Literature review of physical and chemical pretreatment processes for lignocellulosic biomass

Different pretreatment technologies published in public literature are described in terms of the mechanisms involved, advantages and disadvantages, and economic assessment. Pretreatment technologies for lignocellulosic biomass include biological, mechanical, chemical methods and various combinations thereof. The choice of the optimum pretreatment process depends very much on the objective of the biomass pretreatment, its economic assessment and environmental impact. Only a small number of pretreatment methods has been reported as being potentially cost-effective thus far. These include steam explosion, liquid hot water, concentrated acid hydrolysis and dilute acid pretreatments

Curculionidae (weevils) of the alpine zone of mount Kenya

Volume: XXVI

Distribution and host-specificity of a number of fleas collected in south and central Kenya

Volume: XXVI

The Use of Visible Geostationary Operational Meteorological Satellite Imagery in Mapping the Water Balance over Puerto Rico for Water Resource Management

A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba became available in 2009 through a collaboration between the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Solar insolation data are available at 1 km resolution for Puerto Rico and the USVI and 2 km resolution for the other islands, as derived from 500 m resolution GOES-16 visible imagery. The insolation data demonstrate the powerful utility of satellite-derived fields for water resource applications, specifically the routine production of potential and reference evapotranspiration. This chapter describes the theoretical background and technical approach for estimating components of the daily water and energy balance in Puerto Rico. Useful information can be obtained from the model, which benefits disaster and emergency management, agriculture, human health, ecology, coastal water management, and renewable energy development at the island scale

Notes on Succession in Old Fields in Southeastern Ontario: the Herbs

Vegetation in abandoned hayfields was monitored during 1976-1998. An earlier successional stage followed ploughing. Changes in tree, shrub and vine populations have been reported earlier and showed expected increases in species richness and cover. Highest species richness of herbs occurred three years after ploughing. Non-woody species richness trended irregularly downward, while non-woody cover was variable, peaking in 1987. Within the herbaceous community, year-to-year changes in cover and frequency of species in the following selected groups are reported here: 18 grasses including sown and adventive species; 13 legumes including two sown species; 14 macroforbs of the Compositae, including a goldenrod, Solidago canadensis, which dominated parts of the fields; a rosette weed, Taraxacum officinalis; sedges, horsetails and some other minor components. Grasses and goldenrods were grazed, sometimes intensively and repeatedly, by insects; grasses were impacted by skipper larvae (Thymelicus lineola), and goldenrods by beetle larvae (Trirhabda spp.). Effects of repeated outbreaks on host plant cover are shown for two plots (100 m2) matching the scale of outbreaks

EUREGIO MRSA-net Twente/Munsterland - a Dutch-German cross-border network for the prevention and control of infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Binary file ES_Abstracts_Final_ECDC.txt matches </jats:p

Estimando evapotranspiración en Puerto Rico

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recommended the Penman-Monteith method as the single method for estimating reference evapotranspiration throughout the world. A disadvantage of the method, however, is its relatively high data requirement. Measurements of wind speed, humidity (or dew point temperature) and radiation tend to be the least available of the required parameters; therefore, the FAO has presented estimation procedures for these parameters. The purpose of this study was to evaluate estimation procedures for climate data to be used in the Penman-Monteith method for estimating long-term daily reference evapotranspiration, and to verify the accuracy of the procedures at four locations in Puerto Rico. Comparison of reference evapotranspiration determined by using the estimated and measured climate data shows reasonably good agreement. The methods presented in this paper are potentially valuable for calculating the long-term average daily reference evapotranspiration at any location in Puerto Rico. An example is provided to illustrate the use of the proposed estimation procedures for climate parameters. This study presents a comparison of reference evapotranspiration calculated by the Penman-Monteith method, with estimates previously made by using the Hargreaves-Samani method, for thirty-four locations in Puerto Rico. In addition, estimated peak evapotranspiration from the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) (now Natural Resources Conservation Service) Irrigation Guide for the Caribbean Area, the SCS Blaney-Criddle method and the Penman-Monteith method were compared for six vegetable crops at three locations in Puerto Rico. The results suggest that some irrigation systems may have been under-designed in terms of flow capacity in Puerto Rico.La Organización de Alimentos y Agricultura de las Naciones Unidas (FAO, por sus siglas en inglés) ha recomendado el método de Penman-Monteith como el único método de calculación que se debería usar para estimar evapotranspiración de referencia a través del mundo. Sin embargo, una desventaja del método es que requiere un número alto de datos. Las medidas de la velocidad del viento, la humedad (o la temperatura de punto de rocío) y la radiación tienden a ser los parámetros requeridos más difíciles de obtener; por ello, la FAO ofrece procedimientos alternos de estimación para estos parámetros. El propósito de este estudio fue evaluar los procedimientos de estimación de los datos del clima requeridos por el método de Penman-Monteith para estimar (a evapotranspiración de referencia promedio diaria a largo plazo y verificar la exactitud de los procedimientos en cuatro zonas de Puerto Rico. Se encontró una alta correlación entre la evapotranspiración de referencia calculada con los datos estimados (FAO) y la calculada con los datos observados del clima. Los métodos presentados son potenciatmente valiosos para calcular la evapotranspiración de referencia promedio diaria en cualquier zona de Puerto Rico. Se provee un ejemplo para ilustrar el uso del procedimiento propuesto para estimar parámetros del clima. Se presenta una comparación de la evapotranspiración de referencia calculada por el método de Penman-Monteith y resultados estimados previamente por el método de Hargreaves-Samani para 34 zonas en Puerto Rico. Además, el estimado máximo de evapotranspiración de la Guía de Riego del Servicio de Conservación de Suelos (SCS) (ahora Servicio de Conservación de Recursos Naturales) para el Área def Caribe, el método de Blaney-Criddfe (SCS) y él método de Penman-Monteith se compararon para seis vegetales en tres localidades en Puerto Rico. Los resultados indican que algunos sistemas de riego no tienen suficiente capacidad para suplir agua en Puerto Rico

Enhancement of toxin- and virus-neutralizing capacity of single-domain antibody fragments by N-glycosylation

Single-domain antibody fragments (VHHs) have several beneficial properties as compared to conventional antibody fragments. However, their small size complicates their toxin- and virus-neutralizing capacity. We isolated 27 VHHs binding Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin and expressed these in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The most potent neutralizing VHH (LT109) was N-glycosylated, resulting in a large increase in molecular mass. This suggests that N-glycosylation of LT109 improves its neutralizing capacity. Indeed, deglycosylation of LT109 decreased its neutralizing capacity three- to fivefold. We also studied the effect of glycosylation of two previously isolated VHHs on their ability to neutralize foot-and-mouth disease virus. For this purpose, these VHHs that lacked potential N-glycosylation sites were genetically fused to another VHH that was known to be glycosylated. The resulting fusion proteins were also N-glycosylated. They neutralized the virus at at least fourfold-lower VHH concentrations as compared to the single, non-glycosylated VHHs and at at least 50-fold-lower VHH concentrations as compared to their deglycosylated counterparts. Thus, we have shown that N-glycosylation of VHHs contributes to toxin- and virus-neutralizing capacity

Бароосмотичний аналіз як новий метод гідрогеологічних досліджень

Запропоновано методику бароосмотичного аналiзу гiдрогеологiчних даних для окремих свердловин, за якою визначаються величина бароосмотичного напору H2O у пластових (порових) водах i ступiнь вiдхилення їх вiд стану бароосмотичної рiвноваги на кiлькох водоносних горизонтах. Результати аналiзу для чотирьох свердловин з рiзних регiонiв пiдтвердили iснування вертикальних бароосмотичних потокiв у глинистих товщах усiх розрiзiв i дали змогу визначити напрями цих потокiв та виявити зони впливу особливих локальних гiдрогеологiчних процесiв.Methods of baroosmotic analysis of hydrogeological data for separate boreholes have been proposed. They can be applied to determine the baroosmotic pressure of H2O in formational (porous) waters and the degree of their defection from the state of baroosmotic balance at several water-bearing horizons. The results of analysis conducted at 4 boreholes from different regions have confirmed the existence of vertical baroosmotic flows in clayey units of all sections and have allowed us to determine the directions of these flows and to reveal the zones affected by specific local hydrogeological processes

Pitfalls and novel experimental approaches to optimize microbial interventions for chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucositis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There is a growing number of studies implicating gut dysbiosis in mucositis development. However, few studies have shed light on the causal relationship limiting translational potential. Here, we detail the key supportive evidence for microbial involvement, candidate mechanisms by which the microbiome may contribute to mucositis and emerging approaches to model host-microbe interactions with clinical relevance and translational potential. RECENT FINDINGS: Synthesis of existing clinical data demonstrate that modulating the microbiome drastically alters the development and severity of mucositis, providing a strong rationale for its involvement. Review of the literature revealed potential microbiome-dependent mechanisms of mucosal injury including altered drug metabolism, bile acid synthesis and regulation of the intestinal barrier. Current studies are limited in their mechanistic insight due to cross-sectional and would benefit from longitudinal analyses and baseline phenotyping. SUMMARY: The causative role of the microbiome in mucositis development remains unclear. Future studies must adopt comprehensive microbial analyses with functional assessment, and utilize emerging ex-vivo models to interrogate host-microbe interactions in mucositis