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The sustainability can be maintained by utilizing the available waste as feedstock and catalyst such as dairy and eggshell waste respectively for biodiesel production. In this study, the calcium oxide (CaO) synthesized from calcined eggshell was doped with potassium hydroxide (KOH-ECaO) via wet impregnation method and analyzed the catalyst performance on biodiesel production from dairy waste scum oil (DWSO) via microwave assisted transesterification. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) contents were deduced by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The KOH-ECaO catalyst showed a good potential based on the characterizations analysis such as high pore size (25.5 nm) which supported by SEM pattern analysis. The highest biodiesel production (75%) was obtained at optimum reaction parameters conditions. The optimized conditions were discovered to be 3 wt.% of catalyst, 16:1 of methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature of 65°C and 15 minutes of reaction time as microwave provided faster reaction for the transesterification. These innovative results showed that KOH-ECaO could enhance the biodiesel production from DWSO which encouraged the usage of waste for wealth product.

Vermicomposting enhances the breakdown of the organic wastes into vermicompost by adding earthworms. Recent studies revealed the potential of vermicompost to be used as electrolyte of bio-battery however, the voltage is lower and less stable than conventional batteries. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the quality of vermicompost generated and improve the voltage generation of vermicompost-derived battery. The vermicompost was first produced from green wastes collected in the vicinity of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) campus at optimum carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of 30:1. Next, humic and fulvic acid were extracted from vermicompost and used as electrolytes for bio-batteries with different organic additives namely, deionized water, spent tea waste, spent coffee waste, fruit enzyme and lemon juice which served as voltage enhancers. Vermicompost quality was established by final C:N ratio with respect to the total organic carbon and total Kjeldahl nitrogen as well as humic and fulvic acid yields and moisture content analysis in comparison to commercial vermicompost while voltage enhancement was assessed via voltage profiling using digital multimeter over a period of time. Key highlights include the generated vermicompost reaching maturation on day 40 with mass reduction of 18% and humic and fulvic acid yields at 3.41% and 0.38%, significantly higher than that of commercial vermicompost. The highest voltage recorded was 0.62 V for humic acid electrolyte with fruit enzyme additive followed by humic acid electrolyte with lemon juice additive which exhibited 0.61 V voltage generation. Should UTP make the move to harness electricity from vermibatteries, a comprehensive economic feasibility study with sound assumptions deduced that the payback period of the project is approximately 2.8 years which is very promising. Vermicomposting green wastes has multiple benefits from cutting down labour requirement to promoting eco-friendly waste management and generating high-quality compost and bio-battery electrolytes.

Introduction: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is rare but fatal thyroid cancer responsible for majority of thyroid cancer related mortality. ATC may originate de novo or from preexisting differentiated thyroid cancer. Complex interaction between different gene mutation has been suggested to be the main causative factor for origin of ATC in both pathways. Mostly affected pathways are MAP kinase and PI3CA kinase. Hence, we decided to study the frequent alterations in both the pathways in ATC patients. Methodology: Clinico-pathological data of 34 ATC patients were collected retrospectively and Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) blocks were taken out for genetic analysis. DNA and RANA were isolated from FFPE tissues. BRAF V600E mutations were screened by RFLP PCR method and confirmed by sequencing. RAS, PI3CA and p53 mutations were checked by sequencing. RET/PTC translocations were screened by Real Time PCR. Results: A total of 34 patients were studied: Mean age 58.6+ 11.6 years with F:M- 1.8:1, 60% had history of goiter. Most common presenting symptom was rapidly growing thyroid mass followed by dyspnea, dysphasia and hoarseness of voice. Extent of disease was local, locoregional and metastatic in 32%, 35% and 33% respectively. 57.6% were euthyroid, 20.5 % were hyperthyroid while functional status were not available in 11.7%. FNAC was suggestive of ATC only in 52.9% cases. 15 (44%) were operated. BRAF V600E mutations were observed in 10/34 (29.4%). Interestingly, all three ATC patients with DTC components had previous history of goiter with rapid increase in size and BRAF V600E mutation, while BRAF was positive only in 7/31 (22.5%) of patients with no DTC component. Mean survival of 3.5 months in BRAF positive cases in comparison to 5.5 months in BRAF negative ATC. RAS mutations were found to be positive in 5.8%, and none had RET-PTC/PI3CA mutations. P53 mutation was positive in 7 patients. 3 patients presented with history of rapid increase in size of previous goiter while rest 4 patients presented with rapidly increasing thyroid swelling of 1 to 3 months. At presentation 2 patients has disease localized to thyroid, 4 has loco-regional disease and one patient presented with metastasis. 5 out of these 7 patients were operated (Total thyroidectomy:3, thyroidectomy with neck dissection:2). Mean survival was 4 months (1-6 months). Conclusion: BRAF V600E was the commonest mutation followed by p53 of the 5 genes tested and BRAF was more common in patients with previous history of longstanding goiter or differentiated thyroid cancer. This provides an indirect evidence of neoplastic transformation of PTC to ATC.

Aims: The study is aimed to verify Aperio AT2 scanner for reporting on the digital pathology platform (DP) and to validate the cohort of pathologists in the interpretation of DP for routine diagnostic histopathological services in Wales, United Kingdom. Materials, Methods and Results: This was a large multicenter study involving seven hospitals across Wales and unique with 22 (largest number) pathologists participating. 7491 slides from 3001 cases were scanned on Leica Aperio AT2 scanner and reported on digital workstations with Leica software of e-slide manager. A senior pathology fellow compared DP reports with authorized reports on glass slide (GS). A panel of expert pathologists reviewed the discrepant cases under multiheader microscope to establish ground truth. 2745 out of 3001 (91%) cases showed complete concordance between DP and GS reports. Two hundred and fifty-six cases showed discrepancies in diagnosis, of which 170 (5.6%) were deemed of no clinical significance by the review panel. There were 86 (2.9%) clinically significant discrepancies in the diagnosis between DP and GS. The concordance was raised to 97.1% after discounting clinically insignificant discrepancies. Ground truth lay with DP in 28 out of 86 clinically significant discrepancies and with GS in 58 cases. Sensitivity of DP was 98.07% (confidence interval [CI] 97.57–98.56%); for GS was 99.07% (CI 98.72–99.41%). Conclusions: We concluded that Leica Aperio AT2 scanner produces adequate quality of images for routine histopathologic diagnosis. Pathologists were able to diagnose in DP with good concordance as with GS. Strengths and Limitations of this Study: Strengths of this study – This was a prospective blind study. Different pathologists reported digital and glass arms at different times giving an ambience of real-time reporting. There was standardized use of software and hardware across Wales. A strong managerial support from efficiency through the technology group was a key factor for the implementation of the study. Limitations: This study did not include Cytopathology and in situ hybridization slides. Difficulty in achieving surgical pathology practise standardization across the whole country contributed to intra-observer variations.

Osteopetrosis is a rare metabolic disease. Dental abnormalities may be attributed to the pathological changes in osteopetrosis. Patients with disease seem to be especially susceptible to osteomyelitis of mandible. A 9 yrs old girl presented with complaints of jaw swelling on left side with multiple discharging sinuses since last seven months. The radiograph of left mandible (oblique lateral view) showed periodontal involvement of associated molars with loss of lamina dura with small sequestrum with irregularity and erosions of the mandibular cortical margins. The patient was diagnosed as a case of osteopetrosis with superadded mandibular osteomyelitis.