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Usaha Mikro, Kecil, dan Menengah merupakan satu kekuatan ekonomi melalui kemampuannya untuk menyerap tenaga kerja. Salah satu kategori usaha yang memiliki peluang yang besar adalah jasa kecantikan karena jumlahnya masih sedikit, terutama di Tasikmalaya. Pandemi Covid-19 menjadi kendala utama bagi pelaku usaha yang memasarkan produk/jasanya secara langsung. Talita Care merupakan salah satu usaha bidang kecantikan yang masih melakukan pemasaran secara konvensional dan belum memiliki kompetensi untuk melakukan pemasaran secara digital. Karena itu diberikan program pendampingan kepada Talita Care untuk mengembangkan kemampuan Talita Care terutama dari sisi Pemasaran Digital. Penerapan Pemasaran Digital diangkat sebagai fokus pembahasan karena memiliki peran penting sebagai strategi promosi bagi produk Talita Care untuk semakin dikenal oleh masyarakat, bahkan setelah pandemi berakhir. Mengingat kondisi pandemi, program pendampingan dilakukan secara online dengan menggunakan media Zoom. Program ini berhasil membuka channel pemasaran baru bagi Talita Care, meningkatkan penjualan melalui platform digital serta meningkatkan kompetensi pemilik dan pegawai Talita Care dalam Pemasaran Digital.

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, and it places a significant economic strain on the healthcare system around the world. Although the exact mechanism of epilepsy has yet to be illustrated, various pathogenic cascades involving neurotransmitters and trace elements have been reported. We aimed to investigate the serum levels of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) among cohort of Egyptian children with epilepsy and correlate these biomarkers with their zinc levels., Methods: This case-control study included 50 pediatric patients with epilepsy who were comparable with 50 controls. Neurological assessment and electroencephalogram (EEG) were done to all included children. Biochemical measurements of serum GAP-43 and NT-3 using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and zinc using colorimetric assays, were performed to all participants., Results: There was significantly frequent positive parental consanguinity among cases with significantly frequent generalized onset seizures (94%) than simple partial seizure (6%). There were significantly lower serum GAP-43 and zinc levels with significantly higher TAC among cases vs. the controls, p˂0.05 for all. There was no significant difference in the serum levels of NT-3 among epileptic children vs. the controls, p = 0.269. Serum Zn was positively correlated with GAP-43 level among epileptic children (r = 0.381, p = 0.006). Serum GAP-43 in diagnosing childhood epilepsy at cut-off point ≤ 0.6 ng/mL showed 78% sensitivity, 62% specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) = 50.6%, negative predictive value (NPP) = 84.9% with AUC = 0.574., Conclusion: GAP-43 can be considered a sensitive good negative biomarker in childhood epilepsy which correlated positively with the zinc status., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Febrile seizures (FSs) are a common occurrence in young children and a serious concern in pediatric practice; nevertheless, the causes and mechanisms of FS are still unknown. We hypothesized a relation of neuropeptides such as neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) as well as zinc and the oxidant/antioxidant system with pediatric FS. The study included 100 infants categorized into 50 infants with FS and 50 febrile infants without seizures as controls. Clinical assessments, biochemical assays of NT-3 and GAP-43 using ELISA assay kits, and colorimetric measurements of TAC and Zn were performed to all participants. Overall, significant rises of the values of NT-3 and insignificant increases of GAP-43 were detected in children with FS. At the same time, zinc values and the total antioxidant capacity in serum samples were found to be decreased significantly. In addition, a negative correlation was estimated between NT-3 and zinc levels. Serum NT-3 in diagnosing febrile seizures at cutoff point > 49.62 ng/L showed 100% sensitivity, 46% specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) = 48.1%, and negative predictive value (NPP) = 100% with AUC = 0.678. Significant altered circulating NT-3 and zinc levels in FS may indicate their possible role in the pathogenesis of FS. This may open a way for further research and warrants enlightening of the pathophysiological details of FS., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)