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8 p.

A range of optical fibre-based sensors for the measurement of ethanol, primarily in aqueous solution, have been developed and are reviewed here. The sensing approaches can be classified into four groups according to the measurement techniques used, namely absorption (or absorbance), external interferometric, internal fibre grating and plasmonic sensing. The sensors within these groupings can be compared in terms of their characteristic performance indicators, which include sensitivity, resolution and measurement range. Here, particular attention is paid to the potential application areas of these sensors as ethanol production is globally viewed as an important industrial activity. Potential industrial applications are highlighted in the context of the emergence of the internet of things (IoT), which is driving widespread utilization of these sensors in the commercially significant industrial and medical sectors. The review concludes with a summary of the current status and future prospects of optical fibre ethanol sensors for industrial use.

Abstract The combination of biomass gasification with fuel cells, especially high temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) promises sustainable and highly efficient (decentralized and modular) energy conversion systems. This review encompasses the components of biomass integrated gasification–SOFC technology including biomass characteristics, the thermochemical conversion in gasifiers and the factors affecting the gasification process, the cleaning technologies for raw producer gas and its conditioning and finally the integration of gasifier with SOFCs. The influence of impurities present in biomass producer gas such as particulates, tar, H 2 S, HCl and alkali compounds based on recent experimental studies and their tolerance limits towards SOFCs are presented. Even though analysis based on the probable tolerance limits of impurities towards SOFCs and a comprehensive overview of the cleaning technologies for producer gas impurities indicate that producer gas cleaning at various temperatures using current technologies to meet SOFC requirements is possible, more experimental studies are still needed to acquire the detailed information on the tolerance limits of impurities for SOFCs. The recent theoretical modeling and experimental studies of biomass integrated gasification–SOFC systems are also presented.

The effect of low concentrations of ethanol on Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity, defined as ouabain-inhibitable 86Rb+ (K+) uptake, was investigated in a crude synaptosome preparation which was subject to minimal subcellular fractionation procedures. Moderate (20-30%) but potent (EC50 = 3.8 mM) stimulation of total ouabain (1 mM)-inhibitable K+ uptake by ethanol was observed following incubation periods of up to 20 min. The activity of the ethanol-induced component of K+ uptake was antagonized by nanomolar concentrations of ouabain. Thus, the moderate stimulation of total ouabain-inhibitable K+ uptake by ethanol was attributable to the activation of a component of K+ uptake which was very sensitive (VS; IC50 = 2.8 x 10(-10) M) to inhibition by ouabain. Slightly higher concentrations of ouabain (10(-9) - 10(-6.6) M) stimulated K+ uptake above control (no ethanol or ouabain) in both the absence and presence of ethanol. The selectivity of the VS-ethanol interaction was demonstrated by the lack of any ethanol effect on two other components of ouabain-inhibitable K+ uptake which accounted for inhibition of K+ uptake by concentrations of ouabain above 10(-6.6) M and were defined as sensitive (S; IC50 = 10(-6) M) and insensitive (I; IC50 = 10(-4) M) to ouabain. These results define the ethanol-inducible component of ouabain-inhibitable Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity and promote the view that changes in Na+,K(+)-ATPase-dependent ion translocation may contribute to ethanol intoxication in vivo.

64 p.

In the backdrop of COVID19 recovery, Pakistan is still struggling to cope with the economic challenges and disruptions caused in the energy supply chain. On one hand where COVID has brought serious socio-economic costs and prolonged delays, it has also provided opportunity for developing countries such as Pakistan to “build-forward-better” their economies in a more sustainable and climate friendly manner. This study particularly highlights the impact of COVID on energy supply and demand sectors of Pakistan, its near- and long-term impacts, and what policy interventions can be adopted to put Pakistan on-track to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The economic focus in on “Green Recovery” and what key interventions will foster a rapid transition towards decarbonization in Pakistan. Low Emission Analysis Platform (LEAP) model is used to provide energy sector outlook (2020-2040) of Pakistan under different scenario i.e., Pre COVID growth, Business-as-Usual, Slow Recovery, and Green Recovery from COVID. The results obtained from the model depicts that following a green recovery scenario, Pakistan can reduce around 10 Mtoe (9%) of its total energy use, 53 TWh of electricity, 19 Mt of emissions from demand sectors, and 11 Mt of emissions from the power sector by 2030. For total levelized cost of the power sector, the green recovery scenario represents a generation cost of $13 billion by 2030 which further highlights that energy efficiency could lead to cost savings of approximately $3 billion each year by 2030. Green recovery is however still a daunting task as it would require economic stimulus of $8 billion only to recover to its pre COVID scenario and total investments of $120 billion by 2030.

Adaptation to a repeated restraint stress schedule was monitored in ethanol-treated and control rats. A single episode of 2 h restraint decreased food intake in both control and ethanol-treated rats. The decreases in control rats were not observed following the 5th daily restraint of 2 h/day, suggesting that adaptation has occurred. Ethanol-treated rats, however, exhibited decreased food intake even after 5th daily restraint of 2 h/day. Ethanol administration decreased weekly but not daily cumulative food intake in unrestrained rats. Food intakes of ethanol-treated and control restrained rats were comparable following 1st-3rd daily restraints, but were smaller in ethanol-treated rats following the 4th and 5th daily restraints. Open-field ambulatory activities monitored 24 h after the 5th daily restraint on the 6th day were comparable in control restrained and unrestrained rats. Ethanol-treated and control unrestrained rats also exhibited comparable ambulation, but ethanol-treated rats exhibited smaller activity than control restrained or ethanol-treated unrestrained rats. Fluid intakes of ethanol and control rats were comparable during the 2 weeks of ethanol administration, but daily restraint schedule decreased ethanol intake. The findings show adaptation to repeated restraint in control rats and inability of ethanol-treated rats to adapt in the stress schedule. These findings imply that excessive alcohol consumption may impair adaptation to stress and thus conceivably precipitate depression.

The energy crisis and increasing fossil fuel prices due to increasing demands, controlled supplies, and global political unrest have adversely affected agricultural productivity and farm profitability across the globe and Pakistan is not an exception. To cope with this issue of energy deficiency in agriculture, the best alternate strategy is to take advantage of biomass and solid waste potential. In low-income countries such as Pakistan, the greenhouse heating system mostly relies on fossil fuels such as diesel, gasoline, and LPG. Farmers are reluctant to adopt greenhouse farming due to the continuously rising prices of the fossil fuels. To reduce reliance on fossil fuel energy, the objective of this study was to utilize biomass from crop residues to develop an efficient and economical biomass furnace that could heat greenhouses to protect the crop from seasonal temperature effects. Modifications made to the biomass furnace, such as the incorporation of insulation around the walls of the furnace, providing turbulators in fire tubes, and a secondary heat exchanger (heat recovery system) in the chimney, have increased the thermal efficiency of the biomass furnace by about 21.7%. A drastic reduction in hazardous elements of flue gases was observed due to the addition of a water scrubber smoke filter in the exit line of the flue. The efficiency of the biomass furnace ranged from 50.42% to 54.18%, whereas the heating efficiency of the diesel-fired heater was 71.19%. On the basis of the equal heating value of the fuels, the unit material and operating costs of the biomass furnace for wood, cotton stalks, corn cobs, and cow dung were USD 2.04, 1.86, 1.78, and 2.00 respectively against USD 4.67/h for the diesel heater. The capital and operating costs of the biomass furnace were about 50% and 43.7% of the diesel heater respectively, resulting in a seasonal saving of about 1573 USD. The produced smoke was tested as environmental friendly under the prescribed limits of the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), which shows potential for its large-scale adoption and wider applications.

Fluorescence energy homotransfer offers a powerful tool for the investigation of the state of oligomerization of cell surface receptors on a cell-by-cell basis by measuring the polarized components of fluorescence intensity of cells labeled with fluorescently stained antibodies. Here we describe homotransfer-based methods for the flow cytometric detection and analysis of hetero- and homo-associations of cell surface receptors. Homotransfer efficiencies for two- and three-body energy transfer interactions are defined and their frequency distribution curves are computed from the fluorescence anisotropy distributions of multiple-labeled cells. The fractions of receptors involved in homo-clustering is calculated based on the dependence of the fluorescence anisotropy on the surface concentration of the fluorescently stained antibodies. A homotransfer analysis of the homo- and hetero-clustering of the MHCI and MHCII glycoproteins, the cytokine receptor IL-2Ralpha, transferrin receptor and the receptor-type tyrosine phosphatase CD45 on JY B and Kit-225-K6 T cells is presented. We investigated how various factors such as the type of dye, rotational mobility of the dye and dye-targeting antibody, as well as the wavelength of the exciting light affect the homotransfer. We show that the homotransfer technique combined with the high statistical resolution of flow cytometry is an effective tool for detecting different oligomeric states of receptors by using fluorophores having restricted rotational mobility on the time scale of fluorescence.