Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) and brown algae (Sargassum sp.) Supplementation on Nutritional Content of Payangka Fish Nugget (Ophieleotris aporos (Bleeker)

Payangka fish (Ophieleotris aporos (Bleeker)) is one of the most common fish species in Lake Tondano, North Sulawesi. Due to the availability of this fish throughout the year, it is one of the types of fish consumed by many people. However, the economic value tends to be below. This study diversified payangka fish into nuggets with clove spice (Syzygium aromaticum) and brown seaweed (Sargassum sp) supplementation. The research conducted aims to obtain a proximate profile and fatty acid content of payangka nugget. The research method used is an experimental laboratory method. The study consisted of preparing payangka fish, making payangka nuggets supplemented with clove and seaweed extracts, proximate analysis by gravimetric method and analysis of fatty acid content by gas chromatography method. The results showed that the supplemented payangka nugget had 67% water content, 0.80% ash content, 0.05% total fat, and 10.50% crude fiber. Omega 3 content is 4.75%, while Omega 6 content is 34.16%. Payangka fish nuggets that were supplemented had a higher nutritional content than those without supplementation. Payangka fish nuggets supplemented with clove extract and brown seaweed contain good dietary content

Growth and Development of the Uterus and Placenta of Superovulated Gilts

Forty eight gilts with average body weight of 107.83 + 5.08 kg were used in experiments to study the use of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) as superovulation agent in gilts to increase piglet production. Four groups of twelve gilts were injected with PMSG dan hCG dose levels of 0, 600, 1200, and 1800 IU/gilt. Injections were conducted three days before estrus. During gestation, gilts were placed in colony pigpens. On days 15, 35, and 70 of gestation, gilts were slaughtered in order to measure the number of corpus luteum, growth and development of the uterus and placenta. Blood samples were collected to determine progesterone and estradiol concentrations. The resuts showed that superovulation dose levels of 600 to 1200 IU/gilt increased progesterone and estradiol secretions, growth and development of the uterus and placenta in gestation ages of 15, 35, and 70 days. It is concluded that superovulation with dose of 600 to 1200 IU can improve the gilts reproduction. Key words: gilts, superovulation, gestation, progesterone, estradiol, corpus luteu

A New and Practical Method for Measuring Sponge Spicules

Binocular light microscopy (BLM) is an excellent match for a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a trinocular light microscope equipped with a micrometer (TLM). The practicality, user-friendliness, and short-time analysis of BLM make this method a good choice for spicule analysis. However, its effectiveness and accuracy are yet to be confirmed. This study aimed to validate the effectiveness of BLM by comparing its usefulness to both TLM and the gold standard methods. BLM was first subjected to measuring megascleres and microscleres of 2 sponges. Then, by using the If function built-in Excell and t-test in SPSS 16.0, the compatibility of BLM was evaluated against SEM by measuring the length of spicules from 4 Sangihe sponges and their counterpart species from different locations. Furthermore, the t-test analysis was used to validate the compatibility and effectiveness of our method to the TLM by measuring the spicules of four sponges. Both the F-function and the t-test analysis proved BLM was compatible with SEM with both measurements showing a perfect match for megascleres typed spicules of 4 compared sponges. This new technique also showed a perfect match with SEM (p = 0.367, t-test) and with TLM (p = 0.963, t-test). Keywords: Spicules, sponges, SEM, Wallacea, biomaterial, sponge taxonom

Antifungal Potential Of The Sponge Styllisa Flabelliformis Against The Pathogenic And Resistant Aspergillus Fungi

Together with bacterial and viral infection, fungal infection represents the world's top ten killer diseases, desperately requiring new antifungal drugs. This research aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of the sponge Styllisa flabelliformis against the pathogenic fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus by the standard agar diffusion technique. Three concentrations (1, 10, and 10 mg/mL) for the extract and 0.5 mg/mL for ketoconazole and fluconazole were prepared and evaluated in triplicate against the tested fungi. Whereas ketoconazole poorly inhibited A. parasiticus and fluconazole weakly inhibited A. flavus, the extract of S. flabelliformis exerted antifungal activity against A. parasiticus (6.8 ± 1.8; 8.3 ± 3.2; and 9.5 ± 2.1) mm and A. flavus (6.8 ± 1.1; 11.5 ± 1.4; and 14.3 ± 1.1) mm 1, 10 and 100 mg/mL respectively. PASS analysis showed jasplakinolide as a promising antifungal agent with potential activity (Pa) of 0.736. STITCH analysis further confirmed that jasplakinolide worked by inhibiting the expression of cytoskeleton genes that prevented fungi from synthesizing chitin and inhibiting the formation of the fungi’s cell walls and hyphae, different from the ergosterol synthesis inhibition in ketoconazole and fluconazole, implying the potential of jasplakinolide as an antifungal agent

Growth and Development of the Uterus and Placenta of Superovulated Gilts

Forty eight gilts with average body weight of 107.83 + 5.08 kg were used in experiments to study the use of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) as superovulation agent in gilts to increase piglet production. Four groups of twelve gilts were injected with PMSG dan hCG dose levels of 0, 600, 1200, and 1800 IU/gilt. Injections were conducted three days before estrus. During gestation, gilts were placed in colony pigpens. On days 15, 35, and 70 of gestation, gilts were slaughtered in order to measure the number of corpus luteum, growth and development of the uterus and placenta. Blood samples were collected to determine progesterone and estradiol concentrations. The resuts showed that superovulation dose levels of 600 to 1200 IU/gilt increased progesterone and estradiol secretions, growth and development of the uterus and placenta in gestation ages of 15, 35, and 70 days. It is concluded that superovulation with dose of 600 to 1200 IU can improve the gilts reproduction

Pertumbuhan dan Perkembangan Uterus dan Plasenta Babi dengan Superovulasi

Forty eight gilts with average body weight of 107.83 ± 5.08 kg were used in experiments to study the use of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) as superovulation agent in gilts to increase piglet production. Four groups of twelve gilts were injected with PMSG dan hCG dose levels of 0, 600, 1200, and 1800 IU/gilt. Injections were conducted three days before estrus. During gestation, gilts were placed in colony pigpens. On days 15, 35, and 70 of gestation, gilts were slaughtered in order to measure the number of corpus luteum, growth and development of the uterus and placenta. Blood samples were collected to determine progesterone and estradiol concentrations. The resuts showed that superovulation dose levels of 600 to 1200 IU/gilt increased progesterone and estradiol secretions, growth and development of the uterus and placenta in gestation ages of 15, 35, and 70 days. It is concluded that superovulation with dose of 600 to 1200 IU can improve the gilts reproduction