Ability of chitosan membrane from blood clam (Anadara granosa) shells to removal iron level (Fe) in water

Clam shells are a food solid waste that increases and accumulates every day, causing environmental pollution. Clam shells (Anadora granosa) contain chitin. Chitin can be processed into chitosan, which effective in absorbing heavy metals. To increase absorption, chitosan modified into a membrane. The purpose of this study was to analyze the membrane's ability of chitosan waste from blood clam shells to reduce levels of iron in water. The design of this study was pure experimentation. The object of research used was iron-containing artificial water made from iron salt powder at a dose of 4.50 mg/L. Variations of Chitosan concentration to the membranes manufacture were 1%, 2%, 3%. Analysis of the data used was One Way Anova Test. Chitosan characterization analysis using XR Diffraction showed that chitosan was isolated from shells at peak angles at 17.99o and 34.04o. The highest percentage of iron reduction was given by membranes with a chitosan concentration of 3%, which have decreased of 94%. The results showed that the membrane of blood shells chitosan can reduce iron levels in water and can be an alternative material in the utilization of clamshell waste. The membrane can be applied in simple water treatment filtration systems in the community

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Variant Screening and Whole Genome Sequencing at an Indonesian Tertiary Hospitals

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), experienced a surge in cases with the emergence of the Omicron variant. Despite increasing vaccination coverage, Indonesia witnessed peaks in COVID-19 cases. Variant screening and whole genome sequencing (WGS) play a crucial role in identifying SARS-CoV-2 variants and monitoring their spread.Objective: The objective of this study was to compare variant screening results with WGS data, assess the prevalence of subvariants, and analyze their correlation with demographic and cycle threshold (CT) values.Methods: Between November 7th and 18th, 2022, variant screening and WGS were conducted on samples with CT values below 30. Variant screening utilized the mBioCov-19+ VarScreen assay, while WGS was performed on the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) platform. Bioinformatics analysis was performed using epi2melabs. Demographic data and CT values were analyzed. Results: Out of 89 subjects, all tested positive for the Omicron variant through variant screening. The variant screening identified two subvariants: Omicron BA.2 (64%) and Omicron B.1.1.529.1 (36%). WGS revealed that the XBB subvariant was the most dominant (52.8%), followed by BQ.1 (22.5%) and BA.5 (13.5%). When VarScreen indicated BA.2, the majority of WGS results showed XBB (82.5%), while for B.1.1.529.1, the majority of WGS results were BQ.1 (59.4%), followed by BA.5 (37.5%). XBB was the most prevalent variant in both females and males, while BQ.1 was more dominant in females (80%). No infections were detected among children aged 1-5 years. All variants had CT values below 24.Conclusion: Variant screening provides accurate and quick results for detecting the Omicron variant in laboratories without WGS capacity. However, it is important to continuously update the screening methodology based on the prevailing circulating variants. During the study period, XBB emerged as the predominant subvariant of the Omicron variant

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Community Engagement and Education for Sustainable Development

This proceeding contains articles on the various ideas of the academic community presented at The 3rd International Conference on Community Engagement and Education for Sustainable Development (ICCEESD 2022) organized by the Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia on 7th-8th December 2022.  ICCEESD is a biannual forum for sharing, benchmarking, and discussing HEI’s activities in developing Education for Sustainable Development towards community engagement. Education for Sustainability as a teaching strategy for resolving community challenges through formal, informal, or non-formal education is expected to benefit from various community service best practices by academics, researchers, and students. The 3rd ICCEESD has “Strengthening Education for Sustainability Towards Better Community Engagement” as its theme this year. It is expected that the 3rd ICCEESD will provide a forum for the presenters and participants to exchange best practices, policies, and conceptual implementation of Education for Sustainability towards better community engagement and explore ideas to address community needs.  Conference Title: 3rd International Conference on Community Engagement and Education for Sustainable DevelopmentConference Theme: Strengthening Education for Sustainability Towards Better Community EngagementConference Acronyms: ICCEESD 2022Conference Date: 7th-8th December 2022Conference Location: Grand Rohan Jogja Yogyakarta, IndonesiaConference Organizer: Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesi