154 research outputs found
A Real Story of Bioethanol from Biomass: Malaysia Perspective
Rising fossil fuel prices associated with growing demand for energy, and environment concerns are the key factors driving strong interest in renewable energy sources, particular in biofuel. Biofuel refers to any type of fuel whose energy is derived from plant materials. Biofuel which includes solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases is among the most rapidly growing renewable energy technologies in recently. Biofuels are commonly divided into two groups based on the technology maturity which using the terms âconventionalâ and âadvancedâ for classification. Conventional biofuel technologies include well-established processes that are already producing biofuels on a commercial scale. These biofuels, commonly referred to as first-generation, include sugar- and starch-based ethanol, oil-crop based biodiesel and straight vegetable oil, as well as biogas derived through anaerobic digestion. First generation biofuel processes are useful but limited in most cases: there is a threshold above which they cannot produce enough biofuel without threatening food supplies and biodiversity. Whereas, advanced biofuel technologies are extensions from conventional technologies which some are still in the research and development (R&D), pilot or demonstration phase and they are commonly referred to as second- or third-generation. This category includes hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which is based on animal fat and plant oil, as well as bioethanol based on lignocellulosic biomass, such as cellulosic-ethanol. Although there are wide varieties of advanced biofuels conversion technologies exists today, but they are not commercially available yet. Nevertheless, the most commercializable technology and most used biofuel on the global market is bioethanol
The repulsive nature of naked singularities from the point of view of Quantum Mechanics
We use the Dirac equation coupled to a background metric to examine what
happens to quantum mechanical observables like the probability density and the
radial current in the vicinity of a naked singularity of the
Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m type. We find that the wave function of the Dirac
particle is regular in the point of the singularity. We show that the
probability density is exactly zero at the singularity reflecting
quantum-mechanically the repulsive nature of the naked singularity.
Furthermore, the surface integral of the radial current over a sphere in the
vicinity of the naked singularity turns out to be also zero.Comment: 11 page
Efimov Trimers near the Zero-crossing of a Feshbach Resonance
Near a Feshbach resonance, the two-body scattering length can assume any
value. When it approaches zero, the next-order term given by the effective
range is known to diverge. We consider the question of whether this divergence
(and the vanishing of the scattering length) is accompanied by an anomalous
solution of the three-boson Schr\"odinger equation similar to the one found at
infinite scattering length by Efimov. Within a simple zero-range model, we find
no such solutions, and conclude that higher-order terms do not support Efimov
physics.Comment: 8 pages, no figures, final versio
RUNX1-ETO Depletion in t(8;21) AML Leads to C/EBP alpha- and AP-1-Mediated Alterations in Enhancer-Promoter Interaction
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with mutations in transcriptional and epigenetic regulator
genes impairing myeloid differentiation. The t(8;21)
(q22;q22) translocation generates the RUNX1-ETO
fusion protein, which interferes with the hematopoietic master regulator RUNX1. We previously showed
that the maintenance of t(8;21) AML is dependent on
RUNX1-ETO expression. Its depletion causes extensive changes in transcription factor binding, as well
as gene expression, and initiates myeloid differentiation. However, how these processes are connected
within a gene regulatory network is unclear. To
address this question, we performed Promoter-Capture Hi-C assays, with or without RUNX1-ETO depletion and assigned interacting cis-regulatory elements
to their respective genes. To construct a RUNX1-
ETO-dependent gene regulatory network maintaining
AML, we integrated cis-regulatory element interactions with gene expression and transcription factor
binding data. This analysis shows that RUNX1-ETO
participates in cis-regulatory element interactions.
However, differential interactions following RUNX1-
ETO depletion are driven by alterations in the binding
of RUNX1-ETO-regulated transcription factors
Association of maternal Vitamin D status with glucose tolerance and caesarean section in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort: the growing up in Singapore towards healthy outcomes study
10.1371/journal.pone.0142239PLoS ONE10111-16GUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes
Production of a dual-species Bose-Einstein condensate of Rb and Cs atoms
We report the simultaneous production of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of
Rb and Cs atoms in separate optical traps. The two samples are
mixed during laser cooling and loading but are separated by m for the
final stage of evaporative cooling. This is done to avoid considerable
interspecies three-body recombination, which causes heating and evaporative
loss. We characterize the BEC production process, discuss limitations, and
outline the use of the dual-species BEC in future experiments to produce
rovibronic ground state molecules, including a scheme facilitated by the
superfluid-to-Mott-insulator (SF-MI) phase transition
Mapping geographical inequalities in childhood diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000â17 : analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
Background
Across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), one in ten deaths in children younger than 5 years is attributable to diarrhoea. The substantial between-country variation in both diarrhoea incidence and mortality is attributable to interventions that protect children, prevent infection, and treat disease. Identifying subnational regions with the highest burden and mapping associated risk factors can aid in reducing preventable childhood diarrhoea.
Methods
We used Bayesian model-based geostatistics and a geolocated dataset comprising 15â072â746 children younger than 5 years from 466 surveys in 94 LMICs, in combination with findings of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, to estimate posterior distributions of diarrhoea prevalence, incidence, and mortality from 2000 to 2017. From these data, we estimated the burden of diarrhoea at varying subnational levels (termed units) by spatially aggregating draws, and we investigated the drivers of subnational patterns by creating aggregated risk factor estimates.
Findings
The greatest declines in diarrhoeal mortality were seen in south and southeast Asia and South America, where 54·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 38·1â65·8), 17·4% (7·7â28·4), and 59·5% (34·2â86·9) of units, respectively, recorded decreases in deaths from diarrhoea greater than 10%. Although children in much of Africa remain at high risk of death due to diarrhoea, regions with the most deaths were outside Africa, with the highest mortality units located in Pakistan. Indonesia showed the greatest within-country geographical inequality; some regions had mortality rates nearly four times the average country rate. Reductions in mortality were correlated to improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) or reductions in child growth failure (CGF). Similarly, most high-risk areas had poor WASH, high CGF, or low oral rehydration therapy coverage.
Interpretation
By co-analysing geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden and its key risk factors, we could assess candidate drivers of subnational death reduction. Further, by doing a counterfactual analysis of the remaining disease burden using key risk factors, we identified potential intervention strategies for vulnerable populations. In view of the demands for limited resources in LMICs, accurately quantifying the burden of diarrhoea and its drivers is important for precision public health
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Track A Basic Science
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138319/1/jia218438.pd
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