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Introduction: Laser pointers are devices that produce a weak laser beam of 630-680 nmwavelength and 1-5 mW power (ClassII or III A laser). These devices generally emit a redbeam that is used by lecturers and teachers for presentations. Some children use pointers astoys and sometimes direct the beam to their own or others' eyes. Material and Methods: Following irradiation by a laser pointer beam for 8 secondsthe eyes of Chinchilla rabbits were examined by opthalmoscope, and fluorescein angiographywas performed 5, 10 and 15 min after the exposure. The rabbits were killed immediately or24h after exposure, the eyes were enucleated, and the histological features of sections fromfundus, retina and choroid were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results: A fluorescein block was found in the irradiated area immediately after irradiationand it increased in size with increasing time after exposure. The ultrastructural study showedacute oedema shortly after exposure, and thick collagenic bundles after 24h. Conclusion: Laser pointers with labelled power of less than 1mW are capable of producing visible and ultrastructual lesions in pigmented rabbit eyes.

The aim of this research is to implement anti-corruption values to students using the project citizen model. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. Data collection techniques in this research, researchers used data collection techniques in the form of observation, interviews, documentation, triangulation and literature study. The analysis techniques used are data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions/verification. The results of the research show that the implementation of anti-corruption education at IKIP PGRI Pontianak is a mandatory subject for the Civics Study Program and is integrated with Civics courses in other study programs, apart from that it is also implemented through student activities, extracurricular activities, and study program association activities and student unit activities. . The steps in the project citizen model are identifying problems, selecting problems, collecting information related to the problem, developing a class portfolio, presenting the class portfolio and reflecting on learning experiences. The anti-corruption values implemented through the project citizen learning model consist of honesty, discipline, hard work, caring, courage, responsibility, simplicity, independence and justice.

The purpose of this study was to determine the virtues of making a blended learning model in improving students' civic skills in the Citizenship Education course. The research method used is a combination method (Mixed Methods). The data collection techniques used were direct observation, direct communication, and direct follow-up communication strategies along with data collection instruments such as observation guides, interview guides, and questionnaires. Qualitative data analysis developed by Miles and Huberman is used in this study. The results showed that the implementation of Citizenship Education learning at the IKIP PGRI Pontianak during the Covid-19 pandemic was online and offline. Development of blended learning model steps. In the first stage, the powerful lecturer starts learning with the zoom meeting application. In the second stage, the lecturer performs a demonstration and presentation of knowledge by strengthening skills. The third stage, the lecturer guides the training. The fourth stage, checking understanding and feedback. The fifth or final stage is the follow-up and closing evaluation. The blended learning model is effective in strengthening students' intellectual skills. This can be seen from the results of the questionnaire analysis, namely that students' intellectual skills achieve an actual score of 5391 out of an ideal score of 7140, with a percentage reaching 76%, in the Good category. The results showed that students were able to identify problems, describe problems and make decisions about the problems they faced.

Beginning reading ability is the basis for further and fluent children's reading ability. Through observations conducted by researchers at PAS Ar-Rohim Kindergarten, researchers found that there were some children who still had initial reading abilities that were not in line with expectations, including 10 out of 13 children who still had difficulty recognizing letter symbols from A-Z, distinguishing words that had the same initial letter, and arranging letters to form a word. This study aims to find out whether there are differences in children's beginning reading abilities through montage learning media in group A of TK PAS Ar-Rohim Bancang Sambit Ponorogo. This study used a quantitative method of the pre-experimental type and the One Group Pretest Posttest design. Data collection was carried out through observation and tests. The research object came from the students of PAS Ar-Rohim Kindergarten selected by saturated sampling technique. The research data were then analyzed using the paired sample t-test and drawing conclusions. Data analysis in this study was processed and visualized with the help of SPSS 23. Based on the results of data analysis it was found that (1) in the experiments that had been carried out there were differences in children's initial reading ability before and after the montage activity was given. The children's initial reading ability before being given treatment obtained the pretest results with an average score of 19.6923 and after being given the treatment the results of the posttest were 30.5385. The difference between before and after the treatment was given was 10.84615. On the results of the paired sample t-test, the sig.(2-tailed) result is 0.00

This study aims to describe the improvement of students' Mathematical Critical Thinking Ability (MCTA) through the Think Pair Share (TPS) Cooperative learning model. This type of research is a quasi-experimental with Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The population in this study were students of class X SMA Negeri 2 Padangsidimpuan. Through purposive sampling, research samples were taken from class X IIS 2 as the experimental group and class X IIS 1 as the control group. The research instrument includes an observation sheet on learning activities and student MCTA tests which include pretest and posttest questions. Data analysis using N-gain score, t-test. Analysis of the observational data showed the average value of learning management with a score of 4.48. Obtaining N-Gain with t-test on student MCTA data obtained a significance of 0.05 was obtained. It was concluded that the application of TPS-type cooperative learning in improving students' MCTA was good. The TPS-type cooperative learning model's improvement was better than the regular MCTA of students.

Information Security Awareness (ISA) is a significant concept that got considerable attention recently and can assist in minimizing the risks associated with information security breaches. Several measurement scales have been developed in this regard, as measuring users’ ISA is paramount. Although ISA specific scales are very important, yet what methodological rigor they use in terms of initial conceptualization of ISA, data collection and analysis during the development, and scale validation of such scales are some unknown aspects. Therefore, we provide a comprehensive review of the existing ISA specific scales to address all the above concerns. A popular method, PRISMA, is utilized, and a total of 24 articles that match with criteria of this research are included for the final in-depth analysis. Also, a holistic evaluation framework is developed containing three phases and 19 criteria. Findings revealed that most studies treat ISA as a multi-dimensional construct, and ISA researchers rarely conduct both pilot testing and pre-text evaluation while validating and refining the initial scales. Additionally, several articles did not report some of the essential elements used for checking the rigor of factor analysis, and evidence for validities of the identified scales is inadequate. Consequently, existing ISA specific scales must be improved both in terms of the methodological thoroughness of the scale development procedure and their validities. Moreover, not only justifying why the development of a new scale is necessary, but also improving the quality of the existing scales by doing multiple iterations is significant in the future. Likewise, the inclusion of all the dimensions of ISA, while generating the initial items pool is an important aspect to be considered. A thorough discussion, recommendations for future research, conclusions, and study limitations are provided.

The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the implementation of human rights education in the PPKn IKIP PGRI Pontianak study program. The research method used is qualitative with a descriptive form. The participants in this study consisted of lecturers who teach Civics courses, lecturers of Human Rights Education courses, Head of Civics Study Program and students of Civics Study Program. The data collection techniques in this study were in the form of observation techniques, interview techniques and documentary study techniques. The data collection tools used in this research are observation guide, interview guide and documentation. The data analysis technique used in this study was carried out by collecting data, reducing data, presenting data and making conclusions. The results showed that the implementation of human rights education in the Civics Study program went well. This condition was seen from the mutual respect and respect between lecturers and students, and there was no discrimination between lecturers and students. The implementation of human rights education in lectures is carried out by lecturers through strengthening students with an understanding of how important it is to respect and respect other human rights. There are several strategies in learning human rights in order to achieve the objectives, namely preparing learning such as formulating learning objectives, knowing the characteristics of students, compiling learning materials, understanding learning situations and contexts, determining appropriate learning resources, determining time and choosing appropriate learning methods. There are two factors that can affect the implementation of human rights education, namely internal factors and external factors.

Intoxication of vitamin D is not a common case in pediatrics. Vitamin D supplements are sold as OTC drugs; however, there is a lack of public education about the permissible limits of vitamin D intake which may lead to vitamin D toxicity (VDT). This review aims to give insights to readers or practitioners about the clinical toxicology of vitamin D in pediatrics, which includes the mechanism of VDT, case reports, and the management of vitamin D poisoning. VDT refers to serum 25(OH)D levels, particularly when the level exceeds 100 ng/mL (250 nmol/L) or is defined as hypervitaminosis D. Hypercalcemia is a common condition of vitamin D toxicity. Vitamin D and its metabolites in moderate levels can induce hypercalcemia, as indicated by the elevation of osteoclastic bone resorption, the presence of calcium in renal tubules, intestinal calcium intake (through increased production of calcium-binding protein in enterocytes), and the decrease of parathyroid hormone synthesis. VDT in pediatrics can be managed by discontinuing vitamin D intake; using activated charcoal, furosemide, prednisone, and calcitonin; rehydration using intravenous sodium chloride 0.9%; and dextrose fluid therapy. It is important for parents to be more careful when providing vitamin D to their children.

Education has a very close relationship to the change of values and culture, therefore in order to achieve the purity of the culture, education needs to form a strong individual person, in order to achieve a golden Indonesia by not softening existing values and cultures. Therefore, it is important to conduct this research aiming to find out the socio-cultural system of the Indonesian people in the social science learning curriculum for the junior secondary level in the province of Riau. This study uses descriptive evaluative design with mixed method type that mixed method. Purposive smpling is a sampling technique used by researchers, with several stages of data collection including: observation, interview, documentation and questionnaires. After research and results were obtained that the 2013 curriculum is better used in junior high school students compared to KTSP, by using the 2013 curriculum and a qualified strategy in the learning process can increase students' curiosity towards learning and social problems in the environment, students can understand the learning well and deeper into the value of Malay culture.

The high dropout rate, lack of learners’ motivation, and MOOC users’ diversity are significant issues in MOOCs. In this sense, gamification is used to investigate if it can help to increase MOOC learners’ motivation and engagement, leading to a continued usage scenario. Further, this article aims to propose a theoretical model to identify the factors affecting MOOC learners’ continuance and empirically measure these factors. The model is based on the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) with additional constructs of motivation and gamification. Data is collected from 206 university students using an online survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used for data analysis. The results show that motivation, satisfaction, and perceived usefulness influence continuous intention, with satisfaction being the most significant predictor ( $\beta =0.373$ , p < 0.000). Motivation, confirmation, and perceived usefulness have a significant positive effect on satisfaction. Among the three gamification categories, achievement has the highest impact on motivation ( $\beta =0.208$ , p < 0.001), followed by the social category ( $\beta =0.143$ , p < 0.032). The effect of the immersion category is found to be non-significant. Based on the results, appropriate theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the team-assisted individualization model on the social skills of students in the historical subjects in Senior High School Palembang. The type of method used in this study is quasi-experimental. Class XI IPA 3 as an experimental class using random sampling. Data collection techniques used in this study are using questionnaire and observation, data analysis techniques used data homogeneity test, data linearity test, and simple regression test with significant level Fhitung ˃ Ftabel with real level (α = 0,05). The result of Fhitung obtained is 5,40 while to find Ftabel that is db = 1 as the numerator and db = 34 as the denominator and consulted to table F is obtained 4,13. Statistical calculations have obtained the results Fhitung ˃ Ftabel (5,40 ˃ 4,13) that means there was the influence of team assisted individualization model on the social skills of students in the historical subjects in Senior High School Palembang. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui apakah ada pengaruh model pembelajaran team assisted individualization terhadap keterampilan sosial peserta didik pada mata pelajaran sejarah Sekolah Menengah Atas Palembang. Metode penelitian yang digunakan quasi eksperimen. Kelas XI IPA 3 sebagai kelas eksperimen dengan menggunakan teknik random sampling. Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini yakni dengan menggunakan angket dan observasi. Teknik uji prasyarat analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji homogenitas data, uji linearitas data, dan uji regresi sederhana dengan taraf signifikan Fhitung ˃ Ftabel dan taraf α = 0,05. Hasil Fhitung didapat 5,40 sementara untuk mencari Ftabel yakni db = 1 sebagai pembilang dan db = 34 sebagai penyebut dan di konsultasikan ke tabel F didapat 4,13. Perhitungan statistik diperoleh hasil Fhitung˃ Ftabel (5,40 ˃ 4,13) yang artinya terdapat pengaruh model pembelajaran team assisted individualization terhadap keterampilan sosial peserta didik pada mata pelajaran sejarah di Sekolah Menengah Atas Palembang.

This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of students through the achievement of programme outcomes (PO) for two programmes offered at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering (JKKP), namely, Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Engineering. Implementation of the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) approach from the 2005/2006 session has opened a new chapter in the process of teaching and learning (TnL) at the departmental level in particular. Special emphasis was given to the ability of students to use, apply and relate engineering knowledge in order to solve complex engineering problems. Therefore, regular monitoring is important to look at the trend of PO student achievement for each session. The assessment was conducted by distributing questionnaires to final-year students of the department at Majlis Mesra Bakal Graduan (MMBG), an event that is held at the end of the second semester of every session. Questionnaires were distributed to students to get their feedback on the implementation of the programme during their four years at JKKP and the proposed improvements to the programme and their evaluation of the performance of the POs set by the department for both programmes. Comparison of the results from sessions 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 shows a slight decrease in terms of performance of the PO achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification and minimization of error sources an important issues in experimental investigations. Mainly in micro-scale problems, precise settings should be applied to high-tech test beds to reduce disturbance and induced motion. An experimental study is conducted to assess the role of induced forces and velocity fields in a particulate system used for particle identification and separation. Two main effects caused by disturbances are sampling errors and induced motion in the channel, either on fluid or dispersed phases. Different disturbance scenarios are implemented on the test bed and then the system response is reported. In order to assess induced motion as a result of applied forces, microscopic imaging of particle movement in the channel and image processing of the results, are performed. Results of particle sampling indicate that optimized pneumatic settings should be implemented to secure a safe level of sampling error. Results for induced flow show that the velocity field can affect the operation of the manipulation mechanism. Methods for capturing the induced force and velocity fields can be implemented in the arelevant applications, such as micro-particle systems and cellular studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper organizes about the effect of portofolio-based learning and the basic ability toward the result of learning media on students of Islamic Education Early Childhood study program, Faculty of Science and Teacher Training , State Islamic University of North Sumatera. The type of this research is quantitative research which is uses experiment form. The subject in this research is 70 third semester PIAUD students. The instrument that is used in this research is writing. The current data analysis is: analysis of two-way variance. The results of the study have showed that: (1) Students' learning outcomes using portofolio-based learning is better than student learning outcomes using conventional learning. (2) the basic ability influences the improving of student learning outcomes in mastering learning media. (3) Students' learning outcomes that has high ability in basic learning with portofolio based learning are different to the fact and significant to the other group.

In this paper, a robust pre-processing algorithm based on spatial fuzzy clustering for a model based lip contour extraction is presented. This transformation aims at increasing discrimination between lips and skin to enhance the lip contour detection. For each pixel in the transformed data, a and b components of CIELAB color space are used as features in spatial fuzzy clustering phase. The employed clustering method takes into account both the distributions of data in feature space and the spatial interactions between neighboring pixels during clustering. Then, an elliptical and a Gaussian mask delete the pixels around lip that were previously clustered as lip pixels. Finally, a model is fitted upon the lip for extracting the lip contour. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, pseudo hue segmentation and spatial fuzzy c-mean clustering were implemented and compared to our method. The results on VidTIMIT and M2VTS databases show that the novel scheme is able to extract the lip contour even in the situations that the nose and neck appeared in the lip region. Empirical results showed our method outperformed the present state-of-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalam era globalisasi ini penguasaan bahasa asing terutama bahasa Inggris sangatlah penting. Peningkatan kemampuan berbahasa Inggris pada mahasiswa dapat ditingkatkan salah satunya dengan pengembangan bahan ajar yang dilakukan secara kontinu dan tersedianya sumber belajar bagi mahasiswa tersebut. Tujuan utama penelitian ini adalah menghasilkan produk berupa bahan ajar mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Geografi berbasis TOEFL ITP yang akan diterapkan di tahun ajaran 2017/ 2018. Penelitian ini tergolong penelitian pengembangan atau Research and Development (R&D) pada bahan ajar mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Geografi. Pengembangan bahan ajar ini melibatkan tim dosen, ahli materi dan ahli media dengan melakukan FGD. Data dikumpulkan dari kuesioner yang diisi oleh ahli materi, ahli media dan mahasiswa. Kemudian data tersebut dianalisis secara deskriptif dengan menggunakan skor yang dikonversi menjadi beberapa kategori. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pengembangan bahan ajar mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris telah sesuai dengan Permenristekdikti No. 44 Tahun 2015 dan standar yang ditetapkan Universitas Negeri Medan. Pengembangan modul yang dilakukan dengan dua kali proses revisi sesuai saran dari ahli materi dan ahli media serta masukan dari mahasiswa. Ditinjau dari penilaian aspek materi, bahasa dan kegrafikan maka modul mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris Geografi dapat dikategorikan “Baik” dan layak untuk digunakan dalam proses pembelajaran. Kata kunci : Pengembangan Bahan Ajar, TOEFL ITP, Bahasa Inggris Geografi

ABSTRAK Tujuan utama dalam penelitian ini adalah menghasilkan bahan ajar untuk matakuliah Biogeografi yang layak digunakan oleh mahasiswa di kelas B reguler angkatan 2016/2017. Tujuan lain yang ingin dicapai melalui penelitian ini mendiskripsikan respon mahasiswa kelas B Reguler TA 2016/2017 terhadap bahan ajar berbasis konstruktivis yang dikembangkan. Metode pengembangan bahan ajar ini mengacu pada kerangka pikir Thiagarajan dan Semmel &Semmel. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui angket dengan indikator penilaian kelayakan berupa kelayakan isi atau materi, kebahasaan, kegrafisan dan penyajian. Analisis data dilakukan secara deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa (1) bahan ajar yang dikembangkan sudah layak untuk digunakan. Sesuai dengan hasil validasi kedua validator berkisar antara 97.19 dan 98.75 (2) respon mahasiswa mengenai bahan ajar ini tergolong bagus. 64% mahasiswa menyatakan sangat setuju bahwa buku ini berguna bagi mereka, dan 36 % menyatakan setuju. 91 % mahasiswa menyatakan bahwa penggunaan bahasa dalam bahan ajar ini sangat jelas dan mudah dipahami. Selanjutnya, 73% mahasiswa menyatakan bahwa pertanyaan yang diajukan di dalam bahan ajar ini juga sudah jelas serta isi pembelajaran sudah sesuai dengan harapan mereka. Pendapat ahli dan respon mahasiswa beberapa hal yang perlu diperbaiki ialah desain buku serta tata gambar, tabel dan diagram. Kata Kunci : bahan ajar, konstruktivis, biogeografi ABSTRACT The main objective of this research is to produce teaching materials for courses eligible Biogeography used by students in class B 2016/2017 regular forces. Another goal to be achieved through this study to describe the response of students of class B Regular TA 2016/2017 of constructivist-based teaching materials developed. The development of teaching materials refers to the framework Thiagarajan and Semmel & Semmel. The data was collected through a questionnaire with a feasibility assessment indicators qualifying the content, language, kegrafisan and presentation. The data were analyzed by descriptive qualitative. The results showed that (1) the material developed is feasible to be used. In accordance with the validator validation results ranged from 97.19 and 98.75 (2) The student's response is quite good material. 64% of students stated strongly agree that this book is useful for them, and 36% agree. 91% of students stated that the use of language in teaching materials is very clear and easy to understand. Furthermore, 73% of students said that the questions asked in these materials was also clear and the learning content is suitable to their expectations. Expert opinion and the response of the students are some things that need to be corrected is the design and layout of images, tables and diagrams. Keywords: Learning Material, Constructivist, Biogeography

Infeksi cacingan khususnya Askariasis merupakan salah satu penyebab masalah kesehatan masyarakat di Indonesia. Prevalensi infeksi Askariasis masih tinggi di Kota Padang, Sumatera Barat terutama pada anak usia sekolah dasar. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menentukan hubungan infeksi Askariasis dengan status sosial ekonomi murid Sekolah Dasar Negeri 29 Purus Padang. Penelitian ini merupakan studi analitik dengan desain cross sectional yang dilaksanakan bulan November 2014. Jumlah populasi sebanyak 250 murid dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 78 murid yang diambil dari kelas 1 - 6. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan teknik Stratified Random Sampling. Instrumen penelitian adalah kuesioner dan alat pemeriksaan laboratorium (Parasitologi). Hubungan antara semua variabel dianalisis dengan uji chi-square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa angka positif infeksi karena A. lumbricoides di Sekolah Dasar Negeri 29 Purus Padang sebesar 48,7%. Pekerjaan orang tua buruh sebesar 60,3%, pendapatan orang tua rendah sebesar 47,4%, pendidikan orang tua rendah sebesar 59,0%. Uji statistik didapatkan nilai probabilitas hubungan pekerjaan orang tua, pendapatan orang tua dan pendidikan orang tua dengan infeksi Askariasisis masing-masing sebesar 0,583, 0,370 dan 0,464. Simpulan penelitian ini adalah tidak ada hubungan yang bermakna antara infeksi Askariasis dengan pekerjaan orang tua, pendapatan orang tua dan pendidikan orang tua.

Background and Objective: Vitiligo is one of the most frequent skin disorders with a prevalence of 1-2% in different populations. Although many theories have been suggested for its pathogenesis, but the most popular hypotheses is the role of autoimmunity in Vitiligo. This study was done to evaluate the thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoantibodies in patients with Vitiligo. Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 45 patients with Vitiligo and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals as control group. Age, gender, duration of the disease and type of Vitiligo were collected through a standard questionnaire. Thyroid autoantibodies including thyroglobulin antibody, anti- thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase antibody, and anti-TPO thyroid hormones Tetraiodothyronine (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in Vitiligo patients and healthy volunteers were measeared. Results: Serum level of T4 was significantly reduced in Vitiligo patient compared to controls (P

Background : the low dietary intake in hospitalized patients impact on low level of energy and protein adequacy. Short nutritional message and nutrition education could influence the patient’s eating practice in order to increase score of knowledge, attitude, level of energy and protein adequacy. Objective : to analyze the effects of short nutritional message and nutrition education on eating practice in hospitalized patients at Salatiga general hospital. Method : this was a quasi experimental study with control group pre-test post-test design. The treatment group (38 respondents) received hospital food (3 days) and nutritional short message and education nutrition from the nutritionist (2 days), meanwhile the control group (38 respondents) received hospital food (3 days) only. Score of knowledge and attitude were obtained from interview with questioner. Energy and protein adequacy level come from hospital food intake and recall. Results : there were no differences in nutritional knowledge score, attitude, protein and energy adequacy level before intervention in both group. Score of knowledge, attitude, level of energy and protein adequacy could be increased by short nutritional message and nutrition education (p=0,00, p=0,00, p=0,00, dan p=0,00). Short nutritional message and nutrition education was no effect on energy and protein adequacy level from food outside hospital (p=0,76 and p =0,86). Conclusion: Short nutritional message and nutrition education was increasing nutritional knowledge and attitude score, energy and protein adequacy level from hospital food and total intake.

The anti-inflammatory drug predinisolone (1) was reduced to 20β-hydroxyprednisolone (2) by the marine endophytic fungus Penicilium lapidosum isolated from an alga. The structural elucidation of 2 was achieved by 1D- and 2D-NMR, MS, IR data. Although, 2 is a known compound previously obtained through microbial transformation, the data provided failed to prove the C20 stereochemistry. To solve this issue, DFT and TD-DFT calculations have been carried out at the B3LYP/6–31+G (d,p) level of theory in gas and solvent phase. The absolute configuration of C20 was eventually assigned by combining experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra and 3JHH chemical coupling constants.

Estimation, interpolation, forecasting and modeling are common engineering methodologies used to fit models to specific historical data. Recently, artificial neural networks have proven to be good candidates for modeling incorporating historical data. Also, fuzzy methods simulate complex and unpredictable systems in real-world applications. Adaptive filters, time series and statistical methods are other conventional estimating methods. Most of these methods first assume a parametric model for the system and then try to optimize the parameters so that the output error is minimized. This methodology (parametric modeling) forces a fixed structure to the behavior of the system. This causes a limitation in functionality and performance of the estimation process as well as reducing the degree of freedom in general. However, Reza's algorithm uses a sample of historical data, (Xi,Yi, to estimate a value for Y0 corresponding to a new value of X0. It considers several possible ranges of solutions to calculate the final estimate of Y0. Next, a candidate is introduced for each range of solutions (based on heuristic logic and engineering sense). Later on, these candidates are combined together using a weighted average method to reach a final solution for Y0. This algorithm has been applied to several real-world data sets. The results show a relatively high accuracy (approx. 7%) in the sense of mean absolute percentage error. Reza is a sample-based algorithm, and in contrast to the other estimating methods, it does not force any parametric model to the system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this work, the novel direct synthesis method of dimethylacetamide-based graphene oxide (GO) was performed through electrochemical exfoliation assisted by commercially available single-tail sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant. Then, the synthesised GO (SDS–GO) was incorporated into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) solution to produce a nanofiltration (NF) membrane through the phase immersion method. The addition of GO into the preparation of membrane solution alters the membrane morphology and improves the hydrophilicity. TiO2 was also used as an additive for the NF membrane fabrication to further increase the membrane hydrophilicity. The fabricated PVDF/SDS–GO/TiO2 and PVDF/SDS–GO NF membranes were compared with pure PVDF membrane. Then, the fabricated NF membranes were tested for methylene blue (MB) rejection with 10 ppm MB concentration. On the basis of the dead-end cell measurement operated at the pressure of 2 bar, the PVDF/SDS–GO/TiO2 presents high MB rejection (92.76%) and the highest dye flux (7.770 L/m2 h). This dye flux value was sevenfold higher than that of pure PVDF membrane (1.146 L/m2 h) which was due to the utilisation of both GO and TiO2 that improved the membrane hydrophilicity as indicated by the lowest contact angle (64.0 ± 0.11°). High porosity (57.46%) also resulted in the highest water permeability (4.187 L/m2 h bar) of the PVDF/SDS–GO/TiO2 NF membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh interaksi edukatif dosen dengan mahasiswa dalam pembangunan karakter atau budi pekerti mahasiswa melalui kegiatan perkuliahan di FIS Unimed Medan. Selain itu, penelitian ini juga diharapkan dapat menjadi bahan kajian bagi lembaga atau instansi terkait untuk selanjutnya dapat mengambil langkah-langkah konkrit untuk peningkatan kualitas dan intensitas pembinaan karakter atau budi perkerti mahasiswa dalam rangka membangun karakter bangsa Indonesia. Untuk mencapai tujuan penelitian di atas maka dalam penelitian ini digunakan pendekatan diskriptif kualitatif penulis berinteraksi secara aktif dalam proses pengumpulan data. Peneliti akan menggunakan intuisi dan merumuskan pertanyaan-pertanyaan dan melakukan pengamatan secara cermat. Untuk memahami makna perilaku dosen-dosen dan mahasiswa dalam berinteraksi peneliti akan melibatkan diri secara langsung dalam situasi sosial. Berdasarkan karakteristik pendekatan kualitatif, peneliti akan mengungkapkan makna dibalik suatu fenomena yang terjadi di FIS Unimed Medan khususnya fenomena yang berkaitan dengan interaksi edukatif dosen dengan mahasiswa dalam rangka pembinaan karakter atau budi pekerti mahasiswa. Hasil akhir dari penelitian ini adalah peningkatan pembangunan karakter mahasiswa dalam hal ini adalah karakter atau budi pekerti mahasiswa melalui interaksi edukatif dosen di dalam proses pembelajaran di Fakultas Ilmu Sosial Unimed. Hasil penelitian ini menujukkan bahwa karakter mahasiswa FIS Unimed dalam perkuliahan telah menunjukkan karakter yang baik hal tersebut terlihat dari indikator religi, toleransi, disiplin, tanggung jawab, peduli, hormat dan jujur.

In this study, some non-specific immune responses and hematological parameters in rainbow trout juveniles (16g mean weight) and their resistance to Streptococcusis were invetigated following dietary administration of 3 concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5g/kg of feed) of Echinacea purpurea extract. The non-pecific immune response and hematological parameter compared with control group for 60 days. Evaluated parameters included were of C3, C4, (complement components), superoxide ions (respiratory burst), lysozyme activity, number of WBC, percentage of blood lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils. At the end of trial, the relative survival rate (RSR) of fish was evaluated against S. iniae. The results showed that the levels of C3, lysozyme activity, superoxide ions, number of WBC and percentage of neutrophils in the experiment groups (the highest concentration, 1.5g/kg of feed) were increased significantly compared to the control group. Whereas, no significant difference was found in the value of C4 and the percentage of monocytes and lymphocytes in comparison to the control group. The relative survival rates of fish following challenge with Streptococcus iniae, were 91.11 and 44.44 percent in experiment (Echinacea purpurea, concentration of 1.5g/kg of feed) and control group, respectively. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that Echinacea purpurea. extract enhanced the non-specific immune system and fish resistance against streptococcusis, suggesting that this extract might be used as immunostimulant in fish feed.

Background and Objective: People with adult-onset hearing loss (AoHL) are at increased dementia risk. In this study, we explore potential aetiological mechanisms by synthesising the evidence on the association between AoHL and neuropathological, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood and imaging biomarkers of dementia., Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases from inception to 30 April 2024 for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, including quantitative data on the association between AoHL and dementia biomarkers. Study quality was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT)., Results: Sixty-six studies reporting 63 cross-sectional and 10 longitudinal analyses were included. Twenty-one studies met all MMAT quality criteria. We report a narrative synthesis due to the heterogeneity of the included studies. In CSF-based or blood-based assays or imaging, five out of six cross-sectional analyses found that AoHL was associated with elevated in vivo tau levels, whilst four out of 17 reported a link with elevated in vivo β-amyloid measures. One longitudinal analysis identified an association between AoHL and a steeper increase of CSF tau, but not Aβ 42 , levels over time. Twenty-five out of 44 cross-sectional and six out of nine longitudinal analyses identified associations between AoHL and grey matter atrophy of the temporal regions, particularly the medial temporal lobe. Studies using other biomarkers had inconsistent findings., Conclusions: AoHL was usually associated with more temporal regions grey matter atrophy both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and elevated in vivo tau but not β-amyloid. Increasing atrophy and higher tau, leading to decreased cognitive reserve may be how hearing loss increases dementia risk., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Rationale: Adolescent inhalant use is an understudied and undertreated disorder, particularly in females. Chronic exposure to inhalants, like toluene, can have long-lasting effects on behavior. However, most animal studies lack the incorporation of both sexes and do not focus on the abstinence period., Objective: We assessed the behavioral effects during prolonged abstinence following repeated toluene inhalation in adolescent male and female rats., Methods: We repeatedly exposed adolescent male and female Sprague Dawley rats to toluene vapor (1500 or 3000 ppm) for 6 days using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. We tested drug-associated context preference, locomotion, anxiety-like behavior, object memory, social preference, and cognitive flexibility across 22 days of abstinence., Results: In females, 3000 ppm toluene increased CPP on days 8 and 22 of abstinence but this effect did not reach significance in males. Instead, males showed a significant increase in locomotion on days 7 and 21. Toluene also impaired social novelty preference and reversal learning during long-term abstinence, but not anxiety-like behavior or object recognition memory., Conclusions: Our rodent findings suggest that female inhalant users may show persistent drug preference during abstinence following chronic use. Furthermore, prolonged cognitive and social deficits should be addressed in treatment programs for adolescents., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: In healthcare settings, there can be a fine distinction between genuine performance management and vexatious complaints occurring in the context of bullying. The most common manifestation of such behaviour involves repetitive interpersonal abusive behaviours within the context of a power hierarchy. These interactions might well be experienced as bullying behaviour; however, the interpersonal dynamics underpinning such behaviours remains largely unexplored., Objective: This paper offers a psychological perspective on bullying and harassment and adopts a psychodynamic case study approach, utilising a case vignette involving a senior and junior doctor within a general practice context. Conflict can be mitigated by understanding the intra- and interpersonal dynamics that interfere with rational performance management., Discussion: Psychological processes such as projection, displacement and projective identification are useful in understanding the genesis of bullying and harassment within demanding workplaces. Reflecting upon the psychological processes underpinning such conflict might help mitigate coercive workplace behaviour.

Objective: Establishing the cause of hearing loss (HL) is important and rewarding, though not without its challenges. While our ability to identify the etiology for HL has improved with advances in scientific knowledge, a significant proportion of cases remain of unknown etiology. Recent protocol changes within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service support the utilization of the HL gene panel test, rather than individual gene tests. In light of these changes, determining the yield of these more extensive panel tests is important in informing future practice., Study Design: Retrospective study., Setting: The Cochlear Implant (CI) Department at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)., Methods: Four hundred seventy-six children with profound HL were identified from a database of referrals to the GOSH CI Department. Data on etiology of HL including genetic diagnosis was collected from hospital notes on an electronic patient records system and hospital genetics database., Results: We identified a positive result in 163/476 (34%) cases through the gene panel test, representing an additional 19% yield to current level 1 investigations. Genetic HL, including both syndromic (including those not covered by the HL gene panel) and nonsyndromic (209/476, 44%) was the most common etiology in our cohort. Perinatal, intrauterine, ototoxicity, meningitis, and encephalitis categories altogether comprised 97/476 (20%) cases., Conclusion: Gene panel testing provides significant additional yield over current level 1 investigations which include GJB2 testing only. This has far-reaching implications for how we optimize investigations into HL in children and counsel families, and for future early interventions., (© 2024 American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.)