Biofuel production potential from wastewater in India by integrating anaerobic membrane reactor with algal photobioreactor

The authors would like to express sincere gratitude towards the Director, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus for the support in using the institutional infrastructure for the development of this paper.Peer reviewedPostprin

Low Cost Solar Tracker Using Gearbox and Timer Circuit

ABSTRACT: Solar technology has great potential in terms of supplying the world's energy demands. The effective way of using sunlight with solar energy concentration technology and solar tracking system is discussed in this paper. The present status of application and the ongoing research and development work suggest that parabolic dish solar concentrators coupled with solar trackers will bring a breakthrough of commercial solar energy concentration application technology in the coming years. The paper is focused on increasing the efficiency of parabolic dish concentrator using solar tracker. This paper will provide an up-to-date review of solar parabolic dish concentrators and their benefits to make solar technology affordable. . KEYWORDS: Solar tracker, Parabolic dish. I. INTRODUCTION Solar energy is a dilute form of energy, but the amount of solar energy that is incident on earth's surface is capable of solving our energy demands. It is thus required to utilize maximum energy incident on earth. Parabolic trough is a device which concentrates sun's rays at its focal point, it is possible for it to concentrate the rays towards its focal point due to the geometric properties, but it can only happen when the sun's rays are perpendicular to the surface of the concentrator. As the earth rotates the position of sun changes according to the time and this changes the focal point position. To overcome this problem it is necessary to track the path of the sun which will continuously keep the concentrator perpendicular to sun's rays. The sunlight incidence angle constantly varies, not only during the daytime, but it also changes drastically during the different seasons of the year. Moving the concentrator in order to track the sun can significantly improve the energy output. Tracking sun will help keeping the focal point at the same position due to which the temperature obtained will me maximum and the efficiency of the unit will increase. Also it has to be taken into consideration that the amount of energy the tracker will utilize to track the sun should be minimum, otherwise it will be of no use if the tracker utilizes more energy than the increased energy in concentrator. Another point which has an impact is the cost consideration, already the solar equipment are costlier compared to devices working on conventional sources. Hence the tracker system which is an additional unit should not cost much. In this paper we have focused on developing a solar tracker which will have less initial cost also it will have very less running cost compared to the trackers that are available. In this paper we have designed solar tracker for parabolic dish which can be used for process heating, thus with the use of this solar tracker we can have a fully automated unit which will require no human operator to change the concentrator position according to the position of the sun

Study of serum leptin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at a tertiary care centre of central India

Background: It has been reported that Insulin and leptin share a common central signaling pathway and there might be a possible role of leptin in the etiology of type 2 DM. Studies regarding role of leptin in type 2 DM in central India are lacking. Aim: This study was conducted with the aim of comparing leptin levels in patients with type 2 DM with apparently healthy controls. Subjects and Methods: A total of 80 subjects including 40 patients of type 2 DM attending outdoor clinics of MY Hospital and 40 age and sex matched healthy controls. Fasting venous blood sample was analysed for leptin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-C and fasting blood sugar (FBS). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 14. Results: Mean BMI of diabetic group was 32 ± 3.48kg/m2 and that of control group was 28 ± 2.56kg/m2. Leptin levels among diabetic cases were 29.3± 19.3 ng/ml and in non diabetic subjects it was 34.8 ±21.4 ng/ml. The difference in leptin levels between cases and control were statistically significant. Conclusion: Low leptin levels are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus independent of changes in BMI

Ketene and Ammonia Forming Acetamide in the Interstellar Medium

Background: Peptide bonds are among the fundamental building blocks of life, polymerizing amino acids to form proteins that make up the structural components of living cells and regulate biochemical processes. The detection of glycine by NASA in comet Wild 2 in 2009 suggests the possibility of the formation of biomolecules in extraterrestrial environments through the interstellar medium. Detected in the dense molecular cloud Sagittarius B2, acetamide is the largest molecule containing a peptide bond and is hypothesized to be the precursor to all amino acids; as such, viability of its formation is of important biological relevance. Methods: Under a proposed mechanism of ammonia and ketene reactants, which have also been detected in dense molecular clouds in the ISM, the reaction pathway for the formation of acetamide was modelled using quantum chemical calculations in Gaussian16, using Austin-Frisch-Petersson functional with dispersion density functional theory at a 6-31G(d) basis set level of theory to optimize geometries and determine the thermodynamic properties for the reaction. Stability of the reactants, transition states, and products were examined to establish a reasonable mechanism. Conclusion: Product formation of acetamide was found to be highly exergonic and exothermic with a low energy barrier, suggesting a mechanism that is viable in the extreme density and temperature conditions found in ISM

Quantum Chemical Study of the Formation of Urea in Interstellar Medium

Background: Many observational studies have found the presence of organic molecules in interstellar medium (ISM) via spectroscopy. NH2CONH2 (urea) was first detected in ISM in 2014. Containing two NH2 groups, urea is an important biological molecule in metabolism as a carrier for waste nitrogen. The discovery of urea in ISM suggests the possibility of the formation of other biomolecules which contain peptide bonds, such as proteins. This supports the origin of life theory proposing that these biomolecules were initially formed in space and later arrived to Earth. Methods: This study investigates two possible reaction pathways for the formation of protonated urea (ureaH+) in dense molecular clouds via molecules previously observed in the ISM, formamide (HCONH2) and protonated hydroxylamine (NH2OH2+). The thermodynamics and optimized geometries were calculated for the final steps of the formation of ureaH+ using Gaussian16 at the APFD/6-31G(d,p) level of theory and a transition state was confirmed. Results: The overall mechanism, as well as the studied proton rearrangement of an intermediate to ureaH+, were found to be exothermic and exergonic processes. Conclusion: From the calculations, the conditions of ISM provide an adequate environment for the formation of ureaH+ and urea

Considerations on biologicals for patients with allergic disease in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic: An EAACI statement

The outbreak of the SARS‐CoV‐2‐induced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic re‐shaped doctor‐patient interaction and challenged capacities of healthcare systems. It created many issues around the optimal and safest way to treat complex patients with severe allergic disease. A significant number of the patients are on treatment with biologicals, and clinicians face the challenge to provide optimal care during the pandemic. Uncertainty of the potential risks for these patients is related to the fact that the exact sequence of immunological events during SARS‐CoV‐2 is not known. Severe COVID‐19 patients may experience a “cytokine storm” and associated organ damage characterized by an exaggerated release of pro‐inflammatory type 1 and type 3 cytokines. These inflammatory responses are potentially counteracted by anti‐inflammatory cytokines and type 2 responses. This expert‐based EAACI statement aims to provide guidance on the application of biologicals targeting type 2 inflammation in patients with allergic disease. Currently, there is very little evidence for an enhanced risk of patients with allergic diseases to develop severe COVID‐19. Studies focusing on severe allergic phenotypes are lacking. At present, noninfected patients on biologicals for the treatment of asthma, atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, or chronic spontaneous urticaria should continue their biologicals targeting type 2 inflammation via self‐application. In case of an active SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, biological treatment needs to be stopped until clinical recovery and SARS‐CoV‐2 negativity is established and treatment with biologicals should be re‐initiated. Maintenance of add‐on therapy and a constant assessment of disease control, apart from acute management, are demanded

Considerations on biologicals for patients with allergic disease in times of the COVID-19 pandemic : An EAACI statement

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2-induced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic re-shaped doctor-patient interaction and challenged capacities of healthcare systems. It created many issues around the optimal and safest way to treat complex patients with severe allergic disease. A significant number of the patients are on treatment with biologicals, and clinicians face the challenge to provide optimal care during the pandemic. Uncertainty of the potential risks for these patients is related to the fact that the exact sequence of immunological events during SARS-CoV-2 is not known. Severe COVID-19 patients may experience a "cytokine storm" and associated organ damage characterized by an exaggerated release of pro-inflammatory type 1 and type 3 cytokines. These inflammatory responses are potentially counteracted by anti-inflammatory cytokines and type 2 responses. This expert-based EAACI statement aims to provide guidance on the application of biologicals targeting type 2 inflammation in patients with allergic disease. Currently, there is very little evidence for an enhanced risk of patients with allergic diseases to develop severe COVID-19. Studies focusing on severe allergic phenotypes are lacking. At present, noninfected patients on biologicals for the treatment of asthma, atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, or chronic spontaneous urticaria should continue their biologicals targeting type 2 inflammation via self-application. In case of an active SARS-CoV-2 infection, biological treatment needs to be stopped until clinical recovery and SARS-CoV-2 negativity is established and treatment with biologicals should be re-initiated. Maintenance of add-on therapy and a constant assessment of disease control, apart from acute management, are demanded.Peer reviewe