount of TRG in the fresh air/fuel mixture (inside the cylinder), the charge mixture temperature, composition and pressure can be controlled and hence, the auto ignition timing and heat release rate. The controlled auto ignition (HCCI) engine concept has the potential to be highly efficient and to produce low NOx, carbon dioxide and particulate matter emissions. It has however been found that the TRG promoted HCCI combustion mainly depends on the quantity and quality of TRG, that on the other hand depend on the combustion quality of the previous cycle, valve timing, engine load and speed. In that way, the operating range in terms of engine load and speed, for a naturally aspirated HCCI engine, is restricted by a misfire at low load and by fierce (knocking) combustion at high load. One possible approach to extend the operating range of the HCCI combustion is to influence quality of the TRG by adjusting the coolant temperature. The engine coolant temperature influences the in-cylinder heat transfer process, which in turn influences the charge mixture temperature and therefore the HCCI combustion process itself. The aim of this paper is to present tests and results obtained on the single cylinder research engine, equipped with a Fully Variable Valve Train (FVVT) run over a range of coolant temperature in the HCCI combustion mode and fuelled with gasoline fuel. The results obtained suggest that with reducing the coolant temperature, the high load limit can be extended up to 14%, while with increasing the coolant temperature the low load limit can be extended up to 28%

Projected impact of heat on mortality and labour productivity under climate change in Switzerland

Extreme temperatures have reached unprecedented levels in many regions of the globe due to climate change, and a further increase is expected. Besides other consequences, high temperatures increase the mortality risk and severely affect the labour productivity of workers. We perform a high-resolution spatial analysis to assess the impacts of heat on mortality and labour productivity in Switzerland and project their development under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, considering that no socio-economic changes take place. The model is based on the risk framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which combines the three risk components: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. We model the two impact categories in the same spatially explicit framework, and we integrate uncertainties into the analysis by a Monte Carlo simulation. We model first that about 658 deaths are associated with heat exposure currently each year in Switzerland. Second, the economic costs caused by losses in labour productivity amount to around CHF 665 million (approx. USD 700 million) per year. Should we remain on an RCP8.5 emissions pathway, these values may double (for mortality) or even triple (for labour productivity) by the end of the century. Under an RCP2.6 scenario impacts are expected to slightly increase and peak around mid-century, when climate is assumed to stop warming. Even though uncertainties in the model are large, the underlying trend in impacts is unequivocal. The results of the study are valuable information for political discussions and allow for a better understanding of the cost of inaction

The advance combustion control in a hybrid SI/HCCI engine by using ion current sensing

In a future ‘hybrid mode’ SI/HCCI engine transition between these modes, over the operating map, will play a crucial role. The engine management system must provide a fast and smooth transition between these two modes, hence a new combustion feedback based control system is needed. The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of an ion-current sensor in SI/HCCI engine for direct combustion feedback control. The experimental results obtained, at different speed and loads, show that the estimation of cylinder pressure, through the ion signal, can be performed with high accuracy, and that ion-current has the potential to be a cost effective solution for direct combustion control

Profil Stabilitas Fisika Kimia Masker Gel Peel-off Ekstrak Kulit Buah Manggis (Garcinia Mangostana L.)

Ekstrak kulit buah manggis (Garcinia mangostana L.) kaya akan kandungan xanton yang diketahui bersifat sebagai antioksidan. Pada penelitian sebelumnya, telah dilakukan optimasi formula masker gel peel-off ekstrak kulit buah manggis. Namun, formula optimal yang diperoleh belum tentu memiliki stabilitas yang baik selama penyimpanan. Berdasarkan hal tersebut maka dilakukan penelitian untuk mengetahui profil stabilitas fisik masker gel peel-off ekstrak kulit buah manggis dengan HPMC sebagai gelling agent. Penelitian ini diawali dengan mengumpulkan simplisia, ekstraksi, standarisasi ekstrak, fomulasi dan penetapan profil stabilitas fisika kimia. Simplisia diekstraksi menggunakan etanol 96% kemudian diformulasi menjadi sediaan masker gel peel-off lalu ditetapkan profil stabilitas fisika (organoleptis, homogenitas, viskositas, daya sebar, daya lekat, sineresis) dan kimia (pH) dari masker gel peel off ekstrak kulit buah manggis. Profil stabilitas sediaan ditetapkan selama penyimpanan 28 hari pada suhu 30°C. Penetapan profil stabilitas didasarkan dengan melihat Perubahan yang terjadi dimulai dari awal formulasi hingga 28 hari penyimpanan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa secara keseluruhan masker gel peel off ekstrak kulit buah manggis stabil selama penyimpanan 28 hari pada suhu 300C

Acute Low Back Pain with Radiculopathy: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in patients with acute low back pain (LBP) with radiculopathy. Background Data: Acute LBP with radiculopathy is associated with pain and disability and the important pathogenic role of inflammation. LLLT has shown significant antiinflammatory effects in many studies. Materials and Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed on 546 patients. Group A (182 patients) was treated with nimesulide 200 mg=day and additionally with active LLLT; group B (182 patients) was treated only with nimesulide; and group C (182 patients) was treated with nimesulide and placebo LLLT. LLLT was applied behind the involved spine segment using a stationary skin-contact method. Patients were treated 5 times weekly, for a total of 15 treatments, with the following parameters: wavelength 904 nm; frequency 5000 Hz; 100-mW average diode power; power density of 20 mW=cm 2 and dose of 3 J=cm 2 ; treatment time 150 sec at whole doses of 12 J=cm 2 . The outcomes were pain intensity measured with a visual analog scale (VAS); lumbar movement, with a modified Schober test; pain disability, with Oswestry disability score; and quality of life, with a 12-item short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-12). Subjects were evaluated before and after treatment. Statistical analyses were done with SPSS 11.5. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in all outcomes measured ( p < 0.001), but were larger in group A than in B ( p < 0.0005) and C ( p < 0.0005). The results in group C were better than in group B ( p < 0.0005). Conclusions: The results of this study show better improvement in acute LBP treated with LLLT used as additional therapy

Gene Discovery in the Threatened Elkhorn Coral: 454 Sequencing of the Acropora palmata Transcriptome

BACKGROUND: Cnidarians, including corals and anemones, offer unique insights into metazoan evolution because they harbor genetic similarities with vertebrates beyond that found in model invertebrates and retain genes known only from non-metazoans. Cataloging genes expressed in Acropora palmata, a foundation-species of reefs in the Caribbean and western Atlantic, will advance our understanding of the genetic basis of ecologically important traits in corals and comes at a time when sequencing efforts in other cnidarians allow for multi-species comparisons. RESULTS: A cDNA library from a sample enriched for symbiont free larval tissue was sequenced on the 454 GS-FLX platform. Over 960,000 reads were obtained and assembled into 42,630 contigs. Annotation data was acquired for 57% of the assembled sequences. Analysis of the assembled sequences indicated that 83-100% of all A. palmata transcripts were tagged, and provided a rough estimate of the total number genes expressed in our samples (~18,000-20,000). The coral annotation data contained many of the same molecular components as in the Bilateria, particularly in pathways associated with oxidative stress and DNA damage repair, and provided evidence that homologs of p53, a key player in DNA repair pathways, has experienced selection along the branch separating Cnidaria and Bilateria. Transcriptome wide screens of paralog groups and transition/transversion ratios highlighted genes including: green fluorescent proteins, carbonic anhydrase, and oxidative stress proteins; and functional groups involved in protein and nucleic acid metabolism, and the formation of structural molecules. These results provide a starting point for study of adaptive evolution in corals. CONCLUSIONS: Currently available transcriptome data now make comparative studies of the mechanisms underlying coral's evolutionary success possible. Here we identified candidate genes that enable corals to maintain genomic integrity despite considerable exposure to genotoxic stress over long life spans, and showed conservation of important physiological pathways between corals and bilaterians

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk