Acetosolv pretreatment of wood for biorefinery applications

The production of biofuels and biochemicals requires a pretreatment to cleave the composite-like structure of lignocellulosic biomass and thus facilitate further conversion. In the case of liquid-based pretreatment, it is important to know which pretreatment liquids allow for an effective conversion of biomass. For the development of effective pretreatment strategies, simple criteria for a fast evaluation of pretreatment results are advantageous. In this study, we use the example of acetosolv pretreatment of beech wood to explore the influence of composition of the employed acetosolv liquids. To this end, we investigate pretreatment phenomena on different scales including macroscopic disintegration, overall mass balances and compositional changes of beech wood. We relate the investigated phenomena with the type and amount of catalyst acid as well as water content of the employed acetosolv liquids. The results show that disintegration increases with both a higher concentration and acidity of the catalyst acid, while excessive disintegration can be balanced by an increased water content up to equimolar ratios of water and acetic acid. Furthermore, an increasing disintegration correlates with an increasing non-recovered fraction up to a maximum of 40 wt%. The non-recovered fraction in turn linearly depends on the amount of removed hemicellulose and lignin. Overall, a low lignin content together with complete disintegration after pretreatment in acetosolv liquids with a high water content allows for increased sugar yields in subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Thus, disintegration and non-recovered fraction serve as a simple indicator for a first assessment of pretreatment effectiveness.

The RPOC long axis is a simple indicator for predicting the need of invasive strategies for secondary postpartum hemorrhage in either post-abortion or post-partum women: a retrospective case control study

Background The retained products of conception (RPOC) and related conditions (RPOC-ARC) are the main cause of secondary postpartum hemorrhage (sPPH), but there is no clear consensus for their management. The purpose of this study was to characterize those RPOC-ARC that require invasive treatment and those that could be managed more conservatively. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 96 cases of RPOC-ARC that occurred after miscarriage, abortion, or delivery at a gestational age between 12 and 42 completed weeks, that were managed within our institution from May 2015 to August 2020. We reviewed the associations between the occurrence of sPPH requiring invasive treatment with clinical factors such as the maternal background and the characteristics of the lesions. Results The range of gestational age at delivery in our study was 12–21 weeks in 61 cases, 22–36 in 5, and 37 or later in 30. Among them, nine cases required invasive procedures for treatment. The onset of sPPH was within one month of delivery in all but two cases, with a median of 24 days (range 9–47). We found significant differences between requirements for invasive versus non-invasive strategies according to gestational age at delivery, assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancy, amount of blood loss at delivery, and the long axis of the RPOC-ARC lesion (p = 0.028, p = 0.009, p = 0.004, and p = 0.002, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that only the long axis of the lesion showed a significant difference (p = 0.029). The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for predicting the need for invasive strategies using the long axis of the lesion showed that with a cutoff of 4.4 cm, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) was 87.5, 90.0, 43.8, and 98.7%, respectively. Conclusion The long axis of the RPOC-ARC is a simple indicator for predicting which sPPH will require invasive procedures, which use is rare in cases with lesions less than 4.4 cm or those occurring after the first postpartum month. Conservative management should be considered in such cases.

Pembelajaran Terintegrasi Sains Dan Agama Islam Sebagai Upaya Pengembangan Karakter Peduli Lingkungan Pada Anak Sekolah Dasar

Earth is currently in a condition that is quite severe. Environmental damage triggered primarily by human activity has had an impact that threatens the survival of life on earth. Climate change alters the ecological balance that results in natural disasters, water scarcity, and declining environmental quality. Efforts to improve the environment must be a priority and carried out by as many humans as possible. In fact, environmental awareness in Indonesia is still very low. One simple indicator, Indonesia is the second largest contributor of plastic waste in the world. If not addressed, this environmental damage will be felt by all parties. Efforts to increase environmental awareness need to start, one of them through elementary school bench. In line with the Penguatan Pendidikan Karakter (PPK) program, schools can make the environmentally caring character as target character so that learners become the generation that preserves and conserves the environment. Growing character must begin by providing a good understanding and environmental insight to the child as well as a sense of responsibility for himself, his community, and his God. Science learning and Islamic education is the most prospective entrance that teachers can take to foster environmental awareness.

The Diversification of Sicilian Farms: A Way to Sustainable Rural Development

Rural areas still suffer from a lack of sustainable development, and the diversification of farms may be a step in the right direction. The paper provides a detailed picture of the diversification of Sicilian farms into tourism services. Specifically, we propose a simple indicator of localization intensity of agritourism farms and explore their spatial distribution at municipality level. Our study highlights that Sicilian farms rarely diversify into tourism services, despite being situated in attractive areas. That said, some significant spatial clusters of municipalities where agritourism farms are highly concentrated do emerge from the study.

Short diameter may be a useful simple indicator of the tumor response in skull base meningiomas after conventionally fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the radiological change patterns in skull base meningiomas after conventionally fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (CFSRT) to determine a simple and valid method to assess the tumor response. Materials and methods Forty-one patients with a benign skull base meningioma treated by CFSRT from March 2007 to August 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. We measured tumor volume (TV), long-axis diameter (LD), and short-axis diameter (SD) on both pre-treatment images and follow-up images of 1, 3, and 5 years after CFSRT, respectively. The paired t test was used to detect differences in the LD and SD change rates. Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate relationships between the TV and the diameters changes. Results The number of available follow-up MRIs that was performed at 1, 3, and 5 years after the CFSRT was 41 (100%), 34 (83%), and 23 (56%), respectively. The change rates of SD were significantly higher than those of LD at every time point and more strongly correlated with the change rates of tumor volume at 3 and 5 years after CFSRT. Conclusions SD may be useful as a simple indicator of the tumor response for skull base meningioma after CFSRT. Key Points • The change rate in short-axis diameter is a useful and simple indicator of the response of skull base meningioma to conventionally fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. • Conventionally fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for skull base meningioma achieved excellent 5-year local control.

Assessment of albumin and aspartate levels as a simple indicator of the efficacy of cryopreservation

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The process of hepatocytes cryopreservation is standardised by most of the laboratories. However there is a variation with respect to the Protocols, media and equipments used amongst the laboratories. Similarly, the tests available to evaluate the efficacy also varies. They are expensive and sometimes might not measure the parameter required for a particular research study. Hence we propose a methodology to study the few basic parameters like cell viability, synthetic function of the cell and cell stability. We have also used a simple percentile calculation to know the efficacy of cryopreservation. This shall help in functional validation of the cell after cryopreservation. The same can also be used to compare the quality of hepatocytes between different batches. The objective of the study was to characterisation of the cells to determine the efficacy of cryopreservation.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Two step collagen isolation method was used to isolate the hepatocytes. Initial cell viability was calculated. A sample of cells were taken for characterisation and the remaining cells cryopreserved. The sample cells were divided into two batches one for pre cryopreservation culture and the other for post cryopreservation. The pre cryopreservation culture was done on monolayer using collagen coated 6 well plate. The other sample was placed in the cryovials for cryopreservation for 1week. After 1 week the cryopreserved cells were thawed and the post cryopreservation viability calculated, followed by post cryopreservation culture. During the process of culture (both pre cryopreservation and post cryopreservation) for 5days Albumin was measured daily and average calculated, peak Aspartate (AST) at 24 hours was recorded. The percentile difference of the obtained values between the pre cryopreservation and post cryopreservation culture was calculated.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 12 specimen were enrolled for the study. The mean pre cryopreservation viability of the cells was 66.58%. The post cryopreservation, viability of the cells was 36.43%. The mean difference was -30.170%. The pre cryopreservation albumin values had a mean of 150ng/ml. The post cryopreservation albumin values had a mean of 135.83ng/ml. The mean difference was -14.170ng/ml. The pre cryopreservation peak Aspartate values had a mean of 234.17 IU/ml. The post cryopreservation peak aspartate values had a mean of 230 IU/ml. The mean difference was -4.176 IU/ml.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> This simple method can validate the cells after cryopreservation by measurement of cell viability, synthetic function of the cell and cell stability.</p><p> </p>

Individual heterozygosity predicts translocation success in threatened desert tortoises

Anthropogenic environmental modification is placing as many as 1 million species at risk of extinction. One management action for reducing extinction risk is translocation of individuals to locations from which they have disappeared or to new locations where biologists hypothesize they have a good chance of surviving. To maximize this survival probability, the standard practice is to move animals from the closest possible populations that contain presumably related individuals. In an empirical test of this conventional wisdom, we analyzed a genomic dataset for 166 translocated desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) that either survived or died over a period of two decades. We used genomic data to infer the geographic origin of translocated tortoises and found that individual heterozygosity predicted tortoise survival, whereas translocation distance or geographic unit of origin did not. Our results suggest a relatively simple indicator of the likelihood of a translocated individual’s survival: heterozygosity.