Judul: Sintesis Superabsorben melalui Kopolimerisasi Pencangkokan Akrilamida pada Onggok Dialdehida
Abstrak: Cassava waste pulp (onggok) from the tapioca industry is abundant in Indonesia. Cassava waste pulp still has relatively high carbohydrate content, mainly starch and glucose, which is potencial to be utilized as superabsorbent raw material. The goal of this work was to synthesize superabsorbent material from cassava waste pulp through oxidation followed by graft copolymerization. The oxidation was carried out with sodium periodate (NaIO4) to break the C2-C3 bond in the glucose ring. Various concentration of NaIO4 solution (0.01, 0.05, and 0.10 M), oxidation time (15 and 60 min), and washing solutions (distilled water, methanol, and acetone) were used to obtain the optimum aldehyde group amount (the optimum C2-C3 bond cleavage) and the best products resistance against microbes. Optimum oxidation were by conditions using 0.05 M NaIO4 in 1 hour and washed with acetone. Graft copolymerization process was performed by using acrylamide, methylene-bis-acrylamide, and ammonium persulfate. The copolymerization products were then saponified to increase the water absorption capacity. The test result showed that the superabsorbent could swell up to 400 times of their original weight in distilled water. However, the capacities were decreased in salt solution as well as in acid and basic solutions.
Keyword: acrylamide, copolymerization, onggok, oxidation, superabsorbent

Judul: Sintesis superabsorben melalui kopolimerisasi pencangkokan dan penautan silang onggok dengan akrilamida
Abstrak: Solid wastes of tapioca is known as onggok. This study is aiming to see a possibility to increase the value of onggok by transforming it into a superabsorbent polymer through grafting cross-linking copolymerization of acrylamide as a monomer, N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linker, and ammonium persulfate as an initiator. Onggok was used as a backbone in grafting and cross-linking copolymerization. The copolymerization was conducted at 70oC for 3 hours and the copolymer was saponified with NaOH 1M for 2 hours. Water absorbency capacity of the saponified copolymer as well as unsaponified copolymer thereafter were measured. The saponified copolymer showed significant difference in absorbency capacity, i.e. 28.92 g/g and 1040.08 g/g, for unsaponified and saponified copolymer, repectively. This was obtained from copolymer composed of 25% onggok, 75% acrylamide, 25 mg N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide, and 250 mg ammonium persulfate. The occurrence of grafting cross-linking copolymer was confirmed by fourier transformed infrared spectra, where it was found to exhibit all characteristic bands of both polysaccharide fractions of onggok and acrylamides units.
Keyword: 

Judul: Psittacosis Sebagai Zoonosis Penting Yang Berasal Dari Burung
Abstrak: Psittacosis atau ornithosis adalah penyakit menular dari burung kepada manusia. Agens penyebab psittacosis termasuk ke dalam virus psittacosis-lymphogranuloma venereum group yang disebut Chlamydia psittaci. C. psittaci hanya dapat berkembang biak di dalam jaringan hidup tetapi peka terhadap antibiotik. Penyebaran penyakit ini sangat luas, terdapat hampir di seluruh dunia. Di Indonesia penyakit ini belum pernah di diagnosa, tetapi mengingat terdapat demikian banyaknya jenis burung maka diperkirakan psittacosis ini sudah ada. Kasus pada manusia pertamakali ditemukan oleh Ritter pada tahun 1879, di Eropa. Waktu itu dikenal sebagai pneumotyphus. Chlamydia psittaci tidak hanya sebagai penyebab infeksi pada burung, juga bisa menyebabkan infeksi pada mamalia diantaranya sapi, kerbau, kambing, domba, babi dan kucing. Pada kucing dikenal sebagai feline pneumonitis. Pada domba atau kambing mengakibatkan enzootic abortion. Pada burung, kalkun merupakan unggas paling rentan diikuti oleh burung psittacine dan burung lain di luar famili psittacidae. Virulensinyapun berbeda-beda. Yang berasal dari kalkun bervirulensi tinggi, sedangkan yang berasal dari burung merpati bisa bervirulensi tinggi bisa juga bervirulensi rendah. Penularan terjadi melalui kontak langsung maupun ti- dak langsung. Penularan melalui telur tidak terjadi. Umumnya penyakit ini memperlihatkan gejala klinis berupa deman, lesu, lemah, anorexia, kurus, diarrhea ber- warna kekuningan, discharge dari mata dan hidung, conjunc- tivitis. Gejala khas pada kalkun adalah istirahat dengan sternum sebagai dasarnya, karena adanya tekanan dari bagian perut yang sakit. Sedangkan pada manusia memperlihatkan adanya demam, kadang-kadang merasa dingin, lesu, sakit kepala yang hebat, sakit pada bagian belakang badan dan photophobia…dst
Keyword: