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•Red seaweed food waste was used as a sustainable feedstock for LA production.•Microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment facilitated fast red seaweed conversion.•High LA yield of ...16.3 wt% was obtained from Gracilaria lemaneiformis.•Algae hydrochar recovered can serve as a potential solid fuel.•Energy efficiency of 1.31 × 10−6 g LA/J and high carbon recovery of 73.3% were achieved.
In this study, red seaweed (Gracilaria lemaneiformis) food waste with high carbohydrate content was valorized into levulinic acid (LA) and algae hydrochar through microwave-assisted low-temperature hydrothermal treatment in dilute acid solution. Various parameters including treatment temperature (160–200 °C), reaction time (1–40 min), acid concentration (0–0.6 M), and biomass-to-liquid ratio (1%–10%, w/v) were examined. The energy efficiency and carbon recovery of the proposed process were investigated. Under the experimental conditions of 5% (w/v) biomass loading, 0.2 M H2SO4, 180 °C, and 20 min, the highest levulinic acid yield of 16.3 wt% was produced. The resulting hydrochar showed approximately 45–55% energy yield and higher heating values of 19–25 MJ kg−1. The energy efficiency of the present study (1.31 × 10−6 g LA/J) was comparable to those of the conventional hydrothermal treatment of lignocellulosic biomass, while the reaction time (20 min) was much shorter with a high carbon recovery (73.3%).
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•Valorization of bread waste resulted in 30mol% HMF using SnCl4 as catalyst.•Catalyst selectivity towards formation reactions improved maximum HMF yield.•Balance between Brønsted ...acidity and Lewis acidity controlled catalyst selectivity.•Temperature increase reduced reaction time but marginally enhanced HMF yield.•Sn-deposited porous humins may serve as precursor of biochar-based catalyst.
This study aimed to maximize the valorization of bread waste, a typical food waste stream, into hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) by improving our kinetic understanding. The highest HMF yield (30mol%) was achieved using SnCl4 as catalyst, which offered strong derived Brønsted acidity and moderate Lewis acidity. We evaluated the kinetic balance between these acidities to facilitate faster desirable reactions (i.e., hydrolysis, isomerization, and dehydration) relative to undesirable reactions (i.e., rehydration and polymerization). Such catalyst selectivity of SnCl4, AlCl3, and FeCl3 was critical in maximizing HMF yield. Higher temperature made marginal advancement by accelerating the undesirable reactions to a similar extent as the desirable pathways. The polymerization-induced metal-impregnated high-porosity carbon was a possible precursor of biochar-based catalyst, further driving up the economic potential. Preliminary economic analysis indicated a net gain of USD 43-236 per kilogram bread waste considering the thermochemical-conversion cost and chemical-trading revenue.
Developmental silencing of fetal globins serves as both a paradigm of spatiotemporal gene regulation and an opportunity for therapeutic intervention of β-hemoglobinopathy. The nucleosome remodeling ...and deacetylase (NuRD) chromatin complex participates in γ-globin repression. We used pooled CRISPR screening to disrupt NuRD protein coding sequences comprehensively in human adult erythroid precursors. Essential for fetal hemoglobin (HbF) control is a non-redundant subcomplex of NuRD protein family paralogs, whose composition we corroborated by affinity chromatography and proximity labeling mass spectrometry proteomics. Mapping top functional guide RNAs identified key protein interfaces where in-frame alleles resulted in loss-of-function due to destabilization or altered function of subunits. We ascertained mutations of CHD4 that dissociate its requirement for cell fitness from HbF repression in both primary human erythroid precursors and transgenic mice. Finally we demonstrated that sequestering CHD4 from NuRD phenocopied these mutations. These results indicate a generalizable approach to discover protein complex features amenable to rational biochemical targeting.
Idealized simulations of the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma tornadic supercell storms are conducted at various horizontal grid spacings ranging from 1 km to 250 m, using a sounding extracted from a prior 3-km ...grid spacing real-data simulation. A sophisticated multimoment bulk microphysics parameterization scheme capable of predicting up to three moments of the particle or drop size distribution (DSD) for several liquid and ice hydrometeor species is evaluated and compared with traditional single-moment schemes. The emphasis is placed on the impact of microphysics, specifically rain evaporation and size sorting, on cold pool strength and structure, and on the overall reflectivity structure of the simulated storms. It is shown through microphysics budget analyses and examination of specific processes within the low-level downdraft regions that the multimoment scheme has important advantages, which lead to a weaker and smaller cold pool and better reflectivity structure, particularly in the forward-flank region of the simulated supercells. Specifically, the improved treatment of evaporation and size sorting, and their effects on the predicted rain DSDs by the multimoment scheme helps to control the cold bias often found in the simulations using typical single-moment schemes. The multimoment results are more consistent with observed (from both fixed and mobile mesonet platforms) thermodynamic conditions within the cold pools of the discrete supercells of the 3 May 1999 outbreak.
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•H3PO4-activated biochar catalyzed production of HMF (30.2%) and glucose (86.5%).•HMF selectivity depended on ratio of mesopore to micropore volume of biochar.•Biomass conversion was ...positively correlated to total acid density of biochar.•Acidity originated from COPO3 and CPO3 surface groups of H3PO4-modified biochar.•Engineered biochars are potential catalysts for biorefinery reactions.
The catalytic activity of engineered biochar was scrutinized for generation of glucose and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from starch-rich food waste (bread, rice, and spaghetti). The biochar catalysts were synthesized by chemical activation of pinewood sawdust with phosphoric acid at 400–600 °C. Higher activation temperatures enhanced the development of porosity and acidity (characterized by COPO3 and CPO3 surface groups), which imparted higher catalytic activity of H3PO4-activated biochar towards starch hydrolysis and fructose dehydration. Positive correlations were observed between HMF selectivity and ratio of mesopore to micropore volume, and between fructose conversion and total acid density. High yields of glucose (86.5 Cmol% at 150 °C, 20 min) and HMF (30.2 Cmol% at 180 °C, 20 min) were produced from rice starch and bread waste, respectively, over H3PO4-activated biochar. These results highlighted the potential of biochar catalyst in biorefinery as an emerging application of engineered biochar.
We present constraints on the annihilation cross section of weakly interacting massive particles dark matter based on the joint statistical analysis of four dwarf galaxies with VERITAS. These results ...are derived from an optimized photon weighting statistical technique that improves on standard imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope (IACT) analyses by utilizing the spectral and spatial properties of individual photon events. We report on the results of ∼230 hours of observations of five dwarf galaxies and the joint statistical analysis of four of the dwarf galaxies. We find no evidence of gamma-ray emission from any individual dwarf nor in the joint analysis. The derived upper limit on the dark matter annihilation cross section from the joint analysis is 1.35×10−23 cm3 s−1 at 1 TeV for the bottom quark (bb¯) final state, 2.85×10−24 cm3 s−1 at 1 TeV for the tau lepton (τ+τ−) final state and 1.32×10−25 cm3 s−1 at 1 TeV for the gauge boson (γγ) final state.
The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) Task Force recently introduced a new clinical score termed quick Sequential (Sepsis-related) Organ Failure ...Assessment (qSOFA) for identification of patients at risk of sepsis outside the intensive care unit (ICU). We attempted to compare the discriminatory capacity of the qSOFA versus the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) score for predicting mortality, ICU-free days, and organ dysfunction-free days in patients with suspicion of infection outside the ICU.
The Weill Cornell Medicine Registry and Biobank of Critically Ill Patients is an ongoing cohort of critically ill patients, for whom biological samples and clinical information (including vital signs before and during ICU hospitalization) are prospectively collected. Using such information, qSOFA and SIRS scores outside the ICU (specifically, within 8 hours before ICU admission) were calculated. This study population was therefore comprised of patients in the emergency department or the hospital wards who had suspected infection, were subsequently admitted to the medical ICU and were included in the Registry and Biobank.
One hundred fifty-two patients (67% from the emergency department) were included in this study. Sixty-seven percent had positive cultures and 19% died in the hospital. Discrimination of in-hospital mortality using qSOFA area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), 0.74; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.66-0.81 was significantly greater compared with SIRS criteria (AUC, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.51-0.67; p = 0.03). The qSOFA performed better than SIRS regarding discrimination for ICU-free days (p = 0.04), but not for ventilator-free days (p = 0.19), any organ dysfunction-free days (p = 0.13), or renal dysfunction-free days (p = 0.17).
In patients with suspected infection who eventually required admission to the ICU, qSOFA calculated before their ICU admission had greater accuracy than SIRS for predicting mortality and ICU-free days. However, it may be less clear whether qSOFA is also better than SIRS criteria for predicting ventilator free-days and organ dysfunction-free days. These findings may help clinicians gain further insight into the usefulness of qSOFA.
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•HMF yield of 30.4 Cmol% (∼20 wt%) from bread waste was achieved at 180 °C in 20 min.•SBC loading, temperature, and reaction time controlled starch conversion route.•HMF yield was in ...line with the total acidity density (TAD) of SBC.•TAD of recovered biochar catalysts was inversely correlated with humins content.•With regeneration, SBC displayed comparable performance and excellent recyclability.
Sulfonated biochar derived from forestry wood waste was employed for the catalytic conversion of starch-rich food waste (e.g., bread) into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Chemical and physical properties of catalyst were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, and elemental analysis. The conversion of HMF was investigated via controlling the reaction parameters such as catalyst loading, temperature, and reaction time. Under the optimum reaction conditions the HMF yield of 30.4 Cmol% (i.e., 22 wt% of bread waste) was achieved in the mixture of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)/deionized-water (DIW) at 180 °C in 20 min. The effectiveness of sulfonated biochar catalyst was positively correlated to the density of strong/weak Brønsted acidity (SO3H, COOH, and OH groups) and inversely correlated to humins content on the surface. With regeneration process, sulfonated biochar catalyst displayed excellent recyclability for comparable HMF yield from bread waste over five cycles.
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