Simulation of Ultra-Short Laser Pulses Propagation and Ionization in Dual-Gas-Cells to Enhance the Quasi-Phase Matching of Harmonics Generation in Plasmas

A numerical model was designed and implemented to investigate the influence of plasma defocusing on laser characteristics. The effects of plasma defocusing were investigated by studying beam divergence, intensity reduction, and blue shifting. The diffusion of the ultra-intense laser beam in gas cells was within a Rayleigh range. Moreover, using dual-gas-cells, the impact of quasi-phase matching (QPM) on the creation of harmonic pulses in argon and hydrogen plasmas was studied. The alternating structure of argon and hydrogen gas cells showed a perfect build-up of the generated ultra-short harmonics pulses. The impact of electron density on laser diffusion and the creation of harmonic pulses were also investigated in this work. In the simulation, argon plasma with different plasma densities was used in an alternating structure to create dual-gas-cells and quasi-phase-matching. Noticeable conversion of the fundamental laser pulses to harmonics pulses was accomplished in the model by using the QPM concept

Implementation of Non-Uniform F-K and Strict F-K Filter Normalization in Seismic Downhole Processing

In fundamental geophysics, we can understand that if we hit the surface, the body and surface waves propagate into and on the soil or rock. The body waves consist of pressure waves, which are the fastest, and shear waves, which are slower. This phenomenon can be measured using the seismic downhole method to determine the velocity of P and S waves of soil layers by generating source energy at the surface and calculating the arrival time at a tri-axial sensor inside a borehole. Determining the arrival time of S waves is often tricky because the recorded S wave arrival is on the coda of the P waves and is also distracted by measurement noise. A common method to separate P and S waves is direct F-K filtering from the F-K image of the measurement data. This study modified this method by adjusting the actual source-receiver distance by implementing a non-uniform F-K transform to produce the correct velocity response. Another improvement was strict filter normalization to regain continuity, thus preventing a shadow response in the F-K image. Synthetic and real measurement data showed that our modification performed better than direct FK-filtering

Bioinformatic Analysis Strategy in Restriction Enzyme Selection for Indonesian Panulirus homarus Identification by PCR-RFLP

The spiny lobster (Panulirus homarus) is a valuable fishery commodity in Indonesia, particularly in its juvenile life form. However, identifying the early life forms of the spiny lobster can be challenging, as it exhibits similar morphological features compared to the juveniles of other Panilurid lobsters. Molecular-based identification, specifically DNA sequencing, is the best method for species identification, but it requires advanced instruments and is costly. An alternative method is proposed here, using the PCR-RFLP technique, which is low-cost, rapid, and has standard instrumentation requirements. The challenge with this method is selecting the appropriate restriction enzyme to determine the targeted species’ identity. This study proposes using the REfind (https://github.com/indriatmoko07/REfind), R package to select the best restriction enzyme for identifying P. homarus, applicable to other species. The bioinformatics workflow used in this study successfully identified BseSI or BmgI as the most suitable restriction enzymes among 739 restriction enzymes to differentiate P. homarus from other Panilurid species. This result was validated by employing a wet lab test using the BseSI enzyme and successfully validated the bioinformatics result. These findings may be useful for biologists in conducting various studies that require rapid, low-cost, and identification of specific species in the future

Hydrolysis Optimization and In Vitro Anti-aging Effect of Cihateup Duck Eggshell Membrane

An altered skin morphology and physiology are the most evident signs of increasing age in humans. These changes may affect pivotal skin functions. Eggshell membrane (ESM) is an egg byproduct that is regarded as waste. Nonetheless, studies have shown its beneficial effect in preventing dermal aging. Currently, only chicken ESM has been extensively studied and is commercially available. Our study explored the potential of duck ESM, which has been overlooked. We examined the use of Cihateup duck (Anas platyrhynchos Javanica) eggshell membrane hydrolysate (ESMH) in anti-aging skincare products. Enzymatic hydrolysate of ESM was obtained by varying the papain and sodium sulfite concentrations. The optimum concentrations were used for further analysis, i.e., hyaluronic acid content, amino acid composition, antioxidant activity, and collagenase inhibition activity. The result showed that 60 U/mg of papain and 30 mM of sodium sulfite yielded a total protein of 80.18±1.47 mg/g for duck ESMH and 71.41±2.13 mg/g for chicken ESMH. In addition, duck ESMH showed higher hyaluronic acid content and different amino acid composition than chicken. Duck ESMH also showed the highest collagenase inhibition activity. In conclusion, our findings suggest that duck ESMH holds great promise for anti-aging skincare, offering better activity than chicken ESMH

Optical Spectroscopy and Photoionization Model of Planetary Nebula NGC 6572

We investigated NGC 6572 through optical spectroscopy to determine its kinematical and chemical properties. Two intermediate dispersion spectra (R~5000) centered around Hα and Hβ were used to derive the nebular expansion velocity from emission lines associated with Hα, Hβ, [OIII], [NII], and [SII] ions. A low dispersion spectrum (R~1000) was used to determine the nebular electron temperature, density, and chemical composition. We performed photoionization modeling to construct a self-consistent nebular model, while intermediate-resolution spectral images showed the global elliptical structure of the nebula. The expansion velocity deduced from most of the emission lines is consistent with the typical expansion velocity of planetary nebulae, i.e., around 15-20 kms-1. The nebular physical properties align well with those determined by other studies. The nebular abundances were found to be lower than the solar abundances (except for oxygen) but still comparable with the abundances derived by other researchers. The photoionization model generated spectral lines that are consistent with the lines found in the observations. Further spectroscopic observations with higher resolution and wider range at various position angles will be very useful to reveal a more complete and detailed structure of the nebula and to improve the determination of the nebular physical properties

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Barium-Strontium-Hexaferrite Material Ba0.6Sr0.4Fe10-xCoxMnTiO19 (x = 0.5; 1.0; and 1.5) as Microwave Absorbers

We discuss the structure properties of Ba0.6Sr0.4Fe10-xCoxMnTiO19(BSFCMTO) for x = 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 that influence its magnetic properties as a microwave absorber. A solid-state reaction method using high-energy milling was used to synthesize hexaferrite. There were no structural changes when the Co2+ ion was substituted for the Fe3+ ion; the structures of all samples were hexagonal and the space group was P63/mmc. The surface morphology had heterogeneous particles with a size of 300 to 600 nm. The magnetic properties tended to decrease with an increasing number of Co2+ ion substitutions. The reflection loss (RL) had a minimum value of -14.89 dB. This value was reached at a frequency of 10.96 GHz and had a bandwidth at 1.24 GHz with a sample thickness of 1 mm in the Ba0.6Sr0.4Fe9.9Co0.1MnTiO19 sample

Conditioned Medium of IGF1-Induced Human Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells Effects on Sox9 Gene Expression and Level of COL2 and IL1β in Osteoarthritic Chondrocytes

Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) hold promises for treating osteoarthritis (OA) due to their great capacity for regeneration and their accessibility. However, obstacles like poor cell survival and differentiation prevent them from being used in transplants. Thus, this study examined WJMSCs’ Conditioned Medium (CM) (WJMSCs-CM) for OA treatment. In order to determine how well IL1β-induced chondrocyte cells (IL1β-CHON002) heal OA-damaged cells, they were treated with both IGF1-induced and uninduced WJMSCs-CM. Key parameters measured were IL1β, Sox9 and COL2. The STRING database was explored to evaluate the proteins contained in WJMSCs-CM and to see their interactions and CM potential in OA exposure. The STRING database indicates WJMSCs-CM to possess the ability to manage OA because of the growth factors they contain, which raise the expression of cartilage marker genes. The results indicated that 15% WJMSCs-CM with 150 ng/mL IGF1 had the highest Sox9 expression, significant reduction in pro-inflammatory mediators, and an increase in COL2 levels. Additionally, 14 days of treatment resulted in better outcomes compared to 7 days. CM from WJMSCs treated with IGF1 with a concentration of 15% exhibited the highest level for each parameter. Both durations showed difference across parameters, highlighting the potential for OA therapy

Geochemistry of I-type Volcanic Arc Granitoid From Tanggamus Regency, Southern Sumatra

Granitoid intrusion of several provinces on Sumatra is correlated with Southeast Asia tectonics that have occurred since the Permian. Granites from several volcanic arc provinces are located along the western part of Sumatra Island and are found near Bukit Barisan. This study describes the geochemical character of granitoid from the Tanggamus region and its surroundings near the Bukit Barisan cluster. After megascopic description in the field, major oxides, trace elements, and rare earth elements in rock samples were measured using X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry devices. The samples were intermediate to acidic intrusive rocks with SiO2 ranging between 61.35% and 75.29%. The rocks can be described as diorite to granodiorite and were formed as a result of subduction processes. The granitic rock samples showed I-type features of A/CNK value <1.1, volcanic arc granite affinity, K2O/Na2O ratio, and magnesian properties. The total rare earth content was medium with an average of 43.97 ppm. The similarity of the rare earth normalized diagram against the chondrite value indicates that the samples come from an identical origin

Deformation under a Young Volcanic Covered Area in Southern Garut, Indonesia: Insight from 3D Gravity Modelling

Destructive earthquakes are frequently related to inland active faults. In recent years, a significant number of shallow earthquakes with low magnitude have occurred in southern Garut, West Java, Indonesia. Two earthquakes, with magnitudes of M4.2 and M3.9 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, have caused significant damage and were interpreted as indications of an active fault. We used publicly available gravity data to infer the subsurface structure that may be related to recent seismic activity. We used spectral analysis and filtering techniques for the regional-residual anomaly separation and anomaly enhancement to show the basin structure in the study area. 3D gravity inversion modelling was performed to obtain the subsurface density distribution. The result indicates the sedimentary layers with a density of 2.4 to 2.5 gr/cm3 with an underlying basement with a density of 2.65 gr/cm3. An intra-basin basement high with an NE-SW trend divides the basin into two sub-basins. This local basement high can be associated with a magmatic intrusion body and a series of young volcanic bodies located at the northeastern end of the basin. Our results emphasize a possible strong interaction between the tectonic and magmatic activities in this region

Cytotoxic Effect of Benzofuranoid Neolignans from Myristica fragrans Seeds Against Melanoma B16-F10 Cancer Cells

Myristica fragrans is an indigenous plant in Indonesia, characterized by various secondary metabolites with diverse bioactivities. This plant possesses promising anti-melanoma properties capable of addressing prevalent cases of melanoma. Therefore, this study’s objective was to isolate potential compounds from Myristica fragrans seeds and assess their cytotoxic effects on melanoma B16-F10 cells. Ethyl acetate extracts were subjected to separation through various chromatographic methods to obtain three benzofuranoid neolignans, which was conducted using spectroscopic analyses, namely UV-vis, polarimeter, HRTOF-MS, IR, and NMR. Subsequently, comparison with previously reported spectral data confirmed the identities of neolignans as (+)-licarin A (1), (+)-licarin B (2), and (+)-maceneolignan B (3). Cytotoxicity against melanoma B16-F10 cells was assessed using the PrestoBlue method, revealing (+)-licarin A (1) to display the most potent activity with an IC50 value of 94.15 μM