Thermodynamic analysis of methanation of palm empty fruit bunch (PEFB) pyrolysis oil with and without in situ CO2 sorption

Thermodynamic equilibrium analysis for conversion of palm empty fruit bunch (PEFB) bio-oil to methane using low-temperature steam reforming (LTSR) process was conducted by assuming either isothermal or adiabatic condition, with and without sorption enhancement (SE-LTSR), with CaO(S) or Ca(OH)2(S) as CO2 sorbent. Temperatures of 300-800 K, molar steam to carbon (S/C) ratios of 0.3-7.0, pressures of 1-30 atm and molar calcium to carbon ratios (Ca:C) of 0.3-1.0 were simulated. For reasons of process simplicity, the best conditions for CH4 production were observed for the adiabatic LTSR process without sorption at S/C between 2.5 and 3 (compared to the stoichiometric S/C of 0.375), inlet temperature above 450 K, resulting in reformer temperature of 582 K, where close to the theoretical maximum CH4 yield of 38 wt % of the simulated dry PEFB oil was obtained, resulting in a reformate consisting of 44.5 vol % CH4, 42.7 vol % CO2 and 12.7 vol % H2 and requiring only moderate heating mainly to partially preheat the reactants. Temperatures and S/C below these resulted in high risk of carbon by-product

Phase II study of the dual EGFR/HER3 inhibitor duligotuzumab (MEHD7945A) vs. cetuximab in combination with FOLFIRI in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer

PURPOSE: Duligotuzumab is a dual-action antibody directed against EGFR and HER3. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: mCRC patients with KRAS ex2 wild-type received duligotuzumab or cetuximab and FOLFIRI until progression or intolerable toxicity. Mandatory tumor samples underwent mutation and biomarker analysis. Efficacy analysis was conducted in patients with RAS exon 2/3 wild-type tumors. RESULTS: Of 134 randomized patients, 98 were RAS ex2/3 wild-type. Duligotuzumab provided no PFS or OR benefit compared to cetuximab; though there was a trend for lower ORR in the duligotuzumab arm. No relationship was seen between PFS or ORR and ERBB3, NRG1, or AREG expression. There were fewer skin rash events for duligotuzumab but more diarrhea. Although the incidence of grade ≥ 3 AEs was similar, the frequency of serious AEs was higher for duligotuzumab. CONCLUSIONS: Duligotuzumab plus FOLFIRI did not appear to improve the outcomes in patients with RAS exon 2/3 wild-type mCRC compared to cetuximab + FOLFIRI

Tree diversity and above-ground biomass in the South America Cerrado biome and their conservation implications

Less than half of the original two million square kilometers of the Cerrado vegetation remains standing, and there are still many uncertainties as to how to conserve and prioritize remaining areas effectively. A key limitation is the continuing lack of geographically-extensive evaluation of ecosystem-level properties across the biome. Here we sought to address this gap by comparing the woody vegetation of the typical cerrado of the Cerrado–Amazonia Transition with that of the core area of the Cerrado in terms of both tree diversity and vegetation biomass. We used 21 one-hectare plots in the transition and 18 in the core to compare key structural parameters (tree height, basal area, and above-ground biomass), and diversity metrics between the regions. We also evaluated the effects of temperature and precipitation on biomass, as well as explored the species diversity versus biomass relationship. We found, for the first time, both that the typical cerrado at the transition holds substantially more biomass than at the core, and that higher temperature and greater precipitation can explain this difference. By contrast, plot-level alpha diversity was almost identical in the two regions. Finally, contrary to some theoretical expectations, we found no positive relationship between species diversity and biomass for the Cerrado woody vegetation. This has implications for the development of effective conservation measures, given that areas with high biomass and importance for the compensation of greenhouse gas emissions are often not those with the greatest diversity