Overview of Alternative Ethanol Removal Techniques for Enhancing Bioethanol Recovery from Fermentation Broth

This study aims at reviewing the alternative techniques for bioethanol recovery, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, and to investigate the technical challenges facing these alternatives to be widely used. The findings showed that the integration of these techniques with the fermentation process did not meet a large acceptance in the industrial sector. The majority of conducted studies were mainly focusing on ethanol recovery from aqueous standard solution rather than the investigation of these techniques performance in fermentation-separation coupled system. In this context, pervaporation has received more attention as a promising alternative to distillation. However, some challenges are facing the integration of these techniques in the industrial scale as the fouling problem in pervaporation, the toxicity of solvent in liquid extraction, energy consumption in vacuum fermentation. It was also found that there is a lack of the technical economic analysis for these techniques which may limit the spread of its application in the large scale. Currently, hybrid systems integrating distillation with other alternative techniques are considered as an innovative solution to reduce the high cost of the distillation process and the low separation efficiency of the alternatives techniques.

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Current and promising strategies to prevent and reduce aflatoxin contamination in grains and food matrices

World Mycotoxin Journal ◽

10.3920/wmj2020.2559 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

S.L. Gibellato ◽

L.F. Dalsóquio ◽

I.C.A. do Nascimento ◽

T.M. Alvarez

Keyword(s):

Secondary Metabolites ◽

Large Scale ◽

Industrial Sector ◽

Global Scale ◽

Aflatoxin Contamination ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Physical Chemical ◽

The World ◽

Food Matrices ◽

Culture Supernatants

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that colonise various crops around the world and cause major damage to the agro-industrial sector on a global scale. Considering the estimative of population growth in the next decades, it is of fundamental importance the implementation of practices that help prevent the economics and social impacts of aflatoxin contamination. Even though various approaches have been developed – including physical, chemical and biological approaches – there is not yet one that strikes a balance in terms of safety, food quality and cost, especially when considering large scale application. In this review, we present a compilation of advantages and disadvantages of different strategies for prevention and reduction of aflatoxin contamination. Biological approaches represent the trend in innovations mainly due to their specificity and versatility, since it is possible to consider the utilisation of whole microorganisms, culture supernatants, purified enzymes or even genetic engineering. However, challenges related to improvement of the efficiency of such methods and ensuring safety of treated foods still need to be overcome.

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Implantable neural interfaces

10.1093/oso/9780199674923.003.0050 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Stefano Vassanelli

Keyword(s):

Brain Function ◽

Large Scale ◽

Ionic Channels ◽

Patch Clamp Technique ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Optogenetic Stimulation ◽

Physical Interfaces ◽

The Brain

Establishing direct communication with the brain through physical interfaces is a fundamental strategy to investigate brain function. Starting with the patch-clamp technique in the seventies, neuroscience has moved from detailed characterization of ionic channels to the analysis of single neurons and, more recently, microcircuits in brain neuronal networks. Development of new biohybrid probes with electrodes for recording and stimulating neurons in the living animal is a natural consequence of this trend. The recent introduction of optogenetic stimulation and advanced high-resolution large-scale electrical recording approaches demonstrates this need. Brain implants for real-time neurophysiology are also opening new avenues for neuroprosthetics to restore brain function after injury or in neurological disorders. This chapter provides an overview on existing and emergent neurophysiology technologies with particular focus on those intended to interface neuronal microcircuits in vivo. Chemical, electrical, and optogenetic-based interfaces are presented, with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the different technical approaches.

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Efficient Schedule of Energy-Constrained UAV Using Crowdsourced Buses in Last-Mile Parcel Delivery

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies ◽

10.1145/3448079 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 1-23

Author(s):

Yan Pan ◽

Shining Li ◽

Qianwu Chen ◽

Nan Zhang ◽

Tao Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traffic Congestion ◽

Large Scale ◽

Load Capacity ◽

Scheduling Algorithm ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Logistics Industry ◽

Last Mile ◽

Delivery Scheduling ◽

Schedule Approach

Stimulated by the dramatical service demand in the logistics industry, logistics trucks employed in last-mile parcel delivery bring critical public concerns, such as heavy cost burden, traffic congestion and air pollution. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a promising alternative tool in last-mile delivery, which is however limited by insufficient flight range and load capacity. This paper presents an innovative energy-limited logistics UAV schedule approach using crowdsourced buses. Specifically, when one UAV delivers a parcel, it first lands on a crowdsourced social bus to parcel destination, gets recharged by the wireless recharger deployed on the bus, and then flies from the bus to the parcel destination. This novel approach not only increases the delivery range and load capacity of battery-limited UAVs, but is also much more cost-effective and environment-friendly than traditional methods. New challenges therefore emerge as the buses with spatiotemporal mobility become the bottleneck during delivery. By landing on buses, an Energy-Neutral Flight Principle and a delivery scheduling algorithm are proposed for the UAVs. Using the Energy-Neutral Flight Principle, each UAV can plan a flying path without depleting energy given buses with uncertain velocities. Besides, the delivery scheduling algorithm optimizes the delivery time and number of delivered parcels given warehouse location, logistics UAVs, parcel locations and buses. Comprehensive evaluations using a large-scale bus dataset demonstrate the superiority of the innovative logistics UAV schedule approach.

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Bio-Derived Catalysts: A Current Trend of Catalysts Used in Biodiesel Production

Catalysts ◽

10.3390/catal11070812 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 812

Author(s):

Hoang Chinh Nguyen ◽

My-Linh Nguyen ◽

Chia-Hung Su ◽

Hwai Chyuan Ong ◽

Horng-Yi Juan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Catalytic Activity ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Current Trend ◽

Biodiesel Production ◽

High Catalytic Activity ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Biodiesel Synthesis ◽

Alkali Catalysts ◽

A Current

Biodiesel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels and mainly produced from oils/fat through the (trans)esterification process. To enhance the reaction efficiency and simplify the production process, various catalysts have been introduced for biodiesel synthesis. Recently, the use of bio-derived catalysts has attracted more interest due to their high catalytic activity and ecofriendly properties. These catalysts include alkali catalysts, acid catalysts, and enzymes (biocatalysts), which are (bio)synthesized from various natural sources. This review summarizes the latest findings on these bio-derived catalysts, as well as their source and catalytic activity. The advantages and disadvantages of these catalysts are also discussed. These bio-based catalysts show a promising future and can be further used as a renewable catalyst for sustainable biodiesel production.

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Prenatal Nutritional Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Preterm Birth

Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1159/000509901 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Karen Patricia Best ◽

Judith Gomersall ◽

Maria Makrides

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cochrane Review ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Omega 3 ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Nutritional Interventions ◽

Dietary Nutrients ◽

Preterm Babies ◽

Nutritional Strategies

Worldwide, around 15 million preterm babies are born annually, and despite intensive research, the specific mechanisms triggering preterm birth (PTB) remain unclear. Cost-effective primary prevention strategies to reduce PTB are required, and nutritional interventions offer a promising alternative. Nutrients contribute to a variety of mechanisms that are potentially important to preterm delivery, such as infection, inflammation, oxidative stress, and muscle contractility. Several observational studies have explored the association between dietary nutrients and/or dietary patterns and PTB, often with contrasting results. Randomized trial evidence on the effects of supplementation with zinc, multiple micronutrients (iron and folic acid), and vitamin D is promising; however, results are inconsistent, and many studies are not adequately powered for outcomes of PTB. Large-scale clinical trials with PTB as the primary outcome are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn for these nutrients. The strongest evidence to date for a nutritional solution exists for omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), key nutrients in fish. In 2018, a Cochrane Review (including 70 studies) showed that prenatal supplementation with omega-3 LCPUFAs reduced the risk of PTB and early PTB (EPTB) compared with no omega-3 supplementation. However, the largest trial of omega-3 supplementation in pregnancy, the Omega-3 to Reduce the Incidence of Prematurity (ORIP) trial (<i>n</i> = 5,544), showed no reduction in EPTB and a reduction in PTB only in a prespecified analysis of singleton pregnancies. Exploratory analyses from the ORIP trial found that women with low baseline total omega-3 status were at higher risk of EPTB, and that this risk was substantially reduced with omega-3 supplementation. In contrast, women with replete or high baseline total omega-3 status were already at low risk of EPTB and additional omega-3 supplementation increased the risk of EPTB compared to control. These findings suggest that determining an individual woman’s PUFA status may be the most precise way to inform recommendations to reduce her risk of PTB.

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Why ability point estimates can be pointless: a primer on using skill measures from large-scale assessments in secondary analyses

Measurement Instruments for the Social Sciences ◽

10.1186/s42409-020-00020-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Clemens M. Lechner ◽

Nivedita Bhaktha ◽

Katharina Groskurth ◽

Matthias Bluemke

Keyword(s):

Measurement Error ◽

Statistical Models ◽

Test Scores ◽

Large Scale ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Point Estimates ◽

Secondary Analyses ◽

Large Scale Assessments

AbstractMeasures of cognitive or socio-emotional skills from large-scale assessments surveys (LSAS) are often based on advanced statistical models and scoring techniques unfamiliar to applied researchers. Consequently, applied researchers working with data from LSAS may be uncertain about the assumptions and computational details of these statistical models and scoring techniques and about how to best incorporate the resulting skill measures in secondary analyses. The present paper is intended as a primer for applied researchers. After a brief introduction to the key properties of skill assessments, we give an overview over the three principal methods with which secondary analysts can incorporate skill measures from LSAS in their analyses: (1) as test scores (i.e., point estimates of individual ability), (2) through structural equation modeling (SEM), and (3) in the form of plausible values (PVs). We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method based on three criteria: fallibility (i.e., control for measurement error and unbiasedness), usability (i.e., ease of use in secondary analyses), and immutability (i.e., consistency of test scores, PVs, or measurement model parameters across different analyses and analysts). We show that although none of the methods are optimal under all criteria, methods that result in a single point estimate of each respondent’s ability (i.e., all types of “test scores”) are rarely optimal for research purposes. Instead, approaches that avoid or correct for measurement error—especially PV methodology—stand out as the method of choice. We conclude with practical recommendations for secondary analysts and data-producing organizations.

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SARS-CoV-2 vaccines strategies: a comprehensive review of phase 3 candidates

npj Vaccines ◽

10.1038/s41541-021-00292-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nikolaos C. Kyriakidis ◽

Andrés López-Cortés ◽

Eduardo Vásconez González ◽

Alejandra Barreto Grimaldos ◽

Esteban Ortiz Prado

Keyword(s):

Neutralizing Antibodies ◽

Large Scale ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Rna Virus ◽

Protein S ◽

Effective Vaccine ◽

Phase 3 ◽

Vaccine Candidates ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

The World

AbstractThe new SARS-CoV-2 virus is an RNA virus that belongs to the Coronaviridae family and causes COVID-19 disease. The newly sequenced virus appears to originate in China and rapidly spread throughout the world, becoming a pandemic that, until January 5th, 2021, has caused more than 1,866,000 deaths. Hence, laboratories worldwide are developing an effective vaccine against this disease, which will be essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. Currently, there more than 64 vaccine candidates, most of them aiming to induce neutralizing antibodies against the spike protein (S). These antibodies will prevent uptake through the human ACE-2 receptor, thereby limiting viral entrance. Different vaccine platforms are being used for vaccine development, each one presenting several advantages and disadvantages. Thus far, thirteen vaccine candidates are being tested in Phase 3 clinical trials; therefore, it is closer to receiving approval or authorization for large-scale immunizations.

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Large-Scale Linear RankSVM

Neural Computation ◽

10.1162/neco_a_00571 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 781-817 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Ching-Pei Lee ◽

Chih-Jen Lin

Keyword(s):

Decision Trees ◽

Computational Efficiency ◽

Efficient Algorithm ◽

Large Scale ◽

Learning To Rank ◽

Gradient Boosting ◽

Baseline Model ◽

Nonlinear Methods ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Linear Ranksvm

Linear rankSVM is one of the widely used methods for learning to rank. Although its performance may be inferior to nonlinear methods such as kernel rankSVM and gradient boosting decision trees, linear rankSVM is useful to quickly produce a baseline model. Furthermore, following its recent development for classification, linear rankSVM may give competitive performance for large and sparse data. A great deal of works have studied linear rankSVM. The focus is on the computational efficiency when the number of preference pairs is large. In this letter, we systematically study existing works, discuss their advantages and disadvantages, and propose an efficient algorithm. We discuss different implementation issues and extensions with detailed experiments. Finally, we develop a robust linear rankSVM tool for public use.

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Overview on the Liquid Metal Battery for Grid-Level Large-Scale Energy Storage

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.723.572 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 723 ◽

pp. 572-578

Author(s):

Li Fu ◽

Qi Chi Le ◽

Xi Bo Wang ◽

Xuan Liu ◽

Wei Tao Jia

Keyword(s):

Energy Storage ◽

Liquid Metal ◽

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Comprehensive Comparison ◽

Development And Utilization ◽

Working Principle ◽

Liquid Metal Battery ◽

Grid Level

In recent years, the development and utilization of renewable generation have attracted more and more attention, and the grid puts forward higher requirements to the energy storage technology, especially for security, stability and reliability. The liquid metal battery (LMB) consists of two liquid metal electrodes and a molten salt electrolyte, which will be segregated into three liquid layers naturally. Being low-cost and long-life, it is regarded as the best choice for grid-level large-scale energy storage. This paper describes the main structure and working principle of the LMB, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the LMB when compared with the traditional batteries, and explores the feasibility and economy when it is used as a kind of large-scale energy storage applied in the power grid. The paper also makes a comprehensive comparison on the performance of several LMBs, and points out the LMB’s research and development in the future.

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Kibbutz and Colony: Collective Economies and the Outside World

Comparative Studies in Society and History ◽

10.1017/s0010417500006800 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 456-483 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

David Barkin ◽

John W. Bennett

Keyword(s):

Sixteenth Century ◽

Social System ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Enterprises ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Agrarian Economy ◽

Cultural Integrity ◽

Industrial Age ◽

Communal Property ◽

Communal Living

In an increasingly integrated world social system, the communitarian society must guard its autonomy while it simultaneously adjusts to external institutions in order to survive. In this paper we are concerned with the ways in which two of the most successful or at least enduring examples of collective agriculture and communal living, the kibbutz communities of Israel and the colonies of Hutterian Brethren in North America, are adapting to the pressures of the external society in order to retain their cultural integrity.1 Although the ideologies of these groups are linked in the distant past, from the standpoint of cultural background one could hardly find two more disparate cases: the sixteenth-century Anabaptist Hutterites with their Christian brotherhood, and the kibbutzniks, with their secular socialism and Zionist zeal. These are real differences, but these communities also have two important things in common: a dedication to the principles of communal property and communal living, and making a living by operating large, diversified agricultural enterprises. These similarities create a common need on the part of both Hutterites and kibbutzniks to maintain a certain distance from the surrounding society and its prevailing individualistic organization; to calculate the advantages and disadvantages of an agrarian economy in an industrial age; and to experience virtually identical problems of management and social organization created by large-scale agrarian diversification.

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