Aktivitas Protease Dan Amilase Pada Ikan Sidat Anguilla Bicolor Mcclelland)

This study was experimental, conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 x 2 factorial design, and four replicates have been carried out to evaluate the protease and amylase activities of Anguilla bicolor McClelland. A total of 71 individuals divided into three weight groups were used in this study. The first group with an average weight of 41.25 ± 0.898 g consisted of 51 eels, the second with an average weight of 319.8 ± 4.666 g composed of 14 eels, and the third with a mean weight of 569.5 ± 9.150 g consisted of 6 eels. The results showed the protease activity differed significantly based on eel size and intestinal segment (P ˂ 0.05). This research recorded the highest protease activity was in eels within the smallest weight group (41.25 ± 0.898 g). This study also revealed the protease activity in the anterior intestine was higher than the posterior in all size of eels. The amylase activity did not differ significantly (P>0.05) by eel size and intestinal segment. This study concluded the protein digestion capacity of smaller eels was higher than larger eels, and the protein digestion capacity was greater in the anterior intestine than the posterior intestine. The carbohydrate absorption capacity in eel was not affected by the variety of fish size which indicates no change in the feed category

The Antiplatelet Aggregation Effect of Extract and Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Velvet Bean Seed (Mucuna Pruriens L.) in Dyslipidemic Rat

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the first cause of death in the world, CVD has complex and multifactorial process including atherogenic lipoprotein, oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL), endothelial dysfunction, plaque stability, vascular inflammation, thrombotic and fibrinolytic disorder, exercises and genetic factor. Inhibiting the platelet ag- gregation is one of the CVD prevention. Velvet bean seed (Mucuna pruriens L.) can be found abundantly in Indonesia, but has not been used as herbal medicine. Ethanol extract and ethyl acetate of velvet bean seed contain high flavonoids and antioxidants properties which is expected could inhibit platelet aggregation. The objectives of the research were to determine the activity of ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction of velvet bean seed towards clotting and bleeding time in dyslipidemic rats. This research used completely randomized design in dyslipidemic rats which were given by ethanol extract of velvet bean seed at the concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg BW/day and ethyl acetate fraction of velvet bean seed at the concentrations of 15, 30 and 60 mg/kg BW/day and 42.2 mg/kg BW/day aspirin for ten days. Clotting and bleeding time were measured at days 0, 10, and 20. Data were analyzed using One way analysis of vari- ance and continued with Duncan\u27s post Hoc test with 95 % level of significancy. The results showed that administration of 60 mg/kg BW/day ethyl acetate fraction of velvet bean seed and at the concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/kg BW/ day ethanol extract of velvet bean seed, prolong the clotting time at day 10, ethyl acetate fraction at the concentration of 60 mg/kg BW/day, 200 mg/kg BW/day ethanol extract of velvet bean prolong bleeding time at day 10

Impact of advance care planning on end-of-life management

_Purpose of review_ The aim of this review is to critically appraise the recent evidence on different aspects of impact of advance care planning (ACP) in palliative care and to reflect on further implications on practice and research in the future. _Recent findings_ Evidence about various ACP impacts is rapidly growing and most common outcome measures are still advance directive completion, change in hospital admission rate and patients' and families' views and experiences with ACP. Mainly descriptive studies bring new information of ACP impact for specific groups of patients, their families, settings, countries, contexts, staff and healthcare system as such. It is not yet clear who and when would best conduct ACP, from general practitioners (GPS) to specialists in the hospitals and even lay-navigators for cancer patients; from early ACP conversations to critical ACP in acute events at the end-of-life. The need for ACP impacts high-quality evidence is becoming more urgent because latest future projections are showing higher palliative care needs than previously expected. _Summary_ Recent studies on various ACP impacts reveal variety of outcomes for different patient groups and settings, and are contributing to a wider picture of ACP situation around the world. However, high-quality evidence on ACP impact is still urgently expected in times of growing need for system-level changes for effective ACP implementation

Quality assurance guidelines for interstitial hyperthermia

Quality assurance (QA) guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical hyperthermia treatments and trials. This document outlines the clinical and technical consequences of the specific properties of interstitial heat delivery and specifies recommendations for hyperthermia administration with interstitial techniques. Interstitial hyperthermia aims at tumor temperatures in the 40–44 \ub0C range as an adjunct to radiation or chemotherapy. The clinical part of this document imparts specific clinical experience of interstitial heat delivery to various tumor sites as well as recommended interstitial hyperthermia workflow and procedures. The second part describes technical requirements for quality assurance of current interstitial heating equipment including electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive) and ultrasound heating techniques. Detailed instructions are provided on characterization and documentation of the performance of interstitial hyperthermia applicators to achieve reproducible hyperthermia treatments of uniform high quality. Output power and consequent temperature rise are the key parameters for characterization of applicator performance in these QA guidelines. These characteristics determine the specific maximum tumor size and depth that can be heated adequately. The guidelines were developed by the ESHO Technical Committee with participation of senior STM members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle

Quality assurance guidelines for superficial hyperthermia clinical trials: II. Technical requirements for heating devices

Quality assurance (QA) guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical trials with uniform quality hyperthermia treatments. This document outlines the requirements for appropriate QA of all current superficial heating equipment including electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive), ultrasound, and infrared heating techniques. Detailed instructions are provided how to characterize and document the performance of these hyperthermia applicators in order to apply reproducible hyperthermia treatments of uniform high quality. Earlier documents used specific absorption rate (SAR) to define and characterize applicator performance. In these QA guidelines, temperature rise is the leading parameter for characterization of applicator performance. The intention of this approach is that characterization can be achieved with affordable equipment and easy-to-implement procedures. These characteristics are essential to establish for each individual applicator the specific maximum size and depth of tumors that can be heated adequately. The guidelines in this document are supplemented with a second set of guidelines focusing on the clinical application. Both sets of guidelines were developed by the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO) Technical Committee with participation of senior Society of Thermal Medicine (STM) members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle

IL-6 trans-signaling promotes pancreatitis-associated lung injury and lethality

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory disease with a high mortality rate. Although typically seen in individuals with sepsis, ALI is also a major complication in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The pathophysiology of SAP-associated ALI is poorly understood, but elevated serum levels of IL-6 is a reliable marker for disease severity. Here, we used a mouse model of acute pancreatitis–associated (AP-associated) ALI to determine the role of IL-6 in ALI lethality. Il6-deficient mice had a lower death rate compared with wild-type mice with AP, while mice injected with IL-6 were more likely to develop lethal ALI. We found that inflammation-associated NF-κB induced myeloid cell secretion of IL-6, and the effects of secreted IL-6 were mediated by complexation with soluble IL-6 receptor, a process known as trans-signaling. IL-6 trans-signaling stimulated phosphorylation of STAT3 and production of the neutrophil attractant CXCL1 in pancreatic acinar cells. Examination of human samples revealed expression of IL-6 in combination with soluble IL-6 receptor was a reliable predictor of ALI in SAP. These results demonstrate that IL-6 trans-signaling is an essential mediator of ALI in SAP across species and suggest that therapeutic inhibition of IL-6 may prevent SAP-associated ALI

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

Co-encapsulation of human serum albumin and superparamagnetic iron oxide in PLGA nanoparticles: Part I. Effect of process variables on the mean size

PLGA (poly d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) along with a model drug human serum albumin (HSA) were prepared by double emulsion solvent evaporation method. This Part I will focus on size and size distribution of prepared NPs, whereas encapsulation efficiency will be discussed in Part II. It was found that mean hydrodynamic particle size was influenced by five important process variables. To explore their effects, a five-factorial, three-level experimental design and statistical analysis were carried out using STATISTICA® software. Effect of process variables on the mean size of nanoparticles was investigated and finally conditions to minimize size of NPs were proposed. GAMS™/MINOS software was used for optimization. The mean hydrodynamic size of nanoparticles ranged from 115 to 329 nm depending on the process conditions. Smallest possible mean particle size can be achieved by using low polymer concentration and high dispersion energy (enough sonication time) along with small aqueous/organic volume ratio

Effects of a single intraperitoneal administration of cadmium on femoral bone structure in male rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to cadmium (Cd) is considered a risk factor for various bone diseases in humans and experimental animals. This study investigated the acute effects of Cd on femoral bone structure of adult male rats after a single intraperitoneal administration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ten 4-month-old male Wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 2 mg CdCl₂/kg body weight and killed 36 h after the Cd had been injected. Ten 4-month-old males served as a control group. Differences in body weight, femoral weight, femoral length and histological structure of the femur were evaluated between the two groups of rats. The unpaired Student's t-test was used for establishment of statistical significance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A single intraperitoneal administration of Cd had no significant effect on the body weight, femoral weight or femoral length. On the other hand, histological changes were significant. Rats exposed to Cd had significantly higher values of area, perimeter, maximum and minimum diameters of the primary osteons' vascular canals and Haversian canals. In contrast, a significant decrease in all variables of the secondary osteons was observed in these rats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results indicate that, as expected, a single intraperitoneal administration of 2 mg CdCl₂/kg body weight had no impact on macroscopic structure of rat's femora; however, it affected the size of vascular canals of primary osteons, Haversian canals, and secondary osteons.</p