Analisis Kelayakan USAha Pembuatan Batu Bata dengan Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit sebagai Bahan Bakar di Desa Jentera Stabat Kecamatan Wampu Kabupaten Langkat

Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui ketersediaan input (bahan baku, modal, tenaga kerja) USAha pembuatan batu bata dengan tandan kosong kelapa sawit sebagai bahan bakar, mengetahui besar pendapatannya, mengetahui tingkat kelayakan USAhanya, dan mengetahui dampak pemakaian tandan kosong kelapa sawit sebagai bahan bakar untuk USAha pembuatan batu bata di daerah penelitian. Penentuan daerah dilakukan secara purposive (sengaja) karena mempertimbangkan waktu dan jangkauan peneliti, sampel berjumlah 20 pengrajin batu bata yang ditentukan dengan metode sensus, data yang digunakan adalah data primer dan data sekunder. Metode penelitian yang digunakan untuk mengetahui ketersediaan input (bahan baku, modal, tenaga kerja) dan untuk mengetahui dampak pemakaian tandan kosong kelapa sawit sebagai bahan bakar yaitu menggunakan metode deskriptif, untuk mengetahui pendapatan menggunakan metode analisis pendapatan, untuk menganalisis kelayakan USAha menggunakan R/C Ratio dan BEP. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa input (bahan baku, modal, tenaga kerja) cukup tersedia di daerah penelitian. Pendapatan USAha pembuatan batu bata adalah Rp 3.722.321,-/bulan atau Rp 644.277,-/10.000 batu bata. Diperoleh nilai R/C ratio > 1, BEP Produksi < Produksi, dan BEP Harga < Harga Jual. Pemakaian tandan kosong kelapa sawit sebagai bahan bakar dalam USAha pembuatan batu bata memberikan dampak positif, Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan bahwa USAha pembuatan batu bata dengan tandan kosong kelapa sawit sebagai bahan bakar layak untuk diusahakan secara finansial di daerah penelitian

Investigation of humans individual differences as predictors of their animal interaction styles, focused on the domestic cat

Humans' individual differences including their demographics, personality, attitudes and experiences are often associated with important outcomes for the animals they interact with. This is pertinent to companion animals such as cats and dogs, given their social and emotional importance to humans and degree of integration into human society. However, the mechanistic underpinnings and causal relationships that characterise links between human individual differences and companion animal behaviour and wellbeing are not well understood. In this exploratory investigation, we firstly quantified the underlying structure of, and variation in, human's styles of behaviour during typical human-cat interactions (HCI), focusing on aspects of handling and interaction known to be preferred by cats (i.e. 'best practice'), and their variation. We then explored the potential significance of various human individual differences as predictors of these HCI styles. Seven separate HCI styles were identified via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) from averaged observations for 119 participants, interacting with sociable domestic cats within a rehoming context. Using General Linear Models (GLMs) and an Information Theoretic (IT) approach, we found these HCI PC components were weakly to strongly predicted by factors including cat-ownership history, participant personality (measured via the Big Five Inventory, or BFI), age, work experience with animals and participants' subjective ratings of their cat behaviour knowledge. Paradoxically, greater cat ownership experiences and self-assessed cat knowledge were not positively associated with 'best practice' styles of HCI, but were instead generally predictive of HCI styles known to be less preferred by cats, as was greater participant age and Neuroticism. These findings have important implications regarding the quality of human-companion animal relationships and dyadic compatibility, in addition to the role of educational interventions and their targeting for optimal efficacy. In the context of animal adoption, these results strengthen the (limited) evidence base for decision making associated with cat-adopter screening and matching. In particular, our results suggest that greater cat ownership experiences and self-reports of cat knowledge might not necessarily convey advantages for cats in the context of HCI

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity and asymmetrical accumulation of F-actin are necessary for establishment of cell polarity in the early development of monospores from the marine red alga Porphyra yezoensis

The polarized distribution of F-actin is important in providing the driving force for directional migration in mammalian leukocytes and Dictyostelium cells, in which compartmentation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphatidylinositol phosphatase is critical for the establishment of cell polarity. Since monospores from the red alga Porphyra yezoensis are a real example of migrating plant cells, the involvement of the cytoskeleton and PI3K was investigated during their early development. Our results indicate that the asymmetrical localization of F-actin at the leading edge is fixed by the establishment of the anterior–posterior axis in migrating monospores, which is PI3K-dependent and protein synthesis-independent. After migration, monospores adhere to the substratum and then become upright, developing into multicellular thalli via the establishment of the apical–basal axis. In this process, F-actin usually accumulates at the bottom of the basal cell and development after migration requires new protein synthesis. These findings suggest that the establishment of anterior–posterior and apical–basal axes are differentially regulated during the early development of monospores. Our results also indicate that PI3K-dependent F-actin asymmetry is evolutionally conserved in relation to the establishment of cell polarity in migrating eukaryotic cells

Chaperones convert the energy from ATP into the nonequilibrium stabilization of native proteins.

During and after protein translation, molecular chaperones require ATP hydrolysis to favor the native folding of their substrates and, under stress, to avoid aggregation and revert misfolding. Why do some chaperones need ATP, and what are the consequences of the energy contributed by the ATPase cycle? Here, we used biochemical assays and physical modeling to show that the bacterial chaperones GroEL (Hsp60) and DnaK (Hsp70) both use part of the energy from ATP hydrolysis to restore the native state of their substrates, even under denaturing conditions in which the native state is thermodynamically unstable. Consistently with thermodynamics, upon exhaustion of ATP, the metastable native chaperone products spontaneously revert to their equilibrium non-native states. In the presence of ATPase chaperones, some proteins may thus behave as open ATP-driven, nonequilibrium systems whose fate is only partially determined by equilibrium thermodynamics

Membrane-Lipid Therapy in Operation: The HSP Co-Inducer BGP-15 Activates Stress Signal Transduction Pathways by Remodeling Plasma Membrane Rafts

Aging and pathophysiological conditions are linked to membrane changes which modulate membrane-controlled molecular switches, causing dysregulated heat shock protein (HSP) expression. HSP co-inducer hydroxylamines such as BGP-15 provide advanced therapeutic candidates for many diseases since they preferentially affect stressed cells and are unlikely have major side effects. In the present study in vitro molecular dynamic simulation, experiments with lipid monolayers and in vivo ultrasensitive fluorescence microscopy showed that BGP-15 alters the organization of cholesterol-rich membrane domains. Imaging of nanoscopic long-lived platforms using the raft marker glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored monomeric green fluorescent protein diffusing in the live Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell plasma membrane demonstrated that BGP-15 prevents the transient structural disintegration of rafts induced by fever-type heat stress. Moreover, BGP-15 was able to remodel cholesterol-enriched lipid platforms reminiscent of those observed earlier following non-lethal heat priming or membrane stress, and were shown to be obligate for the generation and transmission of stress signals. BGP-15 activation of HSP expression in B16-F10 mouse melanoma cells involves the Rac1 signaling cascade in accordance with the previous observation that cholesterol affects the targeting of Rac1 to membranes. Finally, in a human embryonic kidney cell line we demonstrate that BGP-15 is able to inhibit the rapid heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) acetylation monitored during the early phase of heat stress, thereby promoting a prolonged duration of HSF1 binding to heat shock elements. Taken together, our results indicate that BGP-15 has the potential to become a new class of pharmaceuticals for use in ‘membrane-lipid therapy’ to combat many various protein-misfolding diseases associated with aging

A reversible light- and genotype-dependent acquired thermotolerance response protects the potato plant from damage due to excessive temperature

A powerful acquired thermotolerance response in potato was demonstrated and characterised in detail, showing the time course required for tolerance, the reversibility of the process and requirement for light. Potato is particularly vulnerable to increased temperature, considered to be the most important uncontrollable factor affecting growth and yield of this globally significant crop. Here, we describe an acquired thermotolerance response in potato, whereby treatment at a mildly elevated temperature primes the plant for more severe heat stress. We define the time course for acquiring thermotolerance and demonstrate that light is essential for the process. In all four commercial tetraploid cultivars that were tested, acquisition of thermotolerance by priming was required for tolerance at elevated temperature. Accessions from several wild-type species and diploid genotypes did not require priming for heat tolerance under the test conditions employed, suggesting that useful variation for this trait exists. Physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches were employed to elucidate potential mechanisms that underpin the acquisition of heat tolerance. This analysis indicated a role for cell wall modification, auxin and ethylene signalling, and chromatin remodelling in acclimatory priming resulting in reduced metabolic perturbation and delayed stress responses in acclimated plants following transfer to 40 °C