PRODUKSI BIOETANOL DARI BATANG TUA KELAPA SAWIT DENGAN AIR PANAS BERTEKANAN DAN BALL MILL

Bioethanol from oil palm trunk is one important source of energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to avoid competition between the use for food and for energy as happens in other commodities. Pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass using sulfuric acid has high efficiency but requires high cost to neutralize the byproducts formed. Pre-treatment using hot compressed water and ball mill can be used to break down the structure and composition of lignocellulose so as to increase the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis and increase the sugar yield. Hydrolysis using an enzyme cocktail with hot compressed water and ball mill can each produce 210 mg of glucose at a temperature of 220°C and 200 mg of glucose for 120 minutes at room temperature per gram of oil palm trunk. Both of these processes are environmentally friendly and have a high efficiency in the production of bioethanol from oil palm trunks.Keywords: bioethanol, oil palm trunk, ball mill, hot compressed water, hydrolysis  ABSTRAKBioetanol dari batang kelapa sawit adalah salah satu sumber energi yang penting untuk mengurangi emisi rumah kaca dan menghindari konflik kepentingan antara kebutuhan bahan pangan dan penggunaan energi sebagaimana terjadi pada komoditas lain. Pengolahan awal biomassa lignoselulosa menggunakan asam sulfat memiliki efisiensi yang tinggi tetapi membutuhkan biaya yang tinggi guna menetralisisr produk samping yang terbentuk. Pengolahan awal menggunakan air panas bertekanan dan ball mill dapat digunakan untuk memecah struktur dan komposisi lignoselulosa sehingga dapat meningkatkan laju hidrolisis enzim dan meningkatkan hasil gula. Hidrolisis menggunakan multienzim dengan air panas bertekanan dan ball mill masing-masing dapat menghasilkan 210 mg glukosa pada suhu 220°C dan 200 mg glukosa selama 120 menit pada suhu kamar per gram batang kelapa sawit. Kedua proses tersebut ramah lingkungan dan memiliki efisiensi yang tinggi pada produksi bioetanol dari batang kelapa sawit.Kata Kunci: bioetanol, batang kelapa sawit, ball mill, air panas bertekanan, hidrolisisÂ

AKARI/FIS Mapping of the ISM-Wind Bow Shock around Alpha Ori

We present 10' x 50' scan maps around an M supergiant Alpha Ori at 65, 90, 140 and 160 microns obtained with the AKARI Infrared Astronomy Satellite. Higher spatial resolution data with the exact analytic solution permit us to fit the de-projected shape of the stellar wind bow shock around Alpha Ori to have the stand-off distance of 4.8', position angle of 55 degrees and inclination angle of 56 degrees. The shape of the bow shock suggests that the peculiar velocity of Alpha Ori with respect to the local medium is v_* = 40 (n_H)^(-1/2), where n_H is the hydrogen nucleus density at Alpha Ori. We find that the local medium is of n_H = 1.5 to 1.9 cm^(-3) and the velocity of the local flow is at 11 km s^(-1) by using the most recent astrometric solutions for Alpha Ori under the assumption that the local medium is moving away from the Orion OB 1 association. AKARI images may also reveal a vortex ring due to instabilities on the surface of the bow shock as demonstrated by numerical models. This research exemplifies the potential of AKARI All-Sky data as well as follow-up observations with Herschel Space Telescope and Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy for this avenue of research in revealing the nature of interaction between the stellar wind and interstellar medium.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to be published in PASJ Vol. 60 Special Issue on Recent Results from AKAR

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®)-induced pneumonia

SummaryWe report the first case of oseltamivir-induced pneumonia. A 50-year-old man was diagnosed with influenza and prescribed oseltamivir. He had a persistent high fever, and developed a productive cough with peripheral blood eosinophilia and his chest radiograph showed ground glass opacity. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histological findings obtained from transbronchial lung biopsy suggested eosinophilic pneumonia with component of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. Drug lymphocyte stimulation test against oseltamivir was positive. In spite of discontinuation of oseltamivir, his condition did not ameliorate. He was treated with prednisolone for oseltamivir-induced lung injury and the symptoms improved immediately. We should recognize oseltamivir-induced pneumonia as a differential diagnosis in the case of developing pneumonia following treatment with oseltamivir

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®)-induced pneumonia

SummaryWe report the first case of oseltamivir-induced pneumonia. A 50-year-old man was diagnosed with influenza and prescribed oseltamivir. He had a persistent high fever, and developed a productive cough with peripheral blood eosinophilia and his chest radiograph showed ground glass opacity. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histological findings obtained from transbronchial lung biopsy suggested eosinophilic pneumonia with component of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. Drug lymphocyte stimulation test against oseltamivir was positive. In spite of discontinuation of oseltamivir, his condition did not ameliorate. He was treated with prednisolone for oseltamivir-induced lung injury and the symptoms improved immediately. We should recognize oseltamivir-induced pneumonia as a differential diagnosis in the case of developing pneumonia following treatment with oseltamivir

A Retrospective Analysis of Transfusion Management for Obstetric Hemorrhage in a Japanese Obstetric Center

Background. Since cryoprecipitate, fibrinogen concentrate, or recombinant activated factor VII is not approved by public medical insurance in Japan, we retrospectively assessed blood product usage in patients with obstetric hemorrhage at our tertiary obstetric center. Material and Methods. 220 patients with obstetric hemorrhagic disorders who underwent blood product transfusion in our institution during a 5-year period were reviewed for the types and volumes of blood products transfused. Results. There was a significant positive correlation (P< 0.001) between the volume of RCC (red blood cell concentrate) transfused and that of FFP (fresh frozen plasma), irrespective of underlying obstetric disorders. The median of FFP to RCC ratio in each patient was 1.3–1.4, when 6 or more units of RCC were transfused. Conclusions. In transfusion for massive obstetric hemorrhage in terms of appropriate supplementation of coagulation factors, the transfusion of RCC : FFP = 1 : 1.3–1.4 may be desirable

Liganded Thyroid Hormone Receptor Inhibits Phorbol 12-O-Tetradecanoate-13-Acetate-Induced Enhancer Activity via Firefly Luciferase cDNA

Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) belongs to the nuclear hormone receptor (NHR) superfamily and regulates the transcription of its target genes in a thyroid hormone (T3)-dependent manner. While the detail of transcriptional activation by T3 (positive regulation) has been clarified, the mechanism of T3-dependent repression (negative regulation) remains to be determined. In addition to naturally occurring negative regulations typically found for the thyrotropin β gene, T3-bound TR (T3/TR) is known to cause artificial negative regulation in reporter assays with cultured cells. For example, T3/TR inhibits the transcriptional activity of the reporter plasmids harboring AP-1 site derived from pUC/pBR322-related plasmid (pUC/AP-1). Artificial negative regulation has also been suggested in the reporter assay with firefly luciferase (FFL) gene. However, identification of the DNA sequence of the FFL gene using deletion analysis was not performed because negative regulation was evaluated by measuring the enzymatic activity of FFL protein. Thus, there remains the possibility that the inhibition by T3 is mediated via a DNA sequence other than FFL cDNA, for instance, pUC/AP-1 site in plasmid backbone. To investigate the function of FFL cDNA as a transcriptional regulatory sequence, we generated pBL-FFL-CAT5 by ligating FFL cDNA in the 5' upstream region to heterologous thymidine kinase promoter in pBL-CAT5, a chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT)-based reporter gene, which lacks pUC/AP-1 site. In kidney-derived CV1 and choriocarcinoma-derived JEG3 cells, pBL-FFL-CAT5, but not pBL-CAT5, was strongly activated by a protein kinase C activator, phorbol 12-O-tetradecanoate-13-acetate (TPA). TPA-induced activity of pBL-FFL-CAT5 was negatively regulated by T3/TR. Mutation of nt. 626/640 in FFL cDNA attenuated the TPA-induced activation and concomitantly abolished the T3-dependent repression. Our data demonstrate that FFL cDNA sequence mediates the TPA-induced transcriptional activity, which is inhibited by T3/TR

CAE System for Framed Structure Using BEM

A CAE system which can be used to analyze both static and dynamic problems of framed structure is being developed. BEM (Boundary Element Method) is employed as the solver in this system. A lot of examples are made to verify exactness, usefulness and versatility of this system

Increased Level of Pericardial Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Advanced Heart Failure

ObjectivesTo test the hypothesis that the cardiac insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) system is up-regulated in the failing heart, we measured the pericardial (cardiac) and plasma (circulating) IGF-1 levels in coronary artery disease patients.BackgroundLocal IGF-1 systems are regulated differently from the systemic IGF-1 system. The cardiac IGF-1 system is up-regulated by the increased left ventricular (LV) wall stress. However, it remains unknown how this system is affected in LV dysfunction and heart failure.MethodsWe measured the plasma and pericardial fluid levels of IGF-1 and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in 87 coronary artery disease patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and examined their relationships with LV function and heart failure severity. The expressions of IGF-1 and IGF-1 receptor proteins were examined in endomyocardial biopsies obtained from other patients with normal or impaired LV function.ResultsThe pericardial IGF-1 and BNP levels were positively correlated with the plasma BNP level (both p < 0.001). The pericardial IGF-1 level was increased in heart failure patients, whereas the plasma IGF-1 level was rather decreased. The pericardial IGF-1 level was inversely correlated with the LV ejection fraction (p < 0.001), whereas the plasma IGF-1 level was not. Positive immunostaining for IGF-1 and IGF-1 receptor proteins was enhanced in myocardial biopsies from failing hearts compared with those from nonfailing hearts.ConclusionsThe pericardial IGF-1 level was increased in patients with LV dysfunction and heart failure, whereas the plasma IGF-1 level was decreased. These results may indicate that up-regulation of the cardiac IGF-1 system serves as a compensatory mechanism for LV dysfunction