Energy Sorghum : An alternative energy crop A Handbook

Increasing world market prices for fossil fuels, driven by limited reserves, growing demand and instability in producing regions, now render renewable fuels economical. Such fuels are also a pathway to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigating climate change. The transport sector which is almost totally dependent on fossil fuels, particularly for powering personal vehicles and trucks, is the most concerned sector. Biofuels, defined as solid, liquid or gas fuels derived from biomass, are today the only direct substitute for fossil fuels on a significant scale particularly in transport sector. Biofuels are considered environmentally friendly because the CO2 emissions they produce during combustion is balanced by the CO2 absorbed by the plants growth. To be a viable substitute for fossil fuels, an alternative fuel should not only have superior environmental benefits over the fossil fuels it substitutes, be economically competitive with it, and be available in sufficient quantities to make meaningful impact on energy demand, but it should also provide a net energy gain over the energy invested to produce it and have minimal effect on food security... {This handbook was elaborated in the framework of the SWEETFUEL project (grant agreement number 227422), supported by the European Commission

Liquid chromatographic determination of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 in corn: AOAC-IUPAC Collaborative Study.

Journal articleA liquid chromatographic (LC) method for simultaneous determination of fumonisins B1 (FB1), B2 (FB2), and B3 (FB3) in corn was subjected to a collaborative study involving 12 participants from 10 countries, in which the accuracy and reproducibility characteristics of the method were established. Mean analyte recoveries from corn ranged from 81.1 to 84.2% for FB1 (at a spiking range of 500 to 8000 ng/g), from 75.9 to 81.9% for FB2 (at a spiking range of 200 to 3200 ng/g), and from 75.8 to 86.8% for FB3 (at a spiking range of 100 to 1600 ng/g). The valid data were statistically evaluated after exclusion of outliers. Relative standard deviations for within-laboratory repeatability ranged from 5.8 to 13.2% for FB1, from 7.2 to 17.5% for FB2, and from 8.0 to 17.2% for FB3. Relative standard deviations for between-laboratory reproducibility varied from 13.9 to 22.2% for FB1, from 15.8 to 26.7% for FB2, and from 19.5 to 24.9% for FB3. HORRAT ratios, calculated for the individual toxin analogues, ranged from 0.75 to 1.73. The LC method for determination of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 in corn (at concentrations of 800-12800 ng total fumonisins/g) has been adopted by AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Bioavailability of <i>c</i>-linked dihydrochalcone and flavanone glucosides in humans following ingestion of unfermented and fermented rooibos teas

High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS&lt;sp&gt;n&lt;/sp&gt;) detected aspalathin and nothofagin, &lt;i&gt;C&lt;/i&gt;-glycosides of apigenin and luteolin, and four eriodictyol-&lt;i&gt;C&lt;/i&gt;-glycoside isomers in unfermented and fermented rooibos teas. The fermented drink contained 10-fold higher levels of aspalathin and nothofagin and a 4-fold lower eriodictyol-&lt;i&gt;C&lt;/i&gt;-glycoside content than the fermented tea. The total flavonoid contents in 500 mL servings of the teas were 84 (fermented) and 159 &#181;mol (unfermented). Following the ingestion of 500 mL of the teas by 10 volunteers, 0-24 h urine and plasma samples were collected for analysis. HPLC-MS&lt;sp&gt;n&lt;/sp&gt; identified eight metabolites in urine. These were &lt;i&gt;O&lt;/i&gt;-linked methyl, sulfate, and glucuronide metabolites of aspalathin and an eriodictyol-&lt;i&gt;O&lt;/i&gt;-sulfate. The main compound excreted was an O-methyl-aspalathin-O-glucuronide (229 &#181;mol) following ingestion of the unfermented drink and eriodictyol-&lt;i&gt;O&lt;/i&gt;-sulfate (68 &#181;mol) after ingestion of the fermented beverage. The overall metabolite levels excreted were 82 and 352 &#181;mol, accounting for 0.09 and 0.22% of the flavonoids in the fermented and unfermented drinks, respectively. Most of the aspalathin metabolites were excreted within 5 h of tea consumption, suggesting absorption in the small intestine. Urinary excretion of the eriodictyol-&lt;i&gt;O&lt;/i&gt;-sulfate occurred mainly during the 5-12 h collection period, indicative of absorption in the large intestine. Despite exhaustive searches, no flavonoid metabolites were detected in plasm

Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls - 1964

Dat daar in minder as tien jaar byna tien oplaes van die Afrikaanse Woordelys en Spelreëls die lig gesien het, is wel ’n bewys dat daar in dié tydperk ’n groot vraag na hierdie publikasie was en dat dit in ’n belangrike behoefte voorsien het. Dit getuig ook van toenemende belangstelling in en bestudering van ons taal en lê andersyds ’n verphgting op die Taalkommissie om na vermoë die nodige leiding op die gebied van die spelling en skryfwyse te probeer gee. „Hierdie druk van die Akademie se Woordelys en Spelreëls verskil aansienlik van die vorige uitgawes, hoewel die spellingbeleid en grondbeginsels feitlik ongewysig gebly het”. So het dit tien jaar gelede in die Voorwoord by die vorige (sesde) uitgawe gelui. Dit geld ook van hierdie druk, want die beskaafde Afrikaanse uitspraak, die beginsel van gelykvormigheid en aansluiting by die Nederlandse skryf- en spellingtradisie bly nog steeds as grondbeginsels gehandhaaf, en aan die strekking van die spelreëls self is niks wesenliks verander nie. Maar die taal het self, soos elke jong, lewendige taal, ontwikkel en verander en daardeur nuwe eise aan sy beoefenaars gestel. Daarmee moes die Taalkommissie uiteraard rekening hou — vandaar enkele nuwighede in die stof en die behandelingswyse daarvan in hierdie uitgawe. Daarvan word kortliks hieronder rekenskap gegee