Environmental impacts of marine oil spill; a case study of Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico United States of America 2010 (a review)

On 20thApril, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred at the Gulf of Mexico, United States of America where large amount of oil spilled in to the water as a result of wellhead blowout from the rig. The spill marked as the largest oil spill ever in the USA and causes large impacts to the marine species and the surrounding environment which could last long after the spill. Petroleum consists of aromatic hydrocarbons (such as monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which causes lethal and sub lethal toxic effect to the marine life and public health. The impact of the spill causes death and injury to many marine flora and fauna which could result to the disturbance of the ecosystem and may take long time before it  recovers to its normal condition. Various methods were used to rescue the environment and the species but some methods (such as chemical dispersants, hot water) have side effects to wild life. Before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a number of oil spills occurred and caused large impacts to the marine organisms and the surrounding environment, and some impact are still yet to recover.Keywords: Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Marine flora & fauna, Oil spill, Petroleu

Chemical analysis of North Sea oil and Kimmeridge immature source rock

Thin layer chromatography, open column chromatography and soxhlet extraction were the three separation techniques used to fractionate the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons from North Sea oil and Kimmeridge immature source rock. Gas chromatography was used to analyse the n- alkanes, pritane and phytane. The pristane and phytane ratio of the two different samples (North Sea oil and Kimmeridge immature source rock) were found to be 1.5 and 0.79 respectively. Values less than one indicate anoxic setting and greater than 1 indicates oxic setting. Carbon preference index (CPI) was also calculated to know the maturity of the North Sea soil. The Pr/Ph of the North Sea oil and Kimmeridge source rock show that North Sea oil was deposited in Oxic environment while Kimmeridge source rock was deposited under anoxic environment. The CPI value of the oil indicates maturity and non biodegraded oil.Keywords: Anoxic, Carbon preference index, Immature source rock, North Sea oil, Oxic, Pr/Ph

Investigating Asphaltenes Composition in Crude Oil Samples using Iatroscan TLC-FID Method.

This research was carried out to investigate the percentage composition of asphaltenes by Iatroscan analysis using Thin Layer Chromatography-Flame Ion Detection method (Iatroscan TLC-FID) The percentage composition of asphaltenes by Iatroscan TLC-FID method was compared with the weight% of asphaltenes precipitated. The results from the two methods nearly agreed with each other which revealed that the amount of asphaltene recovered by precipitation is analogous to Iatroscan analysis carried out prior to precipitation. The insignificant difference observed between the two results could be associated to some slight unavoidable experimental and analytical errors which were slightly encountered and instantly addressed. Based on the results obtained from Iatroscan analysis and % composition by weights of asphaltenes recovered, the non-degraded oil tagged 8676 was observed to comparatively have higher asphaltene composition (1125 mg, 11.22 %) than its counterpart which is very slightly degraded oil and tagged 6661 (608.5 mg, 6.085 %). This is not commonly reported in literature. Probably, this indicates that biodegradation may possibly not increase asphaltene composition of oil as widely reported.Keywords: Asphaltenes, Biodegradation, Iatroscan TLC-FID, Oi

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) small explorer spacecraft provides simultaneous spectra and images of the photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona with 0.33-0.4 arcsec spatial resolution, 2 s temporal resolution and 1 km/s velocity resolution over a field-of-view of up to 175 arcsec x 175 arcsec. IRIS was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit on 27 June 2013 using a Pegasus-XL rocket and consists of a 19-cm UV telescope that feeds a slit-based dual-bandpass imaging spectrograph. IRIS obtains spectra in passbands from 1332-1358, 1389-1407 and 2783-2834 Angstrom including bright spectral lines formed in the chromosphere (Mg II h 2803 Angstrom and Mg II k 2796 Angstrom) and transition region (C II 1334/1335 Angstrom and Si IV 1394/1403 Angstrom). Slit-jaw images in four different passbands (C II 1330, Si IV 1400, Mg II k 2796 and Mg II wing 2830 Angstrom) can be taken simultaneously with spectral rasters that sample regions up to 130 arcsec x 175 arcsec at a variety of spatial samplings (from 0.33 arcsec and up). IRIS is sensitive to emission from plasma at temperatures between 5000 K and 10 MK and will advance our understanding of the flow of mass and energy through an interface region, formed by the chromosphere and transition region, between the photosphere and corona. This highly structured and dynamic region not only acts as the conduit of all mass and energy feeding into the corona and solar wind, it also requires an order of magnitude more energy to heat than the corona and solar wind combined. The IRIS investigation includes a strong numerical modeling component based on advanced radiative-MHD codes to facilitate interpretation of observations of this complex region. Approximately eight Gbytes of data (after compression) are acquired by IRIS each day and made available for unrestricted use within a few days of the observation.Comment: 53 pages, 15 figure

The Syk Kinase SmTK4 of Schistosoma mansoni Is Involved in the Regulation of Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis

The signal transduction protein SmTK4 from Schistosoma mansoni belongs to the family of Syk kinases. In vertebrates, Syk kinases are known to play specialized roles in signaling pathways in cells of the hematopoietic system. Although Syk kinases were identified in some invertebrates, their role in this group of animals has not yet been elucidated. Since SmTK4 is the first Syk kinase from a parasitic helminth, shown to be predominantly expressed in the testes and ovary of adult worms, we investigated its function. To unravel signaling cascades in which SmTK4 is involved, yeast two-/three-hybrid library screenings were performed with either the tandem SH2-domain, or with the linker region including the tyrosine kinase domain of SmTK4. Besides the Src kinase SmTK3 we identified a new Src kinase (SmTK6) acting upstream of SmTK4 and a MAPK-activating protein, as well as mapmodulin acting downstream. Their identities and colocalization studies pointed to a role of SmTK4 in a signaling cascade regulating the proliferation and/or differentiation of cells in the gonads of schistosomes. To confirm this decisive role we performed biochemical and molecular approaches to knock down SmTK4 combined with a novel protocol for confocal laser scanning microscopy for morphological analyses. Using the Syk kinase-specific inhibitor Piceatannol or by RNAi treatment of adult schistosomes in vitro, corresponding phenotypes were detected in the testes and ovary. In the Xenopus oocyte system it was finally confirmed that Piceatannol suppressed the activity of the catalytic kinase domain of SmTK4. Our findings demonstrate a pivotal role of SmTK4 in gametogenesis, a new function for Syk kinases in eukaryotes

A Review of the Benefits and the Hindrances to the Sustainable Conservation of Heritage Buildings in Malaysia

Malaysia has an array of Heritage Building’s (HB’s) most of which have been standing for centuries that are exceptionally valued from the point of view of Architecture and History. Valuable as they are, these HB’s are thus assets legally declared to be strictly protected (otherwise termed conservation) according to statutory guidelines. The National Heritage Act among others is a statutory document guiding conservation of HB’s in Malaysia superintended by The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. This study reviewed the benefits and hindrances to the sustainable conservation of HB’s in Malaysia. This study shows that while there are enormous benefits reaped from conservation of HB’s, there also exist hindrances to the conservation process that could be attributed to planning and implementation at a policy, program and project level. These hindrances ultimately poses challenges to conservation of HB’s thereby making conservation of HB’s in Malaysia unsustainable. A way forward lies in the need for immediate action to addressing such challenges through sustainable processes, principles and policies. One that strives to strike a balance between environmental, economic, social cultural benefits for all generations. One that is sustainable. As such, a prompt need for Malaysia to benchmark world’s best practices in the conservation of HB’s that will address notable challenges was recommended. Furthermore, owners of HB’s (public and private) must make continuous implementation of the results on such best practices a core priority thus making the conservation process sustainable.International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB

Actin in spermatids and spermatozoa of

Trichostrongyle nematodes provide valuable models for the study of nematode sperm, because their male germ cells are large and elongate, allowing easy identification of cell organelles. A previous study led to the unexpected result that actin co-localizes with MSP (Major Sperm Protein) in spermatids and spermatozoa of Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Actin expression in male germ cells of Teladorsagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis was studied using a monoclonal anti-actin antibody. Actin was demonstrated in the « fibrous bodies » in spermatids and in an anterior cap in spermatozoa. The actin labelling pattern in the two species studied was similar to that found in H. polygyrus, suggesting that this distribution of actin might be general for nematode male germ cells

Optimization of the activity of Mo7-Zn3/CaO catalyst in the transesterification of waste cooking oil into sustainable biodiesel via response surface methodology

An enriched basic site CaO-supported bimetallic Molybdenum-Zinc (Mo7-Zn3) catalyst was successfully synthesized via wet-impregnation and evaluated for the transesterification of waste cooking oil into biodiesel. The physicochemical characterization of the Mo7-Zn3/CaO catalyst demonstrated good dispersion of CaMoO4 and ZnO oxides on CaO support, with a mesoporous structure allowing for better mass transfer between reactants. The Mo7-Zn3/CaO catalyst exhibited high transesterification activity (95 ± 0.3 FAME conversion), owing to the large density of strong Brønsted basic sites (conjugated O2–) generated from simultaneous interaction among Ca2+, Zn2+ and Mo6+ metal species. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Box Behnken Design (BBD) were used to optimize the reaction and indeed, the utmost FAME conversion of 95 is achieved using 3.37 wt catalyst loading, 12:1 methanol to oil molar ratio within 2.27 h at 62.7 °C reaction temperature. The model reliability in predicting the FAME yield using the established catalyst under varying operational conditions was excitedly validated with a reasonable accuracy error of 0.5 . The catalyst exhibited good stability, maintaining a high FAME conversion (95–85 ) during 5 reusable cycles without significant loss in catalytic activity. A closer look for a detailed approach and a heterogeneous mechanism for the reaction using Mo7-Zn3/CaO catalyst was proposed. The physical and chemical properties of the produced biodiesel were carefully compared with the standard for biodiesel, and were found to majorly comply with ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 biodiesel properties. An investigation into the economic competitiveness and industrial applicability of biodiesel production using Mo7-Zn3/CaO from WCO reveals significant potential for sustainable and efficient biodiesel synthesis

Management of heat transfer and hydraulic characteristics of a micro-channel heat sink with various arrangements of rectangular vortex generators utilizing artificial neural network and response surface methodology

It is common to use micro-channel heat sinks (MCHSs) in equipment such as; ICs, transistors, LEDs, and high-power lasers, which generate heat due to the passage of electric current. This heat is often a menace to harm these devices and their internal parts. For this reason, heat rejection in the MCHSs is an endless challenge for researchers. Placing vortex generators (VGs) within the MCHS improves the cooling capacity but incurs a considerable pressure drop. Meanwhile, the shape, geometric dimensions, and arrangement of the VGs significantly affect this heat transfer. In the current study, the placement angle (θ), the longitudinal distance (dl), and the transverse distance (dt) of the VGs were chosen to be altered. The Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were exerted to study their variation's effect on the Nusselt number (Nu) and pressure drop (ΔP) of an MCHS. The presented data illustrated that the results of the ANN model were closer to the data provided by the numerical simulation. With the coefficient of determination of 0.995 and 0.992 in forecasting the Nu and ΔP, the ANN exhibited better performance than the RSM model. Besides, the ANN model recommended that to acquire the highest relative efficiency index, the optimum values of placement angle, the longitudinal and transverse distances of the VGs should be 60, 0.151 mm, and 0.166 mm, respectively