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Introduction This study compares the efficacy of herbal, homeopathic, and conventional dentifrices, on oral microflora using antibiotic susceptibility tests. Methods Three strains of microorganisms, Streptococcus Mutans, Escherichia Coli, and Candida Albicans, were taken and incubated in Mutans media, Mueller Hilton agar, and Sabouraud Dextrose agar, respectively. Different dilutions (1:5, 1:10 and 1:15) of several brands of commercial toothpaste with different compositions were made. Sterile disks were incorporated with an equal amount of prepared toothpaste formulations using a micropipette. These disks were then placed equidistant to each other, and the plates were incubated for 24 hours. Results The zone of inhibition against S. Mutans is found to be higher in homeopathic dentifrice 24 mm, 19 mm, and 20 mm, followed by herbal dentifrice 19 mm, 17 mm, and 13 mm, and the least by conventional dentifrice 17 mm, 15 mm and no inhibition, at 1:5, 1:10 and 1:15 dilution, respectively. The zone of inhibition against E. Coli is found to be higher in herbal dentifrice 18 mm, 17 mm and 16 mm followed by conventional dentifrice 18 mm, 17 mm, and 14 mm, and no inhibition by homeopathic dentifrice at 1:5, 1:10 and 1:15 dilution, respectively. Zone of inhibition against C. Albicans is found to be higher in herbal dentifrice 14 mm, 12 mm and 9 mm followed by conventional dentifrice 14 mm, 9 mm, and no inhibition, and the least by homeopathic dentifrice 10 mm, 9 mm and 7 mm, at 1:5, 1:10 and 1:15 dilutions, respectively. Conclusions Toothpaste formulations containing homeopathic and natural antimicrobial agents were more effective in controlling the oral microflora compared to toothpaste containing synthetic antimicrobial agents like triclosan.

Coral reefs persist in an accretion-erosion balance, which is critical for understanding the natural variability of sediment production, reef accretion, and their effects on the carbonate budget. Bioerosion (i.e. biodegradation of substrate) and encrustation (i.e. calcified overgrowth on substrate) influence the carbonate budget and the ecological functions of coral reefs, by substrate formation/consolidation/erosion, food availability and nutrient cycling. This study investigates settlement succession and carbonate budget change by bioeroding and encrusting calcifying organisms on experimentally deployed coral substrates (skeletal fragments of Stylophora pistillata branches). The substrates were deployed in a marginal coral reef located in the Gulf of Papagayo (Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific) for four months during the northern winter upwelling period (December 2013 to March 2014), and consecutively sampled after each month. Due to the upwelling environmental conditions within the Eastern Tropical Pacific, this region serves as a natural laboratory to study ecological processes such as bioerosion, which may reflect climate change scenarios. Time-series analyses showed a rapid settlement of bioeroders, particularly of lithophagine bivalves of the genus Lithophaga/Leiosolenus (Dillwyn, 1817), within the first two months of exposure. The observed enhanced calcium carbonate loss of coral substrate (>30%) may influence seawater carbon chemistry. This is evident by measurements of an elevated seawater pH (>8.2) and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag >3) at Matapalo Reef during the upwelling period, when compared to a previous upwelling event observed at a nearby site in distance to a coral reef (Marina Papagayo). Due to the resulting local carbonate buffer effect of the seawater, an influx of atmospheric CO2 into reef waters was observed. Substrates showed no secondary cements in thin-section analyses, despite constant seawater carbonate oversaturation (Ωarag >2.8) during the field experiment. Micro Computerized Tomography (μCT) scans and microcast-embeddings of the substrates revealed that the carbonate loss was primarily due to internal macrobioerosion and an increase in microbioerosion. This study emphasizes the interconnected effects of upwelling and carbonate bioerosion on the reef carbonate budget and the ecological turnovers of carbonate producers in tropical coral reefs under environmental change.

The tertiary motifs in complex RNA molecules play vital roles to either stabilize the formation of RNA 3D structure or to provide important biological functionality to the molecule. In order to better understand the roles of these tertiary motifs in riboswitches, we examined 11 representative riboswitch PDB structures for potential agreement of both motif occurrences and conservations. A total of 61 unique tertiary interactions were found in the reference structures. In addition to the expected common A-minor motifs and base-triples mainly involved in linking distant regions the riboswitch structures three highly conserved variants of A-minor interactions called G-minors were found in the SAM-I and FMN riboswitches where they appear to be involved in the recognition of the respective ligand's functional groups. From our structural survey as well as corresponding structure and sequence alignments, the agreement between motif occurrences and conservations are very prominent across the representative riboswitches. Our analysis provide evidence that some of these tertiary interactions are essential components to form the structure where their sequence positions are conserved despite a high degree of diversity in other parts of the respective riboswitches sequences. This is indicative of a vital role for these tertiary interactions in determining the specific biological function of riboswitch.

Background: This study investigates the relationship between male sexual dysfunction, such as erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, premature ejaculation, and alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS). Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated sexual dysfunction in 260 married patients with an ADS diagnosis based on CONSORT standards. Participants were chosen from an outpatient psychiatry department. The Arizona Sexual Experience Scale and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire Scale were among the instruments utilized. Results: We found a strong link between sexual dysfunction and the severity of ADS. A smaller but statistically significant percentage (16.15%) of the subjects showed signs of severe alcohol dependence compared to half (50%) who showed mild dependence. Conclusions: The results highlight the connection between sexual dysfunction and the severity of alcohol dependence, indicating the necessity for focused therapies. Sexual dysfunction was more common as ADS severity grew, indicating the need for more treatment options and raising awareness.

Furfural is potentially produced from lignocellulose waste of biorefinery processes and is widely used as a value-added in various chemical industries. However, the purification of furfural should be conducted to obtain high purity. This work aims to synthesize, design, and optimize the furfural production using some alternative distillation processes by simulation using Super Pro and ASPEN software. The pretreatment process of producing crude furfural from empty fruit bunch waste is also evaluated. The production cost of $0.23/kg of crude furfural (5 %) was obtained in the preliminary process. In the purification process, the sequenced distillation process was less prospective than the extractive distillation based on the simulation basis and economic evaluation. The extractive distillation using n‑butyl chloride performed better than toluene and benzene as the furfural recovery, and the purity was 98.60 % and 99.94 %, respectively. The payback period (PBP), internal rate return (IRR), and net present value (NPV) also indicated the great performance of the extractive distillation process with values of 1.24 years, 36.04 %, and $14,591,500, respectively. Therefore, the simulation, design, and economic evaluation presented promising results that are feasible for plant establishment.

Using fungi in decomposition is an important indicator of success in biogas production from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB). This study isolated fungi from EFB to be used in the biogas production process. The results identified the fungus as Aspergillus niger based on macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular analysis. Adding the substrate (S) to Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) increased CH4 concentration from 6 % to 60 %. POME-S10 produced 80 % more biogas compared to POME-S0. POME 0-S100 had the highest CH4 to CO2 ratio in biogas (±260 %), compared to POME-S0 (±20 %), POME-S4 (±25 %), POME-S7 (±21 %), and POME-S10 (±100 %).

ND virus causes mortality in poultry. Passively acquired maternal antibodies inhibit immunoglobulin formation. Repeatability is a genetic parameter that determines the inheritance of traits from elders to chicks. IPB-D2 chickens were selected for disease resistance, and IPB-D3 chickens were selected for weight gain. This study aimed to evaluate the productivity of IPB-D2 and IPB-D3 chickens and assess the inheritance of Newcastle Disease (ND) antibody traits in 36 IPB-D3 and 21 IPB-D2 chickens. The T-test was used to compare the group means of the two chicken breeds. Antibody titer measurements were based on the Geometric Mean Titer (GMT). Estimation of ND titer repeatability using within-class correlation. Fertility and hatchability differed significantly (p < 0.05). ND titer of IPB-D2 chicken and IPB-D3 chicken DOC LOG 2 GMT 1.61 ± 1.10 and 1.34 ± 0.95. The antibody titer of IPB-D2 and IPB-D3 chickens at 14 days of age was 1.02 ± 1.20 and 1.37 ± 0.95. The ND titer value in the egg yolk of IPB-D2 chicken was 4.02 ± 1.94, and in IPB-D3 chicken was 3.64 ± 2.54. The results showed the repeatability value of l antibodies in IPB D-2 chickens and IPB D-3 chickens in DOC 0.49±0.30, 0.42±0.33 and 0.39±0.28; 0.25±0.15, respectively. Fertility and hatchability of IPB-D3 chickens were better than those of IPB-D2 chickens. The yolk ND titer of IPB-D2 chickens was higher than IPB- D3 chicken. The ND titer reciprocity of IPB-D2 chickens was higher than that of the IPB-D3 chickens. Keywords: IPB-D2 Chicken, IPB-D3 Chicken, Newcastle Disease, productivity, repeatability

Hipertensi merupakan penyakit yang menjadi penyebab kematian nomor satu di dunia setiap tahunnya. Berdasarkan pengukuran pada umur ≥18 tahun data prevalensi hipertensi tertinggi menurut Provinsi ditempati oleh Kalimantan Selatan sebesar 44,13%. Salah satu penyebabnya tingginya prevalensi hipertensi yaitu akibat rendahnya kepatuhan dalam minum obat. Penyakit hipertensi juga dapat mempengaruhi kualitas hidup seseorang. Oleh karena itu sangat diperlukan kepatuhan selama menjalani pengobatan hipertensi agar dapat mengurangi dampak yang ditimbulkan sehingga dapat memberikan kualitas hidup yang baik. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara tingkat kepatuhan menggunakan kuesioner Hill-Bone terhadap kualitas hidup pasien hipertensi di Puskesmas Pekauman Banjarmasin Selatan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode observasional dengan rancangan cross sectional untuk mengetahui gambaran tingkat kepatuhan terhadap kualitas hidup pasien hipertensi di Puskesmas Pekauman. Menggunakan rancangan prospektif dalam pengambilan data pasien hipertensi. Pengumpulan data menggunakan kuesioner Hill-Bone untuk mengetahui tingkat kepatuhan dan kuesioner EQ-5D-5L untuk mengetahui kualitas hidup pasien lalu diuji menggunakan spss 25 dengan jenis uji kendall’s tau-b. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa dari 68 responden, 3 orang (4,40%) dengan tingkat kepatuhan sedang memiliki kualitas hidup sedang, 59 orang (86,80%) dengan tingkat kepatuhan sedang memiliki kualitas hidup tinggi dan 6 orang (8,8%) dengan tingkat kepatuhan tinggi memiliki kualitas hidup tinggi, yang didapat dari uji Kendall’s tau-B nilai p = 0,000 < 0,05. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara kepatuhan terhadap kualitas hidup pada penderita hipertensi di Puskesmas Pekauman Banjarmasin Selatan.

Obesitas dan berat badan lebih masih menjadi faktor risiko dari berbagai jenis penyakit seperti diabetes mellitus, penyakit jantung koroner, osteoartritis, dan penyakit refluks gastroesofageal (GERD). Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mencari hubungan antara berat badan lebih dengan penyakit refluks gastroesofageal. Sebanyak 80 orang pasien Poliklinik Penyakit Dalam Rumah Sakit Umum Mitra Medika Tanjung Mulia Medan diikutkan dalam penelitian ini. Sampel diukur berat badannya dalam kilogram, dan tinggi badannya dalam meter, kemudian dicari Indeks Massa Tubuhnya (IMT) dengan cara membagi berat badan dengan tinggi badan kuadrat. Sampel juga diwawancarai menggunakan kuesioner GERD-Quest (GERD-Q). Selanjutnya data dikumpulkan, diolah, dan dianalisis menggunakan uji Chi-Square dengan aplikasi Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) versi 21. 47 (58,75%) dari 80 sampel merupakan orang dengan IMT berat badan lebih dan 33 (41,25%) dengan IMT bukan berat badan lebih. 15 (18,75%) orang ditemukan memperoleh skor GERD-Q 8, yang terdiri dari 8 (53,3%) orang kategori berat badan lebih dan 7 (46,6%) orang bukan kategori berat badan lebih. Data tersebut dijadikan tabel 2x2 yang kemudian dilakukan uji Chi-Square. Diperoleh hasil beda proporsi sebesar 0,04 (p=0,45) dan rasio prevalen (PR) sebesar 0,34 dengan interval kepercayaan (IK) sebesar 0,22-2,51. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa tidak terdapat hubungan antara IMT kategori berat badan lebih dengan GERD.

Prawn crackers hold a significant position within Indonesia's agro-industrial product landscape. The industrial process involved in their production is fraught with potential risks that could result in substantial losses for companies. PT. XYZ, a prominent prawn cracker producer in Indonesia, grapples with various risks, including non-compliant raw material supplies, machinery and equipment breakdowns, product defects, and process failures. Hence, there is an imperative need for comprehensive risk management involving further analysis, identification of potential failure modes, and formulation of mitigation strategies to curb losses. This research aims to ascertain the priority of potential failure modes and their corresponding mitigation strategies in the prawn cracker production process at PT. XYZ. The study employs risk analysis through the Fuzzy Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (Fuzzy-FMEA) method and determines mitigation strategies using the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy-AHP) method. The findings reveal 11 identified failure modes in PT. XYZ's prawn cracker production process, with machinery and equipment damage emerging as the top-priority failure mode, giving a Fuzzy Risk Priority Number (FRPN) value of 7.620. The recommended mitigation strategy involves intensifying inspections of production machinery and equipment, both before and after use by workers, with a weight of 0.368.

Fire in the aircraft cargo can cause dangerous damage to aircraft systems during flight. To prevent aircraft cargo fires, the fire early detection system must be built. In this work, we design and develop the fire early detection simulation system for aircraft cargo using Arduino nano microcontroller. The aircraft cargo is prone to fire due to the load of any type of goods such as dangerous goods, flammable stuff, or liquids, etc. This paper simulates the fire that occurs in artificial aircraft cargo and designs the detection and extinguisher prototypes using three kind sensors: flame, smoke, and temperature sensors combined with SMS gateway for user notification. We used SIM800L GSM module as communication tools to send and achieve data through short messages service (SMS) between security system and cellphones. Three sensors including flame, smoke, and temperature sensors were used as the warning indication to the hardware. When the sensors detect the fire and smoke, the red LED, buzzer, and vacuum pump will be on active mode, and SMS notification will be delivered immediately to the user’s cell phone. As the fire has been extinguished by the vacuum pump, the red LED, buzzer, and vacuum pump return to standby mode and the fire warning alarm system will turn off. This research is successfully developing the fire early detection simulation systems that can be applied in real aircraft cargo.

Context: On a cellular level, osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease caused by osteoclastic bone resorption that is not offset by osteoblastic bone synthesis. This increases the risk of fractures by making bones weak and brittle. The selective inactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in osteoblast lineage cells demonstrated that EGFR promotes bone formation by increasing the number of mesenchymal progenitors. Active compounds of gandarusa (Justicia gendarussa Burm. f.) are potentially playing crucial roles in EGFR activation. Aims: To evaluate the potential of J. gendarussa for osteoporosis prevention via EGF pathway in silico. Methods: A GC-MS approach was used to screen the active compounds from 70 and 95% methanol extraction, which was continued with molecular docking analysis by PyRx v0.8. The visualization and amino acid interactions were also revealed using Discovery Studio software R17. ADME analysis was performed using the SwissADME webserver to consider whether the best compound could be classified as a drug following Lipinsky rule’s of five. Results: The top five compounds with high binding affinity were selected from a total of 33 active compounds detected. One compound, namely eslicarbazepine, has a -6.7 kcal/mol affinity score and passes the threshold for drugs bioavailability, supported by the data of MW compounds 254.28 kDa, low rotatable bonds 1 bond, hydrogen bond acceptors and donors (2), high GI absorption, and ability to permeant to blood-brain barrier system. Conclusions: This finding added new insight into J. gendarussa extract potential as anti-osteoporosis in humans. Nevertheless, in vitro and in vivo experiments are necessary to confirm the potential.