Judul: Physical and mechanical assessment on packaging properties of corn-α zein based film
Abstrak: Polusi lingkungan sebagai akibat dari penggunaan plastik sintetik, yang tidak dapat didegradasi secara alami semakin terbatasnya minyak bumi sebagai bahan baku, menyebabkan penelitian di bidang kemasan semakin dititik beratkan pada polimer hasil pertanian yang dapat didegradasi secara alami.
Keyword: 

Judul: Pencirian Film Bioplastik dari Tepung Tapioka Terplastisasi Gliserol dengan Penambahan Kitosan
Abstrak: Non-biodegradable synthetic plastic is widely used as packaging. However, the plastic waste can pollute the environment so that bioplastics are developed, which are easily degraded. In this research, packaging films have been made from glycerol and tapioca starch blends with composition ratio of 8:2 and 7:3 as well as various concentrations of chitosan 1, 2, and 3%. The plastics produced were analyzed for the mechanical properties by using tensile strength test, density, functional groups based on Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, surface morfology with scanning electron microscope, and thermal properties from differential scanning calorimeter. Addition of plasticizer was found to lower the density. Plastic with 8:2 ratio and addition of 2% chitosan yielded tensile strength 304 MPa and elongation 37%. Functional groups analysis showed that the film was a result of physical mixing. The plastic’s surface was quite homogenous and the melting point was increased with addition of chitosan. Addition of chitosan could increase the mechanical properties and was expected to be easily degradated in the environment.
Keyword: 

Judul: Studi sistematika  Oreophryne Boettger, 1895Sulawesi (Anura: Microhylidae)
Abstrak: The cross frogs, genus Oreophryne Boettger, 1895 are most diverse in the mainland of New Guinea and adjacent islands, to the Wallacea region in the Moluccas, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, even marginally to the Oriental region in Bali and to the southern Philippine Islands. In Sulawesi, this taxon consists of three species but has rarely been reported since their original descriptions and remained unstudied in both taxonomical work and molecular study. This research aims to evaluate the taxonomic status of the cross frogs in Sulawesi based on morphology and estimate the phylogenetic using the 16S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic tree was reconstructed under Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. We used the specimens of Sulawesian Oreophryne which were stored at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB). A total of about 19 morphological characters were measured by a digital caliper and ocular micrometer to the nearest 0.01 mm. The phylogenetic tree shows that the three nominal species of Oreophryne from Sulawesi are clearly clustered. Correspondingly, the phylogenetic analysis supports the recognition of a new taxon, Oreophryne sp. However, the phylogenetic relationships between Oreophryne within Wallacea remain unresolved. Consequently, further systematic analysis along with additional sequences from the type locality is necessary to clarify the interspecific relationship among this region. We examined the morphology of 50 voucher specimens of Sulawesian Oreophryne. The validity of O. celebensis, O. variabilis, and O. zimmeri was confirmed in this study, but still the latter remains to be established. The three nominal species examined here were not collected from the type locality, so additional specimens, either in the type locality, new locations, or in other areas on this island are needed to evaluate the taxonomic status of these species deeply. Moreover, the unnamed species from the highland of the Mekongga mountains differ morphologically and genetically from all previously described Sulawesian Oreophryne. This distinct species will increase the number of cross frogs in Sulawesi to four species, all of which are endemic.
Keyword: frog, morphology, Oreophryne, phylogenetic, Sulawesi, systematics