Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Genotypes Among Young Apparently Healthy Females of Karachi-Pakistan

INTRODUCTION: Although the prevalence of hepatitis virus infections in Pakistan is still unknown, limited data indicate that the exposure rate to HBV is 35-38% with 4% being carriers and 32% having anti-HBV surface antibodies through natural conversion [1,2,3]. Studies in Pakistan have shown that the prevalence rate of HCV is 4.8-14% for, and that it is continuously increasing. Hence there is an urgent need to create awareness about the prevalence of both hepatitis B and C, and to develop preventive measures aimed at minimizing the prevalence of these diseases in the country.Study Design: Prospective, descriptive study. The study took place from March 2002 till October 2006 at two university campuses in Karachi.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 4000 healthy female students were screened for HBs Ag, anti-HBs antibodies and anti-HCV antibodies by rapid immunochromatography, ELISA and PCR.RESULTS: A total of 3820 volunteers (95.5%) were negative by all three methods, 181 (4.5%) tested positive for HB surface antigen and 20 (0.5%) were positive for anti HB surface antibodies; 208 volunteers (5.2%) were positive for HCV. Double infection with HBV and HCV was found in only one patient (0.025%). Out of 180 HBs antigen positive samples 151 (83.89%) were genotype D, 28 (15.56%) showed mixed infection with genotypes B and D, and one patient (0.56%) showed mixed infection with genotypes C and D. Out of 208 samples positive for HCV antibodies, 107 (51.44%) were genotype 3a, 50 (24.04%) were mix of genotype 3a and 3b, 33 (15.87%) were genotype 3b, 10 (4.81%) were genotype 1b while, 8 (3.84%) samples could not be typed.CONCLUSION: Although the presence of these pathogenic viruses was not very high in our young healthy female population, it is still a matter of concern to control the unregulated spread of these deadly infections by promoting increased awareness and regular immunization programs in the community. Local manufacturing of vaccines and related products may reduce these infections

Use of CHROMagar Candida for the presumptive identification of Candida species directly from clinical specimens in resource-limited settings

Introduction: Identification of yeast isolated from clinical specimens to the species level has become increasingly important. Ever-increasing numbers of immuno-suppressed patients, a widening range of recognized pathogens, and the discovery of resistance to antifungal drugs are contributing factors to this necessity. Material and methods: A total of 487 yeast strains were studied for the primary isolation and presumptive identification, directly from clinical specimen. Efficacy of CHROMagar Candida has been evaluated with conventional methods including morphology on Corn meal-tween 80 agar and biochemical methods by using API 20 C AUX. Results: The result of this study shows that CHROMagar Candida can easily identify three species of Candida on the basis of colonial color and morphology, and accurately differentiate between them i.e. Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. The specificity and sensitivity of CHROMagar Candida for C. albicans calculated as 99%, for C. tropicalis calculated as 98%, and C. krusei it is 100%. Conclusion: The data presented supports the use of CHROMagar Candida for the rapid identification of Candida species directly from clinical specimens in resource-limited settings, which could be very helpful in developing appropriate therapeutic strategy and management of patients.Keywords: CHROMagar Candida; resource-limited settings; presumptive identificatio

Aplikasi Dan Implementasi Secret Sharing Menggunakan Kriptografi Visual Pada Citra Biner

Secret sharing merupakan salah satu metode untuk mengamankan suatu rahasia dengan membagi atau mendistribusikan rahasia tersebut menjadi beberapa bagian yang disebut share, setiap bagian dari rahasia tersebut tidak memberikan informasi apa-apa mengenai rahasia yang dimaksud bila tidak digabungkan dengan bagian yang lainnya. Salah satu alasan adanya secret sharing adalah perlindungan terhadap ancaman kehilangan kunci kriptografi. Pada skripsi ini dibuat suatu program aplikasi secret sharing menggunakan algoritma kriptografi visual. Kriptografi visual adalah skema pembagian yang digunakan dalam distribusi gambar. Kriptografi visual merupakan salah satu perluasan dari secret sharing yang diimplementasikan untuk suatu citra. Seperti halnya teknik kriptografi yang lain, kriptografi visual memiliki persyaratan kerahasiaan, integritas data, dan otentikasi. Kriptografi visual yaitu teknik kriptografi data berupa gambar atau citra dengan membagi gambar tersebut menjadi beberapa bagian. Setiap bagian gambar tersebut merupakan subset dari gambar aslinya. Hasil dari proses aplikasi ini adalah citra rahasia yang berupa hasil enkripsi citra yaitu citra share 1 dan citra share 2 dan hasil dekripsi. Dari hasil enkripsi citra yang diujikan diperoleh prosentase keberhasilan dalam merahasiakan isi informasi dari citra aslinya.Dan pada hasil citra dekripsi menampilkan isi informasi dari citra asli. Prosentase keberhasilan pada citra share 1 dan share 2 menunjukkan kedua share tersebut 100% tidak menampilkan isi informasi pada citra aslinya

Aplikasi Pembelajaran dan Pengenalan Flora san Fauna untuk Anak TK Berbasis Android

Sekarang ini, anak TK kurang begitu mengenal flora dan fauna. Peralatan mobile diharapakan mampu membantu mereka dalam mencari informasi flora dan fauna. Aplikasi ini dapat membantu masyarakat terutama orang tua dan guru TK bisa mengajarkan kepada anak-anak mereka untuk lebih mengenal flora dan fauna. Aplikasi ini selain dapaat digunakan untuk mobile phone dapat juga di operasikan melalui Tablet, sehingga aplikasi ini dapat digunakan untuk semua masyarakat dari berbagai golongan. Metode pembuatan aplikasi yaitu menggunakan metode pengumpulan data dari informasi flora dan fauna dari berbagai sumber, serta menyiapkan software yang dibutuhkan untuk membangun aplikasi. Langkah berikutnya yaitu membangun aplikasi dengan Eclipse sebagai media pembuatannya dan yang terakhir proses finishing aplikasi kemudian diimplementasikan ke Android Device. Berdasarkan hasil uji aplikasi pada user dengan menggunakan kuisioner didapatkan 86% user menyatakan aplikasi mudah dipahami. Sedangkan 72% user menyatakan bahwa aplikasi sudah memenuhi kelengkapan flora dan fauna, artinya aplikasi ini masih perlu penambahan informasinya. Aplikasi Pembelajaran dan Pengenalan Flora dan fauna untuk Anak TK Berbasis Android ini dapat dijalankan pada smartphone bersistem android

PENERAPAN PELAYANAN INFORMASI OBAT DI BEBERAPA PUSKESMAS KOTA MAKASSAR

Pelayanan informasi obat (PIO) merupakan salah satu bentuk pelayanan farmasi klinik yang esensial untuk dilakukan di Puskesmas. Hal ini juga diatur pada Permenkes Nomor 74 Tahun 2016 Tentang Standar Pelayanan Kefarmasian di Puskesmas. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana penerapan PIO pada sarana pelayanan kesehatan yaitu empat Puskesmas di Kota Makassar yang dipilih sebagai tempat penelitian yang dapat menggambarkan pelaksanaan PIO dikarenakan telah memiliki Apoteker aktif dan representatif dalam pelaksanaan PIO. Kegiatan pengumpulan data dilakukan selama dua bulan, sejak bulan Agustus hingga Oktober 2022 dengan total pasien sebagai subjek penelitian sebanyak 277 orang, yang diambil berdasarkan kriteria yaitu pasien rutin berobat dengan penyakit kronis pada periode pengambilan data tersebut agar dapat dievaluasi dan dikonfirmasi terkait dengan pelaksanaan PIO di Puskesmas. Kuesioner survei tertutup dan terstruktur digunakan dalam penelitian ini untuk menilai parameter layanan PIO, kuesioner ini diadaptasi berdasarkan literatur berupa regulasi pada petunjuk teknis pelayanan kefarmasian di Puskesmas yang dikeluarkan oleh Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia Tahun 2019 sebagai penjelasan lebih lanjut dan melengkapi Standar Pelayanan Kefarmasian di Puskesmas dalam Permenkes Nomor 74 Tahun 2016. Kuesioner survei berisi total 7 pertanyaan terkait pemberian PIO pada pasien dan kuesioner pengumpulan data untuk mengetahui proses pemberian PIO berupa dokumentasi, sumber informasi, kualifikasi pemberi PIO, serta hal lainnya yang terkait dengan kebijakan pelaksanaan PIO di Puskesmas. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa PIO yang diberikan kepada pasien di Puskesmas, pada tiga aspek informasi yaitu terkait waktu, lama atau durasi, dan cara penggunaan obat telah (100%) disampaikan, namun empat dari tujuh aspek masih belum optimal meliputi efek samping obat dan cara penyimpanan obat, bahkan untuk informasi interaksi obat dan cara pembuangan obat masih belum diberikan. Hal ini perlu menjadi perhatian oleh Apoteker dan staf farmasi yang ada di Puskesmas untuk mendukung keamanan penggunaan obat dan keberhasilan pengobatan

Karakteristik Material Ijuk Karet Tanpa Carbon Black Pada PHR 5 PHR 15 PHR 25 dan Ukuran Partikel Ijuk Mesh 100

with the advancement of latex optimization technology is very important to do so produce products that are useful to society, in the industry too much once using the material as the main ingredient for a particular product. Latek and powder fibers is a natural fiber derived from rubber trees and trees aren used as a mixture of reinforcing materials for compound makers. Research the final task aims to find out how much element of the metal content contained on the compound with variations of the composition of the fiber powder (5 phr, 15 phr, 25 phr) at mesh 100 by X-Ray light testing, to determine the strength of tensile test and tear test contained in the compound with variations in the composition of the palm fiber powder (5 phr, 15 phr, 25 phr) on mesh 100. This research uses the material of powder fiber and latek as reinforcement. Process making of powder of palm fiber by grinding fibers after that milling result filtered with mesh size 100. Further process of mixing of powder of fibers and latex with chemicals using dispersion machine. This test is done with varying the composition of the fiber powder (5 phr, 15 phr, 25 phr). Then tested with X-Ray ray test, tensile test and tear test. From the results of the research found that the X-Ray ray testing is obtained three elements of the metal content Ti, Fe and Zn with the highest Ti metal content on fibers fibers with 25 phr of 0.394%, while at the highest Fe metal content on fibers fibers with 25 phr of 2.628%, and on the highest Zn content of the metal on fibers fibers with 15 phr of 3.351%. While the average yield of tensile testing with the variation of fiber powder (5 phr, 15 phr, 25 phr) obtained the highest voltage on the compound with a content of 15 phr fibers powder of 3.18 N / mm 2, with an extension break amounted to 513.33%. While the tear test obtained the highest voltage results of 6.58 N / mm2 on the content of 15 phr fibers powde

PELATIHAN PENGGUNAAN FITUR CANVA DALAM PEMBUATAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN

Pengabdian masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan penggunaan platform desain grafis Canva dalam pembuatan media pembelajaran bagi kalangan guru, mahasiswa, dan dosen. Dalam era digital, media pembelajaran yang menarik dan interaktif memegang peran kunci dalam meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan. Kegiatan ini telah dilaksanakan secara daring melalui aplikasi Zoom pada tanggal 2 Agustus 2023, dengan melibatkan 29 peserta dari berbagai latar belakang pendidikan. Metode pelatihan mencakup presentasi, demonstrasi langsung penggunaan Canva, serta praktik mandiri peserta dalam menciptakan materi pembelajaran. Hasil kegiatan ini mencakup peningkatan pemahaman peserta tentang fitur-fitur Canva, kemampuan mereka dalam membuat materi pembelajaran yang menarik, serta perkembangan keterampilan digital. Peserta juga melaporkan kepuasan tinggi terhadap pelatihan ini

Alat Monitoring Denyut Jantung Berbasis Mikrokontroler Interface Laptop

ECG is a heartbeat monitoring tools that can record heartbeat activity. In other side, it’s price very expensive. This research aims to design a system that can monitor heartbeat. It is hoped the device can measure heartbeat and monitor it and can gives a prediction heart conditions with the cheaper price and can be used by everyone. Planning of device are making hardware and software. Making hardware such as shile plan and making. Making software such as make program of arduino and GUI (Graphical User Interface) in MATLAB. The materials are Electrode, Kit AD8232, arduino nano, laptop, and MATLAB. The result is showing that have done of plan model monitoring heartbeat its can be show in shape of EKG waves. Total of heartbeat per minutes, and information normal or not of the heartbeat Based on the test results of 6 respondents, the tool designed has a percentage error has 0.019%. From the test of the graphical display corresponding to the reference signal has a percentage error of 0.375%. That it’s show the system work good

Game Belajar Mengaji Berbasis Android

Technological advancements have affected various fields of information technology, especially on mobile smartphones. Aside from being a communication tool, many parents are worried about the habits and addictions of children on mobile smartphones that are considered to have more adverse effects than good impacts because children only use it as a means of playing games. This study aims to develop the attractiveness and interest of children to better utilize mobile smartphones to positive things. This application development method includes several stages, as well as needs analysis, design, testing, and implementation. Testing this game uses the black box method and questionnaire where all tested scenarios get valid results. Then testing questionnaires were distributed to students at MIM Kertonatan and obtained the highest percentage score of 92% for the question that the content of the material is easy to learn. The final result of this study is an Android-based recite learning game application. An educational game application that can help children learn in the introduction of the basics of Arabic letters and reading

Vancomycin sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from hospital patients in Karachi, Pakistan

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (MRSA), resistant to all antibiotics including Vancomycin, has been reported in Japan, USA, Canada and Brazil. Hence, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the possible presence of Vancomycin resistant or intermediate S.aureus in Karachi. A total of 850 clinical isolates were collected from two civil hospitals in the city between February 2006 and January 2007. They were identified using standard bacteriological methods.Sensitivity to recommended antibiotics was determined by disc diffusion, agar dilution, and E-test quantitative minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Susceptibility to natural or semi-natural products was determined by the agar dilution method. Out of 850 isolates, 250 were MRSA, of which 22% were resistant to 4 µg/ml Vancomycin, 24% to 8 µg/ml, 15.2% to 16 µg/ml, 10% to 20 µg/ml, and 13.2% to 30 µg/ml; the remaining 15.6% were sensitive to all used concentrations. Although we did not detect any Vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), we found that 13% of the strains were intermediates (VISA), i.e. resistant to 30 µg/ml of Vancomycin. Because of the continuously increasing prevalence of VISA, it is imperative to minimize the use of Vancomycin. Indeed, the drug should only be prescribed for the treatment of documented, culture-proven infections with MRSA that are not susceptible to routine or alternative agents. This should help avoid the consequences of the development of Vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) in our environment