Judul: Morphology of the gastrointestinal tract of Bandicoot Echymipera kalubu (Marsupialia: Peroryctidae).
Abstrak: Bandicoot (Echymipera kalubu) is one of marsupial which belonging to peroryctidae as well classified as endemic in Papua Island. In Papua, that species has been commonly utilized for dishes as source of protein, and traditional medicine purposed. Therefore, it requires a conservation effort in order to provide sustainability. Biological information of E. kalubu as a baseline data was quite limited. Aim of this study was to assess morphological characteristics of the digestive tract of E. kalubu’s (Marsupialia: Peroryctidae) macroscopically, microscopically and histochemically. The study was used five of adult E. kalubu with the average of body weight was 1.16 ± 0.29 kg and length of head and body was 38.2 ± 4.76 cm. Macroscopic observation were consist of morphological characteristic and morfometric of the body and the digestive track including situs viscerum. Firstly the animals was anaesthetized by combination of 50mg/kg BB Ketamine® and 10mg/kg BB Xylazine® by IM injection. The microscopic observation was used of HE, AB pH 2.5 and PAS staining methods. The result was documented with Cannon EOS 400D and microscope facilitated with Nikon Eclipse E600 for macro- and microphotography respectively. The results were then analyzed descriptively and presenting on tables and figures. Esophagus of E. kalubu was quite long with 10.92 ± 1.97 cm in length and 0.28 cm in diameter, and located along dorsamedial tracheal tube. The stomach was located in the cranial part of the left abdominal cavity. The anterior part was adjacent to diaphragm muscle, the ventro medial was covered by liver and the lateral part by spleen. The stomach of E. kalubu was simple type with short lesser curvature. The length of greater curvature was 9.1 ± 2.2 cm dan lesser curvature was 2.1 ± 0,6 cm. The intestine was relatively short that were 77.5 ± 14.4 cm in length or about two times of the body length. About ± 1.8 cm of cranial part of small intestine was piercing of both bile duct and pancreatic duct to the duodenal mucosa. However, the small and large intestines could be distinguished by the presence of caecum that was 3.4 ± 0.68 cm in length. The mucosae of esophagus E. kalubu was consist of stratified squamous epithelium with no keratinization. At the border of esophagus and stomach, the epithelium was change abruptly to a simple columnar epithelium. The muscularis mucosae was composed of smooth muscle which tends to be thicker to the caudal. The mucus type of esophageal glands were examined in the submucosal layer. The glands were found in large number in the cranial and decreased gradually toward the caudal. The number of esophageal gland was allegedly to be related to the long size of esophagus which was necessary for lubricating of food. The muscularis externa as long as the esophagus of E. kalubu were consisted of skeletal muscle. Existence of the skeletal muscle in the whole parts of esophagus presumed that mechanical function of esophagus was dominant. The glandular stomach of E. kalubu’s was differentiated as cardiac, proper gastric (fundic) and pyloric glands region. The cardiac gland was quite narrow and found in the
Keyword: Bandicoot, Echymipera kalubu, marsupials, gastrointestinal tract

Judul: Sifat biologis dan karakteristik karkas dan daging Bandicoot (Echymipera kalubu)
Abstrak: The main objective of this study was to investigate the biological, carcass and meat characteristics of the spiny bandicoots (Echymipera kalubu). The research conducted using explorative method. Sixty eight mature bandicoots consisted of 36 males and 30 females were used to explore external characteristics, morphometry, behaviour, food preference and food intake, carcass and meat characteristics. Organoleptic test was used to have information on taste, smells and meat colour. The results, showed that the frequency and duration of Spiny Bandicoot behaviour at the night were eating (304.31 sec and 7.4 times), drinking (113.79 sec and 5.3 times) and grooming (151.46 sec and 4.85 times). The total time of the bandicoots activity at the night was 1.32 % for eating, drinking and grooming, 55.75 % for foraging and 42.93 % for shelter seeking. White breast bandicoots had obviously heavier hind legs but lighter fore legs meat compared with Red breast bandicoots. Meat and carcass characteristics of male and female bandicoots were dressing percentage (70.48 and 65.13), pH (5.78 and 5.66), tenderness (1.03 and 1.07 kg/cm2), cooking loss (33.62 and 34.47 %) and water holding capacity (37.14 and 35.98 % mgH2O). Meat composition contain complete amino acids and fatty acids, but a bit higher polysaturated fatty acids than other domestic livestocks especially palmitic acids (36.76 %). Flavor (taste, smells) and colour of the meat bandicoots can be accepted by people in Manokwari regency as well as like on pork, chiken and beef.
Keyword: Biological Character, Spiny Bandicoot, Papua, Ex-situ

Judul: Uji Aktivitas dan Studi Pustaka Karakterisasi Nanokomposit TiO2/ZnO/CuO Sebagai Fotokatalis Degradasi Zat Warna Neutral Red
Abstrak: Komposit adalah suatu jenis bahan baru hasil rekayasa yang terdiri dari dua atau lebih bahan dimana sifat masing-masing bahan berbeda satu sama lainnya baik itu sifat kimia maupun fisikanya dan tetap terpisah dalam hasil akhir bahan tersebut (bahan komposit). Nanokomposit dibuat agar kualitas sifat setiap bahan lebih baik, baik dari segi struktur, kekuatan dan stabilitas kimia. Metode sintesis nanokomposit TiO2/ZnO/CuO mengunakan metode modifikasi sol-gel. Penelitian ini bertujuan menyintesis nanokompsit TiO2/ZnO/CuO dengan berbagai komposisi, menguji coba kinerja nanokomposit TiO2/ZnO/CuO sebagai fotokatalis degradasi zat warna Neutral Red. Efektivitas fotokatalis dari nanokomposit TiO2/ZnO/CuO pada cahaya UV terukur sebesar 99,62% dan pada sinar tampak sebesar 99,59%. Hasil kajian pustaka menunjukkan bahwa ukuran, band gap, luas permukaan, dan morfologi mempengaruhi efektivitas fotokatalik nanokomposit TiO2/ZnO/CuO.
Keyword: Degradasi, nanocomposite, Neutral Red, photocatalyst