Bacteria and Risk Factors of Acne Vulgaris in Northern West Bank, Palestine

Bacterial species and risk factors were examined in acne vulgaris patients inNorthern West Bank. Samples were obtained from face and upper trunk lesions of138 patients (age: 15-34 years) at Dermatology clinics. Samples were incubatedin blood agar plates under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Patients were askedto answer a questionnaire and all provided written informed consent. Bacteriawere isolated from 88% of the patients including Propionibacterium acnes,Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. Risk factors mentionedby patients included emotional stress, high temperature, sweating and localpressure. Chocolate, nuts and fatty food were mentioned as exacerbating, andvegetables and fruits as ameliorating foods for their acne, respectively. Resultsshow high correlation between acne and bacteria with no relation between riskfactors and specific bacterial strains.Keywords: Acne vulgaris, Palestine, West Bank, risk facto

FIELD INSTRUMENTATIONS AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF GEOSYNTHETIC REINFORCED SOIL – INTEGRATED BRIDGE SYSTEM (GRS-IBS)

Geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) is a special soil with geosynthetic fabric closely stacked in layers as soil stabilization and considered an alternative design method to the conventional bridge support technology. In this research study, a field case study of Maree Michel bridge, which is located in Route LA 91 Vermilion Parish in Louisiana, was instrumented with six different types of instrumentations to monitor the performance of GRS-IBS bridge abutment and to develop 2D and 3D finite element models. The instrumentations include Shape Acceleration Array (SAA), earth pressure cells, strain gauges, piezometers, and thermocouples. Additionally, surveying was conducted at the bridge surface upon the completion of the construction. Two and three-dimensional finite elements (FE) computer program PLAXIS 2016 was chosen to model the GRS abutment. First, the FE simulation is performed for the case study, in which the FE models were verified using the results of field monitoring program. A comprehensive parametric study was then conducted to evaluate the effect of different design variables on the performance of the GRS-IBS. Based on the results of parametric study, the relationship between the reinforcement spacing and the reinforcement strength on the behavior of the GRS-IBS performance was evaluated. The results indicated that the reinforcement spacing has a higher impact than the reinforcement strength on the performance of GRS-IBS for a reinforcement spacing equal or greater than 0.2 m (8 in.), and similar impact for reinforcement spacing less than 0.2 m (8 in.). An analytical model was developed to calculate the required tensile strength of GRS-IBS abutment based on the composite behavior of the closely reinforcement soil. The equations were verified by using field measurements and by the results of the finite element (FE) method of analysis. The results of the analytical model were also compared with the current design procedure adopted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Finally, the FE analysis demonstrated that the possible potential failure envelope of the GRS-IBS abutment was found to be a combination of a punching shear failure at the top and Rankine failure surface at the bottom, in which the failure envelope is developed under the inner edge of the footing and extending vertically downward to intersect with the Rankine active failure surface

Screening for Novel Inhibitors of Alpha-Ynuclein Seeded Nucleation-Dependent Aggregation and Toxicity as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Parkinson’s Disease

α-Synuclein aggregation is the key pathogenic event in several important neurological disorders including Parkinson’s Disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, giving rise to a distinct group of neurodegenerative diseases known as synucleinopathies. Although the molecular basis of α – syn toxicity is mediated by a nucleation-dependent aggregation process. To elucidate the structural basis of α-synuclein mediated toxicity, we developed various methods to prepare different α-synuclein species of a defined size and morphology distribution, and we investigated their toxicity in different human dopaminergic cell lines. We observed that crude α-synuclein oligomers preparations, containing both monomeric and heterogeneous mixtures of α-synuclein oligomers, were the most toxic species. The toxicity of α-synuclein aggregates was directly linked to the presence of the monomeric α-synuclein, and strongly dependent on its ability in seeded nucleation-dependent aggregation converting into amyloid fibrils. Therefore any effort to identify compounds that could inhibit or even reverse the aggregation process should assess the effect of the potential inhibitors on the seeded aggregation of α-synuclein, among others. We screened thirty Chinese herbal medicinal compounds for their effect on α-synuclein aggregation, seeded polymerization and toxicity by employing biophysical, biochemical and cell-culture-based techniques. Among the screened compounds, only ginsenoside Rbl, salvianolic acid B, dihydromyricetin and gallic acid were shown to be strong inhibitors of α-syn fibrillation, seeded aggregation ant toxicity. Our results showed that gallic acid, ginsenoside Rb1 and salvianolic acid B inhibit α-synuclein fibrillation by binding and stabilizing the structure of the soluble, non-toxic oligomers, which are devoid of β-sheet content. In contrast, dihydromyricetin was found to be able to bind both oligomeric and monomeric species of α-synuclein. In the case of gallic acid, the inhibition of α-synuclein fibrillation is related to the compound’s hydroxyl moieties whose number and position on the phenyl ring were proven to be significant for the process of inhibition, as indicated by the structure activity relationship data obtained from fourteen structurally similar benzoic acid derivatives. Overall, the compounds identified herein may represent the starting point for designing new molecules that could be utilized as drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and related disorders

Nigrostriatal overabundance of α-synuclein leads to decreased vesicle density and deficits in dopamine release that correlate with reduced motor activity

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a presynaptic protein present at most nerve terminals, but its function remains largely unknown. The familial forms of Parkinson's disease associated with multiplications of the α-syn gene locus indicate that overabundance of this protein might have a detrimental effect on dopaminergic transmission. To investigate this hypothesis, we use adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to overexpress human α-syn in the rat substantia nigra. Moderate overexpression of either wild-type (WT) or A30P α-syn differs in the motor phenotypes induced, with only the WT form generating hemiparkinsonian impairments. Wild-type α-syn causes a reduction of dopamine release in the striatum that exceeds the loss of dopaminergic neurons, axonal fibers, and the reduction in total dopamine. At the ultrastructural level, the reduced dopamine release corresponds to a decreased density of dopaminergic vesicles and synaptic contacts in striatal terminals. Interestingly, the membrane-binding-deficient A30P mutant does neither notably reduce dopamine release nor it cause ultrastructural changes in dopaminergic axons, showing that α-syn's membrane-binding properties are critically involved in the presynaptic defects. To further determine if the affinity of the protein for membranes determines the extent of motor defects, we compare three forms of α-syn in conditions leading to pronounced degeneration. While membrane-binding α-syns (wild-type and A53T) induce severe motor impairments, an N-terminal deleted form with attenuated affinity for membranes is inefficient in inducing motor defects. Overall, these results demonstrate that α-syn overabundance is detrimental to dopamine neurotransmission at early stages of the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic axon

ANALISIS PERSEPSI MAHASISWA TERHADAP PENGGUNAAN SUMBER BELAJAR DALAM KURIKULUM MERDEKA DI FAKULTAS ILMU PENDIDIKAN

Artikel ini mengulas evaluasi mengenai bagaimana mahasiswa menilai penggunaan sumber belajar dalam penerapan Kurikulum Merdeka di Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan. Kurikulum Merdeka merupakan suatu pendekatan inovatif dalam pendidikan tinggi yang menitikberatkan pada memberikan fleksibilitas dan otonomi kepada mahasiswa dalam pemilihan sumber belajar mereka. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memahami bagaimana mahasiswa menafsirkan penggunaan sumber belajar dalam kerangka Kurikulum Merdeka, sejauh mana penggunaan sumber belajar ini memengaruhi proses pembelajaran mereka, dan dampaknya terhadap pencapaian kompetensi. Data penelitian dikumpulkan melalui survei dan wawancara dengan mahasiswa dari berbagai program studi di Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan. Hasil analisis data mengungkapkan beragam persepsi yang dimiliki oleh mahasiswa terkait penggunaan sumber belajar dalam Kurikulum Merdeka, termasuk tantangan dan manfaat yang mereka alami. Dalam kesimpulan, artikel ini membahas implikasi temuan tersebut terhadap implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka dan memberikan rekomendasi untuk meningkatkan penggunaan sumber belajar dalam pendidikan tinggi yang lebih adaptif dan responsif

SALSA: A Sequential Alternating Least Squares Approximation Method For MIMO Channel Estimation

In this paper, we consider the channel estimation problem in sub-6 GHz uplink wideband MIMO-OFDM communication systems, where a user equipment with a fully-digital beamforming structure is communicating with a base station having a hybrid analog-digital beamforming structure. A novel channel estimation method called Sequential Alternating Least Squares Approximation (SALSA) is proposed by exploiting a hidden tensor structure in the uplink measurement matrix. Specifically, by showing that any MIMO channel matrix can be approximately decomposed into a summation of R factor matrices having a Kronecker structure, the uplink measurement matrix can be reshaped into a 3-way tensor admitting a Tucker decomposition. Exploiting the tensor structure, the MIMO channel matrix is estimated sequentially using an alternating least squares method. Detailed simulation results are provided showing the effectiveness of the proposed SALSA method as compared to the classical least squares method

ANALISIS ANTENATAL CARE OLEH IBU HAMIL TERHADAP PEMANFAATAN PELAYANAN KESEHATAN DI WILAYAH KERJA PUSKESMAS COT GIREK KECAMATAN COT GIREK KABUPATEN ACEH UTARA

According to Minister of Health Regulation (Permenkes) No. 43 of 2016 every maternal must get antenatal services according to the standard which provided to pregnant women at least 4 times during pregnancy with a schedule of one first trimester, one second trimester and two-third trimesters. The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the influence of knowledge, attitudes, education, parity, income, support of health workers, a distance of health services and maternal health to the utilization of health services in the working area of the Cot Girek health centre, a population of this study amounted 512 people and 83 respondents were taken as the sample of this study. The research was Quantitative research used Mixed Method. The results showed of knowledge p = 0.000, education p = 0.000, income p = 0.000, support of health workers p = 0.000 shows a relationship to the utilization of health services. While attitudes p = .609, parity p = .823, distance of health services p = .167, maternal health p = .386 showed no relationship to the utilization of health services. The conclusion in this study is the influence of knowledge, education, income and support of health workers on the utilization of health services found, while the attitudes, parity, distance of health services and maternal health have no found about relationship to the utilization of health services. This research can be used as information for health workers to be more active in promoting antenatal care programs

PENGARUH BRAND IMAGE DAN BRAND TRUST TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PELANGGAN SHOPEE (STUDI PADA PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN EKONOMI UNIVERSITAS MULAWARMAN)

This research aims to determine the Influence of Brand Image and Brand Trust on the Purchase Decisions of Shopee Customers with a Study on Students of the Economics Education Program at Mulawarman University. This type of research is associative, employing a quantitative approach. The sample in this study consists of 86 respondents selected using the Purposive Sampling technique. Data collection technique involves using questionnaires. The analysis method used in this study is Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. The results of this study indicate that the brand image (X1) partially has a positive and significant impact on Shopee customers' purchase decisions (Y), and the brand trust (X2) partially has a positive and significant impact on Shopee customers' purchase decisions (Y). In the coefficient of determination (R²) test, it is found that the combined influence of brand image and brand trust on Shopee customers' purchase decisions is 49.8%. The remaining 50.2% is influenced by variables outside of Brand Image and Brand Trust, such as price and convenience

PENGARUH BRAND IMAGE DAN BRAND TRUST TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PELANGGAN SHOPEE (STUDI PADA PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN EKONOMI UNIVERSITAS MULAWARMAN)

This research aims to determine the Influence of Brand Image and Brand Trust on the Purchase Decisions of Shopee Customers with a Study on Students of the Economics Education Program at Mulawarman University. This type of research is associative, employing a quantitative approach. The sample in this study consists of 86 respondents selected using the Purposive Sampling technique. Data collection technique involves using questionnaires. The analysis method used in this study is Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. The results of this study indicate that the brand image (X1) partially has a positive and significant impact on Shopee customers' purchase decisions (Y), and the brand trust (X2) partially has a positive and significant impact on Shopee customers' purchase decisions (Y). In the coefficient of determination (R²) test, it is found that the combined influence of brand image and brand trust on Shopee customers' purchase decisions is 49.8%. The remaining 50.2% is influenced by variables outside of Brand Image and Brand Trust, such as price and convenience