Objective: Screening for colorectal cancer using guaiac-based fecal occult blood tests (gFOBT) is well established in Western populations, but is hampered by poor patient compliance due to the imposed dietary restrictions. Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) do not require dietary restriction, but are more expensive than gFOBT and therefore restrict its use in developing countries in Asia. However, Asian diets being low in meat content may not require diet restriction for gFOBT to achieve equivalent results. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the validity and suitability of gFOBT and FIT or a combination of the two in screening for colorectal neoplasias without prior dietary restriction in an Asian population. Methods: Patients referred to the Endoscopic Unit for colonoscopy were recruited for the study. Stool samples were collected prior to bowel preparation, and tested for occult blood with both gFOBT and FIT. Dietary restriction was not imposed. To assess the validity of either tests or in combination to detect a neoplasm or cancer in the colon, their false positive rates, their sensitivity (true positive rate) and the specificity (true negative rate) were analyzed and compared. Results: One hundred and three patients were analysed. The sensitivity for picking up any neoplasia was 53% for FIT, 40% for gFOBT and 23.3% for the combination. The sensitivities for picking up only carcinoma were 77.8% , 66.7% and 55.5%, respectively. The specificity for excluding any neoplasia was 91.7% for FIT, 74% for gFOBT and 94.5% for a combination, whereas for excluding only carcinomas they were 84%, 73.4% and 93.6%. Of the 69 with normal colonoscopic findings, FOBT was positive in 4.3%, 23.2 %and 2.9% for FIT, gFOBT, or combination of tests respectively. Conclusion: FIT is the recommended method if we are to dispense with dietary restriction in our patients because of its relatively low-false positivity and better sensitivity and specificity rates.

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This study aims to determine the effect of carrot extract on the phagocyte activity of Vibrio alginolyticus in white snapper. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments used respectively as follows, treatment A: 0 µl extract/individu, B: 100 µl extract/individu, C: 150 μl extract/individu, and D: 200 μl extract/individu. The average value of phagocytic activity tended to increase, namely treatment A 8.67%; treatment B 9.33%; treatment C 11.00%; and treatment D 14.00%. Carrot extract can increase phagocytic activity of white snapper. An effective dose that can increase the immune response of white snapper was 200 µl extract/individu of fish.

Rokok elektronik sering dianggap kurang adiktif dibandingkan rokok konvensional (tembakau). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perbedaan tingkat ketergantungan pada pengguna rokok konvensional dan pengguna rokok elektronik pada usia remaja sampai dewasa muda. Penelitian menggunakan metode observasional analitik dengan pendekatan cross sectional melalui survei menggunakan kuesioner online terhadap 48 responden yang terdiri dari 22 pengguna rokok elektronik, 13 pengguna rokok konvensional dan 12 pengguna keduanya pada usia remaja sampai dewasa muda. Evaluasi tingkat ketergantungan menggunakan kuesioner Fagerström test for nicotine dependence (FTND). Pengukuran motivasi alasan merokok menggunakan kuesioner Horn's smoker's self test. Analisis data menggunakan analsis statistik nonparametrik Mann-Whitney test dan Kruskal Wallis. Hasil penelitian ini menemukan bahwa perokok elektronik mempunyai tingkat ketergantungan nikotin yang lebih tinggi (ratarata 2,18) dibandingkan perokok konvensional (rata-rata 1,15; p < 0,05). Hasil Mann-Whitney test didapatkan nilai signifikansi p < 0,05 untuk tingkat ketergantungan nikotin berdasarkan motivasi alasan merokok adalah ketagihan (craving), sedangkan didapatkan nilai signifikansi p > 0,05 untuk tingkat ketergantungan nikotin berdasarkan motivasi alasan merokok pada kategori stimulasi, kesenangan, crutch, kebiasaan, stres, dan sosial. Kesimpulan penelitian ini, terdapat perbedaan signifikan tingkat ketergantungan antara pengguna rokok konvensional dan rokok elektronik dengan tingkat ketergantungan lebih tinggi pada pengguna rokok elektronik. Kata kunci: ketergantungan, motivasi perokok, pengguna rokok elektronik, pengguna rokok konvensional.