International Journal of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IJBB)

Developing the Resilient Seropositive Community (RSC) Model: A Conceptual Approach to Empowerment and HIV Risk Reduction among Young Adults

2026-01-19T01:07:15+00:00

The persistent challenge of HIV/AIDS among high-risk young adults calls for innovative community-based strategies that go beyond individual-level interventions. Despite advances in prevention and treatment, structural and psychosocial barriers, such as stigma, limited access to health services, and risky sexual behavior, continue to exacerbate vulnerability among youth in developing countries like Indonesia. These realities underscore the need for a holistic, culturally responsive framework that integrates both individual and collective dimensions of health behavior. Herein, we developed a conceptual model of the Resilient Seropositive Community (RSC), which integrates the principles of empowerment, self-resilience, and risk reduction to strengthen HIV/AIDS management among young adults at risk. The model is conceptually grounded in resilience theory, community empowerment, and the health belief framework, recognizing that sustainable health outcomes require the synergy of personal agency and community capacity. Using a conceptual synthesis approach, recent theoretical and empirical literature (2020–2025) was reviewed to identify the interconnections between personal resilience, peer support, social capital, and health service accessibility. The proposed RSC model explains how community resilience and empowerment can transform risk behavior into adaptive coping and proactive health-seeking actions through mechanisms of social support, peer engagement, and collective self-efficacy. Our review contributes to public health theory by offering a culturally sensitive and community-centered conceptual framework for HIV prevention and management. Practically, it provides guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and educators in designing interventions that promote empowerment, participation, and sustainable resilience within seropositive and high-risk populations. The model also offers a foundation for future empirical studies to test the dynamic relationships among resilience, empowerment, and behavior change in diverse sociocultural contexts.

Contemporary Approaches to the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens.

2026-01-16T20:40:12+00:00

Even though food preservation and safety methods have improved a lot, many disease outbreaks caused by foodborne pathogens like bacteria, fungi, and viruses still happen around the world. This shows that these pathogens are still a serious threat to public health.
Although there are many reviews on methods for detecting foodborne pathogens, most of them focus mainly on bacteria, even though viruses and other pathogens are equally important .Ready to eat (R.T.E) foods always come in handy and is the surest way in which pathogens in foods are been transmitted. Regardless of the hygiene measures in preparation of these foods and the innovations in food preservation techniques and food safety, there is still an increasing foodborne outbreak that has been linked to R.T.E foods. In recent times, there are lots of research on food borne outbreaks most research focuses on bacteria as the primary source of contaminant with little or no focus on other types of microorganisms like fungi and viruses. Hence, this review will focus on some pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses that has been linked to foodborne outbreak. This review will shed more light on how culture-based methods, application of immunoassay methods and nucleic-acid based PCR are useful in the detection of foodborne outbreak. It provides substantial information on how different methods are used in the detection of foodborne diseases.

Perception of Pregnant Women Toward Acupressure As a Method to Relieve Discomfort in Hypertensive Pregnancy

2026-01-06T03:34:17+00:00

Pregnancy is a complex physiological process that brings about significant physical, psychological, and hormonal changes, often leading to various discomforts such as back pain, cramps, nausea, sleep disturbances, and increased blood pressure. Hypertension in pregnancy remains one of the major complications that significantly contributes to maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023), hypertension accounts for approximately 14% of global maternal deaths.

Acupressure, a non-pharmacological complementary therapy that applies pressure to specific body points to balance energy flow (Qi) and stimulate the nervous system, has been reported to alleviate pregnancy discomforts and support blood pressure regulation. Despite its proven benefits, the implementation of acupressure among pregnant women—especially those with hypertension—remains limited due to lack of knowledge and awareness.This study aimed to describe the knowledge and perception of pregnant women regarding acupressure in managing discomfort during pregnancy with hypertension.

This research employed a descriptive quantitative design using a survey approach. The population comprised all pregnant women visiting Gajah Mada Public Health Center, Tembilahan, from October 20–22, 2025, totaling 50 respondents selected through total sampling. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires, while secondary data were obtained from health records. Data processing involved editing, coding, scoring, entry, and cleaning, followed by descriptive analysis to determine the distribution of knowledge and perception variables.

Findings revealed that most respondents demonstrated good knowledge about acupressure (88%) and adequate knowledge (12%). Moreover, 92% of respondents expressed a positive perception toward acupressure, while 8% showed a negative perception. These results indicate that pregnant women possess sufficient understanding of acupressure as a complementary therapy for alleviating discomfort caused by hypertension during pregnancy. A strong level of knowledge contributes to a positive perception and acceptance of acupressure as part of antenatal care practices.

The majority of pregnant women at Gajah Mada Public Health Center, Tembilahan, exhibited good knowledge and positive perceptions regarding acupressure in reducing discomfort related to pregnancy-induced hypertension. Strengthening health education and promoting complementary therapy during antenatal care (ANC) programs are recommended to enhance maternal well-being holistically.

Mycoremediation of Textile Dye Effluents Using Termitomyces heimii Mushroom: A Sustainable Biocatalyst Approach

2026-01-06T03:37:25+00:00

Textile dye effluents pose significant environmental and health challenges due to their complex chemical composition, high toxicity, and resistance to conventional treatment methods. Mycoremediation, the use of fungi and their enzymatic systems to degrade pollutants, has emerged as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for treating industrial wastewater. White-rot fungi, particularly those producing ligninolytic enzymes such as laccase, lignin peroxidase, and manganese peroxidase, have demonstrated remarkable potential in degrading recalcitrant synthetic dyes. However, the bioremediation potential of Termitomyces heimii, a basidiomycete mushroom with robust enzymatic capabilities adapted to decomposing lignocellulosic materials, remains largely unexplored. This review aims to evaluate the current state of knowledge regarding Termitomyces heimii as a biocatalyst for textile dye remediation, examining its enzymatic mechanisms, degradation efficiency across various dye classes, optimal operational conditions, and comparative performance with established fungal species. The fungus exhibits significant promise due to its robust ligninolytic enzyme, including laccases and peroxidases, which play a crucial role in the degradation of recalcitrant pollutants. In addition, its fast-growing mycelial network, tolerance to environmental stress, and ability to bioaccumulate toxic metals highlight its suitability for application in contaminated soils and waste substrates. In conclusion, T. heimii represents an underexplored yet highly promising candidate for mycoremediation strategies. Further experimental validation, optimization of culture conditions, and field-scale studies are required to fully harness its remediation potential. Integrating T. heimii into sustainable bioremediation frameworks could contribute significantly to environmentally friendly pollution management and ecosystem restoration.

Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture in Emerging Markets: Firm Level Evidence

2026-01-21T20:25:53+00:00

In order to achieve climate resilience and food security by 2030 the transition towards sustainable and regenerative food systems is critical, yet firm-level evidence investigating the drivers of sustainable agriculture is missing in emerging economies. The study investigates the impact of green finance and technological advancement, sustainability performance and firm growth opportunities. The study investigates a balanced dataset of Agri-filled firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The study allocates fixed-effects panel regression and mediation analysis, predicting that technological advancement has a statistically strong and positive impact on sustainable performance. However, green finance possesses no direct impact. Sustainability performance exerts a significant positive impact on firm growth. The mediation analysis predicts that sustainability performance fully transmitted effects of technological advancement on firm growth whereas, green finance remains having no effect at all on firm growth in the presence of sustainability performance as a mediator.

The insignificance of green finance suggests that green labelled financial resources do not necessarily translate into regenerative practices in agriculture domain, likely due to weak operational integration, lack of infrastructure, institutional barriers and limited absorptive capacity. These findings also highlight the importance of Climate Smart Agriculture Framework as; climate smart technologies lay out the basis for sustainability practices for regenerative agriculture.

The study is highly effective for policy insights emphasizing that green financial instruments alone are not enough to create climate resilient and equitable food systems. However, investments in digital farming, Agri- based technological advancement and agricultural innovation could produce more effective approach for climate resilience.