Judul: Surveillance, Identification, and Characterization of Burkholderia pseudomallei Infection in Macaques and Orangutans.
Abstrak: Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for causing melioidosis in a wide range of species. It may infect susceptible hosts through cutaneous, ingestion, or inhalation routes. The disease has a moderate to high case fatality rate, and the causative microorganism is categorized as Tier 1 Select Agent by the United States CDC. Concerns regarding melioidosis were raised among nonhuman primate (NHP) researchers in Indonesia, following a fatal melioidosis case in a cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in a primate research center and fatal cases in orangutans. Those incidents were the driving force to conduct surveillance in primate populations. Serosurveillance was conducted on cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) and pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in several facilities breeding facilities in West Java and Banten, Indonesia: Jonggol, Darmaga, Lodaya, and Tinjil Island facilities. The serosurveillance was conducted using a panel of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays targeting immunoglobulins G toward B. pseudomallei proteins: purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and recombinant proteins of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase subunit C (AhpC), hemolysin coregulated protein (Hcp1), and putative outer membrane porin protein (OmpH). Demographic factor analysis showed that species and breeding location were significant factors that were associated with seropositivity. Cynomolgus macaques and Jonggol facility have significantly association with seropositivity towards B. pseudomallei antigenic proteins. Enclosures in Jonggol are designed with soil flooring that may act as the reservoir of B. pseudomallei. Wet season and the observed grass-plucking behavior in those macaques may have contributed to the exposure to B. pseudomallei in the deeper layer of the soil. Pig-tailed macaques are predicted to be less-susceptible to the bacteria, since they showed lower immune response even though being reared in the same facility as some seropositive cynomolgus macaques. An evaluation of the immunoassay panel showed that there were strong and positive correlations of the recombinant protein assays (AhpC, Hcp1, and OmpH), whereas antibody level in LPS assay was higher but showed no correlation to the results of other assays. This may suggest that the development of antibody towards B. pseudomallei LPS is quicker and stronger, since LPS is a strong T-cell independent antigen. It may explain the reason that some animals had high level of antibody to LPS but not to other antigens. Even though the seropositivity ranges from 13-88% in several facilities, the presence of immunoglobulin G against B. pseudomallei does not necessarily mean that the macaques were currently having melioidosis, as the antibodies may reflect asymptomatic infection or a resolved infection. Efforts to culture throat, oral, wound, nasal, and rectal swabs of seropositive macaques resulted in no positive culture for B. pseudomallei. Based on previous reports by other researchers, macaques (including Macaca mulatta, Macaca fascicularis, and Macaca nemestrina) have been considered as animal species with moderate to high resistance towards melioidosis. Negative culture from seropositive animals in this study may indicate that those animals have been exposed to B. pseudomallei, but do not develop melioidosis, or the condition has been resolved. Environmental sampling from soil in several breeding facilities also resulted in no culturable B. pseudomallei, but the number of samples and area coverage was not adequate to represent the very large area of
Keyword: Burkholderia pseudomallei, melioidosis, nonhuman primates, surveillance

Judul: Identification of Entamoeba histolytica in Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) at Primate Research Center IPB University with Nested PCR
Abstrak: Monyet ekor panjang banyak ditemukan di Indonesia, khususnya di wilayah Bali, Kalimantan, Sumatra, dan Jawa. Interaksi antara manusia dan monyet ekor panjang meningkatkan risiko transmisi penyakit zoonotik akibat infeksi protozoa pada monyet ekor panjang. Entamoeba spp. diketahui sebagai protozoa yang paling banyak menginfeksi monyet ekor panjang. Spesies Entamoeba histolytica memiliki risiko zoonosis. Spesies ini diketahui sebagai penyebab amoebiasis yang menimbulkan ratusan ribu kasus kematian pada manusia. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengidentifikasi spesies Entamoeba yang menginfeksi monyet ekor panjang di Pusat Studi Satwa Primata IPB. Metode nested PCR dipilih karena dianggap sebagai metode yang memiliki sensitivitas dan spesifisitas tinggi dalam mengenali spesies Entamoeba. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 6 dari 20 (30%) sampel positif Entamoeba spp. dan 5 dari 20 (25%) sampel tersebut positif Entamoeba histolytica. Upaya pencegahan infeksi Entamoeba histolytica pada monyet ekor panjang dapat dilakukan melalui peningkatan sanitasi kandang, pemerhatian manajemen perkandangan, dan pemberian vaksin., Long-tailed macaques are commonly found in Indonesia, especially in Bali, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Java. The interaction between humans and long-tailed macaques increases the risk of zoonotic disease transmission due to protozoan infection in long-tailed macaque. Entamoeba spp. is known to be the most common protozoan infects long-tailed macaque. Entamoeba histolytica species cause zoonotic risk. This species also known as the cause of amoebiasis which causes hundreds of thousands of deaths in humans. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify species of Entamoeba that infects long-tailed macaques in Primate Research Center IPB University. The nested PCR method was chosen because it is considered to have high sensitivity and specificity in identifying Entamoeba species. The result showed that 6 out of 20 (30%) samples were positive for Entamoeba spp. and 5 out of 20 (25%) of these samples were positive for Entamoeba histolytica. Prevention of Entamoeba histolytica infection in long-tailed macaques can be done through improving cage sanitation, intensifying cage management, and administering vaccines.
Keyword: Entamoeba histolytica, long-tailed macaque, nested PCR, Macaca fascicularis, Primate Research Center IPB University 

Judul: Pemanasan Sekunder Reaksi Fusi Plasma dengan Menggunakan Radio Frequency
Abstrak: Plasma merupakan bentuk ke-empat dari materi setelah padat, cair dan gas yang terbentuk dari proses ionisasi gas. Plasma dapat digunakan dalam reaksi fusi, yaitu reaksi penggabungan dua inti atom ringan menjadi inti atom yang lebih berat sambil melepaskan energi. Untuk mendapatkan energi dari reaksi fusi, inti yang akan direaksikan harus dipanaskan pada temperatur yang sangat ekstrem tingginya. Salah satu cara agar dapat mencapai kondisi ini adalah memberikan pemanasan tambahan atau pemanasan sekunder kepada plasma dalam reaksi fusi tersebut. Nilai daya serap rata-rata ion Deuterium yang sesuai dengan selang nilai daya dari data ITER adalah daya yang menggunakan frekuensi 50 MHz sampai dengan 60 MHz. Dengan menggunakan frekuensi 60 Hz diperoleh nilai daya rata-rata yang diserap sebesar 1,235.10-12 W.
Keyword: gelombang radio, pemanasan sekunder, plasma, reaksi fusi