Increasing aging population causes an increased prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia that is associated with memory decline. Developing strategies for the prevention and therapy of age-related dementia is important to reduce the burden of treatment costs. Physical exercise is known to prevent cognitive decline and improve cognitive abilities. Physical exercise with moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes/week or 30 minutes/day for 5 days can reduce the incidence of degenerative diseases in the elderly. Thus, physical exercise appears as a simple, inexpensive, and affordable non-pharmacological therapy for most people. The processes of neurogenesis and neuronal survival involve the role of neurotrophic factors including BDNF, IGF-1 and VEGF, which are the three main neurotrophic factors that are known to increase after exercise. Many publications discuss about these neurotrophic factors, but their mechanism of signals and changes related to aging and exercise have not been completely studied. The purpose of this review is to discuss the mechanism of signals and changes of neurotrophic factors (focuses on BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF) related to aging and exercise.

An online survey was conducted for an international collaborative study from a remote area during the COVID-19 pandemic because the researchers needed to consider non-face-to-face methods of conducting an international collaborative study in situations in which social distance must be maintained. In an international collaborative study between Indonesia and Japan, we were able to conduct online qualitative data collection in Lombok, Indonesia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of qualitative data collection, data analysis, and ethical considerations for participants of an online qualitative data collection in an international collaborative study. The results were divided into three categories to summarize the lessons learned: 1) field coordination of an online interview guide and protocol, 2) ethical considerations regarding gender and privacy, and 3) methodology focusing on the online qualitative data collection. The lessons learned revealed the advantages and disadvantages of online qualitative data collection to handle multiple challenges. The online qualitative data collection conducted for an international collaborative study during the COVID-19 pandemic overcame several challenges through protocol development.

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Background This study explores the difference in COVID-19 corpse handling protocol rejection before and after the innovation in rapid molecular test (RMT) postmortem examination and providing negative pressure mortuary rooms. This study is a retrospective observational study. Each of the corpse’s immediate family was explained the procedure for handling the body based on the fatwa of the religious institution and the hospital’s standard operating system. The acceptance or rejection of the protocol, general characteristics of the corpse, and the reasons for refusal are documented. Results From March to May 2020, there were 16 probable COVID-19 corpses and 3 confirmed COVID-19 corpses. Rejection of the COVID-19 corpse protocol occurred six times. The main reason for rejection is that the death might not necessarily be caused by COVID-19, the body’s handling in the hospital is not following religious law, and the negative stigma of COVID-19. From June to August 2020, there were 42 probable COVID-19 corpses and 49 confirmed COVID-19 corpses. Rejection of the COVID-19 corpse protocol occurred eight times. The most rejection reason is that the deceased families do not believe the deceased died because of COVID-19. Conclusions The decline in the COVID-19 corpse protocol rejection has occurred after applying RMT and providing a negative pressure mortuary room. This decline proves that religious conservative groups can accept this innovation to reduce rejection on religious grounds.

Improving the quality of health services has resulted in a high elderly population. The elderly are more susceptible to various degenerative diseases, including dementia. The high prevalence of dementia is a major health issue that has an impact on global socioeconomic problems. Indonesia is one of the world's largest archipelagic countries. As an archipelago-based region, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has numerous marine resources that could be utilized as potential dementia therapies. This program aims to conduct health screenings for dementia and educate about the potential of marine resources for dementia treatment. This program consists of two phases. The first phase consists of a health screening to assess the risk of dementia. This phase includes measuring blood pressure, measuring blood sugar, and evaluating cognitive performance. The second phase consists of health education regarding the potential of marine resources. Based on dementia screening revealed that 96% of participants need additional evaluation. About 47.3% of the patients were diagnosed with hypertension, 61.1% required further confirmation for diabetes mellitus, and 5.6% were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Health education explains the importance of marine resources in preventing degenerative diseases, the nutritional value of marine resources, and the proper treatment of marine resources as food and medication. The community's enthusiasm for health education is high. The high interest of the people was evidenced by a large number of attendees and queries asked. The community participates actively, and the programs run as intended.

Background Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which aims to help young people make responsible choices and acquire scientific knowledge and skills, has been promoted by UNESCO. Teachers experience conflicts in implementing CSE when teaching sexual topics in the local context, especially as the delivery of sexual knowledge and contraceptive methods is often prohibited by religious and traditional cultural norms. It was reported that there were multiple challenges in the implementation of sex education due to the religious and cultural background of societies and communities in Islamic countries. This study aimed to clarify the process of overcoming the conflicts, explore teachers’ recognition and perception related to the implementation of CSE, and to suggest recommendations for promoting CSE in Islamic areas. Methods This qualitative study combined the methods of focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) to explore the conflict among teachers. Ten ordinary public senior high schools in Mataram City, Indonesia, agreed to participate, and in total, 59 participants were involved in this study. FGDs were conducted with teachers (n = 49), and IDIs were focused on school principals (n = 10) in each school. The collected interview data were analyzed using a deductive thematic analysis and the findings triangulated for both the FGDs and IDIs. Results Overall, the teachers experienced conflicts in relation to religion, cultural background, and gender inequality in implementing CSE. The present study revealed the mutual recognition among teachers and acceptance of diverse backgrounds in the implementation of CSE at ordinary public senior high schools in Mataram City. Despite teachers reporting multiple conflicts, they made efforts to overcome these conflicts through mutual recognition and provided comprehensive guidance. The present findings indicated that teachers adapted CSE to follow multiple religions and cultural backgrounds. Conclusions The teachers accepted diverse backgrounds and provided CSE by collaborating with related educational subjects and external institutions to overcome conflicts. To provide more specialized education, it would be necessary to advocate a formal policy that might be accepted by diverse societies. Further research is necessary to apply the findings and recommendations for CSE implementation globally in the contexts of different countries.

Menjaga kesehatan diri dan lingkungan dapat diterapkan melalui Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat (PHBS). Salah satu bentuk penerapannya adalah Cuci Tangan Pakai Sabun (CTPS). CTPS terbukti efektif untuk mencegah penularan penyakit dari satu individu ke individu lainnya. Praktik CTPS merupakan kebutuhan mutlak, sedangkan ketersediaan sarana CTPS masih belum memadai. Kegiatan ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan peserta didik dan guru setingkat SD dan SMP di Pondok Pesantren Nurul Ijtihad Al-Ma'arif NU Lombok Tengah tentang CTPS sebagai strategi untuk meminimalisir penyebaran penyakit (Covid-19) di lingkungan sekolah. Kegiatan ini dilakukan dalam bentuk sosialisasi. Edukasi Praktik CTPS mengacu pada prosedur cuci tangan yang baik dan benar menurut World Health Organization (WHO). Peserta juga dikenalkan akan pemanfaatan limbah padat sebagai sarana CTPS yang ideal dan bagaimana cara mengelola limbah cair sisa CTPS. Pemberian pre-test dan post-test dilakukan untuk menguji keberhasilan kegiatan yang dilakukan. Kegiatan ini dihadiri oleh sebanyak 75 peserta yang terdiri dari siswa, guru dan peserta pengajian rutin di Pondok Pesantren Nurul Ijtihad Al-Ma'arif NU Lombok Tengah. Peserta diberikan edukasi oleh 3 (tiga) orang pakar mengenai praktik CTPS yang baik dan benar, pemanfaatan limbah padat untuk pembuatan sarana CTPS, serta pengelolaan limbah cair sisa praktik CTPS agar tidak memberikan dampak yang buruk bagi lingkungan. Kegiatan ini berjalan lancar dan terbukti berhasil meningkatkan pemahaman peserta yang ditunjukan oleh nilai pre-test dan post-test yang meningkat dari 50,5 % menjadi 61,97 %. Praktik CTPS yang ideal perlu terus diingatkan dalam rangka mencegah penularan penyakit. Pemanfaatan dan pengelolaan limbah dalam praktik CTPS merupakan strategi untuk mencegah pencemaran lingkungan.