KESIAPAN PENGELOLAAN TAMAN HUTAN RAYA IR H. JUANDA TERHADAP PENERAPAN KEBIJAKAN NEW NORMAL

Selama pandemi Covid 19 dan kebijakan Normal Baru, Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Juanda mulai dibuka kembali pada 1 Juli 2020, tetapi pengelola menerapkan protokol kesehatan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat kesiapan pengelola dalam mengantisipasi era New Normal serta memberikan masukan dan saran untuk pelaksanaan protokol kesehatan dalam pengelolaan pariwisata di Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Juanda. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah dengan melakukan studi literatur dan observasi langsung serta wawancara dengan pengelola. Hasil yang didapat adalah kesia-pan pengelola yang dilakukan, termasuk pemesanan tiket secara online, pembatasan pengunjung, dan pembagian hand sanitizer yaitu pembagian spanduk masker wajib yang dipasang di setiap area yang berpotensi ramai pengunjung. Dengan adanya kebijakan dan protokol kesehatan, kegiatan wisata dapat dilakukan, bahkan pengunjung sudah mulai berdatangan dan berharap bisa berlibur di kawasan tersebut. Namun dengan adanya kebijakan baru tersebut, banyak pengunjung yang masih belum mengetahui cara membeli tiket. Oleh karena itu pengelola harus lebih sering bersosialisasi dengan berbagai format media agar informasi bagi pengunjung Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Juanda tersampaikan dengan baik. Kata Kunci : COVID-19, Protokol kesehatan, New Normal, wisata, Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Juanda. &nbsp

In-situ Magnesium Diboride Superconducting Thin Films grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Superconducting thin films of MgB2 were deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition on magnesium oxide and sapphire substrates. Samples grown at 450C in an argon buffer pressure of about 10-2 mbar by using a magnesium enriched target resulted to be superconducting with a transition temperature of about 25 K. Film deposited from a MgB2 sintered pellet target in ultra high vacuum conditions showed poor metallic or weak semiconducting behavior and they became superconducting only after an ex-situ annealing in Mg vapor atmosphere. Up to now, no difference in the superconducting properties of the films obtained by these two procedures has been evidenced.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Polymorphism of growth hormone gene and its association with wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds

Growth hormone (GH) gene has been described as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in different farm animals. The present study was designed to identify the polymorphism in GH gene and its association with variation of wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds. Wool and blood samples were collected from 42 animals including two breeds (Barki and Rahmani) and one crossbred (Rahmani x Awase). Measurements of wool traits were analyzed and involved staple strength (Str), staple length (STL), fiber diameter (FD) and clean fleece yield (CFW). DNA was extracted from blood samples and a 365-bp fragment from exon V was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Single strand conformation polymorphisim (SSCP) analysis showed two conformational patterns. The pattern I was recorded to be more frequent (83.3, 92.86 and 90%) than pattern II (16.7, 7.14 and 10%) in Barki, Rahmani and crossbred, respectively. The sequence analysis showed one single nucleotide polymorphism (C/T). The pattern I (allele T) has been found to affect CFW and FD than pattern II (allele C). Whereas, C allele was more pronounced for Str and STL. These traits are the most important parameters determining commercial values of wool that are preferred for clothing or carpets industry. The nucleotide sequences of C and T alleles were submitted to GenBank and have the accession numbers: KT250511 and KT250512, respectively. In conclusion, the present results provide evidence that there is a single nucleotide polymorphism within GH gene in Egyptian sheep breeds. This mutation was found to have some effects on wool traits. Therefore our data show interesting prospects in future selection programs for improving wool industry.Key words: Sheep, wool, growth hormone (GH) gene, polymorphism, single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)

Ogbu and the debate on educational achievement: an exploration of the links between education, migration, identity and belonging

This paper looks at some of the issues raised by Ogbu’s work in relation to the education of different minority ethnic groups. Ogbu poses questions such as the value attached to education, its links to the future and its measurable outcomes in terms of ‘success’ as experienced by black participants. The desire for better life chances leads families to consider migration to a new country or resettlement within the same country, thus making migration both a local and a global phenomenon. As an example, attention is drawn to the situation facing South Asian children and their families in the UK. In terms of ethnicity and belonging, the wider question that is significant for many countries in the West after ‘Nine-Eleven’ is the education of Muslim children. A consideration of this current situation throws Ogbu’s identification of ‘autonomous minority’ into question. It is argued that a greater understanding of diverse needs has to be accompanied by a concerted effort to confront racism and intolerance in schools and in society, thus enabling all communities to make a useful contribution and to avoid the ‘risk’ of failure and disenchantment

Discovery of two brominated oxindole alkaloids as staphylococcal DNA gyrase and pyruvate kinase inhibitors via inverse virtual screening

In the present study, a small marine-derived natural products library was assessed for antibacterial potential. Among 36 isolated compounds, a number of bis-indole derivatives exhibited growth-inhibitory activity towards Gram-positive strains (Bacillus subtilis and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). 5- and 6-trisindoline (5-Tris and 6-Tris) were the most active derivatives (minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC, 4–8 µM) that were subsequently selected for anti-biofilm activity evaluation. Only 5-Tris was able to inhibit the staphylococcal biofilm formation starting at a 5 µM concentration. In order to investigate their possible molecular targets, both natural products were subjected to in silico inverse virtual screening. Among 20 target proteins, DNA gyrase and pyruvate kinase were the most likely to be involved in the observed antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of both selected natural products. The in vitro validation and in silico binding mode studies revealed that 5-Tris could act as a dual enzyme inhibitor (IC50 11.4 ± 0.03 and 6.6 ± 0.05 µM, respectively), while 6-Tris was a low micromolar gyrase-B inhibitor (IC50 2.1 ± 0.08 µM), indicating that the bromine position plays a crucial role in the determination of the antibacterial lead compound inhibitory activity

Ascaroside Expression in Caenorhabditis elegans Is Strongly Dependent on Diet and Developmental Stage

Background: The ascarosides form a family of small molecules that have been isolated from cultures of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. They are often referred to as “dauer pheromones” because most of them induce formation of long-lived and highly stress resistant dauer larvae. More recent studies have shown that ascarosides serve additional functions as social signals and mating pheromones. Thus, ascarosides have multiple functions. Until now, it has been generally assumed that ascarosides are constitutively expressed during nematode development. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cultures of C. elegans were developmentally synchronized on controlled diets. Ascarosides released into the media, as well as stored internally, were quantified by LC/MS. We found that ascaroside biosynthesis and release were strongly dependent on developmental stage and diet. The male attracting pheromone was verified to be a blend of at least four ascarosides, and peak production of the two most potent mating pheromone components, ascr#3 and asc#8 immediately preceded or coincided with the temporal window for mating. The concentration of ascr#2 increased under starvation conditions and peaked during dauer formation, strongly supporting ascr#2 as the main population density signal (dauer pheromone). After dauer formation, ascaroside production largely ceased and dauer larvae did not release any ascarosides. These findings show that both total ascaroside production and the relative proportions of individual ascarosides strongly correlate with these compounds' stage-specific biological functions. Conclusions/Significance: Ascaroside expression changes with development and environmental conditions. This is consistent with multiple functions of these signaling molecules. Knowledge of such differential regulation will make it possible to associate ascaroside production to gene expression profiles (transcript, protein or enzyme activity) and help to determine genetic pathways that control ascaroside biosynthesis. In conjunction with findings from previous studies, our results show that the pheromone system of C. elegans mimics that of insects in many ways, suggesting that pheromone signaling in C. elegans may exhibit functional homology also at the sensory level. In addition, our results provide a strong foundation for future behavioral modeling studies

Duration Prediction Models for Construction Projects in Middle East

Construction industry is one of the most influential motivators of a national economy. The success of construction projects is indispensable to sustain a robust economy. Completion time is important for construction projects, nevertheless project multifaceted objectives, sophisticated nature, inherent uncertainties, and risks are success impediments and can cause time overrun. Stochastic models and simulation scheduling techniques are developed to predict the risk and uncertainty effects on construction projects’ duration. The objective of this research is to develop models that predict the activity durations based on actual data from similar projects. The study introduces comprehensive statistical regression models using historical data of about 84,000 activities in Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The activities encompass engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities for most disciplines of construction projects. The regression models can be utilized to predict more reliably the activities’ duration

A bilayered tissue engineered in vitro model simulating the tooth periodontium

Due to the complexity of the structure of the tooth periodontium, regeneration of the full tooth attachment is not a trivial task. There is also a gap in models that can represent human tooth attachment in vitro and in vivo. Aim of the study: to develop a bilayered in vitro construct that simulates the tooth periodontium, for the purpose of tissue regeneration and investigation of physiologic and orthodontic loading. Methods: Two types of materials were used to develop this construct: Sol-Gel 60S10Mg scaffold (University of Erlangen) representing the hard tissue component of the and commercially available Geistlich Bio-Gide® collagen membrane representing the soft tissue component of the tooth attachment. Each scaffold was dynamically seeded with periodontal ligament cells. The seeded scaffolds were either cultured separately, or combined in a bilayered construct, for 2 weeks. Characterization of the individual scaffolds and the bilayered constructs included biological characterization: (cell viability, SEM imaging to confirm cell attachment and viability qRT-PCR expression for periodontium regeneration markers), and mechanical characterisation of scaffolds and constructs. Results: HPDLCs enjoyed a biocompatible 3D environment within the bi-layered construct components as demonstrated by live/dead images and LDH assay. Gene expression showed variation between individual scaffolds and constructs detached from the bilayer. Most genes showed a drop in expression in the construct except for markers of angiogenesis which showed their highest expression in Bio-Gide® detached constructs. Conclusion and clinical significance: the development of this model is important for physiologic simulation invitro and for tissue regeneration purposes of the tooth periodontium

¹H-NMR metabolic profiling, antioxidant activity, and docking study of common medicinal plant-derived honey

The purpose of this investigation was to determine ¹H-NMR profiling and antioxidant activity of the most common types of honey, namely, citrus honey (HC1) (Morcott tangerine L. and Jaffa orange L.), marjoram honey (HM1) (Origanum majorana L.), and clover honey (HT1) (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), compared to their secondary metabolites (HC2, HM2, HT2, respectively). By using a ¹H-NMR-based metabolomic technique, PCA, and PLS-DA multivariate analysis, we found that HC2, HM2, HC1, and HM1 were clustered together. However, HT1 and HT2 were quite far from these and each other. This indicated that HC1, HM1, HC2, and HM2 have similar chemical compositions, while HT1 and HT2 were unique in their chemical profiles. Antioxidation potentials were determined colorimetrically for scavenging activities against DPPH, ABTS, ORAC, 5-LOX, and metal chelating activity in all honey extract samples and their secondary metabolites. Our results revealed that HC2 and HM2 possessed more antioxidant activities than HT2 in vitro. HC2 demonstrated the highest antioxidant effect in all assays, followed by HM2 (DPPH assay: IC50 2.91, 10.7 μg/mL; ABTS assay: 431.2, 210.24 at 50 ug/mL Trolox equivalent; ORAC assay: 259.5, 234.8 at 50 ug/mL Trolox equivalent; 5-LOX screening assay/IC50: 2.293, 6.136 ug/mL; and metal chelating activity at 50 ug/mL: 73.34526%, 63.75881% inhibition). We suggest that the presence of some secondary metabolites in HC and HM, such as hesperetin, linalool, and caffeic acid, increased the antioxidant activity in citrus and marjoram compared to clover honey