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

Recently, second-generation (non-vegetable oil) feedstocks for biodiesel production are receiving significant attention due to the cost and social effects connected with utilising food products for the production of energy products. The Beauty leaf tree (Calophyllum inophyllum) is a potential source of non-edible oil for producing second-generation biodiesel because of its suitability for production in an extensive variety of atmospheric condition, easy cultivation, high fruit production rate, and the high oil content in the seed. In this study, oil was extracted from Beauty leaf tree seeds through three different oil extraction methods. The important physical and chemical properties of these extracted Beauty leaf oils were experimentally analysed and compared with other commercially available vegetable oils. Biodiesel was produced using a two-stage esterification process combining of an acid catalysed pre-esterification process and an alkali catalysed transesterification process. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles and important physicochemical properties were experimentally measured and estimated using equations based on the FAME analysis. The quality of Beauty leaf biodiesels was assessed and compared with commercially available biodiesels through multivariate data analysis using PROMETHEE-GAIA software. The results show that mechanical extraction using a screw press produces oil at a low cost, however, results in low oil yields compared with chemical oil extraction. High pressure and temperature in the extraction process increase oil extraction performance. On the contrary, this process increases the free fatty acid content in the oil. A clear difference was found in the physical properties of Beauty leaf oils, which eventually affected the oil to biodiesel conversion process. However, Beauty leaf oils methyl esters (biodiesel) were very consistent physicochemical properties and able to meet almost all indicators of biodiesel standards. Overall this study found that Beauty leaf is a suitable feedstock for producing second-generation biodiesel in commercial scale. Therefore, the findings of this study are expected to serve as the basis for further development of Beauty leaf as a feedstock for industrial scale second-generation biodiesel production.

Clinical Escherichia coli isolates utilize alpha-hemolysin to inhibit in vitro epithelial cytokine production

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli is the primary cause of urinary tract infections, which affects over 60% of women during their lifetime. UPEC exhibits a number of virulence traits that facilitate colonization of the bladder, including inhibition of cytokine production by bladder epithelial cells. The goal of this study was to identify the mechanism of this inhibition. We observed that cytokine suppression was associated with rapid cytotoxicity toward epithelial cells. We found that cytotoxicity, cytokine suppression and alpha-hemolysin production were all tightly linked in clinical isolates. We screened a UPEC fosmid library and identified clones that gained the cytotoxicity and cytokine-suppression phenotypes. Both clones contained fosmids encoding a PAI II(J96)-like domain and expressed the alpha-hemolysin (hlyA) encoded therein. Mutation of the fosmid-encoded hly operon abolished cytotoxicity and cytokine suppression. Similarly, mutation of the chromosomal hlyCABD operon of UPEC isolate F11 also abolished these phenotypes, and they could be restored by introducing the PAI II(J96)-like domain-encoding fosmid. We also examined the role of alpha-hemolysin in cytokine production both in the murine UTI model as well as patient specimens. We conclude that E. coli utilizes alpha-hemolysin to inhibit epithelial cytokine production in vitro. Its contribution to inflammation during infection requires further study.

Rice husk biochar and crop residue amendment in subtropical cropping soils: Effect on biomass production, nitrogen use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions

We investigated the effect of maize residues and rice husk biochar on biomass production, fertiliser nitrogen recovery (FNR) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions for three different subtropical cropping soils. Maize residues at two rates (0 and 10 t ha−1) combined with three rates (0, 15 and 30 t ha-1) of rice husk biochar were added to three soil types in a pot trial with maize plants. Soil N2O emissions were monitored with static chambers for 91 days. Isotopic 15N-labelled urea was applied to the treatments without added crop residues to measure the FNR. Crop residue incorporation significantly reduced N uptake in all treatments but did not affect overall FNR. Rice husk biochar amendment had no effect on plant growth and N uptake but significantly reduced N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in two of the three soils. The incorporation of crop residues had a contrasting effect on soil N2O emissions depending on the mineral N status of the soil. The study shows that effects of crop residues depend on soil properties at the time of application. Adding crop residues with a high C/N ratio to soil can immobilise N in the soil profile and hence reduce N uptake and/or total biomass production. Crop residue incorporation can either stimulate or reduce N2O emissions depending on the mineral N content of the soil. Crop residues pyrolysed to biochar can potentially stabilise native soil C (negative priming) and reduce N2O emissions from cropping soils thus providing climate change mitigation potential beyond the biochar C storage in soils. Incorporation of crop residues as an approach to recycle organic materials and reduce synthetic N fertiliser use in agricultural production requires a thorough evaluation, both in terms of biomass production and greenhouse gas emissions.

Recent insights into microbial triggers of interleukin-10 production in the host and the impact on infectious disease pathogenesis

Since its initial description as a Th2-cytokine antagonistic to interferon-alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, many studies have shown various anti-inflammatory actions of interleukin-10 (IL-10), and its role in infection as a key regulator of innate immunity. Studies have shown that IL-10 induced in response to microorganisms and their products plays a central role in shaping pathogenesis. IL-10 appears to function as both sword and shield in the response to varied groups of microorganisms in its capacity to mediate protective immunity against some organisms but increase susceptibility to other infections. The nature of IL-10 as a pleiotropic modulator of host responses to microorganisms is explained, in part, by its potent and varied effects on different immune effector cells which influence antimicrobial activity. A new understanding of how microorganisms trigger IL-10 responses is emerging, along with recent discoveries of how IL-10 produced during disease might be harnessed for better protective or therapeutic strategies. In this review, we summarize studies from the past 5 years that have reported the induction of IL-10 by different classes of pathogenic microorganisms, including protozoa, nematodes, fungi, viruses and bacteria and discuss the impact of this induction on the persistence and/or clearance of microorganisms in the host.

The sublime, affective process + architectural production

A year before Kate Nesbitt’s Theorising a New Agenda For Architecture (1996), the author penned a chapter on the significance of the sublime and its contribution to post-modern architecture via the uncanny or disturbing through the theories of Vidler and Eisenman (Nesbit, 1995). Twenty years on, we see its ongoing presence within the contemporary works of artists Kapoor, Ellison and Viola. Eisenmann and Libeskind aside, explicit reference to the Sublime whether through architectural praxis or theory appears to have been trumped by ecological derivatives and associated transactions, as catalyst for new architecture and architectural thinking. For Edmund Burke (1757), the Sublime was seen as a leading, an overpowering of self to a state of intense self-presence, often leading to a state of otherness. To experience the sublime is to experience affect, physiologically overwhelming the mental faculties through intensities of astonishment, terror, obscurity, magnificence, and reverence. Key here is Burke’s articulation of the stages of the sublime encounter, particularly so, its implications for the process of production which architectural theorists appear to have overstepped in their valorisation of the sublime object. This paper seeks to resituate the sublime within the context of architectural production. Through concepts such as material thinking, bodies and making strange, the paper explores a shift in focus toward affective processes traced from Burke’s inquiry. Rather than proposing strategies solely for affect within the work itself, the focus lies upon the designing experience, where blockage and desirous forces are critical partners in the process of production, as revealed through recent studio programs entitled Strange Space.

The extremophile Nicotiana benthamiana has traded viral defence for early vigour

A single lineage of Nicotiana benthamiana is widely used as a model plant1 and has been instrumental in making revolutionary discoveries about RNA interference (RNAi), viral defence and vaccine production. It is peerless in its susceptibility to viruses and its amenability in transiently expressing transgenes2,3. These unparalleled characteristics have been associated both positively and negatively with a disruptive insertion in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1 gene, Rdr14–6. For a plant so routinely used in research, the origin, diversity and evolution of the species, and the basis of its unusual abilities, have been relatively unexplored. Here, by comparison with wild accessions from across the spectrum of the species’ natural distribution, we show that the laboratory strain of N. benthamiana is an extremophile originating from a population that has retained a mutation in Rdr1 for ∼0.8 Myr and thereby traded its defence capacity for early vigour and survival in the extreme habitat of central Australia. Reconstituting Rdr1 activity in this isolate provided protection. Silencing the functional allele in a wild strain rendered it hypersusceptible and was associated with a doubling of seed size and enhanced early growth rate. These findings open the way to a deeper understanding of the delicate balance between protection and vigour.

An operational-level multi-stage mine production timetabling model for optimally synchronising drilling, blasting and excavating operations

This paper proposes a new multi-stage mine production timetabling (MMPT) model to optimise open-pit mine production operations including drilling, blasting and excavating under real-time mining constraints. The MMPT problem is formulated as a mixed integer programming model and can be optimally solved for small-size MMPT instances by IBM ILOG-CPLEX. Due to NP-hardness, an improved shifting-bottleneck-procedure algorithm based on the extended disjunctive graph is developed to solve large-size MMPT instances in an effective and efficient way. Extensive computational experiments are presented to validate the proposed algorithm that is able to efficiently obtain the near-optimal operational timetable of mining equipment units. The advantages are indicated by sensitivity analysis under various real-life scenarios. The proposed MMPT methodology is promising to be implemented as a tool for mining industry because it is straightforwardly modelled as a standard scheduling model, efficiently solved by the heuristic algorithm, and flexibly expanded by adopting additional industrial constraints.

Effects of glycerol on enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol production using sugarcane bagasse pretreated by acidified glycerol solution

In this study, for the first time the effects of glycerol on enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol fermentation were investigated. Enzymatic hydrolysis was inhibited slightly with 2.0 wt% glycerol, leading to reduction in glucan digestibility from 84.9% without glycerol to 82.9% (72 h). With 5.0 wt% and 10.0 wt% glycerol, glucan digestibility reduced by 4.5% and11.0%, respectively. However, glycerol appeared not detrimental to cellulase enzymes. Ethanol fermentation was not affected with glycerol up to 5.0 wt%, and was inhibited slightly with 10.0 wt% glycerol, which resulted in reduction in ethanol yield from 86.0% without glycerol to 83.7% (20 h). Based on laboratory and pilot scale enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol production results, it was estimated that 0.142 kg ethanol could be produced from 1.0 kg dry bagasse (a glucan content of 38.0%) after pretreatment with acidified glycerol solution.

Evaluation of oil production from oil palm empty fruit bunch by oleaginous micro-organisms

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is a readily available, lignocellulosic biomass that has potential to be utilized as a carbon substrate for microbial oil production. In order to evaluate the production of microbial oil from EFB, a technical study was performed through the cultivation of oleaginous micro-organisms (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Aspergillus oryzae, and Mucor plumbeus) on EFB hydrolyzates. EFB hydrolyzates were prepared through dilute acid pre-treatment of the biomass, where the liquid fraction of pre-treatment was detoxified and used as an EFB liquid hydrolyzate (EFBLH). The solid residue was enzymatically hydrolyzed prior to be used as an EFB enzymatic hydrolyzate (EFBEH). The highest oil concentrations were obtained from M. plumbeus (1.9 g/L of oil on EFBLH and 4.7 g/L of oil on EFBEH). In order to evaluate the feasibility of large-scale microbial oil production, a techno-economic study was performed based on the oil yields of M. plumbeus per hectare of plantation, followed by the estimation of the feedstock cost for oil production. Other oil palm biomasses (frond and trunk) were also included in this study, as it could potentially improve the economics of large-scale microbial oil production. Microbial oil from oil palm biomasses was estimated to potentially increase oil production in the palm oil industry up to 25%, at a cheaper feedstock cost. The outcome of this study demonstrates the potential integration of microbial oil production from oil palm biomasses with existing palm oil industry (biodiesel, food and oleochemicals production), that could potentially enhance sustainability and profitability of microbial oil production.

Microbial oil production from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates by oleaginous yeast and filamentous fungi

This study investigated the potential use of sugarcane bagasse as a feedstock for oil production through microbial cultivation. Bagasse was subjected to dilute acid pretreatment with 0.4 wt% H2SO4 (in liquid) at a solid/liquid ratio of 1:6 (wt/wt) at 170 °C for 15 min, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of solid residue. The liquid fractions of the pretreatment process and the enzymatic hydrolysis process were detoxified and used as liquid hydrolysate (SCBLH) and enzymatic hydrolysate (SCBEH) for the microbial oil production by oleaginous yeast (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus oryzae and Mucor plumbeus). The results showed that all strains were able to grow and produce oil from bagasse hydrolysates. The highest oil concentrations produced from bagasse hydrolysates were by M. plumbeus at 1.59 g/L (SCBLH) and 4.74 g/L (SCBEH). The microbial oils obtained have similar fatty acid compositions to vegetable oils, indicating that the oil can be used for the production of second generation biodiesel. On the basis of oil yields obtained by M. plumbeus, from 10 million t (wet weight) of bagasse generated annually from sugar mills in Australia, it is estimated that the total biodiesel that could be produced would be equivalent to about 9% of Queensland’s diesel consumption.

Food aid and food production: A theoretical analysis

It has been claimed that food aid leads to permanent dependency as it depresses domestic food prices and thus farmers find it profitable to take land out of food production and into more lucrative activities. This paper develops two alternative scenarios under which the hypothesis about the damaging effect of food aid may not be true. Under the first scenario, it is argued that food production in developing countries is often low due to unfavourable trade policies and if food aid is tied to the removal of bias against the agricultural sector, food aid will not have any disincentive effect on food production. The second exercise argues that the revenue raised by the recipient government by selling aid could be used for R and D in agricultural production.

Pulp and paper production from sugarcane bagasse

The pulp and paper industry is very large and is now well in excess of $200 billion (FAO 2009). Estimates for the amount of bagasse used in the production of pulp and paper products vary but the general consensus is that it accounts for 2–5% of global production, making it one of the highest revenue earners for the global sugarcane industry.

Optimal production resource reallocation for CO2 emissions reduction in manufacturing sectors

To mitigate the effects of climate change, countries worldwide are advancing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper proposes and measures optimal production resource reallocation using data envelopment analysis. This research attempts to clarify the effect of optimal production resource reallocation on CO2 emissions reduction, focusing on regional and industrial characteristics. We use finance, energy, and CO2 emissions data from 13 industrial sectors in 39 countries from 1995 to 2009. The resulting emissions reduction potential is 2.54 Gt-CO2 in the year 2009, with former communist countries having the largest potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the manufacturing sectors. In particular, basic material industry including chemical and steel sectors has a lot of potential to reduce CO2 emissions.

Unusual RNA plant virus integration in the soybean genome leads to the production of small RNAs

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is known to be a major force in genome evolution. The acquisition of genes from viruses by eukaryotic genomes is a well-studied example of HGT, including rare cases of non-retroviral RNA virus integration. The present study describes the integration of cucumber mosaic virus RNA-1 into soybean genome. After an initial metatranscriptomic analysis of small RNAs derived from soybean, the de novo assembly resulted a 3029-nt contig homologous to RNA-1. The integration of this sequence in the soybean genome was confirmed by DNA deep sequencing. The locus where the integration occurred harbors the full RNA-1 sequence followed by the partial sequence of an endogenous mRNA and another sequence of RNA-1 as an inverted repeat and allowing the formation of a hairpin structure. This region recombined into a retrotransposon located inside an exon of a soybean gene. The nucleotide similarity of the integrated sequence compared to other Cucumber mosaic virus sequences indicates that the integration event occurred recently. We described a rare event of non-retroviral RNA virus integration in soybean that leads to the production of a double-stranded RNA in a similar fashion to virus resistance RNAi plants.