Removal of point-of-sale tobacco displays in Bogor city, Indonesia: A spatial analysis

INTRODUCTION

Indonesia contributes over 61 million smokers to global tobacco users, and the smoking prevalence is increasing among young people. In October 2017, Bogor city started the ban on tobacco displays at point-of-sale (POS), starting with modern cigarette retailers. This study aims to assess compliance with the ban and the visibility of POS with tobacco displays around educational facilities.

METHODS

We included 266 modern retailers surveyed throughout the city during November and December 2017. Compliance indicators included no tobacco product displays, advertisements, promotions, and sponsorship. We conducted spatial and quantitative analyses in ArcMap 10.6 and Stata 15.1, respectively.

RESULTS

Immediately following the ban, the compliance with all four criteria was high (83%). However, POS in areas with higher population density and poverty rates had significantly lower compliance. We also found that the ban reduced the visibility of tobacco displays around schools and universities.

CONCLUSIONS

Compliance with the ban was high, which helped to reduce the visibility of tobacco displays around educational facilities.

Antifeedant Effect of Some Medicinal Plant Extracts Against Rice Weevil

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

At present, insecticides with raw materials of active compounds from plants have become a strategic alternative, because they are easily obtained and produced. In an attempt to find natural and cheaper methods for the control of rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.), some useless waste of local medicinal plant extracts was evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the antifeedant effect of various medicinal plant extracts on rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experimental study using a completely randomized design of two factors, i.e., source of the extract in 7 types of medicinal plant waste and the exposure time of extracts in 0, 1, 2 and 3 h. The antifeedant effects were evaluated after 3 weeks by measuring feed consumption (FC), feeding deterrent index (FDI) and rice weevils' mortality. Data were analyzed using variance analysis.

RESULTS

The statistical analysis showed that the differences in exposure time contributed significant influence (α<0.05) on FC, FDI and mortality. The lowest FC occurred at the 3 h exposure treatment, i.e. on the extract of Amomum cardamom plant, while the highest FC was found in the treatment of Curcuma mangga plant extract. The values of FDI and mortality at the 3 h extract exposure were 31.53-87.16% and 42.4-64%, respectively with the highest value in the treatment of A. cardamomum.

CONCLUSION

At last, these findings inform peoples that the waste of medicinal plants, especially cardamom is possible to be developed as botanical insecticides for rice weevils.

Repellent Activity of Waste Extract from Two Local Medicinal Plant Against Rice Weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)

In order to find natural and inexpensive bioinsecticides, the active compound of waste extract from two medicinal plants were analyzed.  Ethanolic extracts of Amomum cardamomum and Zingiber zerumbet were evaluated under laboratory conditions for their repellency against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae, L.). Four extracts concentration were tested in this research, i.e: 25, 50, 75 and 100%.  Efficacy was measured based on the response of rice weevil in preference tests using Y Olfactometer Tube, then the results were converted into the Percentage Repellency (PR) and Preference Index (PI). The PR data were analyzed using ANOVA, whereas PI values were analyzed descriptively. The result showed that the PR were significantly (LSD test; α> 0.05) and revealed that waste extracts repel the rice weevil at 100% solution.  The highest PR was found at 100% solution in both extracts, however, statistically the repellency of A. cardamomum waste extract was higher than Z. zerumbet’s. Likewise, the PI of both extracts showed negative value at 75 and 100% concentration. This study concluded that extract of A. cardamomum and Z. zerumbet wastes have repellent effect against rice weevil and A. cardamomum repellency is better than Z. zerumbet. The findings of this study can provide a useful information for development of a rice weevil repellent extracted from waste product of medicinal plants that is more economically and environmentally friendly than synthetic insect repellents.

Influence of residential characteristics on the association between the oral health status and BMI of older adults in Indonesia

OBJECTIVE

To assess the possible effects of residential characteristics on the association between oral hygiene and body mass index (BMI) of elderly people in Indonesia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 186 participants (87 males, 99 females) aged ≥60 years who were randomly recruited from 8 community health stations for the elderly people. Dentition status, oral hygiene index (OHI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were assessed in accordance with WHO guidelines. Salivary condition was assessed through the unstimulated whole saliva collection method. Education status and oral health behaviours were evaluated using a standardised questionnaire. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Participants were grouped in accordance with their OHI status (poor, moderate or good) combined with their residential characteristic (rural or urban) to assess the independent effect of OHI and residential characteristic on BMI through linear regression analysis with confounder adjustment.

RESULTS

In the crude model of linear regression analysis, the poor OHI group is associated with low BMI regardless of their residential characteristic (rural/urban) when compared to the "good OHI, urban" group with P-values of .045 and <.01 and regression coefficients (β) of -2.1 and -4.5, respectively. However, in the adjusted model, only the "poor OHI, rural" group showed a significant association with low BMI when compared to the "good OHI, urban" group (β = -3.4; P < .01).

CONCLUSION

Low BMI is significantly associated with poor OHI and rural residential characteristic among elderly people in Indonesia.

Biodiversity of Termites and Damage Building in Semarang, Indonesia

Termites cause a lot of damage and big losses for building components, especially those made of wood. High population growth and rapid infrastructure development in Semarang city affect the natural habitats of termites. This phenomenon changes the termites' behavior of foraging in buildings. Semarang city has humidity, temperature, and altitude that allows termites to live and breed well. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of termites living in housing in Semarang city as well as the level of attacks on housing. This research was conducted in nine housing in Semarang City. The research was carried out with two methods: building inspection and wood-feeding method by using Pinus mercusii wood measures 2 cm x 2 cm x 46 cm. The results found four types of termites that attack wood feeds namely Macrotermes gilvus, Microtermes inspiratus, Odontotermes javanicus, Coptotermes curvignathus and Cryptotermes sp.. Based on interviews and building inspection, it was known that the condition of the building in the category of "moderate" was occupying the most position (74.44%), good (17.78%) and lightly damaged (7.78%). From the causes of damage to building components, it can be concluded that the level of termite attack against damage to recidential buildings in Semarang city 44.58%. Cross-tabulation analysis of Chi-Square shows that there is a correlation between age and treatment with damage to the building. Futher, the finding can be used as baseline information for further scientific investigation for effective termites control on residential building components.