A mini review on renewable sources for biofuel

Rapid growth in both global energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions associated with the use of fossil fuels has driven the search for alternative sources which are renewable and have a lower environmental impact. This paper reviews the availability and bioenergy potentials of the current biomass feedstocks. These include (i) food crops such as sugarcane, corn and vegetable oils, classified as the first generation feedstocks, and (ii) lignocellulosic biomass derived from agricultural and forestry residues and municipal waste, as second generation feedstocks. The environmental and socioeconomic limitations of the first generation feedstocks have placed greater emphasis on the lignocellulosic biomass, of which the conversion technologies still faces major constraints to full commercial deployment. Key technical challenges and opportunities of the lignocellulosic biomass-to-bioenergy production are discussed in comparison with the first generation technologies. The potential of the emerging third generation biofuel from algal biomass is also reviewed. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Resident's strategy survey on a new end use of recycled water in Australia

The concept of using recycled water for washing machine was introduced as a new end use. As there is a noticeable lack social research in understanding the general public perceptions of this application, the resident's strategy survey was carried out at some selective suburbs in Sydney with demographically based significant differences of general, gender, age, education, and property style and ownership. The survey indicates that the majority in the community considers the use of recycled water for washing machine is indispensable in view of continuing drought and the associated water shortages. Given safety assurance and demonstration, recycled water for washing machine has a considerable proportion within the responses. The general level of knowledge in community clearly understand that recycled water is more environmentally friendly option, whereas from cleanness and public health point of view, higher quality water is required to be reused in washing machine. Moreover, the residents reckon to have a small unit for pre-treatment (point of use) before recycled water entering washing machines might assure the quality and safety. The survey also shows the major concerns for a resident to use recycled water for washing machine are public health, water cleanness and washing machine durability. © 2009 Desalination Publications

The TURis System for Transurethral Resection of the Prostate: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance

The transurethral resection in saline (TURis) system was notified by the company Olympus Medical to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE’s) Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme. Following selection for medical technologies guidance, the company developed a submission of clinical and economic evidence for evaluation. TURis is a bipolar surgical system for treating men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic enlargement. The comparator is any monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (mTURP) system. Cedar, a collaboration between Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff University and Swansea University in the UK, acted as an External Assessment Centre (EAC) for NICE to independently critique the company’s submission of evidence. Eight randomised trials provided evidence for TURis, demonstrating efficacy equivalent to that of mTURP for improvement of symptoms. The company presented meta-analyses of key outcome measures, and the EAC made methodological modifications in response to the heterogeneity of the trial data. The EAC analysis found that TURis substantially reduced the relative risks of transurethral resection syndrome (relative risk 0.18 [95 % confidence interval 0.05–0.62]) and blood transfusion (relative risk 0.35 [95 % confidence interval 0.19–0.65]). The company provided a de novo economic model comparing TURis with mTURP. The EAC critiqued the model methodology and made modifications. This found TURis to be cost saving at £70.55 per case for existing Olympus customers and cost incurring at £19.80 per case for non-Olympus customers. When an additional scenario based on the only available data on readmission (due to any cause) from a single trial was modelled, the estimated cost saving per case was £375.02 for existing users of Olympus electrosurgery equipment and £284.66 per case when new Olympus equipment would need to be purchased. Meta-analysis of eight randomised trials showed that TURis is associated with a statistically significantly reduced risk of transurethral resection syndrome and a reduced need for blood transfusion—two factors that may drive cost saving for the National Health Service. The clinical data are equivocal as to whether TURis shortens the hospital stay. Limited data from a single study suggest that TURis may reduce the rate of readmission after surgery. The NICE guidance supports adoption of the TURis technology for performing transurethral resection of the prostate in men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic enlargemen

Worldvolume Superalgebra Of BLG Theory With Nambu-Poisson Structure

Recently it was proposed that the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory with Nambu-Poisson structure describes an M5-brane in a three-form flux background. In this paper we investigate the superalgebra associated with this theory. We derive the central charges corresponding to M5-brane solitons in 3-form backgrounds. We also show that double dimensional reduction of the superalgebra gives rise to the Poisson bracket terms of a non-commutative D4-brane superalgebra. We provide interpretations of the D4-brane charges in terms of spacetime intersections.Comment: 23 pages; references added, section 4 clarification

Turnip mosaic potyvirus probably first spread to Eurasian brassica crops from wild orchids about 1000 years ago

Turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) is probably the most widespread and damaging virus that infects cultivated brassicas worldwide. Previous work has indicated that the virus originated in western Eurasia, with all of its closest relatives being viruses of monocotyledonous plants. Here we report that we have identified a sister lineage of TuMV-like potyviruses (TuMV-OM) from European orchids. The isolates of TuMV-OM form a monophyletic sister lineage to the brassica-infecting TuMVs (TuMV-BIs), and are nested within a clade of monocotyledon-infecting viruses. Extensive host-range tests showed that all of the TuMV-OMs are biologically similar to, but distinct from, TuMV-BIs and do not readily infect brassicas. We conclude that it is more likely that TuMV evolved from a TuMV-OM-like ancestor than the reverse. We did Bayesian coalescent analyses using a combination of novel and published sequence data from four TuMV genes [helper component-proteinase protein (HC-Pro), protein 3(P3), nuclear inclusion b protein (NIb), and coat protein (CP)]. Three genes (HC-Pro, P3, and NIb), but not the CP gene, gave results indicating that the TuMV-BI viruses diverged from TuMV-OMs around 1000 years ago. Only 150 years later, the four lineages of the present global population of TuMV-BIs diverged from one another. These dates are congruent with historical records of the spread of agriculture in Western Europe. From about 1200 years ago, there was a warming of the climate, and agriculture and the human population of the region greatly increased. Farming replaced woodlands, fostering viruses and aphid vectors that could invade the crops, which included several brassica cultivars and weeds. Later, starting 500 years ago, inter-continental maritime trade probably spread the TuMV-BIs to the remainder of the world

Publishing perishing? Towards tomorrow's information architecture

Scientific articles are tailored to present information in human-readable aliquots. Although the Internet has revolutionized the way our society thinks about information, the traditional text-based framework of the scientific article remains largely unchanged. This format imposes sharp constraints upon the type and quantity of biological information published today. Academic journals alone cannot capture the findings of modern genome-scale inquiry. Like many other disciplines, molecular biology is a science of facts: information inherently suited to database storage. In the past decade, a proliferation of public and private databases has emerged to house genome sequence, protein structure information, functional genomics data and more; these digital repositories are now a vital component of scientific communication. The next challenge is to integrate this vast and ever-growing body of information with academic journals and other media. To truly integrate scientific information we must modernize academic publishing to exploit the power of the Internet. This means more than online access to articles, hyperlinked references and web-based supplemental data; it means making articles fully computer-readable with intelligent markup and Structured Digital Abstracts. Here, we examine the changing roles of scholarly journals and databases. We present our vision of the optimal information architecture for the biosciences, and close with tangible steps to improve our handling of scientific information today while paving the way for an expansive central index in the future

An integrated general practice and pharmacy-based intervention to promote the use of appropriate preventive medications among individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for significant morbidity, premature mortality, and economic burden. Despite established evidence that supports the use of preventive medications among patients at high CVD risk, treatment gaps remain. Building on prior evidence and a theoretical framework, a complex intervention has been designed to address these gaps among high-risk, under-treated patients in the Australian primary care setting. This intervention comprises a general practice quality improvement tool incorporating clinical decision support and audit/feedback capabilities; availability of a range of CVD polypills (fixed-dose combinations of two blood pressure lowering agents, a statin ± aspirin) for prescription when appropriate; and access to a pharmacy-based program to support long-term medication adherence and lifestyle modification. Methods: Following a systematic development process, the intervention will be evaluated in a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial including 70 general practices for a median period of 18 months. The 35 general practices in the intervention group will work with a nominated partner pharmacy, whereas those in the control group will provide usual care without access to the intervention tools. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients at high CVD risk who were inadequately treated at baseline who achieve target blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels at the study end. The outcomes will be analyzed using data from electronic medical records, utilizing a validated extraction tool. Detailed process and economic evaluations will also be performed. Discussion: The study intends to establish evidence about an intervention that combines technological innovation with team collaboration between patients, pharmacists, and general practitioners (GPs) for CVD prevention. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN1261600023342

MBL2 and Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Injection Drug Users

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic variations in <it>MBL2 </it>that reduce circulating levels and alter functional properties of the mannose binding lectin (MBL) have been associated with many autoimmune and infectious diseases. We examined whether <it>MBL2 </it>variants influence the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were enrolled in the Urban Health Study of San Francisco Bay area injection drug users (IDU) during 1998 through 2000. Study subjects who had a positive test for HCV antibody were eligible for the current study. Participants who were positive for HCV RNA were frequency matched to those who were negative for HCV RNA on the basis of ethnicity and duration of IDU. Genotyping was performed for 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms in <it>MBL2</it>. Statistical analyses of European American and African American participants were conducted separately.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis included 198 study subjects who were positive for HCV antibody, but negative for HCV RNA, and 654 IDUs who were positive for both antibody and virus. There was no significant association between any of the genetic variants that cause MBL deficiency and the presence of HCV RNA. Unexpectedly, the <it>MBL2 </it>-289X promoter genotype, which causes MBL deficiency, was over-represented among European Americans who were HCV RNA negative (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.05–2.58), although not among the African Americans.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study found no association between genetic variants that cause MBL deficiency and the presence of HCV RNA. The observation that <it>MBL2 </it>-289X was associated with the absence of HCV RNA in European Americans requires validation.</p

A holistic multi evidence approach to study the fragmentation behaviour of crystalline mannitol

Mannitol is an essential excipient employed in orally disintegrating tablets due to its high palatability. However its fundamental disadvantage is its fragmentation during direct compression, producing mechanically weak tablets. The primary aim of this study was to assess the fracture behaviour of crystalline mannitol in relation to the energy input during direct compression, utilising ball milling as the method of energy input, whilst assessing tablet characteristics of post-milled powders. Results indicated that crystalline mannitol fractured at the hydrophilic (011) plane, as observed through SEM, alongside a reduction in dispersive surface energy. Disintegration times of post-milled tablets were reduced due to the exposure of the hydrophilic plane, whilst more robust tablets were produced. This was shown through higher tablet hardness and increased plastic deformation profiles of the post-milled powders, as observed with a lower yield pressure through an out-of-die Heckel analysis. Evaluation of crystal state using x-ray diffraction/differential scanning calorimetry showed that mannitol predominantly retained the β-polymorph; however x-ray diffraction provided a novel method to calculate energy input into the powders during ball milling. It can be concluded that particle size reduction is a pragmatic strategy to overcome the current limitation of mannitol fragmentation and provide improvements in tablet properties