University of Surabaya

BACKGROUND: Most randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses of RCTs examine effect modification (also called a subgroup effect or interaction), in which the effect of an intervention varies by another variable (e.g., age or disease severity). Assessing the credibility of an apparent effect modification presents challenges; therefore, we developed the Instrument for assessing the Credibility of Effect Modification Analyses (ICEMAN). METHODS: To develop ICEMAN, we established a detailed concept; identified candidate credibility considerations in a systematic survey of the literature; together with experts, performed a consensus study to identify key considerations and develop them into instrument items; and refined the instrument based on feedback from trial investigators, systematic review authors and journal editors, who applied drafts of ICEMAN to published claims of effect modification. RESULTS: The final instrument consists of a set of preliminary considerations, core questions (5 for RCTs, 8 for meta-analyses) with 4 response options, 1 optional item for additional considerations and a rating of credibility on a visual analogue scale ranging from very low to high. An accompanying manual provides rationales, detailed instructions and examples from the literature. Seventeen potential users tested ICEMAN; their suggestions improved the user-friendliness of the instrument. INTERPRETATION: The Instrument for assessing the Credibility of Effect Modification Analyses offers explicit guidance for investigators, systematic reviewers, journal editors and others considering making a claim of effect modification or interpreting a claim made by others.

With increasing market competition, it is not sufficient for organizations to rely solely on continuous improvement in order to maintain and develop their competitive edge. There is a need to begin a strategic move towards innovation. This paper proposes an integrated approach involving SERVQUAL, Kano’s model, and quality function deployment. The approach aims to help organizations to evaluate customer satisfaction, to guide improvement efforts in strengthening their weak attributes, and to expedite the development of innovative services through the identification of attractive attributes and embedding them into future services. A case study is presented to evaluate the image of Singapore from the Indonesian tourists’ perspective. Several strong and weak attributes of Singapore tourism were identified and analyzed. Strategies to improve the weak attributes were identified.

Magnetorheological (MR) materials are classified as smart materials due to their responsiveness to external magnetic stimuli. Intensive research on MR materials has led to broad applications in several potential fields. A solid carrier matrix state called MR elastomer with its exceptional magnetic responsive feature is obtained by merging magnetizable particles within an elastomeric polymer. This integration results in outstanding characteristics on the rheological performances. Special prominence is given to the understanding of the base materials and fabrication as well as the functional behavior through various characterization methods. Broad applications of MREs are also explored to provide a profound market picture and to motivate researchers to develop novel technology.

Lignocellulose biomass can be utilized in many sectors of industry such as energy, chemical, and transportation. However, pretreatment is needed to break down the intricate bonding before converting it into wanted product.

Despite the fact that display rules are an important concept of theories of emotion and contemporary psychology, relatively little cross‐cultural research has been done on them. This study examined cross‐national differences in display rules of emotion, and investigated the degree to which those differences could be attributed to Individualism and Collectivism (IC) measured on the individual level. Participants in the US, Japan, South Korea, and Russia completed a comprehensive measure of display rules assessing behavioral tendencies for seven universal emotions in four social contexts in two rating domains. They also completed Matsumoto et al .’s (1997) Individualism–Collectivism Interpersonal Assessment Inventory. The results confirmed the existence of cross‐national differences in IC and display rules, and indicated that IC and display rules were correlated. Significant differences between the countries remained even after IC was controlled for, and effect size analyses comparing cross‐national differences when IC was controlled and not indicated that IC accounted for approximately 30% of the effect sizes related to cross‐national differences. This study is unique in that it not only used the concept of IC to explain and predict differences; it also quantitatively assessed the degree to which IC contributed to those differences. These findings are discussed in terms of the utility of the IC concept to understanding cross‐cultural and cross‐national differences in emotion.

Learning through inquiry is a widely advocated pedagogical approach. However, there is currently little systematic knowledge about the practice of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in higher education. This study examined descriptions of learning tasks that were put forward as examples of IBL by 224 university teachers from various disciplines in three Australian universities. Data analysis uncovered the principal forms of IBL, the features of each form, their characteristic educational objectives, and possible disciplinary variations. The findings show that underlying the diversity of language and tasks regarded as IBL there is a limited number of distinct task forms and a broad conception of inquiry that is shared by university teachers. The findings also indicate that IBL is practiced in a wide range of disciplines, in both undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs, in smaller and larger classes, and in universities which are more and less research intensive.

Students in Indonesia conduct online learning from home in an effort to socially distancing during the covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to determine the triggers of anxiety experienced by students and the efforts made to overcome these anxieties. This study involved 74 informants who were high school students in Indonesia. Informants were asked to fill in open questions related to research topics through online forms. The results showed that the triggers for students' anxiety during online learning are difficulty understanding the material, difficulty working on assignments, the availability and condition of the internet network, technical obstacles, and concerns about subsequent assignments. The efforts made to overcome these anxieties are self-study, immediate work on assignments, discussion with teachers and friends, praying, self-encouraging, and doing other activities such as watching movies, listening to music, playing games, sleeping, eating, and doing sports.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of the inter-organizational learning contributing in transforming the green entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation to the improvement of sustainable competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach The structural equation model was established to explain the complex relationship between green entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage. To test the hypothesis, this study used partial least square with data from a survey of 280 firms. Findings There is a strong tendency that the inter-organizational learning plays a pivotal role as an intervening variable that operates by receiving the input from green entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation, which plays as the exogenous construct. Hence, the greater inter-organizational learning leads the firms to achieve the greater sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value This study extends the discussion on how organization should contribute to the well-being of the economic, social and environmental system by investigating the role of inter-organizational learning in achieving the sustainable competitive advantage.

Abstract Corporate social responsibility (CSR) increasingly receives attention from managers and researchers, especially in the area of consumer perception and response of CSR. However, most of this research was conducted in the context of developed countries. It shows that research on consumer perception towards CSR in developing countries needs to be developed. This paper will examine consumer perception in the developing country of Indonesia. This research produced mixed results, suggesting that CSR is still a concept waiting to be applied in the developing country. Consumers are often unaware and unsupportive towards CSR. This is the opposite finding of consumer perception in developed countries, where most consumers are willing to support CSR launched by corporations. Nevertheless, there is an interesting finding: When consumers have to buy similar products with the same price and quality, CSR could be the determining factor. They would buy from the firm that has a socially responsible reputation.

BACKGROUND: Control of blood glucose and a reduced risk of complications are important treatment goals in diabetes. Medication non-adherence can influence the outcome of diabetes. Involvement of a pharmacist in diabetes care might help patients to achieve better treatment outcomes. Existing literature reviews have focused on a limited number of interventions and outcome measures, and have involved different healthcare professionals. None of the previous reviews have used a standardized effect size to compare the effects of different pharmacist-led interventions and different outcome measures. OBJECTIVE: To review pharmacist-led interventions to improve medication adherence in patients with diabetes and to assess the effectiveness of these interventions on medication adherence. METHODS: Six databases were systematically searched between March and September 2017 for randomized controlled trials: PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, CINAHL, JSTOR, and Web of Science. The outcome measures used were: medication adherence, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial blood glucose (PPG), or random blood glucose (RBG). Cohen's d, a standardized effect size, enabled a comparison of studies with different outcome measures. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. RESULTS: Fifty-nine studies were included in this review. Pharmacist-led interventions enhanced outcomes in patients with diabetes (standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.68; 95% CI -0.79, -0.58; p < 0.001). Sub-group analysis by intervention strategy, the type of intervention and outcome measures produced similar results. Further analysis showed that education, printed/digital material, training/group discussion, were more effective than other interventions. CONCLUSION: This finding supports the role of the pharmacist in diabetes care to enhance medication adherence.

Inquiry-based science instruction is widely advocated, but studies based on international large-scale assessments often show inquiry to be negatively associated with achievement. We re-examine this issue by examining whether the association between inquiry and learning depends upon the provision of teacher guidance. Participants were 151,721 students from 5089 schools from 10 highest and 10 lowest science performers in PISA 2015. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses found that measurement invariance cannot be established, suggesting substantial regional variation in the pattern of inquiry-based instruction. Nonetheless, exploratory factor analyses indicated that at the conceptual level, many regions exhibit a pattern which contrasted between ‘Guided inquiry’ and ‘Independent inquiry’. Results of structural equation modelling showed that inquiry is positively associated with outcomes when it incorporates teacher guidance, and negatively when it doesn’t. However, the strength of the positive associations is stronger in regions where guided inquiry is measured with fewer items referring to student-centred activities. These findings are in line with current theories regarding the importance of scaffolding in learning from inquiry. This study suggests that it would be misguided to use PISA findings to support arguments to scale back inquiry and other constructivist approaches to teaching science.

BACKGROUND: In the Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-term Use Evaluation (VALUE) trial the primary outcome (cardiac morbidity and mortality) did not differ between valsartan and amlodipine-based treatment groups, although systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure reductions were significantly more pronounced with amlodipine. Stroke incidence was non-significantly, and myocardial infarction was significantly lower in the amlodipine-based regimen, whereas cardiac failure was non-significantly lower on valsartan. OBJECTIVES: The study protocol specified additional analyses of the primary endpoint according to: sex; age; race; geographical region; smoking status; type 2 diabetes; total cholesterol; left ventricular hypertrophy; proteinuria; serum creatinine; a history of coronary heart disease; a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack; and a history of peripheral artery disease. Additional subgroups were isolated systolic hypertension and classes of antihypertensive agents used immediately before randomization. METHODS: The 15,245 hypertensive patients participating in VALUE were divided into subgroups according to baseline characteristics. Treatment by subgroup interaction analyses were carried out by a Cox proportional hazard model. Within each subgroup, treatment effects were assessed by hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: For cardiac mortality and morbidity, the only significant subgroup by treatment interaction was of sex (P = 0.016), with the hazard ratio indicating a relative excess of cardiac events with valsartan treatment in women but not in men, but SBP differences in favour of amlodipine were distinctly greater in women. No other subgroup showed a significant difference in the composite cardiac outcome between valsartan and amlodipine-based treatments. For secondary endpoints, a sex-related significant interaction was found for heart failure (P < 0.0001), with men but not women having a lower incidence of heart failure with valsartan. CONCLUSION: As in the whole VALUE cohort, in no subgroup of patients were there differences in the incidence of the composite cardiac endpoint with valsartan and amlodipine-based treatments, despite a greater blood pressure decrease in the amlodipine group. The only exception was sex, in which the amlodipine-based regimen was more effective than valsartan in women, but not in men, whereas the valsartan regimen was more effective in preventing cardiac failure in men than in women.

CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as a revolutionary tool that enables precise and efficient modifications of the genetic material. This review provides a comprehensive overview of CRISPR-Cas9 technology and its applications in genome editing. We begin by describing the fundamental principles of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, explaining how the system utilizes a single guide RNA (sgRNA) to direct the Cas9 nuclease to specific DNA sequences in the genome, resulting in targeted double-stranded breaks. In this review, we provide in-depth explorations of CRISPR-Cas9 technology and its applications in agriculture, medicine, environmental sciences, fisheries, nanotechnology, bioinformatics, and biotechnology. We also highlight its potential, ongoing research, and the ethical considerations and controversies surrounding its use. This review might contribute to the understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 technology and its implications in various fields, paving the way for future developments and responsible applications of this transformative technology.

This research assessed the usefulness of integrating Kano’s model, SERVQUAL, and quality function deployment. The proposed approach aims to help organisations evaluate customer satisfaction, and to assist in innovative product/service development through the identification of attributes that are attractive to the customer. A case study is presented to evaluate the image of Singapore from the perspective of tourists from Indonesia. The attributes of Singapore as a tourist destination were analysed. Key strengths and weaknesses were determined. Change strategies and implications that surfaced from the integrated model were discussed.

Herbal drugs or herbal medicines (HMs) have a long-standing history as natural remedies for preventing and curing diseases. HMs have garnered greater interest during the past decades due to their broad, synergistic actions on the physiological systems and relatively lower incidence of adverse events, compared to synthetic drugs. However, assuring reproducible quality, efficacy, and safety from herbal drugs remains a challenging task. HMs typically consist of many constituents whose presence and quantity may vary among different sources of materials. Fingerprint analysis has emerged as a very useful technique to assess the quality of herbal drug materials and formulations for establishing standardized herbal products. Rather than using a single or two marker(s), fingerprinting techniques take great consideration of the complexity of herbal drugs by evaluating the whole chemical profile and extracting a common pattern to be set as a criterion for assessing the individual material or formulation. In this review, we described and assessed various fingerprinting techniques reported to date, which are applicable to the standardization and quality control of HMs. We also evaluated the application of multivariate data analysis or chemometrics in assisting the analysis of the complex datasets from the determination of HMs. To ensure that these methods yield reliable results, we reviewed the validation status of the methods and provided perspectives on those. Finally, we concluded by highlighting major accomplishments and presenting a gap analysis between the existing techniques and what is needed to continue moving forward.

Surface modified and bioconjugated quantum dots (QDs) are of central importance in biomedical applications. In this regard, particularly I-III-VI QDs are of specific interest for biosensors, multimodal imaging, chemotherapy and for phototherapy in theranostic applications. Surface modification allows management of the physico-chemical properties, biocompatibility, and pharmacological properties. This review is anticipated to provide an introduction to new researchers about I-III-VI type QDs relating to their synthesis, optical properties, surface modification, bioconjugation, and their applications in biosensors, biological imaging, drug delivery, photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy. We also highlight introducing magnetic metals and nanoparticles to these QDs for multimodal imaging applications and have addressed toxicity related issues. Finally, we summarize the results obtained and give a short outlook on future directions of I-III-VI based QDs for biomedical applications.

Phase transformation from initially α-MnO₂ to R-MnO₂ due to Fe-doping cause modification of interatomic distances affects to the electrical properties.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is known that GDM is associated with an altered placental function and changes in placental gene regulation. More recent studies demonstrated an involvement of epigenetic mechanisms. So far, the focus regarding placental epigenetic changes in GDM was set on gene-specific DNA methylation analyses. Studies that robustly investigated placental global DNA methylation are lacking. However, several studies showed that tissue-specific alterations in global DNA methylation are independently associated with type 2 diabetes. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize global placental DNA methylation by robustly measuring placental DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mC) content and to examine whether differences in placental global DNA methylation are associated with GDM. METHODS: Global DNA methylation was quantified by the current gold standard method, LC-MS/MS. In total, 1030 placental samples were analyzed in this single-center birth cohort study. RESULTS: Mothers with GDM displayed a significantly increased global placental DNA methylation (3.22 ± 0.63 vs. 3.00 ± 0.46 %; p = 0.013; ±SD). Bivariate logistic regression showed a highly significant positive correlation between global placental DNA methylation and the presence of GDM (p = 0.0009). Quintile stratification according to placental DNA 5mC levels revealed that the frequency of GDM was evenly distributed in quintiles 1-4 (2.9-5.3 %), whereas the frequency in the fifth quintile was significantly higher (10.7 %; p = 0.003). Bivariate logistic models adjusted for maternal age, BMI, ethnicity, recurrent miscarriages, and familiar diabetes predisposition clearly demonstrated an independent association between global placental DNA hypermethylation and GDM. Furthermore, an ANCOVA model considering known predictors of DNA methylation substantiated an independent association between GDM and placental DNA methylation. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study that employed a robust quantitative assessment of placental global DNA methylation in over a thousand placental samples. The study provides large scale evidence that placental global DNA hypermethylation is associated with GDM, independent of established risk factors.

The aim of this study was to relate the mechanical behaviour of saturated clays to their structural characteristics. Two clays were studied: a kaolinite and a bentonite. The evolution of the shape, the size, the concentration and the orientation of the elements which constitute the clay structure was examined by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Particular care was taken to avoid as far as possible disturbing the micro-structure during observation. The results showed the existence of particle breakage and the creation of structural anisotropy during loading. We can conclude from this work that the mechanical behaviour to clayed materials is largely dependent on the changes which occur at the scale of the particles. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient needed for maintaining the human health. Strawberry fruit have a relatively high content of vitamin C, which is around 40-70 mg/ 100 g strawberries. However, vitamin C which is also known as ascorbic acid is easily degraded during storage. The objective of this research is to study the kinetics of degradation of vitamin C in fresh strawberry juices upon storage and to investigate the effect of storage temperatures and sugar addition on the ascorbic acid loss in strawberry juices. Four different types of fresh strawberry juices were prepared, namely A, B, C, and D. Juices A and C were stored at a room temperature of 28 °C, while samples B and D were stored at a refrigerated temperature of 8 °C. Furthermore, juices A and B were prepared without sugar addition, while sugar was added to juices C and D. The concentration of ascorbic acid in the juice was analyzed using iodimetric titration method. It was monitored every one hour for 8 hours of storage for the kinetics of ascorbic acid degradation study. The results showed that the degradation reaction of vitamin C followed zero-order kinetic models in all types of juices. The degradation reaction rate constants obtained for juices A, B, C, and D were 4.42; 3.63; 2.32; and 1.85 mg vitamin C/(100 ml. h), respectively. The activation energy for the vitamin C degradation in fresh strawberry juices with sugar and without sugar addition was estimated to be 1.90 kcal/ mol and 1.65 kcal/ mol, respectively. In conclusion, the storage at a lower temperature combined with sugar addition could effectively slow the rate of degradation of vitamin C.