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Abstract.A within-host mathematical model to describe the dynamics of target cells and viral load in early HIV-1 infection was developed, which incorporates a combination of RTI and PI treatments by using a pharmacokinetics model. The local stability of uninfected steady state for the model was determined using an alternative threshold. The pharmacokinetics model was employed to estimate drug efficacy in multiple drug dosing. The effect of periodic drug efficacy of pharmacokinetic type on outcome of HIV-1 infection was explored under various treatment interruptions. The effectiveness of treatment interruption was determined according to the time period of the drug holidays. The results showed that long drug holidays lead to therapy failure. Under interruption of treatments combining RTI and PI therapy, effectiveness of the treatment requires a short duration of the drug holiday.

Aloe vera is one of many medicinal plants used as hypoglycemic. Higher glucose levels are one of the characteristics of diabetes mellitus. This research aimed to study effectiveness of Aloe vera peel extract on insulin and serum glucose levels of rats with type 2 diabetic. Twenty Wistar rats were induced intraperitoneally using single dose of 65 mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ) and 230 mg/kg of nicotinamide acid (NA). The rats were divided into control and treatment groups, which was supplemented using 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight of Aloe vera peel extracts for 28 days, respectively. The serum glucose levels were measured after three days of induction, 2 and 4 weeks after treatment, while the insulin levels were measured after three days of induction and at the end of treatment. In the control groups, the serum glucose levels in the second and fourth weeks remained significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to the treatment group. The insulin levels of the groups with Aloe vera peel extract was significantly higher than control group. Aloe vera peel extract exerts hypoglycemic effects by reducing the blood glucose level and improving insulin secretion on the type 2 diabetic rats.

<p>BACKGROUND<br />Lead acetate (Pb) inhibits heme biosynthesis through inhibition of δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydrogenase (δ-ALAD), copro porphyrinogen<br />oxidase, and ferro chelatase. Zinc supplementation increases lead-binding<br />metallothionein proteins. The purpose of this study was to find evidence that zinc supplementation prior to lead exposure improves heme biosynthesis in rats</p><p>METHODS<br />This was a randomized post-test only control-group design study involving 28 rats assigned to 4 groups (1 control and 3 treatment groups). The treatment groups were supplemented with zinc at doses of 0.2, 0.4, and<br />0.8 mg daily by gavage for 3 weeks. From week 4 to 13, all groups were<br />exposed to lead 0.5 g/kg BW/day by gavage. At the end of week 13, δ-<br />ALAD, erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EPP), and heme concentrations were <br />determined by means of ELISA. One-way ANOVA, followed by<br />Bonferroni’s test was used to analyse the data.</p><p>RESULTS<br />Mean δ-ALAD concentrations decreased from the control group down to<br />treatment group 3 (0.24 ± 0.20; 0.15 ± 0.15; 0.12 ± 0.11; 0.05 ± 0.06 ng/<br />mean per unit). Mean EPP concentrations decreased from the control group down to treatment group 3 (1.96 ± 0.50; 1.24 ± 0.24; 1.03 ± 0.05; 0.62 ± 0.16 ng/mL). Mean heme concentrations increased from the control<br />group up to treatment group 3 (8.07 ± 2.64; 10.11 ± 2.27; 10.04 ± 1.65;<br />11.41 ± 2.58 μM). ANOVA followed by Bonferroni showed that EPP concentrations differed significantly between the control group and treatment group 3 (p=0.00).</p><p>CONCLUSION<br />Zinc supplementation prior to lead exposure improves heme biosynthesis <br />in rats exposed to lead.</p>

Current biomarkers for evaluating disease activity or severity in lupus nephritis (LN) are considered to be unsatisfactory. Pathological changes in glomerular basement membrane and selectivity of electrical discharge are causing specific patterns of urine proteins excretion. Together with alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), they are expected to become new biomarkers to assess LN activity.Seventy-one urine samples were collected from healthy controls and LN patients. Patterns of urine specific proteins were determined using column chromatography and SDS-PAGE tests, LN activity was calculated using SLEDAI-renal domain score, and AAT concentrations was measured by ELISA.The majority of proteins in the control group have molecular weights of >66 kDa (88%) and 21-to 25-kDa proteins were observed only in the case group. The p values for differences in urine AAT concentration between active LN and healthy controls, inactive LN and healthy controls, and active LN and inactive LN were 0.004, 0.046, and 0.054, respectively, whereas those for urine AAT/creatinine ratio were 0.489, 0.019, and 0.915, respectively. There were differences in the patterns of the molecular weight of proteins and urine AAT concentrations between case group and control group. However, no such differences were identified between active and inactive LN.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered as a complex metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia. Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Aloe vera peel extract on the antioxidant levels of serum and seminal plasma of type 2 diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rat was injected by 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) combined with 230 mg/kg of Nicotinamide acid (NA) intraperitoneally. The rats were declared to have diabetic with fasting blood glucose level > 200 mg/dl 72 hours after induction. Diabetic rat samples were divided into four groups, control group (diabetes without treatment) and three groups were treated by Aloe vera peel extracts orally: 100 mg (P.1), 200 mg (P.2), and 400 mg/kg body weight (P.3), respectively. Antioxidant levels of serum and seminal plasma, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) were examined after 28 days of treatment. Results: The levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH in the group receiving Aloe vera peel extract were statistically significant (p <0.05) higher than the control. There were also significant differences between the dose variations group. Conclusion: Aloe vera peel extract can significantly increase antioxidant levels in serum and seminal plasma of type 2 diabetic mice.

Background: Increased blood pressure is one of the complications from hemodialysis in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients. Magnesium is an electrolyte which is a calcium antagonist in regulating blood pressure. This study aims to prove the correlation of serum magnesium level with blood pressure in CKD patients Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 CKD patients in Dr. Kariadi Hospital, Semarang during September-October 2018. The serum magnesium level was measured with spectrophotometry method, blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer. Statistical analysis used Pearson and Spearman correlation test. Result: There is a significant correlation between serum magnesium level and systolic blood pressure with p< 0,001 and r=-0,737 and correlation between serum magnesium level and diastolic blood pressure with p=0,011 and r=-0,457 Conclusion: There is a strong negative correlation of serum magnesium level with systolic blood pressure and moderate negative correlation of serum magnesium level with diastolic blood pressure in this study. Further studies are needed to analyze the influential factors of blood pressure.

ABSTRAKBanyak teori diajukan untuk menjelaskan patogenesis trombositopenia dan hemokonsentrasi pada Infeksi Virus Dengue (IVD), termasuk teori autoimun. Hal ini menimbulkan pertanyaan apakah Rheumatoid Factor (RF) yang biasa ditemukan pada pasien autoimun juga ditemukan dan berhubungan dengan perubahan jumlah trombosit dan nilai hematokrit pada pasien IVD. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk membuktikan hubungan RF dengan jumlah trombosit dan nilai hematokrit pada anak terinfeksi virus dengue. Desain penelitian menggunakan analisis korelatif dengan pendekatan belah lintang dilakukan terhadap 40 pasien yang mengalami demam minimal 4 hari dan memenuhi kriteria diagnostik IVD menurut WHO 2009, usia di bawah 14 tahun, dan diagnosis dikonfirmasi dengan antibodi antidengue. Pasien dengan riwayat penyakit autoimun dan riwayat immunocompromised dikeluarkan dari penelitian. Sampel diambil secara konsekutif. Darah rutin diperiksa penggunakan hematology analyzer sedangkan RF diperiksa dengan metode aglutinasi lateks. Data diolah dengan uji korelasi Spearman. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pasien dengan RF (+) sebanyak 62,5%. Hasil uji korelasi RF dan jumlah trombosit menunjukkan nilai r=0,151 dengan p=0,354 sedangkan hasil uji korelasi RF dan nilai hematokrit nilai r=0,3 dengan p=0,06. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa tidak terdapat korelasi antara kadar RF serum dengan jumlah trombosit pada pasien IVD dan antara kadar RF serum dengan nilai hematokrit pada pasien IVD, walaupun ada kecenderungan peningkatan kadar RF serum diiringi dengan kenaikan nilai hematokrit.Kata Kunci: Hematokrit, infeksi virus dengue, rheumatoid factor, trombosit ABSTRACTThere are many theories to explain the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia and hemoconcentration in Infeksi Virus Dengue (IVD), including autoimmune theory. Patients with autoimmune disease usually have high RF levels in their blood. It raises the question whether RF is associated with thrombocyte/platelet count and hematocrit value in IVD patients. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between RF with platelet count and hematocrit value in IVD patients. This study used correlative analysis with cross sectional approach. This study involved 40 patients who experienced fever of at least 4 days and met IVD diagnostic criteria according to WHO 2009, aged under 14 years, and diagnosis confirmed with antibody antidengue test. Patients with history of autoimmune disease and immunocompromised were excluded. Samples were collected using consecutive sampling method. Platelet and hematocrit were measured using hematology analyzer while RF was checked by using latex agglutination method. The data were statistically analyzed using Spearman correlation test. There were 62.5% patients with RF (+). The results of correlation test between RF and platelets showed r=0,151 and p=0,354, while correlation test between RF and hematocrit was r=0,3 and p=0,06. There was no correlation between RF serum levels and platelets count in IVD patients and between RF serum levels and hematocrit value in IVD pa...