Showing papers by "Gadjah Mada University published in 2017"

Small-scale downdraft gasifiers for biomass gasification: A review

Abstract: Downdraft gasifier is very attractive for biomass gasification due to its easy fabrication and operation, and also due to low tar content in producer gas. However, drawbacks such as grate blocking, channeling, and bridging are found in the downdraft gasifiers, typically for feedstock with low bulk density. Another disadvantage is the downdraft gasifiers only suitable for feedstock with low moisture content. The design of the gasifiers is an important parameter that affects their performance. Various works on design improvements have been done for enhancing the performance of the gasifiers. This paper aims to review small-scale downdraft gasifiers for biomass gasification which is focused on design improvements and their effect on the performance of the gasifiers. Many works from previous researchers have been studied and cited. The result shows that the design of the gasifiers is an important parameter in gasification, besides biomass feedstock characteristics and process parameters.

The Role of Moisturizers in Addressing Various Kinds of Dermatitis: A Review

Abstract: Moisturizer is a major component of basic daily skin care, particularly in presence of epidermal barrier alteration and reduced epidermal water content. It is an important part of a dermatologist’s strategy to maintain skin health as well as treating various dermatoses which co-exist with skin dryness and are linked to impaired skin barrier function, such as in atopic disorders as well as other types of dermatitis. Mastering the knowledge regarding mechanism of action, application, dosage, adverse effects as well as specific clinical usage of moisturizers is a must for a dermatologist in order to support their use, particularly for evidence-based, therapeutic purposes. This review discusses the use of moisturizer both for skin health maintenance as well as a definitive or adjuvant therapy for many kinds of dermatitis.

Transposable Elements in Human Cancer: Causes and Consequences of Deregulation.

Abstract: Transposable elements (TEs) comprise nearly half of the human genome and play an essential role in the maintenance of genomic stability, chromosomal architecture, and transcriptional regulation. TEs are repetitive sequences consisting of RNA transposons, DNA transposons, and endogenous retroviruses that can invade the human genome with a substantial contribution in human evolution and genomic diversity. TEs are therefore firmly regulated from early embryonic development and during the entire course of human life by epigenetic mechanisms, in particular DNA methylation and histone modifications. The deregulation of TEs has been reported in some developmental diseases, as well as for different types of human cancers. To date, the role of TEs, the mechanisms underlying TE reactivation, and the interplay with DNA methylation in human cancers remain largely unexplained. We reviewed the loss of epigenetic regulation and subsequent genomic instability, chromosomal aberrations, transcriptional deregulation, oncogenic activation, and aberrations of non-coding RNAs as the potential mechanisms underlying TE deregulation in human cancers.

Removal of sodium diclofenac from aqueous solution by adsorbents derived from cocoa pod husks

Abstract: The presence of sodium diclofenac (SD) in wastewater effluent, surface water and even in drinking water has prompted worldwide concerns due to the harmful effects of this pollutant to terrestrial and aquatic organisms. This study investigated the potential of activated carbon from cocoa pod husk (CPHAC) as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of SD from aqueous solution. Characteristics of the unmodified and the CPHAC were evaluated using SEM, EDX, and FTIR analyses. The effects of pH, initial SD concentration, CPHAC dosage, and contact time in removing SD via adsorption were investigated using central composite design (CCD) of the response surface methodology (RSM) from Design Expert 7.0 software. The SD removal efficiency was observed to increase from 76.0% to 93.6% at decreasing pH and CPHAC dosage and increasing initial concentration. The optimum conditions to maximize SD removal were at pH 7, 30 mg L −1 initial SD concentration, 0.25 g CPHAC dosage, and 15 min contact time. From batch experiments, the equilibrium time was achieved at 45 min. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed pseudo-second order reaction (R 2 = 0.99998) and the analysis of the equilibrium data revealed that SD adsorption using CPHAC best fitted the Freundlich isotherm (R 2 = 0.99707, n value of 4.34) compared to the Langmuir and Temkin models. The study demonstrated that activated carbon from CPH efficiently removed the SD in aqueous solution with adsorption capacity of 5.53 mg g −1 at equilibrium.

The global burden of hepatitis E outbreaks: a systematic review.

Abstract: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for repeated water-borne outbreaks since the past century, representing an emerging issue in public health. However, the global burden of HEV outbreak has not been comprehensively described. We performed a systematic review of confirmed HEV outbreaks based on published literatures. HEV outbreaks have mainly been reported from Asian and African countries, and only a few from European and American countries. India represents a country with the highest number of reported HEV outbreaks. HEV genotypes 1 and 2 were responsible for most of the large outbreaks in developing countries. During the outbreaks in developing countries, a significantly higher case fatality rate was observed in pregnant women. In fact, outbreaks have occurred both in open and closed populations. The control measures mainly depend upon improvement of sanitation and hygiene. This study highlights that HEV outbreak is not new, yet it is a continuous global health problem.

Loss of LMOD1 impairs smooth muscle cytocontractility and causes megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome in humans and mice

Abstract: Megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) is a congenital visceral myopathy characterized by severe dilation of the urinary bladder and defective intestinal motility. The genetic basis of MMIHS has been ascribed to spontaneous and autosomal dominant mutations in actin gamma 2 (ACTG2), a smooth muscle contractile gene. However, evidence suggesting a recessive origin of the disease also exists. Using combined homozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing, a genetically isolated family was found to carry a premature termination codon in Leiomodin1 (LMOD1), a gene preferentially expressed in vascular and visceral smooth muscle cells. Parents heterozygous for the mutation exhibited no abnormalities, but a child homozygous for the premature termination codon displayed symptoms consistent with MMIHS. We used CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein) genome editing of Lmod1 to generate a similar premature termination codon. Mice homozygous for the mutation showed loss of LMOD1 protein and pathology consistent with MMIHS, including late gestation expansion of the bladder, hydronephrosis, and rapid demise after parturition. Loss of LMOD1 resulted in a reduction of filamentous actin, elongated cytoskeletal dense bodies, and impaired intestinal smooth muscle contractility. These results define LMOD1 as a disease gene for MMIHS and suggest its role in establishing normal smooth muscle cytoskeletal-contractile coupling.

Attribution of changes in the water balance of a tropical catchment to land use change using the SWAT model

Abstract: Changes in the water balance of the Samin catchment (277.9 km2) on Java, Indonesia, can be attributed to land use change using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. A baseline-altered method was used in which the simulation period 1990 – 2013 was divided into four equal periods to represent baseline conditions (1990 – 1995) and altered land use conditions (1996 – 2001, 2002 – 2007, and 2008 – 2013). Land use maps for 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2013 were acquired from satellite images. A SWAT model was calibrated for the baseline period and applied to the altered periods with and without land use change. Incorporating land use change resulted in a Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.7 compared to 0.6 when land use change is ignored. In addition, the model performance for simulations without land use change gradually decreased with time. Land use change appeared to be the important driver for changes in the water balance. The main land use changes during 1994 – 2013 are a decrease in forest area from 48.7% to 16.9%, an increase in agriculture area from 39.2% to 45.4% and an increase in settlement area from 9.8% to 34.3%. For the catchment, this resulted in an increase of the runoff coefficient from 35.7% to 44.6% and a decrease in the ratio of evapotranspiration to rainfall from 60% to 54.8%. More pronounced changes can be observed for the ratio of surface runoff to stream flow (increase from 26.6% to 37.5%) and the ratio of base flow to stream flow (decrease from 40% to 31.1%) whereas changes in the ratio of lateral flow to stream flow were minor (decrease from 33.4% to 31.4%). At sub-catchment level, the effect of land use changes on the water balance varied in different sub-catchments depending on the scale of changes in forest and settlement area.

Unsupervised primaquine for the treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria relapses in southern Papua: A hospital-based cohort study.

Abstract: Background Primaquine is the only licensed drug for eradicating Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites and, therefore, preventing relapses of vivax malaria. It is a vital component of global malaria elimination efforts. Primaquine is efficacious when supervised in clinical trials, but its effectiveness in real-world settings is unknown. We aimed to determine whether unsupervised primaquine was effective for preventing re-presentation to hospital with vivax malaria in southern Papua, Indonesia. Methods and findings Routinely-collected hospital surveillance data were used to undertake a pragmatic comparison of the risk of re-presentation to hospital with vivax malaria in patients prescribed dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHP) combined with primaquine versus those patients prescribed DHP alone. The omission of primaquine was predominantly due to 3 stock outages. Individual clinical, pharmacy, and laboratory data were merged using individual hospital identification numbers and the date of presentation to hospital. Between April 2004 and December 2013, there were 86,797 documented episodes of vivax malaria, of which 62,492 (72.0%) were included in the analysis. The risk of re-presentation with vivax malaria within 1 year was 33.8% (95% confidence Interval [CI] 33.1%–34.5%) after initial monoinfection with P. vivax and 29.2% (95% CI 28.1%–30.4%) after mixed-species infection. The risk of re-presentation with P. vivax malaria was higher in children 1 to <5 years of age (49.6% [95% CI 48.4%–50.9%]) compared to patients 15 years of age or older (24.2% [95% CI 23.4–24.9%]); Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) = 2.23 (95% CI 2.15–2.31), p < 0.001. Overall, the risk of re-presentation was 37.2% (95% CI 35.6%–38.8%) in patients who were prescribed no primaquine compared to 31.6% (95% CI 30.9%–32.3%) in those prescribed either a low (≥1.5 mg/kg and <5 mg/kg) or high (≥5 mg/kg) dose of primaquine (AHR = 0.90 [95% CI 0.86–0.95, p < 0.001]). Limiting the comparison to high dose versus no primaquine in the period during and 12 months before and after a large stock outage resulted in minimal change in the estimated clinical effectiveness of primaquine (AHR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85–0.97, p = 0.003). Our pragmatic study avoided the clinical influences associated with prospective study involvement but was subject to attrition bias caused by passive follow-up. Conclusions Unsupervised primaquine for vivax malaria, prescribed according to the current World Health Organization guidelines, was associated with a minimal reduction in the risk of clinical recurrence within 1 year in Papua, Indonesia. New strategies for the effective radical cure of vivax malaria are needed in resource-poor settings.

Breast Cancer Risk From Modifiable and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors among Women in Southeast Asia: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to determine breast cancer risk from modifiable and non-modifiable factors among women in Southeast Asia. Methods: This meta-analysis was performed on research articles on breast cancer risk factors in PubMed, ProQuest and EBSCO databases published between 1997 and October 2017. Pooled odds ratios (OR) are calculated using fixed and random-effect models. Data were processed using Review Manager 5.3 (RevMan 5.3). Results: From a total of 1,211 articles, 15 studies (1 cohort and 14 case control studies) met the criteria for systematic review. Meta-analysis results showed that of the known modifiable risk factors for breast cancer, parity (nulipara) had the highest odd ratio (OR = 1.85 [95% CI 1.47-2.32]) followed by body mass index (overweight) (OR = 1.61 [95% CI 1.43-1.80]) and use of oral contraceptives (OR = 1.27 [95% CI 1.07-1.51]). Of non-modifiable risk factors, family history of breast cancer had the highest odd ratio (OR = 2.53 [95% CI 1.25-5.09]), followed by age (≥ 40 years) (OR = 1.53 [95% CI 1.34-1.76]) and menopausal status (OR = 1.44 [95% CI 1.26-1.65]). Conclusion: This analysis confirmed associations between both modifiable risk factors (parity, body mass index and use of oral contraceptives) and non-modifiable risk factors (family history of breast cancer, age and menopausal status) with breast cancer.

Quality attributes of dark chocolates formulated with palm sap-based sugar as nutritious and natural alternative sweetener

Abstract: Consumer demand for healthier alternative sweeteners and attempts to replace the most common sweetener used in chocolate, namely sucrose, continue to increase in recent times. One sucrose alternative that has not been fully explored in chocolate is palm sap-based sugar. This work investigated the impact of sucrose replacement by coconut sugar (CCS1 and CCS2) and palm sugar (CPS1, CPS2 and CPS3) on the quality attributes of dark chocolate, more particularly colour, hardness, flow behaviour and aroma profile. The results showed that chocolates formulated with palm sap-based sugar were lighter in colour and harder than the reference chocolate made with sucrose, which could be attributed to a lower particle density and a higher moisture of palm sap-based sugar than that of sucrose. Analysis of the major volatile compounds recorded the presence of 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4(H)-pyran-4-one (DDMP) and high concentration of pyrazine-based compounds in the palm sap-based sugar-sweetened chocolates. The former compound (DDMP) was, however, absent in the sucrose-sweetened dark chocolate. The physicochemical properties of the sugars also had a significant effect on the rheological behaviour of the final chocolates with chocolates formulated with coconut sugar recording the highest Casson viscosity. With regard to fat melting, chocolates sweetened with palm sap-based sugar and sucrose exhibited similar melting range temperature. Palm sap-based sugar nevertheless seems to have great potential for dark chocolate applications with additional health benefits.

Uric acid causes kidney injury through inducing fibroblast expansion, Endothelin-1 expression, and inflammation.

Abstract: Uric acid (UA) plays important roles in inducing renal inflammation, intra-renal vasoconstriction and renal damage. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a well-known profibrotic factor in the kidney and is associated with fibroblast expansion. We examined the role of hyperuricemia conditions in causing elevation of ET-1 expression and kidney injury. Hyperuricemia was induced in mice using daily intraperitoneal injection of uric acid 125 mg/Kg body weight. An NaCl injection was used in control mice. Mice were euthanized on days-7 (UA7) and 14 (UA14). We also added allopurinol groups (UAL7 and UAL14) with supplementation of allopurinol 50 mg/Kg body weight orally. Uric acid and creatinine serum were measured from blood serum. Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) and Sirius Red staining were done for glomerulosclerosis, tubular injury and fibrosis quantification. mRNA expression examination was performed for nephrin, podocin, preproEndothelin-1 (ppET-1), MCP-1 and ICAM-1. PDGFRβ immunostaining was done for quantification of fibroblast, while α-SMA immunostaining was done for localizing myofibroblast. Western blot analysis was conducted to quantify TGF-β1, α-SMA and Endothelin A Receptor (ETAR) protein expression. Uric acid and creatinine levels were elevated after 7 and 14 days and followed by significant increase of glomerulosclerosis and tubular injury score in the uric acid group (p < 0.05 vs. control). Both UA7 and UA14 groups had higher fibrosis, tubular injury and glomerulosclerosis with significant increase of fibroblast cell number compared with control. RT-PCR revealed down-regulation of nephrin and podocin expression (p < 0.05 vs. control), and up-regulation of MCP-1, ET-1 and ICAM-1 expression (p < 0.05 vs. control). Western blot revealed higher expression of TGF-β1 and α-SMA protein expression. Determination of allopurinol attenuated kidney injury was based on reduction of fibroblast cell number, inflammation mediators and ppET-1 expression with reduction of TGF-β1 and α-SMA protein expression. UA induced glomerulosclerosis, tubular injury and renal fibrosis with reduction of podocyte function and inflammatory mediator elevation. ET-1 and fibroblast expansion might modulate hyperuricemia induced renal fibrosis.

How is Indonesia coping with its epidemic of chronic noncommunicable diseases? A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as a huge global health problem in low- and middle-income countries. The magnitude of the rise of NCDs is particularly visible in So ...

Optimization of mixing temperature and sonication duration in liposome preparation

Abstract: Liposomes are a delivery system used in pharmaceutical products and cosmetics. Liposomes have many advantages such as increase stability and efficacy, can be targeted to reduce toxicity and increase accumulation at the target site and are biocompatible. Preparation of liposomes can be done by conventional or new methods which are still being developed. Conventional methods often require a long time and organic solvents which may be toxic. Heating (Mozafari method) is one of the new methods developed in the manufacture of liposomes without organic solvents. Mixing temperature can affect the physical properties of liposomes. The particle size has become one of the important physical properties because it affects the absorption of the drug. Sonication is an easy method of choice in reducing the size of liposomes. Optimization of mixing temperature and duration of sonication in liposomes’ preparation using new heating methods and sonication were performed by factorial design with 2 factors and 3-levels to obtain optimal liposome size. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA. The results showed that both mixing temperature and sonication duration significantly affect liposome size, but the interaction was not statistically significant. Data analysis also showed that mixing temperature, sonication, and their interaction do not affect the polydispersity index of liposome. Results showed the optimum mixing temperature and sonication duration that can produce liposomes with size below 100 nm is at 60°C for 30 minutes.

Continuous N-gram Representations for Authorship Attribution

Abstract: This paper presents work on using continuous representations for authorship attribution. In contrast to previous work, which uses discrete feature representations, our model learns continuous representations for n-gram features via a neural network jointly with the classification layer. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art on two datasets, while producing comparable results on the remaining two.

Infrared spectroscopy for quantitative analysis and oil parameters of olive oil and virgin coconut oil: A review

Abstract: Vegetable oils are major lipid sources with high nutritional and calorific values for human diet. Specifically, virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are the functional oils widely used in food and pharmaceutical products, either as vehicles or main components. The quality of edible oils is determined by its contents and parameters inherent in vegetable oils. Infrared spectroscopy is an ideal technique for quantitative analysis of vegetable oils as well as for determination of oils parameters as the changes in infrared spectra can be associated with the changes of oils parameters. Infrared spectra in complex samples are difficult to interpret, as a consequence, spectroscopist uses additional tools called with chemometrics to analyse edible oils qualitatively and quantitatively. This article reviews the use of infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics (multivariate analysis) for quantitative analysis and determination of oil parameters of virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil...

First integrative trend analysis for a great ape species in Borneo

Abstract: For many threatened species the rate and drivers of population decline are difficult to assess accurately: species' surveys are typically restricted to small geographic areas, are conducted over short time periods, and employ a wide range of survey protocols. We addressed methodological challenges for assessing change in the abundance of an endangered species. We applied novel methods for integrating field and interview survey data for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), allowing a deeper understanding of the species' persistence through time. Our analysis revealed that Bornean orangutan populations have declined at a rate of 25% over the last 10 years. Survival rates of the species are lowest in areas with intermediate rainfall, where complex interrelations between soil fertility, agricultural productivity, and human settlement patterns influence persistence. These areas also have highest threats from human-wildlife conflict. Survival rates are further positively associated with forest extent, but are lower in areas where surrounding forest has been recently converted to industrial agriculture. Our study highlights the urgency of determining specific management interventions needed in different locations to counter the trend of decline and its associated drivers.