Judul: Rancangan Konseptual Mesin Penggerak Aplikator Pupuk Butiran dengan Mekanisme Pengangkat Pelepah Daun
Abstrak: Fertilizer application is one of activities on oil palm tree cultivation. Fertilizer application is applied in nursery, pre-production plant, and production plant. Inaccuracy of spreading is one of fertilization problem such as fertilizer which was dropped on oil palm frond, especially on pre-production plant. The objective of this research is to make conceptual design of prime mover of granular fertilizer applicator with frond lifting mechanism. The design criteria were the ground pressure of machine less than 90 kPa, maximum width machine was 250 cm and 220 cm of high. The result indicate that weight of machine without fertilizer applicator was 1205.55 kg, 19.59 kPa of ground pressure, 141.3 cm of width and 174.9 cm of high. The prime mover component consist of chassis, gearbox, crawler, roller, engine, control lever, seat, lifter conveyor, and cabin chassis. The chassis was made from canal UNP S45C. Based on engineering analysis, chassis has 3.03 N/m2 of maximum shear stress and 30.92 N/m2 of maximum bending stress. Frond lifting system slope was 53.45o and operated at 0.67 m/s of forward velocity with 1.13 m/s of lifting velocity. Based on result of load static simulation from SolidWorks software, the material which used in each component is safe because the value of stress is less than material yield strength.
Keyword: Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), SolidWorks, load simulation, conveyor, fertilization

Judul: Design and Simulation of Hole Making Mechanism on a Precision Palm Fertilizer Machine
Abstrak: Dibeberapa perkebunan kelapa sawit, pemupukan masih dilakukan secara manual. Oleh karena itu, dibutuhkan mesin pemupuk kelapa sawit yang mampu melakukan pemupukan secara efektif dan efisien. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk merancang dan mensimulasikan mekanisme pembuat lubang pupuk pada mesin pemupuk kelapa sawit presisi agar lubang pupuk yang dihasilkan presisi secara efektif dan efisien. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan pendekatan desain fungsional dan struktural yang terdiri dari beberapa tahapan, antara lain: identifikasi dan perumusan masalah, perumusan dan evaluasi konsep desain, analisis desain, gambar teknik, dan simulasi. Desain mekanisme pembuat lubang dirancang menggunakan bantuan software Solidworks 2017 dan EDEM Simulator 2018. Hasil rancangan menghasilkan lubang pupuk dengan diameter lubang 200 mm dengan kedalaman 308 mm. Lengan pembuat lubang dapat memanjang sejauh 875 mm saat aktuator hidrolik 1 ekstrusi maksimal untuk mencapai titik pembuatan lubang pupuk terjauh. Sedangkan komponen pembuat lubang dapat turun sejauh 500 mm saat aktuator hidrolik 2 ekstrusi maksimal untuk melakukan pengeboran lubang pupuk dengan kedalaman 308 mm. Screw yang berfungsi sebagai pembuat lubang juga telah mampu menyalurkan pupuk ke dalam lubang yang telah dihasilkan. Pupuk yang disalurkan memiliki laju aliran massa sebesar 100 gr/s dan debit aliran sebesar 79.37 cm¬3/s., In some oil palm plantations, fertilization is still done manually. Therefore, we need a palm fertilizer machine that is able to fertilize effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this research is to design and simulate the mechanism for making fertilizer holes on a precision oil palm fertilizer machine so that the resulting fertilizer holes are accurately and efficiently produced. This research was conducted with a functional and structural design approach which consists of several stages, including: identification and formulation of problems, formulation and evaluation of design concepts, design analysis, engineering drawings, and simulation. The design of the hole making mechanism was designed using the help of Solidworks 2017 and EDEM Simulator 2018 software. The design results produced a fertilizer hole with a hole diameter of 200 mm with a depth of 308 mm. The hole punch arm can extend as far as 875 mm while the hydraulic actuator 1 extrusion is maximal to reach the furthest point of making the manure hole. Whereas the hole making component can drop as far as 500 mm when the hydraulic actuator 2 extrusion is maximal for drilling fertilizer holes with a depth of 308 mm. The screw that functions as a hole maker has also been able to distribute fertilizer into the holes that have been produced. The distributed fertilizer has a mass flow rate of 100 gr/s and a flow rate of 79.37 cm3/s.
Keyword: hole making arm, hydraulic, manure hole, oil palm, simulation

Judul: Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Spatial Memory Performance and Neuron Complexity
Abstrak: Alcoholic beverages have always been a common drink all around the globe. The ethanol that is contained inside these alcoholic beverages have been known to have various negative side effects to the brain if consumed excessively. Other articles have claimed a certain moderate amount of alcohol consumption could have beneficial effects on the brain, but no exact concentration limit of consumption has been elaborated to cause damage in the hippocampal area. The objective of this research is examining the effects of alcohol towards neuron complexity and spatial memory performance. Four groups of mice were used as test subjects and were given the solution pre-orally. The first group is the control group which is given water, the second group was given 5% alcohol, the third group was given 15% alcohol, and the fourth group was given commercially sold alcoholic beverage. The mice were given said solutions in the span of 30 days. Spatial memory performance is observed by how a mice scores inside a Y-maze in the span of 5 minutes after 30 days of treatment. Neuron complexity is determined by the number of intersections of dendrites and the maximum angle of neurons inside the Dentate Gyrus (DG) and Cornu Ammonis (CA) region of the hippocampus which is observed by Golgi-Cox staining, photographed with optilab and then analyzed using the ImageJ application. alcohol consumption does not have any significant effect on spatial memory performance nor neuron complexity in the hippocampal area. These findings are not significantly different than the control group, possibly because the treatment is not chronic enough to trigger a significant physiological change.
Keyword: Ethanol, spatial memory, complexity, hippocampus