9.18.2009

Preventing Yellow Fever

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic infection that is common in tropical Africe and Latin America. It is caused by the yellow fever (YF) cirus. Its importace lies in its virulence and increasing incidence among travelers to the endemic areas.


Yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes that feed on wild animals infected with the YF virus. The mosquitoes then transfer the infection to people who happen to be in the jungle. On their return to towns or cities, the infected individuals may get bitten by domestic mosquito Aedes aegypti, which then transmits YF to others.

Following a bite from an infected mosquito the virus multiplies at the site of the bite and spreads to adjacent lymph nodes, liver, spleen, bone marrow and heart muscle.

The virus is found in the bloodstream during the incubation period of three to six days and the early stages of the illness. The YF viruse in the bloodstream are spread to another person following ingestion by the blood-feeding Aedes aegypti.

The clinical manifestations of an infection are varied and include flu-like symptoms or febrile illness with jaundice or fatal hemorrhagic disease. YF infection may be mistaken for a number of other infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue and hepatitis. The onset of illness is abrupt with fever, chills, headaches, backache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, congestion of the face and eyes and a slow heartbeat. The fever lasts three to four days and is followed by complete recovery in those with the transient non-jaundice type of infection.

However, the illness progresses in about 15 percent, with or without a break of one to two days, to a more serious variety. There is fever, vomiting, upper abdominal pain, yellowness of the eyes and the skin (jaundice. Liver failure, kidney failure, fits and hemorrhagic tendencies due to decreased production of clotting factors and intravascular coagulation may occur. Coma may also occur.

About 30 to 50 percent of those with liver and/or kidney failure die a week or so after the onset of illness. Those who survive may have prolonged fatigue and weakness. However, there is complete recovery of their liver and kidney function.

There is no specific treatment available for YF infection. Treatment is only supportive, such as for dehydration and bacterial infection YF is a very serious illness and public health problem in the endemic areas. There are an estimated 200,000 cases annually with 90 percent occurring in Africa. About 30 percent of those infected die.

The WHO estimates that the risk of YF infection to an unvaccinated person entering an endemic area in Africa is one in 267 and the risk of death is one in 1,333. The risks in Latin America are 10 times lower.

Although there are estimated to be more than 10 million travelers to endemic areas, the incidence of imported cases of YF in nonendemic countries is low because of high YF vaccination rate among travelers.

The yellow fever vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine, that is, live disease-producing virus modified in the laboratory so that it stimulates the production of antibodies. YF vaccine can be safety given simultaneously with other vaccines like diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT), polio, measles, hepatitis B, hepatitis A and typhoid.

YF vaccines are recommended for all children aged 12 months and above, older children and adults living in endemic areas. It is also given to individuals whomove into an endemic area to stay. When outbreaks of YF occur, mass vaccination is carried out as soon as possible.

Yf vaccination is required for all individuals aged nine months and above traveling to and from endemic countries unless they have medical conditions that make vaccination unsuitable.
Vaccination should be done at least 10 days prior to arrival in the endemic area.

YF vaccination has to be carried out in approved centers with WHO-approved vaccines in order for entry in the International Certificate of Vaccination. This certificate has to be made available when entering or leaving an endemic country.

The YF vaccine is very effective. Protective antibody levels are found in 90 percent of vaccines within 10 days and 99 percent within a month. The protection appears to last for 30 to 35 years. However, there is insufficient evidence to support a change in the International Health Regulations for travelers to endemic areas to show proof of valid YF vaccination within the preceding 10 years.

YF vaccines are well-tolerated although mild reaction such as headache, muscle ache and weakness can occur within a few days after vaccination, in 10 to 30 percent of vaccines. Serious adverse reactions are very rare. They include hypersensitivity reactions, vaccine-associated neurological disease and vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease.

Hypersensitivity reactions are usually due to reaction to the eggs used in the production of the vaccine and rarely, gelatin, which is used to stabilize the vaccine.

Vaccination is not given to infants below nine months of age, individuals with severe allergy to eggs, pregnant women and severely immuno-compromised individuals. However, the YF vaccine may be given to pregnant women and infants during an epidemic

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9.14.2009

Investors see further drops in Market

Already feeling the pinch from global economic woes in the first six months of the year, more than half of Indonesian investors surveyed say the stock market will deteriorate further over coming months due to soaring inflation.


Only 15 percent of investors are optimistic that the stock market will rise, whereas 55 percent expect the stock market to continue to fall in the third quarted, according to the survey conducted by Dutchbased company ING.

“Most investors in Indonesia are concerned about the macroeconomic situation due to higher food and fuel prices,” ING Securities Indonesia president director Robert Scholten told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said investors were likely to respond to the changing business environment by adopting more conservative investment tools including allocated pensions or annuities and balanced funds.

The survey, dubbed ING Investor Dashboard, is a quarterly survey in the Asia-Pacific region that provides a pan-Asia investor index, involving face-to-face interviews with 1,313 mass affluent investors in 13 markets in the region excluding Japan.

In its summary report, the survey says that fewer Indonesian investors were expecting the country’s economic situation to improve in the next three months because of the effects the fuel price increases in May will have on the size of return on investment and personal and household financial situations.

Inflation in June rose 11.03 percent from a year earlier because of the impact of the fuel price rise, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), pushing the central bank to raise its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 8.75 percent.

As overall sentiment falls, local investors are expected to take a more conservative approach, mirroring the trend in the second quarter where 81 percent of investors preferred a balanced investment strategy and looked for medium to long-term growth with stable returns.

As of Thursday, Indonesian Stock Exchange Composite Index had fallen by 23.4 percent from its peak on Jan. 9 to 2,167,71.

Approximately 55 percent of investors surveyed expect inflation to continue rising and 77 percent of them expect rising prices to affect their investment decisions in the third quarter.

To beat inflation, most investors are looking at restructuring their portfolios to include investments in gold and property for the next three months.

Regardless of the not-so-optimistic outlook,43 percent of investors have positive expectations about the economy for the third quarter, up from 9 percent in the second quarter.

Overall investor sentiment in Asia fell in the second semester with Southeast Asia markets leading the fall as global economic slowdown continued and regional, economic and political developments began to weigh on investors.

China and Southeast Asian markets including Thailand, Malaysia and the Philipines showed significant falls, moving the pan-Asia sentiment index from optimistic to neutral since the introduction of the ING sentiment survey in the third quarter of last year.

Article Source:
'The Jakarta Post'

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9.13.2009

Offers picturesque views and nothing else

Before the lens started filming the scenes,the promotional gimmick of casting the leading actors through a reality show ,and rumors of sky-rocketing production budget have fueled the interest for many.


This includes the anticipation of seeing the return of one of Indonesia’s senior directors Chaerul Umam in his first theatrical feature after 12 years.

The last time his name appeared on cinema billboards was when he directed heroic film fatahillah in 1997, at the time when local films was put to a very sleep. The lackluster reception to that film did not hinder the fact that Chaerul Umam remains a gifted director whose track record assures us of his top-notch quality: Setting the bars of romantic comedy (Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap), sport drama (Gadis Marathon), and religious drama (Titian Serambut Dibelah Tujuh),of which is still widely considered as one of the most compelling Indonesia films ever made.

How sad it is then that we put down our heads in disappointment when the end credit rolls.

In a surprising backlash to the rule of thumb in adapting literary works to big screen, Ketika Cinta Bertasbih (shortened as KCB from here on) instead does what many of us fear most: Suspiciously staying true to the original novel by doing page-by page adaptation.

Otherwise, how can we see too many characters being crammed in a storyline that allows each and every back stories to be revealed? The result of this method is another unwelcome decision of having the film cut in half, a completely unnecessary move. Red Cliff, it ain’t.

The heavy lines of Islamic teachings that will surely please anyone with their objectivity still do not help watching the film mindlessly goes over one character after an other, and still fails to see some of their relevance to the whole story.

In short, the story should go like this:Khairul Azzam (newcomer Kholidi Asadil Alam)is a modest Indonesian student in Cairo, whose hardworking manner earns him respect from an ambassador daughter who is also celebrity in the making Eliana (Alice Norin), his flat mates, his mother (Niniek L. Karim) and his sibling, and a highly educated girl from a respected family Anna Althafunnisa (newcomer Oki Setiana Dewi) whom Khairul helps in a robbery incident.

Needless to say that affection arises between Khairul and these women, and their potential conflicts are welcome, what’s with Anna being already proposed by Khairul’s friend, Furqan (newcomer Andi Arsyil Rahman), who suffers fron an unfortunate blackmail crime.

Focusing on the development of these characters may do wonder to this otherwise a highly potential work to enjoy. What was stretched for 120 minutes, and possibly more in the sequel, are back stories from supposedly minor characters, for example, Khairul’s flat mates and their personal problems, all of which, while intended to show Khairul’s clear-headed attitude and intelligence in solving their problems, instead bogs down his character. As being a passive character with nothing but reacting to his surroundings.

The danger of having a passive character as the main lead is the failure to relate, let alone empathize with the character, as we are unclear with his real motif to stay on screen. If he intends to look for a girl to marry, why his initial presence in earlier scenes fail to show and give this evidence?

However, Kholidil should be lucky to be in an ensemble where nobody eclipses one another or tries to steal the film. Bood for all the newcomers then, who are picked from the reality show, but this may not sound too good for the senior actors who appear in the film, as their presence is reduced somewhat to a very minimum level that fail to make us sit up and notice.

Storyline structure aside, the film will please audiences with proportionate panoramic views that do not overwhelm. Rudy Kurwet as cinematographer here lens the film to the pleasant effect, with the exception of a particular scene using blue screen works that goes laughable.

The overall look of the film justifies the otherwise minor-to-altogether unimportant need to have the film almost entirely shot in Egypt.

The look of the film also at least soother us from the chagrins of hearing over-the-top music score of Anto Hoed and Melly Goeslaw’s orchestra pieces. Sadly, if there is one thing the makers of this film learn from its predecessors of religious dramas, it seems to be the out-of-place film score, rather than anything else.

But another thing that KCB has also learned from other similar films before is that its, confidence of making a box-office success.

No doubt about it, as heavy promotions, and blatant product placements in the film, will result in long queues in cinemas. Its sequel will also benefit form this, although we may just wait for that coming with a lesser anticipation instead.

Article Source:
'Jakarta Post'

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9.11.2009

Bunaken Island:A Return To The Beauty Of The Deep


It seemed he did not want to waste any time. Pluging into the deep, we were soon welcomed by thousands of small fish, from Butterflyfish to Angelfish and Triggerfish, swimming around us in every direction.

You can't always find such a diverse range of fish species at just one dive site. Lekuan II and Lekuan III are two of the best sites in the vast Bunaken National Marine Park in North Sulawesi, which is widely regarded as one of the best tropical dive regions in the world. One of the most memorable moments during my first visit to Bunaken four and a half years ago was having my dive mask "kissed"by hundreds of little fish.

Near the surface, the clear, calm conditions allowed me to see the stark contrast between the bodies of water surrounding Bunaken Island. On one side of the "Great Wall" a steep volcanic structure teeming with marine life, the dark blue waters plunge off into nothingness while on the other side, the crystal turquoise shallows indicate the presence of soft and hard corals.

The wall has long been considered a top dive site due to the abundance of corals and sea critters but also because it remains quite a challenge. At most dive sites, one must get close to the sea bed to get a good look at the coral gardens and creatures, but Bunaken's vertical wall diving offers something entirely unique.

Diving at the Lekuan II site feels like flying alongside the edge of a skyscraper. The beauty of the wall is laid bare for divers to enjoy - corals and sea plants are perfectly structured like in an art gallery.

Other than soft and hard corals, the vertical wall offers columns where fish live in species groupings. They often reside in overhangs, which are sections of the wall that which are sections of the wall that have grown upward.

We dived along the wall until we reached a depth of 30-meters. Luckily, the relatively calm conditions provided visibility of around 25-40 meters, enhancing the colorful scenes before us.

While drifting - a style of diving where you follow the current - I saw thousands of fish'dancing' to the pulse of the oceans movements. A clownfish, guarding the tentacles of an anemone, swam in and out of its colorful house. A few Bannerfish with yellow, white and black stripes calmly circled a sea fan coral.
bunaken2

At this depth, we were also blessed with spotting a green turtle resting on a large coral structure. When it swam gently across the great wall, my first reaction was to approach it, but I reassessed my choiche not wanting to scare it away.

Having got a snap of this giant creature of the deep, I saw a school of Jackfish (Trevally) known by locals as ikan bobara. Their bodies were shining with a silverly sheen in the water. A 1,5-meter tuna gigi anjing (Dog Tooth Tuna) also swam by gallantly.

No sooner had the tuna left my view than I came across another giant fish of the sea, the Napoleon Wrasse. It was more than a meter long and guarded by hundreds of small Triggerfish. Due to thedistance, I didn't manage to get a shot, but was satisfied enough to surface from my first dive at Lekuan II.

On the boat, Kennedy said the Napoleon Wrasse were on the verge of extinction because of illegal fishing.
"That [illegal fishing] is still rampant here," he said.

The high demand for Napoleon Wrasse on overseas markets lures fishermen to hunt rare fish.

"Taiwan and Hongkong markets are willing to pay high prices for this kind of fish. And local fisherman usually sell their catches to foreign ships they meet at sea, so they don't have to sell them them at local markets," Kennedy said.
For my one-hour surface interval break, I had some lunch and prepared for the second dive, this time at Lekuan III just adjacent to the prior site.

This time the sea was filled with a richness of small fish like Anthias and Fairy Basslet, which are very friendly species to divers. Just like at Lekuan II, we did vertical wall diving. At this site we could see small canyon.

On both sides of this incredible structure rested sea fan corals and Feather Stars. I could also spot Napoleon Wrasse and Bumphead Parrotfish swimming casually among sine sea whips.

But my eyes were soon drawn to a whitish-blue creature glued to a soft coral. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a Nudibranch - the gem for macro photographers. Spotting school of Orbicular Batfish, I eventually called it a day.

Emerging from the water, we were taken aback by the presence of garbage and pollutants on the surface of the water. Plastic bottles, instant noodle packages and plastic straws were like a carpet across the surface. This was not the kind of thing you want toremember from your dive trip.

A few days before embarking for the island I walked along the coastline at the Manado Boulevard and noticed it was covered with plastic waste. It appeared that the waste washing up at Bunaken Islan was coming directly from Manado city.

"Many people are ignorant when it comes to dumping waste in the sea. They don't understand that plastic can hurt coral reefs. Pollution blocks the sun fron penetrating the sea where coral reefs live. Without the sun, sooner or later the coral reefs will die," Kennedy said.

But plastic waste is one of many environmental problems afflicting the area. A massive reclamation project along the beach at the Manado Boulevard is an eyesore. By comparison, 4,5 years ago I could see the beach from the highway, but now all that is visible are the stoic structures of shops and offices.

I cloud see the development from Bersehati Manado harbor reaching to Manado Convention Center - one of the venue for the World Ocean Conference (WOC) and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit recently - area.

Lisa, a German who has dived in Indonesian waters for the past 1 years, said she was worried about the rate of construction along Manado beach.

"Manado used to be the benchmark of marine biodiversity. I used to compare it to every place I visited. Well, now I am comparing Manado to what it used to be like 15 years ago, I'm disappointed to see less marine life and coral. Instead of boosting eco-tourism, the government is killing it with this land reclamation," she said.

"Now I have to find a new destination that can replace what Manado used to be like."

Heaven forbid the waters of Manado end up like the Seribu Islands off Jakarta Bay, a very possible reality if these reclamation projects continue. However, I still have high hopes that events like tho WOC and the CTI Summit will help save Bunaken Island from any further damage.

Article Source

'Jakarta Post'

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8.14.2009

VLC Media Player and HJ Split

Yesterday,I had written about coffee prince. Yes...when we downloaded from tokiomedia. There is two part of it. First, the file of coffee prince movie. Second is the file of english subtitle (the language of coffee prince is korea). But we couldn't use windows media player or winamp. what should we do> Relax and take a couples breath.


First we must know about extension or file of coffee prince movie or .001,.002,.003,etc. We know that each country have different ways to improve they technology. So,001,.002,.003,etc is their ways to improve it with high definition.

HJ SplitVLC
Second, find out about HJ Split and VLC media player (I recommended to download it). The function of HJ Split is to separate the file or to combine two file, when we download the movie and English subtitles. Here I will explain.


  1. Download coffee prince movie and English subtitles. We will get .001 file and rar (English subtitles
  2. Join the file between the movie with HJ Split
  3. Install VLC media.
  4. After installation, open folder which are combined
  5. The last enjoy your movie.


VLC media is not only used to .001,.002,.003,etc file but also used wma,mpeg,etc. Let's practice

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8.12.2009

Coffee Prince



Do you ever hear about coffee Prince?yes, it's a korean movie. This told about Eun Chan who have strong & responsible characters. And Han Kyul have lazy & unresponsible characters. I love this movie because it's different from another love story.


Eun Chan is a woman who has to be a head of her family. She has a little sister and her mom. Her father was died. She worked at the delivery meal and had a scooter. Han Kyul is a lazy man. He studied in Amerika and worked at Toys company. He has a rich family. A years ago, her grandma asked Han Kyul to come to Seoul. So Han Kyul came to Seoul for his grandma.

Oneday, Han Kyul met Eun Chan and thought that she is a male. They met in bad condition. After a few days. His grandma asked Han Kyul to rebuild a coffee shop and with 3 months he should to get triple profit from asset which gave from his grandma. He accepted the grandma' question.After he succeed of building coffee shop.he can come back to America.

After that, he came to the coffee shop which should to rebuild it. He has a idea to change the coffee shop's name became a coffee prince and all of his employee is a man. Because of responsbility of Eun Chan (and also he don't know that Eun Chan is a woman). He recommended Eun Chan to become his Employee.

After the recommendation. She promised to herself to become a man (because of her poor condition). The days she passed, her condition became better. Unfortunatelly she started to love his manager (Han Kyul). And Han Kyul started to love Eun Chan too. It made confusion of Han Kyul until Han Kyul came to psychiatrist. Psychiatrist gave him a medicine. But it doesn't work (because eun chan is a female). After all Han Kyul can't hold his feeling until he kissed Eun Chan.

Eun Chan felt very guilty to Han Kyul because she laid about her gender. She decided to tell the truth with her courage. In order that she knew about the
consequences. But she don't want to make their relationship more worse. After Eun Chan told the truth. Han Kyul felt very angry to Eun Chan. But he realized that he loved Eun Chan very much although she is a man or woman.

3 months later, Han Kyul had been called by His company. He though that he should to go or not. Han Kyul decided to stay because his coffee shop and eun chan.Not only Han Kyul stayed in seoul but also he proposed Eun Chan to marry. Eun Chan felt fery happy. But before married she want to study Italy,became a barista. Because of her skill improved, Han Kyul's grandma want to sponsored Eun Chan to study in Italy.

The Ending of this movie. They met again in Coffee Prince.How about you

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8.01.2009

The world become smallness

It is impossible this world became smaller than past time. It is impossible that mass of the earth disappeared or gone with a wind.Like a song.That’s not the meaning of this words.But the meaning is no difference or separation in this world.With technology,far in physically,but close in heart. It is no matter 1 kilometers or 1 miles now.


There are no separation now. Even our brothers, sisters, girlfriends, boyfriends, or parents in other country. We still to contact them. Distance can’t apart them. Even in the space.

Information easy to get it. With technology,especially internet. We can get all of information which we need it.We do not need to go to library,or buy books.It make information more important than past time.

Technology can make our job effectively and efficiently. In past time,if want go to other place. With horse,It needed a couple months or years. But now, We can go to other place or other country with car,motorcycle,plan. It just few hours.

Now, We can’t life without technology. We are very helpful with technology. Human make technology more effective and efficient. Maybe in future, It take a few second if we want to go somewhere.And there are many advantages of technology.

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