Oil palm trunk (OPT) is a solid waste obtained in large quantities after the felling of oil palm trees and is available year-round. Scientists and industrialists face difficulties in utilizing these solid wastes for different applications due to great variations in their physical and mechanical properties. Because OPT consists of lignocellulosic materials, its cellulosic material is utilized in the production of panel products such as particleboard, medium density fibreboard, mineral-bonded particleboard, block board, and cement board. In order to control the OPT waste, it is essential to consider its alternative utilization inside buildings as lightweight construction materials and furniture. The impregnation of different resins in wood and non-wood materials can improve the quality of the OPT, making it possible to utilize OPT as raw materials for different applications. The enhanced properties and good appearance of impregnated OPT have found use in high-grade furniture and housing materials. In order to further evaluate its potential, this review has been compiled for the detailed study of various properties, characteristics, and applications of OPT.

<p>The eruption of Merapi mountain has primary and secondary hazard and may damage to the land. In detail, the hazards are land degradation is a loss of some or many of germplasm and changes in plant biodiversity. The others hazard including loss of water catchment areas, the destruction of forests, and even the closing of the water source, as well as the loss of water channels. The burried of soil and soil formation inhibition were caused by the repeated eruptions of Merapi, beside the loss of roads access to agricultural land and loss of land ownerships boundaries by the eruption and cool lava. Materials of eruption are sand and pyroclastic materials, as well as the nature of cementation require special techniques and technology to use the land as new farmland. Land restoration efforts can be done with the land management by reforestation on government-owned land for water catchment function, agroforestry forage grass based, grazing field on land owned by the village and residents, with the use of organic materials in the eruption sandy soil ameliorant.</p>

SUMMARY:Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) results in hepatitis C, a disease characterized by chronic infection, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, the standard therapy is a combination of pegylated interferon-a plus ribavirin with NS3 protease inhibitors. Addition of NS3 protease inhibitors to the standard therapy improves response rates; however, use of NS3 protease inhibitors is also associated with significant adverse effects and an increase in the overall cost of treatment. Therefore, there is a need to develop safe and inexpensive drugs for the treatment of HCV infections. In this study, we examined the antiviral activity of a crude extract from Dimocarpus longan leaves against HCV (genotype 2a strain JFH1). The D. longan crude extract (DL-CE) exhibited anti-HCV activity with a 50z effective concentration (EC 50 ) of 19.4 mg/ml without cytotoxicity. A time-of-addition study demonstrated that DL-CE has anti-HCV activity at both the entry and post-entry steps and markedly blocks the viral entry step through direct virucidal activity with marginal inhibition of virion assembly. Co-treatment of DL-CE with cyclosporine A, an immunosuppressant or telaprevir, an NS3 protease inhibitor, resulted in additive and synergistic antiviral effects, respectively. Our findings suggest that DL-CE may be useful as an add-on therapy candidate for treating HCV infections.

Naskah diterima tanggal 21 Agustus 2014 dan disetujui untuk diterbitkan tanggal 26 September 2014 ABSTRAK. Antraknosa merupakan penyakit penting pada tanaman cabai yang dapat menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi cukup besar. Khamir merupakan salah satu mikroba yang telah diketahui berpotensi sebagai agens antagonis pada berbagai produk pascapanen. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan isolat-isolat khamir epifit yang berpotensi sebagai agens antagonis penyakit antraknosa pada cabai. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Laboratorium Mikologi Tumbuhan dan Kebun Percobaan Institut Pertanian Bogor, dari bulan April sampai Desember 2013. Khamir epifit diisolasi dari daun dan buah cabai merah yang diperoleh dari pertanaman cabai di Rancabango dan Panjiwangi (Kabupaten Garut) dan Dramaga (Kabupaten Bogor). Patogen penyebab antraknosa yaitu Colletotrichum acutatum diisolasi dari buah cabai bergejala dari pertanaman cabai di Panjiwangi. Khamir hasil isolasi diuji patogenisitasnya pada benih dan buah cabai. Khamir nonpatogenik diseleksi potensi antagonismenya terhadap penyebab penyakit antraknosa. Diperoleh 43 isolat khamir epifit, semua isolat bersifat nonpatogenik berdasarkan hasil uji patogenisitas. Seleksi potensi antagonisme isolat khamir epifit menghasilkan 23 isolat yang berpotensi sebagai agens antagonis C. acutatum. Empat belas isolat khamir epifit menyebabkan penghambatan penyakit antraknosa lebih besar dibandingkan mankozeb. Katakunci: Colletotrichum acutatum; Capsicum annuum; FungisidaABSTRACT. Anthracnose is a major disease on chili which economically causes a great loss. Yeast was proven as potential antagonistic agents against various post harvest pathogens. This research was aimed to obtain epiphytic yeast isolates which is potential as antagonistic agents against anthracnose on chili. The experiments were carried out in the Laboratory of Plant Mycology and University Research Farm Field at Bogor Agricultural University from April to December 2013. The epiphytic yeasts were isolated from leaves and fruits of red chili grown at Rancabango and Panjiwangi (Garut) and Dramaga (Bogor). Anthracnose pathogen, Colletotrichum acutatum, was isolated from diseased chili fruit grown at Panjiwangi. The pathogenicity of the yeast isolates was tested on the seed and fruit of chili. Nonpathogenic yeasts were selected for the antagonistic potential against anthracnose pathogen. Forty three isolates of epiphytic yeasts was obtained, all of them was nonpathogenic based on pathogenicity test. Twenty three epiphytic isolates had the antagonistic potential against C. acutatum. There were 14 epiphytic yeast isolates that caused greater inhibition of anthracnose disease than mancozeb.

Abstract. Hartati S, Nandariyah, Yunus A, Djoar DW. 2017. Cytological studies on black orchid hybrid (Coelogyne pandurata Lindley). Biodiversitas 18: 555-559. Black orchid (Coelogyne pandurata Lindley) is one of the rare species of Coelogyne Lindley, protected by the government of Indonesia. The cytological character of orchid is very important to study to support the success of breeding. The study aimed to assess the chromosomal number, karyotype pattern and ploidy level the hybrid of Black Orchid (Coelogyne pandurata). This study shows that the chromosomal number of the hybrid of Coelogyne pandurata (2n = 36) >< Coelogyne rumphii (2n = 72) is 2n = 54. Ploidy analysis by flow cytometry shows that hybrid shows triploid (2n = 3x = 54) different from the parent Coelogyne pandurata which is diploid (2n = 2x = 36) and the parent Coelogyne rumphii which is tetraploid (2n = 4x = 72). However, both parents and their hybrid performed the same karyotype pattern, which is metacentric. The chromosome size showed a variation in length from the longest Coelogyne pandurata 2.98 ± 0.15 µm to the shortest Coelogyne rumphii 2.24 ± 0.15 µm. The hybrids have a range of 2.50 ± 0,10 µm to 2.85 ± 0.10 µm. Karyotype patterns of black orchid (C. pandurata), C. rumphii and the hybrid is metacentric.

We examined the saccharifi cation and fermentation of meals from Acacia mangium wood, Paraserianthes falcataria wood, and Elaeis guineensis trunk. The levels of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and ethanol production were highest for P. falcataria wood and lowest for A. mangium wood. Ultrasonication pretreatment of meal further increased the rates of hydrolysis and ethanol production in meal from P. falcataria wood. Through this pretreatment, hemicelluloses (xylan and xyloglucan) and cellulose were released in the meal from P. falcataria wood. Loosening of hemicellulose associations can be expected to make P. falcataria wood more useful for bioethanol production.

Synbiotic yogurt with purple sweet potato extract supplementation as prebiotics and Lactobacillus plantarum Dad 13 isolated from buttermilk as probiotics has potential as functional food, but requires low storage temperatures. The freeze drying technique requires cryoprotectant as a protective material for products such as yogurt. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of sucrose concentration on the level of viability of  Lactic Acid Bacteria and Lactobacillus plantarum. This study used a Completely Randomized Design with one factor : concentration of sucrose as cryoprotectant: 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and was carried out in three replications. The results showed that the concentration of sucrose significantly affected the yield of freeze dried synbiotic yogurt, total Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) after freeze drying, and total Lactobacillus plantarum before and after freeze drying, but did not significantly total amount of LAB before freeze drying. The best treatment, shown in frozen dried synbiotic yogurt with a sucrose cryoprotectant concentration of 5%. The treatment has the following characteristics: yield, 14.797%, total Lactic Acid Bacteria  1.98x 109 CFU / ml before freeze drying, 9.28x 108 CFU / ml after freeze drying, total Lactobacillus plantarum 8.23 x 108 CFU / ml before freeze drying and 6.81 x 108 CFU / ml after freeze drying.

Orchid is one of the ornamental plant that has a high aesthetic value. Efforts to increase the quality of orchids can be done by genetic improvement through crossing. The first step to success in orchid crossing requires information on morphological characters of the prospective parents. This study aims to determine the similarity of six species of natural Coelogyne spp based on qualitative morphological characters. Morphological characterization of 6 orchids was carried out based on 30 characters including stem, leaf, flower, pseudobulb, and rooting type. Cluster analysis was carried out with the NTSYSpc program version 2.02i with the UPGMA SimQual function method. The results showed that there were morphological diversities among the six Coelogyne spp on the character of the stem, pseudobulb, leaves, flowers and type of roots. Based on the dendrogram on 73% similarity, three major groups were obtained. The first group consisted of Coelogyne pandurata and Coelogyne rumphii, the second group was C. massangeana, C. mayeriana and C asperata, the third group was C. celebensis. Based on the morphological similarity of 87% there are two pairs of parents that have most successful chance to be crossed, C. pandurata with C. rumphii and C. mayeriana with C. asperata.