Recent development in the production of third generation biodiesel from microalgae

© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Increasing global energy demand at a rate faster than the population growth has led the researcher to look for alternative fuel. Amongst the options, biodiesel is an environmentally sustainable substitute of diesel fuel being renewable, biodegradable and have similar properties of fossil diesel. Among the biodiesel sources, microalgae is a potential third generation biodiesel feedstock which can be produced throughout the year and its oil yield is higher than any other crops. This paper reviews recent development in microalgae biodiesel in terms of its oil extraction technics, challenges of oil extraction, production of biodiesel from microalgae oil and its fuel properties. Finally, the paper discusses the performance and combustion analysis of diesel engine fuelled with microalgae biodiesel. This paper provides a clear understanding of the potential use of microalgae biodiesel as an alternative source to fossil diesel for diesel engines

Unconventional Reservoir Characterization and Formation Evaluation: A Case Study of a Tight Sandstone Reservoir in West Africa

Unconventional reservoirs, including gas shales and tight gas sands, have gained prominence in the energy sector due to technological advancements and escalating energy demands. The oil industry is eagerly refining techniques to decipher these reservoirs, aiming to reduce data collection costs and uncertainties in reserve estimations. Characteristically, tight reservoirs exhibit low matrix porosity and ultra-low permeability, necessitating artificial stimulation for enhanced production. The efficacy of the stimulation hinges on the organic material distribution, the rock’s mechanical attributes, and the prevailing stress field. Comprehensive petrophysical analysis, integrating standard and specialized logs, core analyses, and dynamic data, is pivotal for a nuanced understanding of these reservoirs. This ensures a reduction in prediction uncertainties, with parameters like shale volume, porosity, and permeability being vital. This article delves into an intricate petrophysical evaluation of the Nene field, a West African unconventional reservoir. It underscores the geological intricacies of the field, the pivotal role of data acquisition, and introduces avant-garde methodologies for depth matching, rock typing, and the estimation of permeability. This research highlights the significance of unconventional reservoir exploration in today’s energy milieu, offering a granular understanding of the Nene field’s geological challenges and proffering a blueprint for analogous future endeavours in unconventional reservoirs

Waste coffee Oil: A promising source for biodiesel production

The oil from waste coffee possesses the potential as a feedstock for biodiesel production. In this study, waste coffee grounds were collected from Turkey. Then the oil was extracted from waste coffee grounds using N-hexane. The two-step acid-base catalyst transesterification process was used to produce biodiesel as the acid value of the crude oil was found higher (15.4 mgKOH/g).This was followed by an investigation of some physical and chemical properties. It was found that the properties of waste coffee biodiesel fell within the limit of ASTM standards. So the studied physicochemical properties of the waste coffee biodiesel suggest that this fuel can be used as a fuel in diesel engines

Framework for Implementing a Supplier Kanban System through Action Research Methodology

Purpose: The aim of this study is to develop a framework for the implementation of a Supplier Kanban System Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted within a factory focusing on the warehousing and supplier-related operations using an action research methodology Findings: The study period spanning over six years was aimed to reduce the inventory and the manpower required to manage this inventory. This initiative led to a substantial average savings of more than 500,000 Malaysian Ringgit annually Research limitations/implications: The focus of the study is on a framework for implementing a Supplier Kanban System in a small or medium-sized company within the automotive industry Practical implications: This framework is designed to be self-sufficient such that the members of the organisation can use it without the help of external experts or consultants Social implications: Reduction in inventory stored in the warehouse, the amount of redundant work carried out by the employees and other non-monetary improvements which are difficult to a monetise resulted in a much better work environment and happier employees Originality/value: The changing in the paradigm of the manufacturing value chain affects the tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers in Malaysia. The lines and value chains posing challenges to the suppliers have brought the idea of the Supplier Kanban system. The Supplier Kanban System adopted the Action Research Cycles and Continuous Learning Cycles, and this process was documented and developed as the Framework for the Implementation of a Supplier Kanban System

Inhibition of Mesothelin as a Novel Strategy for Targeting Cancer Cells

Mesothelin, a differentiation antigen present in a series of malignancies such as mesothelioma, ovarian, lung and pancreatic cancer, has been studied as a marker for diagnosis and a target for immunotherapy. We, however, were interested in evaluating the effects of direct targeting of Mesothelin on the viability of cancer cells as the first step towards developing a novel therapeutic strategy. We report here that gene specific silencing for Mesothelin by distinct methods (siRNA and microRNA) decreased viability of cancer cells from different origins such as mesothelioma (H2373), ovarian cancer (Skov3 and Ovcar-5) and pancreatic cancer (Miapaca2 and Panc-1). Additionally, the invasiveness of cancer cells was also significantly decreased upon such treatment. We then investigated pro-oncogenic signaling characteristics of cells upon mesothelin-silencing which revealed a significant decrease in phospho-ERK1 and PI3K/AKT activity. The molecular mechanism of reduced invasiveness was connected to the reduced expression of β-Catenin, an important marker of EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition). Ero1, a protein involved in clearing unfolded proteins and a member of the ER-Stress (endoplasmic reticulum-stress) pathway was also markedly reduced. Furthermore, Mesothelin silencing caused a significant increase in fraction of cancer cells in S-phase. In next step, treatment of ovarian cancer cells (OVca429) with a lentivirus expressing anti-mesothelin microRNA resulted in significant loss of viability, invasiveness, and morphological alterations. Therefore, we propose the inhibition of Mesothelin as a potential novel strategy for targeting human malignancies

The influence of the accessory genome on bacterial pathogen evolution

Bacterial pathogens exhibit significant variation in their genomic content of virulence factors. This reflects the abundance of strategies pathogens evolved to infect host organisms by suppressing host immunity. Molecular arms-races have been a strong driving force for the evolution of pathogenicity, with pathogens often encoding overlapping or redundant functions, such as type III protein secretion effectors and hosts encoding ever more sophisticated immune systems. The pathogens’ frequent exposure to other microbes, either in their host or in the environment, provides opportunities for the acquisition or interchange of mobile genetic elements. These DNA elements accessorise the core genome and can play major roles in shaping genome structure and altering the complement of virulence factors. Here, we review the different mobile genetic elements focusing on the more recent discoveries and highlighting their role in shaping bacterial pathogen evolution

Relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass during the acute and convalescent phase of myocarditis – a CMR study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myocardial edema is a substantial feature of the inflammatory response in human myocarditis. The relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass in the course of healing myocarditis has not been systematically investigated. We hypothesised that the resolution of myocardial edema as visualised by T2-weighted cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is associated with a decrease of myocardial mass in steady state free precession (SSFP)-cine imaging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>21 patients with acute myocarditis underwent CMR shortly after onset of symptoms and 1 year later. For visualization of edema, a T2-weighted breath-hold black-blood triple-inversion fast spin echo technique was applied and the ratio of signal intensity of myocardium/skeletal muscle was assessed. Left ventricular (LV) mass, volumes and function were quantified from biplane cine steady state free precession images.</p> <p>11 healthy volunteers served as a control group for interstudy reproducibility of LV mass.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In patients with myocarditis, a significant decrease in LV mass was observed during follow-up compared to the acute phase (156.7 ± 30.6 g vs. 140.3 ± 28.3 g, p < 0.0001). The reduction of LV mass paralleled the normalization of initially increased myocardial signal intensity on T2-weighted images (2.4 ± 0.4 vs. 1.68 ± 0.3, p < 0.0001).</p> <p>In controls, the interstudy difference of LV mass was lower than in patients (5.1 ± 2.9 g vs. 16.3 ± 14.2 g, p = 0.02) resulting in a lower coefficient of variability (2.1 vs 8.9%, p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reversible abnormalities in T2-weighted CMR are paralleled by a transient increase in left ventricular mass during the course of myocarditis. Myocardial edema may be a common pathway explaining these findings.</p