Physio-chemical assessment of beauty leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum) as second-generation biodiesel feedstock

Recently, biodiesels from non-edible vegetable oil, known as second generation biodiesel, are receiving more attention because it can overcome food versus fuel crisis related to edible oils. The Beauty Leaf tree (Calophyllum Inophyllum) is a potential source of non-edible vegetable oil for producing future generation biodiesel because of its sustainability in a wide range of climate conditions, easy cultivation, high fruit production rate, and the high oil content in the seed. In this study, bio-oil was extracted from beauty leaf tree seeds through three different oil extraction methods. The important physical and chemical properties of produced beauty leaf oils were experimentally analysed and compared with commercial edible vegetable oils. Biodiesel was produced using a two-stage esterification process consisting of acid catalysed pre-esterification and alkali catalysed Transesterification. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile and physicochemical properties including kinematic viscosity, density, higher heating value and acid value were measured using laboratory standard testing equipment following internationally recognized testing procedures. Other fuel properties including oxidation stability, iodine value, cetane number, flash point, cold filter plugging point, cloud point and pour point temperature were estimated using Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) of biodiesel. Physicochemical properties of beauty leaf oil biodiesels are described briefly and compared with recognised biodiesel standards and commercially available biodiesels produced from edible oil feedstock. Quality of produced biodiesel was assessed based 13 important chemical and physical properties through Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Graphical Analysis for Interactive Assistance (GAIA) analysis. This study found that Mechanical extraction using the screw press can produce oil from correctly prepared product at a low cost, however overall this method is ineffective with relatively low oil yields. The study found that seed preparation has a significant impact on oil yields, especially in the mechanical oil extraction method. High temperature and pressure in extraction process increases the performance of oil extraction. On the contrary, this process increases the free fatty acid content in the oil. Clear difference was found in physical properties of beauty leaf oils that eventually affected the oil to biodiesel conversion process. However, beauty leaf oils methyl esters (biodiesel) were very consistent and able to meet almost all indicators of biodiesel standards. Furthermore, it showed as a better automobile fuel compared to most of the commercially available biodiesels produced from edible oil sources. Result of this study indicated that, Beauty Leaf oil seed is readily available feedstock to commence the commercial production of 2nd generation biodiesel. The findings of this study are expected to serve as the basis from which industrial scale biodiesel production from Beauty Leaf can be made

Epidemiology and genetic characterization of Peste des petits ruminants virus in Bangladesh

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute, highly contagious disease responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates in susceptible sheep and goats. Adequate knowledge of the diversity of circulating strains of PPR virus will help livestock authorities choose appropriate vaccines. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of PPR and characterize the strains circulating in Bangladesh. Veterinarians enrolled goats showing signs consistent with PPR, including diarrhoea, fever and respiratory distress, from three veterinary hospitals. Post-treatment follow up was carried out to ascertain health outcomes of the goats. Faecal and throat swab samples were collected from the goats and tested for PPRV RNA using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). Nucleotide sequence-based phylogenetic analyses of two structural genes, the nucleocapsid (N gene), and the haemagglutinin (H gene) were studied to determine the genetic variations of PPRV strains. Of the 539 goats enrolled, 38% (203/539) had detectable RNA for PPRV. We were able to follow up with 91% (184/203) of the PPRV infected goats; 44 of them died (24%). PPRV was more frequently identified in the summer (45%) than in the rainy season (29%) (Odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.3–3.1). Bangladeshi strains were phylogenetically similar to the lineage IV PPRV strains; showing particularly strong affiliation with Tibetan and Indian strains. PPR is a common viral infection of the goats in Bangladesh, with a high case-fatality rate. This study confirms the circulation of lineage IV PPRV in the country with unique amino acid substitutions in N and H proteins and provides baseline data for vaccine development and implementation

Alkyne activation and polyhedral reorganization in benzothiazolate-capped osmium clusters on reaction with diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DEAD) and ethyl propiolate

The reactivity of the face-capped benzothiazolate clusters HOs3(CO)9[μ3-C7H3(R)NS] (1a, R = H; 1b, R = 2-CH3) with alkynes has been investigated. 1a reacts with DEAD at 67 °C to furnish the isomeric alkenyl clusters Os3(CO)9(μ-C7H4NS)(μ3-EtO2CCCHCO2Et) (2a and 3a). X-ray crystallographic analyses of 2a and 3a have confirmed the stereoisomeric relationship of these products and the regiospecific polyhedral expansion that follows the formal transfer of the hydride to the coordinated alkyne ligand in HOs3(CO)9(μ-C7H4NS)(2-DEAD). The significant structural differences between the two isomers, as revealed by the solid-state structures, derives from the regiospecific cleavage of one of the three Os-Os bonds in the intermediate alkenyl cluster Os3(CO)9(μ-C7H4NS)(1-EtO2CCCHCO2Et), which follows hydride transfer to the coordinated alkyne ligand in the pi compound HOs3(CO)9(μ-C7H4NS)(2-DEAD). Control experiments confirm the reversibility of the reaction leading to the formation of 2a and 3a. Whereas heating either isomer in refluxing THF or benzene affords a binary mixture containing 2a and 3a, thermolysis in refluxing toluene leads to the activation of the alkenyl ligand and formation of the new cluster Os3(CO)9(μ-C7H4NS)(μ3-EtO2CCCH2) (4). 4 was independently synthesized from 1a and ethyl propiolate at room temperature. The computed mechanisms that account for the formation of 2a and 3a are presented, along with the mechanism for the reaction of 1a with ethyl propiolate to give 4

Migration and Health: A Framework for 21st Century Policy-Making

In the introductory article to a six-part PLoS Medicine series on Migration & Health, series guest editors Cathy Zimmerman, Mazeda Hossain, and Ligia Kiss outline a migratory process framework that involves five phases: pre-departure, travel, destination, interception, and return

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Resolving stepping rotation in Thermus thermophilus H+-ATPase/synthase with an essentially drag-free probe

Vacuole-type ATPases (VoV1) and FoF1 ATP synthases couple ATP hydrolysis/synthesis in the soluble V1 or F1 portion with proton (or Na+) flow in the membrane-embedded Vo or Fo portion through rotation of one common shaft. Here we show at submillisecond resolutions the ATP-driven rotation of isolated V1 and the whole VoV1 from Thermus thermophilus, by attaching a 40-nm gold bead for which viscous drag is almost negligible. V1 made 120° steps, commensurate with the presence of three catalytic sites. Dwells between the steps involved at least two events other than ATP binding, one likely to be ATP hydrolysis. VoV1 exhibited 12 dwell positions per revolution, consistent with the 12-fold symmetry of the Vo rotor in T. thermophilus. Unlike F1 that undergoes 80°–40° substepping, chemo-mechanical checkpoints in isolated V1 are all at the ATP-waiting position, and Vo adds further bumps through stator–rotor interactions outside and remote from V1

A population-based study of effect of multiple birth on infant mortality in Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multi-foetal pregnancies and multiple births including twins and higher order multiples births such as triplets and quadruplets are high-risk pregnancy and birth. These high-risk groups contribute to the higher rate of childhood mortality especially during early period of life.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined the relationship between multiple births and infant mortality using univariable and multivariable survival regression procedure with Weibull hazard function, controlling for child's sex, birth order, prenatal care, delivery assistance; mother's age at child birth, nutritional status, education level; household living conditions and several other risk factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Children born multiple births were more than twice as likely to die during infancy as infants born singleton (hazard ratio = 2.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.50, 3.19) holding other factors constant. Maternal education and household asset index were associated with lower risk of infant mortality.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multiple births are strongly negatively associated with infant survival in Nigeria independent of other risk factors. Mother's education played a protective role against infant death. This evidence suggests that improving maternal education may be key to improving child survival in Nigeria. A well-educated mother has a better chance of satisfying important factors that can improve infant survival: the quality of infant feeding, general care, household sanitation, and adequate use of preventive and curative health services.</p