Non-Halal biomarkers identification based on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography-Time of Flight Mass Spectroscopy (GC-TOF MS) techniques

Consumption of meat from halal (lawful) sources is essential for Muslims. The identification of non-halal meat is one of the main issues that face consumers in meat markets, especially in non-Islamic countries. Pig is one of the non-halal sources of meat, and hence pig meat and its derivatives are forbidden for Muslims to consume. Although several studies have been conducted to identify the biomarkers for nonhalal meats like pig meat, these studies are still in their infancy stages, and as a result there is no universal biomarker which could be used for clear cut identification. The purpose of this paper is to use Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography-Time of Flight Mass Spectroscopy (GC-TOF MS) techniques to study fat of pig, cow, lamb and chicken to find possible biomarkers for pig fat (lard) identification. FTIR results showed that lard and chicken fat have unique peaks at wavenumbers 1159.6 cm-1, 1743.4 cm-1, 2853.1 cm-1 and 2922.5 cm-1 compared to lamb and beef fats which did not show peaks at these wavenumbers. On the other hand, GC/MS-TOF results showed that the concentration of 1,2,3-trimethyl-Benzene, Indane, and Undecane in lard are 250, 14.5 and 1.28 times higher than their concentrations in chicken fat, respectively, and 91.4, 2.3 and 1.24 times higher than their concentrations in cow fat, respectively. These initial results clearly indicate that there is a possibility to find biomarkers for non-halal identification.Gunawan Witjaksono, Irwan Saputra, Marsad Latief, Irwandi Jaswir, Rini Akmeliawati, and Almur Abdelkreem Saeed Rabi

Farmers' Practices in Using Insecticides to Control Spodoptera Exigua Infesting Shallot Allium Cepa Var. Aggregatum in the Shallot Production Centers of Java

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübn. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major insect pest of shallot in Java. This research was aimed to determine how insecticides were used as the common farmers practice for controlling S. exigua. The research was conducted in three shallot production centers in Java: the Districts of Brebes (Central Java Province), Nganjuk (East Java Province), and Bantul (the Special Region of Yogyakarta). Surveys were conducted by interviewing thirty shallot farmers as respondents from each district. The selected thirty farmers were taken from four sub-districts. Almost all farmers (93.3%) in the three districts had similar perception that S. exigua was the major insect pest in shallot and 84.4% farmers stated that this insect was difficult to control. The four most common insecticides active ingredients used were chlorfenapyr, methomyl, chlorpyrifos, and emamectin benzoate. Insecticides remained the first choice and they were applied throughout the shallot season mostly based on the calendar (1-3 days interval). When using insecticides farmers tend to exceed the label recommended rates, and the farmers mostly mixed different insecticides into one spray solution. These results suggest that application of insecticides to control S. exigua was already exessive. The potential risks and efforts essential to minimize the risks are discussed

Pola Tata laksana Diare Akut di Beberapa Rumah Sakit Swasta di Jakarta; apakah sesuai dengan protokol WHO?

Pada umumnya penyakit diare akut bersifat self limiting disease sehingga seringkali pasien tidak memerlukan pengobatan spesifik. Tata laksana diare akut dengan berbagai derajat dehidrasi telah dibakukan oleh WHO. Tujuan: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai pola tata laksana diare akut di luar rumah sakit institusi pendidikan. Metoda: Penelitian deskriptif yang dilakukan secara retrospektif di tiga rumah sakit swasta Jakarta sejak 1 Januari sampai 31 Maret 1999 pada 67 pasien diare akut yang dirawat, berumur 0-24 bulan. Hasil: Didapatkan 37 (55%) anak lelaki dan 30 (45%) anak perempuan menderita diare akut, terdiri dari tanpa dehidrasi 6 (9%) anak, dehidrasi ringan-sedang 52 (78%) anak, dan dehidrasi berat 9 (13%) anak. Proporsi rentang usia 0-6 bulan sebanyak 23 (34%) anak, >6-12 bulan 28 (42%), dan >12-24 bulan 16 (24%). Jumlah pasien diare akut tanpa dan dengan dehidrasi ringan-sedang yang mendapat rehidrasi secara parenteral sebanyak 51 (88%) anak dari 58 anak. Sedangkan sisanya menderita dehidrasi berat diberi cairan rehidrasi parenteral yang dibagi dalam 24 jam. Pada keseluruhan pasien rawat hanya 37 (55%) anak yang mendapat cairan rehidrasi oral (oralit/Pedialyte). Penggunaan antibiotik didapatkan pada 55 (82%) anak dan anti diare pada 32 (48%) anak. Pemberian ASI hanya didapatkan pada 41 (61%) anak, dan di antaranya pemberian ASI dilanjutkan pada 36 (88%) anak, serta dihentikan pada 5 (12%) anak; sedangkan 26 (39%) anak sudah tidak mendapatkan ASI. Dari 51 anak yang menggunakan susu formula, didapatkan pemberian susu formula khusus pada 47 (70%) anak dan pengenceran susu formula pada 2 (3%) anak. Lama rawat rerata 3 hari, dengan kisaran 2 sampai 6 hari, dan 1 anak dirawat lebih dari 7 hari. Kesimpulan: tata laksana diare akut di tiga rumah sakit swasta di Jakarta kurang sesuai dengan panduan/protabel WHO, tampak dari hasil pemakaian CRO hanya pada 50% pasien, antibiotik masih banyak dipakai (90%), dan pemakaian susu formula khusus pada 70% anak. Sedangkan pemberian ASI diteruskan cukup baik, yaitu 88%

Absorption enhancement of tunable terahertz hybrid graphene-metal antenna with stacked graphene configuration

The ICP2020 committee has planned for the conference to be held via virtual conference program. All presentation videos can be accessed through the website from 11th May 2020 until 30th June 2020."--Conference website.Gate tunable graphene-metal hybrid nanoantenna is proposed here with detailed numerical simulations carried out to evaluate the absorption of multi-layer graphene nanoantenna at terahertz frequencies, specifically at far-infrared. The investigated graphene nanoantenna composes of multi-layer graphene stack formation, which is placed above the gold hexagon radiator to efficiently couple activated graphene plasmons. The efficient coupled plasmons between graphene layers and gold hexagon increase the absorption of the antenna. Furthermore, the relationship between the absorption and multi-layer graphene is analysed by changing the Fermi energy of the graphene sheet, thus providing tunability of broadband absorption at a wide range of frequencies. The investigated nanoantenna has a resonant frequency at 30.5 THz with a bandwidth of 0.6 THz, while the trilayer graphene nanoantenna results in better absorption almost reaching 100% with a bandwidth of 2.5 THz. The simulation of the graphene-metal antenna is performed in CST studio by using an FDTD solver. The designed antenna has various utilizations in the field of photonics i.e. terahertz imaging, sensing, and spectroscopy applications.Gunawan Witjaksono, Zaka Ullah, Illani Bt Nawi, Nelson Tansu, Muhamad Irfan Khattak, M. Junai

Single-lobe, surface-normal beam surface emission from second-order distributed feedback lasers with half-wave grating phase shift

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High Sensitivity Electrothermal Actuation-based CMOS-MEMS Relative Humidity Sensor

This paper presents a high sensitivity CMOSMEMS humidity sensor based on electrothermal actuation for application in indoor relative humidity monitoring. The detection is based on the principle of amplitude change as a result of absorption/adsorption or desorption of the humidity molecules onto the surface of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) active material deposited on a moving plate of the sensor resulting into a change of its mass. The CMOS-MEMS humidity sensor measurement is performed after preconditioning in which the sensor goes through early actuation before the real measurement is done. The sensor is operated in the dynamic mode at an actuation input frequency of 2 Hz and a driving voltage varied from 2 Vpp to 6 Vpp. The maximum output voltage observed was at 4 Hz, which is double the input frequency. The voltage was found to increase linearly from 8.728 mV to 71.117 mV with the increase in driving voltage from 2 Vpp to 6 Vpp. The response of the device to humidity shows linear output voltage change from 66.998 mV to 69.822 mV when relative humidity increases from 40% RH to 60% RH with a sensitivity of 0.14 mV/% RH