Influence of Addition of Rice Husk Ash on Porcelain Composition

Rice husk ash (RHA) has long been known to possess high silica content. The abundance of rice husk as agricultural waste makes it the most promising to be used as a supplementary cementations and ceramic material. In this study RHA was used as an additive material on porcelain body. The rice husk was subjected to the chemical pretreatment with 2M HCL, 250C before calcinations to increase silica content of the husk ash. The pressed pellets were sintered at the temperature of 12000C and soaked for 2 hours. It was found that progressive addition of RHA in a porcelain body resulted in early vitrification of the mixture. The compressive strength was the highest at 40wt% addition of RHA. Porosity was the least at 40wt%. It can therefore be concluded that 40wt% addition of RHA into the porcelain body is the best composition.Keywords: RHA, Porcelain, Compressive Strength, Bulk Density, Porosit

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

The Effects of Carbon Emissions and Agency Costs on Firm Performance

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HBME-1 expression in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid lesions

Thyroid carcinomas are classically diagnosed based on specific morphological criteria. In some cases, a definitive diagnosis may be difficult when morphological features are equivocal. This study evaluated the utility of Hector Battifora Mesothelial-1 (HBME-1) as an immunohistochemical marker to differentiate malignant from benign thyroid lesions and to compare its expression in different types of thyroid lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of HBME-1 as a specific marker for thyroid carcinoma were also studied. A total of 54 malignant and 54 benign thyroid cases diagnosed were collected in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre for a period of seven years. All cases were stained with HBME-1 and evaluated by three independent observers. The cases were scored based on the proportion of staining and graded as 0 (less than 10%), 1+ (10-25%), 2+ (26-50%) or 3+ (more than 50%). In addition, the score of malignant cases was correlated with their pathological tumour stage. HBME-1 showed significantly higher expression in malignant compared to benign lesions (P<0.001) with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) showed the highest expression among the carcinoma cases (87.1%). Benign lesions were mostly negative (96%), except for two follicular adenoma cases having focal positivity. HBME-1 had a sensitivity of 57% and specificity of 96% in thyroid carcinoma. There was no correlation between HBME-1 expression and TNM primary tumour stage (pT). HBME-1 might be a useful marker in distinguishing malignant from benign thyroid lesions, especially in PTC cases

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

Isolation and biochemical characterizations of the bacteria (Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae) associated with red stripe disease of sugarcane

Studies on Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae, associated with red stripe disease of sugarcane was conducted in the Department of Plant Pathology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi during 2009 to 2010, in collaboration with Shakarganj Sugar Research Institute (SSRI), Jhang, Pakistan. Red stripe of sugarcane were recently observed on promising clones of sugarcane planted in autumn 2009 at Ashaba Research Farm of SSRI. Bacteria were isolated from diseased plants. These isolates yielded off white convex colonies on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media at 29°C with 1.7 to 1.9 mm diameter and were yellow on yeast extract dextrose chalk agar (YDC) media at 27°C with 1.8 to 2.0 mm diameter. The bacteria were rod shape measuring 0.5 to 0.6 × 1.4 to 1.6 μm on PDA and 0.6 to 0.7 × 1.5 to 1.7 μm on YDC. Bacterial culture was stored at different temperature levels for 150 days. Reisolation of bacterial culture which was stored at 4°C showed best result on YDC at 27°C after 150 days, whereas it showed positive result after 120 days on PDA at 29°C. Bacteria were gram negative, citrate utilization was positive, oxidase was negative, catalase was positive and urease was negative. Morphological appearance and biochemical characterizations identified the bacteria as A. avenae subsp. Avenae. In vitro screening for the efficacy of various antibiotics to inhibit the growth of A. avenae subsp. avenae on YDC media showed that ampicillin and vancomycin were most effective. Artificial inoculation on sugarcane against red stripe disease was observed. Observations were made upto six weeks for disease development. Out of 27 varieties, 16 were found resistant, four moderately resistant, five moderately susceptible and two susceptible.Key words: Sugarcane, yeast extract dextrose chalk agar (YDC), potato dextrose agar (PDA), Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae, biochemical characterization, antibiotics