Meaning and components of Quality of Life among individuals with spinal cord injury in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia

Purpose: Knowledge on the meaning of quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury in developing countries is limited. This study aims to explore the meaning and components of quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury in a rural area in Indonesia. Method: Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 individuals with paraplegia (8 males, 4 females) aged 24–67 years. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes that constitute meaning and components of quality of life. Results: Quality of life was not an easily understood concept, while “life satisfaction” and “happiness” were. Life satisfaction was associated with a person’s feeling when achieving goals or dreams and related to fulfillment of needs. Thirteen components of life satisfaction were identified and categorized into five domains as follows: (1) participation: earning income and work, being useful to others, community participation, and having skills and knowledge, (2) social support: social support, social relationship, (3) relationship with God: injury is God’s will, praying, (4) independence: being independent, mobility and accessibility, and health, and (5) psychological resources: accepting the condition, maintaining goals and motivation. Conclusions: Social, cultural and religious influences were prominent in the perception of life satisfaction. The measurement of quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury in Indonesia needs to consider locally perceived meaning and components of quality of life. Implications for Rehabilitation Financial, social and health needs of individuals with spinal cord injury in Indonesia must be immediately addressed. To increase financial independence, rehabilitation professionals should equip individuals with spinal cord injury with adequate self-employment skills. Sociocultural and religious aspects should be considered in the measurement of quality of life

Agama, Keterbukaan dan Demokrasi: Harapan dan Tantangan

Kekejaman yang sengaja dipertontonkan kelompok ekstrimis keagamaan tidak jarang membuat keyakinan sebagian orang goyah, jika bukan hilang, pada agama. Apa yang membuat agama dan nilai kemanusiaan seperti bertentangan, di satu sisi agama yang mengajarkan cinta kasih antar sesama, di sisi lain umatnya justru merusak nilai kemananusiaan? Berawal dari Nurcholish Madjid Memorial Lecture (NMML) 2014, Franz Magnis-Suseno, SJ, dalam buku ini, menekankan kembali bahwa iman kepada Allah hanya benar kalau terwujud dalam hormat terhadap manusia ciptaan tertinggi Allah. Beriman seharusnya mengandung makna dukungan terhadap hak asasi manusia, termasuk kebebasan beragama. Tantangan bagi agama saat ini menurutnya adalah budaya konsumerisme kapitalistik dan gerakan ekstrimisme keagamaan. Aspek ini kemudian diulas lebih lanjut dari berbagai perspektif oleh Nathanael G. Sumaktoyo, Mery Kolimon, Taufiq Pasiak, Ahmad Syafi'i Mufid, Maman Imanulhaq, Alissa Wahid dan Rosalia Sciortino. Perdebatan para penulis dalam buku ini sejatinya bermuara pada semangat dan optimisme yang sama: Tidak ada kata putus asa untuk menyerukan dan memperjuangkan agama yang menunjung tinggi nilai kemanusiaan

Etika Jawa : Sebuah analisa falsafi tentang kebijaksanaan hidup Jawa.

Jakartaix, 265 p.: 21 c

Morphometric analyses of canine blood microfilariae isolated by the Knott's test enables Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens species-specific and Acanthocheilonema (syn. Dipetalonema) genus-specific diagnosis

BACKGROUND: Considering the increasing importance of small animals travel medicine and the spread of filariae with zoonotic potential to non-endemic European areas, routine filarial diagnosis in dogs is becoming important. Dirofilaria immitis, D. repens, Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides and A. reconditum are the most common canine filarial nematodes presenting blood circulating microfilariae (mf) which can be differentiated to species level by the acid phosphatase activity patterns or by PCR. Available data on the size of the mf vary considerably in the literature. The aim of this study was to validate morphometric criteria for filarial identification in blood samples of dogs after concentration of mf with the modified Knott's technique. METHODS: Morphometric analysis of 10 mf from samples identified to species level by acid phosphatase activity and partially confirmed by PCR were performed with specimens from 377 dogs. RESULTS: The mean length and width of D. immitis mf from 60 dogs were 301.77±6.29 μm and 6.30±0.26 μm, of D. repens mf from 171 dogs 369.44±10.76 μm 8.87±0.58 μm, of A. dracunculoides mf from 133 dogs 259.43±6.69 μm and 5.09±0.47 μm and of A. reconditum mf from 13 dogs 264.83±5.47 μm and 4.63±0.52 μm.For a subset of 30 samples, morphometric analysis was repeated with identical results in two laboratories. Furthermore, the size of mf concentrated and fixed by the Knott's technique was shown to be stable over 105 days. CONCLUSIONS: The Knott's test enables to clearly distinguish between D. immitis, D. repens and Acanthocheilonema spp. However, due to the overlapping size ranges of A. dracunculoides and A. reconditum, biochemical or molecular methods are required to distinguish these two species

Survey of Phortica drosophilid flies within and outside of a recently identified transmission area of the eye worm Thelazia callipaeda in Switzerland

Phortica drosophilid flies are the intermediate hosts and vectors of the eye worm Thelazia callipaeda. This nematode originates from Asia and was first detected in southern Europe in 1989. The aim of the study was to assess the presence and the population dynamics of Phortica flies in a recently discovered new endemic area (Ticino, Southern Switzerland, south of the Alps) of T. callipaeda (site 1), at its border (site 2), at higher altitudes (beyond 1100 meters above sea level) within (site 3) or outside (site 4) the endemic area, and in a site north of the Alps (site 5). Flies were captured using two types of fruit-baited traps, the bait being changed once per week, and by netting around the eyes of a dog and human. A total of 1695 Phortica flies were collected. One of the fruit-baited traps, which can easily be assembled with cheap components, was found to be efficient for catching Phortica spp. At site 1, 644 such flies were collected with this trap during 34 weekly catches from April to October. The number of flies caught was highest at site 2 (n=903) and it was significantly lower (n=36) at site 5 north of the Alps. Virtually no Phortica at all were caught at higher altitudes (sites 3 and 4). Females were all in all predominant in the traps, accounting for 72.6% of Phortica flies (1150/1584), although males became dominant late in the season (male/female ratio 1.26 in October). In contrast, 80.2% of Phortica flies collected around the eyes of dog and human baits by netting (n=111) were males. No female at all was captured by netting until September. PCR for T. callipaeda was negative with all Phortica flies. Morphological examination of the 523 male flies based on features of the eye margin and the number of particular genital sensilla identified 89.1% P. semivirgo, 5.7% P. variegata but also 5.2% intermediate forms. Genetic analyses of partial mitochondrial cox1 and rDNA internal transcribed spacer 1 sequences revealed that these three morphotypes were genetically not distinguishable. This study confirms the presence of Phortica spp. north to the Alps and therefore the potential risk of T. callipaeda infection outside the currently known endemic region, depending on local abundance and longevity of the drosophilid vectors

Local transmission of the eye worm Thelazia callipaeda in southern Germany

This report describes the first assumed locally transmitted case of the eye worm Thelazia callipaeda in a dog living in southern Germany. A four year old, male golden retriever from the town of Bühl in north eastern Baden-Württemberg, about 10 km from the German-French border, showed one sided lacrimation for over two weeks. Despite the application of antibiotics, there was no improvement, and the dog additionally showed blepharospasmus, epiphora and red conjunctivas. A deepened eye inspection revealed five whitish, filiform parasites which were morphologically identified as T. callipaeda. The partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1, 605 bp) from one specimen revealed a novel haplotype, which differs by 1.3% from the only one (haplotype 1) identified in Europe so far. Since the infected dog had never been abroad with the exception of two daytrips to the close Alsace region in France, the transmission of T. callipaeda most probably was domestic. With the presence of end hosts and Phortica flies nourishing on lachrymal secretions acting as intermediate hosts, and an increasing number of dogs travelling to and coming from endemic regions in the South, the establishment of T. callipaeda in large parts of Europe cannot be excluded