Pemanfaatan Tepung Daun Pegagan (Centella Asiatica) sebagai Feed Additive dalam Ransum terhadap Konsumsi Ransum dan Berat Organ Fisiologis Broiler

Penelitian dengan memanfaatkan tepung daun pegagan sebagai feed additive dalam ransum broiler dilakukan untuk melihat pengaruhnya terhadap konsumsi ransum dan berat organ fisologis. Penelitian dilakukan di Laboratorium dan UPT Farm Politeknik Negeri Payakumbuh selama empat minggu, dengan menggunakan 100 ekor broiler yang dipelihara sejak DOC. Pakan yang diberikan berupa ransum basal dengan penambahan tepung daun pegagan. Rancangan yang digunakan adalah RAL dengan 4 perlakuan dan 5 ulangan, yaitu ransum basal 100% (A), ransum basal dengan penambahan 1,5% tepung daun pegagan (B), ransum basal dengan penambahan 3% tepung daun pegagan (C), ransum basal dengan penambahan tepung daun pegagan 4,5% (D). Variabel yang diukur adalah konsumsi ransum, persentase bobot hati dan jantung. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pencampuran tepung daun pegagan dalam ransum sebagai feed additive tidak memberikan pengaruh yang berbeda nyata (P>0,5) terhadap konsumsi ransum, bobot hati dan jantung broiler

PERBANDINGAN UJI AKTIVITAS ANTIBAKTERI MINYAK ATSIRI DAUN, TANGKAI BUNGA DAN BUNGA CENGKEH BALI (Syzygium aromaticum L.) TERHADAP BAKTERI Propionibacterium acne DENGAN METODE DIFUSI DISK

Propionibacterium acnes adalah bakteri anaerob gram positif yang merupakan bakteri paling dominan pada lesi jerawat. Minyak atsiri telah dibuktikan memiliki aktivitas antibakteri gram positif maupun bakteri gram negatif. Selain bunga cengkeh, minyak atsiri juga dapat diperoleh dari bagian tangkai bunga dan daun dari tanaman cengkeh. Oleh karena pemanfaatan bunga cengkeh masih terhitung mahal, maka pada penelitian ini peneliti ingin melihat potensi aktivitas antibakteri minyak atsiri dari tangkai bunga dan daun cengkeh. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk membandingkan aktivitas antibakteri minyak atsiri dari bagian bunga, tangkai bunga dan daun cengkeh terhadap bakteri P.acnes. Minyak atsiri dari bunga, tangkai bunga dan daun diperoleh dengan menggunakan metode destilasi air. Konsentrasi larutan uji yang digunakan 200 ?l/mL dengan metode uji difusi disk, kontrol negatif etanol 96% v/v, kontrol positif doksisiklin 30?g/disk, media uji MHA, dan suspensi bakteri P. acnes sebesar 0,5 McFarland. Aktivitas antibakteri ditentukan berdasarkan diameter zona hambat yaitu daerah bening diantara latar keruh setelah diinkubasi selama 24 jam. Analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan analisis deksriptif untuk melihat klasifikasi respon hambatan berdasarkan NCCLS dan analisis statistik menggunakan ANOVA one way. Aktivitas  antibakteri minyak atsiri bunga, tangkai bunga dan daun cengkeh terhadap bakteri P. acnes berbeda signifikan secara statistik dengan taraf kepercayaan >95%. Minyak atsiri bunga cengkeh menghasilkan aktivitas antibakteri terbesar yaitu 25,85 mm - 26,75 mm sedangkan minyak atsiri tangkai bunga menghasilkan aktivitas dengan zona hambat 20,60 mm - 21,20 mm  dan minyak atsiri daun cengkeh menghasilkan zona hambat sebesar 18,04 mm - 18,58 mm.  Hal ini membuktikan bahwa minyak atsiri dari bunga cengkeh memiliki aktivitas yang paling baik terhadap P.acnes s dibandingkan dengan minyak atsiri dari tangkai bunga dan daun cengkeh. Dengan demikian, minyak atsiri dari tangkai bunga dan daun cengkeh belum sebanding dengan yang berasal dari bunga cengkeh apabila dimanfaatkan sebagai anti bakteri P. Acnes

Application of functionalized nanofluid in thermosyphon

A water-based functionalized nanofluid was made by surface functionalizing the ordinary silica nanoparticles. The functionalized nanofluid can keep long-term stability. and no sedimentation was observed. The functionalized nanofluid as the working fluid is applied in a thermosyphon to understand the effect of this special nanofluid on the thermal performance of the thermosyphon. The experiment was carried out under steady operating pressures. The same work was also explored for traditional nanofluid (consisting of water and the same silica nanoparticles without functionalization) for comparison. Results indicate that a porous deposition layer exists on the heated surface of the evaporator during the operating process using traditional nanofluid; however, no coating layer exists for functionalized nanofluid. Functionalized nanofluid can enhance the evaporating heat transfer coefficient, while it has generally no effect on the maximum heat flux. Traditional nanofluid deteriorates the evaporating heat transfer coefficient but enhances the maximum heat flux. The existence of the deposition layer affects mainly the thermal performance, and no meaningful nanofluid effect is found in the present study

False Beliefs About Asylum Seekers to Australia: The Role of Confidence in Such Beliefs, Prejudice, and the Third Person Effect

There has been much controversy about the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia in recent years, with the Australian Government continuing to enforce a very hard-line stance on asylum seekers who arrive to Australia by boat. The present study examined attitudes towards asylum seekers using 164 Australian community members during June 2015 by way of questionnaire. Our primary research question involved how five variables predicted false beliefs about asylum seekers. Specifically, we measured prejudice, the third-person effect, and confidence in the answers given to false beliefs about asylum seekers. Regression results indicated that the main predictors of false beliefs were right-wing political orientation, prejudice, confidence in espousing false beliefs, and the third-person effect (politicians). Furthermore, most of our community participants accepted a large number of false beliefs as being true, with approximately two-thirds of our participants scoring above the midpoint. This reflects similar findings over the last decade or so. Our results indicate that, if one believes in bottom-up change, a more nuanced approach needs to be undertaken with community anti-prejudice interventions

Assessing health facility performance in Indonesia using the Pabón-Lasso model and unit cost analysis of health services

Total health care costs have dramatically increased in Indonesia, and health facilities consume the largest share of health resources. This study aims to provide a better understanding of the characteristics of the best-performing health facilities. We use 4 national Indonesian datasets for 2011 and analysed 200 hospitals and 95 health centres. We first apply the Pabón-Lasso model to assess the relative performance of health facilities in terms of bed occupancy rate and the number of admissions per bed; the model gathers together health facilities into 4 sectors representing different levels of productivity. We then use a step-down costing method to estimate the cost per outpatient visit, inpatient, and bed days in hospitals and health centres. We combined both ratio analysis and applied bivariate and multivariate analyses to identify the predictors of the best-performing health facility; 37% of hospitals and 33% of health centres were located in the high-performing sector of the Pabón-Lasso model. The wide variation in unit costs across health facilities presented a basis for benchmarking and identifying relatively efficient units. Combining the unit cost analysis and Pabón-Lasso model, we find that health facility performance is affected by both internal (size and capacity, financing, type of patients, ownership, accreditation status, and staff availability) and external factors (economic status, population education level, location, and population density). Our study demonstrates that it is feasible to identify the best-performing health facilities and provides information about how to improve efficiency using simplistic methods

Endothelial progenitor cells and integrins: adhesive needs

In the last decade there have been multiple studies concerning the contribution of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to new vessel formation in different physiological and pathological settings. The process by which EPCs contribute to new vessel formation in adults is termed postnatal vasculogenesis and occurs via four inter-related steps. They must respond to chemoattractant signals and mobilize from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood; home in on sites of new vessel formation; invade and migrate at the same sites; and differentiate into mature endothelial cells (ECs) and/or regulate pre-existing ECs via paracrine or juxtacrine signals. During these four steps, EPCs interact with different physiological compartments, namely bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels and homing tissues. The success of each step depends on the ability of EPCs to interact, adapt and respond to multiple molecular cues. The present review summarizes the interactions between integrins expressed by EPCs and their ligands: extracellular matrix components and cell surface proteins present at sites of postnatal vasculogenesis. The data summarized here indicate that integrins represent a major molecular determinant of EPC function, with different integrin subunits regulating different steps of EPC biology. Specifically, integrin α4β1 is a key regulator of EPC retention and/or mobilization from the bone marrow, while integrins α5β1, α6β1, αvβ3 and αvβ5 are major determinants of EPC homing, invasion, differentiation and paracrine factor production. β2 integrins are the major regulators of EPC transendothelial migration. The relevance of integrins in EPC biology is also demonstrated by many studies that use extracellular matrix-based scaffolds as a clinical tool to improve the vasculogenic functions of EPCs. We propose that targeted and tissue-specific manipulation of EPC integrin-mediated interactions may be crucial to further improve the usage of this cell population as a relevant clinical agent

The effects of ditch dams on water‐level dynamics in tropical peatlands

A significant proportion of tropical peatlands has been drained for agricultural purposes, resulting in severe degradation. Hydrological restoration, which usually involves blocking ditches, is therefore a priority. Nevertheless, the influence of ditch blocking on tropical peatland hydrological functioning is still poorly understood. We studied water-level dynamics using a combination of automated and manual dipwells, and also meteorological data during dry and wet seasons over 6 months at three locations in Sebangau National Park, Kalimantan, Indonesia. The locations were a forested peatland (Forested), a drained peatland with ditch dams (Blocked), and a drained peatland without ditch dams (Drained). In the dry season, water tables at all sites were deeper than the Indonesian regulatory requirement of 40 cm from the peat surface. In the dry season, the ditches were dry and water did not flow to them. The dry season water-table drawdown rates — solely due to evapotranspiration — were 9.3 mm day−1 at Forested, 9.6 mm day−1 at Blocked, but 12.7 mm day−1 at Drained. In the wet season, the proportion of time during which water tables in the wells were deeper than the 40 cm limit ranged between 16% and 87% at Forested, 0% at Blocked, and between 0% and 38% at Drained. In the wet season, water flowed from the peatland to ditches at Blocked and Drained. The interquartile range of hydraulic gradients between the lowest ditch outlet and the farthest well from ditches at Blocked was 3.7 × 10−4 to 7.8 × 10−4 m m−1, but 1.9 × 10−3 to 2.6 × 10−3 m m−1 at Drained. Given the results from Forested, a water-table depth limit policy based on field data may be required, to reflect natural seasonal dynamics in tropical peatlands. Revised spatial designs of dams or bunds are also required, to ensure effective water-table management as part of tropical peatland restoration