Analysis of Risk Factors Associated with Maskne in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The necessity to always use a mask in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a new term called maskne. Maskne is the appearance of acne that is triggered by wearing a mask. It usually occurs specifically in the area covered by the mask, focused on the cheeks, chin, and nose. This study aims to determine the risk factors associated with the occurrence of maskne. A cross-sectional study was conducted on the Faculty of Medicine students, Universitas Sumatera Utara class 2018. This study uses primary data from questionnaires and observation of respondents' face photos. Based on statistical analysis, 99 out of 221 respondents (44.8%) experienced maskne. Bivariate analysis shows p-values <0.05  for gender, duration of mask use, and previous acne history. On the other hand, it was obtained p-value >0.05 for the type of mask and mask changing habit. Based on multivariate analysis, the p-value <0.05 for gender indicates that gender is the most dominant risk factor in the incidence of maskne. Furthermore, there is a significant association between gender and the occurrence of maskne. Females are twice as likely to experience maskne

Kadar Protein Makanan Masak, Yang Diperoleh Dari Hasil Perhitungan Dan Analisa

Kadar protein 23 makanan masak ditentukan menurut dua cara. Pertama, dihitung dari kadar protein bahan mentahnya dikalikan angka rasio berat mentah : masak. Kedua, menganalisa kandungan nitrogen makanan masak kemudian mengalikannya dengan 6,25. Ternyata kadar protein hitung lebih tinggi daripada kadar protein hasil analisa langsung. Secara keseluruhan, perbedaan kadar protein hitung dan analisa makanan masak yang diselidiki pukul rata 3,6 gram atau 14%

The impact of the urban canyon geometry in the nocturnal heat island intensity: analysis by a simplified model adapted to a GIS

A geometria urbana é um dos fatores de maior influência na intensidade da ilha de calor urbana. Seu estudo requer a caracterização de cânions urbanos, geralmente medidos pela relação entre a altura dos edifícios e a largura da rua (H/W), conceito aplicado no modelo numérico de Oke em 1981. O objetivo deste artigo é verificar o impacto da geometria do cânion urbano na intensidade de ilhas de calor noturna. Para isso, foram realizados levantamento de dados climáticos e de geometria urbana em duas cidades brasileiras. Os valores de intensidade de ilha de calor foram confrontados com os simulados pelo modelo original de Oke (1981), o qual foi calibrado e adaptado à plataforma SIG, de forma a possibilitar a incorporação de outro parâmetro de geometria, além da relação H/W: o comprimento de rugosidade. Esse processo gerou uma nova ferramenta de cálculo, que é denominda THIS (Tool for Heat Island Simulation). Aplicou-se o novo modelo para simular alguns cenários urbanos hipotéticos, que representam vários tipos de cânions urbanos. Os resultados demonstraram que cânions urbanos de maior rugosidade amenizam as intensidades de ilha de calor noturna em relação a um cânion de mesmo valor de relação H/W e menor rugosidade.Urban geometry is one of the main factors influencing the development of urban heat islands. The study of urban geometry requires a characterization of urban canyons, which can be usually measured by the H/W ratio (a relationship between the height and the width of a street), a concept applied in a numerical model by Oke in 1981. The aim of this paper is to verify the impact of the canyon geometry on the intensity of the nocturnal urban heat islands. For this purpose, measurements of climate data and urban geometry were conducted in two Brazilian cities. The values of heat island intensity were cross-examined to those generated with the application of the original Oke's model. Therefore, this latter was calibrated and adapted to run in a GIS platform, allowing the incorporation of a geometric parameter other than the H/W ratio - the roughness length. Then, this process produced a new calculation tool, which is called THIS (Tool for Heat Island Simulation). The new model was applied to simulate some hypothetical urban scenarios representing several urban canyons types. The results showed that the urban canyons with the largest roughness reduce the nocturnal heat island intensities in relation to an urban canyon of the same H/W value, but presenting lower roughness rates instead.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Phytolith Analysis for Differentiating between Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica) and Green Foxtail (Setaria viridis)

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from inflorescence bracts in 16 modern plants of foxtail millet and green foxtail from China and Europe are examined using light microscopy with phase-contrast and a microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that the silicon structure of ΩIII from upper lemmas and paleas in foxtail millet and green foxtail can be correspondingly divided into two groups. The size of ΩIII type phytolith of foxtail millet is bigger than that from green foxtail. Discriminant function analysis reveals that 78.4% of data on foxtail millet and 76.9% of data on green foxtail are correctly classified. This means certain morphotypes of phytoliths are relatively reliable tools for distinguishing foxtail millet from green foxtail. Our results also revealed that the husk phytolith morphologies of foxtail millets from China and Eastern Europe are markedly different from those from Western Europe. Our research gives a meaningful method of separating foxtail millet and green foxtail. The implications of these findings for understanding the history of foxtail millet domestication and cultivation in ancient civilizations are significant

Expression of Barhl2 and its relationship with Pax6 expression in the forebrain of the mouse embryo

BACKGROUND: The transcription factor Barhl2 is an antiproneural transcription factor with roles in neuronal differentiation. The functions of its homologue in Drosophila development are better understood than its functions in mammalian brain development. Existing evidence suggests that its expression in the embryonic forebrain of the mouse is regional and may complement that of another transcription factor that is important for forebrain development, Pax6. The aim of this study is to provide a more detailed description of the Barhl2 expression pattern in the embryonic forebrain than is currently available, to relate its expression domains to those of Pax6 and to examine the effects of Pax6 loss on Barhl2 expression. RESULTS: We found that Barhl2 is expressed in the developing diencephalon from the time of anterior neural tube closure. Its expression initially overlaps that of Pax6 in a central region of the alar diencephalon but over the following days their domains of expression become complementary in most forebrain regions. The exceptions are the thalamus and pretectum, where countergradients of Pax6 and Barhl2 expression are established by embryonic day 12.5, before overall Pax6 levels in these regions decline greatly while Barhl2 levels remain relatively high. We found that Barhl2 expression becomes upregulated in specifically the thalamus and pretectum in Pax6-null mice. CONCLUSIONS: The region-specific expression pattern of Barhl2 makes it likely to be an important player in the development of region-specific differences in embryonic mouse forebrain. Repression of its expression in the thalamus and pretectum by Pax6 may be crucial for allowing proneural factors to promote normal neuronal differentiation in this region

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Genesis Dynamic Collaborative Business Process Formulation Based on Business Goals and Criteria

This technical paper discusses the architectural design and implementation details of Genesis - a novel Web application which formulates business process definitions dynamically, given a user business goal and underlying business criteria (e.g. total order cost, type of sourcing methods, etc.). Guided by an algorithm that references a hierarchical ontology file containing business process task decomposition, Genesis traverses through the ontology and dynamically produces two types of output: (1) a graphical breakdown of task sequences and decompositions required to fulfill the user's business goals, and (2) an abstract BPEL file containing the control flow structures, and Web service invocation points needed to execute the collaborative business processes in a service-oriented environment. The outputs demonstrate the potential of Genesis as a standalone module which can provide dynamic capabilities, thereby complementing current service-oriented architecture (SOA) business-to-business (B2B) information systems which require hard-coded, inflexible business process definitions. An online demonstration of Genesis is available at http://imss.simtech.a-star.edu.sg/Genesis/