Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Mengenai Teks Surat Dinas Berorientasi Pendekatan Saintifik di Kelas VII

Demi meningkatkan mutu pembelajaran, pengembangan bahan ajar teks surat dinas mutlak dibutuhkan. Faktor-faktor lain yang melatarbelakangi perlunya pengembangan bahan ajar teks surat dinas  yaitu (1) keterampilan mengenai teks surat dinas sangat diperlukan, (2) sesuai kebutuhan belajar, siswa membutuhkan materi ajar mengenai teks surat dinas yang lebih lengkap, (3) siswa membutuhkan materi yang lebih menarik dan mudah dipahami. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu pendekatan kualitatif. Hal itu berdasarkan pada tujuan penelitian ini yang menghasilkan deskripsi mengenai proses, kualitas, dan keefektifan pengembangan materi ajar teks surat dinas.  Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa bahan ajar yang dikembangkan memiliki kualifikasi “sangat layak” untuk digunakan. Kualifikasi tersebut didapatkan melalui hasil rekapitulasi validasi ahli, guru, dan teman sejawat. Hasil validasi ahli yaitu aspek kegrafikaan 72%, aspek kebahasaan 91%, aspek penyajian 88%, dan aspek isi 92%. Hasil validasi guru yaitu aspek penyajian 86%, aspek kebahasaan 77%, dan dari aspek isi 81%. Hasil validasi teman sejawat yaitu aspek penyajian 82%, aspek kebahasaan 75%, dan aspek isi 72%. Selain itu bahan ajar mengenai teks surat dinas yang dikembangkan juga sangat efektif digunakan dalam pembelajaran. Predikat tersebut didapatkan melalui hasil rekapitulasi instrumen observasi aktivitas guru dan siswa, angket respon siswa, dan lembar penilaian hasil belajar siswa. Terdapat tiga saran yang dihasilkan oleh penelitian ini, yaitu peneliti perlu melakukan perbaikan bahan ajar sesuai dengan permasalahan yang ada, saat menggunakan buku “Meneropong Surat Dinas” peneliti juga perlu mendesain pembelajaran yang menarik, dan penelitian ini masih perlu pengembangan lebih lanjut.  Kata Kunci: bahan ajar teks surat dinas, proses pengembangan, kualitas, dan keefektifan

Elevated levels of procoagulant microparticles in a patient with myocardial infarction, antiphospholipid antibodies and multifocal cardiac thrombosis

Circulating procoagulant microparticles (MP) are pathogenic markers of enhanced coagulability associated to a variety of disorders and released from stimulated vascular cells. When derived from endothelial cells, MP were found characteristic of thrombotic propensity in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The prothrombotic status of a patient with antiphospholipid antibodies (APL), a past history of mesenteric vein thrombosis and presenting myocardial infarction and extensive intracardiac thrombosis was examined by measurement of circulating procoagulant MP. MP of platelet and endothelial origins were highly elevated with respect to values detectable in patients with myocardial infarction and no history of APS (6- and 3-fold elevation, respectively) or in healthy volunteers (13- and 25-fold elevation, respectively). In this particular patient, with moderate APL titer, a drastic release of procoagulant MP could have contributed to thrombus growth and the development of extensive intracardiac thrombosis

Behavior of Aeromonas hydrophila in Bottled Mineral Waters

The growth and survival of Aeromonas hydrophila in three types of natural mineral waters were investigated. Mineral waters with different levels of mineral content (low, medium, and high) were experimentally contaminated with A. hydrophila, stored at different temperatures (10 degrees C and 20 degrees C), and analyzed at intervals over a 60-day period. Water samples that were not experimentally contaminated were investigated for indigenous A. hydrophila. The results confirmed that A. hydrophila may occur naturally in mineral waters and showed that the level of mineral content, temperature, length of storage, and, in some cases, the type of container used may favor the growth of A. hydrophila. The greatest proliferation was observed in water with a low mineral content stored in PET bottles at 10 degrees C, in which A. hydrophila peaked at day 28 (4.47 +/- 0.01 log CFU/100 ml). At 20 degrees C, the same load was observed at day 60. The presence of high densities of A. hydrophila in bottled mineral water can constitute a risk for some groups of consumers, such as elderly and immunocompromised persons

High-intensity exercise training induces morphological and biochemical changes in skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle shows an elevated plasticity and can adapt its metabolic and contractile properties in response to a variety of stimuli such as physical exercise. This implies a series of biochemical and morphological changes in the recruited muscle, in order to produce the more appropriate functional response dependent on the specific stimulation. To determine the effective role of physical exercise in the muscle plasticity, in the present study we investigated the effect of two different exercise protocols on fiber composition and metabolism of two specific muscles of mice: the quadriceps -a fast-twitch muscle- and the gastrocnemius -a typical slow-twitch muscle. Mice were run daily on a motorized treadmill for 8 weeks, at a velocity corresponding to 60% (low-intensity exercise) or 90% (high-intensity exercise) of the maximal running velocity previously determined by an incremental exercise test. We found that at the end of training the body weight was significantly increased in highintensity exercise mice (18.2 ± 1.4 %) compared to low-intensity exercise (8.7 ± 0.6 %) and control (12.7 ± 0.5 %) groups, and it was lesser in low-intensity exercise mice compared to controls. In contrast, the food intake of both exercise training mice was greater compared to control group. Whereas low-intensity exercise mice, despite consumed significantly more food compared to control mice, increased the weight lesser, the weight increase of high-intensity exercise mice, that consumed significantly more food compared to other experimental groups, was significantly greater. These effects were accompanied by a progressive reduction in blood lactate levels at the end of training in both the exercised mice compared with controls; in particular, blood lactate levels after highintensity exercise were significantly lower than those measured in low-intensity exercise mice. Moreover, in the present study we demonstrated that high-intensity exercise training produced a significant increase in the expression of mitochondrial complex enzymes (significant for the enzymes corresponding to the Complex IV, II and I of mitochondrial chain) both in gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscle, compared with controls. These changes were associated with an increase in the amount of slow fibers in both these muscle of high-intensity exercise mice. No changing in the expression of mitochondrial enzymes and in the percentage of slow fibers were found in low-intensity exercise mice