Jenis Laba-Laba (Araneae) Di Taman Wisata Alam Baumata Kecamatan Taebenu Kabupaten Kupang Nusa Tenggara Timur

Penelitian terkait laba-laba di Taman Wisata Alam Baumata (TWAB) berlangsung selama dua bulan yaitu bulan Agustus 2017. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui jenis laba-laba. Manfaat dari penelitian ini yaitu dapat berkontribusi bagi pihak pengelolah TWAB dalam melestarikan biodiversitas yang tersedia. Manfaat lain yaitu sebagai database keanekaragaman hayati laba-laba Nusantara khususnya di TWAB Kupang. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini berupa metode belt transek (transek sabuk) yang dikombinasikan dengan transek kuadran. Hasil penelitian dianalisis berdasarkan pada buku kunci determinasi serangga oleh Subyanto (1991) dan jurnal. Analisis keanekaragaman jenis dan kelimpahan jenis laba-laba menggunakan rumus Shannon-Wiener. Adapun spesies laba-laba yang ditemukan yakni: Gasteracantha cancriformis, Argiope appensa, Menemerus bivittatus, Latrodectus hesperus, Polcus phalangioides,  Nephila  inaurata, Nephila clavipes, Parasteatoda tepidorium, Hogna lenta, Scytodes thoracica, dan Heteropoda jugulans. Ke-sebelas spesies tergolong dalam famili :Araneidae, Salticidae, Theridiidae, pholcidae, Nephilidae, Lycosidae, Scytodidae dan Sparassidae. Nilai keanekaragaman laba-laba yang diperoleh 2,338 sedangkan tingkat kelimpahan spesies laba-laba adalah 0.118/m2. Berdasarkan Indeks keanekaragaman dan kelimpahan maka distribusi laba-laba di TWAB tergolong sedang.The research related to Spider at Baumata Nature Tourism Park (BNTP) lasted for one months that was August 2017. The purpose of this research is to know the type of spider. The benefit of this research is: it can contribute to the management of BNTP in preserving the available biodiversity. Another benefit is as a database of biodiversity of spider Archipelago, especially in BNTP Kupang. The used method in this research was the belt transect method (belt transect) which was combined with quadrant transect. The results were analyzed based on the key book of insect determination by Subyanto (1991) and the journal. The analysis of species variety and the profusion of the spider species used the Shannon-Wiener formula. The found spider species were: Gasteracantha cancriformis, Argiope appensa, Menemerus bivittatus, Latrodectus hesperus, Polcus phalangioides, Nephila inaurata, Nephila clavipes, Paratezati tepidorium, Hogna lenta, Scytodes thoracica, and Heteropoda jugulans. The eleven species belong to families of  Araneidae, Salticidae, Theridiidae, pholcidae, Nephilidae, Lycosidae, Scytodidae and Sparassidae. The obtained spider variety value was 2,338 while the profusion extent of spider species was 0.118/m2. Based on the variety and profusion index, the spider distribution in BNTP is moderate

The F waves study in young healthy individuals

Background: The F wave is a CMAP (compound muscle action potential) evoked by a supramaximal stimulation of a motor nerve. F waves are particularly useful for the diagnoses of polyneuropathies at an early stage and proximal nerve lesions.Methods: Healthy males (n=64) and females (n=26) medical students of BPKIHS with age 20 to 24 years were enrolled. Anthropometric parameters; F wave latencies, persistence and chronodispersion of bilateral median, ulnar and tibial nerves were recorded in Neurophysiology Lab II of BPKIHS. Descriptive analysis was done.Results: Mean age, height and weight of the subjects were 21.64±1.19 years, 165.61±5.4cms and 64.07±5.5kg. Mean minimum F wave latencies (ms) of right median, ulnar and tibial nerves were 24.09±1.95, 24.02±1.76, 44.34±3.02 while on the left side were 23.92±1.96, 24.11±1.92, 44.07±2.83 respectively. F persistence was above 80%. F chronodispersion (ms) for right and left median, ulnar and tibial nerves were 2.77±0.70, 2.79±0.65, 2.71±0.67, 2.80±0.56, 3.48±0.73 and 3.45±0.64 respectively.Conclusions: Maximum and minimum F wave latencies, F chronodispersion and F persistence were derived for both sexes in an age group of 20-24 years

An Overview of Fingerprint Patterns among Students of Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal

Introduction: Fingerprint system of positive identification is based on the principle that the arrangement and distribution of fingerprint re­mains constant and persists throughout life and that the patterns of no two hands resemble each other. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 250 students (125 male and 125 female students), aged 17 - 40 years of age, of Gan­daki Medical College, Pokhara, Nepal from 15 March to 13 April, 2017 A.D. The fingertip patterns of both hands were collected and identified with the aid of a magnifying glass and documented as: Loops, Whorls, Arches and Composite type. The data were enrolled in SPSS version 16 and analyzed accordingly. Results: There was a preponderance of loop pattern (52.6%) followed by whorls (39.4%), arches (7.3%) and composite (0.6%). Whorls (41.7%) were more common in males compared to females (37.1%) and females had more arches (9.6%) compared to that of the male counter­parts (5.04%). There was no significant difference in fingerprint pat­terns among male and female students. Conclusion: The predominance of loops amongst other fingerprint patterns along with no significant gender differences in fingerprint pat­terns can be considered as a valuable research finding in the field of forensic science

Potential Sustainable Cement Free Limecrete Based on GGBS & Hydrated Lime as an Alternative for Standardised Prescribed Concrete Applications

A fundamental issue with the active ingredient of concrete, Portland cement, is its energy-intensive manufacturing process, which has led to the cement industry emitting up to 10% of global CO2 levels. To facilitate the reduction in the embodied CO entirely replaced volumetrically with Hydrated Lime (HL) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS or SL). GGBS was used to replace hydrated lime content in 10% increments up to 100% GGBS. Analysis of compressive and flexural strength and density testing was performed on samples to investigate the mechanical and physical properties at 7, 28 and 91-day curing ages, whilst flexural testing was conducted at 91 days curing age. Four standard mix ratios, 1:1:3, 1:2:3, 1:1:2 and 2:1 was made for comparison. Two curing conditions were tested at 91-day curing age, these being air-cured and water curing. Results have shown the optimum mix ratio to be 1:1:2 for all mixes. The optimum mix being HL 1:1:2 SL80%, water cured exceeding 25MPa. Throughout the different ratios, it can be concluded that the optimum replacement of GGBS lies between 80-90%; it can also be noted that 100% GGBS content sees a significant drop in compressive and flexural strength, indicating the presence of hydrated lime to be a catalyst for strength gain

Staff perceptions following a training programme about reducing psychotropic medication use in adults with intellectual disability: The need for a realistic professional practice framework

Background Adults with intellectual disability are at higher risk of being administered psychotropic medications. The UK-developed SPECTROM (Short-term PsychoEducation for Carers To Reduce Over Medication of people with intellectual disabilities) training programme educates disability support workers on psychotropic medications and alternatives to these medications. Method Interviews were conducted with 10 participants who took part in the pilot SPECTROM training programme to elicit their views on the programme and its appropriateness in an Australian context. Results The key theme was ‘Need for a psychotropic medication practice framework’. Four sub-themes were Broad satisfaction with the SPECTROM training programme; Disability support workers acknowledging the limitations of their scope of practice; Empowering training through prescriptive and reflective methods and; Need for future mentoring from Multi-Disciplinary Team members in the application of new knowledge. Conclusions Participants felt that whilst they could improve their knowledge and attitudes surrounding psychotropic medication administration for behaviours of concern through SPECTROM training, a national practice framework is needed to execute its goals at scale

Predicting volume of distribution with decision tree-based regression methods using predicted tissue:plasma partition coefficients

Background: Volume of distribution is an important pharmacokinetic property that indicates the extent of a drug's distribution in the body tissues. This paper addresses the problem of how to estimate the apparent volume of distribution at steady state (Vss) of chemical compounds in the human body using decision tree-based regression methods from the area of data mining (or machine learning). Hence, the pros and cons of several different types of decision tree-based regression methods have been discussed. The regression methods predict Vss using, as predictive features, both the compounds' molecular descriptors and the compounds' tissue:plasma partition coefficients (Kt:p) - often used in physiologically-based pharmacokinetics. Therefore, this work has assessed whether the data mining-based prediction of Vss can be made more accurate by using as input not only the compounds' molecular descriptors but also (a subset of) their predicted Kt:p values. Results: Comparison of the models that used only molecular descriptors, in particular, the Bagging decision tree (mean fold error of 2.33), with those employing predicted Kt:p values in addition to the molecular descriptors, such as the Bagging decision tree using adipose Kt:p (mean fold error of 2.29), indicated that the use of predicted Kt:p values as descriptors may be beneficial for accurate prediction of Vss using decision trees if prior feature selection is applied. Conclusions: Decision tree based models presented in this work have an accuracy that is reasonable and similar to the accuracy of reported Vss inter-species extrapolations in the literature. The estimation of Vss for new compounds in drug discovery will benefit from methods that are able to integrate large and varied sources of data and flexible non-linear data mining methods such as decision trees, which can produce interpretable models. Figure not available: see fulltext. © 2015 Freitas et al.; licensee Springer

E-retailing ethics in Egypt and its effect on customer repurchase intention

The theoretical understanding of online shopping behaviour has received much attention. Less focus has been given to the formation of the ethical issues that result from online shopper interactions with e-retailers. The vast majority of earlier research on this area is conceptual in nature and limited in scope by focusing on consumers’ privacy issues. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model explaining what factors contribute to online retailing ethics and its effect on customer repurchase intention. The data were analysed using variance-based structural equation modelling, employing partial least squares regression. Findings indicate that the five factors of the online retailing ethics (security, privacy, non- deception, fulfilment/reliability, and corporate social responsibility) are strongly predictive of online consumers’ repurchase intention. The results offer important implications for e-retailers and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of e-ethics from the consumers’ perspective

E-commerce ethics and its impact on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty: an empirical study of small and medium Egyptian businesses

The theoretical understanding of e-commerce has received much attention over the years; however, relatively little focus has been directed towards e-commerce ethics, especially the SMEs B2B e-commerce aspect. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework that explains the impact of SMEs B2B e-commerce ethics on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Using SEM to analyse the data collected from a sample of SME e-commerce firms in Egypt, the results indicate that buyers’ perceptions of supplier ethics construct is composed of six dimensions (security, non-deception, fulfilment/reliability, service recovery, shared value, and communication) and strongly predictive of online buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Furthermore, our results also show that reliability/fulfilment and non-deception are the most effective relationship-building dimensions. In addition, relationship quality has a positive effect on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. The results offer important implications for B2B e-commerce and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of relationship marketing

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- A nd middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs