Effect of Aqueous Extract of Nutmeg on Hyperglycaemia, Hyperlipidaemia and Cardiac Histology Associated with Isoproterenol-induced Myocardial Infarction in Rats

Purpose: The present study was designed to evaluate the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic activities of the aqueous extract of nutmeg (i.e., the kernel of Myristica fragrans) in rat models against myocardial infarction (MI) induced by isoproterenol (ISO).Methods: Rats were pretreated with nutmeg extract (NM) at an oral dose of 100 mg/kg/day for a period of 30 days, followed by the induction of MI by subcutaneous administration of ISO (85 mg/kg) for two consecutive days. The heart tissue was excised immediately, washed with chilled isotonic saline and used in histopathological studies. Blood was also collected from the animals and the plasma separated was subjected to biochemical analysis.Results: In ISO-administered group, a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the levels of blood glucose, plasma lipids and lipoprotein lipase activity was observed along with hyalinization of muscle fibres, compared NM-pretreated ISO-administered rats. In rats treated with NM, biochemical parameters were near normal. Histological studies revealed reduced damage of heart tissue in ISO-administered rats that were pretreated with NM.Conclusion: NM possesses protected rats against hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidaemia and cardiac tissue damage following MI. Therefore, NM should be further investigated as a prophylactic against the risk of MI

Developing Self-Assessment for Writing Competency of Grade 8 Junior High School Students in Denpasar

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan instrumen self assessment untuk meningkatkan kompetensi menulis siswa sekolah menengah pertama kelas 8 di Denpasar . Penelitian dan Pengembangan digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Analisis kebutuhan dilakukan di tiga sekolah yang berbeda di Denpasar untuk mendapatkan kebutuhan yang diperlukan oleh guru. Terdapat dua metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu kuesioner dan wawancara . Hasil wawancara dan kuesioner kemudian dianalisis untuk mengetahui jenis self-assessment yang dibutuhkan . Berdasarkan analisis kebutuhan , ditemukan bahwa guru memerlukan self -assessment yang berfokus pada pengembangan siswa . Hasil analisis kebutuhan kemudian digunakan sebagai data untuk mengembangkan instrumen. Penelitian ini menggunakan model ADDIE dalam mengembangkan instrumen yang merupakan pendekatan sistematis untuk proses desain pembelajaran terdiri dari langkah-langkah model meliputi Analisis , Desain , Pengembangan , Implementasi , dan Evaluasi . Selanjutnya, untuk mengetahui kualitas instrumen, self-assessment prototipe dinilai oleh expert judges dan guru . Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa kualitas instrumen yang dikembangkan adalah baik berdasarkan hasil jugdments ahli dan guru . Dengan demikian, alat penilaian berbentuk self-assessment direkomendasikan untuk digunakan karena akan memberikan kontribusi yang berarti bagi pengembangan keterampilan menulis di sekolah-sekolah SMP di Denpasar .Kata Kunci : kompetensi menulis, penilaian diri, This study aimed at developing self-assessment instrument to improve the writing competency of grade 8 junior high schools students in Denpasar. Research and Development was employed for this study. The need analysis was conducted in three different schools in Denpasar resulting the needs required by the teachers. There were two methods used in this study namely questionnaire and interview. The result of the interview and the questionnaire were analyzed in order to know the kind of self assessment needed. Based on the need analysis, it was found that the teachers needed self assessment which focuses on the development of students. The result of the need analysis then used as a data to develop the instrument. This study used ADDIE model in developing the instrument which is a systematic approach to the instructional design process consist of for the steps of the model includes Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. Furthermore, in order to find out the quality of developed self- assessment instrument the prototype were measured by judges and teachers. The finding shows that the quality of the developed instrument was good based on the result of the expert judgments and user judgement. Thus, the self assessment instrument is recommended to be used as it will result a meaningful contribution to the development of writing skills in junior high schools in Denpasar

Social Support, Religiosity, and Health Literacy as Predictors of Resilience in Pregnant Women during COVID-19 Pandemic

Being pregnant during pandemic is challenging for women. A long and uncertain pandemic condition is accompanied by changes in health services, and other life conditions that require adaptation, coping, and resilient.  This study aimed to examine the role of social support, religiosity, and health literacy as predictors of resilience among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A purposive random sampling was employed to select participants of the survey, which was pregnant women that attended in antenatal care in Primary Health Care in Yogyakarta region.   The scales of resilience, social support, religiosity, and health literacy was carried out to collect the data. Results showed that social support has a more significant contribution than health literacy and religiosity on resilience of pregnant women. Overall, there is a suitable health literacy mediation model between social support and resilience and religiosity with resilience. Social support, health literacy, and religiosity can be the predictors of resilience

[[alternative]]台灣消費者自備環保購物袋意願之研究：從道德觀點和計畫行為理論

[[abstract]]Following Chan and coworkers’ (2008) research, the current study integrated Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) ethics perspective and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to present a model that explains consumers’ intention to “Bring Your Own Shopping Bags” (BYOB) with grocery shopping. The proposed model is empirically validated in Taiwan. Based on a survey of 601 respondents, the findings suggest that consumers’ deontological evaluation is positively related to their attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, while teleological evaluation is positively related to perceived behavioral control only. In addition, the results also indicate that consumers’ attitude and perceived behavioral control has a positive relationship with BYOB intention, while subjective norm does not have a signification relationship with BYOB intention. In sum, this study contributes to the literature by providing insights for applying general ethics and theory of planned behavior to explain consumers’ BYOB behavior. The results also provide policy makers guidelines regarding BYOB. Managerial implications and research limitations are discussed at the end of this paper.[[notice]]補正完

Etnosentrisme di Sampit : Kasus warga Dayak dan Warga Madura pasca konflik

Riset ini berupaya menemukan satu bentuk pemahaman tentang tingkat penerimaan sosial dan etnosentrisme warga Oayak dan warga Madura di lokasi bekas konflik, yakni Sampit, yang bisa digunakan sebagai masukan bagi upaya memulihkan keharmonisan hubungan antaretnik. Riset ini" didesain melalui dua tahap. Tahun pertama (2012) dilakukan pengukuran tingkat penerimaan sosial warga Sampit selaku the native terhadap keberadaan warga etnis Madura selaku the stranger di Sampit, dan menemukan betnosentrisme warga Sampit. Tahun kedua (2013) mengukur tingkat penerimaan sosial warga etnis Madura selaku stranger terhadap warga Sampit dan etnosentrisme warga Madura. Lokasi riset adal~h Kota Sampit, Kabupaten Kotawaringin Timur, Kalimanatan Tengah. Populasi penelitian adalah warga masyarakat di kabupaten tersebut, khususnya yang pemah terlibat konflik Sampit tahun 2001 lalu. Proses pengumpulan data menggunakan dua metode, yakni metode survai dengan instrumen angket dan wawancara mendalam (in depth). Analisis data kuantitatif untuk melihat tingkat penerimaan sosial dengan menggunakan metode analisis statistik korelasi bivariat Pearson. Sedang untuk memahami etnosentrisme melalui data hasil wawancara in depth dianalisis dengan cultural domain analysis. Temuan riset ini adalah bahwa tingkat penerimaan sosial warga Dayak di Sampit terhadap warga Madura ada variasi. Hal itu berdasarkan tingkat pendidikan, yang berpendidikan sekolah dasar, beragama Kaharingan, dan berdomisili di pedalaman memiliki tingkat penerimaan sosial yang tinggi terhadap warga Madura. Warga Dayak yang penerimaan sosialnya tinggi itu bisa dikatakan identik dengan kemumian kebudayaan Dayak. Berdasarkan temuan di atas maka dalam upaya menciptakan harmoni sosial dan integrasi bangsa, diperlukan pelestarian danJatau penumbuhkembangan kebudayaan Dayak, khususnya di kalangan warga Dayak yang penerimaan sosialnya rendah, yakni warga di perkotaan yang bisaanya berpendidikan menengah ke atas dan beragama Islam dan Kristen

Infection programs sustained lymphoid stromal cell responses and shapes lymph node remodeling upon secondary challenge

Published: January 10, 2017Lymph nodes (LNs) are constructed of intricate networks of endothelial and mesenchymal stromal cells. How these lymphoid stromal cells (LSCs) regulate lymphoid tissue remodeling and contribute to immune responses remains poorly understood. We performed a comprehensive functional and transcriptional analysis of LSC responses to skin viral infection and found that LSC subsets responded robustly, with different kinetics for distinct pathogens. Recruitment of cells to inflamed LNs induced LSC expansion, while B cells sustained stromal responses in an antigen-independent manner. Infection induced rapid transcriptional responses in LSCs. This transcriptional program was transient, returning to homeostasis within 1 month of infection, yet expanded fibroblastic reticular cell networks persisted for more than 3 months after infection, and this altered LN composition reduced the magnitude of LSC responses to subsequent heterologous infection. Our results reveal the complexity of LSC responses during infection and suggest that amplified networks of LN stromal cells support successive immune responses.Julia L. Gregory, Anne Walter, Yannick O. Alexandre, Jyh Liang Hor, Ruijie Liu, Joel Z. Ma, Sapna Devi, Nobuko Tokuda, Yuji Owada, Laura K. Mackay, Gordon K. Smyth, William R. Heath, and Scott N. Muelle

TOM40 Mediates Mitochondrial Dysfunction Induced by α-Synuclein Accumulation in Parkinson's Disease.

Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) accumulation/aggregation and mitochondrial dysfunction play prominent roles in the pathology of Parkinson's disease. We have previously shown that postmortem human dopaminergic neurons from PD brains accumulate high levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions. We now addressed the question, whether alterations in a component of the mitochondrial import machinery -TOM40- might contribute to the mitochondrial dysfunction and damage in PD. For this purpose, we studied levels of TOM40, mtDNA deletions, oxidative damage, energy production, and complexes of the respiratory chain in brain homogenates as well as in single neurons, using laser-capture-microdissection in transgenic mice overexpressing human wildtype α-Syn. Additionally, we used lentivirus-mediated stereotactic delivery of a component of this import machinery into mouse brain as a novel therapeutic strategy. We report here that TOM40 is significantly reduced in the brain of PD patients and in α-Syn transgenic mice. TOM40 deficits were associated with increased mtDNA deletions and oxidative DNA damage, and with decreased energy production and altered levels of complex I proteins in α-Syn transgenic mice. Lentiviral-mediated overexpression of Tom40 in α-Syn-transgenic mice brains ameliorated energy deficits as well as oxidative burden. Our results suggest that alterations in the mitochondrial protein transport machinery might contribute to mitochondrial impairment in α-Synucleinopathies

Operational approach to open dynamics and quantifying initial correlations

A central aim of physics is to describe the dynamics of physical systems. Schrodinger's equation does this for isolated quantum systems. Describing the time evolution of a quantum system that interacts with its environment, in its most general form, has proved to be difficult because the dynamics is dependent on the state of the environment and the correlations with it. For discrete processes, such as quantum gates or chemical reactions, quantum process tomography provides the complete description of the dynamics, provided that the initial states of the system and the environment are independent of each other. However, many physical systems are correlated with the environment at the beginning of the experiment. Here, we give a prescription of quantum process tomography that yields the complete description of the dynamics of the system even when the initial correlations are present. Surprisingly, our method also gives quantitative expressions for the initial correlation.Comment: Completely re-written for clarity of presentation. 15 pages and 2 figure

Aluminium reduces sugar uptake in tobacco cell cultures: a potential cause of inhibited elongation but not of toxicity

Aluminium is well known to inhibit plant elongation, but the role in this inhibition played by water relations remains unclear. To investigate this, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) suspension-cultured cells (line SL) was used, treating them with aluminium (50 μM) in a medium containing calcium, sucrose, and MES (pH 5.0). Over an 18 h treatment period, aluminium inhibited the increase in fresh weight almost completely and decreased cellular osmolality and internal soluble sugar content substantially; however, aluminium did not affect the concentrations of major inorganic ions. In aluminium-treated cultures, fresh weight, soluble sugar content, and osmolality decreased over the first 6 h and remained constant thereafter, contrasting with their continued increases in the untreated cultures. The rate of sucrose uptake, measured by radio-tracer, was reduced by approximately 60% within 3 h of treatment. Aluminium also inhibited glucose uptake. In an aluminium-tolerant cell line (ALT301) isogenic to SL, all of the above-mentioned changes in water relations occurred and tolerance emerged only after 6 h and appeared to involve the suppression of reactive oxygen species. Further separating the effects of aluminium on elongation and cell survival, sucrose starvation for 18 h inhibited elongation and caused similar changes in cellular osmolality but stimulated the production of neither reactive oxygen species nor callose and did not cause cell death. We propose that the inhibition of sucrose uptake is a mechanism whereby aluminium inhibits elongation, but does not account for the induction of cell death