THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BAMBOO SCIENTIFIC BOOK IN RAMPAH MENJANGAN FALLS REGION AS MATERIAL ENRICHMENT ABOUT BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN GENERATING CRITICAL THINKING SKILL FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

There are many potentials in Rampah Menjangan Falls region, one of them is bamboo. The bamboo diversity in this region can be one source of learning for students. The problem often happens on high school learning is that the usage of learning material increases from year to year, however, the content of the teaching material is not yet thorough and it is also not based on local potential. The teaching and learning activity in progress is not able yet to nurture students’ critical thinking skill. Thus, one material which based on local potential is needed as material enrichment on biological diversity in generating students’ critical thinking skill. One of teaching materials that can be developed is scientific book. This research aims to describe the implementation effectiveness of scientific book about bamboo diversity as material enrichment on generating high school students’ critical thinking. The research type used is Research and Development. The research subject is 20 students of grade X IPA 2 SMAN 2. The data effectiveness is obtained from cognitive study result and students’ critical thinking skill. Students’ cognitive study result experiences significant increase with average score 43,75 on pretest and 82,5 on posttest. Students’ classical accomplishment percentage shows a very good category. The result of students’ critical thinking skill shows high category. The developed scientific book is stated to be effective used as material enrichment about biological diversity in generating high school students’ critical thinking skill.  Article visualizations

Bilateral Pallidotomy for Dystonia:A Systematic Review

Stereotactic lesioning of the bilateral globus pallidus (GPi) was one of the first surgical treatments for medication-refractory dystonia but has largely been abandoned in clinical practice after the introduction of deep brain stimulation (DBS). However, some patients with dystonia are not eligible for DBS. Therefore, we reviewed the efficacy, safety, and sustainability of bilateral pallidotomy by conducting a systematic review of individual patient data (IPD). Guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and IPD were followed. In May 2020, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies reporting on outcome of bilateral pallidotomy for dystonia. If available, IPD were collected. In this systematic review, 100 patients from 33 articles were evaluated. Adverse events were reported in 20 patients (20%), of which 8 were permanent (8%). Pre-and postoperative Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Movement Scale scores were available for 53 patients. A clinically relevant improvement (>20%) of this score was found in 42 of 53 patients (79%). Twenty-five patients with status dystonicus (SD) were described. In all but 2 the SD resolved after bilateral pallidotomy. Seven patients experienced a relapse of SD. Median-reported follow-up was 12 months (n = 83; range: 2-180 months). Based on the current literature, bilateral pallidotomy is an effective and relatively safe procedure for certain types of dystonia, particularly in medication-refractory SD. Although due to publication bias the underreporting of negative outcomes is very likely, bilateral pallidotomy is a reasonable alternative to DBS in selected dystonia patients. (c) 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Tau PET and multimodal brain imaging in patients at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

ObjectiveTo characterize individual and group-level neuroimaging findings in patients at risk for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).MethodsEleven male patients meeting criteria for Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome (TES, median age: 64) underwent neurologic evaluation, 3-Tesla MRI, and PET with [18F]-Flortaucipir (FTP, tau-PET) and [11C]-Pittsburgh compound B (PIB, amyloid-PET). Six patients underwent [18F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET (FDG, glucose metabolism). We assessed imaging findings at the individual patient level, and in group-level comparisons with modality-specific groups of cognitively normal older adults (CN). Tau-PET findings in patients with TES were also compared to a matched group of patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD).ResultsAll patients with TES sustained repetitive head injury participating in impact sports, ten in American football. Three patients met criteria for dementia and eight had mild cognitive impairment. Two patients were amyloid-PET positive and harbored the most severe MRI atrophy, FDG hypometabolism, and FTP-tau PET binding. Among the nine amyloid-negative patients, tau-PET showed either mildly elevated frontotemporal binding, a "dot-like" pattern, or no elevated binding. Medial temporal FTP was mildly elevated in a subset of amyloid-negative patients, but values were considerably lower than in AD. Voxelwise analyses revealed a convergence of imaging abnormalities (higher FTP binding, lower FDG, lower gray matter volumes) in frontotemporal areas in TES compared to controls.ConclusionsMildly elevated tau-PET binding was observed in a subset of amyloid-negative patients at risk for CTE, in a distribution consistent with CTE pathology stages III-IV. FTP-PET may be useful as a biomarker of tau pathology in CTE but is unlikely to be sensitive to early disease stages

Preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chromobacterium violaceum infections by anti-adhesion-active components of edible seeds

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>adhesion to animal/human cells for infection establishment involves adhesive proteins, including its galactose- and fucose-binding lectins PA-IL (LecA) and PA-IIL (LecB). The lectin binding to the target-cell receptors may be blocked by compatible glycans that compete with those of the receptors, functioning as anti-adhesion glycodecoys. The anti-adhesion treatment is of the utmost importance for abrogating devastating antibiotic-resistant <it>P. aeruginosa </it>infections in immunodeficient and cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. This strategy functions in nature in protecting embryos and neonates. We have shown that PA-IL, PA-IIL, and also CV-IIL (a PA-IIL homolog produced in the related pathogen <it>Chromobacterium violaceum</it>) are highly useful for revealing natural glycodecoys that surround embryos in diverse avian eggs and are supplied to neonates in milks and royal jelly. In the present study, these lectins were used as probes to search for seed embryo-protecting glycodecoys.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The lectin-blocking glycodecoy activities were shown by the hemagglutination-inhibition test. Lectin-binding glycoproteins were detected by Western blotting with peroxidase-labeled lectins.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The present work reports the finding - by using PA-IL, PA-IIL, and CV-IIL - of rich glycodecoy activities of low (< 10 KDa) and high MW (> 10 kDa) compounds (including glycoproteins) in extracts of cashew, cocoa, coffee, pumpkin, and tomato seeds, resembling those of avian egg whites, mammal milks, and royal jelly.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Edible seed extracts possess lectin-blocking glycodecoys that might protect their embryos from infections and also might be useful for hampering human and animal infections.</p

Study protocol for a randomised controlled multicentre study:the Foraminotomy ACDF Cost-Effectiveness Trial (FACET) in patients with cervical radiculopathy

INTRODUCTION: Cervical radiculopathy due to discogenic or spondylotic stenosis of the neuroforamen can be surgically treated by an anterior discectomy with fusion (ACDF) or a posterior foraminotomy (FOR). Most surgeons prefer ACDF, although there are indications that FOR is as effective as ACDF, has a lower complication rate and is less expensive. A head-to-head comparison of the 2 surgical techniques in a randomised controlled trial has not yet been performed. The study objectives of the Foraminotomy ACDF Cost-Effectiveness Trial (FACET) study are to compare clinical outcomes, complication rates and cost-effectiveness of FOR to ACDF. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The FACET study is a prospective randomised controlled trial conducted in 7 medical centres in the Netherlands. The follow-up period is 2 years. The main inclusion criterion is a radiculopathy of the C4, C5, C6 or C7 nerve root, due to a single-level isolated cervical foraminal stenosis caused by a soft disc and/or osteophytic component, requiring operative decompression. A sample size of 308 patients is required to test the hypothesis of clinical non-inferiority of FOR versus ACDF. Primary outcomes are: 'operative success', the measured decrease in radiculopathy assessed by the visual analogue scale and 'patient success', assessed by the modified Odom's criteria. Secondary outcomes are: Work Ability Index (single-item WAI), quality of life (EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5 level Survey, EQ-5D-5L), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and complications. An economic evaluation will assess cost-effectiveness. In addition, a budget impact analysis will be performed. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee of the University Medical Center Groningen. Results of this study will be disseminated through national and international papers. The participants and relevant patient support groups will be informed about the results of the study. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NTR5536, pre-results

Status of the mid-IR ELT imager and spectrograph (METIS)

The Mid-Infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one of three first light instruments on the ELT. It will provide high-contrast imaging and medium resolution, slit-spectroscopy from 3 - 19um, as well as high resolution (R ∼ 100,000) integral field spectroscopy from 2.9-5.3μm. All modes observe at the diffraction limit of the ELT, by means of adaptive optics, yielding angular resolutions of a few tens of milliarcseconds. The range of METIS science is broad, from Solar System objects to active galactic nuclei (AGN). We will present an update on the main science drivers for METIS: circum-stellar disks and exoplanets. The METIS project is now in full steam, approaching its preliminary design review (PDR) in 2018. In this paper we will present the current status of its optical, mechanical and thermal design as well as operational aspects. We will also discuss the challenges of building an instrument for the ELT, and the required technologies. © 2018 SPIE