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Background The overall goal of the present study is to investigate the economics of an integrated biorefinery converting hybrid poplar into jet fuel, xylitol, and formic acid. The process employs a combination of integrated biological, thermochemical, and electrochemical conversion pathways to convert the carbohydrates in poplar into jet fuel, xylitol, and formic acid production. The C5-sugars are converted into xylitol via hydrogenation. The C6-sugars are converted into jet fuel via fermentation into ethanol, followed by dehydration, oligomerization, and hydrogenation into jet fuel. CO2 produced during fermentation is converted into formic acid via electrolysis, thus, avoiding emissions and improving the process’s overall carbon conversion. Results Three different biorefinery scales are considered: small, intermediate, and large, assuming feedstock supplies of 150, 250, and 760 dry ktonne of poplar/year, respectively. For the intermediate-scale biorefinery, a minimum jet fuel selling price of $3.13/gallon was obtained at a discount rate of 15%. In a favorable scenario where the xylitol price is 25% higher than its current market value, a jet fuel selling price of $0.64/gallon was obtained. Co-locating the biorefinery with a power plant reduces the jet fuel selling price from $3.13 to $1.03 per gallon. Conclusion A unique integrated biorefinery to produce jet fuel was successfully modeled. Analysis of the biorefinery scales shows that the minimum jet fuel selling price for profitability decreases with increasing biorefinery scale, and for all scales, the biorefinery presents favorable economics, leading to a minimum jet fuel selling price lower than the current price for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The amount of xylitol and formic produced in a large-scale facility corresponds to 43% and 25%, respectively, of the global market volume of these products. These volumes will saturate the markets, making them infeasible scenarios. In contrast, the small and intermediate-scale biorefineries have product volumes that would not saturate current markets, does not present a feedstock availability problem, and produce jet fuel at a favorable price given the current SAF policy support. It is shown that the price of co-products greatly influences the minimum selling price of jet fuel, and co-location can further reduce the price of jet fuel.

Both military and civilian vehicles are prone to fire, with severe potential consequences in terms of material and life losses. Vehicles generally contain highly combustible and flammable materials, such as gasoline, lubricants, oil, electronic devices, rubber, plastics, and so on. At the same time, fire ignition sources are present in vehicles in electronic devices, friction, heat, etc. Fire ignition can also be caused by external sources, especially in military applications (aggression on the vehicle). Thus, appropriate measures and fire-fighting systems should be implemented to mitigate the risk of fire in military and civilian vehicles to ensure passenger safety and preserve the vehicles' mobility. Halon was previously commonly used as a fire-fighting agent in military and civilian vehicles but is currently phased out due to environmental issues. In this context, this paper aims to review the research advances and progress over the last 50 years in fire-fighting systems and agents employed in both civilian and military vehicles for land, sea, and air applications.

The abundance and distribution of dissolved Re (DRe) were determined in the freshwater part of the Krka River (Croatia), which drains a karst landscape, and in the salinity gradient of its highly stratified estuary. Due to the low DRe concentration, a batch procedure consisting of a pre-concentration step using an anion exchange resin (Dowex) and analysis of DRe in 8 M HNO3 eluate using high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP-MS) was applied. Due to potentially inconsistent recoveries, which ranged from 60 to 87%, quantification was performed using the isotope dilution technique (ID). DRe concentrations in the Krka River increased downstream, from 6.2 pM at the spring site to 11.9 pM upstream of the estuary region. Weathering of the surrounding carbonate lithology is assumed to be the source of the natural Re. Two specific anomalies were registered: a strong increase in DRe concentration due to anthropogenic input near the town of Knin (27.5 pM) and a decrease at a downstream site caused by subsurface input of freshwater from the Zrmanja River, resulting in a relatively low DRe concentration (8.5 pM). In the estuarine region, a near- conservative behavior of DRe was found in the salinity gradient of the upper surface layer, with DRe concentrations ranging from 18 to 38 pM. Anthropogenic input was suspected within the estuarine segment near the urban area, causing a small positive deviation from the conservative line. In the bottom seawater layer, a minor decrease in DRe concentration in the most upstream estuarine regions was apparent, implying weak scavenging of Re

Pneumonic mannheimiosis is a widespread respiratory bacterial disease of small ruminants caused by Mannheimia haemolytica serotype A2. The disease is known to affect the respiratory organs of infected animals, but its effect on other vital and reproductive organs has not been fully explored. Previous studies have demonstrated increased serum pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration post-challenge with M. haemolytica A2 and its LPS, indicating systemic inflammation in the host. This study determined the potential tissue changes and alterations of sperm parameters due to infection of M. haemolytica A2 and its LPS endotoxin. In this study, twelve experimental bucks were randomly assigned to three groups of four bucks each: group 1 (control group) were intranasally inoculated with 2 mL of PBS pH 7.0, group 2 received 2 mL of 1.2 × 10

We explored the variations in use of imaging modalities for confirming pulmonary embolism (PE) according to the trimester of pregnancy. We included all pregnant patients with confirmed acute PE from RIETE, a prospective registry of patients with PE (03/2001–02/2020). Imaging modalities included computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scan, or presence of signs of acute PE along with imaging-confirmed proximal deep vein thrombosis (pDVT) without pulmonary vascular imaging. We compared the imaging modalities to postpartum patients with PE, and other non-pregnant women with PE. There were 157 pregnant patients (age: 32.7 ± 0.5), 228 postpartum patients (age: 33.9 ± 0.5), and 23,937 non-pregnant non-postpartum women (age: 69.5 ± 0.1). CTPA was the most common modality for confirming PE, from 55.7% in first trimester to 58.3% in second trimester, and 70.0% in third trimester. From first trimester to third trimester, V/Q scanning was used in 21.3%, 16.7%, and 18.3% of cases, respectively. Confirmed pDVT along with the presence of signs/symptoms of PE was the confirmatory modality for PE in 21.3% of patients in first trimester, 19.4% in second trimester, and 6.7% in third trimester. The proportion of postpartum patients confirmed with CTPA (85.5%) was comparable to that of non-pregnant non-postpartum women (83.2%). From the first trimester of pregnancy to postpartum period, there was a linear increase in the proportion of patients with PE diagnosed with CTPA (p = 0.039). CTPA was the primary modality for confirming PE in all trimesters of pregnancy, although its proportional use was higher in later stages of pregnancy. • Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was the primary modality of diagnosis in all trimesters of pregnancy among patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism, even in the first trimester. • From the first trimester of pregnancy to postpartum period, there was a linear increase in the proportion of patients with pulmonary embolism who were diagnosed based on CTPA. • In the postpartum period, use of CTPA as the modality to confirm pulmonary embolism was comparable to non-pregnant patients.

Funder: University of Cambridge, Objectives: To assess the multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) appearances of normal peripheral zone (PZ) across age groups in a biopsy-naïve population, where prostate cancer (PCa) was subsequently excluded, and propose a scoring system for background PZ changes. Methods: This retrospective study included 175 consecutive biopsy-naïve patients (40–74 years) referred with a suspicion of PCa, but with subsequent negative investigations. Patients were grouped by age into categories ≤ 54, 55–59, 60–64, and ≥ 65 years. MpMRI sequences (T2-weighted imaging [T2WI], diffusion-weighted imaging [DWI]/apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC], and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging [DCE]) were independently evaluated by two uro-radiologists on a proposed 4-point grading scale for background change on each sequence, wherein score 1 mirrored PIRADS-1 change and score 4 represented diffuse background change. Peripheral zone T2WI signal intensity and ADC values were also analyzed for trends relating to age. Results: There was a negative correlation between age and assigned background PZ scores for each mpMRI sequence: T2WI: r = − 0.52, DWI: r = − 0.49, DCE: r = − 0.45, p < 0.001. Patients aged ≤ 54 years had mean scores of 3.0 (T2WI), 2.7 (DWI), and 3.1 (DCE), whilst patients ≥ 65 years had significantly lower mean scores of 1.7, 1.4, and 1.9, respectively. There was moderate inter-reader agreement for all scores (range κ = 0.43–0.58). Statistically significant positive correlations were found for age versus normalized T2WI signal intensity (r = 0.2, p = 0.009) and age versus ADC values (r = 0.33, p = 0.001). Conclusion: The normal PZ in younger patients (≤ 54 years) demonstrates significantly lower T2WI signal intensity, lower ADC values, and diffuse enhancement on DCE, which may hinder diagnostic interpretation in these patients. The proposed standardized PZ background scoring system may help convey the potential for diagnostic uncertainty to clinicians. Key Points: • Significant, positive correlations were found between increasing age and higher normalized T2-weighted signal intensity and mean ADC values of the prostatic peripheral zone. • Younger men exhibit lower T2-weighted imaging signal intensity, lower ADC values, and diffuse enhancement on dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging, which may hinder MRI interpretation. • A scoring system is proposed which aims towards a standardized assessment of the normal background PZ. This may help convey the potential for diagnostic uncertainty to clinicians.

Previous investigations have revealed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin from certain Gram-negative bacteria could adversely affect the reproductive system of female animals. However, it is unknown whether LPS endotoxin of Mannheimia haemolytica serotype A2, the principal causative bacteria that cause pneumonic mannheimiosis in small ruminants, may also induce similar insidious effects. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of M. haemolytica serotype A2 and its LPS endotoxin on the responses of female gonadal hormones (progesterone and oestrogen), pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6), acute-phase proteins (haptoglobin and serum amyloid A) and cellular changes via histopathology study of female reproductive organs of the treatment does. Twelve clinically healthy, non-pregnant, crossbred does were randomly allocated into three equal groups. Group 1 was administered intranasally with 2 ml of sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and served as a negative control group. Group 2 was challenged intranasally with 2 ml of bacterial inoculum containing 10

Mycoplasma ovis (formerly Eperythrozoon ovis) is an epierythrocytic parasitic bacterium of small ruminants known as haemotropic mycoplasma, which is transmitted mechanically by biting flies and contaminated instruments. Acute mycoplasmosis causes severe haemolytic anaemia and mortality in young animals. At the same time, chronic disease may produce mild anaemia and varying degrees of morbidity depending on several factors, including age, reproductive status, the plane of nutrition, immunological status and the presence of concurrent infection. Haemotropic Mycoplasma ovis is currently recognised as an emerging zoonotic pathogen which is widely distributed in the sheep and goat producing areas of tropics and subtropics, where the disease is nearly endemic. Human infection has been reported in pregnant women, immunocompromised patients and people exposed to animals and arthropods. The current diagnosis of haemoplasma relies on microscopic evaluation of Giemsa-stained blood smear and PCR. Although there are few published reports on the incidence of haemotropic Mycoplasma ovis infection of small ruminants in Malaysia, information on its prevalence, risk factors, severity and economic impacts is grossly inadequate. Therefore, a large-scale survey of small ruminant flocks is necessary to elucidate the current seroprevalence status and molecular characteristics of haemotropic M. ovis infection in Malaysia using ELISA and PCR sequencing technologies. In the future, surveillance programs, including vector forecast, quarantine, monitoring by periodic surveys and public enlightenment, will limit the internal and transboundary spread of M. ovis, enhance control efforts and mitigate production losses in Malaysia. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11250-020-02357-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PurposeThis study evaluates the morphology of the Thai proximal tibia based on three-dimensional (3D) models to design the tibial component.MethodsThe 3D models of 480 tibias were created using reverse engineering techniques from computed tomography imaging data obtained from 240 volunteers (120 males, 120 females; range 20–50 years). Based on 3D measurements, a digital ruler was used to measure the distance between the triangular points of the models. The morphometric parameters consisted of mediolateral length (ML), anteroposterior width (AP), medial anteroposterior width (MAP), lateral anteroposterior width (LAP), central to a medial length (CM), central to a lateral length (CL), medial anterior radius (MAR), lateral anterior radius (LAR), and tibial aspect ratio (AR). An independent t-test was performed for gender differences, and K-means clustering was used to find the optimum sizes of the tibial component with a correlation between ML length and AP width in Thai people.ResultsThe average morphometric parameters of Thai proximal tibia, namely ML, AP, MAP, LAP, CM, and CL, were as follows: 72.52 ± 5.94 mm, 46.36 ± 3.84 mm, 49.22 ± 3.62 mm, 43.59 ± 4.05 mm, 14.29 ± 2.72 mm, and 15.28 ± 2.99 mm, respectively. The average of MAR, LAR, and AR was 24.43 ± 2.11 mm, 21.52 ± 2.00 mm, and 1.57 ± 0.08, respectively. All morphometric parameters in males were significantly higher than those of females. There was a difference between the Thai proximal tibia and other nationalities and a mismatch between the size of the commercial tibial component and the Thai knee. Using K-means clustering analysis, the recommended number of ML and AP is seven sizes for the practical design of tibial components to cover the Thai anatomy.ConclusionThe design of the tibial component should be recommended to cover the anatomy of the Thai population. These data provide essential information for the specific design of Thai knee prostheses.

Previous studies have shown that Mannheimia haemolytica A2 is the principal microorganism causing pneumonic mannheimiosis, a major bacterial respiratory disease among sheep and goats. The effect of this bacteria on the respiratory system is well-established. However, its effect on the reproductive physiology remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the alterations in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and testosterone hormone post-inoculation with M. haemolytica serotype A2 and its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin which were hypothesized to affect the reproductive functions of bucks. Twelve clinically healthy adult male goats were divided equally into three groups. Goats in group 1 were treated with 2 ml of sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) pH 7.0 intranasally (negative control), group 2 with 2 ml of 109 colony-forming unit (CFU) of M. haemolytica serotype A2 intranasally (positive control), and group 3 were treated with 2 ml of lipopolysaccharide extracted from 109 CFU of M. haemolytica serotype A2 intravenously. Following inoculation, blood samples were collected via jugular venipuncture into plain tubes at pre-determined intervals for serum collection to determine the concentration of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and testosterone hormone by using commercial ELISA test kits. Results from this study demonstrated that the inoculation of M. haemolytica A2 and its LPS increases the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines but decreases the concentration of testosterone hormone in challenged animals at most time points throughout the 56 days experimental period (p < 0.05). This study suggests that the M. haemolytica A2 and its LPS could alter the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines and testosterone hormone, which in turn, may negatively affect the reproductive functions of bucks.

BackgroundEthanol biorefineries need to lower their overall production costs to become economically feasible. Two strategies to achieve this are to reduce costs using cheaper feedstocks or to increase the ethanol production yield. Low-cost feedstocks usually have high non-structural components (NSC) content; therefore, a new process is necessary to accommodate these feedstocks and overcome the negative effects of NSC. This study developed a novel ethanol biorefinery process including a biomass preprocessing step that enabled the use of lower-cost feedstocks while improving ethanol production without detoxification (overliming). Two types of poplar feedstocks were used, low-quality whole-tree chips (WTC) and high-quality clean pulp chips (CPC), to determine if the proposed process is effective while using feedstocks with different NSC contents.ResultsTechnical assessment showed that acidic preprocessing increased the monomeric sugar recovery of WTC from 73.2% (untreated) to 87.5% due to reduced buffering capacity of poplar, improved sugar solubilization during pretreatment, and better enzymatic hydrolysis conversion. Preprocessing alone significantly improved the fermentability of the liquid fraction from 1–2% to 49–56% for both feedstocks while overliming improved it to 45%. Consequently, it was proposed that preprocessing can substitute for the detoxification step. The economic assessment revealed that using poplar WTC via the new process increased annual ethanol production of 10.5 million liters when compared to using CPC via overliming (base case scenario). Also, savings in total operating costs were about $10 million per year when using cheaper poplar WTC instead of CPC, and using recycled water for preprocessing lowered its total operating costs by 45-fold.ConclusionsThe novel process developed in this study was successful in increasing ethanol production while decreasing overall costs, thus facilitating the feasibility of lignocellulosic ethanol biorefineries. Key factors to achieving this outcome included substituting overliming by preprocessing, enabling the use of lower-quality feedstock, increasing monomeric sugar recovery and ethanol fermentation yield, and using recycled water for preprocessing. In addition, preprocessing enabled the implementation of an evaporator-combustor downstream design, resulting in a low-loading waste stream that can be treated in a wastewater treatment plant with a simple configuration.

Background Similar to biofuels, numerous chemicals produced from petroleum resources can also be made from biomass. In this research we investigate cradle to biorefinery exit gate life cycle impacts of producing acetic acid from poplar biomass using a bioconversion process. A key step in developing acetic acid for commercial markets is producing a product with 99.8% purity. This process has been shown to be potentially energy intensive and in this work two distillation and liquid–liquid extraction methods are evaluated to produce glacial bio-acetic acid. Method one uses ethyl acetate for extraction. Method two uses alamine and diisobutyl ketone. Additionally two different options for meeting energy demands at the biorefinery are modeled. Option one involves burning lignin and natural gas onsite to meet heat/steam and electricity demands. Option two uses only natural gas onsite to meet heat/steam demands, purchases electricity from the grid to meet biorefinery needs, and sells lignin from the poplar biomass as a co-product to a coal burning power plant to be co-fired with coal. System expansion is used to account for by-products and co-products for the main life cycle assessment. Allocation assessments are also performed to compare the life cycle tradeoffs of using system expansion, mass allocation, or economic allocation for bio-acetic acid production. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine potential effects of a decrease in the fermentation of glucose to acetic acid. Results Global warming potential (GWP) and fossil fuel use (FFU) for ethyl acetate extraction range from 1000–2500 kg CO2 eq. and 32–56 GJ per tonne of acetic acid, respectively. Alamine and diisobutyl ketone extraction method GWP and FFU ranges from −370–180 kg CO2 eq. and 15−25 GJ per tonne of acetic acid, respectively. Conclusions Overall the alamine/diisobutyl ketone extraction method results in lower GWP and FFU values compared to the ethyl acetate extraction method. Only the alamine/diisobutyl extraction method finds GWP and FFU values lower than those of petroleum based acetic acid. For both extraction methods, exporting lignin as a co-product produced larger GWPs and FFU values compared to burning the lignin at the biorefinery.

Background Production and use of bio-based products offer advantages over conventional petrochemicals, yet the relatively high cost of production has restricted their mainstream adoption. Optimization of wastewater treatment processes could reduce capital expenditures, lowering the barrier to market entry for lignocellulosic biorefineries. This paper characterizes wastewater associated with lignocellulosic ethanol production and evaluates potential wastewater treatment operations. Results It is found that organic material is intrinsic to bioconversion wastewater, representing up to 260 kg of biological oxygen demand per tonne of feedstock processed. Inorganics in the wastewater largely originate from additions during pretreatment and pH adjustments, which increase the inorganic loading by 44 kg per tonne of feedstock processed. Adjusting the ethanol production process to decrease addition of inorganic material could reduce the demands and therefore cost of waste treatment. Various waste treatment technologies—including those that take advantage of ecosystem services provided by feedstock production—were compared in terms of capital and operating costs, as well as technical feasibility. Conclusions It is concluded that wastewater treatment technologies should be better integrated with conversion process design and feedstock production. Efforts to recycle resources throughout the biofuel supply chain through application of ecosystem services provided by adjacent feedstock plantations and recovery of resources from the waste stream to reduce overall capital and operating costs of bioconversion facilities.