bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of myths and taboos in wildlife conservation: The case of Bayelsa-East Senatorial District of Nigeria
Authors: Ihinmikaiye S. O. , Ochekwu E. B. , Ojo V. I.
Published: November 2022

The use of myths and taboos in species conservation represent a sustainable in situ means to wildlife protection. This study examined the role of taboos (traditional laws) in wildlife conservation within Bayelsa-East Senatorial District. Data were collected using a combination of semi-structured open-ended questionnaire guide and field observations, as well as species-evidence left behind. Informants for the study were selected from fifteen communities across the Local Government Areas (LGAs) that constitute the district. Local abundance status of the species implicated in the myths and taboos was determined within the various ecological settings, and likert scale was used to evaluate the informants’ perceptions on the taboos in relation to their effectiveness at protecting the identified species. The punishments for non-compliance with the taboos, as well as hypothetical inferences for the species conservation were documented. Ten (10) animal species in nine families were implicated in Bayelsa-East myths and taboos. The taboo animals were in 5 classes within Kingdom Animalia; members of the Class Reptilia (Crocodylus niloticus, Python regius, Python sebae and Varanus niloticus) were the most implicated; followed by Aves (Haliaetus vocifer, Macropygia doreya, Strix nebulosa). Abundance scale revealed that periwinkle (Gastropoda) was very abundant in Nembe and Brass. The informants’ perception on the effectiveness of the taboos (e.g. forbidding of hunting or killing Ekekoru, Python regius) in relation to the species protection revealed that the taboos were strongly effective in protecting the species in Nembe. The taboos in the study area were species specific, hence animals forbidden in Nembe and Brass LGA were not exclusively forbidden in Ogbia communities, and vice versa. The informants confirmed their beliefs and awe in the taboos and forbade abusive use, thus substantiating the taboos’ potential as sustainable tool for wildlife conservation.
Factors Influencing Students' Career Maturity in Vocational and General High School
Authors: Nurani Gita Aulia
Published: November 2022

Career maturity is a continual process of development that demonstrates notably recognised attributes required for career advancement. However, internal and environmental variables determine career maturity. This study explores the aspects of career maturity in high school students by collecting the literature. The following criteria were used to choose articles for inclusion: 1) articles describing career maturity in general high school or vocational high school; 2) articles published in English or Indonesian; 3) entire passages in published works; 4) published during the previous ten years. Results mentioned students at vocational high schools typically have more components than students in general high schools. Social attachment, adversity intelligence, emotional intelligence, career interest, motivation, and career aspirations are maturity elements that show in vocational students. Meanwhile, self-determination, self-esteem, self-actualisation, self-confidence, and psychological well-being, on the other hand, are characteristics that impact the professional maturity of general high school students. Since most of these elements are internal to students, it is critical for general high school students to recognise self-reinforcement and self-understanding.
PhysiPKPD: A pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics module for PhysiCell
Authors: Bergman Daniel , Marazzi Lauren , Chowkwale Mukti , Maheshvare M Deepa , Bidanta Supriya , Mapder Tarunendu , Li Jialun
Published: November 2022

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PKPD) are key considerations in any study of molecular therapies. It is thus imperative to factor their effects into any in silico model of biological tissue involving such therapies. Furthermore, creating a standardized and flexible framework will benefit the community by increasing access to such modules and enhancing their communicability. PhysiCell is an open-source physics-based cell simulator, i.e., a platform for modeling biological tissue, that is quickly being adopted and utilized by the mathematical biology community. We present here PhysiPKPD, an open-source PhysiCell-based package that allows users to include PKPD in PhysiCell models.

Availability & Implementation
The source code for PhysiPKPD is located here: https://github.com/drbergman/PhysiPKPD.
Book Review: Mentoring Companionship
Authors: Giovanni Davin
Published: November 2022

Freddy Lay’s book conveys a new approach towards mentoring service, which is Mentoring Companionship. It is an accompaniment which based on relational mutual trust, commitment, and humility to be able to mentor and to be responsible to one another. Based on his book, Lay’s offers 4 models of Mentoring Companionship, such as: Mentoring man-to-man, Group Mentoring, Couples Mentoring, and Group Couples Mentoring. Moreover, according to Lay, these 4 models are applicable towards six categories of couples mentoring which are: mentoring for fellow Former Pastors, mentoring for fellow God’s servants, mentoring for fellow workers and professionals, mentoring for fellow church’s volunteers, mentoring for fellow family members, and specific mentoring for elderly by the younger member as mentors.
Risky Translations: Securing TLBs against Timing Side Channels
Authors: Stolz Florian , Thoma Jan Philipp , Sasdrich Pascal , Güneysu Tim
Published: November 2022

Microarchitectural side-channel vulnerabilities in modern processors are known to be a powerful attack vector that can be utilized to bypass common security boundaries like memory isolation. As shown by recent variants of transient execution attacks related to Spectre and Meltdown, those side channels allow to leak data from the microarchitecture to the observable architectural state. The vast majority of attacks currently build on the cache-timing side channel, since it is easy to exploit and provides a reliable, fine-grained communication channel. Therefore, many proposals for side-channel secure cache architectures have been made. However, caches are not the only source of side-channel leakage in modern processors and mitigating the cache side channel will inevitably lead to attacks exploiting other side channels. In this work, we focus on defeating side-channel attacks based on page translations.It has been shown that the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) can be exploited in a very similar fashion to caches. Since the main caches and the TLB share many features in their architectural design, the question arises whether existing countermeasures against cache-timing attacks can be used to secure the TLB. We analyze state-ofthe-art proposals for side-channel secure cache architectures and investigate their applicability to TLB side channels. We find that those cache countermeasures are notdirectly applicable to TLBs, and propose TLBcoat, a new side-channel secure TLB architecture. We provide evidence of TLB side-channel leakage on RISC-V-based Linux systems, and demonstrate that TLBcoat prevents this leakage. We implement TLBcoat using the gem5 simulator and evaluate its performance using the PARSEC benchmark suite.
RISC-V Instruction Set Extensions for Lightweight Symmetric Cryptography
Authors: Cheng Hao , Großschädl Johann , Marshall Ben , Page Dan , Pham Thinh
Published: November 2022

The NIST LightWeight Cryptography (LWC) selection process aims to standardise cryptographic functionality which is suitable for resource-constrained devices. Since the outcome is likely to have significant, long-lived impact, careful evaluation of each submission with respect to metrics explicitly outlined in the call is imperative. Beyond the robustness of submissions against cryptanalytic attack, metrics related to their implementation (e.g., execution latency and memory footprint) form an important example. Aiming to provide evidence allowing richer evaluation with respect to such metrics, this paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of one separate Instruction Set Extension (ISE) for each of the 10 LWC final round submissions, namely Ascon, Elephant, GIFT-COFB, Grain-128AEADv2, ISAP, PHOTON-Beetle, Romulus, Sparkle, TinyJAMBU, and Xoodyak; although we base the work on use of RISC-V, we argue that it provides more general insight.
Higher-Order DCA Attacks on White-Box Implementations with Masking and Shuffling Countermeasures
Authors: Tang Yufeng , Gong Zheng , Chen Jinhai , Xie Nanjiang
Published: November 2022

On white-box implementations, it has been proven that differential computation analysis (DCA) can recover secret keys without time-costly reverse engineering. At CHES 2021, Seker et al. combined linear and non-linear masking protections (SEL masking) to prevent sensitive variables from being predicted by DCA. At Eurocrypt 2021, Biryukov and Udovenko introduced a public dummy shuffling construction (BU shuffling) to protect sensitive functions. In this paper, we extend higher-order DCA (HO-DCA) to higher-degree context for exploiting the vulnerabilities against the state-of-the-art countermeasures. The data-dependency HO-DCA (DDHO-DCA), which is proposed at CHES 2020, is improved to successfully recover the correct key of SEL masking. In specific, our improved DDHO-DCA can also enhance the attack result of #100 which is the third winning challenge in WhibOx 2019. Since the XOR phase plays the same role as linear masking, we prove that a specific BU shuffling is vulnerable to HO-DCA attacks. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the combination of SEL masking and the specific BU shuffling still cannot defeat our higher-degree HO-DCA and improved DDHO-DCA attacks.
Low-Latency Design and Implementation of the Squaring in Class Groups for Verifiable Delay Function Using Redundant Representation
Authors: Zhu Danyang , Zhang Rongrong , Ou Lun , Tian Jing , Wang Zhongfeng
Published: November 2022

A verifiable delay function (VDF) is a function whose evaluation requires running a prescribed number of sequential steps over a group while the result can be efficiently verified. As a kind of cryptographic primitives, VDFs have been adopted in rapidly growing applications for decentralized systems. For the security of VDFs in practical applications, it is widely agreed that the fastest implementation for the VDF evaluation, sequential squarings in a group of unknown order, should be publicly provided. To this end, we propose a possible minimum latency hardware implementation for the squaring in class groups by algorithmic and architectural level co-optimization. Firstly, low-latency architectures for large-number division, multiplication, and addition are devised using redundant representation, respectively. Secondly, we present two hardware-friendly algorithms which avoid time-consuming divisions involved in calculations related to the extended greatest common divisor (XGCD) and design the corresponding low-latency architectures. Besides, we schedule and reuse these computation modules to achieve good resource utilization by using compact instruction control. Finally, we code and synthesize the proposed design under the TSMC 28nm CMOS technology. The experimental results show that our design can achieve a speedup of 3.6x compared to the state-of-the-art implementation of the squaring in the class group. Moreover, compared to the optimal C++ implementation over an advanced CPU, our implementation is 9.1x faster.
A Faster Third-Order Masking of Lookup Tables
Authors: Alexander Anju , Valiveti Annapurna , Vivek Srinivas
Published: November 2022

Masking of S-boxes using lookup tables is an effective countermeasure to thwart side-channel attacks on block ciphers implemented in software. At first and second orders, the Table-based Masking (TBM) schemes can be very efficient and even faster than circuit-based masking schemes. Ever since the customised second-order TBM schemes were proposed, the focus has been on designing and optimising Higher-Order Table-based Masking (HO-TBM) schemes that facilitate masking at arbitrary order. One of the reasons for this trend is that at large orders HO-TBM schemes are significantly slower and consume a prohibitive amount of RAM memory compared to circuit-based masking schemes such as bit-sliced masking, and hence efforts were targeted in this direction. However, a recent work due to Valiveti and Vivek (TCHES 2021) has demonstrated that the HO-TBM scheme of Coron et al. (TCHES 2018) is feasible to be implemented on memory-constrained devices with pre-processing capability and a competitive online execution time. Yet, currently, there are no customised designs for third-order TBM that are more efficient than instantiating a HO-TBM scheme at third order.In this work, we propose a third-order TBM scheme for arbitrary S-boxes that is secure in the probing model and under compositions, i.e., 3-SNI secure. It is very efficient in terms of the overall running time, compared to the third-order instantiations of state-of-the-art HO-TBM schemes. It also supports the pre-processing functionality. For example, the overall running time of a single execution of the third-order masked AES-128 on a 32-bit ARM-Cortex M4 micro-controller is reduced by about 80% without any overhead on the online execution time. This implies that the online execution time of the proposed scheme is approximately eight times faster than the bit-sliced masked implementation at third order, and it is comparable to the recent scheme of Wang et al. (TCHES 2022) that makes use of reuse of shares. We also present the implementation results for the third-order masked PRESENT cipher. Our work suggests that there is a significant scope for tuning the performance of HO-TBM schemes at lower orders.
A Conversation in Time: A New Concept for Creating Stream Graphs for Qualitative Data Visualization
Authors: Nelson Emily , Chatfield Sheryl
Published: November 2022

Despite the affinity between qualitative research and non-text visual information, the range and application of creative visualizations used to give depth and dimension to qualitative research reports is limited. Thoughtfully designed visualizations, including those which emphasize color, have myriad advantages, including the ability to compress information into an easily understood summary. The purpose of this paper is to describe a new method, developed by the first author, suitable for capturing temporal aspects of conversations and word volume for presentation in an engaging visual way. This method uses the widely available software program Microsoft Excel, in conjunction with R, an open source/open access software environment for statistical computing and graphics, to transform typed transcripts from individual interview research into a specific type of volume graph known as a stream graph. This “how to” paper describes the process and illustrates results from interview research with eight U.S. public school teachers conducted to discuss mental health resources for students. The stream graph approach provides qualitative researchers another tool for visualizing the rich contextual data collected during interviews.
Značaj, planiranje i sprovođenje fizičke aktivnosti kod mladih sa hipertenzijomZnačaj, planiranje i sprovođenje fizičke aktivnosti kod mladih sa hipertenzijom
Authors:   Institute of Public Health, Podgorica, Montenegro, Radunović Anastasija , Radovanović Dragan ,   University of Niš, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education
Published: November 2022

The increase in the frequency of hypertension in youths has brought physical activity as a potentially effective non-pharmacological therapy into focus. The aim of the work is to analyze the changes in blood pressure in youths during physical activity as well as determine the importance of physical activity in youths with hypertension, with particular reference to the potential role of parents. Research shows that lowering blood pressure early in life has a positive effect on blood pressure in adulthood. The impact on the energy metabolism of youths, through a change in the ratio of physical activity and sedentary behavior, can be achieved during working days through various programs in the kindergarten or school. On weekends, it is up to parents to stimulate behavior that improves childrenʼs health. Special education of parents is a way to reduce the growing tendency of inactivity among youths. Creating and nurturing young peopleʼs habits for physical activity, reserving parents’ time for the child's physical activity, and sharing knowledge about physical activity with the child are some of the possible ways to increase overall physical activity at an early age.
Разработка методов управления траловым комплексом с применением предсказательного моделирования на нейронной сети
Authors: Ражев Алексей Олегович , Недоступ Александр Алексеевич
Published: November 2022

В статье рассмотрена проблема автоматизации управления траловым ловом с целью повышения его эффективности и уменьшения энергетических и экономических затрат при вылове с использованием технологий искусственного интеллекта и предсказательного моделирования на нейронной сети. Поставлены задачи долгосрочного, среднесрочного и краткосрочного прогнозирования по заданным критериям с использованием архивных данных с промысла и текущих выборок эхолокации. Приведены структура системы, методы наполнения централизованной и локальных баз данных статистики уловов, обучения ис-кусственной нейронной сети, систематизации результатов предсказания, расчета и автоматической генерации входных параметров, конфигурирования. Определены входные параметры нейронной сети, задаваемые пользователем (коды района промысла, трала, объекта лова, его размеры, время года, среднесуточные температура воды и воздуха, скорость ветра, сила волнения в момент предполагаемого лова, тип судна); расчетные значения, вычисляемые по математической модели траловой системы (раскрытие трала, глубина траления) и пользовательским критериям (код места промысла, время суток, скорость траления); выходные характеристики (величина улова, расход топлива, финансовые затраты); критерии отбора и группировки выходной информации. Представлены выборки архивных сведений об уловах. Обосновано применение математической модели для связи силовых и геометрических характеристик трала. Предложены области применения полученных результатов – это проектирование, производство, эксплуатация натурных траловых систем и разработка программно-аппаратных комплексов виртуальной и дополненной реальности. Автоматизация позволит определять оптимальные места промысла с учетом энергетических и экономических затрат, собирать статистику уловов, ускорить, уточнить и упростить ее анализ, генерировать аналитические отчеты.
Prosperidad: una idea o una realidad
Authors: Acosta Juan Santiago Sánchez
Published: November 2022

El crecimiento económico y el crecimiento de la población debe estar ligado íntimamente a la prosperidad, sin embargo, ¿se verá reflejada en la realidad?, ¿los ciudadanos de las naciones del mundo reflejan prosperidad?, ¿el crecimiento económico de un país asegura la prosperidad de la familia?... son preguntas que no deberían plantearse, toda vez que, las organizaciones mundiales que agrupan a la mayoría de naciones han hecho esfuerzos, en cumplir metas para desterrar la pobreza, el analfabetismo, la desigualdad, metas que no se han cumplido, entonces, se afirma que la prosperidad, en la actualidad, es una IDEA, mas no una realidad, tal como lo demuestran las experiencias revisadas de Colombia, Cuba y Perú, con reflexión positivista de Puerto Rico, concluyendo, de que la estructura económica neoliberal, incrementa las brechas sociales de la desigualdad, con decremento del ecosistema, envileciendo la educación y la salud, siendo urgente un cambio paradigmático acorde con la concepción humana de prosperidad.
Upper Limb Ischaemia – A Single Centre Experience
Authors: Bang Shieh Ling , Nalachandran Sanjay
Published: November 2022

Introduction: This paper reviews the epidemiology, aetiology and management of upper limb ischaemia in a series of 8 patients presenting to a tertiary referral centre over a 4-year period and the review of the pertinent literature.

Materials and Methods: Details of patients admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) due to critical ischaemia of the upper limbs were obtained from admission summaries through the Computerised Patient Support System (CPSS) and operative notes through LOTUS.

Results: There were 8 patients who presented with upper limb ischaemia excluding trauma and iatrogenic causes over the last 4 years. All patients underwent embolectomy. One patient had an amputation post-embolectomy. Our short-term results were encouraging with 7 patients who were well enough to be discharged. One patient had a massive brainstem stroke and was discharged home for comfort care at the request of the family.

Conclusion: Careful physical examination and history taking, prompt recognition of upper limb ischaemia and active approach to management in the form of embolectomy are crucial in obtaining a good outcome and reducing the risk of late disabling effects.

Key words: Angiogram, Anticoagulation, Duplex scan, Embolectomy
Emergency Department Headache Admissions in an Acute Care Hospital: Why Do They Occur and What Can We Do About It?
Authors: Ang Seng Hock , Chan Yee Cheun , Mahadevan Malcolm
Published: November 2022

Introduction: Many patients present to the Emergency Department (ED) complaining of headache and a significant proportion of these visits would result in hospital admissions. This study analyses the demographics, presentation, work-up, reasons for admission, diagnoses and outcomes of patients admitted with the chief complaint of headache – to identify possible ways of reducing such admissions.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was done of the electronic medical records/discharge summaries of all adult patients admitted during a 1-year period from January to December 2006 with the diagnosis of primary headaches or secondary headaches not related to trauma, intracranial infection, inflammation, mass lesion, raised intra- cranial pressure or a serious systemic illness from the ED of the National University Hospital of Singapore.

Results: One thousand two hundred and seventy-six patients presented to the adult ED with primary headaches or secondary headaches not related to serious conditions in 2006. This represented 2% of the ED attendances in the period. Two hundred and twenty-three patients were admitted for various reasons – diagnostic uncertainty: 110 (49%), pain control: 73 (33%), social/patient request: 60 (27%) and others: 4 (2%). Sixty-six per cent of the patients had either computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) head imaging. Eighteen patients (8%) were eventually diagnosed with a “potentially serious” diagnosis (intracranial haemorrhage, brain metastasis, stroke, meningitis, cerebral inflammation, cysticercosis, cervical osteomyelitis, hydrocephalus, seizure and malignant hypertension).

Conclusion: Specific strate- gies addressing the various reasons for admission including physician training, use of evaluation protocols, imaging to exclude secondary pathology, a longer duration of treatment and evaluation in the ED, effective pain control and patient education may help reduce headache admissions.

Key words: Analgesia, Imaging, Lumbar puncture
Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy for Renal Tumours: Early Experience in Singapore General Hospital
Authors: Zam Nor Azhari Bin Mohd , Tan Yeh Hong , Sunga Paul Anthony L , Yip Sidney KH , Cheng Christopher WS
Published: November 2022

Introduction: To review the perioperative and short-term outcome of all laparoscopic partial nephrectomies (LPN) performed in a single institution.

Materials and Methods: Thirteen consecutive patients who underwent LPN since the beginning of the programme in March 2002 to January 2008 were enrolled. Demographic, perioperative and follow-up data were retrospectively collected. Transperitoneal approach was used in all cases, and vascular control was achieved with the use of a laparoscopic Satinsky clamp or vascular tape. The tumour was excised using cold scissors. Transected intrarenal vessels were suture ligated and the parenchymal defect was closed primarily with absorbable suture over a bolster.

Results: Thirteen patients underwent a total of 14 LPN. The median age of patients was 60 years (range, 41 to 77). The mean tumour size was 24 ± 11.4 (2SD) mm. The mean operative time was 228 ± 129 (2SD) minutes and median warm ischaemia time was 35 minutes (range, 24 to 68). Postoperatively, serum haemoglobin level decreased by a mean of 1.4 ± 2.5 (2SD) gm/dL and serum creatinine increased by a mean of 22.5 ± 25.8 (2SD) umol/L. Twelve out of 13 (92%) patients achieved their baseline serum creatinine level within 1 month postoperatively. There was 1 open conversion (7%), and 2 patients (14%) required blood transfusion perioperatively. Two patients (14%) had transient fever postoperatively due to basal atelectasis. No other complications were encountered. Median patient hospital stay was 4 days (range, 2 to 10). Eleven out of 14 (79%) of the tumours were renal cell carcinoma (RCC). At a median follow-up of 12 months (range, 6 to 53), all except 1 patient with RCC were disease-free.

Conclusions: Our experience has shown that laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is a safe, feasible technique in our centre for patients with small exophytic renal tumours. Patients can be discharged early with preservation of renal function and good early cancer control.
Prospective Randomised Study of Intra-Articular Fractures of the Distal Radius: Comparison Between External Fixation and Plate Fixation
Authors: Xu Germaine GQ , Chan Siew Pang , Puhaindran Mark Edward , Chew Winston YC
Published: November 2022

Introduction: Intra-articular fractures of the distal radius represent high energy, complex, unstable injuries and the optimal method of treatment remains controversial.

Materials and Methods: The aim of the paper is to compare the outcomes of external fixation (EF) with open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) with plates and screw fixation in the treatment of intra-articular fractures of the distal radius. Thirty-five patients were enlisted from December 2003 to September 2005 after a failure of initial conservative treatment. The patients were randomised into EF or ORIF groups. The patients were followed-up at 1 week, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Clinical and radiological outcomes were measured. They were scored using the Green and O’Brien or the Gartland and Wertley score.

Results: Of the 35 patients, 5 defaulted the 6-month follow-up and were excluded. We found that the clinical and radiological outcomes for the 2 groups were not significantly different. Complication rates were also similar.

Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the outcome of intra-articular distal radius fractures treated with either EF or ORIF.

Introduction: Intra-articular fractures of the distal radius represent high energy, complex, unstable injuries and the optimal method of treatment remains controversial.

Materials and Methods: The aim of the paper is to compare the outcomes of external fixation (EF) with open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) with plates and screw fixation in the treatment of intra-articular fractures of the distal radius. Thirty-five patients were enlisted from December 2003 to September 2005 after a failure of initial conservative treatment. The patients were randomised into EF or ORIF groups. The patients were followed-up at 1 week, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Clinical and radiological outcomes were measured. They were scored using the Green and O’Brien or the Gartland and Wertley score.

Results: Of the 35 patients, 5 defaulted the 6-month follow-up and were excluded. We found that the clinical and radiological outcomes for the 2 groups were not significantly different. Complication rates were also similar.

Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the outcome of intra-articular distal radius fractures treated with either EF or ORIF.
Self-rated Health, Associated Factors and Diseases: A Community-based Cross-sectional Study of Singaporean Adults Aged 40 Years and Above
Authors: Ramkumar Aishworiya , Quah Jessica LS , Wong Teresa , Yeo Lynn SH , Nieh Chih-Chiang , Shankar Anoop , Wong Teck Yee
Published: November 2022

Introduction: Subjective indicators of health like self-rated health (SRH) have been shown to be a predictor of mortality and morbidity. We determined the prevalence of poor SRH in Singapore and its association with various lifestyle and socioeconomic factors and disease states. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional survey by interviewer-administered questionnaire of participants aged 40 years and above. SRH was assessed from a standard question and categorised into poor, fair, good or excellent. Lifestyle factors, socioeconomic factors and presence of disease states were also assessed. Results: Out of 409 participants, 27.6% rated their health as poor or fair, 53.1% as good and 19.3% as excellent. Smaller housing-type (PRR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.10-2.44) and lack of exercise (PRR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.06-2.22) were found to be associated with poor SRH. Presence of chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease (PRR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.13-3.17), diabetes mellitus (PRR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.18-2.91), history of cancer (PRR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.05-4.41) and depression (PRR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.13-2.65) were associated with poor SRH. Conclusion: Prevalence and factors associated with poor SRH in Singapore was comparable to other developed countries. SRH is an important subjective outcome of health and has the potential for wider use in clinical practice in Singapore. Key words: Chronic diseases, Socioeconomic factors, Subjective health indicators
Multi-detector Computer Tomography Angiography in the Initial Assessment of Patients Acutely Suspected of Having Intracranial Aneurysm Rupture
Authors: Mohan Suyash , Lee Wickly , Tan Jau Tsair , Wee Liang Kwee , Hui Francis KH , Sitoh Yih-Yian
Published: November 2022

Introduction: Multi-detector computer tomography angiography (CTA) provides a fast non-invasive assessment of the cerebral vessels, is readily available in an acute setting and can potentially replace invasive digital subtraction angiography (DSA) forthe diagnosis of intracranial vascular lesions in an emergency setting. We report our experience in the use of emergent cerebral CTA versus DSA in the assessment of patients presenting acutely with symptoms suspicious of brain aneurysm rupture.

Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven consecutive patients presenting acutely with clinical suspicion of brain aneurysm rupture were evaluated over a 4-month period from January to April 2008. CTA with peripheral intravenous contrast injection was performed on a 32 slice helical scanner. DSA was performed within 48 hours for all cases when CTA was the initial assessment. Studies were assessed via radiology reports using DSA or surgery as the gold standard.

Results: All except for 3 patients had CTA as the initial study. There were 26 cerebral aneurysms detected by CTA in these 37 patients, with 9 negative studies. There were 2 patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVM), 1 with AV fistula (AVF), 1 tumoral bleed, 2 vertebral dissections, and 1 missed sagittal sinus thrombosis (CVT) on CTA. Based solely on CTA assessment, 3 patients had direct surgical clipping of the aneurysm, while 4 proceeded to direct endovascular coiling.

Conclusion: Emergent CTA is a non-invasive, reliable and viable alternative to emergent DSA for the assessment of the cerebral vessels in the acute assessment of patients presenting with symptoms suspicious of brain aneurysm rupture. Where positive, it can serve as a guide to therapeutic decisions. Review of CTA source data is essential, especially for small lesions and for post-clipping assessment.

Key words: Digital subtraction angiography, Intracranial aneurysms, Multi-detector computer tomography angiography
Predictors of Sustained Six Months Quitting Success: Efforts of Smoking Cessation in Low Intensity Smoke-Free Workplaces
Authors: Yasin Siti Munira , Retneswari Masilamani , Moy Foong Ming , Taib Khairul Mizan , Ismail Nurhuda
Published: November 2022

Introduction: This study aims to identify the predictors of a 6-month quitting success among employees involved in workplace smoking cessation with low-intensity smoke-free policy. Materials and Methods: A multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted among employees from 2 different public universities in Malaysia. Interventions include at least 2 sessions of behavioural therapy combined with free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for 8 weeks. Participants were followed up for 6 months. Independent variables assessed were on sociodemographic and environmental tobacco smoke. Their quit status were determined at 1 week, 3 months and 6 months. Results: One hundred and eighty-five smokers volunteered to participate. Among the participants, 15% and 13% sustained quit at 3 months and 6 months respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that at 6 months, attending all 3 behavioural sessions predicted success. None of the environmental tobacco exposure variables were predictive of sustained cessation. Conclusion: Individual predictors of success in intra-workplace smoking cessation programmes do not differ from the conventional clinic-based smoking cessation. Furthermore, environmental tobacco exposure in low intensity smoke-free workplaces has limited influence on smokers who succeeded in maintaining 6 months quitting.

Key words: Environmental tobacco smoke, Smoking cessation, Workplace
Fast Prediction of Multiple Parameters Related to Iced Airfoil Based on POD and Kriging Methods
Authors: Niu J. , Sang W. , Li D. , Guo Q. , Qiu A. , Shi M.
Published: November 2022

Ice accretion threatens aircraft safety. With the wide application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the design of ice-tolerant UAVs has become a problem that must be solved. Forty conditions for the continuous/intermittent maximum icing conditions were sampled in Appendix C of Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25. Herein, numerical simulations of icing were performed on an NACA 0009 airfoil for 5, 15, and 30 min, and the ice mass and ice shapes were obtained at different times. Numerical simulations of the aerodynamic characteristics of the iced configuration at 5, 15, and 30 min were conducted, and the coefficients of lift, drag, and pitch moment were obtained. Surrogate models of the ice shape, mass of the ice accretion, lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and pitch moment coefficient at different moments were built based on proper orthogonal decomposition and kriging interpolation. The results demonstrate that the surrogate models accurately predicted the ice shape, ice mass, lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and pitch moment coefficient at different moments. Compared with the numerical simulation results, the maximum relative errors of the ice mass, lift coefficient, drag, and pitch moment predicted by the surrogate models were 7.8%, 3.4%, 3.9%, and 7.6%, respectively. This method can help in designing the ice-tolerant UAVs and envelope determination under icing conditions.
Midwifery Practice: Botswana Perspective
Authors:   University of Botswana, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, O. Rapinyana, , O. Tsima, ,   University of Botswana, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, E.S. Seloilwe, ,   University of Botswana, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing
Published: November 2022

Midwifery practice is a health service provided to the childbearing families. The discipline aims to ensure best possible well-being of child-bearing women and their families to lower the maternal, perinatal, and neonatal morbidities and mortalities. It has existed as long as human existence. In the old days, the elderly women were key players in the provision of care during pregnancy, labour, childbirth and postpartum. They were no formal training, instead their practices were based on experience and orientation to cultural practice. The history of midwifery is based as follows: 1. Informal and formal training of midwives 2. Regulations of midwifery practice 3. Scope of midwifery practice 4. Successes of midwifery practice. The challenges faced by the midwifery practice were identified as 1. Increasing maternal mortality ratio 2. Shortage of resources.3. Lack of midwifery professional association and 4. Professional restrictions on midwives’ private practice. Implications for midwifery practice: This calls for Paucity of research related to midwifery practice and Review policy for training of midwives.
Risk Identification in Packaging Material Warehouse in PT. Cedefindo using the House of Risk Method
Authors:   School of Business Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Fabiani Nadya Adira , Okdinawati Dr. Liane ,   School of Business Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung
Published: November 2022

The cosmetic industry in Indonesia continues to experience rapid growth, in line with high consumer demand and the widening cosmetic market. In 2021, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), cosmetics will grow by 9.61%. One of Indonesia’s well-respected cosmetic manufacturing companies is PT. Cedefindo, which is part of the Martha Tilaar Group. Martha Tilaar Group is one of the local pioneers in the Indonesian beauty industry. There are very large numbers and types of packaging in the warehouse of PT. Cedefindo. Due to the wide range of products, there are a number of risks associated. As a result of redesigns and product discontinuation, a lot of unused packaging material has accumulated in the storage facility. Deadstock and unused packaging materials can disrupt the flow in the warehouse, increasing costs and reducing available storage space. Delays in delivering packaging materials to the production line are a further risk that could be triggered by flow disturbances. Given this potential risk, the company must identify potential risks in every packaging material warehouse activity. Currently, PT. Cedefindo has not examined every action in the packaging material warehouse to identify risks. Risk identification is very important because it will enable the company to develop plans to minimize harmful events before they arise, without proper risk identification, no mitigation strategy can be devised. This research was conducted by identifying warehouse activities, mapping them into (SCOR) and identifying risks using House of Risk Phase 1. The first stage of the House of Risk process is the identification of risk events and risk agents. Next, the severity and occurrence levels are measured, and the aggregate risk priority (ARP) value is calculated to determine which risk agents should be prioritized based on the Pareto diagram. There are 18 risk agents and 15 risk events have been identified as a result of this research, 6 risk agents were given the highest priority based on the Pareto diagram, and 2 risk agents were identified as having a high-risk level and being in the red zone, requiring immediate direct action.
Dynamic Comparison of Variations of Newton’s Methods with Different Types of Means for Solving Nonlinear Equations
Authors:   Universitas Riau, Kampus Bina Widya km 12,5 Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru 28293, Putra Supriadi , Imran M. ,   Universitas Riau, Kampus Bina Widya km 12,5 Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru 28293, Putri Ayunda ,   Universitas Riau, Kampus Bina Widya km 12,5 Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru 28293, Marjulisa Rike ,   Universitas Riau, Kampus Bina Widya km 12,5 Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru 28293
Published: November 2022

This article discusses dynamic comparison of variations of Newton’s methods with different types of means for solving nonlinear equations. There are two factors that are considered to affect the shape of the basin of attraction of a method namely the size of the determined convergence area and number of partitions. The computation results of some functions show that harmonic mean Newton’s method (HMN) has small divergence area. On the other hand, contra harmonic mean Newton’s method (CMN) has the largest divergence area and is considered to be the least effective method
Mathematical Analysis of Seasonal Malaria Transmission in Swampy and Deltaic Regions.
Authors:   Department of Mathematics/Computer Science, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State , Nigeria, Okrinya A. B. , Eli I. C. ,   Department of Mathematics and Statistics , Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Published: November 2022

Climatic characteristics involving weather conditions affect malaria transmission in most deltaic regions of the world. Here, we propose a simple mosquito-human interaction model incorporating features of seasonal malaria pathogenesis. We obtain the basic reproduction number and show in our analysis some conditions for local and global stability of the solution, suggesting that intervention strategies should be targeted at reducing seasonal contacts of mosquitoes and humans. The model simulations compare well with malaria infection data.
ANALISIS TINGKAT KEPUASAN KONSUMEN TERHADAP KUALITAS PELAYANAN RESEP TUNAI DI APOTEK KIMIA FARMA JUANDA BOGOR
Authors:   Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Industri dan Farmasi Bogor, Apolina CCI Neilli , Ekowati Tutik ,   Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Industri dan Farmasi Bogor
Published: November 2022

Apotek adalah sarana pelayanan kefarmasian tempat dilakukannya pekerjaan kefarmasian. Salah satu indikator untuk mengukur keberhasilan pelayanan kefarmasian di apotek adalah dengan studi kepuasan pelanggan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui sosiodemografi konsumen , tingkat kepuasan konsumen dan mengetahui nilai kesenjangan (selisih antara harapan dan kenyataan) pasien resep tunai terhadap pelayanan di Apotek Kimia Farma No. 7 Bogor. Penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian deskriptif dengan pendekatan Single Cross Sectional Study (pendekatan dengan observasi atau pengumpulan data sekaligus dalam kondisi waktu tertentu). Responden yang dipilih adalah pengunjung Apotek Kimia Farma 07 yang datang untuk menebus resep dengan metode non propability sampling dengan jumlah tertentu. Tingkat kepuasan konsumen diukur menggunakan model SERVQUAL (Service Quality) terhadap 5 dimensi kualitas layanan yaitu tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance dan emphaty. Hasil penelitian menunjukan presentase tingkat kepuasan konsumen rata-rata sebesar 95,02%. Dimensi tangibel merupakan dimensi yang paling memerlukan perbaikan karena nilai rata-rata kesenjangan paling tinggi yaitu minus 0,283 dan tingkat kepuasan terendah diantara yang lain yaitu 94,27 %. Dan dimensi yang paling tinggi adalah dimensi responsive dengan tingkat kesenjangan adalah minus 0,202 dan tingkat kepuasan 95,74%.
Analisa Efektivitas Biaya Seftriakson Dan Seftizoksim Terhadap Pasien Community Acquired Pneumonia Di Rs Rst Dd
Authors:   Farmasi Rumah Sakit, Fakultas Farmasi, Universitas Pancasila, Susanti Debi , Anggriani Yusi ,   Farmasi Rumah Sakit, Fakultas Farmasi, Universitas Pancasila, Sitanggang Maura Linda ,   Farmasi Rumah Sakit, Fakultas Farmasi, Universitas Pancasila, Majidiah Fadhlia ,   RS. Rumah Sehat Terpadu DD
Published: November 2022

Penyakit Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) adalah salah satu infeksi yang menyebabkan morbiditas, mortalitas dan biaya yang tinggi. Tujuan penelitian untuk melakukan analisa antibiotik yang paling cost efektif antara seftriakson dan seftizoksim terhadap pasien CAP di RS Rumah Sehat Terpadu DD. Data dikumpulkan dari catatan medis pasien dan Sistem Informasi Rumah Sakit (SIRS) secara retrospektif. Desain penelitian dengan analitik observasional kohort. Rerata biaya langsung medis perpasien dengan perspektif RS yang diperlukan pasien CAP dengan seftriakson sebesar Rp 4.087.958 lebih rendah dibandingkan seftizoksim sebesar Rp 5.356.209. Nilai Average Cost-effectiveness Ratio (ACER) seftriakson yaitu Rp 7.713.128,92 (Pasien Sembuh) dan Rp 989.820,42 (LOS) lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan seftizoksim Rp 7.994.341,34 (pasien sembuh) dan Rp 1.214.559,80 (LOS) per efektivitas pada pasien CAP di RS RST DD. Terapi seftriakson lebih cost-effective dibandingkan seftizoksim.
KARAKTERISASI DAN PENETAPAN KADAR PREKURSOR INSULIN YANG DIPRODUKSI OLEH REKOMBINAN Pichia pastoris
Authors:   Pusat Riset Vaksin dan Obat, Organisasi Riset Kesehatan, BRIN, Laptiab G610-614 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia, Hardianto Dudi , Assyifa Fahroziah ,   Laboratorium Bioteknologi, Deputi Bidang Fasilitas Riset dan Inovasi, BRIN, Laboratorium Bioteknologi G630 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia, Martius Efrida ,   Pusat Riset Hortikultura dan Perkebunan, Organisasi Riset Pertanian, BRIN, Laptiab G610-614 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia, Laziba Dihan ,   Laboratorium Bioteknologi, Deputi Bidang Fasilitas Riset dan Inovasi, BRIN, Laboratorium Bioteknologi G630 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia, Royani Juwartina Ida ,   Pusat Riset Hortikultura dan Perkebunan, Organisasi Riset Pertanian, BRIN, Laptiab G610-614 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia, Sumiati Triyani ,   Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Industri dan Farmasi Bogor, Safarrida Anna ,   Pusat Riset Rekayasa Genetika, Organisasi Riset Hayati dan Lingkungan, BRIN, Bioteknologi G630 Puspiptek, Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia
Published: November 2022

Jumlah penderita diabetes melitus meningkatkan setiap tahunnya sehingga kebutuhan insulin meningkat. Insulin merupakan obat utama untuk pasien diabetes mellitus tipe 1 (DMT1). Dalam beberapa kasus, diabetes mellitus tipe 2 (DMT2) memerlukan insulin untuk pengobatannya. Saat ini, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, dan Hansenula polymorpha merupakan sistem ekspresi yang digunakan secara luas untuk memproduksi prekursor insulin. Prekursor insulin diubah menjadi insulin secara enzimatik. Pada penelitian ini, digunakan Pichia pastoris untuk memproduksi prekursor insulin karena mampu memproduksi prekursor insulin dalam jumlah besar dan disekresikan ke luar sel Pichia pastoris sehingga mempermudah proses pemurnian. Penelitian diawali dengan regenerasi dan seleksi Pichia pastoris. Pichia pastoris terpilih ditumbuhkan dalam media fermentasi kemudian prekursor insulin yang dihasilkan dikarakterisasi dengan elektroforesis SDS-PAGE dan kadar insulin diukur dengan Elisa. Hasil karakterisasi menunjukkan prekursor insulin berupa pita berukuran sekitar 7 KDa dengan kadar prekursor insulin 6,88 µUI/mL.