The spread of HIV is on the rise and has become a global issue, especially for underdeveloped and developing countries. This is due to the fact that HIV majorly occurs asymptomatically and is implausible for early diagnosis. Recent advances in research and science have enabled the investigation of a new potential treatment involving gene-based therapy, known as RNA interference (RNAi) that will direct gene silencing and further compensate for natural variants and viral mutants. Several types of small regulatory RNA are discussed in this present study, including microRNA (miRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and short hairpin RNA (shRNA).This paper examines the mechanism of RNAi as a viable HIV therapy, using a minimum of four shRNAs to target both dispensable host components (CCR5) and viral genes (Gag, Env, Tat, Pol I, Pol II and Vif). Moreover, a multiplexed mechanism of shRNAs and miRNA is known to be effective in preventing viral escape due to mutation as the miRNA develops a general polycistronic platform for the expression of a large amount of shRNA-miRs. Several administration methods as well as the advantages of this RNAi treatment are also discussed in this study. The administration methods include (1) ex vivo delivery with the help of viral vectors, nanoparticles, and electroporation, (2) nonspecific in vivo delivery using non-viral carriers including liposomes, dendrimers and aptamers, as well as (3) targeted delivery that uses antibodies, modified nanoparticles, nucleic acid aptamers, and tissue-specific serotypes of AAV. Moreover, the advantages of this treatment are related to the effectiveness in silencing the HIV gene, which is more compatible compared to other gene therapy treatments, such as ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas9.

Biofuels are one of the numerous alternatives that are currently being considered to replace fossil fuels as it is more environmentally friendly. Specifically, bioethanol is often thought as a better alternative to gasoline fuel as it is considered cleaner, more renewable, and greener as it is synthesized from renewable feedstock which contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. As bioethanol is produced from carbohydrate and starch rich food crops, food waste (FW) poses a potential source for bioethanol production as it is especially rich in carbohydrates and lipids. Bioethanol production itself consists of several steps which includes food waste selection, pretreatment, saccharification and fermentation, and recovery. Cafeteria FW was reviewed to be the best type of FW for bioethanol production as it has the highest carbohydrate and starch content. Subsequently, acid pretreatment was considered to be the best method due to low cost, high yielding, and time efficient method. Moreover, the non-isothermal simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (NSSF)  produces 1.42 g ethanol/L.h with a time of 38 hours. Lastly, the enzyme-assisted extraction technique is most preferred to recover the bioactive compounds as it led to the highest yield of product (94%) compared to other methods.

In the face of the detrimental effect from the abundant waste, humans were left with no choice but to cycle them. Waste sorting, an important step to maximize the recyclables resources, is essential to be performed. To reinforce the waste sorting behavior, this study observed the impact of verbal prompt intervention. The experiment was done at a higher education institution, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), that integrates sustainability education into their curriculum. This study observed convenient sampling of one group, pre- and post- intervention. Volunteers stand by and notify wrong waste generators for one hour in the communal cafeteria for one month, after one week of baseline observation. The observation revealed a sufficient number of knowledge on waste sorting on the pre-intervention baseline (75%). The presence of the prolonged intervention increased the number of correct waste sorting to 89.68% in the fourth week of intervention. Nonetheless, a survey conducted to confirm the cause of change, disclosed that the community’s heightened proper waste behavior is independent of the direct reminder, but rather due to the presence of the notifying volunteer. Therefore the root of waste segregation behavior improvement was more than just from verbal reminder, but from the presence of the rangers that enforces the rules.