PENGOLAHAN BUDI DAYA RUMPUT LAUT MENJADI AGAR-AGAR KERTAS UNTUK MITRA TANI DESA LONTAR

Seaweed cultivation from an economic perspective can provide a decent life for farmers. However, there needs to be alternative processing and packaging of products that have a higher selling value. A good product and selling price requires the right processing technology to become a business product in the community. One product that is quite promising in marketing and selling value is processing seaweed into paper jelly. This community service activity is carried out for the Productive Migrant Cooperative members, seaweed farmers, Lontar village, Tirtayasa sub-district, Serang district, Banten province. The activity carried out is processing seaweed into paper jelly. The manufacture of seaweed into paper jelly went through experiments method to obtain a gelatin product with good elasticity and durability. This product does not require sophisticated technology so that home industries can do it. The seaweed used is Eucheuma cottonii which is harvested at the age of 40-45 days. The process carried out is by drying, crushing into slurry, printing and pressing. The size of the mould can be adjusted according to the wishes of farmers or market demand. This community service activity yielded a gelatinous paper size of 20x20 cm, a thickness of about 0.5mm to 1mm, and weight of 8-grams to 10 grams per sheet. The advantages of this product from processing the Eucheuma cottonii type of seaweed have good elasticity, are durable and easy to pack.Budi daya rumput laut dari segi ekonomi dapat memberikan kehidupan yang layak bagi petani. Akan tetapi perlu ada alternatif pengolahan dan pengemasan produk yang mempunyai nilai jual yang lebih tinggi. Suatu produk yang menjanjikan dan harga jual membutuhkan teknologi pengolahan yang tepat sehingga menjadi suatu produk usaha di masyarakat. Salah satu produk yang cukup menjanjikan dalam pemasaran dan nilai jual adalah mengolah rumput laut menjadi agar-agar kertas. Kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dilakukan kepada anggota Koperasi Migrant Produktif petani rumput laut desa Lontar kecamatan Tirtayasa kabupaten Serang, provinsi Banten. Kegiatan yang dilakukan adalah pengolahan rumput laut menjadi agar-agar kertas. Pembuatan rumput laut menjadi agar-agar kertas melalui metode percobaan hingga didapatkan produk agar-agar dengan tingkat elastisitas yang baik dan tahan lama. Produk ini tidak memerlukan teknologi yang canggih sehingga dapat dilakukan oleh industri rumahan. Rumput laut yang digunakan adalah jenis Eucheuma cottonii yang dipanen pada umur 40-45 hari. Proses yang dilakukan adalah dengan proses pengeringan, penghancuran menjadi bubur, pencetakan dan pengepresan. Ukuran cetakan bisa disesuaikan dengan keinginan petani atau permintaan pasar. Hasil dari kegiatan ini berupa agar-agar kertas ini dengan ukuran 20x20 cm ketebalan sekitar 0.5mm sampai 1mm, berat perlembarnya antara 8-gram sampai 10 gram. Kelebihan produk dari dari pengolahan rumput laut jenis Eucheuma cottonii ini mempunyai elastisitas yang baik, tahan lama dan mudah dikemas.

Antagonistic cotranscriptional regulation through ARGONAUTE1 and the THO/TREX complex orchestrates FLC transcriptional output

Quantitative transcriptional control is essential for physiological and developmental processes in many organisms. Transcriptional output is influenced by cotranscriptional processes interconnected to chromatin regulation, but how the functions of different cotranscriptional regulators are integrated is poorly understood. The Arabidopsis floral repressor locus FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is cotranscriptionally repressed by alternative processing of the antisense transcript COOLAIR. Proximal 3′-end processing of COOLAIR resolves a cotranscriptionally formed R-loop, and this process physically links to a histone-modifying complex FLD/SDG26/LD. This induces a chromatin environment locally that determines low transcription initiation and a slow elongation rate to both sense and antisense strands. Here, we show that ARGONAUTE1 (AGO1) genetically functions in this cotranscriptional repression mechanism. AGO1 associates with COOLAIR and influences COOLAIR splicing dynamics to promote proximal COOLAIR, R-loop resolution, and chromatin silencing. Proteomic analyses revealed physical associations between AGO1, subunits of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II), the splicing-related proteins—the spliceosome NineTeen Complex (NTC) and related proteins (NTR)—and the THO/TREX complex. We connect these activities by demonstrating that the THO/TREX complex activates FLC expression acting antagonistically to AGO1 in COOLAIR processing. Together these data reveal that antagonistic cotranscriptional regulation through AGO1 or THO/TREX influences COOLAIR processing to deliver a local chromatin environment that determines FLC transcriptional output. The involvement of these conserved cotranscriptional regulators suggests similar mechanisms may underpin quantitative transcriptional regulation generally.

PENGGUNAAN BIOFILTER ANAEROB UNTUK MENURUNKAN KADAR PENCEMAR ORGANIK PADA LIMBAH CAIR INDUSTRI TAHU

Limbah cair industri tahu mengandung zat organik yang tinggi seperti BOD5 dan COD sehingga perlu adanya pengolahan sebelum dibuang ke lingkungan. Salah satu alternatif pengolahan yaitu menggunakan sistem biofilter anaerob. Penelitian ini bersifat eksperimental yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui penurunan kadar BOD5 dan COD pada limbah cair industri tahu menggunakan sistem biofilter anaerob. Reaktor yang digunakan terdiri dari 2 buah reaktor dan terbuat dari kaca dengan ketebalan 10 mm. Reaktor pertama bervolume 0,081 m3 yang diisi dengan media batu kerikil setinggi 70 cm dan reaktor kedua bervolume 0,059 m3 diisi dengan media bioball rambutan setinggi 45 cm. Limbah cair industri tahu dialirkan ke dalam reaktor biofilter anaerob secara kontinyu dengan arah aliran down flow. Parameter yang diukur yaitu kadar BOD5 dan COD pada inlet maupun outlet reaktor biofilter anaerob. Reaktor 1 bermedia batu kerikil mampu menyisihkan kadar BOD5 dengan penyisihan tertinggi terjadi pada waktu operasi hari ke-4 yaitu sebesar 943,8 mg/L dan penyisihan kadar COD tertinggi pada waktu operasi hari ke-4 yaitu sebesar 1931,2 mg/L. Sedangkan pada reaktor 2 bermedia bioball rambutan mampu menyisihkan kadar BOD5 dengan penyisihan tertinggi terjadi pada waktu operasi hari ke-4 yaitu sebesar 936,7 mg/L dan penyisihan kadar COD tertinggi pada waktu operasi hari ke-4 yaitu sebesar 1856,6 mg/L. Kata Kunci : batu kerikil, bioball rambutan, biofilter anaerob, limbah tahu. Tofu industrial liquid waste contains high organic matter such as BOD5 and COD so it needs processing before being discharged into the environment. One of alternative processing is using an anaerobic biofilter system. This study is experimental which aims to determine the decrease of BOD5 and COD levels in tofu wastewater using anaerobic biofilter system. The reactor consist is 2 reactors and is made of glass with a thickness of 10 mm. The first reactor with a volume of 0.081 m3 was filled with 70 cm of gravel media and a second reactor with a volume of 0.059 m3 filled with 45 cm of rambutan bioball media. Tofu industrial liquid waste is flowed into the anaerobic biofilter reactor continuously with down flow direction. Parameters measured were BOD5 and COD levels at the anaerobic biofilter reactor inlet and outlet. The highest removal of BOD5 levels in reactor 1 with gravel media occurred on the 4th day of operation with a allowance of 943.8 mg/L and the highest removal of COD levels at the 4th day of operation was 1931.2 mg/L. Whereas the highest removal of BOD5 levels in reactor 2 with rambutan bioball media occurred on the 4th day of operation with a allowance of 936.7 mg/L and the highest removal of COD levels at the 4th day of operation with a allowance of 1856.6 mg/L. Keywords: anaerobic biofilter, gravel stone, rambutan bioball, tofu waste.

Two-armed bandit problem and batch version of the mirror descent algorithm

We consider the minimax setup for the two-armed bandit problem as applied to data processing if there are two alternative processing methods with different a priori unknown efficiencies. One should determine the most efficient method and provide its predominant application. To this end, we use the mirror descent algorithm (MDA). It is well-known that corresponding minimax risk has the order of $N^{1/2$ with $N$ being the number of processed data and this bound is unimprovable in order. We propose a batch version of the MDA which allows processing data by packets that is especially important if parallel data processing can be provided. In this case, the processing time is determined by the number of batches rather than by the total number of data. Unexpectedly, it turned out that the batch version behaves unlike the ordinary one even if the number of packets is large. Moreover, the batch version provides significantly smaller value of the minimax risk, i.e., it considerably improves a control performance. We explain this result by considering another batch modification of the MDA which behavior is close to behavior of the ordinary version and minimax risk is close as well. Our estimates use invariant descriptions of the algorithms based on Gaussian approximations of incomes in batches of data in the domain of ``close'' distributions and are obtained by Monte-Carlo simulations.

Visible Light Spectrum Extraction from Diffraction Images by Deconvolution and the Cepstrum

Accurate color determination in variable lighting conditions is difficult and requires special devices. We considered the task of extracting the visible light spectrum using ordinary camera sensors, to facilitate low-cost color measurements using consumer equipment. The approach uses a diffractive element attached to a standard camera and a computational algorithm for forming the light spectrum from the resulting diffraction images. We present two machine learning algorithms for this task, based on alternative processing pipelines using deconvolution and cepstrum operations, respectively. The proposed methods were trained and evaluated on diffraction images collected using three cameras and three illuminants to demonstrate the generality of the approach, measuring the quality by comparing the recovered spectra against ground truth measurements collected using a hyperspectral camera. We show that the proposed methods are able to reconstruct the spectrum, and, consequently, the color, with fairly good accuracy in all conditions, but the exact accuracy depends on the specific camera and lighting conditions. The testing procedure followed in our experiments suggests a high degree of confidence in the generalizability of our results; the method works well even for a new illuminant not seen in the development phase.

Are They Careful Enough? Testing Consumers’ Perception of Alternative Processing Technologies on the Quality of Organic Food

Given the increasing public interest in how ingredients are processed and the growing demand for organic food products, it is critical to understand consumers’ expectations about the process-related quality of organic products. Consumers perceive organic food to be nutritious, healthy and either natural or less processed, as they are afraid of the loss of nutritional, organoleptic and sensory properties of the food products. However, alternative food processing technologies might generate healthy and safe food options with nutritional quality properties. Simplified communication schemes might help to overcome this barrier for the consumer. The main objective of this study is to propose a working definition of “careful processing” for organic products and test its consistency through an experiment, while being used to rate different processing methods by consumers. Results show that the proposed definition allows the consumer to consistently rate alternative processing technologies. Consumers tend to score alternative processing technologies such as pulsed electric fields and microwaves as less careful, supporting the idea that organic consumers want as little man-made interference in their food products as possible. Results show that a simple but effective definition of careful processing may help consumers to distinguish more organic food products from conventional ones, no matter which communication scheme is used.

Limbah Cair Tapioka, Pencemaran, dan Teknik Pengolahannya

ENGLISHThe tapioca industry is one type of agro-industry that is widely developed in Indonesia. The problem that often arises due to the presence of the tapioca industries is waste pollution, especially liquid waste. Tapioca liquid waste is immediately disposed of into the river flows without any treatment process. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the impact caused by the disposal of tapioca liquid waste, especially on the aquaculture environment and alternative processing technology. The research method is literature study. Tapioca liquid pollution increases the death vulnerability the biota in the ponds, namely shrimp and milkfish. The danger of tapioca liquid waste pollution can be minimized by treating the disposed liquid waste properly. Several alternatives of wastewater treatment that can be applied to minimize the impact of pollution caused by tapioca liquid waste are (1) ultrafiltration membranes can separate suspended solids; ABR (Anaerobic Baffled Reactor) and UAF (Up-flow Anaerobic Filter) systems can reduce COD concentrations; photo-catalysts can reduce COD concentrations; phytoremediation with water hyacinth can reduce BOD, COD, and CN concentrations and increase pH of tapioca wastewater; and batch sequencing reactor shows efficiency of removing HCN, BOD, COD, turbidity, sodium, magnesium, and calcium. INDONESIAIndustri tapioka merupakan salah satu jenis agroindustri yang banyak berkembang di Indonesia. Permasalahan yang sering timbul dari industri tapioka adalah pencemaran limbah, terutama limbah cair. Limbah cair tapioka langsung dibuang ke aliran sungai tanpa melewati proses pengolahan terlebih dahulu. Tujuan dari penulisan ini adalah memberikan gambaran mengenai dampak yang ditimbulkan oleh adanya pembuangan limbah cair tapioka khususnya terhadap lingkungan pertambakan serta alternatif teknologi pengolahannya. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Pencemaran limbah cair tapioka mengakibatkan kerawanan kematian biota yang dibudidayakan di tambak, yaitu udang dan bandeng. Bahaya pencemaran limbah cair tapioka dapat diminimalisir dengan melakukan pengolahan terhadap limbah cair yang dibuang. Beberapa alternatif pengolahan limbah cair untuk meminimalisir dampak pencemaran oleh limbah cair tapioka, yaitu (1) membran ultrafiltrasi, yang dapat memisahkan padatan tersuspensi; (2) sistem ABR (Anaerobic Baffled Reactor) dan sistem UAF (Upflow Anaerobic Filter, yang dapat menurunkan konsentrasi COD; (3) fotokatalis, yang dapat menurunkan konsentrasi COD; (4) fitoremediasi dengan eceng gondok, yang mampu menurunkan konsentrasi BOD, COD, dan CN serta meningkatkan pH limbah cair tapioka; dan (5) sistem SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor) menunjukkan efisiensi pembuangan HCN, BOD, COD, kekeruhan, sodium, magnesium, dan kalsium.

Are They Careful Enough? Testing the Influence of Communication Schemes on Consumers’ Perception of Alternative Processing Methods for Organic Food

Given the increasing public interest in how ingredients are processed and the growing demand for organic food products, it is critical to understand consumers’ expectations about the process-related quality of organic products. In the minds of consumers, organic food is a concept related to either natural or less processed food, which leads them to prefer products obtained with careful processes. The main objective of this paper is to propose a working definition of "careful processing" for organic products and test its consistency while being used in scoring different processing methods by consumers. Results show that the proposed definition allows to consistently rate alternative processing methods. Consumers tend to score novel processing methods such as pulsed electric fields and microwave as less careful, supporting the idea that organic consumers want the least man-made interference with their food products. Results show that a simple but effective definition of careful processing may help consumers to distinguish further organic food products from conventional ones, no matter which communication scheme is used.