The Meaning And Dimensions of Work: Women Traders Toba-Batak (Inang-Inang) in Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia

Abstract The research was conducted in the city of Medan on the meaning and dimensions of women's work Toba-Batak traders (inang-inang (honor). Education for Toba-Batak people is the only way to achieve "the glory of life." TobaBatak women traders with trading activities completely to achieve the task of the cultural mission. is a multicultural city and is a typical interaction center for the residents of various ethnic and religious groups. This research is a case study focusing analysis unit areten family and household inang-inang. Location of the study will be concentrated at the center of the Market or Central Market. The technique used for the data collection process, among others, is the study of literature, participation observation and in-depth interviews. This study uses a framework of thinking of the meaning of work and labor dimensions o

Modeling soil behaviors under principal stress rotations

This paper presents an elastoplastic soil model considering the Principal Stress Rotation (PSR). The model is developed on the basis of a well-established kinematic hardening soil model using the bounding surface concept. The impact of the stress rate generating the PSR is treated independently, and is added to the base kinematic hardening model. The significance of independent treatment of the PSR stress rate in the soil model is demonstrated through comparing the simulations of soil stress-strain responses by using the base soil model and the modified model in the paper. Various test results in different sands under both drained and undrained conditions are simulated, and the new model gives better simulations involving the PSR induced volumetric strain and liquefaction. The paper also discusses the simulations and experiments of sand responses under multiple PSRs

Improving the approximation ability of Volterra series identified with a cross-correlation method

This paper proposes an improvement in cross-correlation methods derived from the Lee–Schetzen method, in order to obtain a lower mean square error in the output for a wider range of the input variances. In particular, each Wiener kernel is identified with a different input variance and new formulas for conversion from Wiener to Volterra representation are presented

Screening of anti-dengue activity in methanolic extracts of medicinal plants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dengue fever regardless of its serotypes has been the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral diseases among the world population. The development of a dengue vaccine is complicated by the antibody-dependent enhancement effect. Thus, the development of a plant-based antiviral preparation promises a more potential alternative in combating dengue disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Present studies investigated the antiviral effects of standardised methanolic extracts of <it>Andrographis paniculata, Citrus limon, Cymbopogon citratus, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum </it>and <it>Pelargonium citrosum </it>on dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1).</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>O. sanctum </it>contained 88.6% of total flavonoids content, an amount that was the highest among all the six plants tested while the least was detected in <it>M. charantia</it>. In this study, the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of the six medicinal plants was determined by testing the methanolic extracts against Vero E6 cells <it>in vitro</it>. Studies also determined that the MNTD of methanolic extract was in the decreasing order of <it>M. charantia </it>><it>C. limon </it>><it>P. citrosum, O. sanctum </it>><it>A. paniculata </it>><it>C. citratus</it>. Antiviral assay based on cytopathic effects (CPE) denoted by degree of inhibition upon treating DENV1-infected Vero E6 cells with MNTD of six medicinal plants showed that <it>A. paniculata </it>has the most antiviral inhibitory effects followed by <it>M. charantia</it>. These results were further verified with an <it>in vitro </it>inhibition assay using MTT, in which 113.0% and 98.0% of cell viability were recorded as opposed to 44.6% in DENV-1 infected cells. Although methanolic extracts of <it>O. sanctum </it>and <it>C. citratus </it>showed slight inhibition effect based on CPE, a significant inhibition was not reflected in MTT assay. Methanolic extracts of <it>C. limon </it>and <it>P. citrosum </it>did not prevent cytopathic effects or cell death from DENV-1.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The methanol extracts of <it>A. paniculata </it>and <it>M. charantia </it>possess the ability of inhibiting the activity of DENV-1 in <it>in vitro </it>assays. Both of these plants are worth to be further investigated and might be advantageous as an alternative for dengue treatment.</p