Changes in Serum Electrolytes, Urea, and Creatinine in Aloe Vera-treated Rats

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of Aloe vera extract (AvE) on serum electrolytes, urea, and creatinine as indices of renal function in Sprague-Dawley rats. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 80 and 130 g were used. Rats were divided into two groups: The control and the test groups (n=6). The test group received 1 ml of AvE daily for 28 days. Both the groups fed on standard rat chow and water ad libitum. The results showed a decrease in serum levels of sodium, and potassium, but an increase in the serum levels of bicarbonate, urea, and creatinine in the test group. The changes seen were, however, statistically insignificant, except for the serum levels of sodium and creatinine (P<0.05). It is thus concluded that AvE impairs renal handling of electrolytes with consequent hyponatremia and hypercreatinemia. However, this might be of therapeutic value in conditions associated with hypernatremia

Planet Formation Imager (PFI): science vision and key requirements

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) project aims to provide a strong scientific vision for ground-based optical astronomy beyond the upcoming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. We make the case that a breakthrough in angular resolution imaging capabilities is required in order to unravel the processes involved in planet formation. PFI will be optimised to provide a complete census of the protoplanet population at all stellocentric radii and over the age range from 0.1 to ~100 Myr. Within this age period, planetary systems undergo dramatic changes and the final architecture of planetary systems is determined. Our goal is to study the planetary birth on the natural spatial scale where the material is assembled, which is the "Hill Sphere" of the forming planet, and to characterise the protoplanetary cores by measuring their masses and physical properties. Our science working group has investigated the observational characteristics of these young protoplanets as well as the migration mechanisms that might alter the system architecture. We simulated the imprints that the planets leave in the disk and study how PFI could revolutionise areas ranging from exoplanet to extragalactic science. In this contribution we outline the key science drivers of PFI and discuss the requirements that will guide the technology choices, the site selection, and potential science/technology tradeoffs.S.K. acknowledges support from an STFC Rutherford Fellowship (ST/J004030/1) and Philip Leverhulme Prize (PLP-2013-110). Part of this work was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

PERANCANGAN PROGRAM APLIKASI SIMULASI UNTUK MEMPREDIKSI PENYAKIT OBESITAS MENGGUNAKAN METODE BACKPROPAGATION

PERANCANGAN PROGRAM APLIKASI SIMULASI UNTUK MEMPREDIKSI PENYAKIT OBESITAS MENGGUNAKAN METODE BACKPROPAGATION

PENGARUH PEMBERIAN KOMPENSASI MUTU LAYANAN KERJA GURU DI SMKN 11 BANDUNG

Penelitian ini dirumuskan kedalam tiga rumusan masalah, diantaranya adalah: 1) Bagaimana gambaran pemberian kompensasi di SMKN 11 Bandung ? 2) Bagaimana gambaran umum mutu layanan kerja guru di SMKN 11 Bandung? 3) Bagaimana pengaruh pemberian kompensasi terhadap mutu layanan kerja guru di SMKN 11 Bandung?. Metode yang digunakan adalah penelitian deskriptif dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan teknik komunikasi tidak langsung melalui angket tertutup disebarkan kepada 46 guru yang berstatus Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS) di SMKN 11 Bandung sebagai sampel penelitian. Hipotesis yang diajukan dalam penelitian ini “Terdapat Pengaruh yang Positif dan Signifikan antara Pemberian Kompensasi Terhadap Mutu Layanan Kerja Guru di SMKN 11 Bandung.” Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan kecenderungan umum dengan menggunakan Weighted Means Score (WMS) diperoleh kecenderungan umum rata-rata untuk variabel X (Pemberian Kompensasi) sebesar 4,17 berada pada kriteria sangat baik, hal ini berarti bahwa, secara umum pemberian kompensasi yang meliputi pemberian kompensasi berbentuk uang dan non uang sudah sangat baik dilaksanakan di SMKN 11 Bandung. Sedangkan kecenderungan umum nilai rata-rata untuk variabel Y (Mutu layanan Kerja) sebesar 4,14 berada pada kriteria sangat baik, hal ini berarti bahwa secara umum mutu layanan kerja guru yang meliputi 1) Tangibles (Penampilan Personal dan Fisik), 2) Reliability (Tepat janji dan waktu), 3) Responsiviness (Kesediaan melayani), 4) Competence (Keahlian dan pengetahuan), 5) Courtesy (Kesopanan, keramahan), 6) Credibility (Kejujuran, kepercayaan), 7) Security (Resiko kecil, keraguan kecil), 8) Acces (Kemudahan dihubungi, kemudahan ditemui), 9) Communication (Penyuluhan, informasi), 10) Understanding (Memahami kebutuhan konsumen) sudah sangat baik. Untuk menguji hipotesis penelitian digunakan rumus analisis korelasi Product Moment, uji t, determinasi dan uji regresi. Hasil uji koefisien korelasi dengan rumus product moment diperoleh harga (r) yaitu 0,751. Hal ini berarti bahwa pengaruh variabel X (pemberian Kompensasi) terhadap variabel Y (Mutu Layanan Kerja) adalah kuat. Berdasarkan uji t untuk mencari signifikansi diperoleh t hitung = 4,162 dan t tabel dengan tingkat kepercayaan 95 % = 1,684 , maka t tabel < t hitung dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang kuat dan signifikan antara variabel X (Pemberian Kompensasi) dengan variabel Y (Mutu Layanan Kerja) guru di SMKN 11 Bandung. Hasil uji determinasi diperoleh harga 56,4 %, hal ini berarti bahwa variabel Y (Mutu Layanan Kerja) guru SMKN 11 Bandung dipengaruhi oleh variabel X (Pemberian Kompensasi) sebesar 56,4 % dan sisanya 43,6 % dipengaruhi oleh faktor lain. Begitu juga dengan hasil pengujian regresi diperoleh harga persamaan y M0; =13,024 + 0,751 X hal ini berarti jika ada penambahan satu variabel X akan diikuti 0,751 variabel Y

Therapecutics:

n/

Sodium Citrate in Infantile Vomiting:

n/

Prorelaxant E-type Prostanoid Receptors Functionally Partition to Different Procontractile Receptors in Airway Smooth Muscle

Prostaglandin E2 imparts diverse physiological effects on multiple airway cells through its actions on four distinct E-type prostanoid (EP) receptor subtypes (EP1–EP4). Gs-coupled EP2 and EP4 receptors are expressed on airway smooth muscle (ASM), yet their capacity to regulate the ASM contractile state remains subject to debate. We used EP2 and EP4 subtype-specific agonists (ONO-259 and ONO-329, respectively) in cell- and tissue-based models of human ASM contraction—magnetic twisting cytometry (MTC), and precision-cut lung slices (PCLSs), respectively—to study the EP2 and EP4 regulation of ASM contraction and signaling under conditions of histamine or methacholine (MCh) stimulation. ONO-329 was superior (\u3c0.05) to ONO-259 in relaxing MCh-contracted PCLSs (log half maximal effective concentration [logEC50]: 4.9 × 10−7 vs. 2.2 × 10−6; maximal bronchodilation ± SE, 35 ± 2% vs. 15 ± 2%). However, ONO-259 and ONO-329 were similarly efficacious in relaxing histamine-contracted PCLSs. Similar differential effects were observed in MTC studies. Signaling analyses revealed only modest differences in ONO-329– and ONO-259–induced phosphorylation of the protein kinase A substrates VASP and HSP20, with concomitant stimulation with MCh or histamine. Conversely, ONO-259 failed to inhibit MCh-induced phosphorylation of the regulatory myosin light chain (pMLC20) and the F-actin/G-actin ratio (F/G-actin ratio) while effectively inhibiting their induction by histamine. ONO-329 was effective in reversing induced pMLC20 and the F/G-actin ratio with both MCh and histamine. Thus, the contractile-agonist–dependent differential effects are not explained by changes in the global levels of phosphorylated protein kinase A substrates but are reflected in the regulation of pMLC20 (cross-bridge cycling) and F/G-actin ratio (actin cytoskeleton integrity, force transmission), implicating a role for compartmentalized signaling involving muscarinic, histamine, and EP receptor subtypes