Effect of Corn Silk-Boiled Water on Cholesterol Level in Patients with Hypercholesterolemia in Bandung, West Java

BACKGROUND: Corn silk is a traditional medicine that has been identified to contain protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It also contains chemicals which might work like water pills (diuretics), and it might alter blood sugar levels, and help reduce inflammation. Corn silk has been used for bladder infections, inflammation of the urinary system, inflammation of the prostate, kidney stones, and bedwetting. It is also used to treat congestive heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, and high cholesterol levels. Hypercholesterolemia is a condition characterized by an increased level of blood cholesterol >200 mg/dL. Hypercholesterolemia contributed to approximately 4.4 million or 7.9% mortality rate in the world annually. This study aimed to examine effect of corn hair-boiled water on cholesterol level in patients with hypercholes-terolemia. SUBJECT AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental with one group pretest-posttest design. This study was conducted in UPT Puskesmas Telaga Bodas, Bandung. A sample 0f 12 patients with hyper-cholesterolemia was selected for this study. The different in mean cholesterol level before and after treatment was analyzed using paired t-test. RESULTS: The cholesterol level decreased from before to after treatment by 14.92 mg/dL (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Consumption of corn silk-boiled water can reduce blood cholesterol in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Keywords: hypercholesterolemia, corn silk-boiled water, traditional medicin

Exploratory Study of Visual Enhancement to Display Smart Apps on Android Phones for Selasar Imaji Library

The attractive appearance of the system applications on the Android phone is quite important. There is an initial premise that the "Imaji Library" application that the Selasar Imaji Library owns is less attractive to users because it is not attractive. This study aims to explore an attractive appearance based on studies that are filtered to application users. Through Research and Development (R&D) activities, by 1) capturing questionnaire results from users to find out what is less attractive from the application display; 2) study of the search for the preferred visual appearance; 3) designing applications; and 4) application testing to librarians. The results of the exploration activities are in the form of (1) a new prototype design of the "Imaji Library" application display, (2) the development of application features in terms of procurement, processing, tracking, and member and circulation management activities. The implication of this research is helpful for librarians' convenience in managing libraries

Karakteristik Pasien Endometriosis di Rumah Sakit Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Selama Periode 1 Januari 2000 - 31 Desember 2005

Tujuan: Mengetahui karakteristik pasien endometriosis yang berobat ke RSCM. Rancangan/rumusan data: Studi deskriptif. Karakteristik pasien endometriosis di RSCM. Tempat: Poliklinik Imunoendokrinologi Reproduksi Departemen Obstetri dan Ginekologi FKUI/RSCM Jakarta. Bahan dan cara kerja: Dilakukan pendataan dari catatan medik tentang karakteristik faktor risiko semua pasien endometriosis baru yang didiagnosis pertama pada tanggal 1 Januari 2000 sampai dengan 31 Desember 2005 dengan hasil histopatologi (+) endometriosis. Hasil: Didapatkan 111 sampel yang sesuai dengan kriteria penerimaan dan penolakan. Rerata usia pasien adalah 33,39 ± 6,40 tahun, di mana yang terbanyak adalah kelompok usia 30 - 34 tahun (29,72%). Sebagian besar pasien (68,47%) datang atas keinginan sendiri, dan hanya 1 pasien (0,9%) rujukan dari bidan. Sisanya rujukan dokter umum dan SpOG. Lebih dari separuh (63,96%) pasien mengalami dismenorea, tetapi pasien yang datang dengan keluhan utama dismenorea hanya 29,73%. Pasien lain datang dengan keluhan nyeri perut (27,3%), benjolan di perut (22,52%), gangguan haid (10,81%), ingin anak (7,21%) dan gangguan berkemih (2,71%). Sebagian besar subjek sudah menikah (77,48%), dan hampir separuhnya (48,84%) mengalami infertilitas, baik primer maupun sekunder. Rerata usia menars adalah 13,19 ± 1,87 tahun. Usia menars terbanyak adalah 12 tahun, sebanyak 36 pasien (32,43%). Sebagian besar pasien (85,59%) memiliki siklus haid normal (antara 21 - 35 hari), dengan banyaknya haid yang juga normal (2 - 5 pembalut/ hari). Untuk lama haid, ternyata cukup banyak pasien yang mengalami haid lebih lama dari lama haid normal, yaitu sebanyak 48,65%. Hampir seluruh subjek tidak menggunakan kontrasepsi oral (91%). Berdasarkan diagnosis preoperatif, sebanyak 35,13% pasien terdiagnosis sebagai endometriosis. Sebanyak 26,13% pasien mempunyai diagnosis preoperatif selain endometriosis atau adenomiosis. Intra operatif dilakuan penilaian stadium endometriosis menurut (revised) American Fertility Society (AFS 1 - 4), di mana sebagian besar pasien menderita endometriosis stadium 3 dan 4 (sedang - berat), yaitu sebanyak 44,14% dan 46,35%. Pada penelitian ini didapatkan keluhan dismenorea lebih banyak ditemukan pada stadium 4, yaitu sebanyak 49,30%, walaupun terdapat 2 pasien (2,81%) pasien dengan dismenorea berada pada stadium 1 (minimal). [Maj Obstet Ginekol Indones 2007; 31-2: 73-8] Kata kunci: endometriosis, karakteristik, faktor risik

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TOLUENE SULFONIC ACID (TSA)-DOPED POLYPYRROLE NANOPARTICLES: EFFECTS OF DOPANT CONCENTRATIONS

Nanoparticles of the conducting polymer polypyrrole in toluene sulfonic acid (PPy/TSA) were synthesized and characterized. The polymerization was process carried out in situ using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidant. The particles were synthesized by varying the dopant concentration of para-toluene sulfonic acid over five sulphonic acid concentrations. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of TSA dopant concentrations on the properties of polypyrrole nanoparticles. Understanding nature and characteristics of polypyrrole/TSA nanoparticles are important in determining whether the nanoparticles have the potential to be a component in the manufacture of fuel cells. The conducting polymer particles synthesized in this study were characterized using a particle analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), spectroscopy UV-visible (UV-vis), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and electrical conductivity measurement. XRD shows that the particles generated possessed an amorphous structure, as also indicated by SEM images revealing the formation of aggregated and granular composite particles. Furthermore, the FTIR peak between 1273 and 1283cm-1 indicated that sulfonic acids (SO3-) groups were present in the structure of PPy. The size of the PPy/TSA nanoparticles was determined to be approximately 24-51 nm, and their conductivity measured to be 1.3 x 10-1 S/cm

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TOLUENE SULFONIC ACID (TSA)-DOPED POLYPYRROLE NANOPARTICLES: EFFECTS OF DOPANT CONCENTRATIONS

Nanoparticles of the conducting polymer polypyrrole in toluene sulfonic acid (PPy/TSA) were synthesized and characterized. The polymerization was process carried out in situ using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidant. The particles were synthesized by varying the dopant concentration of para-toluene sulfonic acid over five sulphonic acid concentrations. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of TSA dopant concentrations on the properties of polypyrrole nanoparticles. Understanding nature and characteristics of polypyrrole/TSA nanoparticles are important in determining whether the nanoparticles have the potential to be a component in the manufacture of fuel cells. The conducting polymer particles synthesized in this study were characterized using a particle analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), spectroscopy UV-visible (UV-vis), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and electrical conductivity measurement. XRD shows that the particles generated possessed an amorphous structure, as also indicated by SEM images revealing the formation of aggregated and granular composite particles. Furthermore, the FTIR peak between 1273 and 1283cm-1 indicated that sulfonic acids (SO3-) groups were present in the structure of PPy. The size of the PPy/TSA nanoparticles was determined to be approximately 24-51 nm, and their conductivity measured to be 1.3 x 10-1 S/cm

Pharmacological screening using an FXN-EGFP cellular genomic reporter assay for the therapy of Friedreich ataxia

Copyright @ 2013 Li et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by neurodegeneration and cardiomyopathy. The presence of a GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of the FXN gene results in the inhibition of gene expression and an insufficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. There is a correlation between expansion length, the amount of residual frataxin and the severity of disease. As the coding sequence is unaltered, pharmacological up-regulation of FXN expression may restore frataxin to therapeutic levels. To facilitate screening of compounds that modulate FXN expression in a physiologically relevant manner, we established a cellular genomic reporter assay consisting of a stable human cell line containing an FXN-EGFP fusion construct, in which the EGFP gene is fused in-frame with the entire normal human FXN gene present on a BAC clone. The cell line was used to establish a fluorometric cellular assay for use in high throughput screening (HTS) procedures. A small chemical library containing FDA-approved compounds and natural extracts was screened and analyzed. Compound hits identified by HTS were further evaluated by flow cytometry in the cellular genomic reporter assay. The effects on FXN mRNA and frataxin protein levels were measured in lymphoblast and fibroblast cell lines derived from individuals with FRDA and in a humanized GAA repeat expansion mouse model of FRDA. Compounds that were established to increase FXN gene expression and frataxin levels included several anti-cancer agents, the iron-chelator deferiprone and the phytoalexin resveratrol.Muscular Dystrophy Association (USA), the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (USA), the Brockhoff Foundation (Australia), the Friedreich Ataxia Research Association (Australasia), Seek A Miracle (USA) and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program

The state of health in Indonesia's provinces, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Analysing trends and levels of the burden of disease at the national level can mask inequalities in health-related progress in lower administrative units such as provinces and districts. We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to analyse health patterns in Indonesia at the provincial level between 1990 and 2019. Long-term analyses of disease burden provide insights on Indonesia's advance to universal health coverage and its ability to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Methods We analysed GBD 2019 estimated cause-specific mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy, and risk factors for 286 causes of death, 369 causes of non-fatal health loss, and 87 risk factors by year, age, and sex for Indonesia and its 34 provinces from 1990 to 2019. To generate estimates for Indonesia at the national level, we used 138 location-years of data to estimate Indonesia-specific demographic indicators, 317 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific causes of death, 689 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific non-fatal outcomes, 250 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific risk factors, and 1641 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific covariates. For subnational estimates, we used the following source counts: 138 location-years of data to estimate Indonesia-specific demographic indicators; 5848 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific causes of death; 1534 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific non-fatal outcomes; 650 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific risk factors; and 16 016 location-years of data for Indonesia-specific covariates. We generated our GBD 2019 estimates for Indonesia by including 1 915 207 total source metadata rows, and we used 821 total citations. Findings Life expectancy for males across Indonesia increased from 62·5 years (95% uncertainty interval 61·3–63·7) to 69·4 years (67·2–71·6) between 1990 and 2019, a positive change of 6·9 years. For females during the same period, life expectancy increased from 65·7 years (64·5–66·8) to 73·5 years (71·6–75·6), an increase of 7·8 years. There were large disparities in health outcomes among provinces. In 2019, Bali had the highest life expectancy at birth for males (74·4 years, 70·90–77·9) and North Kalimantan had the highest life expectancy at birth for females (77·7 years, 74·7–81·2), whereas Papua had the lowest life expectancy at birth for males (64·5 years, 60·9–68·2) and North Maluku had the lowest life expectancy at birth for females (64·0 years, 60·7–67·3). The difference in life expectancy for males between the highest-ranked and lowest-ranked provinces was 9·9 years and the difference in life expectacy for females between the highest-ranked and lowest-ranked provinces was 13·7 years. Age-standardised death, YLL, and YLD rates also varied widely among the provinces in 2019. High systolic blood pressure, tobacco, dietary risks, high fasting plasma glucose, and high BMI were the five leading risks contributing to health loss measured as DALYs in 2019. Interpretation Our findings highlight that Indonesia faces a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases that varies across provinces. From 1990 to 2019, Indonesia witnessed a decline in the infectious disease burden, although communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases, and lower respiratory infections have remained a main source of DALYs in Indonesia. During that same period, however, all-ages death and disability rates from non-communicable diseases and exposure to their risk factors accounted for larger shares of health loss. The differences in health outcomes between the highest-performing and lowest-performing provinces have also widened since 1990. Our findings support a comprehensive process to revisit current health policies, examine the root causes of variation in the burden of disease among provinces, and strengthen programmes and policies aimed at reducing disparities across the country. Funding The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Indonesia. Translation For the Bahasa Indonesia translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section