ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES (CASE STUDY ON ZASKIA FURNITURE BUSINESS IN PALU CITY)

This research aims to identify and analyze the supply chain flow at Zaskia Furniture located on Jl. R.E Martadinata, Layana Indah Village, North Palu District, Palu City. The paradigm employed in this research is the constructivism paradigm, utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach. The study involved a total of 9 informants, and data collection was carried out by directly conducting interviews with them in the field. The data analysis method utilized in this research is the NVivo 12 Plus software. The results of this study indicate that the supply chain at Zaskia Furniture is interconnected with the upstream, internal, and downstream supply chain pathways. The upstream supply chain is associated with the procurement of raw materials originating from Tibo Village, West Coast. The types of wood used include bayur, cempaka, and inje. The internal supply chain is related to the production process, revealing that the production stage at Zaskia Furniture is executed by 4 employees responsible for various production processes. The downstream supply chain is associated with distributing the final products to consumers, accomplished through two channels: direct distribution to end consumers and indirect distribution through retailers. The supply chain management at Zaskia Furniture is functioning well, but it is not yet optimal, indicating the need for some evaluations

Effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in different basal media on shoot multiplication of Aquilaria hirta and detection of essential oils in the in vitro shoots

Aquilaria hirta, locally known as ‘chandan’ or ‘chandan bulu’, is used interchangeably with Aquilaria malaccensis (karas) to produce gaharu. With the decline in the A. malaccensis populations, harvesting of this precious wood has begun to extend to A. hirta. There is also an increasing interest to plant karas trees and related species. Therefore, a rapid propagation method is necessary to meet the increasing demand for planting materials as well as for conservation purposes. In this paper, we reported on the effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in different basal media, Murashige and Skoog (MS) (1962) and woody plant medium (WPM) on shoot multiplications of A. hirta using nodal segments from young seedlings of A. hirta as explants and the chemical analyses of essential oils present in the in vitro shoots. The MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l BAP was the most effective for multiple shoot formation in A. hirta, producing an average of 6.1 shoots per culture, which is significantly higher than other treatments. New shoots produced attained a length of 0.4 to 1.8 cm within 25 days in both MS and WPM basal media. The highest length of new shoots was obtained in WPM containing 0.1 mg/l BAP. Analysis of the oils by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) revealed the presence of β-caryophyllene in trace amounts. Other compounds detected were tetradecanal, hexadecanoic acid, methyl linoleate, linoleic acid, isophytol and phytol acetate.Key words: Aquilaria hirta, Chandan, shoot multiplication

Preparation, Optimization and Activity of Active Absorbent Synthesized from Oil Palm Ash for Flue Gas Desulfurization.

Active absorbent for the removal of SO2 in flue gas from combustion system was prepared from oil palm ash,calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and calcium sulfate (CaSO4) using water hydration process. The effect of various absorbent preparation variables; hydration period, amount of oil palm ash and amount of CaSO4 used in the preparation mixture towards the BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) specific surface area of the resulting absorbent were studied using Central Composite Design (CCD). The surface area of the absorbents obtained ranges from 18.7 to 147.2 m2/g

Marine Sourced Glycosaminoglycans ‘GAGs'

Globally, there is an uprising interest for availability of tangible, novel, added value, sustainable commercial exploitable therapeutic compounds from naturally derived sources. The paper will highlight bioactive compounds of therapeutic potential from marine sources such as polysaccharides, especially glycosaminoglycans. It is now well documented, and this effort combined with a green technological approach in sustainable natural biodiversity will allow the development of a new generation of therapeutics. Outsourcing for a biocompatible, non-mutational bioactive compound such as GAG's in a worldwide research and industrial agenda. Hence, the thorough understanding on how the biosynthesis, structure and function of complex glycosaminoglycans will reveal the polysaccharides from the marine environment could provide a valid alternative to traditional polysaccharides such as glycosaminoglycans

Effective cross hedging : evidence from physical crude palm oil and its inter-related agricultural futures contracts / Noryati Ahmad … [et al.]

Since its establishment, Crude Palm Oil futures contract (FCPO) has been used to directly hedge its physical crude palm oil (CPO). However, due to the excessive speculation activities on crude palm oil futures market, it has been said to be no longer an effective hedging tool to mitigate the price risk of its underlying physical market. This triggers the need for market players to find possible alternatives to ensure that the hedging role can be executed effectively. Thus this investigation attempts to examine whether other inter-related grains and oil seed futures contracts could serve as effective cross-hedging mechanisms for the CPO. Weekly data of inter-related futures contracts from Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) are employed to cross hedge the physical crude palm oil prices. The study starts from 2006 until 2016. Empirical results indicate that FCPO is still the best futures contract for hedging purposes while Chicago Soybean (CBOTBO) provides second best alternative if cross-hedging is considered

Piper sarmentosum leaves aqueous extract attenuates vascular endothelial dysfunction in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Piper sarmentosum is a tropical plant in Southeast Asia known for its traditional use in curing various ailments including hypertension. Previous research works have provided evidence for the herb’s antihypertensive property. However, the exact mechanisms involved are still in question. The present study investigated the effects of Piper sarmentosum leaves aqueous extract (PSAE) treatment on vascular endothelin system in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Four groups of SHRs were treated for 28 consecutive days, with negative and positive control groups receiving distilled water and 3 mg/kg perindopril, respectively. Another two groups are the treatment groups, which received PSAE and combination of 1.5 mg/kg perindopril and PSAE. Weekly measurements of blood pressure showed that PSAE significantly reduced the systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures () of the rats. PSAE also increased mesenteric artery nitric oxide (NO) level () and reduced endothelin-1 (ET-1) level () in the treatment groups. Our results demonstrate that oral administration of PSAE reduced blood pressure in SHRs by reducing the ET-1 level while increasing NO production

Comparative study of herbal plants on the phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant activities and toxicity on cells and zebrafish embryo

Natural antioxidants derived from plants have shown a tremendous inhibitory effect on free radicals in actively metabolizing cells. Overproduction of free radicals increases the risk factor of chronic diseases associated with diabetes, cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Andrographis paniculata, Cinnamon zeylanicum, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Eugenia polyantha and Orthosiphon stamineus are ethnomedicinal plants used in the Asian region to treat various illnesses from a common fever to metabolic disease. In this study, we have quantified the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) in these plants and its inhibitory effect on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals as well as the cytotoxicity effect on cell lines proliferation and zebrafish embryogenesis. Results showed that Cinnamon zeylanicum and E. polyantha have the highest phenolic and flavonoid content. Furthermore, both herbs significantly inhibited the formation of DPPH and ABTS free radicals. Meanwhile, O. stamineus exhibited minimum cytotoxicity and embryotoxicity on tested models. Good correlation between IC50 of 3T3-L1 cells and LC50 embyrotoxicity was also found. This study revealed the potent activity of antioxidant against free radical and the toxicology levels of the tested herbal plants

An Implementation of Grouping Nodes in Wireless Sensor Network Based on Distance by Using K-Means Clustering

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a network consisting of several sensor nodes that communicate with each other and work together to collect data from the surrounding environment. One of the WSN problems is the limited available power. Therefore, nodes on WSN need to communicate by using a cluster-based routing protocol. To solve this, the researchers propose a node grouping based on distance by using k-means clustering with a hardware implementation. Cluster formation and member node selection are performed based on the nearest device of the sensor node to the cluster head. The k-means algorithm utilizes Euclidean distance as the main grouping nodes parameter obtained from the conversion of the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) into the distance estimation between nodes. RSSI as the parameter of nearest neighbor nodes uses lognormal shadowing channel modeling method that can be used to get the path loss exponent in an observation area. The estimated distance in the observation area has 27.9% error. The average time required for grouping is 58.54 s. Meanwhile, the average time used to retrieve coordinate data on each cluster to the database is 45.54 s. In the system, the most time-consuming process is the PAN ID change process with an average time of 14.20 s for each change of PAN ID. The grouping nodes in WSN using k-means clustering algorithm can improve the power efficiency by 6.5%

Micropropagation and production of eurycomanone, 9- methoxycanthin-6-one and canthin-6-one in roots of Eurycoma longifolia plantlets

Eurycoma longifolia or Tongkat Ali is a well known medicinal plant in Malaysia. The plants are used as main portion in herbal preparation, and have been extensively harvested. Generally, most of the raw materials required by the industries are heavily collected from the natural forests, thereby resulting in the uncontrolled exploitation of the plant in the wild. Hence, there is a need to ensure adequate supply of quality E. longifolia for the use of the related industries and for conservation purposes. Micropropagation has proved to be an alternative for the multiplication of medicinal and aromatic plants and it can allow the future commercial use of E. longifolia in the herbal industries. In this study, E. longifolia plantlets were successfully mass-produced using axillary shoot multiplication techniques, and the production of eurycomanone, 9-methoxycanthin-6-one and canthin-6-one compounds of E. longifolia were detected in roots of tissue culture plantlets.Key words: E. longifolia, Tongkat Ali, micropropagation, eurycomanone, 9-methoxycanthin-6-one, canthin-6- one

Fuzzy logic controlled miniature LEGO robot for undergraduate training system

Fuzzy logic enables designers to control complex systems more effectively than traditional approaches as it provides a simple way to arrive at a definite conclusion upon ambiguous, imprecise or noisy information. In this paper, we describe the development of two miniature LEGO robots, which are the line following and the light searching mobile robots to provide a better understanding of fuzzy logic control theory and real life application for an undergraduate training system. This study is divided into two parts. In the first part, an object sorter robot is built to perform pick and place task to load different colour objects on a fuzzy logic controlled line following robot which then carries the preloaded objects to a goal by following a white line. In the second part, an intelligent fuzzy logic controlled light searching robot with the capability to navigate in a maze is developed. All of the robots are constructed by using the LEGO Mindstorms kit. Interactive C programming language is used to program fuzzy logic robots. Experimental results show that the robots has successfully track the predefined path and navigate towards light source under the influence of the fuzzy logic controller; and therefore can be used as a training system in undergraduate fuzzy logic class