The Effect of Lime and Primary Emulsifier on Rheological Behaviour of Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD)-based Drilling Fluid

This project in its present form is the proposal to scrutinize on the development of eco-friendly drilling fluid by using Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) as a based in oil-based mud. The initial idea was to analyse the characterization of biodiesel (PFAD) as continuous phase in drilling fluid. Rheology test and mud tests were then conducted for PFAD-based drilling fluid and conventional oil-based mud (mineral diesel), which will lead to the justification of the PFAD-based drilling fluid adaptability level in replacing the conventional oil-based mud. The PFAD-based drilling fluid is then will be tested with different weight percentage of drilling fluid additive in order to study the effect of each additive on its behaviour. The contributions of this project are twofold. This project is not only proposed potential alternative that preserves oil-based mud advantages, but also promoting eco-friendly project by using biodiesel as a based

Factors that Influence the Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) Test : Steps towards the Standardisation of BMP Test

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has gained increasing attention nowadays as an approach for both waste treatment and renewable energy generation. Currently, many different types of materials can be used as feedstock for biogas production via AD process, but their biodegradability (based on methane yield, BDCH4) and potential to produce biogas might vary significantly, and these properties are key parameters that should be taken into consideration for economy, design and operation of a full-scale biogas plant during the selection of potential feedstock.The BDCH4 and methane potential of a material are commonly determined using the Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) test. However, a number of factors, e.g., temperature, pH, inoculum preparation, inoculum to substrate ratio (ISR), substrate concentration, mixing, etc. can affect the BMP test results. Moreover, the experimental setups, data analysis and presentation vary in different laboratories, and therefore, the results from different studies are not comparable. To improve the reliability and reproducibility of the BMP test and ensure that the results are more comparable, this PhD study evaluated the influences of various factors on the methane potential and degradation rate of a standard substrate (i.e., cellulose) and certain other types of materials. For example, mixing plays an important role in the BMP test because it aids in the distribution of microorganisms, substrates and nutrients; release of produced gases; and equalisation of the temperature in the digester, thereby enhancing the digestion process. In Paper IV, different mixing strategies were applied to evaluate the influences of mixing on the BMP test. The results showed that the methane potential of blank (inoculum only) was increased approximately 77% and 220% by automated continuous mixing at low intensity (10 rpm) and high intensity (160 rpm), respectively, compared with the methane production obtained from the manually shake system. For the most viscous substrate investigated, i.e., dewatered sludge (DWS), automated continuous mixing significantly improved the methane production. However, for a fine-powdered substrate cellulose and much diluted substrate 8*DWS (i.e., DWS diluted by a factor of 8), mixing is not necessary or the manual shaking once per day is sufficient during the BMP test. Furthermore, certain other important factors, such as experimental setup, inoculum preparation and substrate concentration, were also evaluated and displayed a significant impact on the BMP test.Finally, as an application of the BMP test, a case study was performed to evaluate the effects of different pre-treatments on lignocellulosic biomass (Miscanthus) for improved methane production. Miscanthus has been proven as one of the highest energy biomasses in recent years; however, its conversion to biogas/methane is limited due to its recalcitrant structure. The study showed that methane production of Miscanthus was significantly improved after size reduction, steam explosion (SE) and alkali pre-treatment

Polymer labelling with a conjugated polymer-based luminescence probe for recycling in the circular economy

In this paper, we present the use of a disubstituted polyacetylene with high thermal stability and quantum yield as a fluorescence label for the identification, tracing, recycling, and eventually anti-counterfeiting applications of thermoplastics. A new method was developed for the dispersion of poly[1-phenyl-2-[p-(trimethylsilyl)phenyl]acetylene] (PTMSDPA) into polymer blends. For such purposes, four representative commodity plastics were selected, i.e., polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, poly(methyl methacrylate), and polylactide. Polymer recycling was mimicked by two reprocessing cycles of the material, which imparted intensive luminescence to the labelled polymer blends when excited by proper illumination. The concentration of the labelling polymer in the matrices was approximately a few tens ppm by weight. Luminescence was visible to the naked eye and survived the simulated recycling successfully. In addition, luminescence emission maxima were correlated with polymer polarity and glass transition temperature, showing a marked blueshift in luminescence emission maxima with the increase in processing temperature and time. This blueshift results from the dispersion of the labelling polymer into the labelled polymer matrix. During processing, the polyacetylene chains disentangled, thereby suppressing their intermolecular interactions. Moreover, shear forces imposed during viscous polymer melt mixing enforced conformational changes, which shortened the average conjugation length of PTMSDPA chain segments. Combined, these two mechanisms shift the luminescence of the probe from a solid-to a more solution-like state. Thus, PTMSDPA can be used as a luminescent probe for dispersion quality, polymer blend homogeneity, and processing history, in addition to the identification, tracing, and recycling of thermoplastics. © 2020 by the authors.Czech Science FoundationGrant Agency of the Czech Republic [17-05318S]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic-Program NPU I [LO1504

Self-healing composites: A review

Self-healing composites are composite materials capable of automatic recovery when damaged. They are inspired by biological systems such as the human skin which are naturally able to heal themselves. This paper reviews work on self-healing composites with a focus on capsule-based and vascular healing systems. Complementing previous survey articles, the paper provides an updated overview of the various self-healing concepts proposed over the past 15 years, and a comparative analysis of healing mechanisms and fabrication techniques for building capsules and vascular networks. Based on the analysis, factors that influence healing performance are presented to reveal key barriers and potential research directions

Basic capillary microfluidic chip and highly sensitive optical detector for point of care application

A cost-effective and highly sensitive portable diagnostic device is needed to enable much more widespread monitoring of health conditions in disease prevention, detection, and control. Miniaturized and easy-to-operate devices can reduce the inherent costs and inefficiencies associated with healthcare testing in central laboratories. Hence, clinicians are beginning to use point of care (POC) testing and flexible clinical chemistry testing devices which are beneficial for the patient. In our work, a low-cost and simple autonomous microfluidic device for biochemical detection was developed. The pumpless capillary system with capillary stop valves and trigger valves is fabricated on a silicon (Si) wafer and then bonded with the modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) cover. The key point of this study is the change of the surface contact angle of the PDMS to achieve the functionalities such as timing features (capillary-driven stop valve) and basic logical functions (trigger valves). The polydimethylsiloxane-ethylene oxide polymer (PDMS-b-PEO) is utilized as a surfactant additive to make the PDMS hydrophilic. The contact angle of the modified PDMS can be adjusted from 80.9° to 21.5° with different mixing ratios. The contact angles of PEO-PDMS accepted in this work are from 80.9° to 58.5° to bring the capillary channel and valve into effect. This autonomous capillary-driven device with good microfluidic flow manipulation can be widely applied to a number of microfluidic devices and pumpless fluidic actuation mechanisms, which is suitable for cost-effective diagnostic tools in the biomedical analysis and POC testing applications. Another obstacle for miniaturization of the bio-detection system is the optical detector. We developed a novel, highly sensitive and miniaturized detector. It integrates a light source--light emitting diode (LED), all necessary optical components, and a photodiode with preamplifier into one package about 2 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm, especially for the applications of lab-on-a-chip (LOC), portable bio-detection system and POC diagnostic system. The size of this detector is smaller than the existing miniaturized detector of the size 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm. The fluorescence dye 5-Carboxyfluorescein (5-FAM) dissolved into the solvent DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) and diluted with DI water was used as the testing solution samples. The prototype has been tested to prove a remarkable sensitivity at pico-scale molar, around 1.08 pM, which is the highest sensitivity by now. It is higher than the current limit of detection at 1.96 nm, which will be presented in detail in the latter section

Improving the Nutritional, Structural, and Sensory Properties of Gluten-Free Bread with Different Species of Microalgae

Microalgae are an enormous source of nutrients that can be utilized to enrich common food of inherently low nutritional value, such as gluten-free (GF) bread. Addition of the algae species: Tetraselmis chuii (Tc), Chlorella vulgaris (Cv), and Nannochloropsis gaditana (Ng) biomass led to a significant increase in proteins, lipids, minerals (Ca, Mg, K, P, S, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn), and antioxidant activity. Although, a compromise on dough rheology and consequential sensory properties was observed. To address this, ethanol treatment of the biomass was necessary to eliminate pigments and odor compounds, which resulted in the bread receiving a similar score as the control during sensory trials. Ethanol treatment also resulted in increased dough strength depicted by creep/recovery tests. Due to the stronger dough structure, more air bubbles were trapped in the dough resulting in softer breads (23–65%) of high volume (12–27%) vs. the native algae biomass bread. Breads baked with Ng and Cv resulted in higher protein-enrichment than the Tc, while Tc enrichment led to an elevated mineral content, especially the Ca, which was six times higher than the other algae species. Overall, Ng, in combination with ethanol treatment, yielded a highly nutritious bread of improved technological and sensory properties, indicating that this species might be a candidate for functional GF bread development.publishedVersio

Lab‐on‐a‐chip biophotonics: its application to assisted reproductive technologies

With the benefits of automation, sensitivity and precision, microfluidics has enabled complex and otherwise tedious experiments. Lately, lab‐on‐a‐chip (LOC) has proven to be a useful tool for enhancing non‐invasive assisted reproductive technology (ART). Non‐invasive gamete and embryo assessment has largely been through periodic morpohological assessment using optical microscopy and early LOC ART was the same. As we realize that morphological assessment is a poor indication of gamete or embryo health, more advanced biophotonics has emerged in LOC ART to assay for metabolites or gamete separation via optoelectrical tweezers. Off‐chip, even more advanced biophotonics with broad spectrum analysis of metabolites and secretomes has been developed that show even higher accuracy to predicting reproductive potential. The integration of broad spectrum metabolite analysis into LOC ART is an exciting future that merges automation and sensitivity with the already highly accurate and strong predictive power of biophotonics. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92358/1/650_ftp.pd

Liquidus Tracking: Controlled Rate Vitrification for the Cryopreservation of Larger Volumes and Tissues

BACKGROUND: Vitrification of cells or tissue at controlled cooling rates suitable for larger volumes, and with reduced cryoprotectant toxicity. OBJECTIVE: To set out the current understanding of the LiquidusTracking (LT) vitrification technique, and to discuss the challenges and benefits of translating the method into laboratory protocols more generally applicable to meet requirements of large volume and 3-D cryo-banking in the era of regenerative medicine. METHODS: By adding small amounts of cryoprotectants at each step and subsequently cooling the sample just above its freezing point before further increasing CPA concentration, cryoprotectant toxicity is minimized. RESULT: CPA toxicity can be reduced by lowering the temperature. Different manual approaches to LT were evaluated and further improved. CONCLUSIONS: Manual liquidus tracking is complicated and exhibits potential high variability. Nevertheless, this approach offers the possibility of testing several conditions simultaneously and could be used to pre-test conditions prior to automatic LT development

Antibody-based detection of protein phosphorylation status to track the efficacy of novel therapies using nanogram protein quantities from stem cells and cell lines

This protocol describes a highly reproducible antibody-based method that provides protein level and phosphorylation status information from nanogram quantities of protein cell lysate. Nanocapillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) combines with UV-activated linking chemistry to detect changes in phosphorylation status. As an example application, we describe how to detect changes in response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the phosphorylation status of the adaptor protein ​CrkL, a major substrate of the oncogenic tyrosine kinase ​BCR-​ABL in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), using highly enriched CML stem cells and mature cell populations in vitro. This protocol provides a 2.5 pg/nl limit of protein detection (<0.2% of a stem cell sample containing <104 cells). Additional assays are described for phosphorylated tyrosine 207 (pTyr207)-​CrkL and the protein tyrosine phosphatase ​PTPRC/​CD45; these assays were developed using this protocol and applied to CML patient samples. This method is of high throughput, and it can act as a screen for in vitro cancer stem cell response to drugs and novel agents

Biorefinery concept in the meat industry: From slaughterhouse biowastes to superaborbent materials

The expansion of food production has a large environmental impact in many ways. More specifically, 30–40% of total food production is lost as wastes and/or by-products before it reaches the market. In this sense, blood is an inevitable by-product in the meat industry that typically consists of 3–5% of the total weight of the animal. The dry organic matter present in blood is mostly protein, which can be employed more efficiently as raw material in the development of biodegradable materials. In the present manuscript, the blood collected after slaughtering of Iberian pigs was centrifuged and the upper (i.e., plasma) and bottom (i.e., red cells) layers were separated. Three freeze-dried fractions were characterized and evaluated on terms of their potential in the field of bioplastics: whole blood, plasma and bottom layer. Albumin was detected clearly in the plasma fraction, while globulins in red cells. After their characterization samples were mixed thoroughly with glycerol and injection molded at 120 ◦C. Special applications may be proposed for every fraction (i.e., whole blood, plasma or red cells), as the materials displayed different properties depending on the raw material employed. Thus, plasma resulted in materials with a greater deformability and swelling capacity during immersion, resulting in superabsorbent materials when processed at milder conditions (80 ◦C)The authors acknowledge the projects PID2021-124294OB-C21 and PID2021-124294OB-C22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033/ and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” which sup- ported this study. K.C. and P.G. thank the Basque Government for BIOMAT funding (IT1658-22). The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministerio de Universidades for the PhD grant PRE2019-089815 awarded to E. ´Alvarez-Castillo. The blood used was collected from a local slaughterhouse, Mataderos del Sur, S.A. Authors also would like to thank for kindly supplying the raw material employed in the study. The authors also acknowledge to the Microanalysis and Microscopy services from CITIUS (Universidad de Sevilla) for providing full access and assistance to equipment used