Fun Handwashing and Training on Making Natural Handsanitizer

Regular hand washing is an important part of the WHO's COVID-19 prevention campaign and recent simulations show that much can be achieved in slowing the spread of the virus through increased hand washing. This is what underlies the community service activities located at LKSA ITTAQOLLAH as a simple step to cultivate hand washing culture while providing additional knowledge and skills to participants about making natural hand sanitizers. The preparatory stage of this activity is observing the location of the activity and managing the administration of the activity, as well as coordinating with the manager of LKSA ITTAQOLLAH. This community service activity is carried out by delivering counseling materials first. Counseling materials about the benefits of handwashing and the correct procedures for handwasing. The activity was continued with hands-on practice of handwasing, and ended with training on making natural hand sanitizers. The conclusion obtained after the implementation of this community service activity, is that the participants of the activity were very enthusiastic, the children participated in the activity from beginning to end. Increased knowledge about health in this case about how to wash hands with soap correctly and skills in this case the practice of making hand sanitizers are needed to improve the health status of children in LKSA ITTAQOLLAH.

Separation of Polar Compounds using Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Bonded Stationary Capillary Liquid Chromatography

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) bonded stationary phase has been synthesized by a single and simple step reaction. Poly(ethylene glycol monomethyl ether p-toluene sulfonate) (tosylated-PEO, molecular weight 900, n ≈ 18) was chemically bonded to 3-aminopropyl silica (TSKgel NH2-60, 5 µm particle size, and 60 Å mean pore diameter). The prepared stationary phase was able to separate polar compounds such as phenolics and nucleobases in capillary liquid chromatography. The retention and separation of phenolics and nucleobases could be achieved under isocratic elution condition. Nucleobases such as thymine, adenine, uracil, uridine, cytidine and toluene and phenolics (phenol, pyrocatechol, pyrogallol) were baseline separated in less than 6 min using 98% acetonitrile and less than 7 minutes using 80% acetonitrile, respectively. We demonstrated that the retention of nucleobases as analyte decreased with decreasing eluent concentration. The retention of these polar compounds was believed to be based on dipole-dipole and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Forging an Australasian Region: Trans-Tasman Integration and Interregionalism in the Asia-Pacific

<p>Most commentators view the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement as a remarkable example of bilateral integration. CER is not usually regarded, however, as a platform for Australia and New Zealand to jointly engage with third parties. Yet, more than a decade of CER-ASEAN relations culminated, in 2010, in a Free Trade Agreement (the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA, AANZFTA) between the two regions. This suggests that intra-regional trans-Tasman integration might “spill over” into external cooperation with third parties. Close cooperation and joint approaches have not, however, eventuated in other cases. Australia and New Zealand applied separately to join the interregional Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) forum in 2008 and 2009, indicating that their ability to act as a region is not consistent across policy or issue areas. This is an intriguing empirical puzzle, given that most observers of interregionalism elsewhere understand the ability of regions to act in international relations (‘actorness’) as a general, rather than variable, characteristic. Why, then, did Australia and New Zealand negotiate as a single entity with ASEAN on an FTA, but did not coordinate their approach in the ASEM case? This thesis argues that the process of trans-Tasman integration has produced a set of issue-specific institutions, which present Australian and New Zealand policy makers with a ready-made framework for cooperation with third parties in some, but not all, issue areas. Once these institutions were established, it proved a relatively simple step to extend the scope of their operation beyond the trans-Tasman level. This suggests that in the trans-Tasman case, ‘actorness’, understood as the basis on which regions can engage in international relations, may be issue-specific rather than generalised. This thesis makes its case by critically analysing the emergence and evolution of CER-ASEAN relations and by documenting Australia and New Zealand’s separate applications to join ASEM. It draws on extensive archival research and interviews with key actors and decision makers. The thesis adds to the nascent field of interregionalism by offering a new empirical case in which to test and develop theories. It makes a contribution to our understanding of the way institutions shape the scope for regions to “act” in international relations. More broadly, this study provides insights into the relationship between institutional design, individual actors and policy outcomes.</p>

Forging an Australasian Region: Trans-Tasman Integration and Interregionalism in the Asia-Pacific

<p>Most commentators view the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement as a remarkable example of bilateral integration. CER is not usually regarded, however, as a platform for Australia and New Zealand to jointly engage with third parties. Yet, more than a decade of CER-ASEAN relations culminated, in 2010, in a Free Trade Agreement (the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA, AANZFTA) between the two regions. This suggests that intra-regional trans-Tasman integration might “spill over” into external cooperation with third parties. Close cooperation and joint approaches have not, however, eventuated in other cases. Australia and New Zealand applied separately to join the interregional Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) forum in 2008 and 2009, indicating that their ability to act as a region is not consistent across policy or issue areas. This is an intriguing empirical puzzle, given that most observers of interregionalism elsewhere understand the ability of regions to act in international relations (‘actorness’) as a general, rather than variable, characteristic. Why, then, did Australia and New Zealand negotiate as a single entity with ASEAN on an FTA, but did not coordinate their approach in the ASEM case? This thesis argues that the process of trans-Tasman integration has produced a set of issue-specific institutions, which present Australian and New Zealand policy makers with a ready-made framework for cooperation with third parties in some, but not all, issue areas. Once these institutions were established, it proved a relatively simple step to extend the scope of their operation beyond the trans-Tasman level. This suggests that in the trans-Tasman case, ‘actorness’, understood as the basis on which regions can engage in international relations, may be issue-specific rather than generalised. This thesis makes its case by critically analysing the emergence and evolution of CER-ASEAN relations and by documenting Australia and New Zealand’s separate applications to join ASEM. It draws on extensive archival research and interviews with key actors and decision makers. The thesis adds to the nascent field of interregionalism by offering a new empirical case in which to test and develop theories. It makes a contribution to our understanding of the way institutions shape the scope for regions to “act” in international relations. More broadly, this study provides insights into the relationship between institutional design, individual actors and policy outcomes.</p>

Albumen-assisted Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Nickel Ferrite Photocatalyst

As a simple step to remove the polluting dyes in aqua ecosystem, NiFe2O4 nanoparticles well known for their ferromagnetic properties, low conductivity and high electrochemical stability were prepared by simple auto combustion method using egg white as fuel via green synthesis route. The structural, morphological and magnetic properties of prepared NiFe2O4 was analyzed. The desirable phase purity of the prepared spinel ferrite was deliberated by X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). XRD predicts the phase formation, particle size and lattice parameter of the spinel ferrite. The FTIR spectrum confirms the ferrite structure. The morphological and elemental analysis was made using SEM and EDAX. The hysteresis curve reveals the magnetic properties, such as remanence magnetization (Mr), coercivity (Hc) and saturation magnetization (Ms). The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized samples was determined from degradation of methylene blue dye. The whole process was monitored using spectrophotometer at regular intervals of time. The maximum photocatalytic degradation efficiency for NiFe2O4 is around 95.6 %. Keywords: NiFe2O4, Ferrite, Green synthesis, Egg white, Combustion, Photocatalyst.

Statistical Inference for a Simple Step Stress Model with Competing Risks Based on Generalized Type-I Hybrid Censoring

This paper investigates a simple step-stress accelerated lifetime test (SSALT) model for the inferential analysis of exponential competing risks data. A generalized type-I hybrid censoring scheme is employed to improve the efficiency and controllability of the test. Firstly, the MLEs for parameters are established based on the cumulative exposure model (CEM). Then the conditional moment generating function (MGF) for unknown parameters is set up using conditional expectation and multiple integral techniques. Thirdly, confidence intervals (CIs) are constructed by the exact MGF-based method, the approximate normality-based method, and the bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) percentile bootstrap method. Finally, we present simulation studies and an illustrative example to compare the performances of different methods.

Rational design and evaluation of the recombinant multiepitope protein for serodiagnosis of rubella

Background: Rubella is an infection caused by rubella virus (RV) and is generally regarded as a mild childhood disease. The disease continues to be of public health importance mainly because when the infection is acquired during early pregnancy it often results in fetal abnormalities, which are classified as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). An accurate diagnosis for rubella is thus of pivotal importance for proper treatment. Objective: To produce a recombinant multiepitope protein (rMERUB) for the diagnosis of rubella, based on conserved immunodominant epitopes of glycoprotein E1 and E2. Methods: A synthetic gene was designed and cloned into vector pET21a with a 6xHis tag at the C-terminal for affinity purification and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. Biophysical analysis of rMERUB was performed by circular dichroism. Biological activity was assessed using an in-house ELISA assay. Results : Expression in Escherichia coli showed a ~22 kDa protein that was purified and used to perform structural assays and an IgG ELISA. Structural analyses reveal rMERUB has a β leaf pattern that promotes the exposure of epitopes, thus allowing antibody recognition. Evaluation of 33 samples (22=positive; 11=negative) was performed using in-house ELISA and this was compared with a commercial kit. The sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 85-100) and specificity 90.91% (95% CI: 62-99). Excellent agreement (Kappa index = 0.9) was obtained between ELISA assays. Conclusions: The careful choice of epitopes and the high epitope density, coupled with simple-step purification, pinpoints rMERUB as a promising alternative for rubella diagnosis, with potential for the development of a diagnostic kit.

A guillotine amputation at the ankle level—how to quickly remove a septic foot: a case report

As of 2014, diabetes is estimated to affect 422 million people globally. It is well recognised that lower extremity amputations secondary to diabetes have a high mortality rate perioperatively. The purpose of this article is to provide a simple, step-by-step guide to surgeons who need to perform a transtibial amputation. The case report of a 62-year-old female patient with poorly controlled diabetes who developed necrotising fasciitis of the lower extremity and systemic sepsis is used to illustrate the procedure. Knowing how to complete this operation is essential due to its effectiveness in quickly eliminating a source of pedal sepsis.