Judul: The Rural Women’s Roles in Food Security at the Household Level
Abstrak: Salah satu ciri penting kesejahteraan masyarakat yaitu kondisi ketahanan pangannya. Ketahanan pangan di level rumah tangga adalah basis dari ketahanan pangan nasional, maka perempuan berperan besar dalam meningkatkannya. Ketahanan pangan rumah tangga pedesaan dapat ditingkatkan oleh perempuan dengan berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan pemberdayaan pangan komunitas seperti KWT. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu menganalisis pengaruh partisipasi perempuan KWT terhadap ketahanan pangan rumah tangga serta menganalisis beragam jenis hubungan antara karakteristik internal perempuan, karakteristik eksternal perempuan, dan karakteristik rumah tangga terhadap pengaruh partisipasi perempuan KWT terhadap ketahanan pangan rumah tangga. Penelitian ini menggunakan uji korelasi Pearson, uji one way ANOVA, uji regresi linear sederhana beserta uji moderasi dan mediasinya dengan menguji data sensus anggota KWT sebanyak 50 orang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan antara waktu luang dengan tingkat partisipasi, terdapat pengaruh signifikan antara partisipasi anggota KWT terhadap ketahanan pangan rumah tangga, serta terdapat hubungan moderasi yang signifikan pada variabel tingkat pendapatan rumah tangga terhadap pengaruh antara partisipasi dan ketahanan pangan.
Keyword: food security, participation, empowerment, women

Judul: The Role of Women Farmer’s Empowerment in the
Household Food and Nutrition Security
Abstrak: Penelitian ini berusaha menjawab pertanyaan tentang bagaimana hubungan keberdayaan perempuan di dalam rumah tangga pertanian pedesaan dengan ketahanan pangan dan gizi rumah tangganya, terutama di daerah dengan beban masalah gizi kronis yang tinggi. Metode penelitian lapangan yang dipilih adalah sequential mixed method design yang menggabungkan antara metode penelitian kuantitatif dan kualitatif untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih mendalam. Penelitian ini menunjukkan tingginya prevalensi kemiskinan pedesaan, kerawanan pangan dan beban gizi ganda di lokasi penelitian. Selain itu sebagian besar responden merupakan petani kecil dengan tingkat keberdayaan pertanian yang rendah baik pada kelompok laki-laki dan perempuan. Dengan demikian, ketidakberdayaan perempuan di lokasi penelitian hendaknya dilihat sebagai bagian dari isu kemiskinan struktural pedesaan. Keberdayaan perempuan memiliki peran positif terhadap peningkatan ketahanan pangan keluarga dan keragaman diet perempuan, tetapi tidak menunjukkan kaitan langsung dengan keragaman diet anak maupun status gizinya. Peningkatan keberdayaan perempuan petani memiliki peran penting untuk peningkatan ketahanan pangan rumah tangga dan keragaman diet perempuan. Namun, dalam konteks yang lebih luas sebagaimana ditemukan dalam eksplorasi kualitatif, hambatan terbesar untuk pemanfaatan sumber pangan yang beragam dan berkualitas adalah akses ke sumber pangan. Ini termasuk hambatan ekonomi dan fisik, seperti rendahnya pendapatan dan akses ke pasar, baik sebagai penjual maupun pembeli., This study aimed to answer the question on the relationship between women's empowerment in rural agricultural households and their food and nutrition security, especially in areas with a high burden of chronic malnutrition. The study utilized the sequential mixed method design that combines quantitative and qualitative research to obtain richer information. We found high prevalence of rural poverty, food insecurity which overlap with double burden of malnutrition among the households surveyed. Most respondents were small holder farmers with low levels of agricultural empowerment, both in male and female. Thus, the women’s disempowerment in this context should be seen as part of larger structural poverty issue. The women’s empowerment showed a positive influence in increasing the household’s and women's food security but had not shown a direct relationship with the children's diets or nutritional status. Increasing the empowerment of women farmers especially is pivotal for increasing the household’s and women's dietary diversity. However, within the broader context as it was found in the qualitative exploration, the biggest barrier for utilization of diverse and quality food sources was access to these food sources. These include economic and physical barriers, such as limited income and access to markets, both as sellers and buyers.
Keyword: keberdayaan perempuan, ketahanan pangan dan gizi, rumah tangga pertanian, Agricultural Household, Food and Nutrition Security, Women’s Empowerment

Judul: Utilization of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for therapeutic model of epilepsy
Abstrak: Epilepsy is a chronic neurologic disease, caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Uncontrolled medication using the currently available antiepileptic drugs may result in low quality of life. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (bMSCs), one source of stem cell that is multipotent, can be given as an alternative treatment for intractable epilepsy. This research was aimed to (1) analyze the effect of chemical substance that can damaged the brain, to make a suitable animal model for epilepsy, (2) study of the culture bMSCs, and induced to become neurons in vitro neuron progenitor cells, before it can be transplanted to the animal model, (3) observe the effect of different dosages of bMSCs, and comparing the 2 routes of administration, through an intravenous line or a direct intracerebral approach. This study used 46 Spraque Dawley rats, aged 2 months which were divided to 7 groups consisted 6 rats each (1) negative control group, were given only 1ml NaCl 0.9% intravenous, (2) development of animal group model, 3 rats were given lidocaine 90mg/kg, 3 rats injected with bicuculine 8mg/kg, 1 rat was sacrificed each at the point of 24 hours, 3 days and 7 days after treatment, (3) positive epilepsy group, injected with bicuculine 8mg/kg intraperitoneally, and 3 rats were sacrificed each after 3 weeks and 6 weeks, (4-7) epilepsy group, after injected with bicuculine 8mg/kg intraperitoneally, at day-7 received bMSCs injection, each using 3x2x105 cell intravenous, 1x5x106 cell intravenous, neuron progenitor at 1x2x106 cell intravenous and neuron progenitor at 1x2x105 cell intracerebral. The result of this study showed that bicuculine injection, as a GABA-antagonist, was better when applied to create an epilepsy animal model. The most severe irreversible damaged occurred after the 7th day of treatment. The amount of cells of bMSCs culture at the 4th and 5th passages was sufficient to be transplanted, and the induction of neuron progenitor with basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor was seen by noticing the change of the fibroblasts to neurons. The activity of bMSCs to regenerated neurons could be seen that injection of bMSCs 3x2x105 results the highest number of survived neurons. There was no systemic effect of bMSCs. From this study concluded that bMSCs improved regenerate the damage of hippocampal area caused by seizure in epilepsy model animals. A low dose, intravenous administration, given repeatedly every 2 weeks gives a better respon compared to a bolus with high dose intravenous and , intracerebrally. bMSCs treatment was better than progenitor neuron treatment.
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