Sample records for halts crude delivery

  1. HaLT2- an enhanced lumber grading trainer

    Treesearch

    Powsiri Klinkhachorn; Charles Gatchell; Charles McMillin; Ravi Kothari; Dennis Yost

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports on HaLT2, an improved version of HaLT (Hardwood Lumber Traning Program)- a computer program that provides training in lumber grading. The newly added enhancements In HaLT2 will provide training for both novice and experienced hardwood lumber graders in accordance with National Hardwood Lumber Assodation (NHLA) rules. HaLT2 is more accurate, easier to...

  2. Short-term market reaction after trading halts in Chinese stock market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Hai-Chuan; Zhang, Wei; Liu, Yi-Fang

    2014-05-01

    In this paper, we study the dynamics of absolute return, trading volume and bid-ask spread after the trading halts using high-frequency data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange. We deal with all three types of trading halts, namely intraday halts, one-day halts and inter-day halts, of 203 stocks in Shanghai Stock Exchange from August 2009 to 2011. We find that absolute return, trading volume, and in case of bid-ask spread around intraday halts share the same pattern with a sharp peak and a power law relaxation after that. While for different types of trading halts, the peaks’ height and the relaxation exponents are different. From the perspective of halt reasons or halt durations, the relaxation exponents of absolute return after inter-day halts are larger than those after intraday halts and one-day halts, which implies that inter-day halts are most effective. From the perspective of price trends, the relaxation exponents of excess absolute return and excess volume for positive events are larger than those for negative events in case of intraday halts and one-day halts, implying that positive events are more effective than negative events for intraday halts and one-day halts. In contrast, negative events are more effective than positive events for inter-day halts.

  3. Crude oil options market found to be efficient

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1992-08-17

    This paper reports that the U.S. crude oil options market operates efficiently and does not overreact. The authors, with the JFK School of Government, studied the crude oil options market under a Department of Energy grant. The current market was created in November 1986 when the New York Mercantile Exchange introduced an options contract for delivery of West Texas intermediate crude futures. it has grown greatly since then.

  4. Volatile hydrocarbons inhibit methanogenic crude oil degradation

    PubMed Central

    Sherry, Angela; Grant, Russell J.; Aitken, Carolyn M.; Jones, D. Martin; Head, Ian M.; Gray, Neil D.

    2014-01-01

    Methanogenic degradation of crude oil in subsurface sediments occurs slowly, but without the need for exogenous electron acceptors, is sustained for long periods and has enormous economic and environmental consequences. Here we show that volatile hydrocarbons are inhibitory to methanogenic oil biodegradation by comparing degradation of an artificially weathered crude oil with volatile hydrocarbons removed, with the same oil that was not weathered. Volatile hydrocarbons (nC5–nC10, methylcyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and xylenes) were quantified in the headspace of microcosms. Aliphatic (n-alkanes nC12–nC34) and aromatic hydrocarbons (4-methylbiphenyl, 3-methylbiphenyl, 2-methylnaphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene) were quantified in the total hydrocarbon fraction extracted from the microcosms. 16S rRNA genes from key microorganisms known to play an important role in methanogenic alkane degradation (Smithella and Methanomicrobiales) were quantified by quantitative PCR. Methane production from degradation of weathered oil in microcosms was rapid (1.1 ± 0.1 μmol CH4/g sediment/day) with stoichiometric yields consistent with degradation of heavier n-alkanes (nC12–nC34). For non-weathered oil, degradation rates in microcosms were significantly lower (0.4 ± 0.3 μmol CH4/g sediment/day). This indicated that volatile hydrocarbons present in the non-weathered oil inhibit, but do not completely halt, methanogenic alkane biodegradation. These findings are significant with respect to rates of biodegradation of crude oils with abundant volatile hydrocarbons in anoxic, sulphate-depleted subsurface environments, such as contaminated marine sediments which have been entrained below the sulfate-reduction zone, as well as crude oil biodegradation in petroleum reservoirs and contaminated aquifers. PMID:24765087

  5. HALT Selected Papers, 1993 with Language Teaching Ideas from Paradise.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chandler, Paul, Ed.; Hodnett, Edda, Ed.

    In section I, papers presented at the Hawaii Association of Language Teachers (HALT) in 1993 are presented. Section II includes a number of projects received from a call for papers simultaneous to the call for the HALT papers. Section 1 contains: "This is Like a Foreign Language to Me: Keynote Address" (Bill VanPatten); "From Discussion Questions…

  6. High-alkali low-temperature polysulfide pulping (HALT) of Scots pine.

    PubMed

    Paananen, Markus; Sixta, Herbert

    2015-10-01

    High-alkali low-temperature polysulfide pulping (HALT) was effectively utilised to prevent major polysaccharide losses while maintaining the delignification rate. A yield increase of 6.7 wt% on wood was observed for a HALT pulp compared to a conventionally produced kappa number 60 pulp with comparable viscosity. Approximately 70% of the yield increase was attributed to improved galactoglucomannan preservation and 30% to cellulose. A two-stage oxygen delignification sequence with inter-stage peroxymonosulphuric acid treatment was used to ensure delignification to a bleachable grade. In a comparison to conventional pulp, HALT pulp effectively maintained its yield advantage. Diafiltration trials indicate that purified black liquor can be directly recycled, as large lignin fractions and basically all dissolved polysaccharides were separated from the alkali-rich BL. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. HALT to qualify electronic packages: a proof of concept

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramesham, Rajeshuni

    2014-03-01

    A proof of concept of the Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) technique was explored to assess and optimize electronic packaging designs for long duration deep space missions in a wide temperature range (-150°C to +125°C). HALT is a custom hybrid package suite of testing techniques using environments such as extreme temperatures and dynamic shock step processing from 0g up to 50g of acceleration. HALT testing used in this study implemented repetitive shock on the test vehicle components at various temperatures to precipitate workmanship and/or manufacturing defects to show the weak links of the designs. The purpose is to reduce the product development cycle time for improvements to the packaging design qualification. A test article was built using advanced electronic package designs and surface mount technology processes, which are considered useful for a variety of JPL and NASA projects, i.e. (surface mount packages such as ball grid arrays (BGA), plastic ball grid arrays (PBGA), very thin chip array ball grid array (CVBGA), quad flat-pack (QFP), micro-lead-frame (MLF) packages, several passive components, etc.). These packages were daisy-chained and independently monitored during the HALT test. The HALT technique was then implemented to predict reliability and assess survivability of these advanced packaging techniques for long duration deep space missions in much shorter test durations. Test articles were built using advanced electronic package designs that are considered useful in various NASA projects. All the advanced electronic packages were daisychained independently to monitor the continuity of the individual electronic packages. Continuity of the daisy chain packages was monitored during the HALT testing using a data logging system. We were able to test the boards up to 40g to 50g shock levels at temperatures ranging from +125°C to -150°C. The HALT system can deliver 50g shock levels at room temperature. Several tests were performed by subjecting

  8. Quantum Iterative Deepening with an Application to the Halting Problem

    PubMed Central

    Tarrataca, Luís; Wichert, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    Classical models of computation traditionally resort to halting schemes in order to enquire about the state of a computation. In such schemes, a computational process is responsible for signaling an end of a calculation by setting a halt bit, which needs to be systematically checked by an observer. The capacity of quantum computational models to operate on a superposition of states requires an alternative approach. From a quantum perspective, any measurement of an equivalent halt qubit would have the potential to inherently interfere with the computation by provoking a random collapse amongst the states. This issue is exacerbated by undecidable problems such as the Entscheidungsproblem which require universal computational models, e.g. the classical Turing machine, to be able to proceed indefinitely. In this work we present an alternative view of quantum computation based on production system theory in conjunction with Grover's amplitude amplification scheme that allows for (1) a detection of halt states without interfering with the final result of a computation; (2) the possibility of non-terminating computation and (3) an inherent speedup to occur during computations susceptible of parallelization. We discuss how such a strategy can be employed in order to simulate classical Turing machines. PMID:23520465

  9. STARS DO NOT EAT THEIR YOUNG MIGRATING PLANETS: EMPIRICAL CONSTRAINTS ON PLANET MIGRATION HALTING MECHANISMS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Plavchan, Peter; Bilinski, Christopher

    The discovery of ''hot Jupiters'' very close to their parent stars confirmed that Jovian planets migrate inward via several potential mechanisms. We present empirical constraints on planet migration halting mechanisms. We compute model density functions of close-in exoplanets in the orbital semi-major axis-stellar mass plane to represent planet migration that is halted via several mechanisms, including the interior 1:2 resonance with the magnetospheric disk truncation radius, the interior 1:2 resonance with the dust sublimation radius, and several scenarios for tidal halting. The models differ in the predicted power-law dependence of the exoplanet orbital semi-major axis as a function of stellarmore » mass, and thus we also include a power-law model with the exponent as a free parameter. We use a Bayesian analysis to assess the model success in reproducing empirical distributions of confirmed exoplanets and Kepler candidates that orbit interior to 0.1 AU. Our results confirm a correlation of the halting distance with stellar mass. Tidal halting provides the best fit to the empirical distribution of confirmed Jovian exoplanets at a statistically robust level, consistent with the Kozai mechanism and the spin-orbit misalignment of a substantial fraction of hot Jupiters. We can rule out migration halting at the interior 1:2 resonances with the magnetospheric disk truncation radius and the interior 1:2 resonance with the dust disk sublimation radius, a uniform random distribution, and a distribution with no dependence on stellar mass. Note that our results do not rule out Type-II migration, but rather eliminate the role of a circumstellar disk in stopping exoplanet migration. For Kepler candidates, which have a more restricted range in stellar mass compared to confirmed planets, we are unable to discern between the tidal dissipation and magnetospheric disk truncation braking mechanisms at a statistically significant level. The power-law model favors exponents in the

  10. Early intranasal insulin therapy halts progression of neurodegeneration: progress in Alzheimer's disease therapeutics.

    PubMed

    de la Monte, Suzanne M

    Evaluation of Craft S, Baker LD, Montine TJ, Minoshima S, Watson GS, Claxton A, et al. Intranasal Insulin Therapy for Alzheimer Disease and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Clinical Trial. Arch Neurol . 2011 Sep 12. Alzheimer's disease is associated with brain insulin deficiency and insulin resistance, similar to the problems in diabetes. If insulin could be supplied to the brain in the early stages of Alzheimer's, subsequent neurodegeneration might be prevented. Administering systemic insulin to elderly non-diabetics poses unacceptable risks of inadvertant hypoglycemia. However, intranasal delivery directs the insulin into the brain, avoiding systemic side-effects. This pilot study demonstrates both efficacy and safety of using intranasal insulin to treat early Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment, i.e. the precursor to Alzheimer's. Significant improvements in learning, memory, and cognition occured within a few months, but without intranasal insulin, brain function continued to deteriorate in measurable degrees. Intranasal insulin therapy holds promise for halting progression of Alzheimer's disease.

  11. The HALT Polycystic Kidney Disease Trials: Design and Implementation

    PubMed Central

    Torres, Vicente E.; Perrone, Ronald D.; Steinman, Theodore I.; Bae, Kyongtae T.; Miller, J. Philip; Miskulin, Dana C.; Oskoui, Frederic Rahbari; Masoumi, Amirali; Hogan, Marie C.; Winklhofer, Franz T.; Braun, William; Thompson, Paul A.; Meyers, Catherine M.; Kelleher, Cass; Schrier, Robert W.

    2010-01-01

    Background and objectives: Two HALT PKD trials will investigate interventions that potentially slow kidney disease progression in hypertensive autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients. Studies were designed in early and later stages of ADPKD to assess the impact of intensive blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and level of BP control on progressive renal disease. Design, settings, participants, and measurements: PKD-HALT trials are multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials studying 1018 hypertensive ADPKD patients enrolled over 3 yr with 4 to 8 yr of follow-up. In study A, 548 participants, estimated GFR (eGFR) of >60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 were randomized to one of four arms in a 2-by-2 design: combination angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) therapy versus ACEi monotherapy at two levels of BP control. In study B, 470 participants, eGFR of 25 to 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 compared ACEi/ARB therapy versus ACEi monotherapy, with BP control of 120 to 130/70 to 80 mmHg. Primary outcomes of studies A and B are MR-based percent change kidney volume and a composite endpoint of time to 50% reduction of baseline estimated eGFR, ESRD, or death, respectively. Results: This report describes design issues related to (1) novel endpoints such as kidney volume, (2) home versus office BP measures, and (3) the impact of RAAS inhibition on kidney and patient outcomes, safety, and quality of life. Conclusions: HALT PKD will evaluate potential benefits of rigorous BP control and inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system on kidney disease progression in ADPKD. PMID:20089507

  12. The role of benchmark crudes in crude oil pricing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wildblood, P.

    1993-12-31

    Most of the world`s oil, whether sold on a spot basis or as part of a term contract, will be priced on a relationship with one or other of a small number of marker crude oils. Generally, the markers used are West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Alaskan North Slope (ANS) for crude oil coming into North and South America; Dubai or Oman for crudes being delivered into the Far Eastern markets; and Brent for any crude being delivered into Europe. For a variety of reasons, over the laster two years, Brent blend has become more predominant in the pricing processmore » for crude oils throughout the world. This has resulted in the fact that, directly or indirectly, Brent is now used to price approximately 65% of the world`s crude oil. So why is it that a crude oil with a comparatively small production base of around 700,000 barrels per day has now come to dominate the pricing of the lion`s share of the world`s crude oil? The answer to this question is discussed.« less

  13. Designing and Evaluating Interventions to Halt the Transmission of Tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Dowdy, David W; Grant, Alison D; Dheda, Keertan; Nardell, Edward; Fielding, Katherine; Moore, David A J

    2017-11-03

    To reduce the incidence of tuberculosis, it is insufficient to simply understand the dynamics of tuberculosis transmission. Rather, we must design and rigorously evaluate interventions to halt transmission, prioritizing those interventions most likely to achieve population-level impact. Synergy in reducing tuberculosis transmission may be attainable by combining interventions that shrink the reservoir of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (preventive therapy), shorten the time between disease onset and treatment initiation (case finding and diagnosis), and prevent transmission in key settings, such as the built environment (infection control). In evaluating efficacy and estimating population-level impact, cluster-randomized trials and mechanistic models play particularly prominent roles. Historical and contemporary evidence suggests that effective public health interventions can halt tuberculosis transmission, but an evidence-based approach based on knowledge of local epidemiology is necessary for success. We provide a roadmap for designing, evaluating, and modeling interventions to interrupt the process of transmission that fuels a diverse array of tuberculosis epidemics worldwide. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  14. Halting the fuse discharge propagation using optical fiber microwires.

    PubMed

    Rocha, A M; Fernandes, G; Domingues, F; Niehus, M; Pinto, A N; Facão, M; André, P S

    2012-09-10

    We report and analyze the halting of the fuse effect propagation in optical fiber microwires. The increase of the mode field diameter in the tapered region decreases the optical intensity resulting in the extinction of the fuse effect. This fiber element presents a low insertion loss and can be introduced in the optical network in order to protect the active equipment from the damage caused by the fuse effect.

  15. Preparation and characterization of isoniazid-loaded crude soybean lecithin liposomes.

    PubMed

    Nkanga, Christian Isalomboto; Krause, Rui Werner; Noundou, Xavier Siwe; Walker, Roderick Bryan

    2017-06-30

    Tuberculosis (TB) is a poverty related infectious disease that is rapidly giving rise to public health concerns. Lengthy drug administration and frequent adverse side-effects associated with TB treatment make anti-tubercular drugs (ATDs) good candidates for drug delivery studies. This work aimed to formulate and prepare liposomes as a cost-effective option for ATD delivery. Liposomes were prepared by film hydration using crude soybean lecithin (CL) and not pure phospholipids as in the normal practice. Cholesterol was also used (up to 25% mass ratio), and isoniazid (INH) was encapsulated as model drug using a freeze-thaw loading technique. Purified soybean lecithin (PL) was also used for comparative purposes, under the same conditions. INH-loaded liposomes were characterized for particle size, Zeta Potential (ZP), encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug release. Physicochemical properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared. INH-loaded CL-based liposomes showed high EE (79±2.45%). The average particle size (813.00±9.21nm) and ZP (-42.80±4.31mV) of this formulation are promising for the treatment of TB by pulmonary delivery. These findings suggest the possibility of encapsulating ATDs in liposomes made of crude soybean lecithin that is cheap and readily available. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. U.S. Crude Oil Production to 2025: Updated Projection of Crude Types

    EIA Publications

    2015-01-01

    This report updates and extends a May 2014 EIA report, U.S. crude oil production forecast – analysis of crude types. It provides a projection of domestic crude oil production by crude type through 2025, supplementing the overall production projection provided in the AEO2015. Projections of production by crude type matter for several reasons. First, U.S. crude streams vary widely in quality. Second, the economics surrounding various options for the domestic use of additional domestic oil production are directly dependent on crude quality characteristics. Third, actual or potential export values also vary significantly with quality characteristics.

  17. Eliminating the Rhetoric: An Evaluation of the Halt Phase Strategy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-06-01

    Halt operations can demonstrate to the enemy leadership that continued aggression equals unacceptable risk because air superiority can be exploited...lesson can be drawn. The presence of ground forces demonstrates commitment and leadership . Powerful ground combat forces represent the strongest... leadership far more than technology will determine who wins and who loses." 10 The Fallacy of Technological Determinism Another main theme in critiques of

  18. Comparison of the properties of some synthetic crudes with petroleum crudes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Antoine, A. C.

    1979-01-01

    Physical properties and chemical compositions of six synthetic crudes were determined. The results were compared to those of typical petroleum crudes, with the interest being the feasibility of making jet fuels from oil shale and coal syncrudes. The specific gravity, viscosity, and pour point were measured, showing that these crudes would be described as heavier rather than lighter crudes. The boiling range distribution of the crudes was determined by distillation and by gas chromatography. In addition, gel permeation chromatograms were obtained, giving a unique molecular weight distribution profile for each crude. Analyses for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur concentrations were performed, as well as for hydrocarbon group type and trace element concentrations. It was found that the range in concentration of vanadium, an element whose presence in turbine fuels is of major concern, was lower than that of petroleum crudes. Sodium and potassium, other elements of concern, were present in comparatively high concentrations.

  19. 18. VIEW OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM WEST. WEST CRUDE ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    18. VIEW OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM WEST. WEST CRUDE ORE BIN AND TRESTLE FROM TWO JOHNS TRAMLINE TO SOUTH, CRUDE ORE BIN IN FOREGROUND. MACHINE SHOP IN BACKGROUND. THE TRAM TO PORTLAND PASSED TO NORTH OF MACHINE SHOP. - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

  20. Effect of Post-HALT Annealing on Leakage Currents in Solid Tantalum Capacitors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Teverovsky, Alexander

    2010-01-01

    Degradation of leakage currents is often observed during life testing of tantalum capacitors and is sometimes attributed to the field-induced crystallization in amorphous anodic tantalum pentoxide dielectrics. However, degradation of leakage currents and the possibility of annealing of degraded capacitors have not been investigated yet. In this work the effect of annealing after highly accelerated life testing (HALT) on leakage currents in various types of solid tantalum capacitors was analyzed. Variations of leakage currents with time during annealing at temperatures from 125 oC to 180 oC, thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD) currents, and I-V characteristics were measured to understand the conduction mechanism and the reason for current degradation. Annealing resulted in a gradual decrease of leakage currents and restored their initial values. Repeat HALT after annealing resulted in reproducible degradation of leakage currents. The observed results are explained based on ionic charge instability (drift/diffusion of oxygen vacancies) in the tantalum pentoxide dielectrics using a modified Schottky conduction mechanism.

  1. Methods of cracking a crude product to produce additional crude products

    DOEpatents

    Mo, Weijian [Sugar Land, TX; Roes, Augustinus Wilhelmus Maria [Houston, TX; Nair, Vijay [Katy, TX

    2009-09-08

    A method for producing a crude product is disclosed. Formation fluid is produced from a subsurface in situ heat treatment process. The formation fluid is separated to produce a liquid stream and a first gas stream. The first gas stream includes olefins. The liquid stream is fractionated to produce one or more crude products. At least one of the crude products has a boiling range distribution from 38.degree. C. and 343.degree. C. as determined by ASTM Method D5307. The crude product having the boiling range distribution from 38.degree. C. and 343.degree. C. is catalytically cracked to produce one or more additional crude products. At least one of the additional crude products is a second gas stream. The second gas stream has a boiling point of at most 38.degree. C. at 0.101 MPa.

  2. Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lafferty, Michael B.

    2011-01-01

    When it comes to public-sector pensions, writes lead author Michael B. Lafferty in this report, "A major public-policy (and public-finance) problem has been defined and measured, debated and deliberated, but not yet solved. Except where it has been." As recounted in "Halting a Runaway Train: Reforming Teacher Pensions for the 21st…

  3. Halting Antipsychotic Use in Long-Term care (HALT): a single-arm longitudinal study aiming to reduce inappropriate antipsychotic use in long-term care residents with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.

    PubMed

    Jessop, Tiffany; Harrison, Fleur; Cations, Monica; Draper, Brian; Chenoweth, Lynn; Hilmer, Sarah; Westbury, Juanita; Low, Lee-Fay; Heffernan, Megan; Sachdev, Perminder; Close, Jacqueline; Blennerhassett, Jenny; Marinkovich, Millicent; Shell, Allan; Brodaty, Henry

    2017-08-01

    Inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications to manage Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) continues despite revised guidelines and evidence for the associated risks and side effects. The aim of the Halting Antipsychotic Use in Long-Term care (HALT) project is to identify residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities on antipsychotic medications, and undertake an intervention to deprescribe (or cease) these medicines and improve non-pharmacological behavior management. LTC facilities will be recruited across Sydney, Australia. Resident inclusion criteria will be aged over 60 years, on regular antipsychotic medication, and without a primary psychotic illness or very severe BPSD, as measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Data collection will take place one month and one week prior to commencement of deprescribing; and 3, 6 and 12 months later. During the period prior to deprescribing, training will be provided for care staff on how to reduce and manage BPSD using person-centered approaches, and general practitioners of participants will be provided academic detailing. The primary outcome measure will be reduction of regular antipsychotic medication without use of substitute psychotropic medications. Secondary outcome measures will be NPI total and domain scores, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory scores and adverse events, including falls and hospitalizations. While previous studies have described strategies to minimize inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications in people with dementia living in long-term care, sustainability and a culture of prescribing for BPSD in aged care remain challenges. The HALT project aims to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-disciplinary approach for deprescribing antipsychotics in this population.

  4. Non-Viral Nucleic Acid Delivery Strategies to the Central Nervous System

    PubMed Central

    Tan, James-Kevin Y.; Sellers, Drew L.; Pham, Binhan; Pun, Suzie H.; Horner, Philip J.

    2016-01-01

    With an increased prevalence and understanding of central nervous system (CNS) injuries and neurological disorders, nucleic acid therapies are gaining promise as a way to regenerate lost neurons or halt disease progression. While more viral vectors have been used clinically as tools for gene delivery, non-viral vectors are gaining interest due to lower safety concerns and the ability to deliver all types of nucleic acids. Nevertheless, there are still a number of barriers to nucleic acid delivery. In this focused review, we explore the in vivo challenges hindering non-viral nucleic acid delivery to the CNS and the strategies and vehicles used to overcome them. Advantages and disadvantages of different routes of administration including: systemic injection, cerebrospinal fluid injection, intraparenchymal injection and peripheral administration are discussed. Non-viral vehicles and treatment strategies that have overcome delivery barriers and demonstrated in vivo gene transfer to the CNS are presented. These approaches can be used as guidelines in developing synthetic gene delivery vectors for CNS applications and will ultimately bring non-viral vectors closer to clinical application. PMID:27847462

  5. Intrauterine fetal death and risk of shoulder dystocia at delivery.

    PubMed

    Larsen, Sandra; Dobbin, Joanna; McCallion, Oliver; Eskild, Anne

    2016-12-01

    Vaginal delivery is recommended after intrauterine fetal death. However, little is known about the risk of shoulder dystocia in these deliveries. We studied whether intrauterine fetal death increases the risk of shoulder dystocia at delivery. In this population-based register study using the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, we included all singleton pregnancies with vaginal delivery of offspring in cephalic presentation in Norway during the period 1967-2012 (n = 2 266 118). Risk of shoulder dystocia was estimated as absolute risk (%) and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Adjustment was made for offspring birthweight (in grams). We performed sub-analyses within categories of birthweight (<4000 and ≥4000 g) and in pregnancies with maternal diabetes. Shoulder dystocia occurred in 1.1% of pregnancies with intrauterine fetal death and in 0.8% of pregnancies without intrauterine fetal death (p < 0.0001) (crude odds ratio 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.2-4.9). After adjustment for birthweight, the odds ratio was 5.9 (95% confidence interval 4.7-7.4). In pregnancies with birthweight ≥4000 g, shoulder dystocia occurred in 14.6% of pregnancies with intrauterine fetal death and in 2.8% of pregnancies without intrauterine fetal death (p < 0.001) (crude odds ratio 5.9, 95% confidence interval 4.5-7.9). In pregnancies with birthweight ≥4000 g and concurrent maternal diabetes, shoulder dystocia occurred in 57.1% of pregnancies with intrauterine fetal death and 9.6% of pregnancies without intrauterine fetal death (p < 0.001) (crude odds ratio 12.6, 95% confidence interval 5.9-26.9). Intrauterine fetal death increased the risk of shoulder dystocia at delivery, and the absolute risk of shoulder dystocia was particularly high if offspring birthweight was high and the mother had diabetes. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  6. 19. VIEW OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM EAST. EAST CRUDE ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    19. VIEW OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM EAST. EAST CRUDE ORE BIN IN FOREGROUND WITH DISCHARGE TO GRIZZLY AT BOTTOM OF VIEW. CONCRETE RETAINING WALL TO LEFT (SOUTH) AND BOTTOM (EAST EDGE OF EAST BIN). - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

  7. Manufacture of Autologous CD34+ Selected Grafts in the NIAID-Sponsored HALT-MS and SCOT Multicenter Clinical Trials for Autoimmune Diseases.

    PubMed

    Keever-Taylor, Carolyn A; Heimfeld, Shelly; Steinmiller, Kaitlyn C; Nash, Richard A; Sullivan, Keith M; Czarniecki, Christine W; Granderson, Tomeka C; Goldstein, Julia S; Griffith, Linda M

    2017-09-01

    To ensure comparable grafts for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-sponsored Investigational New Drug protocols for multiple sclerosis (HALT-MS) and systemic sclerosis (SCOT), a Drug Master File approach to control manufacture was implemented, including a common Master Production Batch Record and site-specific standard operating procedures with "Critical Elements." We assessed comparability of flow cytometry and controlled rate cryopreservation among sites and stability of cryopreserved grafts using hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) from healthy donors. Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, Apheresis-CD34+ Enriched, for Autologous Use (Auto-CD34 + HPC) graft specifications included ≥70% viable CD34 + cells before cryopreservation. For the 2 protocols, 110 apheresis collections were performed; 121 lots of Auto-CD34 + HPC were cryopreserved, and 107 of these (88.4%) met release criteria. Grafts were infused at a median of 25 days (range, 17 to 68) post-apheresis for HALT-MS (n = 24), and 25 days (range, 14 to 78) for SCOT (n = 33). Subjects received precryopreservation doses of a median 5.1 × 10 6 viable CD34 + cells/kg (range, 3.9 to 12.8)  for HALT-MS and 5.6 × 10 6 viable CD34 + cells/kg (range, 2.6 to 10.2) for SCOT. Recovery of granulocytes occurred at a median of 11 days (range, 9 to 15) post-HCT for HALT-MS and 10 days (range, 8 to 12) for SCOT, independent of CD34 + cell dose. Subjects received their last platelet transfusion at a median of 9 days (range, 6 to 16) for HALT-MS and 8 days (range, 6 to 23) for SCOT; higher CD34 + /kg doses were associated with faster platelet recovery. Stability testing of cryopreserved healthy donor CD34 + HPCs over 6 months of vapor phase liquid nitrogen storage demonstrated consistent 69% to 73% recovery of viable CD34 + cells. Manufacturing of Auto-CD34 + HPC for the HALT-MS and SCOT protocols was comparable across all sites and

  8. Methods of analyzing crude oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cooks, Robert Graham; Jjunju, Fred Paul Mark; Li, Anyin

    The invention generally relates to methods of analyzing crude oil. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve obtaining a crude oil sample, and subjecting the crude oil sample to mass spectrometry analysis. In certain embodiments, the method is performed without any sample pre-purification steps.

  9. Improving performance of electrostatic heater-theaters for light crude doped heavy crude; A case study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bhattacharya, A.; Ray, S.; Rai, R.

    1995-12-31

    Crude oil treatment systems for heavy oil assume paramount importance due to the difficult nature of emulsions formed and presence of water in the form of small droplets. With the aging of heavy oil fields, operating under active water drive, water content in the emulsion produced increases substantially. This has a direct impact on heater-treater performance and treated crude quality. A typical problem is discussed in this paper where the gradual increase in emulsion production over a period of time in heavy oil belts of ONGC have affected the electrostatic heater-treater performance, treating light crude doped heavy crude, resulting inmore » increased BS&W (basic sediments and water) in the treated crude. Critical levels of water cut in both heavy and light crudes have been identified beyond which the existing emulsion treating system becomes ineffective. Analysis have also been carried out to identify optimum mixing proportion which result in the most effective demulsification.« less

  10. Unexpected Interaction with Dispersed Crude Oil Droplets Drives Severe Toxicity in Atlantic Haddock Embryos

    PubMed Central

    Sørhus, Elin; Edvardsen, Rolf B.; Karlsen, Ørjan; Nordtug, Trond; van der Meeren, Terje; Thorsen, Anders; Harman, Christopher; Jentoft, Sissel; Meier, Sonnich

    2015-01-01

    The toxicity resulting from exposure to oil droplets in marine fish embryos and larvae is still subject for debate. The most detailed studies have investigated the effects of water-dissolved components of crude oil in water accommodated fractions (WAFs) that lack bulk oil droplets. Although exposure to dissolved petroleum compounds alone is sufficient to cause the characteristic developmental toxicity of crude oil, few studies have addressed whether physical interaction with oil micro-droplets are a relevant exposure pathway for open water marine speices. Here we used controlled delivery of mechanically dispersed crude oil to expose pelagic embryos and larvae of a marine teleost, the Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). Haddock embryos were exposed continuously to two different concentrations of dispersed crude oil, high and low, or in pulses. By 24 hours of exposure, micro-droplets of oil were observed adhering and accumulating on the chorion, accompanied by highly elevated levels of cyp1a, a biomarker for exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons. Embryos from all treatment groups showed abnormalities representative of crude oil cardiotoxicity at hatch (5 days of exposure), such as pericardial and yolk sac edema. Compared to other species, the frequency and severity of toxic effects was higher than expected for the waterborne PAH concentrations (e.g., 100% of larvae had edema at the low treatment). These findings suggest an enhanced tissue uptake of PAHs and/or other petroleum compounds from attached oil droplets. These studies highlight a novel property of haddock embryos that leads to greater than expected impact from dispersed crude oil. Given the very limited number of marine species tested in similar exposures, the likelihood of other species with similar properties could be high. This unanticipated result therefore has implications for assessing the ecological impacts of oil spills and the use of methods for dispersing oil in the open sea. PMID:25923774

  11. 33 CFR 157.130 - Crude oil washing with more than one grade of crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... RELATING TO TANK VESSELS CARRYING OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank Vessels Design... vessel having a COW system under §§ 157.10(e), 157.10a(a)(2), or 157.10c(b)(2) carries more than one grade of crude oil, the COW system must be capable of washing the cargo tanks with the grades of crude...

  12. Risk of Intrapartum Cervical Lacerations in Vaginal Singleton Deliveries in Women With Cerclage

    PubMed Central

    Suzuki, Shunji

    2015-01-01

    Background We examined the obstetric outcomes of singleton vaginal deliveries in women with cerclage at our institute to confirm the risk of intrapartum cervical lacerations in vaginal deliveries of women with cerclage. Methods Data on all Japanese singleton vaginal deliveries at ≥ 34 weeks’ gestation managed at the Japanese Red Cross Katsushika Maternity Hospital between 2008 and 2014 were collected. Results During the study period, cervical cerclage was performed in 95 of 9,490 (1.0%) women with singleton pregnancy at 12 - 22 weeks of singleton pregnancy who delivered at ≥ 34 weeks’ gestation. The incidence of intrapartum cervical lacerations and postpartum hemorrhage ≥ 1,000 mL in the women with cerclage were higher significantly than that in the women without cerclage (cervical lacerations: crude odds ratio (OR): 26.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 14 - 51, P < 0.01; postpartum hemorrhage: crude OR: 2.86, 95% CI: 1.6 - 4.9, P < 0.01). Using a multivariate analysis, cerclage was independently associated with the increased incidence of intrapartum cervical lacerations (P < 0.01). Conclusions Cervical cerclage is an independent risk factor of intrapartum cervical lacerations in vaginal deliveries. PMID:26251687

  13. Rare beneficial mutations can halt Muller's ratchet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balick, Daniel; Goyal, Sidhartha; Jerison, Elizabeth; Neher, Richard; Shraiman, Boris; Desai, Michael

    2012-02-01

    In viral, bacterial, and other asexual populations, the vast majority of non-neutral mutations are deleterious. This motivates the application of models without beneficial mutations. Here we show that the presence of surprisingly few compensatory mutations halts fitness decay in these models. Production of deleterious mutations is balanced by purifying selection, stabilizing the fitness distribution. However, stochastic vanishing of fitness classes can lead to slow fitness decay (i.e. Muller's ratchet). For weakly deleterious mutations, production overwhelms purification, rapidly decreasing population fitness. We show that when beneficial mutations are introduced, a stable steady state emerges in the form of a dynamic mutation-selection balance. We argue this state is generic for all mutation rates and population sizes, and is reached as an end state as genomes become saturated by either beneficial or deleterious mutations. Assuming all mutations have the same magnitude selective effect, we calculate the fraction of beneficial mutations necessary to maintain the dynamic balance. This may explain the unexpected maintenance of asexual genomes, as in mitochondria, in the presence of selection. This will affect in the statistics of genetic diversity in these populations.

  14. California crude-pipeline plans detailed

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ronco, M.J.

    1986-06-09

    California and the U.S. West have recently become a center for crude-oil pipeline activity. That activity includes existing and proposed lines, offshore and onshore terminals, and some unusual permitting and construction requirements. Operation of existing pipelines is influenced by the varying gravities of crudes in the area. California has three distinct producing areas from which pipelines deliver crude to refineries or marines terminals: 1. The inland Los Angeles basin and coast from Orange County to Ventura County. 2. The San Joaquin Valley in central California which is between the coastal mountains and the Sierras. 3. That portion of the Outermore » Continental Shelf (OCS) located primarily in federal waters off Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties on the central coast. The Los Angeles coastal and inland basin crude-oil pipeline system consists of gathering lines to move crude from the many wells throughout Ventura, Orange, and Los Angeles counties to operating refineries in the greater Los Angeles area. Major refineries include ARCO at Carson, Chevron at El Segundo, Mobil at Torrance, and Shell, Texaco, and Unical at Wilmington. The many different crude-oil pipelines serving these refineries from Ventura County and Orange County and from the many sites around Los Angeles County are too numerous to list.« less

  15. Leucanthemum vulgare Lam. crude oil phytoremediation.

    PubMed

    Noori, Azam; Maivan, Hassan Zare; Alaie, Ebrahim; Newman, Lee A

    2015-06-29

    Sites with crude oil pollution have been successfully treated using phytoremediation, but expanding the range of plants that can be used and understanding how exposure impacts the plants are two areas of study that are important to continue. Leucanthemum vulgare has been shown to grow well under a variety of stressful conditions. To examine L. vulgare's ability to both survive crude oil exposure and to reduce crude oil concentrations in soil, plants were placed in soil containing 0, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% or 10% w/w crude oil. Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) concentration, peroxidase and catalase activity, proline and phenol content in roots and leaves were determined at the start of planting and every 2 months for six months. L. vulgare roots were successfully colonized with mycorrhizae under all conditions. Results showed positive correlation between antioxidant compound concentration and crude oil contamination. Also, a significant reduction occurred in TPH content of soil over time in planted pots as compared to controls. The lowest TPH content was recorded after 6 months under all treatments. Results showed L. vulgare could survive crude oil exposure and enhance reducing of crude oil from soil.

  16. Impacts of the Venezuelan Crude Oil Production Loss

    EIA Publications

    2003-01-01

    This assessment of the Venezuelan petroleum loss examines two areas. The first part of the analysis focuses on the impact of the loss of Venezuelan crude production on crude oil supply for U.S. refiners who normally run a significant fraction of Venezuelan crude oil. The second part of the analysis looks at the impact of the Venezuelan production loss on crude markets in general, with particular emphasis on crude oil imports, refinery crude oil throughput levels, stock levels, and the changes in price differences between light and heavy crude oils.

  17. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.20 Crude. A subdegree of maturity, crude leaves usually have the general appearance of being raw and...

  18. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.20 Crude. A subdegree of maturity, crude leaves usually have the general appearance of being raw and...

  19. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.20 Crude. A subdegree of maturity, crude leaves usually have the general appearance of being raw and...

  20. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.20 Crude. A subdegree of maturity, crude leaves usually have the general appearance of being raw and...

  1. 7 CFR 30.20 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... AND STANDARDS Classification of Leaf Tobacco Covering Classes, Types and Groups of Grades § 30.20 Crude. A subdegree of maturity, crude leaves usually have the general appearance of being raw and...

  2. U.S. Movements of Crude Oil By Rail

    EIA Publications

    2017-01-01

    U.S. Movements of Crude Oil By Rail includes new data on crude oil transported by railroad. This product will fully integrate EIA's petroleum supply and disposition data along with pipeline, tanker, and barge data. Fully incorporating crude-by-rail movements improves EIA's regional petroleum balances by reducing regional crude oil adjustments (unaccounted for crude oil).

  3. Does conservation on farmland contribute to halting the biodiversity decline?

    PubMed

    Kleijn, David; Rundlöf, Maj; Scheper, Jeroen; Smith, Henrik G; Tscharntke, Teja

    2011-09-01

    Biodiversity continues to decline, despite the implementation of international conservation conventions and measures. To counteract biodiversity loss, it is pivotal to know how conservation actions affect biodiversity trends. Focussing on European farmland species, we review what is known about the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity. We argue that the effects of conservation are a function of conservation-induced ecological contrast, agricultural land-use intensity and landscape context. We find that, to date, only a few studies have linked local conservation effects to national biodiversity trends. It is therefore unknown how the extensive European agri-environmental budget for conservation on farmland contributes to the policy objectives to halt biodiversity decline. Based on this review, we identify new research directions addressing this important knowledge gap. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Characterization of crude glycerol from biodiesel plants.

    PubMed

    Hu, Shengjun; Luo, Xiaolan; Wan, Caixia; Li, Yebo

    2012-06-13

    Characterization of crude glycerol is very important to its value-added conversion. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of five biodiesel-derived crude glycerol samples were determined. Three methods, including iodometric-periodic acid method, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography (GC), were shown to be suitable for the determination of glycerol content in crude glycerol. The compositional analysis of crude glycerol was successfully achieved by crude glycerol fractionation and characterization of the obtained fractions (aqueous and organic) using titrimetric, HPLC, and GC analyses. The aqueous fraction consisted mainly of glycerol, methanol, and water, while the organic fraction contained fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), free fatty acids (FFAs), and glycerides. Despite the wide variations in the proportion of their components, all raw crude glycerol samples were shown to contain glycerol, soap, methanol, FAMEs, water, glycerides, FFAs, and ash.

  5. 19 CFR 19.22 - Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal produced from imported materials. 19.22 Section 19.22 Customs... § 19.22 Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal...

  6. 19 CFR 19.22 - Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal produced from imported materials. 19.22 Section 19.22 Customs... § 19.22 Withdrawal of metal refined in part from imported crude metal and in part from crude metal...

  7. 7 CFR 29.2261 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 29.2261 Section 29.2261 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing.... A similar condition may result from fire-kill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf which is crude to the...

  8. Synthetic Minor NSR Permit: Van Hook Crude Terminal, LLC - Van Hook Crude Terminal/Rail Loading Facility

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page contains the current effective synthetic minor NSR permit for the Van Hook Crude Terminal, LLC, Van Hook Crude Terminal/Rail Loading Facility, located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Mountrail County, ND.

  9. Systemic toxicity of dermally applied crude oils in rats

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feuston, M.H.; Mackerer, C.R.; Schreiner, C.A.

    1997-12-31

    Two crude oils, differing in viscosity (V) and nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) content, were evaluated for systemic toxicity, In the Crude I (low V, low N, low S) study, the material was applied to the clipped backs of rats at dose levels of 0, 30, 125, and 500 mg/kg. In the Crude II (high V, high N, moderate S) study, the oil was applied similarly at the same dose levels. The crude oils were applied for 13 wk, 5 d/wk. Exposure sites were not occluded. Mean body weight gain (wk 1-14) was significantly reduced in male rats exposed tomore » Crude II; body weight gain of all other animals was not adversely affected by treatment. An increase in absolute (A) and relative (R) liver weights and a decrease in A and R thymus weights were observed in male and female rats exposed to Crude II at 500 mg/kg; only liver weights (A and R) were adversely affected in male and female rats exposed to Crude I. In general, there was no consistent pattern of toxicity for serum chemistry endpoints; however, more parameters were adversely affected in Crude II-exposed female rats than in the other exposed groups. A consistent pattern of toxicity for hematology endpoints was observed among male rats exposed to Crude I and male and female rats exposed to Crude II. Parameters affected included: Crudes I and II, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, Crude II, platelet count. Microscopic evaluation of tissues revealed the following treatment-related findings: Crude I, treated skin, thymus, and thyroid; Crude II, bone marrow, treated skin, thymus, and thyroid. The LOEL (lowest observable effect level) for skin irritation and systemic toxicity (based on marginal effects on the thyroid) for both crude oils was 30 mg/kg; effects were more numerous and more pronounced in animals exposed to Crude II. Systemic effects are probably related to concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) found in crude oil.« less

  10. 7 CFR 29.3015 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 29.3015 Section 29.3015 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... immaturity. A similar condition may result from sunburn or sunscald. Any leaf which is crude to the extent of...

  11. Pregnancy week at delivery and the risk of shoulder dystocia: a population study of 2,014,956 deliveries.

    PubMed

    Øverland, E A; Vatten, L J; Eskild, A

    2014-01-01

    To study whether pregnancy week at delivery is an independent risk factor for shoulder dystocia. Population study. Medical Birth Registry of Norway. All vaginal deliveries of singleton offspring in cephalic presentation in Norway during 1967 through 2009 (n = 2,014,956). The incidence of shoulder dystocia was calculated according to pregnancy week at delivery. The associations of pregnancy week at delivery with shoulder dystocia were estimated as crude and adjusted odds ratios using logistic regression analyses. We repeated the analyses in pregnancies with and without maternal diabetes. Shoulder dystocia at delivery. The overall incidence of shoulder dystocia was 0.73% (n = 14,820), and the incidence increased by increasing pregnancy week at delivery. Birthweight was strongly associated with shoulder dystocia. After adjustment for birthweight, induction of labour, use of epidural analgesia at delivery, prolonged labour, forceps-assisted and vacuum-assisted delivery, parity, period of delivery and maternal age in multivariable analyses, the adjusted odds ratios for shoulder dystocia were 1.77 (1.42-2.20) for deliveries at 32-35 weeks of gestation, and 0.84 (0.79-0.88) at 42-43 weeks of gestation, using weeks 40-41 as the reference. In pregnancies affected by diabetes (n = 11,188), the incidence of shoulder dystocia was 3.95%, and after adjustment for birthweight the adjusted odds ratio for shoulder dystocia was 2.92 (95% CI 1.54-5.52) for deliveries at weeks 32-35 of gestation, and 0.91 (95% CI 0.50-1.66) at 42-43 weeks of gestation. The risk of shoulder dystocia was associated with increased birthweight, diabetes, induction of labour, use of epidural analgesia at delivery, prolonged labour, forceps-assisted and vacuum-assisted delivery, parity and period of delivery but not with post-term delivery. © 2013 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

  12. DOE/DOT Crude Oil Characterization Research Study, Task 2 Test Report on Evaluating Crude Oil Sampling and Analysis Methods

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lord, David; Allen, Ray; Rudeen, David

    The Crude Oil Characterization Research Study is designed to evaluate whether crude oils currently transported in North America, including those produced from "tight" formations, exhibit physical or chemical properties that are distinct from conventional crudes, and how these properties associate with combustion hazards with may be realized during transportation and handling.

  13. Assessment of crude oil biodegradation in arctic seashore sediments: effects of temperature, salinity, and crude oil concentration.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Priyamvada; Schiewer, Silke

    2016-08-01

    The expected increase in offshore oil exploration and production in the Arctic may lead to crude oil spills along arctic shorelines. To evaluate the potential effectiveness of bioremediation to treat such spills, oil spill bioremediation in arctic sediments was simulated in laboratory microcosms containing beach sediments from Barrow (Alaska), spiked with North Slope Crude, and incubated at varying temperatures and salinities. Biodegradation was measured via respiration rates (CO2 production); volatilization was quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS) analysis of hydrocarbons sorbed to activated carbon, and hydrocarbons remaining in the sediment were quantified by GC/flame ionization detector (FID). Higher temperature leads to increased biodegradation by naturally occurring microorganisms, while the release of volatile organic compounds was similar at both temperatures. Increased salinity had a small positive impact on crude oil removal. At higher crude oil dosages, volatilization increased, however CO2 production did not. While only a small percentage of crude oil was completely biodegraded, a larger percentage was volatilized within 6-9 weeks.

  14. Chemical demulsification of tanker crude emulsions. Memorandum report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Little, R.C.

    1980-02-13

    The chemical demulsification of tanker crude emulsions was studied as a function of oil type (light vs. heavy crude), demulsifier concentrations, and temperature. Aerosol OT shows promise as a chemical demulsifier of tanker crude emulsions provided that ambient temperatures are not too cold and that an appropriate concentration range is used for specific oil. The evaporation rates and viscosities of the six crudes studied are also reported in the text.

  15. ASK1 Inhibition Halts Disease Progression in Preclinical Models of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

    PubMed

    Budas, Grant R; Boehm, Mario; Kojonazarov, Baktybek; Viswanathan, Gayathri; Tian, Xia; Veeroju, Swathi; Novoyatleva, Tatyana; Grimminger, Friedrich; Hinojosa-Kirschenbaum, Ford; Ghofrani, Hossein A; Weissmann, Norbert; Seeger, Werner; Liles, John T; Schermuly, Ralph T

    2018-02-01

    Progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is associated with pathological remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature and the right ventricle (RV). Oxidative stress drives the remodeling process through activation of MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases), which stimulate apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. We investigated whether pharmacological inhibition of the redox-sensitive apical MAPK, ASK1 (apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1), can halt the progression of pulmonary vascular and RV remodeling. A selective, orally available ASK1 inhibitor, GS-444217, was administered to two preclinical rat models of PAH (monocrotaline and Sugen/hypoxia), a murine model of RV pressure overload induced by pulmonary artery banding, and cellular models. Oral administration of GS-444217 dose dependently reduced pulmonary arterial pressure and reduced RV hypertrophy in PAH models. The therapeutic efficacy of GS-444217 was associated with reduced ASK1 phosphorylation, reduced muscularization of the pulmonary arteries, and reduced fibrotic gene expression in the RV. Importantly, efficacy was observed when GS-444217 was administered to animals with established disease and also directly reduced cardiac fibrosis and improved cardiac function in a model of isolated RV pressure overload. In cellular models, GS-444217 reduced phosphorylation of p38 and JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) induced by adenoviral overexpression of ASK1 in rat cardiomyocytes and reduced activation/migration of primary mouse cardiac fibroblasts and human pulmonary adventitial fibroblasts derived from patients with PAH. ASK1 inhibition reduced pathological remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature and the right ventricle and halted progression of pulmonary hypertension in rodent models. These preclinical data inform the first description of a causal role of ASK1 in PAH disease pathogenesis.

  16. Nonviral siRNA delivery for gene silencing in neurodegenerative diseases.

    PubMed

    Prakash, Satya; Malhotra, Meenakshi; Rengaswamy, Venkatesh

    2010-01-01

    Linking genes with the underlying mechanisms of diseases is one of the biggest challenges of genomics-driven drug discovery research. Designing an inhibitor for any neurodegenerative disease that effectively halts the pathogenicity of the disease is yet to be achieved. The challenge lies in crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB)/blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) to reach the catalytic pockets of the enzyme/protein involved in the molecular mechanism of the disease process. Designing siRNA with exquisite specificity may result in selective suppression of the disease-linked gene. Although siRNA is the most promising method, it loses its potency in downregulating the gene due to its inherent instability, off-target effects, and lack of on-target effective delivery systems. Viral as well as nonviral delivery methods have been effectively tested in vivo for silencing of molecular targets and have resulted in significant efficacy in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), anxiety, depression, encephalitis, glioblastoma, Huntington's disease, neuropathic pain, and spinocerebellar ataxia. To realize the full therapeutic potential of siRNA for neurodegenerative diseases, we need to overcome many hurdles and challenges such as selecting suitable tissue-specific delivery vectors, minimizing the off-target effects, and achieving distribution in sufficient concentrations at the target tissue without any side effects. Cationic nanoparticle-mediated targeted siRNA delivery for therapeutic purposes has gained considerable clinical importance as a result of its promising efficacy.

  17. Effect of incubation time of sago (metroxylon sago) waste by local microorganism ″ginta″ on ph, crude protein, and crude fiber content

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ginting, Nurzainah; Pase, E.

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to examine the effect of incubation times of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” to the crude protein and crude fiber content in relation to finding a cheap and good quality ruminants feed alternative. Incubation times were 0 hours to 144 hours. The data obtained were analyzed using Completely Randomize Design consisting of seven treatments and three replications. The result showed that the duration of incubation of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” caused pH reduction, improved crude protein and crude fiber content. pH reduction was from 7.03 at 0 hour to 4.05 at 144 hours incubation. The highest increased in crude protein was H6U3 (5.58%) : 144 hours incubation and the lowest was H0U2 (3.22%) : 0 hour incubation while the highest crude fiber was H0U1 (19.99%) : 0 hour incubation and the lowest was H6U3 (18.23%) : 144 hours incubation. It can be concluded that incubation of sago waste triggered lower pH, higher crude protein and lower crude fiber than uninoculated. A recommendation could be given on using MOL ‘Ginta” in order to produce a cheap and good quality ruminans feed alternative.

  18. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

  19. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

  20. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary incentive crude oil. Annual prepaid expenses report. By January 31 of each year after 1980, the project...

  1. Crude oil degradation as an explanation of the depth rule

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Price, L.C.

    1980-01-01

    Previous studies of crude oil degradation by water washing and bacterial attack have documented the operation of these processes in many different petroleum basins of the world. Crude oil degradation substantially alters the chemical and physical makeup of a crude oil, changing a light paraffinic low-S "mature" crude to a heavy naphthenic or asphalt base, "immature appearing" high-S crude. Rough calculations carried out in the present study using experimentally determined solubility data of petroleum in water give insight into the possible magnitude of water washing and suggest that the process may be able to remove large amounts of petroleum in small divisions of geologic time. Plots of crude oil gravity vs. depth fail to show the expected correlation of increasing API gravity (decreasing specific gravity) with depth below 2.44 km (8000 ft.). Previous studies which have been carried out to document in-reservoir maturation have used crude oil gravity data shallower than 2.44 km (8000 ft.). The changes in crude oil composition as a function of depth which have been attributed to in-reservoir maturation over these shallower depths, are better explained by crude oil degradation. This study concludes that changes in crude oil composition that result from in-reservoir maturation are not evident from existing crude oil gravity data over the depth and temperature range previously supposed, and that the significant changes in crude oil gravity which are present over the shallow depth range are due to crude oil degradation. Thus the existence of significant quantities of petroleum should not necessarily be ruled out below an arbitrarily determined depth or temperature limit when the primary evidence for this is the change in crude oil gravity at shallow depths. ?? 1980.

  2. Effects of Removing Restrictions on U.S. Crude Oil Exports

    EIA Publications

    2015-01-01

    This report examines the implications of removing current restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports for the price of domestic and global marker crude oil streams, gasoline prices, domestic crude oil production, domestic refining activity, and trade in crude oil and petroleum products.

  3. [C-section rate in low-risk women: a useful indicator to compare hospitals attending deliveries with different risks].

    PubMed

    Librero, Julián; Peiró, Salvador; Belda, Ana; Calabuig, Julia

    2014-01-01

    the C-section rate has been criticized as a performance indicator for not considering that different hospitals manage deliveries with diverse risks. In this work we explore the characteristics of a new indicator restricted to low C-section risk deliveries. retrospective cohort of all births (n=214,611) in all public hospitals during 2005-2010 in the Valencia Region, Spain (source: minimum basic dataset). A low-risk subpopulation consisting of women under-35, no history of c-section, between 37 and 41 gestational weeks, and with a single fetus, with cephalic presentation and normal weight (2500-3999 g) was constructed. We analyzed variability in the new indicator, its correlation with the crude indicator and, using multilevel logistic regression models, the presence of residual risks. a total of 117 589 births (58.4% of the whole deliveries) were identified as low C-section risk. The c-section rate in these women was 11.9% (24.4% for all deliveries) ranging between hospitals from 7.0% to 28.9%. The c-section rate in low-risk and total deliveries correlated strongly (r=0.88). The remaining risks in the population of low risk did not alter the hospital effect on the c-section rate. the percentage of C-section in low risk women include a high volume of deliveries, correlated with the crude indicator and residual risks are not differentially influenced by hospitals, being a useful indicator for monitoring the quality of obstetric care in the National Health System.

  4. Hypolipidemic effects of crude green tea polysaccharide on rats, and structural features of tea polysaccharides isolated from the crude polysaccharide.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Michiko; Miura, Sayaka; Takagaki, Akiko; Nanjo, Fumio

    2017-05-01

    Crude tea polysaccharide (crude TPS) was prepared from instant green tea by ethanol precipitation followed by ultrafiltration membrane treatment and its effects on blood lipid, liver lipid, and fecal lipid levels were examined with Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high-fat diet. Although crude TPS showed no effects on the serum lipid levels, it suppressed the liver lipid accumulation and increased the fecal excretion of dietary fat. Then, the structural features of crude TPS were investigated. After separation of crude TPS by DEAE-cellulose and gel-filtration column chromatography, two kinds of neutral tea polysaccharides (NTPS-LP and NTPS-HH) and an acidic polysaccharide (ATPS-MH) were obtained. According to monosaccharide composition, methylation, and NMR analyses, NTPS-LP, NPTS-HH, and ATPS-MH were presumed to be starch, arabinogalactan with β-1,3-linked galactosyl backbone blanched at position 6 and with 1,5-linked arabinofuranosyl residues, and α-1,4-linked galacturonic acid backbone with arabinogalactan region, respectively.

  5. Parasite transmission among relatives halts Red Queen dynamics.

    PubMed

    Greenspoon, Philip B; Mideo, Nicole

    2017-03-01

    The theory that coevolving hosts and parasites create a fluctuating selective environment for one another (i.e., produce Red Queen dynamics) has deep roots in evolutionary biology; yet empirical evidence for Red Queen dynamics remains scarce. Fluctuating coevolutionary dynamics underpin the Red Queen hypothesis for the evolution of sex, as well as hypotheses explaining the persistence of genetic variation under sexual selection, local parasite adaptation, the evolution of mutation rate, and the evolution of nonrandom mating. Coevolutionary models that exhibit Red Queen dynamics typically assume that hosts and parasites encounter one another randomly. However, if related individuals aggregate into family groups or are clustered spatially, related hosts will be more likely to encounter parasites transmitted by genetically similar individuals. Using a model that incorporates familial parasite transmission, we show that a slight degree of familial parasite transmission is sufficient to halt coevolutionary fluctuations. Our results predict that evidence for Red Queen dynamics, and its evolutionary consequences, are most likely to be found in biological systems in which hosts and parasites mix mainly at random, and are less likely to be found in systems with familial aggregation. This presents a challenge to the Red Queen hypothesis and other hypotheses that depend on coevolutionary cycling. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  6. Impact of Expanded North Slope of Alaska Crude Oil Production on Crude Oil Flows in the Contiguous United States

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    DeRosa, Sean E.; Flanagan, Tatiana Paz

    The National Transportation Fuels Model was used to simulate a hypothetical increase in North Slope of Alaska crude oil production. The results show that the magnitude of production utilized depends in part on the ability of crude oil and refined products infrastructure in the contiguous United States to absorb and adjust to the additional supply. Decisions about expanding North Slope production can use the National Transportation Fuels Model take into account the effects on crude oil flows in the contiguous United States.

  7. Year in Review: Crude Oil Prices 2014

    EIA Publications

    2015-01-01

    This report gives an overview of the primary drivers of crude oil price movements in 2014, in particular the substantial price decline that took place during the second half of the year. Factors such as increased global supply of crude oil, lower crude oil supply disruptions, lower economic growth expectations, and currency exchange rate movements are explored in the report. In addition, links are provided to several other published EIA articles with further in-depth discussion of topics related to the oil price decline.

  8. Novel drug delivery systems for releasing growth factors to the CNS: focus on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

    PubMed

    Herran, E; Igartua, M; Pedraz, J L; Hernandez, R M

    2014-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) represent the most common neurodegenerative disorders and affect more than 35 million people. Due to the limited effectiveness of available treatments in halting the neurodegenerative process, new therapies, such therapies based on growth factors (GFs), have been investigated. Nevertheless, the efficacies of these new treatments depend not only on the application of neurotrophins but also on the approaches used to deliver these proteins such that they can reach the brain. This review summarises the most widely used drug delivery systems (DDSs) for releasing GFs as possible treatments for AD and PD.

  9. Contents of lecithin and choline in crude drugs.

    PubMed

    Yamasaki, K; Kikuoka, M; Nishi, H; Kokusenya, Y; Miyamoto, T; Matsuo, M; Sato, T

    1994-01-01

    The determination of lecithin and choline in crude drugs was established by a combination of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detector (ECD) and enzyme reaction. Lecithin in crude drugs extracted with a mixture of chloroform-methanol (2:1) at room temperature was hydrolyzed by phospholipase D. The hydrolyzate was injected to HPLC, and choline was separated from impurities by reverse phase column. The choline was converted to betaine and hydrogen peroxide by passing through column packed with immobilized choline oxidase. This hydrogen peroxide was detected by ECD. The peak area of hydrogen peroxide derived from lecithin was proportional to the concentration of lecithin from 0.10 to 1.52 microgram/ml. Choline in crude drugs was extracted with ethanol under reflux and determined under the same HPLC conditions as lecithin. The peak area of hydrogen peroxide derived from choline was proportional to the concentration of choline from 0.01 to 0.45 microgram/ml. The contents of lecithin and choline in 31 kinds of crude drugs were determined by these established methods. The results showed that Cervi Parvum Cornu, Kokurozin, Foenigraeci Semen and Psoraleae Semen contained more lecithin than other crude drugs, while Angelicae Radix, Foenigraeci Semen, Psoraleae Semen, and especially Hippocampus were found to contain more choline than other crude drugs.

  10. Sirolimus therapy to halt the progression of ADPKD.

    PubMed

    Perico, Norberto; Antiga, Luca; Caroli, Anna; Ruggenenti, Piero; Fasolini, Giorgio; Cafaro, Mariateresa; Ondei, Patrizia; Rubis, Nadia; Diadei, Olimpia; Gherardi, Giulia; Prandini, Silvia; Panozo, Andrea; Bravo, Rodolfo Flores; Carminati, Sergio; De Leon, Felipe Rodriguez; Gaspari, Flavio; Cortinovis, Monica; Motterlini, Nicola; Ene-Iordache, Bogdan; Remuzzi, Andrea; Remuzzi, Giuseppe

    2010-06-01

    Activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways may contribute to uncontrolled cell proliferation and secondary cyst growth in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). To assess the effects of mTOR inhibition on disease progression, we performed a randomized, crossover study (The SIRENA Study) comparing a 6-month treatment with sirolimus or conventional therapy alone on the growth of kidney volume and its compartments in 21 patients with ADPKD and GFR>or=40 ml/min per 1.73 m2. In 10 of the 15 patients who completed the study, aphthous stomatitis complicated sirolimus treatment but was effectively controlled by topical therapy. Compared with pretreatment, posttreatment mean total kidney volume increased less on sirolimus (46+/-81 ml; P=0.047) than on conventional therapy (70+/-72 ml; P=0.002), but we did not detect a difference between the two treatments (P=0.45). Cyst volume was stable on sirolimus and increased by 55+/-75 ml (P=0.013) on conventional therapy, whereas parenchymal volume increased by 26+/-30 ml (P=0.005) on sirolimus and was stable on conventional therapy. Percentage changes in cyst and parenchyma volumes were significantly different between the two treatment periods. Sirolimus had no appreciable effects on intermediate volume and GFR. Albuminuria and proteinuria marginally but significantly increased during sirolimus treatment. In summary, sirolimus halted cyst growth and increased parenchymal volume in patients with ADPKD. Whether these effects translate into improved long-term outcomes requires further investigation.

  11. A laboratory study of particulate and gaseous emissions from crude oil and crude oil-dispersant contaminated seawater due to breaking waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Afshar-Mohajer, Nima; Li, Cheng; Rule, Ana M.; Katz, Joseph; Koehler, Kirsten

    2018-04-01

    Crude oil spill incidents occur frequently causing a verity of occupational, ecological and environmental problems. Dispersants are applied to enhance the dispersion rate of crude oil slicks into the water column. In this study, the aerosol size distribution from 10 nm to 20 μm, total particle-bound aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAH) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are measured in a 6 x 0.3 x 0.6 m tank as plunging breaking waves entrain oil slicks. The experiments are performed for seawater with slicks of crude oil, crude oil-dispersant mixture and dispersant only. The measurements investigate the effects of wave energy and slick properties on the temporal evolution of the emissions. The total number concentrations of particles originating from the oil-dispersant mixture are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those of crude oil across the entire nano-scale range, reaching 100x for 20 nm particles. Conversely, the differences in concentration are small in the micron range. The average concentrations of pPAH are variable but similar (150-270 ng/m3). The VOC concentrations for crude oil-dispersant mixtures are 2-3 times lower than those of crude oil, presumably due to the surfactant effect on mass diffusion. The drastic increase in ultrafine particle concentrations may raise concerns about effects of inhalation by cleanup workers and downstream communities though VOC emissions reduce. Findings through this study provide insight into how the spray of dispersant may change the ratio of airborne particulate matter and VOC emissions from seawater due to natural processes.

  12. Enhanced crude oil biodegradation in soil via biostimulation.

    PubMed

    Al-Saleh, Esmaeil; Hassan, Ali

    2016-08-02

    Research on feasible methods for the enhancement of bioremediation in soil contaminated by crude oil is vital in oil-exporting countries such as Kuwait, where crude oil is a major pollutant and the environment is hostile to biodegradation. This study investigated the possibility of enhancing crude oil bioremediation by supplementing soil with cost-effective organic materials derived from two widespread locally grown trees, Conocarpus and Tamarix. Amendments in soils increased the counts of soil microbiota by up to 98% and enhanced their activity by up to 95.5%. The increase in the biodegradation of crude oil (75%) and high levels of alkB expression substantiated the efficiency of the proposed amendment technology for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. The identification of crude-oil-degrading bacteria revealed the dominance of the genus Microbacterium (39.6%), Sphingopyxis soli (19.3%), and Bordetella petrii (19.6%) in unamended, Conocarpus-amended, and Tamarix-amended contaminated soils, respectively. Although soil amendments favored the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and reduced bacterial diversity, the structures of bacterial communities were not significantly altered.

  13. Value-added uses for crude glycerol--a byproduct of biodiesel production

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Biodiesel is a promising alternative, and renewable, fuel. As its production increases, so does production of the principle co-product, crude glycerol. The effective utilization of crude glycerol will contribute to the viability of biodiesel. In this review, composition and quality factors of crude glycerol are discussed. The value-added utilization opportunities of crude glycerol are reviewed. The majority of crude glycerol is used as feedstock for production of other value-added chemicals, followed by animal feeds. PMID:22413907

  14. Objectifying when to halt a boxing match: a video analysis of fatalities.

    PubMed

    Miele, Vincent J; Bailes, Julian E

    2007-02-01

    Although numerous prestigious medical organizations have called for its abolishment, participation in the sport of boxing has reached an all-time high among both men and women, and its elimination is unlikely in the near future. Physicians should strive to increase boxing safety by improving the rules of competition, which have evolved minimally over the past two centuries. Currently, subjective criteria are used to determine whether or not a contest should be halted. Developing a standardized, objective method of determining when a contest should be halted would be a significant paradigm shift and could increase the safety of the sport's participants. This study analyzed the number and types of punches landed in a typical professional match, in bouts considered to be competitive and in those that ended in fatalities, to determine whether or not this would be a practical method of differentiating between these groups. Three groups of professional boxing matches were defined at the beginning of the study: 1) a "fatal" group, consisting of bouts that resulted in the death of a participant; 2) a "classic" group that represented competitive matches; and 3) a "control" group of 4000 professional boxing matches representing the average bout. A computer program known as Punchstat (Compubox, Inc., Manorville, NY) was used in the objective analysis of these matches via videotape playback. Several statistically significant differences were discovered between matches that resulted in fatalities and the control group. These include the number of punches landed per round, the number of power punches landed per round, and the number of power punches thrown per round by losing boxers. However, when the fatal bouts were compared with the most competitive bouts, these differences were no longer evident. Based on the data analyzed between the control and fatal-bout groups, a computerized method of counting landed blows at ringside could provide sufficient data to stop matches that

  15. Sexual Selection Halts the Relaxation of Protamine 2 among Rodents

    PubMed Central

    Lüke, Lena; Vicens, Alberto; Serra, Francois; Luque-Larena, Juan Jose; Dopazo, Hernán; Roldan, Eduardo R. S.; Gomendio, Montserrat

    2011-01-01

    Sexual selection has been proposed as the driving force promoting the rapid evolutionary changes observed in some reproductive genes including protamines. We test this hypothesis in a group of rodents which show marked differences in the intensity of sexual selection. Levels of sperm competition were not associated with the evolutionary rates of protamine 1 but, contrary to expectations, were negatively related to the evolutionary rate of cleaved- and mature-protamine 2. Since both domains were found to be under relaxation, our findings reveal an unforeseen role of sexual selection: to halt the degree of degeneration that proteins within families may experience due to functional redundancy. The degree of relaxation of protamine 2 in this group of rodents is such that in some species it has become dysfunctional and it is not expressed in mature spermatozoa. In contrast, protamine 1 is functionally conserved but shows directed positive selection on specific sites which are functionally relevant such as DNA-anchoring domains and phosphorylation sites. We conclude that in rodents protamine 2 is under relaxation and that sexual selection removes deleterious mutations among species with high levels of sperm competition to maintain the protein functional and the spermatozoa competitive. PMID:22216223

  16. Application of Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas putida using Crude Palm Oil (CPO) as Substrate for Crude Oil Recovery using Batch Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suryanti, V.; Handayani, D. S.; Masykur, A.; Septyaningsih, I.

    2018-03-01

    The application of biosurfactants which have been produced by Pseudomonas putida in nutrient broth medium supplemented with NaCl and crude palm oil (CPO) for oil recovery has been evaluated. The crude and purified biosurfactants have been examined for oil recovery from a laboratory oil-contaminated sand in agitated flask (batch method). Two synthetic surfactants and water as control was also performed for oil recovery as comparisons. Using batch method, the results showed that removing ability of crude oil from the oil-contaminated sand by purified and crude biosurfactants were 79.40±3.10 and 46.84±2.23 %, respectively. On other hand, the recoveries obtained with the SDS, Triton X-100 and water were 94.33±0.47, 74.84±7.39 and 34.42±1.21%respectively.

  17. Natural seepage of crude oil into the marine environment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kvenvolden, K.A.; Cooper, C.K.

    2003-01-01

    Recent global estimates of crude-oil seepage rates suggest that about 47% of crude oil currently entering the marine environment is from natural seeps, whereas 53% results from leaks and spills during the extraction, transportation, refining, storage, and utilization of petroleum. The amount of natural crude-oil seepage is currently estimated to be 600,000 metric tons per year, with a range of uncertainty of 200,000 to 2,000,000 metric tons per year. Thus, natural oil seeps may be the single most important source of oil that enters the ocean, exceeding each of the various sources of crude oil that enters the ocean through its exploitation by humankind.

  18. Sirolimus Therapy to Halt the Progression of ADPKD

    PubMed Central

    Perico, Norberto; Antiga, Luca; Caroli, Anna; Ruggenenti, Piero; Fasolini, Giorgio; Cafaro, Mariateresa; Ondei, Patrizia; Rubis, Nadia; Diadei, Olimpia; Gherardi, Giulia; Prandini, Silvia; Panozo, Andrea; Bravo, Rodolfo Flores; Carminati, Sergio; De Leon, Felipe Rodriguez; Gaspari, Flavio; Cortinovis, Monica; Motterlini, Nicola; Ene-Iordache, Bogdan; Remuzzi, Andrea

    2010-01-01

    Activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways may contribute to uncontrolled cell proliferation and secondary cyst growth in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). To assess the effects of mTOR inhibition on disease progression, we performed a randomized, crossover study (The SIRENA Study) comparing a 6-month treatment with sirolimus or conventional therapy alone on the growth of kidney volume and its compartments in 21 patients with ADPKD and GFR ≥40 ml/min per 1.73 m2. In 10 of the 15 patients who completed the study, aphthous stomatitis complicated sirolimus treatment but was effectively controlled by topical therapy. Compared with pretreatment, posttreatment mean total kidney volume increased less on sirolimus (46 ± 81 ml; P = 0.047) than on conventional therapy (70 ± 72 ml; P = 0.002), but we did not detect a difference between the two treatments (P = 0.45). Cyst volume was stable on sirolimus and increased by 55 ± 75 ml (P = 0.013) on conventional therapy, whereas parenchymal volume increased by 26 ± 30 ml (P = 0.005) on sirolimus and was stable on conventional therapy. Percentage changes in cyst and parenchyma volumes were significantly different between the two treatment periods. Sirolimus had no appreciable effects on intermediate volume and GFR. Albuminuria and proteinuria marginally but significantly increased during sirolimus treatment. In summary, sirolimus halted cyst growth and increased parenchymal volume in patients with ADPKD. Whether these effects translate into improved long-term outcomes requires further investigation. PMID:20466742

  19. Future global crude oil supply

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ivanhoe, L.F.

    Inexpensive crude oil fuels the world's economies and armies. In 1986, for the first time, the global production of crude oil and natural liquids exceeded new reserves added. Proved oil reserves at the end of 1985 stood 707.6 billion bbl (BBO), but declined to 703.1 BBO by the end of 1986. The 1986 reserve decrease, 4.5 BBO, was 20.4% of total global production of 22.0 BBO. This handwriting on the wall is very bad news. The world's recoverable crude oil and natural gas liquids discovered through 1985 totaled 1258 BBO, including cumulative production of 551 BBO and 707 BBO ofmore » reserves. At current production rates, half of all discovered oil will have been burned up by 1989. Timing of the end of our oil age can be extrapolated from a modified Hubbert curve, with future production resembling a mirror image of past production. The watershed beginning of the inevitable decline in global crude oil supplies can be expected in the late 1990s, although the date may be over 30 years later in some super-oily Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Clearly the day of reckoning will be postponed by any new oil discoveries. These will probably be distributed much as are the present global reserves (e.g., 68% OPEC; 11% USSR and China; 21% rest of world). Of this 56% will be in the Persian Gulf area. Giant fields (more than 0.5 BBO reserves) contain 75% of the world's reserves. Discoveries of oil in the globe's 320 known giant fields peaked at 125 BBO during the period 1961-1965, after which giant field discoveries plunged to only 10 BBO during 1981-1985. Henceforth, they should expect to find few giant whales (but many minnows) in the non-OPEC world's fished-out basins. Every new field will help as global crude oil supplies dwindle. Therefore, it is essential that all large prospects outside the Persian Gulf be tested promptly, so the oil-importing nations will known what size of non-OPEC reserves are available.« less

  20. 15 CFR 754.3 - Petroleum products not including crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Petroleum products not including crude... SUPPLY CONTROLS § 754.3 Petroleum products not including crude oil. (a) License requirement. As indicated... required to all destinations, including Canada, for the export of petroleum products, excluding crude oil...

  1. 15 CFR 754.3 - Petroleum products not including crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Petroleum products not including crude... SUPPLY CONTROLS § 754.3 Petroleum products not including crude oil. (a) License requirement. As indicated... required to all destinations, including Canada, for the export of petroleum products, excluding crude oil...

  2. 4. TROJAN MILL, DETAIL OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM NORTH, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    4. TROJAN MILL, DETAIL OF CRUDE ORE BINS FROM NORTH, c. 1912. SHOWS TIMBER FRAMING UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR EAST AND WEST CRUDE ORE BINS AT PREVIOUS LOCATION OF CRUSHER HOUSE, AND SNOW SHED PRESENT OVER SOUTH CRUDE ORE BIN WITH PHASE CHANGE IN SNOW SHED CONSTRUCTION INDICATED AT EAST END OF EAST CRUDE ORE BIN. THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THE FIRST IMAGE OF THE MACHINE SHOP, UPPER LEFT CORNER. CREDIT JW. - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

  3. Value-added processing of crude glycerol into chemicals and polymers.

    PubMed

    Luo, Xiaolan; Ge, Xumeng; Cui, Shaoqing; Li, Yebo

    2016-09-01

    Crude glycerol is a low-value byproduct which is primarily obtained from the biodiesel production process. Its composition is significantly different from that of pure glycerol. Crude glycerol usually contains various impurities, such as water, methanol, soap, fatty acids, and fatty acid methyl esters. Considerable efforts have been devoted to finding applications for converting crude glycerol into high-value products, such as biofuels, chemicals, polymers, and animal feed, to improve the economic viability of the biodiesel industry and overcome environmental challenges associated with crude glycerol disposal. This article reviews recent advances of biological and chemical technologies for value-added processing of crude glycerol into chemicals and polymers, and provides strategies for addressing production challenges. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. North Sea Emerald crude oil assayed

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rhodes, A.K.

    1991-09-16

    This book reports on an analysis of crude from Emerald field, 70 miles east of the Shetland Islands in the British North Sea, which shows that the crude is much heavier than typical North Sea crude. Elements of the long- delayed project appear to be in place, but production has not yet begun. Plans calls for producing the field at a rate of 30,000-40,000 b/d from a floating storage unit. Sovereign Oil and Gas plc has completed and fully tested seven production wells and four injectors in the marginal Emerald oil field. All flow lines are in place and themore » floating storage unit is ready to be installed. Production from Emerald will be sold to Neste Oy of Finland, at a minimum price of $17.90/bbl for Sullom Voe. Increases in spot prices above that level will be shared equally by the owners and purchaser.« less

  5. Advance, Retreat, and Halt of Abrupt Gravel-Sand Transitions in Alluvial Rivers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blom, Astrid; Chavarrías, Víctor; Ferguson, Robert I.; Viparelli, Enrica

    2017-10-01

    Downstream fining of bed sediment in alluvial rivers is usually gradual, but often an abrupt decrease in characteristic grain size occurs from about 10 to 1 mm, i.e., a gravel-sand transition (GST) or gravel front. Here we present an analytical model of GST migration that explicitly accounts for gravel and sand transport and deposition in the gravel reach, sea level change, subsidence, and delta progradation. The model shows that even a limited gravel supply to a sand bed reach induces progradation of a gravel wedge and predicts the circumstances required for the gravel front to advance, retreat, and halt. Predicted modern GST migration rates agree well with measured data at Allt Dubhaig and the Fraser River, and the model qualitatively captures the behavior of other documented gravel fronts. The analysis shows that sea level change, subsidence, and delta progradation have a significant impact on the GST position in lowland rivers.

  6. Brine-in-crude-oil emulsions at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nemer, Martin B.; Lord, David L.; MacDonald, Terry L.

    2013-10-01

    Metastable water-in-crude-oil emulsion formation could occur in a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) cavern if water were to flow into the crude-oil layer at a sufficient rate. Such a situation could arise during a drawdown from a cavern with a broken-hanging brine string. A high asphaltene content (> 1.5 wt %) of the crude oil provides the strongest predictor of whether a metastable water-in-crude-oil emulsion will form. However there are many crude oils with an asphaltene content > 1.5 wt % that don't form stable emulsions, but few with a low asphaltene content that do form stable emulsions. Most of themore » oils that form stable emulsions are "sour" by SPR standards indicating they contain total sulfur > 0.50 wt %.« less

  7. Ground water contamination by crude oil near Bemidji, Minnesota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Delin, G.N.; Essaid, H.I.; Cozzarelli, I.M.; Lahvis, M.H.; Bekins, B.A.

    1998-01-01

    Ground-water contamination by crude oil, and other petroleum-based liquids, is a widespread problem. An average of 83 crude-oil spills occurred per year during 1994-96 in the United States, each spilling about 50,000 barrels of crude oil (U.S. Office of Pipeline Safety, electronic commun., 1997). An understanding of the fate of organic contaminants (such as oil and gasoline) in the subsurface is needed to design innovative and cost-effective remedial solutions at contaminated sites.

  8. 3. EAGLE MILL, DETAIL OF CRUDE ORE BIN FROM NORTH, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    3. EAGLE MILL, DETAIL OF CRUDE ORE BIN FROM NORTH, c. 1908-10. SHOWS EXPOSED CRUSHER HOUSE IN FRONT OF (SOUTH) CRUDE ORE BIN AND SNOW SHED ADDED OVER TRAM TRACKS. NOTE LACK OF EAST OR WEST CRUDE ORE BINS. CREDIT JW. - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

  9. Inhibition of Acetoclastic Methanogenesis in Crude Oil- and Creosote-Contaminated Groundwater

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Warren, E.; Bekins, B.A.; Godsy, E.M.; Smith, V.K.

    2003-01-01

    The inhibition of acetoclastic methanogenesis in crude oil- and creosote-contaminated groundwater was studied. The crude oil and water-soluble components of creosote contributed to the inhibition of acetoclastic methanogens. Acetoclastic methanogenesis was much more susceptible to the toxic inhibition of crude oil and creosote than either hydrogen- or formate-utilizing methanogenesis. The effect of this toxic inhibition was apparent in the population of the methanogenic trophic groups near nonaqueous crude oil at the Bemidji, MN, site. At a crude oil-contaminated site, numbers of acetoclastic methanogens found close to crude oil were 100 times fewer than those of hydrogen- and formate-utilizing methanogens. In laboratory toxicity assays, crude oil collected from the site inhibited methane production from acetate but not from formate or hydrogen. Toxicity assays with aqueous creosote extract completely inhibited acetate utilization over the range of tested dilutions but only mildly affected formate and hydrogen utilization. Wastewater reactor studies indicated that this toxicity would result in a decrease in the biodegradation rate of contaminants at sites where toxic compounds are present.

  10. Biogeochemistry of anaerobic crude oil biodegradation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Head, Ian; Gray, Neil; Aitken, Caroline; Sherry, Angela; Jones, Martin; Larter, Stephen

    2010-05-01

    Anaerobic degradation of crude oil and petroleum hydrocarbons is widely recognized as a globally significant process both in the formation of the world's vast heavy oil deposits and for the dissipation of hydrocarbon pollution in anoxic contaminated environments. Comparative analysis of crude oil biodegradation under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions has revealed differences not only in the patterns of compound class removal but also in the microbial communities responsible. Under methanogenic conditions syntrophic associations dominated by bacteria from the Syntropheaceae are prevalent and these are likely key players in the initial anaerobic degradation of crude oil alkanes to intermediates such as hydrogen and acetate. Syntrophic acetate oxidation plays an important role in these systems and often results in methanogenesis dominated by CO2 reduction by members of the Methanomicrobiales. By contrast the bacterial communities from sulfate-reducing crude oil-degrading systems were more diverse and no single taxon dominated the oil-degrading sulfate-reducing systems. All five proteobacterial subdivisions were represented with Delta- and Gammaproteobacteria being detected most consistently. In sediments which were pasteurized hydrocarbon degradation continued at a relatively low rate. Nevertheless, alkylsuccinates characteristic of anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation accumulated to high concentrations. This suggested that the sediments harbour heat resistant, possibly spore-forming alkane degrading sulfate-reducers. This is particularly interesting since it has been proposed recently, that spore-forming sulfate-reducing bacteria found in cold arctic sediments may have originated from seepage of geofluids from deep subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs.

  11. Recent Advances in Nanoparticle-Based Targeted Drug-Delivery Systems Against Cancer and Role of Tumor Microenvironment.

    PubMed

    Ashfaq, Usman Ali; Riaz, Muhammad; Yasmeen, Erum; Yousaf, Muhammad Zubair

    2017-01-01

    Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. The silent activation of cellular factors responsible for deviation from normal regulatory pathways leads to the development of cancer. Nano-biotechnology is a novel drug-delivery system with high potential of efficacy and accuracy to target lethal cancers. Various biocompatible nanoparticle (NP)-based drug-delivery systems such as liposomes, dendrimers, micelles, silica, quantum dots, and magnetic, gold, and carbon nanotubes have already been reported for successful targeted cancer treatment. NPs are functionalized with different biological molecules, peptides, antibody, and protein ligands for targeted drug delivery. These systems include a hydrophilic central core, a target-oriented biocompatible outer layer, and a middle hydrophobic core where the drug destined to reach target site resides. Most of the NPs have the ability to maintain their structural shape and are constructed according to the cancer microenvironment. The self-assembling and colloidal properties of NPs have caused them to become the best vehicles for targeted drug delivery. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a major role in cancer progression, detection, and treatment. Due to its continuous complex behavior, the TME can hinder delivery systems, thus halting cancer treatment. Nonetheless, a successful biophysiological interaction between the NPs and the TME results in targeted release of drugs. Currently, a number of drugs and NP-based delivery systems against cancer are in clinical and preclinical trials and a few have been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA); for example: taxol, doxil, cerubidine, and adrucil. This review summarizes topical advances about the drugs being used for cancer treatment, their targeted delivery systems based on NPs, and the role of TME in this connection.

  12. Applications of crude incidence curves.

    PubMed

    Korn, E L; Dorey, F J

    1992-04-01

    Crude incidence curves display the cumulative number of failures of interest as a function of time. With competing causes of failure, they are distinct from cause-specific incidence curves that treat secondary types of failures as censored observations. After briefly reviewing their definition and estimation, we present five applications of crude incidence curves to show their utility in a broad range of studies. In some of these applications it is helpful to model survival-time distributions with use of two different time metameters, for example, time from diagnosis and age of the patient. We describe how one can incorporate published vital statistics into the models when secondary types of failure correspond to common causes of death.

  13. Patterns of Kidney Function Decline in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Post Hoc Analysis From the HALT-PKD Trials.

    PubMed

    Brosnahan, Godela M; Abebe, Kaleab Z; Moore, Charity G; Rahbari-Oskoui, Frederic F; Bae, Kyongtae T; Grantham, Jared J; Schrier, Robert W; Braun, William E; Chapman, Arlene B; Flessner, Michael F; Harris, Peter C; Hogan, Marie C; Perrone, Ronald D; Miskulin, Dana C; Steinman, Theodore I; Torres, Vicente E

    2018-05-01

    Previous clinical studies of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) reported that loss of kidney function usually follows a steep and relentless course. A detailed examination of individual patterns of decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) has not been performed. Longitudinal post hoc analysis of data collected during the Halt Progression of Polycystic Kidney Disease (HALT-PKD) trials. 494 HALT-PKD Study A participants (younger; preserved eGFR) and 435 Study B participants (older; reduced eGFR) who had more than 3 years of follow-up and 7 or more eGFR assessments. Longitudinal eGFR assessments using the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine equation. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging features of participants. Probability of linear and nonlinear decline patterns or of stable eGFR calculated for each participant from a Bayesian model of individual eGFR trajectories. Most (62.5% in Study A and 81% in Study B) participants had a linear decline in eGFR during up to 8 years of follow-up. A proportion (22% in Study A and 13% in Study B) of progressors had a nonlinear pattern. 15.5% of participants in Study A and 6% in Study B had a prolonged (≥4.5 years) period of stable eGFRs. These individuals (Study A) had significantly smaller total kidney volumes, higher renal blood flows, lower urinary albumin excretion, and lower body mass index at baseline and study end. In Study B, participants with reduced but stable eGFRs were older than the progressors. Two-thirds of nonprogressors in both studies had PKD1 mutations, with enrichment for weak nontruncating mutations. Relatively short follow-up of a clinical trial population. Although many individuals with ADPKD have a linear decline in eGFR, prolonged intervals of stable GFRs occur in a substantial fraction. Lower body mass index was associated with more stable kidney function in early ADPKD. Copyright © 2017 National Kidney Foundation, Inc

  14. Classification of crude oils produced by in situ combustion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ryabov, V.D.; Dauda, S.; Tabasaranskaya, T.Z.

    1995-05-01

    It was shown in that oil from the Karazhanbas field undergoes thermal and thermooxidative conversions in the course of production by in situ combustion (ISC). It has been proposed that crudes produced by this method should be assigned to three classes - those that have been subjected to thermal action only, those that have been subjected to thermooxidative action, and unconverted (native) crudes. This sort of classification is necessary in resolving questions of logical mixing of crudes, transportation, storage, and subsequent processing.

  15. Induction of reactive oxygen species in marine phytoplankton under crude oil exposure.

    PubMed

    Ozhan, Koray; Zahraeifard, Sara; Smith, Aaron P; Bargu, Sibel

    2015-12-01

    Exposure of phytoplankton to the water-accommodated fraction of crude oil can elicit a number of stress responses, but the mechanisms that drive these responses are unclear. South Louisiana crude oil was selected to investigate its effects on population growth, chlorophyll a (Chl a) content, antioxidative defense, and lipid peroxidation, for the marine diatom, Ditylum brightwellii, and the dinoflagellate, Heterocapsa triquetra, in laboratory-based microcosm experiments. The transcript levels of several possible stress-responsive genes in D. brightwellii were also measured. The microalgae were exposed to crude oil for up to 96 h, and Chl a content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), the glutathione pool (GSH and GSSG), and lipid peroxidation content were analyzed. The cell growth of both phytoplankton species was inhibited with increasing crude oil concentrations. Crude oil exposure did not affect Chl a content significantly in cells. SOD activities showed similar responses in both species, being enhanced at 4- and 8-mg/L crude oil exposure. Only H. triquetra demonstrated enhanced activity in GSSG pool and lipid peroxidation at 8-mg/L crude oil exposure, suggesting that phytoplankton species have distinct physiological responses and tolerance levels to crude oil exposure. This study indicated the activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in phytoplankton under crude oil exposure; however, the progressive damage in cells is still unknown. Thus, ROS-related damage in nucleic acid, lipids, proteins, and DNA, due to crude oil exposure could be a worthwhile subject of study to better understand crude oil toxicity at the base of the food web.

  16. HALT & REVERSE: Hsf1 activators lower cardiomyocyt damage; towards a novel approach to REVERSE atrial fibrillation.

    PubMed

    Lanters, Eva A H; van Marion, Denise M S; Kik, Charles; Steen, Herman; Bogers, Ad J J C; Allessie, Maurits A; Brundel, Bianca J J M; de Groot, Natasja M S

    2015-11-05

    Atrial fibrillation is a progressive arrhythmia, the exact mechanism underlying the progressive nature of recurrent AF episodes is still unknown. Recently, it was found that key players of the protein quality control system of the cardiomyocyte, i.e. Heat Shock Proteins, protect against atrial fibrillation progression by attenuating atrial electrical and structural remodeling (electropathology). HALT & REVERSE aims to investigate the correlation between electropathology, as defined by endo- or epicardial mapping, Heat Shock Protein levels and development or recurrence of atrial fibrillation following pulmonary vein isolation, or electrical cardioversion or cardiothoracic surgery. This study is a prospective observational study. Three separate study groups are defined: (1) cardiothoracic surgery, (2) pulmonary vein isolation and (3) electrical cardioversion. An intra-operative high-resolution epicardial (group 1) or endocardial (group 2) mapping procedure of the atria is performed to study atrial electropathology. Blood samples for Heat Shock Protein determination are obtained at baseline and during the follow-up period at 3 months (group 2), 6 months (groups 1 and 2) and 1 year (group 1 and 2). Tissue samples of the right and left atrial appendages in patients in group 1 are analysed for Heat Shock Protein levels and for tissue characteristics. Early post procedural atrial fibrillation is detected by continuous rhythm monitoring, whereas late post procedural atrial fibrillation is documented by either electrocardiogram or 24-h Holter registration. HALT & REVERSE aims to identify the correlation between Heat Shock Protein levels and degree of electropathology. The study outcome will contribute to novel diagnostic tools for the early recognition of clinical atrial fibrillation. Rotterdam Medical Ethical Committee MEC-2014-393, Dutch Trial Registration NTR4658.

  17. 10 CFR 212.78 - Tertiary incentive crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... operator with respect to any enhanced oil recovery project for which a report had been filed previously... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tertiary incentive crude oil. 212.78 Section 212.78 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL MANDATORY PETROLEUM PRICE REGULATIONS Producers of Crude Oil § 212.78 Tertiary...

  18. Leadership Strategies for Maintaining Profitability in a Volatile Crude Oil Market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Braimoh, Lucky Anderson

    Volatile crude oil prices significantly affect the profitability of crude oil firms. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies some crude oil and gas business leaders used to remain profitable during periods of crude oil price volatility. The target population comprised 8 crude oil and gas business leaders located in Calgary, Canada, whose company remained profitable despite crude oil price volatility. The transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through the use of semistructured face-to-face interviews, company reports, and field notes. Data analysis involved a modified Van Kamm method, which included descriptive coding, a sequential review of the interview transcripts, and member checking. Based on methodological triangulation and thematic analysis, 5 themes emerged from the study, including communication and engagement; motivation and empowerment; measurement, monitoring, and control; self-awareness and humility; and efficiency and optimization. The implications for social change include the potential for crude oil and gas companies in Calgary, Canada to manage production costs, ensure earnings and profitability, and thus improve the socioeconomic well-being of Calgary indigenes through improved employment opportunities.

  19. Crude glycerin for monogastrics

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    With the rapid expansion of the biodiesel industry there will be substantial amounts of crude glycerol (the principal co-product of biodiesel production) that will become available for use as a livestock feedstuff. Because glycerol is a precursor to glucose via gluconeogenesis, is a backbone of fat ...

  20. Feasibility Process for Remediation of the Crude Oil Contaminated Soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keum, H.; Choi, H.; Heo, H.; Lee, S.; Kang, G.

    2015-12-01

    More than 600 oil wells were destroyed in Kuwait by Iraqi in 1991. During the war, over 300 oil lakes with depth of up to 2m at more than 500 different locations which has been over 49km2. Therefore, approximately 22 million m3was crude oil contaminated. As exposure of more than 20 years under atmospheric conditions of Kuwait, the crude oil has volatile hydrocarbons and covered heavy oily sludge under the crude oil lake. One of crude oil contaminated soil which located Burgan Oilfield area was collected by Kuwait Oil Company and got by H-plus Company. This contaminated soil has about 42% crude oil and could not biodegraded itself due to the extremely high toxicity. This contaminated soil was separated by 2mm sieve for removal oil sludge ball. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) was analysis by GC FID and initial TPH concentration was average 48,783 mg/kg. Ten grams of the contaminated soil replaced in two micro reactors with 20mL of bio surfactant produce microorganism. Reactor 1 was added 0.1g powder hemoglobin and other reactor was not added hemoglobin at time 0 day. Those reactors shake 120 rpm on the shaker for 7 days and CO2 produced about 150mg/L per day. After 7 days under the slurry systems, the rest days operated by hemoglobin as primary carbon source for enhanced biodegradation. The crude oil contaminated soil was degraded from 48,783mg/kg to 20,234mg/kg by slurry process and final TPH concentration degraded 11,324mg/kg for 21days. Therefore, highly contaminated soil by crude oil will be combined bio slurry process and biodegradation process with hemoglobin as bio catalytic source. Keywords: crude-oil contaminated soil, bio slurry, biodegradation, hemoglobin ACKOWLEDGEMENTS This project was supported by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) GAIA Program

  1. Technical Proposal for Loading 3000 Gallon Crude Oil Samples from Field Terminal to Sandia Pressurized Tanker to Support US DOE/DOT Crude Oil Characterization Research Study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lord, David L.; Allen, Raymond

    Sandia National Laboratories is seeking access to crude oil samples for a research project evaluating crude oil combustion properties in large-scale tests at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Samples must be collected from a source location and transported to Albuquerque in a tanker that complies with all applicable regulations for transportation of crude oil over public roadways. Moreover, the samples must not gain or lose any components, to include dissolved gases, from the point of loading through the time of combustion at the Sandia testing facility. In order to achieve this, Sandia designed and is currently procuring a custommore » tanker that utilizes water displacement in order to achieve these performance requirements. The water displacement procedure is modeled after the GPA 2174 standard “Obtaining Liquid Hydrocarbons Samples for Analysis by Gas Chromatography” (GPA 2014) that is used routinely by crude oil analytical laboratories for capturing and testing condensates and “live” crude oils, though it is practiced at the liter scale in most applications. The Sandia testing requires 3,000 gallons of crude. As such, the water displacement method will be upscaled and implemented in a custom tanker. This report describes the loading process for acquiring a ~3,000 gallon crude oil sample from commercial process piping containing single phase liquid crude oil at nominally 50-100 psig. This document contains a general description of the process (Section 2), detailed loading procedure (Section 3) and associated oil testing protocols (Section 4).« less

  2. Dispersion Of Crude Oil And Petroleum Products In Freshwater

    EPA Science Inventory

    The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between dispersion effectiveness in freshwater and the surfactant composition for fresh and weathered crude oil. Although limited research on the chemical dispersion of crude oil and petroleum products in freshwat...

  3. Crude glycerin in swine

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    With the rapid expansion of the bio-diesel industry, there will be substantial amounts of crude glycerol (the principal co-product of bio-diesel production) that will become available for use as a livestock feedstuff. Because glycerol is a precursor to glucose via gluconeogenesis, is a backbone of f...

  4. Multi-step-ahead crude oil price forecasting using a hybrid grey wave model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Yanhui; Zhang, Chuan; He, Kaijian; Zheng, Aibing

    2018-07-01

    Crude oil is crucial to the operation and economic well-being of the modern society. Huge changes of crude oil price always cause panics to the global economy. There are many factors influencing crude oil price. Crude oil price prediction is still a difficult research problem widely discussed among researchers. Based on the researches on Heterogeneous Market Hypothesis and the relationship between crude oil price and macroeconomic factors, exchange market, stock market, this paper proposes a hybrid grey wave forecasting model, which combines Random Walk (RW)/ARMA to forecast multi-step-ahead crude oil price. More specifically, we use grey wave forecasting model to model the periodical characteristics of crude oil price and ARMA/RW to simulate the daily random movements. The innovation also comes from using the information of the time series graph to forecast crude oil price, since grey wave forecasting is a graphical prediction method. The empirical results demonstrate that based on the daily data of crude oil price, the hybrid grey wave forecasting model performs well in 15- to 20-step-ahead prediction and it always dominates ARMA and Random Walk in correct direction prediction.

  5. Jet fuels from synthetic crudes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Antoine, A. C.; Gallagher, J. P.

    1977-01-01

    An investigation was conducted to determine the technical problems in the conversion of a significant portion of a barrel of either a shale oil or a coal synthetic crude oil into a suitable aviation turbine fuel. Three syncrudes were used, one from shale and two from coal, chosen as representative of typical crudes from future commercial production. The material was used to produce jet fuels of varying specifications by distillation, hydrotreating, and hydrocracking. Attention is given to process requirements, hydrotreating process conditions, the methods used to analyze the final products, the conditions for shale oil processing, and the coal liquid processing conditions. The results of the investigation show that jet fuels of defined specifications can be made from oil shale and coal syncrudes using readily available commercial processes.

  6. Inter-institutional Variation in Use of Caesarean Delivery for Labour Dystocia.

    PubMed

    Riddell, Corinne A; Hutcheon, Jennifer A; Strumpf, Erin C; Abenhaim, Haim A; Kaufman, Jay S

    2017-11-01

    To establish the degree of variation across hospitals in the use of Caesarean delivery for the indication of labour dystocia before and after accounting for maternal, fetal, and hospital characteristics. This study was a retrospective, population-based cohort study of nulliparous women delivering term singletons in cephalic position following labour. Delivery visits were extracted from three provincial perinatal registries in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, from 2008-2012. Crude hospital-specific rates of Caesarean delivery for labour dystocia were reported, and these rates were then stabilized to account for hospitals with low delivery volumes. Rates were then adjusted for maternal, fetal, and hospital characteristics using hierarchical logistic regression. Among 403 205 women delivering at 170 hospitals, the overall Caesarean delivery rate was 21.0%, and the rate of Caesarean delivery for labour dystocia was 12.7%, indicating that 60% of all Caesarean deliveries were performed in part for this indication. The middle 95% of hospitals had Caesarean delivery rates for labour dystocia ranging from 4.5% to 24.7%. Differences in maternal case mix and hospital characteristics explained only a small proportion of this variation (95% central range 6.3%-21.7%). Considerable inter-hospital variation in rates of Caesarean delivery for labour dystocia remained after accounting for differences in maternal and hospital factors. Reporting systems that monitor variation in inter-institutional rates should incorporate stabilization and adjustment for case-mix differences and consider indication-specific rates of Caesarean delivery to more fairly compare hospital performance and better target interventions to reduce Caesarean delivery for specific indications. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Phytoremediation of crude oil-contaminated soil employing Crotalaria pallida Aiton.

    PubMed

    Baruah, P; Deka, S; Baruah, P P

    2016-06-01

    The purpose of the study was to evaluate the phytoremediation potentiality of a herb named Crotalaria pallida which are abundantly grown on crude oil-contaminated soil of oil field situated at upper Assam, India, so that this plant could be used to remediate hydrocarbon from contaminated soil. To evaluate the potentiality of the plant, a pot culture experiment was conducted taking 3 kg of rice field soil mixed with crude oil at a concentration of 10,000 (10 g/kg), 20,000 (20 g/kg), 30,000 (30 g/kg), 40,000 (40 g/kg), 50,000 (50 g/kg), 60,000 (60 g/kg), 70,000 (70 g/kg), 80,000 (80 g/kg), 90,000 (90 g/kg), and 100,000 (100 g/kg) ppm. Ten numbers of healthy seeds of C. pallida were sown in three pots of each concentration for germination, and after 15 days of germination, single healthy seedling in each pot was kept for the study. A control setup was also maintained without adding crude oil. The duration of the experiment was fixed for 6 months. The results showed that uptake of hydrocarbon by the plants was increased with increasing the concentration of crude oil in the soil up to 60,000 ppm. After that, uptake of hydrocarbon by the plants was found to be lower with increasing doses of crude oil concentration. Uptake of hydrocarbon by the shoot was found to be maximum, i.e., 35,018 ppm in 60,000 ppm concentration. Dissipation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) from the soil was also gradually increased with increasing concentration of crude oil in the soil up to 60,000 ppm. Maximum dissipation, i.e., 78.66 %, occurred in 60,000 ppm concentration of crude oil-mixed soil. The plant could not survive in 100,000 ppm concentration of crude oil-mixed soil. The results also demonstrated that there was a reduction in plant shoot and root biomass with an increase of crude oil concentration. Furthermore, results revealed that the shoot biomass was higher than root biomass in all the treatments.

  8. Stable distribution and long-range correlation of Brent crude oil market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Ying; Zhuang, Xin-tian; Jin, Xiu; Huang, Wei-qiang

    2014-11-01

    An empirical study of stable distribution and long-range correlation in Brent crude oil market was presented. First, it is found that the empirical distribution of Brent crude oil returns can be fitted well by a stable distribution, which is significantly different from a normal distribution. Second, the detrended fluctuation analysis for the Brent crude oil returns shows that there are long-range correlation in returns. It implies that there are patterns or trends in returns that persist over time. Third, the detrended fluctuation analysis for the Brent crude oil returns shows that after the financial crisis 2008, the Brent crude oil market becomes more persistence. It implies that the financial crisis 2008 could increase the frequency and strength of the interdependence and correlations between the financial time series. All of these findings may be used to improve the current fractal theories.

  9. Accidental fetal lacerations during cesarean delivery: experience in an Italian level III university hospital.

    PubMed

    Dessole, Salvatore; Cosmi, Erich; Balata, Antonio; Uras, Luisa; Caserta, Donatella; Capobianco, Giampiero; Ambrosini, Guido

    2004-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence, type, location, and risk factors of accidental fetal lacerations during cesarean delivery. Total deliveries, cesarean deliveries, and neonatal records for documented accidental fetal lacerations were reviewed retrospectively in our level III university hospital. The gestational age, the presenting part of the fetus, the cesarean delivery indication, the type of incision, and the surgeon who performed the procedure were recorded. Cesarean deliveries were divided into scheduled, unscheduled, and emergency procedures. Fetal lacerations were divided into mild, moderate, and severe. Neonatal follow-up examinations regarding laceration sequelae were available for 6 months. Of 14926 deliveries, 3108 women were delivered by cesarean birth (20.82%). Neonatal records documented 97 accidental fetal lacerations. Of these accidental lacerations, 94 were mild; 2 were moderate, and 1 was severe. The overall rate of accidental fetal laceration per cesarean delivery was 3.12%; the accidental laceration rate in the cohort of fetuses was 2.46%. The crude odds ratios were 0.34 for scheduled procedures, 0.57 for unscheduled procedures, and 1.7 for emergency procedures. The risk for fetal accidental lacerations was higher in fetuses who underwent emergency cesarean birth and lower for unscheduled and scheduled cesarean births (P < .001). Fetal accidental laceration may occur during cesarean delivery; the incidence is significantly higher during emergency cesarean delivery compared with elective procedures. The patient should be counseled about the occurrence of fetal laceration during cesarean delivery to avoid litigation.

  10. Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production Report

    EIA Publications

    2017-01-01

    Crude oil production (including lease condensate) and natural gas production (gross withdrawals) from data collected on Form EIA-914 (Monthly Crude Oil, Lease Condensate, and Natural Gas Production Report) for Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, other states and lower 48 states. Alaska data are from the Alaska state government and included to obtain a U.S. total.

  11. The utilization of crude fish oil (CFO) to increase mudcrab (Scylla serrata) feed quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lamid, Mirni; Agustono

    2017-02-01

    Crude fish oil is one of essential fatty acid sources, which is found in Sardinella lemuru. This research aims to study the quality improvement of mudcrab(Scylla serrata) feed. Four feed formulations were designed by using completely randomized design, including P0 = trash fish + 1% tapioca starch; P1=trash fish + 2.0% crude fish oil + 1% tapioca starch;, P2= trash fish +4.0% crude fish oil + 1% tapioca starch; P3=trash fish + 6.0% crude fish oil + 1% tapioca starch; P4=trash fish +8.0% crude fish oil + 1% tapioca starch, respectively, which were carried out in quadruplicate. This study showed that feed formulation significantly affected crude protein, crude fiber, crude lipid, ash, organic matter and nitrogen free extract and energy of mudcrab. The P2 feed was the best formulation but had a slight different from P3 formulation.

  12. Crude oil desulfurization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kalvinskas, J. J.; Hsu, G. C.; Ernest, J. B. (Inventor)

    1982-01-01

    High sulfur crude oil is desulfurized by a low temperature (25-80 C.) chlorinolysis at ambient pressure in the absence of organic solvent or diluent but in the presence of water (water/oil=0.3) followed by a water and caustic wash to remove sulfur and chlorine containing reaction products. The process described can be practiced at a well site for the recovery of desulfurized oil used to generate steam for injection into the well for enhanced oil recovery.

  13. Crude production still jumping in Libya

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wells, M.J.

    1969-03-01

    With the continued shutdown of the Suez Canal, Libya may become the world's fourth largest crude producer within the next few months, and become the leading Arab oil producing nation. Big field and terminal expansions now on hand for nearly all producing companies will raise crude capacity to over 3.8 million bpd by the end of 1969. The current year also is likely to be marked by some important changes in Libyan petroleum legislation and the basis of crude postings. All this is being reflected in Libya's growing voice in Arab oil councils. The steepness in the upward oil productionmore » curve is such that the 1968 average output of 2,599,800 bpd was a jump of 49.4% over the previous years. This gain raised Libya to sixth among the world's oil producers. A breakdown of production figures shows the amount of oil in barrels produced by the various companies in Libya for 1968. In addition to large capacity expansions now on hand for existing fields, virtually all of the producing companies, there are now several concessionaires which have made field discoveries in the past few months and who are negotiating with neighboring producers in the hopes of tying in with an existing pipeline system.« less

  14. Effects of ingested crude and dispersed crude oil on thermoregulation in ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jenssen, B.M.

    1989-02-01

    Thermoregulatory effects of ingested doses of Statfjord A crude oil and of this oil mixed with the dispersant Finasol OSR-5 were studied in adult domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) exposed to ambient temperatures of +16 degrees C and -17 degrees C. The data show that ingestion of both the crude and the oil-dispersant mixture resulted in an increased body temperature during exposure to the low ambient temperature (-17 degrees C). Neither contaminant had any effect on body temperature during exposure to +16 degrees C. Ingestion of the contaminants had no effect on metabolic heat production at either ambient temperature. The breastmore » skin temperature of the ducks in both contaminated groups was significantly decreased when the ducks were exposed to the low ambient temperature. This indicates that the increase in body temperature observed in the contaminated ducks at the low ambient temperature is due to an increase in peripheral vasoconstriction.« less

  15. A MODEL FOR DIFFUSION CONTROLLED BIOAVAILABILITY OF CRUDE OIL COMPONENTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Crude oil is a complex mixture of several different structural classes of compounds including alkanes, aromatics, heterocyclic polar compounds, and asphaltenes. The rate and extent of microbial degradation of crude oil depends on the interaction between the physical and biochemi...

  16. Crude oil as a microbial seed bank with unexpected functional potentials

    PubMed Central

    Cai, Man; Nie, Yong; Chi, Chang-Qiao; Tang, Yue-Qin; Li, Yan; Wang, Xing-Biao; Liu, Ze-Shen; Yang, Yunfeng; Zhou, Jizhong; Wu, Xiao-Lei

    2015-01-01

    It was widely believed that oil is a harsh habitat for microbes because of its high toxicity and hydrophobicity. However, accumulating evidence has revealed the presence of live microbes in crude oil. Therefore, it’s of value to conduct an in-depth investigation on microbial communities in crude oil. To this end, microorganisms in oil and water phases were collected from four oil-well production mixtures in Qinghai Oilfield, China, and analyzed for their taxonomic and functional compositions via pyrosequencing and GeoChip, respectively. Hierarchical clustering of 16S rRNA gene sequences and functional genes clearly separated crude oil and water phases, suggestive of distinct taxonomic and functional gene compositions between crude oil and water phases. Unexpectedly, Pseudomonas dominated oil phase where diverse functional gene groups were identified, which significantly differed from those in the corresponding water phases. Meanwhile, most functional genes were significantly more abundant in oil phase, which was consistent with their important roles in facilitating survival of their host organisms in crude oil. These findings provide strong evidence that crude oil could be a “seed bank” of functional microorganisms with rich functional potentials. This offers novel insights for industrial applications of microbial-enhanced oil recovery and bioremediation of petroleum-polluted environments. PMID:26525361

  17. Measurement of H2S in Crude Oil and Crude Oil Headspace Using Multidimensional Gas Chromatography, Deans Switching and Sulfur-selective Detection

    PubMed Central

    Heshka, Nicole E.; Hager, Darcy B.

    2015-01-01

    A method for the analysis of dissolved hydrogen sulfide in crude oil samples is demonstrated using gas chromatography. In order to effectively eliminate interferences, a two dimensional column configuration is used, with a Deans switch employed to transfer hydrogen sulfide from the first to the second column (heart-cutting). Liquid crude samples are first separated on a dimethylpolysiloxane column, and light gases are heart-cut and further separated on a bonded porous layer open tubular (PLOT) column that is able to separate hydrogen sulfide from other light sulfur species. Hydrogen sulfide is then detected with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector, adding an additional layer of selectivity. Following separation and detection of hydrogen sulfide, the system is backflushed to remove the high-boiling hydrocarbons present in the crude samples and to preserve chromatographic integrity. Dissolved hydrogen sulfide has been quantified in liquid samples from 1.1 to 500 ppm, demonstrating wide applicability to a range of samples. The method has also been successfully applied for the analysis of gas samples from crude oil headspace and process gas bags, with measurement from 0.7 to 9,700 ppm hydrogen sulfide. PMID:26709594

  18. Crude protein and essential amino acid requirements in chicks during the first week posthatch.

    PubMed

    Sklan, D; Noy, Y

    2003-05-01

    1. This study examined optimal lysine and sulphur amino acid supply in the first week posthatch in broilers and the relationship between essential amino acids and dietary crude protein during the first week posthatch on performance at 7 d and through marketing. 2. The optimal supply during the 7 d posthatch using a 230 g/kg crude protein diet for sulphur amino acids was 9.1 and for lysine was 10.3-10.8 g/kg with maximal body weight (BW) or feed efficiency as the criteria. 3. Feeding diets with crude protein content ranging from 200 to 260 g/kg with either constant amounts of essential amino acids at different crude protein levels or constant ratios of essential amino acids to crude protein resulted in enhanced performance at 7 but not at 4 d with high protein intake and proportionally increased essential amino acids. 4. Performance on diets with crude protein ranging from 160 to 280 g/kg, with constant ratios of essential amino acid to crude protein, was much enhanced with the high crude protein diets at 7 d. All chicks were transferred to standard diets after 7 d and the BW advantage due to the balanced amino acid-high crude protein diet remained through marketing. 5. Thus increasing essential amino acids in a constant ratio to crude protein enhanced performance during the 7 d posthatch.

  19. Co-processing of olive bagasse with crude rapeseed oil via pyrolysis.

    PubMed

    Uçar, Suat; Karagöz, Selhan

    2017-05-01

    The co-pyrolysis of olive bagasse with crude rapeseed oil at different blend ratios was investigated at 500ºC in a fixed bed reactor. The effect of olive bagasse to crude rapeseed oil ratio on the product distributions and properties of the pyrolysis products were comparatively investigated. The addition of crude rapeseed oil into olive bagasse in the co-pyrolysis led to formation of upgraded biofuels in terms of liquid yields and properties. While the pyrolysis of olive bagasse produced a liquid yield of 52.5 wt %, the highest liquid yield of 73.5 wt % was obtained from the co-pyrolysis of olive bagasse with crude rapeseed oil at a blend ratio of 1:4. The bio-oil derived from olive bagasse contained 5% naphtha, 10% heavy naphtha, 30% gas oil, and 55% heavy gas oil. In the case of bio-oil obtained from the co-pyrolysis of olive bagasse with crude rapeseed oil at a blend ratio of 1:4, the light naphtha, heavy naphtha, and light gas oil content increased. This is an indication of the improved characteristics of the bio-oil obtained from the co-processing. The heating value of bio-oil from the pyrolysis of olive bagasse alone was 34.6 MJ kg -1 and the heating values of bio-oils obtained from the co-pyrolysis of olive bagasse with crude rapeseed oil ranged from 37.6 to 41.6 MJ kg -1 . It was demonstrated that the co-processing of waste biomass with crude plant oil is a good alternative to improve bio-oil yields and properties.

  20. 7 CFR 29.3512 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 29.3512 Section 29.3512 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from firekill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf...

  1. 7 CFR 29.1010 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 29.1010 Section 29.1010 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from fire-kill, sunburn, or sunscald. Any leaf...

  2. 33 CFR 157.162 - Crude oil washing during a voyage.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank Vessels Cow Operations § 157.162 Crude oil washing during a voyage. The master of a tank vessel having a COW system under § 157.10(e), § 157.10a(a)(2), or...

  3. Synthesis copolymer use to reduce pour point temperature of diamond crude oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Than, Dao Viet; Chuong, Thai Hong; Tuy, Dao Quoc

    2017-09-01

    Diamond oil field is located in Block 01&02 Offshore Vietnam. Crude oil from Diamond Well Head Platform (WHP) is evacuated to FPSO via 20km 10" subsea flexible pipeline. The lowest seabed temperature in the field is 22°C, while the pour point temperature (PPT) of Diamond crude oil is very high (36°C) due to high paraffin content (25%). So studying to research a suitable Pour Point Depressant (PPD) for the crude oil is very important. The PPD must have ability to reduce pour point temperature of crude oil from 36°C to 21°C.

  4. Ex-situ bioremediation of crude oil in soil, a comparative kinetic analysis.

    PubMed

    Mohajeri, Leila; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Isa, Mohamed Hasnain; Zahed, Mohammad Ali; Mohajeri, Soraya

    2010-07-01

    Weathered crude oil (WCO) removals in shoreline sediment samples were monitored for 60 days in bioremediation experimentation. Experimental modeling was carried out using statistical design of experiments. At optimum conditions maximum of 83.13, 78.06 and 69.92% WCO removals were observed for 2, 16 and 30 g/kg initial oil concentrations, respectively. Significant variations in the crude oil degradation pattern were observed with respect to oil, nutrient and microorganism contents. Crude oil bioremediation were successfully described by a first-order kinetic model. The study indicated that the rate of hydrocarbon biodegradation increased with decrease of crude oil concentrations.

  5. Crude oil price analysis and forecasting based on variational mode decomposition and independent component analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    E, Jianwei; Bao, Yanling; Ye, Jimin

    2017-10-01

    As one of the most vital energy resources in the world, crude oil plays a significant role in international economic market. The fluctuation of crude oil price has attracted academic and commercial attention. There exist many methods in forecasting the trend of crude oil price. However, traditional models failed in predicting accurately. Based on this, a hybrid method will be proposed in this paper, which combines variational mode decomposition (VMD), independent component analysis (ICA) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), called VMD-ICA-ARIMA. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence factors of crude oil price and predict the future crude oil price. Major steps can be concluded as follows: Firstly, applying the VMD model on the original signal (crude oil price), the modes function can be decomposed adaptively. Secondly, independent components are separated by the ICA, and how the independent components affect the crude oil price is analyzed. Finally, forecasting the price of crude oil price by the ARIMA model, the forecasting trend demonstrates that crude oil price declines periodically. Comparing with benchmark ARIMA and EEMD-ICA-ARIMA, VMD-ICA-ARIMA can forecast the crude oil price more accurately.

  6. Dynamics of emulsification and demulsification of water in crude oil emulsions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bhardwaj, A.; Hartland, S.

    1994-05-01

    The effect of aging on the crude oil/water interface has been studied, and the slow buildup of natural surfactants present in the crude oil at the interface was observed. Interfacial tension data and microvideography were used to evaluate the buildup of surface concentration. The methodology adopted in this work permits the calculation of the actual surface excess of natural surfactants at the crude oil/water interface, without having to isolate them from the crude oil and without knowing their bulk molar concentration. The rate of adsorption of demulsifier at the interface was determined by measurement of the dynamic interfacial tension bymore » a microprocessor-controlled drop volume method apparatus. Temperature, concentration, and nature of the medium (crude oil or brine) were found to be very important parameters governing adsorption of demulsifier at the interface. Diffusion of the emulsifier to the oil/water interface was much slower when demulsifier was present in the oil phase than when it was present in the water phase.« less

  7. 7 CFR 29.2511 - Crude.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crude. 29.2511 Section 29.2511 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... leaves are usually hard and slick as a result of extreme immaturity. A similar condition may result from...

  8. MERCURY IN CRUDE OIL PROCESSED IN THE UNITED STATES (2004)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The mean and range of concentrations of mercury in crude oil processed in the U.S. were investigated using two analytical methods. The sample ensemble consisted of 329 samples from 170 separate crude oil streams that are processed by U.S. refineries. Samples were retrieved imme...

  9. Sustaining the vision for Millennium Development Goal 6, to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infections.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Della Dee; Moran, Barbara

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of Millennium Development Goal 6 is to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases and provide universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS. In this article we describe progress made in meeting the targets for HIV/AIDS set for 2015 and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This funding is geared toward developing sustainable solutions with which to combat diseases that threaten our global community. © 2010 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

  10. Carotenoid-cleavage activities of crude enzymes from Pandanous amryllifolius.

    PubMed

    Ningrum, Andriati; Schreiner, Matthias

    2014-11-01

    Carotenoid degradation products, known as norisoprenoids, are aroma-impact compounds in several plants. Pandan wangi is a common name of the shrub Pandanus amaryllifolius. The genus name 'Pandanus' is derived from the Indonesian name of the tree, pandan. In Indonesia, the leaves from the plant are used for several purposes, e.g., as natural colorants and flavor, and as traditional treatments. The aim of this study was to determine the cleavage of β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal by carotenoid-cleavage enzymes isolated from pandan leaves, to investigate dependencies of the enzymatic activities on temperature and pH, to determine the enzymatic reaction products by using Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrophotometry (HS-SPME GC/MS), and to investigate the influence of heat treatment and addition of crude enzyme on formation of norisoprenoids. Crude enzymes from pandan leaves showed higher activity against β-carotene than β-apo-8'-carotenal. The optimum temperature of crude enzymes was 70°, while the optimum pH value was 6. We identified β-ionone as the major volatile reaction product from the incubations of two different carotenoid substrates, β-carotene and β-apo-8'-carotenal. Several treatments, e.g., heat treatment and addition of crude enzymes in pandan leaves contributed to the norisoprenoid content. Our findings revealed that the crude enzymes from pandan leaves with carotenoid-cleavage activity might provide a potential application, especially for biocatalysis, in natural-flavor industry. Copyright © 2014 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

  11. Solids precipitation in crude oils, gas-to-liquids and their blends

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramanathan, Karthik

    Gas-to-liquids (GTL) liquids are obtained from syngas by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The blending of GTL liquids produced from natural gas/coal reserves and crude oils is a possibility in the near future for multiple reasons. Solids precipitation is a major problem in pipelines and refineries leading to significant additional operating costs. The effect of the addition of a paraffinic GTL liquid to crude oils on solids precipitation was investigated in this study. A Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic technique was used to obtain solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) data for the various samples. The SLE of multiple systems of model oils composed of n-alkanes was investigated preliminarily. Blends of a model oil simulating a GTL liquid composition and a crude oil showed that the wax precipitation temperature (WPT) decreased upon blending. Three crude oils from different geographic regions (Alaskan North Slope, Colorado and Venezuela) and a laboratory-produced GTL liquid were used in the preparation of blends with five different concentrations of the GTL liquid. The wax precipitation temperatures of the blends were found to decrease with the increasing addition of the GTL liquid for all the oils. This effect was attributed to the solvent effect of the low molecular weight-paraffinic GTL liquid on the crude oils. The weight percent solid precipitated that was estimated as a function of temperature did not show a uniform trend for the set of crude oils. The asphaltene onset studies done on the blends with near-infrared spectroscopy indicated that the addition of GTL liquid could have a stabilizing effect on the asphaltenes in some oils. Analytical techniques such as distillation, solvent separation, HPLC, GC, and GPC were used to obtain detailed composition data on the samples. Two sets of compositional data with 49 and 86 pseudo-components were used to describe the three crude oils used in the blending work. The wax precipitation was calculated using a

  12. Nonlinear joint dynamics between prices of crude oil and refined products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Tao; Ma, Guofeng; Liu, Guangsheng

    2015-02-01

    In this paper, we investigate the relationships between crude oil and refined product prices. We find that nonlinear correlations are stronger in the long-term than in the short-term. Crude oil and product prices are cointegrated and financial crisis in 2007-2008 caused a structural break of the cointegrating relationship. Moreover, different from the findings in most studies, we reveal that the relationships are almost symmetric based on a threshold error correction model. The so-called 'asymmetric relationships' are caused by some outliers and financial crisis. Most of the time, crude oil prices play the major role in the adjustment process of the long-term equilibrium. However, refined product prices dominated crude oil prices during the period of financial crisis. Important policy and risk management implications can be learned from the empirical findings.

  13. Microbial degradation of crude oil and some model hydrocarbons

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Chang, Fu-Hsian; Noben, N.N.; Brand, Danny; Hult, Marc F.

    1988-01-01

    Research on microbial degradation of crude oil in the shallow subsurface at a spill site near Bemidji, Minn. (fig. C-l), began in 1983 (Hull, 1984; Chang and Ehrlich, 1984). The rate and extent of crude oil and model hydrocarbon biodegradation by the indigenous microbial community was measured in the laboratory at several concentrations of inorganic nutrients, conditions of oxygen availability, incubation temperatures, and incubation time.

  14. Burning crude oil without pollution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Houseman, J.

    1979-01-01

    Crude oil can be burned at drilling sites by two-stage combustion process without producing pollution. Process allows easier conformance to strict federal or state clean air standards without installation of costly pollution removal equipment. Secondary oil recovery can be accomplished with injection of steam heating by burning oil.

  15. Effect of surfactants on dielectric strength of crude oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yunusov, A.A.

    1995-09-01

    In all the methods used for crude oil demulsification, including electrodemulsification, surfactants are used to aid the demulsification. Therefore, the present work has been aimed at studying the character and degree of influence of surfactants on the dielectric strength of crude oil. Our experiments were performed with a standard discharger at an AC frequency of 50 Hz. The high-voltage source was a universal breakdown unit of the UPU-1 type.

  16. 33 CFR 157.172 - Limitations on grades of crude oil carried.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... VESSELS CARRYING OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank Vessels Cow Operations § 157.172 Limitations on grades of crude oil carried. If a tank vessel having a COW system meeting § 157.10a(a)(2) or...

  17. Crude oil metabolites in groundwater at two spill sites

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bekins, Barbara A.; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Erickson, Melinda L.; Steenson, Ross; Thorn, Kevin A.

    2016-01-01

    Two groundwater plumes in north central Minnesota with residual crude oil sources have 20 to 50 mg/L of nonvolatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC). These values are over 10 times higher than benzene and two to three times higher than Diesel Range Organics in the same wells. On the basis of previous work, most of the NVDOC consists of partial transformation products from the crude oil. Monitoring data from 1988 to 2015 at one of the sites located near Bemidji, MN show that the plume of metabolites is expanding toward a lakeshore located 335 m from the source zone. Other mass balance studies of the site have demonstrated that the plume expansion is driven by the combined effect of continued presence of the residual crude oil source and depletion of the electron accepting capacity of solid phase iron oxide and hydroxides on the aquifer sediments. These plumes of metabolites are not covered by regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements in Minnesota and other states. Yet, a review of toxicology studies indicates that polar metabolites of crude oil may pose a risk to aquatic and mammalian species. Together the results suggest that at sites where residual sources are present, monitoring of NVDOC may be warranted to evaluate the fates of plumes of hydrocarbon transformation products.

  18. Breakthrough Adsorption Study of Crude Oil Removal Using Buffing Dust

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setyaningsih, L. W. N.; Yuliansyah, A. T.; Prasetyo, A.; Arimanintan, S. K.; Putri, D. R.

    2018-05-01

    The utilization of leather industry solid waste as adsorbent to separate oil from water emulsions of surfactant flooding process is a solution that is relatively inexpensive. This study was conducted aiming to obtain a mathematical model that is appropriate for the adsorption process of crude oil by buffing dust in emulsion phase with a continuous adsorption method. Variations in the column adsorption experiments were carried out, such as: flow rate of feed of water-crude oil-surfactant, the concentration of crude oil in the feed, and mass of adsorbent used. Data were evaluated using three models: Adams Bohart, Thomas and Yan. Best results are obtained on the following conditions, the feed flow rate of 60 mL/minute, the crude oil concentration in feed is 1.5% volume and the mass of adsorbent used was 10 g. The values of kinetic constant and adsorption capacity obtained from Yan Model was 21.7774 mL/mg/minute and 220.9581 mg/g with the relative error obtained is 5.4424%.

  19. Stop TB-Halte à la Tuberculose-Canada: engaging industrialised nations in the challenge to meet global targets.

    PubMed

    Fanning, A; Billo, N; Tannenbaum, T; Phypers, M; Little, C; Graham, B; Mill, J

    2004-01-01

    The Stop TB Partnership has engaged the 22 high-burden countries in a drive toward the goal of finding 70% of cases and curing 85% by 2005. Traditional partners, aid agencies and governments of industrialised nations have joined the Partnership, but the broader range of civil society remains outside the discourse, risking disinterest on the part of the donor community. Stop TB-Halte à la Tuberculose-Canada was organised to engage new partners to support the Canadian government's commitment to the goal of reducing poverty and diseases of poverty, including tuberculosis, by 50% by 2010. The successes and challenges are explored, and the possibility raised that having a Stop TB movement in every country will ensure that support is sustained and goals of global tuberculosis control reached.

  20. Tanker spills Norwegian crude oil off Shetlands

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1993-01-11

    This paper reports that crude oil was spilling last week from the U.S. owned Braer tanker after the 89,000 dwt vessel ran aground on the south end of Scotland's Shetland Islands. Workers were trying to assess the extent of damage to the tanker, shoreline, and wildlife after the January 5 accident. Braer's cargo amounted to 607,000 bbl of Norwegian oil bound for Canada. Braer loaded its cargo and sailed January 3 from Den norske stats oljeselskap AS's Mongstad, Norway, terminal with crude from Gullfaks field in the Norwegian North Sea. The $11 million shipment was destined for Ultramar Canada Inc.'smore » 125,000 b/d refinery at St. Romuald, Que.« less

  1. Impact of formation water geochemistry and crude oil biodegradation on microbial methanogenesis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shelton, Jenna L.; McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Warwick, Peter D.; McCray, John E.

    2016-01-01

    Shallow wells (393–442 m depth) contained highly biodegraded oils associated with low extent of methanogenesis, while the deepest (> 1208 m) wells contained minimally degraded oils and produced fluids suggesting a low extent of methanogenesis. Mid-depth wells (666–857 m) in the central field had the highest indicators of methanogenesis and contained moderately biodegraded oils. Little correlation existed between extents of crude oil biodegradation and methanogenesis across the whole transect (avg.R2 = 0.13). However, when wells with the greatest extent of crude oil biodegradation were eliminated (3 of 6 oilfields), better correlation between extent of methanogenesis and biodegradation (avg. R2 = 0.53) was observed. The results suggest that oil quality and salinity impact methanogenic crude oil biodegradation. Reservoirs indicating moderate extent of crude oil biodegradation and high extent of methanogenesis, such as the central field, would be good candidates for attempting to enhance methanogenic crude oil biodegradation as a result of the observations from the study.

  2. Degumming of crude palm oil by membrane filtration.

    PubMed

    Ong, K K; Fakhru'l-Razi, A; Baharin, B S; Hassan, M A

    1999-01-01

    The application of membrane separation in palm oil refining process has potential for energy and cost savings. The conventional refining of crude palm oil results in loss of oil and a contaminated effluent. Degumming of crude palm oil by membrane technology is conducted in this study. The objective of this research is to study the feasibility of membrane filtration for the removal of phospholipids in the degumming of crude palm oil, including analyses of phosphorus content, carotene content free fatty acids (as palmitic acid), colour and volatile matter. A PCI membrane module was used which was equipped with polyethersulfone membranes having a molecular weight cut off of 9,000 (type ES209). In this study, phosphorus content was the most important parameter monitored. The membrane effectively removed phospholipids resulting in a permeate with a phosphorus content of less than 0.3 ppm The percentage removal of phosphorus was 96.4% and was considered as a good removal. Lovibond colour was reduced from 27R 50Y to 20R 30Y. The percentage removal of carotene was 15.8%. The removal of colour was considered good but the removal of carotene was considered insignificant by the membrane. Free fatty acids and volatile matter were not removed. Typical of membrane operations, the permeate flux decreased with time and must be improved in order to be adopted on an industrial scale. Membrane technology was found to have good potential in crude palm oil degumming. However, an appropriate method has to be developed to clean the membranes for reuse.

  3. Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) Crude Venom Injection Elicits Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response in Rats

    PubMed Central

    Bruschetta, Giuseppe; Impellizzeri, Daniela; Morabito, Rossana; Marino, Angela; Ahmad, Akbar; Spanò, Nunziacarla; La Spada, Giuseppa; Cuzzocrea, Salvatore; Esposito, Emanuela

    2014-01-01

    Cnidarian toxins represent a rich source of biologically active compounds. Since they may act via oxidative stress events, the aim of the present study was to verify whether crude venom, extracted from the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca, elicits inflammation and oxidative stress processes, known to be mediated by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production, in rats. In a first set of experiments, the animals were injected with crude venom (at three different doses 6, 30 and 60 µg/kg, suspended in saline solution, i.v.) to test the mortality and possible blood pressure changes. In a second set of experiments, to confirm that Pelagia noctiluca crude venom enhances ROS formation and may contribute to the pathophysiology of inflammation, crude venom-injected animals (30 µg/kg) were also treated with tempol, a powerful antioxidant (100 mg/kg i.p., 30 and 60 min after crude venom). Administration of tempol after crude venom challenge, caused a significant reduction of each parameter related to inflammation. The potential effect of Pelagia noctiluca crude venom in the systemic inflammation process has been here demonstrated, adding novel information about its biological activity. PMID:24727391

  4. Carcass characteristics of feedlot lambs fed crude glycerin contaminated with high concentrations of crude fat.

    PubMed

    Lage, J F; Paulino, P V R; Pereira, L G R; Duarte, M S; Valadares Filho, S C; Oliveira, A S; Souza, N K P; Lima, J C M

    2014-01-01

    Thirty non-castrated male lambs with 20±2.3 kg average body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to five treatments consisted of different dietary concentrations of crude glycerin (CG; 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12% on DM basis) to evaluate the effects on performance, carcass and meat quality traits. A quadratic effect was observed for performance (P=0.04), final BW (P<0.01) and hot carcass weight (P<0.01). No effects of CG were observed (P>0.05) on carcass pH neither on shear-force, cooking loss and ether extract content in longissimus. The inclusion of CG tended to reduce the Zn content in meat (P=0.09). The data suggests that CG (36.2% of glycerol and 46.5% of crude fat) may be used in diets of finishing lambs with concentrations up to 3% without negative effects on performance and main carcass traits. Moreover, inclusion of CG seems to not affect quality and safety of meat for human consumption. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Embryotoxicity of weathered crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos).

    PubMed

    Finch, Bryson E; Wooten, Kimberly J; Smith, Philip N

    2011-08-01

    Weathered crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico can result from oil spills such as the Deepwater Horizon incident that occurred on April 20, 2010 or from natural seeps. Adult waterbirds of the Gulf Coast region may become exposed to weathered crude oil while foraging, wading, or resting, and residues can then be transferred to nests, eggs, and hatchlings. Although the toxicity of many types of crude oil to avian embryos has been thoroughly studied, the effects of weathered crude oil on developing avian embryos are not well characterized. The objective of the present study was to examine embryotoxicity of weathered crude oil collected from the Gulf of Mexico in June 2010 using mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) as a model species. Weathered crude oil was applied to fertilized mallard duck eggs by paintbrush in masses ranging from 0.1 to 99.9 mg on day 3 of incubation. Mortality occurred as early as day 7 and the conservatively derived median lethal application of weathered crude oil was 30.8 mg/egg (0.5 mg/g egg) or 30.7 µl/egg (0.5 µl/g egg). Body mass, liver and spleen mass, crown-rump and bill lengths, and frequency of deformities were not significantly different among hatchlings from oiled and control eggs. In comparison to published reports of fresh crude oil embryotoxicity, weathered crude oil was considerably less toxic. We conclude that avian toxicity varies according to the degree of crude oil weathering and the stage of embryonic development at the time of exposure. Results indicate bird eggs exposed to weathered crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico during summer 2010 may have had reduced hatching success. Copyright © 2011 SETAC.

  6. Biosurfactant-assisted bioremediation of crude oil by indigenous bacteria isolated from Taean beach sediment.

    PubMed

    Lee, Dong Wan; Lee, Hanbyul; Kwon, Bong-Oh; Khim, Jong Seong; Yim, Un Hyuk; Kim, Beom Seok; Kim, Jae-Jin

    2018-05-25

    Crude oil and its derivatives are considered as one group of the most pervasive environmental pollutants in marine environments. Bioremediation using oil-degrading bacteria has emerged as a promising green cleanup alternative in more recent years. The employment of biosurfactant-producing and hydrocarbon-utilizing indigenous bacteria enhances the effectiveness of bioremediation by making hydrocarbons bioavailable for degradation. In this study, the best candidates of biosurfactant-producing indigenous bacteria were selected by screening of biochemical tests. The selected bacteria include Bacillus algicola (003-Phe1), Rhodococcus soli (102-Na5), Isoptericola chiayiensis (103-Na4), and Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans (SDRB-Py1). In general, these isolated species caused low surface tension values (33.9-41.3 mN m -1 ), high oil spreading (1.2-2.4 cm), and hydrocarbon emulsification (up to 65%) warranting active degradation of hydrocarbons. FT-IR and LC-MS analyses indicated that the monorhamnolipid (Rha-C 16:1 ) and dirhamnolipid (Rha-Rha-C 6 -C 6:1 ) were commonly produced by the bacteria as potent biosurfactants. The residual crude oil after the biodegradation test was quantitated using GC-MS analysis. The bacteria utilized crude oil as their sole carbon source while the amount of residual crude oil significantly decreased. In addition the cell-free broth containing biosurfactants produced by bacterial strains significantly desorbed crude oil in oil-polluted marine sediment. The selected bacteria might hold additional capacity in crude oil degradation. Biosurfactant-producing indigenous bacteria therefore degrade crude oil hydrocarbon compounds, produce biosurfactants that can increase the emulsification of crude oil and are thus more conducive to the degradation of crude oil. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Long-term carbon sink in Borneo's forests halted by drought and vulnerable to edge effects.

    PubMed

    Qie, Lan; Lewis, Simon L; Sullivan, Martin J P; Lopez-Gonzalez, Gabriela; Pickavance, Georgia C; Sunderland, Terry; Ashton, Peter; Hubau, Wannes; Abu Salim, Kamariah; Aiba, Shin-Ichiro; Banin, Lindsay F; Berry, Nicholas; Brearley, Francis Q; Burslem, David F R P; Dančák, Martin; Davies, Stuart J; Fredriksson, Gabriella; Hamer, Keith C; Hédl, Radim; Kho, Lip Khoon; Kitayama, Kanehiro; Krisnawati, Haruni; Lhota, Stanislav; Malhi, Yadvinder; Maycock, Colin; Metali, Faizah; Mirmanto, Edi; Nagy, Laszlo; Nilus, Reuben; Ong, Robert; Pendry, Colin A; Poulsen, Axel Dalberg; Primack, Richard B; Rutishauser, Ervan; Samsoedin, Ismayadi; Saragih, Bernaulus; Sist, Plinio; Slik, J W Ferry; Sukri, Rahayu Sukmaria; Svátek, Martin; Tan, Sylvester; Tjoa, Aiyen; van Nieuwstadt, Mark; Vernimmen, Ronald R E; Yassir, Ishak; Kidd, Petra Susan; Fitriadi, Muhammad; Ideris, Nur Khalish Hafizhah; Serudin, Rafizah Mat; Abdullah Lim, Layla Syaznie; Saparudin, Muhammad Shahruney; Phillips, Oliver L

    2017-12-19

    Less than half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere. While carbon balance models imply large carbon uptake in tropical forests, direct on-the-ground observations are still lacking in Southeast Asia. Here, using long-term plot monitoring records of up to half a century, we find that intact forests in Borneo gained 0.43 Mg C ha -1 per year (95% CI 0.14-0.72, mean period 1988-2010) above-ground live biomass. These results closely match those from African and Amazonian plot networks, suggesting that the world's remaining intact tropical forests are now en masse out-of-equilibrium. Although both pan-tropical and long-term, the sink in remaining intact forests appears vulnerable to climate and land use changes. Across Borneo the 1997-1998 El Niño drought temporarily halted the carbon sink by increasing tree mortality, while fragmentation persistently offset the sink and turned many edge-affected forests into a carbon source to the atmosphere.

  8. Seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) as a bioindicator of crude oil exposure.

    PubMed

    Delunardo, Frederico Augusto Cariello; de Carvalho, Luciano Rodrigues; da Silva, Bruno Ferreira; Galão, Michel; Val, Adalberto Luís; Chippari-Gomes, Adriana R

    2015-07-01

    This study explored the suitability of the seahorse Hippocampus reidi (Ginsburg, 1933) for assessing biomarkers of genotoxic effects and its use as a sentinel organism to detect the effects of acute exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons. Fish were exposed to three concentrations of crude oil (10, 20 and 30 g/kg) for 96 h, and the activity of phase II biotransformation enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GST) was measured. In addition, we performed genotoxicity assays, such as comet assay, micronucleus (MN) test and nuclear abnormalities (NA) induction, on the erythrocytes of the fish species. Our results revealed that the inhibition of hepatic GST activity in H. reidi was dependent on increasing crude oil concentrations. In contrast, an increase in the damage index (DI) and MN frequency were observed with increased crude oil concentrations. These results indicate that the alkaline comet assay and micronucleus test were suitable and useful in the evaluation of the genotoxicity of crude oil, which could improve determinations of the impact of oil spills on fish populations. In addition, H. reidi is a promising "sentinel organism" to detect the genotoxic impact of petroleum hydrocarbons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Hydrothermal Liquefaction Biocrude Compositions Compared to Petroleum Crude and Shale Oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jarvis, Jacqueline M.; Billing, Justin M.; Hallen, Richard T.

    We provide a direct and detailed comparison of the chemical composition of petroleum crude oil (from the Gulf of Mexico), shale oil, and three biocrudes (i.e., clean pine, microalgae Chlorella sp., and sewage sludge feedstocks) generated by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) reveals that HTL biocrudes are compositionally more similar to shale oil than petroleum crude oil and that only a few heteroatom classes (e.g., N1, N2, N1O1, and O1) are common to organic sediment- and biomass-derived oils. All HTL biocrudes contain a diverse range of oxygen-containing compounds when compared tomore » either petroleum crude or shale oil. Overall, petroleum crude and shale oil are compositionally dissimilar to HTL oils, and >85% of the elemental compositions identified within the positive-ion electrospray (ESI) mass spectra of the HTL biocrudes were not present in either the petroleum crude or shale oil (>43% for negative-ion ESI). Direct comparison of the heteroatom classes that are common to both organic sedimentand biomass-derived oils shows that HTL biocrudes generally contain species with both smaller core structures and a lower degree of alkylation relative to either the petroleum crude or the shale oil. Three-dimensional plots of carbon number versus molecular double bond equivalents (with observed abundance as the third dimension) for abundant molecular classes reveal the specific relationship of the composition of HTL biocrudes to petroleum and shale oils to inform the possible incorporation of these oils into refinery operations as a partial amendment to conventional petroleum feeds.« less

  10. Measuring efficiency of international crude oil markets: A multifractality approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niere, H. M.

    2015-01-01

    The three major international crude oil markets are treated as complex systems and their multifractal properties are explored. The study covers daily prices of Brent crude, OPEC reference basket and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude from January 2, 2003 to January 2, 2014. A multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) is employed to extract the generalized Hurst exponents in each of the time series. The generalized Hurst exponent is used to measure the degree of multifractality which in turn is used to quantify the efficiency of the three international crude oil markets. To identify whether the source of multifractality is long-range correlations or broad fat-tail distributions, shuffled data and surrogated data corresponding to each of the time series are generated. Shuffled data are obtained by randomizing the order of the price returns data. This will destroy any long-range correlation of the time series. Surrogated data is produced using the Fourier-Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (F-DFA). This is done by randomizing the phases of the price returns data in Fourier space. This will normalize the distribution of the time series. The study found that for the three crude oil markets, there is a strong dependence of the generalized Hurst exponents with respect to the order of fluctuations. This shows that the daily price time series of the markets under study have signs of multifractality. Using the degree of multifractality as a measure of efficiency, the results show that WTI is the most efficient while OPEC is the least efficient market. This implies that OPEC has the highest likelihood to be manipulated among the three markets. This reflects the fact that Brent and WTI is a very competitive market hence, it has a higher level of complexity compared against OPEC, which has a large monopoly power. Comparing with shuffled data and surrogated data, the findings suggest that for all the three crude oil markets, the multifractality is mainly due to long

  11. Well-to-refinery emissions and net-energy analysis of China's crude-oil supply

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masnadi, Mohammad S.; El-Houjeiri, Hassan M.; Schunack, Dominik; Li, Yunpo; Roberts, Samori O.; Przesmitzki, Steven; Brandt, Adam R.; Wang, Michael

    2018-03-01

    Oil is China's second-largest energy source, so it is essential to understand the country's greenhouse gas emissions from crude-oil production. Chinese crude supply is sourced from numerous major global petroleum producers. Here, we use a per-barrel well-to-refinery life-cycle analysis model with data derived from hundreds of public and commercial sources to model the Chinese crude mix and the upstream carbon intensities and energetic productivity of China's crude supply. We generate a carbon-denominated supply curve representing Chinese crude-oil supply from 146 oilfields in 20 countries. The selected fields are estimated to emit between 1.5 and 46.9 g CO2eq MJ-1 of oil, with volume-weighted average emissions of 8.4 g CO2eq MJ-1. These estimates are higher than some existing databases, illustrating the importance of bottom-up models to support life-cycle analysis databases. This study provides quantitative insight into China's energy policy and the economic and environmental implications of China's oil consumption.

  12. Geospatial Hydrochemical and Microbiological Implications on the Occurrence of Crude Oil Biodegradation and Methanogenesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shelton, J.; McIntosh, J. C.; Warwick, P.; McCray, J. E.

    2014-12-01

    Technologies that serve as a bridge between renewable energy and fossil fuels are needed to meet growing energy demands and to mitigate climate change. Many reservoirs contain difficult to produce residual and/or heavily biodegraded (i.e., geochemically altered) crude oil, which remains a relatively untapped resource. Production of this residual crude oil via unconventional methods, such as enhanced oil recovery (EOR), has offset some of the decline in conventional oil production. EOR is not efficient enough to recover all of the original oil in place, and some methods are not effective for very heavy crude oils. Stimulation of in-situ microorganisms to convert the residual crude oil to natural gas (i.e., microbial methane) is one promising strategy to "extract" residual and /or heavy crude oil. Although the hydrogeochemical conditions necessary for the occurrence of both crude oil biodegradation and microbial methanogenesis in various reservoirs have been studied, there are still gaps in research. Many hydrogeochemical factors have been researched individually (not as part of a multifactor or lithologically similar system) and little work has assessed the microbiological limitations of both processes. Our goal is to determine the hydrogeochemical and microbiological conditions required for maximum crude oil biodegradation and microbial methanogenesis across a lithologically similar unit. Produced water, oil, gas, and microbial biomass samples were collected from wells completed in the Paleocene—Eocene Wilcox Group in central Louisiana. Initial results indicate potential relationships between the amount of crude oil biodegradation, indicators of microbial methanogenesis, and aqueous geochemistry. For example, produced waters with the lowest salinity had the highest crude oil biodegradation, and wells exhibiting the most microbial methane generation produce waters with hydrogeochemical conditions most fit for methanogenesis to occur. In sampled wells displaying

  13. Exploring the WTI crude oil price bubble process using the Markov regime switching model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yue-Jun; Wang, Jing

    2015-03-01

    The sharp volatility of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price in the past decade triggers us to investigate the price bubbles and their evolving process. Empirical results indicate that the fundamental price of WTI crude oil appears relatively more stable than that of the market-trading price, which verifies the existence of oil price bubbles during the sample period. Besides, by allowing the WTI crude oil price bubble process to switch between two states (regimes) according to a first-order Markov chain, we are able to statistically discriminate upheaval from stable states in the crude oil price bubble process; and in most of time, the stable state dominates the WTI crude oil price bubbles while the upheaval state usually proves short-lived and accompanies unexpected market events.

  14. Systematic Engineering of Escherichia coli for d-Lactate Production from Crude Glycerol.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zei Wen; Saini, Mukesh; Lin, Li-Jen; Chiang, Chung-Jen; Chao, Yun-Peng

    2015-11-04

    Crude glycerol resulting from biodiesel production is an abundant and renewable resource. However, the impurities in crude glycerol usually make microbial fermentation problematic. This issue was addressed by systematic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of d-lactate from crude glycerol. First, mgsA and the synthetic pathways of undesired products were eliminated in E. coli, rendering the strain capable of homofermentative production of optically pure d-lactate. To direct carbon flux toward d-lactate, the resulting strain was endowed with an enhanced expression of glpD-glpK in the glycerol catabolism and of a heterologous gene encoding d-lactate dehydrogenase. Moreover, the strain was evolved to improve its utilization of cruder glycerol and subsequently equipped with the FocA channel to export intracellular d-lactate. Finally, the fed-batch fermentation with two-phase culturing was carried out with a bioreactor. As a result, the engineered strain enabled production of 105 g/L d-lactate (99.9% optical purity) from 121 g/L crude glycerol at 40 h. The result indicates the feasibility of our approach to engineering E. coli for the crude glycerol-based fermentation.

  15. Feasibility of low frequency ultrasound for water removal from crude oil emulsions.

    PubMed

    Antes, Fabiane G; Diehl, Liange O; Pereira, Juliana S F; Guimarães, Regina C L; Guarnieri, Ricardo A; Ferreira, Bianca M S; Dressler, Valderi L; Flores, Erico M M

    2015-07-01

    The feasibility of indirect application of low frequency ultrasound for demulsification of crude oil was investigated without using chemical demulsifiers. Experiments were performed in an ultrasonic bath with frequency of 35 kHz. Synthetic emulsions with water content of 12%, 35% and 50% and median of droplet size distribution (DSD), median D(0.5), of 5, 10 and 25 μm were prepared from crude oil with API density of 19 (heavy crude oil) and submitted to the proposed ultrasound-assisted demulsification procedure. Experimental conditions as temperature, time of exposition to ultrasound and ultrasonic power were evaluated. Separation of water from crude oil emulsion was observed for all emulsions investigated. Demulsification efficiency up to 65% was obtained for emulsion with 50% of water content and DSD of 10 μm. Higher efficiency of demulsification was achieved using US temperature of 45 °C and ultrasound power of 160 W by 15 min. Results obtained in this study showed that ultrasound could be considered a promising technology for industrial crude oil treatment and respective water removal. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Level shift two-components autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity modelling for WTI crude oil market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sin, Kuek Jia; Cheong, Chin Wen; Hooi, Tan Siow

    2017-04-01

    This study aims to investigate the crude oil volatility using a two components autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) model with the inclusion of abrupt jump feature. The model is able to capture abrupt jumps, news impact, clustering volatility, long persistence volatility and heavy-tailed distributed error which are commonly observed in the crude oil time series. For the empirical study, we have selected the WTI crude oil index from year 2000 to 2016. The results found that by including the multiple-abrupt jumps in ARCH model, there are significant improvements of estimation evaluations as compared with the standard ARCH models. The outcomes of this study can provide useful information for risk management and portfolio analysis in the crude oil markets.

  17. 49 CFR 172.327 - Petroleum sour crude oil in bulk packaging.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Bulk packaging used to transport petroleum crude oil containing hydrogen sulfide (i.e., sour crude oil... hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. (b) The border of the square-on-point must be black or red on a white or...., manhole, loading head) where exposure to hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. The label, tag, or sign must...

  18. 49 CFR 172.327 - Petroleum sour crude oil in bulk packaging.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Bulk packaging used to transport petroleum crude oil containing hydrogen sulfide (i.e., sour crude oil... hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. (b) The border of the square-on-point must be black or red on a white or...., manhole, loading head) where exposure to hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. The label, tag, or sign must...

  19. 49 CFR 172.327 - Petroleum sour crude oil in bulk packaging.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Bulk packaging used to transport petroleum crude oil containing hydrogen sulfide (i.e., sour crude oil... hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. (b) The border of the square-on-point must be black or red on a white or...., manhole, loading head) where exposure to hydrogen sulfide vapors may occur. The label, tag, or sign must...

  20. Crude Oil Metabolites in Groundwater at Two Spill Sites.

    PubMed

    Bekins, Barbara A; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M; Erickson, Melinda L; Steenson, Ross A; Thorn, Kevin A

    2016-09-01

    Two groundwater plumes in north central Minnesota with residual crude oil sources have 20 to 50 mg/L of nonvolatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC). These values are over 10 times higher than benzene and two to three times higher than Diesel Range Organics in the same wells. On the basis of previous work, most of the NVDOC consists of partial transformation products from the crude oil. Monitoring data from 1988 to 2015 at one of the sites located near Bemidji, MN show that the plume of metabolites is expanding toward a lakeshore located 335 m from the source zone. Other mass balance studies of the site have demonstrated that the plume expansion is driven by the combined effect of continued presence of the residual crude oil source and depletion of the electron accepting capacity of solid phase iron oxide and hydroxides on the aquifer sediments. These plumes of metabolites are not covered by regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements in Minnesota and other states. Yet, a review of toxicology studies indicates that polar metabolites of crude oil may pose a risk to aquatic and mammalian species. Together the results suggest that at sites where residual sources are present, monitoring of NVDOC may be warranted to evaluate the fates of plumes of hydrocarbon transformation products. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  1. Isolation and identification of an ester from a crude oil

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Phillips, H.F.; Breger, I.A.

    1958-01-01

    A dioctylphthalate has been isolated from a crude oil by means of adsorption column chromatography. The ester was identified by means of elemental analysis, refractive index, and its infra-red absorption spectrum. Saponification of the isolate and examination of the resultant alcohol by means of infrared absorption spectra led to the conclusion that the ester is a branched chain dioctylphthalate. This is the first reported occurrence of an ester in crude petroleum. ?? 1958.

  2. Process for removing heavy metal compounds from heavy crude oil

    DOEpatents

    Cha, Chang Y.; Boysen, John E.; Branthaver, Jan F.

    1991-01-01

    A process is provided for removing heavy metal compounds from heavy crude oil by mixing the heavy crude oil with tar sand; preheating the mixture to a temperature of about 650.degree. F.; heating said mixture to up to 800.degree. F.; and separating tar sand from the light oils formed during said heating. The heavy metals removed from the heavy oils can be recovered from the spent sand for other uses.

  3. Crude venom from nematocysts of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) elicits a sodium conductance in the plasma membrane of mammalian cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morabito, Rossana; Costa, Roberta; Rizzo, Valentina; Remigante, Alessia; Nofziger, Charity; La Spada, Giuseppa; Marino, Angela; Paulmichl, Markus; Dossena, Silvia

    2017-01-01

    Cnidarians may negatively impact human activities and public health but concomitantly their venom represents a rich source of bioactive substances. Pelagia noctiluca is the most venomous and abundant jellyfish of the Mediterranean Sea and possesses a venom with hemolytic and cytolytic activity for which the mechanism is largely unknown. Here we show that exposure of mammalian cells to crude venom from the nematocysts of P. noctiluca profoundly alters the ion conductance of the plasma membrane, therefore affecting homeostatic functions such as the regulation and maintenance of cellular volume. Venom-treated cells exhibited a large, inwardly rectifying current mainly due to permeation of Na+ and Cl-, sensitive to amiloride and completely abrogated following harsh thermal treatment of crude venom extract. Curiously, the plasma membrane conductance of Ca2+ and K+ was not affected. Current-inducing activity was also observed following delivery of venom to the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane, consistent with a pore-forming mechanism. Venom-induced NaCl influx followed by water and consequent cell swelling most likely underlie the hemolytic and cytolytic activity of P. noctiluca venom. The present study underscores unique properties of P. noctiluca venom and provides essential information for a possible use of its active compounds and treatment of envenomation.

  4. Protective effect of crude Curcuma longa and its methanolic extract in alloxanized rabbits.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, Mobasher; Kamran, Sairah Hafeez; Mobasher, Afroze

    2014-01-01

    Curcuma longa (C. longa) is commonly found in different areas of Pakistan. It has been locally utilized as a traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and total antioxidant effect of the crude drug and its methanolic extract in rabbits. Diabetes was induced with alloxan (180mg/kg). Two major groups were designed, curative and protective groups. In curative group the crude drug and its methanolic extract was orally administered to the diabetic animals and acute study was performed. On the other hand in protective group the crude drug and its methanolic extract were administered for eight days prior to the diabetes induction. Results indicated that in Curative group the crude and methanolic extract of C. longa significantly improved the levels of serum glucose, serum transaminases and antioxidant activity (AOA). In protective group, serum glucose, serum transaminases were not significantly increased by alloxan, in both crude as well as methanolic extract group. This study shows that C. longa acts as antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and antioxidant in diabetes especially type 1 diabetes.

  5. Isolation and characterization of two crude oil-degrading fungi strains from Rumaila oil field, Iraq.

    PubMed

    Al-Hawash, Adnan B; Alkooranee, Jawadayn T; Abbood, Hayder A; Zhang, Jialong; Sun, Jin; Zhang, Xiaoyu; Ma, Fuying

    2018-03-01

    Among four crude oil-degrading fungi strains that were isolated from a petroleum-polluted area in the Rumaila oil field, two fungi strains showed high activity in aliphatic hydrocarbon degradation. ITS sequencing and analysis of morphological and biochemical characteristics identified these strains as Penicillium sp. RMA1 and RMA2. Gravimetric and gas chromatography analysis of the crude oil remaining in the culture medium after 14 days of incubation at 30 °C showed that RMA1 and RMA2 degraded the crude oil by 57% and 55%, respectively. These strains reduced surface tension when cultured on crude oil (1% v/v) and exhibited a cell surface hydrophobicity of more than 70%. These results suggested that RMA1 and RMA2 performed effective crude oil-degrading activity and crude oil emulsification. In conclusion, these fungal strains can be used in bioremediation process and oil pollution reduction in aquatic ecosystems.

  6. The HALT Polycystic Kidney Disease Trials – Analysis of baseline parameters

    PubMed Central

    Torres, Vicente E.; Chapman, Arlene B.; Perrone, Ronald D.; Bae, K. Ty; Abebe, Kaleab Z.; Bost, James E.; Miskulin, Dana C.; Steinman, Theodore I.; Braun, William; Winklhofer, Franz T.; Hogan, Marie C.; Oskoui, Frederic Rahbari; Kelleher, Cass; Masoumi, Amirali; Glockner, James; Halin, Neil J; Martin, Diego; Remer, Erick; Patel, Nayana.; Pedrosa, Ivan; Wetzel, Louis H.; Thompson, Paul A.; Miller, J. Philip; Meyers, Catherine M.; Schrier, Robert W.

    2013-01-01

    HALT-PKD consists of two randomized trials comparing treatment with an angiotensin converting inhibitor (ACEI)-angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) combination vs ACEI alone and standard vs low blood pressure target in Study A (eGFR >60 ml/min/1.73 m2) and ACEI-ARB vs ACEI alone in Study B (eGFR 25-60 ml/min/1.73 m2). It includes the largest cohort of systematically studied ADPKD patients (558 A and 486 B) to date. We used correlation and multiple regression cross-sectional analyses to ascertain associations of baseline parameters with total kidney (TKV) and liver (TLV) or liver cyst (LCV) volumes measured by MRI in Study A and with eGFR in both studies. Lower eGFR and higher natural log transformed urine albumin excretion are independently associated with larger natural log transformed TKV adjusted for height (HtTKV). Higher BSA is independently associated with higher ln(HtTKV) and lower eGFR. Men have larger HtTKV and smaller LCV than women. A weak correlation was found between ln(HtTKV) and ln(HtTLV) or ln(LCV) in women only. Women have higher urine aldosterone excretions and lower plasma potassium levels. In summary, this analysis 1) confirms a strong association between renal volume and functional parameters, 2) shows that gender and other factors differentially affect the development of polycystic disease in the kidney and liver, and 3) suggests an association between anthropomorphic measures reflecting preand/or post-natal growth and the severity of the disease. PMID:22205355

  7. Factors associated with institutional delivery in Dangila district, North West Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Demilew, Yeshalem Mulugeta; Gebregergs, Gebremedhin Berhe; Negusie, Azezu Asres

    2016-03-01

    Childbirth in a health institution has been shown to be associated with lower rates of maternal and neonatal mortality. However, about 85% of mothers in Ethiopia deliver at home. To assess factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization among women who gave birth within one year prior to the study in Dangila district. A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 01-28, 2015. A total of 763 mothers were interviewed using structured questionnaire. SPSS version 20 was used for analysis. Crude and adjusted Odds ratios were computed for selected variables. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistical significant. Only 18.3% of mothers gave birth at health facilities. Knowledge on danger signs [AOR=2.0, 95% CI: (1.1, 3.4)], plan to give birth at health institution [AOR=5.4, 95% CI: (3.0, 9.6)], having ANC follow up during pregnancy [AOR=12.9, 95% CI: (5.0, 33.3)] and time taken to get to a nearby health institution [AOR=5.1, 95% CI: (2.9, 9.1)] were associated with institutional delivery service utilization. Institutional delivery was very low. Knowledge about danger signs, having ANC visits, and time were factors associated with institutional delivery service utilization. Thus, the findings recommend repeated re-enforcement of institutional delivery service utilization through professionals. And also, the findings recommend promotion of institutional delivery service utilization through mass media.

  8. Dynamic Response of Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 to BP Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Seong-Jae; Kweon, Ohgew; Sutherland, John B.; Kim, Hyun-Lee; Jones, Richard C.; Burback, Brian L.; Graves, Steven W.; Psurny, Edward

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the response of the hydrocarbon-degrading Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 to crude oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill, using substrate depletion, genomic, and proteome analyses. M. vanbaalenii PYR-1 cultures were incubated with BP DWH crude oil, and proteomes and degradation of alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed at four time points over 30 days. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed a chain length-dependent pattern of alkane degradation, with C12 and C13 being degraded at the highest rate, although alkanes up to C28 were degraded. Whereas phenanthrene and pyrene were completely degraded, a significantly smaller amount of fluoranthene was degraded. Proteome analysis identified 3,948 proteins, with 876 and 1,859 proteins up- and downregulated, respectively. We observed dynamic changes in protein expression during BP crude oil incubation, including transcriptional factors and transporters potentially involved in adaptation to crude oil. The proteome also provided a molecular basis for the metabolism of the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon components in the BP DWH crude oil, which included upregulation of AlkB alkane hydroxylase and an expression pattern of PAH-metabolizing enzymes different from those in previous proteome expression studies of strain PYR-1 incubated with pure or mixed PAHs, particularly the ring-hydroxylating oxygenase (RHO) responsible for the initial oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Based on these results, a comprehensive cellular response of M. vanbaalenii PYR-1 to BP crude oil was proposed. This study increases our fundamental understanding of the impact of crude oil on the cellular response of bacteria and provides data needed for development of practical bioremediation applications. PMID:25888169

  9. Forceps delivery is associated with increased risk of pelvic organ prolapse and muscle trauma: a cross-sectional study 16-24 years after first delivery.

    PubMed

    Volløyhaug, I; Mørkved, S; Salvesen, Ø; Salvesen, K Å

    2015-10-01

    To study possible associations between mode of delivery and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and pelvic floor muscle trauma 16-24 years after first delivery and, in particular, to identify differences between forceps and vacuum delivery. This was a cross-sectional study including 608 women who delivered their first child in 1990-1997 and were examined with POP quantification (POP-Q) and pelvic floor ultrasound in 2013-2014. Outcome measures were POP ≥ Stage 2 or previous prolapse surgery, levator avulsion and levator hiatal area on Valsalva. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses and ANCOVA were applied to identify outcome variables associated with mode of delivery. Comparing forceps to vacuum delivery, the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were 1.72 (95% CI, 1.06-2.79; P = 0.03) for POP ≥ Stage 2 or previous prolapse surgery and 4.16 (95% CI, 2.28-7.59; P < 0.01) for levator avulsion. Hiatal area on Valsalva was larger, with adjusted mean difference (aMD) of 4.75 cm(2) (95% CI, 2.46-7.03; P < 0.01). Comparing forceps with normal vaginal delivery, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) was 1.74 (95% CI, 1.12-2.68; P = 0.01) for POP ≥ Stage 2 or surgery and 4.35 (95% CI, 2.56-7.40; P < 0.01) for levator avulsion; hiatal area on Valsalva was larger, with an aMD of 3.84 cm(2) (95% CI, 1.78-5.90; P < 0.01). Comparing Cesarean delivery with normal vaginal delivery, aOR was 0.06 (95% CI, 0.02-0.14; P < 0.01) for POP ≥ Stage 2 or surgery and crude OR was 0.00 (95% CI, 0.00-0.30; P < 0.01) for levator avulsion; hiatal area on Valsalva was smaller, with an aMD of -8.35 cm(2) (95% CI, -10.87 to -5.84; P < 0.01). No differences were found between vacuum and normal vaginal delivery. We found that mode of delivery was associated with POP and pelvic floor muscle trauma in women from a general population, 16-24 years after their first delivery. Forceps was associated with significantly more POP

  10. Toxicities of crude oils and oil-dispersant mixtures to juvenile rabbitfish, Siganus rivulatus

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eisler, R.; Kissil, G.W.

    1975-01-01

    Toxicities were determined for two crude oils, one from the Persian Gulf (Iran) and one from the Sinai Peninsula (Gulf of Suez), to rabbitfish, Siganus rivulatus, an economically important species of teleost from the Red Sea. Also tested for toxicity were ST 5, a chemical oil dispersant, and oil-ST 5 mixtures in the ratio 10:1 vol/vol. Static tests conducted in small (3-liter) jars at 41 /sup 0///sub 00/ salinity and 23/sup 0/C produced LC/sub 50/ (168 h) values of 0.74 ml/liter for Iranian crude, 14.5 ml/liter for Sinai crude, and 0.010 ml/liter for ST 5; LC/sub 50/ values for oil-STmore » 5 mixtures reflected biocidal properties of ST 5 alone. Iranian oil became less toxic with increasing time in seawater over a period of 168 hours; the reverse was observed for Sinai crude. ST 5 exhibited a dramatic reduction in lethality after 2 hours in the assay medium. The most toxic component tested of Iranian crude was the lowest-boiling fraction; with Sinai crude it was the highest-boiling fraction; with ST 5 the volatile surfactant component accounted for almost all deaths. Liver enlargement in rabbitfish was linked with exposure to comparatively high concentrations of crude oil. High sublethal levels of ST 5 caused reductions in blood hematocrit. Rabbitfish survival at a given petrochemical concentration was highest at intermediate salinities of 30-50 /sup 0///sub 00/ in the salinity range tested of 20 to 60 /sup 0///sub 00/. Rabbitfish were more resistant to crudes and oil-dispersant mixtures in continuous flow bioassays conducted in large tanks than in static jar bioassays. Tank tests also suggested that mortalities were higher among toxicant-stressed fish confined 0.2 to 1.0 meters from the surface than among fish held 1.0 to 1.8 m from the surface. (auth)« less

  11. Effects of a chemical dispersant and crude oil on breeding ducks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Albers, P.H.; Gay, M.L.

    1982-01-01

    Effects of chemically dispersed crude oil on mallard reproduction. Incubating female mallards were exposed to a water source treated with either Prudhoe Bay crude oil, Corexit 9527, or a combination of oil and dispersant during the first 10 da of development. Used thermocouple probes to monitor incubation temperature. Measured hatching success, incubation temperature, and survival of ducklings to 1 wk of age.

  12. Influence of the addition and storage time of crude extract of tea leaves (camellia sinensis l.) toward value of free fatty acid in crude palm oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erwin; Wahifiyah, E.; Hairani, R.; Panggabean, A. S.

    2018-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the crude extract of tea leaves (Camellia sinensis L.) and storage time on the content of free fatty acid in palm oil. The dried tea leaves were macerated and concentrated by rotary evaporator. The extract obtained was added to crude palm oil with various added mass of the extract and various storage times. Phytochemical tests indicated the presence of secondary metabolites including alkaloids, triterpenoids, steroids, phenolics and flavonoids. The ANOVA test showed a decrease in free fatty acid content in crude palm oil with the addition of tea leaves extract. The LSD (Least Significant Difference) test showed the best influence on ALB of palm oil is on the total extract mass of 2 grams and the storage time of 20 days.

  13. PROCESS FOR PURIFYING CRUDE PERFLUOROCARBONS

    DOEpatents

    Holeton, R.E.

    1959-03-24

    A method is described for refining organic perfluoro compounds. In the manufacture of perfluorinated compounds by the fluorination of hydrocarbons, the product frequently is contaminated ny incompletely fluorimated hydrogen containing impurities. These impurities can be removed by contacting the products in a fluid conditions with an active adsorbents such as silica gel or alumina gel. The patent claims are restricted to this refining of crude perfluorinated lubricating oil.

  14. Carcass traits and meat quality of Nellore cattle fed different non-fiber carbohydrates sources associated with crude glycerin.

    PubMed

    Favaro, V R; Ezequiel, J M B; Almeida, M T C; D'Aurea, A P; Paschoaloto, J R; van Cleef, E H C B; Carvalho, V B; Junqueira, N B

    2016-08-01

    Crude glycerin, a potential energy source for ruminant animals, has been evaluated, mainly, in diets with high starch content. However, a limit number of studies have evaluated the inclusion of crude glycerin in low starch diets. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the association of crude glycerin with corn grain or citrus pulp on carcass traits and meat quality of Nellore bulls (n=30, 402±31 kg initial weight). The treatment consisted of: CON=control, without crude glycerin; CG10=10% of crude glycerin and corn grain; CG15=15% of crude glycerin and corn grain; CP10=10% of crude glycerin and citrus pulp; CP15=15% of crude glycerin and citrus pulp. The performance parameters and carcass traits were not affected by treatments (P>0.05). The inclusion of crude glycerin decreased yellow color intensity and increased fatty acids pentadecanoic and heptadecenoic in meat (P<0.05), without affecting neither the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids nor the relationship of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The association of crude glycerin with corn or citrus pulp has no adverse effects on carcass characteristics and meat quality.

  15. Biodiesel production in crude oil contaminated environment using Chlorella vulgaris.

    PubMed

    Xaaldi Kalhor, Aadel; Mohammadi Nassab, Adel Dabbagh; Abedi, Ehsan; Bahrami, Ahmad; Movafeghi, Ali

    2016-12-01

    Biodiesel is a valuable alternative to fossil fuels and many countries choose biodiesel as an unconventional energy source. A large number of investigations have been done on microalgae as a source of oil production. In recent years, wastewater pollutions have caused many ecological problems, and therefore, wastewater phycoremediation has attracted the international attention. This paper studied the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris in a crude oil polluted environment for biodiesel production. Intended concentrations were 10 and 20gperliter (crude oil/water) at two times. The results showed that the growth of C. vulgaris was improved in wastewater and the maximum amount of dry mass and oil was produced at the highest concentration of crude oil (0.41g and 0.15g/l, respectively). In addition, dry mass and oil yield of the microalga were significantly enhanced by increasing the experiment duration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Multifractal detrended cross-correlations between crude oil market and Chinese ten sector stock markets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Liansheng; Zhu, Yingming; Wang, Yudong; Wang, Yiqi

    2016-11-01

    Based on the daily price data of spot prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil and ten CSI300 sector indices in China, we apply multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) method to investigate the cross-correlations between crude oil and Chinese sector stock markets. We find that the strength of multifractality between WTI crude oil and energy sector stock market is the highest, followed by the strength of multifractality between WTI crude oil and financial sector market, which reflects a close connection between energy and financial market. Then we do vector autoregression (VAR) analysis to capture the interdependencies among the multiple time series. By comparing the strength of multifractality for original data and residual errors of VAR model, we get a conclusion that vector auto-regression (VAR) model could not be used to describe the dynamics of the cross-correlations between WTI crude oil and the ten sector stock markets.

  17. Effects of different remediation treatments on crude oil contaminated saline soil.

    PubMed

    Gao, Yong-Chao; Guo, Shu-Hai; Wang, Jia-Ning; Li, Dan; Wang, Hui; Zeng, De-Hui

    2014-12-01

    Remediation of the petroleum contaminated soil is essential to maintain the sustainable development of soil ecosystem. Bioremediation using microorganisms and plants is a promising method for the degradation of crude oil contaminants. The effects of different remediation treatments, including nitrogen addition, Suaeda salsa planting, and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi inoculation individually or combined, on crude oil contaminated saline soil were assessed using a microcosm experiment. The results showed that different remediation treatments significantly affected the physicochemical properties, oil contaminant degradation and bacterial community structure of the oil contaminated saline soil. Nitrogen addition stimulated the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon significantly at the initial 30d of remediation. Coupling of different remediation techniques was more effective in degrading crude oil contaminants. Applications of nitrogen, AM fungi and their combination enhanced the phytoremediation efficiency of S. salsa significantly. The main bacterial community composition in the crude oil contaminated saline soil shifted with the remediation processes. γ-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the pioneer oil-degraders at the initial stage, and Firmicutes were considered to be able to degrade the recalcitrant components at the later stage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves

    EIA Publications

    2016-01-01

    U.S. oil and natural gas proved reserves declined in 2015 due to lower prices. U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves declined 4.7 billion barrels (11.8%) from their year-end 2014 level to 35.2 billion barrels at year-end 2015, according to U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-end 2015, released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S natural gas proved reserves decreased 64.5 trillion cubic feet, a 16.6% decline, reducing the U.S. total to 324.3 Tcf at year-end 2015.

  19. Effect of demulsifiers on interfacial properties governing crude oil demulsification

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mukherjee, S.; Kushnick, A.P.

    1988-05-01

    Crude oil is almost always produced as persistent water-in-oil emulsions which must be resolved into two separate phases before the crude can be accepted for pipelining. The water droplets are sterically stabilized by the asphaltene and resin fractions of the crude oil. These are condensed aromatic rings containing saturated carbon chains and napthenic rings as substituents, along with a distribution of heteroatoms and metals. They are capable of crosslinking at the water drop-oil interface. Chemical demulsifiers are most commonly used to separate the emulsions into water and oil phases. The demulsifiers are moderate (2,000-50,000) molecular weight polydisperse mostly nonionic blockmore » copolymers with hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments. An example (Figure 1) of the most commonly used demulsifier is the oxyalkylated alkyl phenol formaldehyde resin. The alkyl group can be butyl, amyl, or nonyl and the interfacial activity is controlled by the relative amounts of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) attached to the polar end. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how various parameters such as interfacial tension, interfacial shear viscosity, dynamic interfacial tension gradient, dilational elasticity and demulsifier clustering affect the demulsification effectiveness. To this end, the authors have studied both crude oil as well as asphaltene stabilized ''model' water-in-oil emulsions. In this paper, some of the results of the authors' study are presented.« less

  20. 15 CFR 754.2 - Crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... condensate and liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands, gilsonite, and oil shale. Drip gases are also... importation into the United States of an equal or greater quantity and an equal or better quality of crude oil or of a quantity and quality of petroleum products listed in Supplement No. 1 to this part that is...

  1. 78 FR 21929 - TexStar Crude Oil Pipeline, LP; Notice of Filing

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. AC13-63-000] TexStar Crude Oil Pipeline, LP; Notice of Filing Take notice that on March 26, 2013, TexStar Crude Oil Pipeline, LP (TexStar) submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) a request for waiver of...

  2. From the Lab Bench: Why depend on a crude measure of protein?

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An article was written to discuss what the crude protein value of a feed or forage represents, and justify the relevance of this crude measure of protein. Rumen bacteria digest plant protein and convert the building blocks of protein, amino acids, to those amino acids that meet their needs. Theref...

  3. The role of the seven crude drug components in the sleep-promoting effect of Yokukansan.

    PubMed

    Ogawa, Yuko; Fujii, Yuuko; Sugiyama, Reina; Konishi, Tenji

    2016-01-11

    Yokukansan is a traditional Japanese "Kampo" medicine derived from Yi-Gan San in traditional Chinese medicine. Many studies have been published on its effects and mechanisms. In this study, we focused on the sleep-promoting effects of Yokukansan. Yokukansan composes of seven crude drugs: Uncaria Hook, Bupleurm Root, Cnidium Rhizome, Japanese Angelica Root, Poria Sclerotium, Atractylodes Lancea Rhizome, and Glycyrrhiza. Although each has distinctive effects in isolation, they combine to work as a sleep aid in the Yokukansan formula. We examined the roles of the seven crude drug components in the sleep-promoting effect of Yokukansan. In this study, we used an easy in vivo assay method which we developed previously to screen sleeping substances using thermography. This assay method focuses on the decrease in skin temperature of mice during sleep inducement. By administering the crude drug components of Yokukansan one at a time, it was possible to separate them into two groups: those that caused a decrease in body temperature (Uncaria Hook, Bupleurm Root, Cnidium rhizome, and Japanese Angelica root) and those that did not (Poria Sclerotium, Atractylodes Lancea Rhizome, and Glycyrrhiza). Accordingly, it was thought that the crude drugs causing a drop in body temperature were responsible for promoting sleep, while those in the other group would have no such effect in isolation. To investigate whether the crude drugs that did not cause a decrease in body temperature might be unnecessary for the sleep-promoting effect of Yokukansan, a number of decoctions were prepared using only six of the seven crude drug components, excluding a different crude drug in each case. Results showed that when any of the three components (Poria Sclerotium, Atractylodes Lancea Rhizome, or Glycyrrhiza) of Yokukansan that had no effect on body temperature in isolation were removed from Yokukansan, the resulting extract no longer had any of Yokukansan's sleep-promoting effects. This result

  4. Potential of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris for biodegradation of crude oil hydrocarbons.

    PubMed

    Xaaldi Kalhor, Aadel; Movafeghi, Ali; Mohammadi-Nassab, Adel Dabbagh; Abedi, Ehsan; Bahrami, Ahmad

    2017-10-15

    Oil production and/or transportation can cause severe environmental pollution and disrupt the populations of living organisms. In the present study, biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons is investigated using Chlorella vulgaris as a green algal species. The microalga was treated by 10 and 20g/l crude oil/water concentrations at two experimental durations (7 and 14days). Based on the results obtained, C. vulgaris owned not only considerable resistance against the pollutants but also high ability in remediation of crude oil hydrocarbons (~94% of the light and ~88% of heavy compounds in 14days). Intriguingly, dry weight of C. vulgaris increased by the rising crude oil concentration indicating the positive effect of crude oil on the growth of the algal species. This biodegradation process is remarkably a continuous progression over a period of time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Sulfur transfer in the distillate fractions of Arabian crude oils under gamma-irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basfar, Ahmed A.; Soliman, Yasser S.; Alkhuraiji, Turki S.

    2017-05-01

    Desulfurization of light distillation fractions including gasoline, kerosene and diesel obtained from the four Arabian crude oils (heavy, medium, light and extra light) upon γ-rays irradiation to different doses was investigated. In addition, yields vol%, FTIR analysis, kinematic viscosity and density of all distillation fractions of irradiated crude oils were evaluated. Limited radiation-induced desulfurization of those fractions was observed up to an irradiation dose of 200 kGy. FTIR analysis of those fractions indicates the absence of oxidized sulfur compounds, represented by S=O of sulfone group, indicating that γ-irradiation of the Arabian crude oils at normal conditions does not induce an oxidative desulfurization in those distillation fractions. Radiation-induced sulfur transfer decreases by 28.56% and increases in total sulfur by 16.8% in Arabian extra light oil and Arabian medium crude oil respectively.

  6. Heavy metals affect nematocysts discharge response and biological activity of crude venom in the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

    PubMed

    Morabito, Rossana; Dossena, Silvia; La Spada, Giuseppa; Marino, Angela

    2014-01-01

    Pollution of marine ecosystems and, specifically, heavy metals contamination may compromise the physiology of marine animals with events occurring on a cellular and molecular level. The present study focuses on the effect of short-term exposure to heavy metals like Zinc, Cadmium, Cobalt and Lanthanum (2-10 mM) on the homeostasis of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa), a jellyfish abundant in the Mediterranean sea. This species possesses stinging organoids, termed nematocysts, whose discharge and concomitant delivery of venom underlie the survival of all Cnidaria. Nematocysts discharge response, elicited by combined chemico-physical stimulation, was verified on excised oral arms exposed to heavy metals for 20 min. In addition, the hemolytic activity of toxins, contained in the crude venom extracted from nematocysts isolated from oral arms, was tested on human erythrocytes, in the presence of heavy metals or their mixture. Treatment with heavy metals significantly inhibited both nematocysts discharge response and hemolytic activity of crude venom, in a dose-dependent manner, not involving oxidative events, that was irreversible in the case of Lanthanum. Our findings show that the homeostasis of Pelagia noctiluca, in terms of nematocysts discharge capability and effectiveness of venom toxins, is dramatically and rapidly compromised by heavy metals and confirm that this jellyfish is eligible as a model for ecotoxicological investigations. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  7. DISPERSIBILITY OF CRUDE OIL IN FRESH WATER

    EPA Science Inventory

    The effects of surfactant composition on the ability of chemical dispersants to disperse crude oil in fresh water were investigated. The objective of this research was to determine whether effective fresh water dispersants can be designed in case this technology is ever consider...

  8. Chemical composition of asphaltenes of crude oil from Baradero field in Cuba

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Platonov, V.V.; Proskuryakov, V.A.; Klyavina, O.A.

    Asphaltenes of crude oil from Baradero field in Cuba have been studied by physical and physicochemical methods. Dynamics of distribution of nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen and also various functional groups in asphaltenes has been described. These data can be used for the proper deasphalting of crude oil and further treatment of asphaltenes.

  9. Use of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol for producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by the fungus pythium irregulare

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Crude glycerol is a major byproduct for the biodiesel industry. Producing value-added products through microbial fermentation on crude glycerol provides opportunities to utilize a large quantity of this byproduct. The objective of this study is to explore the potential of using crude glycerol for ...

  10. Solubility of crude oil in methane as a function of pressure and temperature

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Price, L.C.; Wenger, L.M.; Ging, T.; Blount, C.W.

    1983-01-01

    The solubility of a 44?? API (0.806 sp. gr.) whole crude oil has been measured in methane with water present at temperatures of 50 to 250??C and pressures of 740 to 14,852 psi, as have the solubilities of two high molecular weight petroleum distillation fractions at temperatures of 50 to 250??C and pressures of 4482 to 25,266 psi. Both increases in pressure and temperature increase the solubility of crude oil and petroleum distillation fractions in methane, the effect of pressure being greater than that of temperature. Unexpectedly high solubility levels (0.5-1.5 grams of oil per liter of methane-at laboratory temperature and pressure) were measured at moderate conditions (50-200??C and 5076-14504 psi). Similar results were found for the petroleum distillation fractions, one of which was the highest molecular weight material of petroleum (material boiling above 266??C at 6 microns pressure). Unexpectedly mild conditions (100??C and 15,200 psi; 200??C and 7513 psi) resulted in cosolubility of crude oil and methane. Under these conditions, samples of the gas-rich phase gave solubility values of 4 to 5 g/l, or greater. Qualitative analyses of the crude-oil solute samples showed that at low pressure and temperature equilibration conditions, the solute condensate would be enriched in C5-C15 range hydrocarbons and in saturated hydrocarbons in the C15+ fraction. With increases in temperature and especially pressure, these tendencies were reversed, and the solute condensate became identical to the starting crude oil. The data of this study, compared to that of previous studies, shows that methane, with water present, has a much greater carrying capacity for crude oil than in dry systems. The presence of water also drastically lowers the temperature and pressure conditions required for cosolubility. The data of this and/or previous studies demonstrate that the addition of carbon dioxide, ethane, propane, or butane to methane also has a strong positive effect on crude oil

  11. Rheological behavior on treated Malaysian crude oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandran, Krittika; Sinnathambi, Chandra Mohan

    2016-11-01

    Crude oil is always produced with water. This association causes many problems during oil production, arising from the formation of emulsion. Emulsion is an undesirable substance that increases operational and capital cost in the pipeline and processing equipment. To overcome this issue, demulsifiers are formulated to break the emulsion, where they are able to separate the water-oil emulsions to their respective phases. The emulsifier's main function is to reduce the interfacial tension properties of the emulsion. For this research, both the EOR and natural water-in-oil emulsions were treated with low a concentration demulsifier. The main objective of this paper is to determine the dynamic viscosity and rheological properties of the treated EOR and natural emulsion. The dynamic viscosity was obtained using the Brook-field Digital Viscometer. The components that influence the emulsion's rheological properties are the temperature, shear rate and shear stress. The results obtained demonstrate that the viscosity of the treated crude decreases and portrays the Non-Newtonian shear thinning "pseudo-plastic" behavior. Besides that, to determine the interfacial film of the treated crude, the spinning drop tensiometer was used. With the addition of demulsifier, the thinning rate of the oil film accelerates whereby there is a linear decrease in the interfacial tension with an increase in time. Therefore, from the results, it can be observed that the rheology study plays a significant role in the demulsification test. Furthermore, both the rheology approaches showed that time, temperature, shear rate and shear stress have a great impact on the viscosity behavior as well as the IFT.

  12. United States Producing and Nonproducing Crude Oil and Natural Gas Reserves From 1985 Through 2004

    EIA Publications

    2006-01-01

    This report discusses the regional and temporal trends in producing and nonproducing crude oil and natural gas reserves using the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) categorization of reserves. The report first focuses on EIA's collection and reporting of crude oil and natural gas reserves data, followed by a discussion of the natural gas reserve trends, and then the crude oil reserve trends.

  13. Telemetry and control system for interplatform crude loading at the Statfjord Field

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Malmin, P.C.; Lassa, P.

    1986-01-01

    A control system for crude loading to tankers at the Statfjord field has been designed by Mobil Exploration Norway Inc. The objective of the interplatform crude tieline and control system was to allow tanker loading to take place at all times in order to prevent production shutdowns due to loading buoy problems. The control system has been designed to maximize the flexibility of loading operations and meet all safety and regulatory requirements. This paper discusses the design criteria for the crude tieline control system, and describes how these were met by utilizing fail safe telemetry equipment, hardwired permissive relay logicmore » and programmable logic controllers (PLC's). The experience gained from more than three years of operation of the system is reviewed. The system has allowed maximum use of total field storage capacity while loading crude to 125000 DWT tankers nearly every day throughout the year. It has been possible to maintain a high production rate event through periods of difficult weather conditions as experienced in the northern North Sea.« less

  14. Adsorption of crude and engine oils from water using raw rice husk.

    PubMed

    Razavi, Zahra; Mirghaffari, Nourollah; Rezaei, Behzad

    2014-01-01

    The raw rice husk (RRH) was used as a low cost adsorbent to remove three oil compounds with different viscosities (crude oil, engine oil and spent engine oil) from an aqueous environment. Some of the sorbent specifications were characterized using a CHNSO analyzer, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscope and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. With decreasing RRH particles size, the oil adsorption percentage was reduced for crude, spent and engine oils from 50 to 30%, 65 to 20% and 70 to 0.01%, respectively. This was probably due to damage of the microcavities. The removal percentage by sorbent at optimized conditions was 88, 80 and 55% for engine, spent and crude oils, respectively, corresponding to their descending viscosity. The adsorption of crude and spent oils on rice husk followed the Freundlich isotherm model, while the adsorption of engine oil was fitted by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax), calculated from the Langmuir model for the adsorption of engine oil on RRH, was 1,250 mg/g.

  15. Cross-correlations between crude oil and exchange markets for selected oil rich economies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jianfeng; Lu, Xinsheng; Zhou, Ying

    2016-07-01

    Using multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA), this paper studies the cross-correlation behavior between crude oil market and five selected exchange rate markets. The dataset covers the period of January 1,1996-December 31,2014, and contains 4,633 observations for each of the series, including daily closing prices of crude oil, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Mexican Pesos, Russian Rubles, and South African Rand. Our empirical results obtained from cross-correlation statistic and cross-correlation coefficient have confirmed the existence of cross-correlations, and the MF-DCCA results have demonstrated a strong multifractality between cross-correlated crude oil market and exchange rate markets in both short term and long term. Using rolling window analysis, we have also found the persistent cross-correlations between the exchange rates and crude oil returns, and the cross-correlation scaling exponents exhibit volatility during some time periods due to its sensitivity to sudden events.

  16. Assessment of Antioxidant and Cytotoxicity Activities of Saponin and Crude Extracts of Chlorophytum borivilianum

    PubMed Central

    Abd Aziz, Maheran; Stanslas, Johnson; Abdul Kadir, Mihdzar

    2013-01-01

    The present paper focused on antioxidant and cytotoxicity assessment of crude and total saponin fraction of Chlorophytum borivilianum as an important medicinal plant. In this study, three different antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH), ferrous ion chelating (FIC), and β-carotene bleaching (BCB) activity) of crude extract and total saponin fraction of C. borivilianum tubers were performed. Crude extract was found to possess higher free radical scavenging activity (ascorbic acid equivalents 2578 ± 111 mg AA/100 g) and bleaching activity (IC50 = 0.7 mg mL−1), while total saponin fraction displayed higher ferrous ion chelating (EC50 = 1 mg mL−1). Cytotoxicity evaluation of crude extract and total saponin fraction against MCF-7, PC3, and HCT-116 cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay indicated a higher cytotoxicity activity of the crude extract than the total saponin fraction on all cell lines, being most effective and selective on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. PMID:24223502

  17. Malic acid production by chemically induced Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant from crude glycerol.

    PubMed

    Iyyappan, J; Bharathiraja, B; Baskar, G; Jayamuthunagai, J; Barathkumar, S; Anna Shiny, R

    2018-03-01

    In the present investigation, crude glycerol derived from transesterification process was utilized to produce the commercially-valuable malic acid. A combined resistant on methanol and malic acid strain of Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant was generated in solid medium containing methanol (1-5%) and malic acid (40-80 g/L) by the adaptation process for 22 weeks. The ability of induced Aspergillus niger MTCC 281 mutant to utilize crude glycerol and pure glycerol to produce malic acid was studied. The yield of malic acid was increased with 4.45 folds compared with that of parent strain from crude glycerol. The highest concentration of malic acid from crude glycerol by using beneficial mutant was found to be 77.38 ± 0.51 g/L after 192 h at 25 °C. This present study specified that crude glycerol by-product from biodiesel production could be used for producing high amount of malic acid without any pretreatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lord, David; Luketa, Anay; Wocken, Chad

    2015-03-01

    Several fiery rail accidents in 2013-2015 in the U.S. and Canada carrying crude oil produced from the Bakken region of North Dakota have raised questions at many levels on the safety of transporting this, and other types of crude oil, by rail. Sandia National Laboratories was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the material properties of crude oils, and in particular the so-called "tight oils" like Bakken that comprise the majority of crude oil rail shipments in the U.S. at the current time. The current report is a literature survey of public sources of information on crudemore » oil properties that have some bearing on the likelihood or severity of combustion events that may occur around spills associated with rail transport. The report also contains background information including a review of the notional "tight oil" field operating environment, as well a basic description of crude oils and potential combustion events in rail transport. This page intentionally blank« less

  19. Phytoremediation of crude oil contaminated soil using nut grass, Cyperus rotundus.

    PubMed

    Basumatary, Budhadev; Saikia, Rubul; Bordoloi, Sabitry

    2012-09-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Cyperus rotundus (nut grass), that could be effective in phytoremediation of crude oil contaminated soil. A net house experiment was conducted with different concentrations (2.05, 4.08, 6.1, 8.15 and 10.2%) of crude oil-contaminated soil for 180 days. Plant growth, biomass, total oil and grease (TOG) degradation and microbial numbers were analyzed at different intervals i.e. 60,120 and 180 days in different percentages of crude oil contaminated soil. In presence of crude oil, plant biomass and heights reduced up to 26 and 21.9% respectively. Concerning TOG content in soil, C. rotundus could decrease up to 50.01, 46.1, 42.6, 38.8 and 32.6% in treatment I, II, III, IV and V respectively in vegetated pots during 180 days. In case of unvegetated pots, the reductions of TOG were 4.4, 5.6, 6.6, 7.6 and 9.6% in treatment A, B, C, D and E respectively. However, there was significant degradation (P = 0.05) of TOG in vegetated pots in comparison to unvegetated pots thereby proving the efficacy of this plant species for use in phytoremediation.

  20. Treatment of crude oil-contaminated water with chemically modified natural fiber

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onwuka, Jude Chinedu; Agbaji, Edith Bolanle; Ajibola, Victor Olatunji; Okibe, Friday Godwin

    2018-06-01

    The dependence of Nigerian Government on foreign technology for oil spill cleanup in its water bodies does not add local content value in the development of the Nation's economy. Acetylation of natural cellulose gives a material with high sorption capacity for oil in water. This research investigates crude oil sorption from water using acetylated and unacetylated lignocellulose. Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and cocoa pod (CP) were acetylated under mild conditions. The acetylated (modified) and unacetylated (unmodified) sorbents were used to sorb oil from water, and their sorption capacities and mechanisms were compared. Paired t test showed there was significant difference in the sorption capacities of modified and unmodified sorbents. Sorption of oil from water was found to be time and concentration dependent. Equilibrium studies showed that CP has higher sorption capacity than OPEFB and acetylation enhanced the crude sorption capacities of the sorbents. Crude oil sorption from water is a monolayer process that might have progressed from multilayer processes. Kinetic studies showed that sorption of crude oil by the sorbents was diffusion-controlled with the aid of physisorption and chemisorption mechanisms. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscope analyses showed clear evidence of successful acetylation and oil sorption.

  1. Inhibition of acetoclastic methanogenesis in crude oil- and creosote-contaminated groundwater

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Warren, E.; Bekins, B.A.; Godsy, E.M.; Smith, V.K.

    2004-01-01

    Results from a series of studies of methanogenic processes in crude oil- and creosote-contaminated aquifers indicated that acetoctastic methanogenesis is inhibited near non-aqueous sources. Acetoclastic methanogenesis was more susceptible to the toxic inhibition of crude oil and creosote than either hydrogen- or formate-utilizing methanogenesis. The effect of this toxic inhibition was apparent in the population of the methanogenic trophic groups near nonaqueous crude oil at the Bemidji, MN, site. At that site, acetoclastic methanogens were < 2/g within or near the oil where hydrogen- and formate-utilizing methanogens were 10-100/g. The geochemical effect of this toxic inhibition was the buildup of low molecular weight volatile acids, particularly acetate. Wastewater reactor studies indicated that this toxicity will result in a decrease in the biodegradation rate of contaminants at sites where toxic compounds are present.

  2. 15 CFR 754.2 - Crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower, at an average volume not to exceed 25 MB/D, will be authorized as... that the California heavy crude oil: (i) Has a gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower; (ii) Was produced... least 2,000 meters water depth). Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the captain only in order...

  3. 15 CFR 754.2 - Crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower, at an average volume not to exceed 25 MB/D, will be authorized as... that the California heavy crude oil: (i) Has a gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower; (ii) Was produced... least 2,000 meters water depth). Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the captain only in order...

  4. 15 CFR 754.2 - Crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower, at an average volume not to exceed 25 MB/D, will be authorized as... that the California heavy crude oil: (i) Has a gravity of 20.0 degrees API or lower; (ii) Was produced... least 2,000 meters water depth). Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the captain only in order...

  5. Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus by crude and fractionated extract from lactic acid bacteria.

    PubMed

    Wong, C-B; Khoo, B-Y; Sasidharan, S; Piyawattanametha, W; Kim, S H; Khemthongcharoen, N; Ang, M-Y; Chuah, L-O; Liong, M-T

    2015-03-01

    Increasing levels of antibiotic resistance by Staphylococcus aureus have posed a need to search for non-antibiotic alternatives. This study aimed to assess the inhibitory effects of crude and fractionated cell-free supernatants (CFS) of locally isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) against a clinical strain of S. aureus. A total of 42 LAB strains were isolated and identified from fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and fermented products prior to evaluation of inhibitory activities. CFS of LAB strains exhibiting a stronger inhibitive effect against S. aureus were fractionated into crude protein, polysaccharide and lipid fractions. Crude protein fractions showed greater inhibition against S. aureus compared to polysaccharide and lipid fractions, with a more prevalent effect from Lactobacillus plantarum 8513 and L. plantarum BT8513. Crude protein, polysaccharide and lipid fractions were also characterised with glycine, mannose and oleic acid being detected as the major component of each fraction, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed roughed and wrinkled membrane morphology of S. aureus upon treatment with crude protein fractions of LAB, suggesting an inhibitory effect via the destruction of cellular membrane. This research illustrated the potential application of fractionated extracts from LAB to inhibit S. aureus for use in the food and health industry.

  6. Rapid ABO genotyping by high-speed droplet allele-specific PCR using crude samples.

    PubMed

    Taira, Chiaki; Matsuda, Kazuyuki; Takeichi, Naoya; Furukawa, Satomi; Sugano, Mitsutoshi; Uehara, Takeshi; Okumura, Nobuo; Honda, Takayuki

    2018-01-01

    ABO genotyping has common tools for personal identification of forensic and transplantation field. We developed a new method based on a droplet allele-specific PCR (droplet-AS-PCR) that enabled rapid PCR amplification. We attempted rapid ABO genotyping using crude DNA isolated from dried blood and buccal cells. We designed allele-specific primers for three SNPs (at nucleotides 261, 526, and 803) in exons 6 and 7 of the ABO gene. We pretreated dried blood and buccal cells with proteinase K, and obtained crude DNAs without DNA purification. Droplet-AS-PCR allowed specific amplification of the SNPs at the three loci using crude DNA, with results similar to those for DNA extracted from fresh peripheral blood. The sensitivity of the methods was 5%-10%. The genotyping of extracted DNA and crude DNA were completed within 8 and 9 minutes, respectively. The genotypes determined by the droplet-AS-PCR method were always consistent with those obtained by direct sequencing. The droplet-AS-PCR method enabled rapid and specific amplification of three SNPs of the ABO gene from crude DNA treated with proteinase K. ABO genotyping by the droplet-AS-PCR has the potential to be applied to various fields including a forensic medicine and transplantation medical care. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Enrichment and isolation of crude oil degrading bacteria from some mussels collected from the Persian Gulf.

    PubMed

    Bayat, Zeynab; Hassanshahian, Mehdi; Hesni, Majid Askari

    2015-12-15

    To date, little is known about existing relationships between mussels and bacteria in hydrocarbon-contaminated marine environments. The aim of this study is to find crude oil degrading bacteria in some mussels at the Persian Gulf. Twenty eight crude oil degrading bacteria were isolated from three mussels species collected from oil contaminated area at Persian Gulf. According to high growth and degradation of crude oil four strains were selected between 28 isolated strains for more study. Determination the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding for 16S rRNA show that these isolated strains belong to: Shewanella algae isolate BHA1, Micrococcus luteus isolate BHA7, Pseudoalteromonas sp. isolate BHA8 and Shewanella haliotis isolate BHA35. The residual crude oil in culture medium was analysis by Gas Chromatography (GC). The results confirmed that these strains can degrade: 47.24%, 66.08%, 27.13% and 69.17% of crude oil respectively. These strains had high emulsification activity and biosurfactant production. Also, the effects of some factors on crude oil degradation by isolated strains were studied. The results show that the optimum concentration of crude oil was 2.5% and the best degradation take place at 12% of salinity. This research is the first reports on characterization of crude oil degrading bacteria from mussels at Persian Gulf and by using of these bacteria in the field the effect of oil pollution can be reduce on this marine environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The Effect Of Additional Detergent In Crude Palm Oil In The Process Of Separation Stearin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rezekyah Hasibuan, Vina; aini, Nur; Febriyanti; Ayubi Pane, Salahudin Al

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to find out how much stearin is formed from the addition of detergent and to understand the process of separation of crude olein with crude stearin from raw material of crude palm oil (CPO). Using a detergent fractionation system, detergent fractionation is a continuous crystallization of oil with controlled cooling and the separation of fractions by weight or centrifuge after supplementing surfactant.

  9. Interactions between Zooplankton and Crude Oil: Toxic Effects and Bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

    PubMed Central

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Wambaugh, Zoe; Wang, Zucheng; Hyatt, Cammie; Liu, Zhanfei; Buskey, Edward J.

    2013-01-01

    We conducted ship-, shore- and laboratory-based crude oil exposure experiments to investigate (1) the effects of crude oil (Louisiana light sweet oil) on survival and bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mesozooplankton communities, (2) the lethal effects of dispersant (Corexit 9500A) and dispersant-treated oil on mesozooplankton, (3) the influence of UVB radiation/sunlight exposure on the toxicity of dispersed crude oil to mesozooplankton, and (4) the role of marine protozoans on the sublethal effects of crude oil and in the bioaccumulation of PAHs in the copepod Acartia tonsa. Mortality of mesozooplankton increased with increasing oil concentration following a sigmoid model with a median lethal concentration of 32.4 µl L−1 in 16 h. At the ratio of dispersant to oil commonly used in the treatment of oil spills (i.e. 1∶20), dispersant (0.25 µl L−1) and dispersant- treated oil were 2.3 and 3.4 times more toxic, respectively, than crude oil alone (5 µl L−1) to mesozooplankton. UVB radiation increased the lethal effects of dispersed crude oil in mesozooplankton communities by 35%. We observed selective bioaccumulation of five PAHs, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene and benzo[b]fluoranthene in both mesozooplankton communities and in the copepod A. tonsa. The presence of the protozoan Oxyrrhis marina reduced sublethal effects of oil on A. tonsa and was related to lower accumulations of PAHs in tissues and fecal pellets, suggesting that protozoa may be important in mitigating the harmful effects of crude oil exposure in copepods and the transfer of PAHs to higher trophic levels. Overall, our results indicate that the negative impact of oil spills on mesozooplankton may be increased by the use of chemical dispersant and UV radiation, but attenuated by crude oil-microbial food webs interactions, and that both mesozooplankton and protozoans may play an important role in fate of PAHs in marine environments. PMID:23840628

  10. AAV-mediated Gene Therapy Halts Retinal Degeneration in PDE6β-deficient Dogs

    PubMed Central

    Pichard, Virginie; Provost, Nathalie; Mendes-Madeira, Alexandra; Libeau, Lyse; Hulin, Philippe; Tshilenge, Kizito-Tshitoko; Biget, Marine; Ameline, Baptiste; Deschamps, Jack-Yves; Weber, Michel; Le Meur, Guylène; Colle, Marie-Anne; Moullier, Philippe; Rolling, Fabienne

    2016-01-01

    We previously reported that subretinal injection of AAV2/5 RK.cpde6β allowed long-term preservation of photoreceptor function and vision in the rod-cone dysplasia type 1 (rcd1) dog, a large animal model of naturally occurring PDE6β deficiency. The present study builds on these earlier findings to provide a detailed assessment of the long-term effects of gene therapy on the spatiotemporal pattern of retinal degeneration in rcd1 dogs treated at 20 days of age. We analyzed the density distribution of the retinal layers and of particular photoreceptor cells in 3.5-year-old treated and untreated rcd1 dogs. Whereas no rods were observed outside the bleb or in untreated eyes, gene transfer halted rod degeneration in all vector-exposed regions. Moreover, while gene therapy resulted in the preservation of cones, glial cells and both the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layers, no cells remained in vector-unexposed retinas, except in the visual streak. Finally, the retinal structure of treated 3.5-year-old rcd1 dogs was identical to that of unaffected 4-month-old rcd1 dogs, indicating near complete preservation. Our findings indicate that gene therapy arrests the degenerative process even if intervention is initiated after the onset of photoreceptor degeneration, and point to significant potential of this therapeutic approach in future clinical trials. PMID:26857842

  11. AAV-mediated Gene Therapy Halts Retinal Degeneration in PDE6β-deficient Dogs.

    PubMed

    Pichard, Virginie; Provost, Nathalie; Mendes-Madeira, Alexandra; Libeau, Lyse; Hulin, Philippe; Tshilenge, Kizito-Tshitoko; Biget, Marine; Ameline, Baptiste; Deschamps, Jack-Yves; Weber, Michel; Le Meur, Guylène; Colle, Marie-Anne; Moullier, Philippe; Rolling, Fabienne

    2016-05-01

    We previously reported that subretinal injection of AAV2/5 RK.cpde6β allowed long-term preservation of photoreceptor function and vision in the rod-cone dysplasia type 1 (rcd1) dog, a large animal model of naturally occurring PDE6β deficiency. The present study builds on these earlier findings to provide a detailed assessment of the long-term effects of gene therapy on the spatiotemporal pattern of retinal degeneration in rcd1 dogs treated at 20 days of age. We analyzed the density distribution of the retinal layers and of particular photoreceptor cells in 3.5-year-old treated and untreated rcd1 dogs. Whereas no rods were observed outside the bleb or in untreated eyes, gene transfer halted rod degeneration in all vector-exposed regions. Moreover, while gene therapy resulted in the preservation of cones, glial cells and both the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layers, no cells remained in vector-unexposed retinas, except in the visual streak. Finally, the retinal structure of treated 3.5-year-old rcd1 dogs was identical to that of unaffected 4-month-old rcd1 dogs, indicating near complete preservation. Our findings indicate that gene therapy arrests the degenerative process even if intervention is initiated after the onset of photoreceptor degeneration, and point to significant potential of this therapeutic approach in future clinical trials.

  12. Novel insight into the role of heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the fate of crude oil in the sea.

    PubMed

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Connelly, Tara L; Buskey, Edward J

    2014-12-19

    Although planktonic protozoans are likely to interact with dispersed crude oil after a spill, protozoan-mediated processes affecting crude oil pollution in the sea are still not well known. Here, we present the first evidence of ingestion and defecation of physically or chemically dispersed crude oil droplets (1-86 μm in diameter) by heterotrophic dinoflagellates, major components of marine planktonic food webs. At a crude oil concentration commonly found after an oil spill (1 μL L(-1)), the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans and Gyrodinium spirale grew and ingested ~0.37 μg-oil μg-C(dino)(-1) d(-1), which could represent ~17% to 100% of dispersed oil in surface waters when heterotrophic dinoflagellates are abundant or bloom. Egestion of faecal pellets containing crude oil by heterotrophic dinoflagellates could contribute to the sinking and flux of toxic petroleum hydrocarbons in coastal waters. Our study indicates that crude oil ingestion by heterotrophic dinoflagellates is a noteworthy route by which petroleum enters marine food webs and a previously overlooked biological process influencing the fate of crude oil in the sea after spills.

  13. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of synthetic and crude-derived jet fuels.

    PubMed

    van der Westhuizen, Rina; Ajam, Mariam; De Coning, Piet; Beens, Jan; de Villiers, André; Sandra, Pat

    2011-07-15

    Fully synthetic jet fuel (FSJF) produced via Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology was recently approved by the international aviation fuel authorities. To receive approval, comparison of FSJF and crude-derived fuel and blends on their qualitative and quantitative hydrocarbon composition was of utmost importance. This was performed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) in the reversed phase mode. The hydrocarbon composition of synthetic and crude-derived jet fuels is very similar and all compounds detected in the synthetic product are also present in crude-derived fuels. Quantitatively, the synthetic fuel consists of a higher degree of aliphatic branching with less than half the aromatic content of the crude-derived fuel. GC×GC analyses also indicated the presence of trace levels of hetero-atomic impurities in the crude-derived product that were absent in the synthetic product. While clay-treatment removed some of the impurities and improved the fuel stability, the crude-derived product still contained traces of cyclic and aromatic S-containing compounds afterwards. Lower level of aromatics and the absence of sulphur are some of the factors that contribute to the better fuel stability and environmental properties of the synthetic fuel. GC×GC was further applied for the analysis of products during Jet Fuel Thermal Oxidation Testing (JFTOT), which measures deposit formation of a fuel under simulated engine conditions. JFTOT showed the synthetic fuel to be much more stable than the crude-derived fuel. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Reduction of benzene and naphthalene mass transfer from crude oils by aging-induced interfacial films.

    PubMed

    Ghoshal, Subhasis; Pasion, Catherine; Alshafie, Mohammed

    2004-04-01

    Semi-rigid films or skins form at the interface of crude oil and water as a result of the accumulation of asphaltene and resin fractions when the water-immiscible crude oil is contacted with water for a period of time or "aged". The time varying patterns of area-independent mass transfer coefficients of two compounds, benzene and naphthalene, for dissolution from crude oil and gasoline were determined. Aqueous concentrations of the compounds were measured in the eluent from flow-through reactors, where a nondispersed oil phase and constant oil-water interfacial area were maintained. For Brent Blend crude oil and for gasoline amended with asphaltenes and resins, a rapid decrease in both benzene and naphthalene mass transfer coefficients over the first few days of aging was observed. The mass transfer coefficients of the two target solutes were reduced by up to 80% over 35 d although the equilibrium partition coefficients were unchanged. Aging of gasoline, which has negligible amounts of asphaltene and resin, did not result in a change in the solute mass transfer coefficients. The study demonstrates that formation of crude oil-water interfacial films comprised of asphaltenes and resins contribute to time-dependent decreases in rates of release of environmentally relevant solutes from crude oils and may contribute to the persistence of such solutes at crude oil-contaminated sites. It is estimated that the interfacial film has an extremely low film mass transfer coefficient in the range of 10(-6) cm/min.

  15. 33 CFR 157.10 - Segregated ballast tanks and crude oil washing systems for certain new vessels.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... MARINE ENVIRONMENT RELATING TO TANK VESSELS CARRYING OIL IN BULK Design, Equipment, and Installation § 157.10 Segregated ballast tanks and crude oil washing systems for certain new vessels. (a) This...) Each tank vessel under this section of 20,000 DWT or more that carries crude oil must have a crude oil...

  16. Influence of UVB radiation on the lethal and sublethal toxicity of dispersed crude oil to planktonic copepod nauplii.

    PubMed

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Harvey, Tracy E; Connelly, Tara L; Baca, Sarah; Buskey, Edward J

    2016-06-01

    Toxic effects of petroleum to marine zooplankton have been generally investigated using dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons and in the absence of sunlight. In this study, we determined the influence of natural ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation on the lethal and sublethal toxicity of dispersed crude oil to naupliar stages of the planktonic copepods Acartia tonsa, Temora turbinata and Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus. Low concentrations of dispersed crude oil (1 μL L(-1)) caused a significant reduction in survival, growth and swimming activity of copepod nauplii after 48 h of exposure. UVB radiation increased toxicity of dispersed crude oil by 1.3-3.8 times, depending on the experiment and measured variables. Ingestion of crude oil droplets may increase photoenhanced toxicity of crude oil to copepod nauplii by enhancing photosensitization. Photoenhanced sublethal toxicity was significantly higher when T. turbinata nauplii were exposed to dispersant-treated oil than crude oil alone, suggesting that chemical dispersion of crude oil may promote photoenhanced toxicity to marine zooplankton. Our results demonstrate that acute exposure to concentrations of dispersed crude oil and dispersant (Corexit 9500) commonly found in the sea after oil spills are highly toxic to copepod nauplii and that natural levels of UVB radiation substantially increase the toxicity of crude oil to these planktonic organisms. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of considering sunlight in petroleum toxicological studies and models to better estimate the impact of crude oil spills on marine zooplankton. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. CRUDE OIL BIOREMEDIATION: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (PRESENTATION)

    EPA Science Inventory

    This is a state-of-the-art extended abstract presentation summary of the outputs from the oil spill program over the last 11 years. It summarizes the results of 3 field studies involving intentional releases of crude oil: the Delaware study in 1994 (sandy beach), the St. Lawrence...

  18. Growth enhancement of effective microorganisms for bioremediation of crude oil contaminated waters.

    PubMed

    Mukred, Abdualdaim Mohammed; Abd-Hamid, Aidil; Hamzah, Ainon; Yusoff, Wan Mohtar Wan

    2008-07-01

    The bioremediation of polluted groundwater, wastewater aeration pond and biopond sites was investigated using bacteria isolated from these sites located at the oil refinery Terengganu Malaysia. Out of 62 isolates, only 16 isolates from groundwater (8) and wastewater aeration pond (3) and biopond (5) were chosen based on growth medium containing 1% (v/v) Tapis crude oil. Only four isolates; Acinetobacter faecalis, Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas putida and Neisseria elongata showed percentage biodegradation of crude oil more than 50% after 5 days using Mineral Salts Medium (MSM). The effect of physical parameters (temperature, pH and agitation) on growth by all four strains showed a maximum growth in MSM medium with 1% Tapis crude oil at 37 degrees C with pH 7 and agitation of 130 rpm.

  19. Modeling of crude oil biodegradation using two phase partitioning bioreactor.

    PubMed

    Fakhru'l-Razi, A; Peyda, Mazyar; Ab Karim Ghani, Wan Azlina Wan; Abidin, Zurina Zainal; Zakaria, Mohamad Pauzi; Moeini, Hassan

    2014-01-01

    In this work, crude oil biodegradation has been optimized in a solid-liquid two phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) by applying a response surface methodology based d-optimal design. Three key factors including phase ratio, substrate concentration in solid organic phase, and sodium chloride concentration in aqueous phase were taken as independent variables, while the efficiency of the biodegradation of absorbed crude oil on polymer beads was considered to be the dependent variable. Commercial thermoplastic polyurethane (Desmopan®) was used as the solid phase in the TPPB. The designed experiments were carried out batch wise using a mixed acclimatized bacterial consortium. Optimum combinations of key factors with a statistically significant cubic model were used to maximize biodegradation in the TPPB. The validity of the model was successfully verified by the good agreement between the model-predicted and experimental results. When applying the optimum parameters, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed a significant reduction in n-alkanes and low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This consequently highlights the practical applicability of TPPB in crude oil biodegradation. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  20. Highly-efficient enzymatic conversion of crude algal oils into biodiesel.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yao; Liu, Jin; Gerken, Henri; Zhang, Chengwu; Hu, Qiang; Li, Yantao

    2014-11-01

    Energy-intensive chemical conversion of crude algal oils into biodiesel is a major barrier for cost-effective algal biofuel production. To overcome this problem, we developed an enzyme-based platform for conversion of crude algal oils into fatty acid methyl esters. Crude algal oils were extracted from the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 and converted by an immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica. The effects of different acyl acceptors, t-butanol as a co-solvent, oil to t-butanol ratio, oil to methanol ratio, temperature and reaction time on biodiesel conversion efficiency were studied. The conversion efficiency reached 99.1% when the conversion conditions were optimized, i.e., an oil to t-butanol weight ratio of 1:1, an oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:12, and a reaction time of 4h at 25°C. The enzymatic conversion process developed in this study may hold a promise for low energy consumption, low wastewater-discharge biochemical conversion of algal feedstocks into biofuels. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Tolerance of adult mallards to subacute ingestion of crude petroleum oil

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rattner, B.A.

    1981-01-01

    Adult male mallards were fed untreated mash or mash containing 1.5% Prudhoe Bay crude oil for 7 days ad lib. During the initial 24 h of exposure to crude petroleum oil, ducks consumed less mash (P less than 0.05) and lost approx. 3.5% of their initial body weight (P less than 0.05), however, neither intake nor body weight differ between groups on days 2-7. Plasma samples collected between 09.00 and 10.00 h on days 0, 1, 3, or 7 indicated that corticosterone, glucose, thyroxine, total protein, and uric acid concentrations, and the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) were not affected by treatment. These findings suggest that adult mallards may be able to tolerate large quantities of crude petroleum oil mixed in their diet (approx. 25 ml over a 7-day period) without overt or biochemical indications of distress.

  2. Inhibition of hepatitis B virus gene expression & replication by crude destruxins from Metarhizium anisopliae var. dcjhyium

    PubMed Central

    Dong, Cong; Yu, Jiuru; Zhu, Ying; Dong, Changjin

    2013-01-01

    Background & objectives: Destruxin A, destruxin B and destruxin E isolated from entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae showed a strong suppressive effect on the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in human hepatoma cells. In this study, the anti-HBV effects of the crude destruxins extracted from M. anisopliae var. dcjhyium were detected both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: HepG2.2.15 cells were cultured to observe the inhibitory effects of the crude destruxins on the gene expression and replication of HBV by radioimmunoassay detection and real-time quantitative PCR. In vivo, duck HBV (DHBV)-infected ducks were treated with the crude destruxins at 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 μg/kg once a day for 15 days, DHBV DNA was examined by real-time quantitative PCR. Results: The crude destruxins suppressed the replication of HBV-DNA and the production of HBsAg and HBeAg with IC50 of about 1.2 and 1.4 μg/ml. Transcript of viral mRNA was significantly suppressed by the crude destruxins in HepG2.2.15 cells. In vivo, the duck serum DHBV-DNA levels were markedly reduced in the group of the crude destruxins. Interpretation & conclusions: The crude destruxins inhibited the gene expression and replication of HBV both in vitro and in vivo, and their anti-HBV effect was stronger than that with destruxin B. Our results indicate that the crude destruxins from M.anisopliae var. dcjhyium may be potential antivirus agents. Further studies need to be done to confirm these findings. PMID:24521644

  3. Life cycle water demand coefficients for crude oil production from five North American locations.

    PubMed

    Ali, Babkir; Kumar, Amit

    2017-10-15

    The production of liquid fuels from crude oil requires water. There has been limited focus on the assessment of life cycle water demand footprints for crude oil production and refining. The overall aim of this paper is address this gap. The objective of this research is to develop water demand coefficients over the life cycle of fuels produced from crude oil pathways. Five crude oil fields were selected in the three North American countries to reflect the impact of different spatial locations and technologies on water demand. These include the Alaska North Slope, California's Kern County heavy oil, and Mars in the U.S.; Maya in Mexico; and Bow River heavy oil in Alberta, Canada. A boundary for an assessment of the life cycle water footprint was set to cover the unit operations related to exploration, drilling, extraction, and refining. The recovery technology used to extract crude oil is one of the key determining factors for water demand. The amount of produced water that is re-injected to recover the oil is essential in determining the amount of fresh water that will be required. During the complete life cycle of one barrel of conventional crude oil, 1.71-8.25 barrels of fresh water are consumed and 2.4-9.51 barrels of fresh water are withdrawn. The lowest coefficients are for Bow River heavy oil and the highest coefficients are for Maya crude oil. Of all the unit operations, exploration and drilling require the least fresh water (less than 0.015 barrel of water per barrel of oil produced). A sensitivity analysis was conducted and uncertainty in the estimates was determined. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Volatility spillover between crude oil and exchange rate: A copula-CARR approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pu, Y. J.; Guo, M. Y.

    2017-11-01

    Oil provides a powerful impetus for modern society's production and life. The influences of oil price fluctuations on socio-economic development are obvious, and it draws more attention from scholars. However, the distribution of oil is highly centralized, which leads to the vast majority of oil trading through foreign trade. As a result, exchange rate plays an important role in the oil business. Study on the relationship between exchange rate and crude oil gradually becomes a hot research topic in recent years. In this paper, we use copula and CARR model to study correlation structure and relationship between crude oil price and exchange rate. We establish CARR models as marginal models and use five copulas which are Gaussian Copula, Student-t Copula, Gumbel Copula, Clayton Copula and Frank Copula to study the correlation structure between NYMEX crude oil price range and U. S. Dollar Index range. Furthermore, we use Copula-CARR model with structural breaks to detect the change points in the correlation structure between NYMEX crude oil price range and U. S. Dollar Index range. Empirical results show that the change points are closely related to the actual economic events.

  5. Effect of crude glycerol-derived inhibitors on ethanol production by Enterobacter aerogenes.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sang Jun; Kim, Sung Bong; Kang, Seong Woo; Han, Sung Ok; Park, Chulhwan; Kim, Seung Wook

    2012-01-01

    In this study, ethanol production from pure and crude glycerol using Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC 29007 was evaluated under anaerobic culture conditions. Inhibitory effects of substrate concentrations, pH, and salt concentrations were investigated based on crude glycerol components. Ethanol production was performed with pure glycerol concentrations ranging from 5 to 30 g/L to evaluate the effects of substrate concentration and osmotic pressure. The consumed glycerol was 5-14.33 g/L, and the yield of ethanol was higher than 0.75 mol ethanol/mol glycerol after 24 h of cultivation. To evaluate the inhibitory effects of salts (NaCl and KCl), experiments were performed with 0-20 g/L of each salt. Inhibitory effects of salts were strongest at high salt concentrations. The inhibitory effect of pH was performed in the pH range 4-10, and cell growth and ethanol production were highest at pH 5-6. Also, ethanol production was slightly inhibited at low concentration of crude glycerol comparison with pure glycerol. However, significant inhibitory effects were not observed at 1.5 and 2% crude glycerol which showed higher ethanol production compared to pure glycerol.

  6. Multifractal analysis on international crude oil markets based on the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gu, Rongbao; Chen, Hongtao; Wang, Yudong

    2010-07-01

    The multifractal nature of WTI and Brent crude oil markets is studied employing the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. We find that two crude oil markets become more and more efficient for long-term and two Gulf Wars cannot change time scale behavior of crude oil return series. Considering long-term influence caused by Gulf Wars, we find such “turning windows” in generalized Hurst exponents obtained from three periods divided by two Gulf Wars so that WTI and Brent crude oil returns possess different properties above and below the windows respectively. Comparing with the results obtained from three periods we conclude that, before the First Gulf War, international crude oil markets possessed the highest multifractality degree, small-scope fluctuations presented the strongest persistence and large-scope fluctuations presented the strongest anti-persistence. We find that, for two Gulf Wars, the first one made a greater impact on international oil markets; for two markets, Brent was more influenced by Gulf Wars. In addition, we also verified that the multifractal structures of two markets’ indices are not only mainly attributed to the broad fat-tail distributions and persistence, but also affected by some other factors.

  7. Phototoxic potential of undispersed and dispersed fresh and weathered Macondo crude oils to Gulf of Mexico Marine Organisms.

    PubMed

    Finch, Bryson E; Marzooghi, Solmaz; Di Toro, Dominic M; Stubblefield, William A

    2017-10-01

    Crude oils contain a mixture of hydrocarbons, including phototoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that have the ability to absorb ultraviolet (UV) light. Absorption of UV light by PAHs can substantially increase their toxicity to marine organisms. The objective of the present study was to examine the potential for phototoxicity of fresh and naturally weathered Macondo crude oils alone and in combination with the dispersant Corexit 9500 to mysid shrimp (Americamysis bahia), inland silverside (Menidia beryllina), sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus), and Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis). Acute toxicity tests were conducted using combinations of natural or artificial sunlight and low-energy water-accommodated fractions (WAFs) of fresh and weathered Macondo crude oils collected from the Gulf of Mexico. Studies were also conducted to compare the phototoxicity resulting from natural and artificial sunlight. Fresh Macondo crude oil was more phototoxic than weathered crude oils, both in the presence and in the absence of UV light. Differences in toxicity between fresh and weathered crude oils were likely attributed to lighter-ringed PAHs in fresh crude oils. Phototoxic PAHs were relatively resistant to weathering compared with lighter-ringed PAHs. The addition of Corexit 9500 to crude oil increased toxicity compared with tests with crude oil alone, by increasing phototoxic PAH concentrations in WAFs. Macondo crude oils had the potential to be phototoxic to Gulf of Mexico marine organisms if specific light conditions and PAH concentrations were present during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2640-2650. © 2017 SETAC. © 2017 SETAC.

  8. Novel insight into the role of heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the fate of crude oil in the sea

    PubMed Central

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Connelly, Tara L.; Buskey, Edward J.

    2014-01-01

    Although planktonic protozoans are likely to interact with dispersed crude oil after a spill, protozoan-mediated processes affecting crude oil pollution in the sea are still not well known. Here, we present the first evidence of ingestion and defecation of physically or chemically dispersed crude oil droplets (1–86 μm in diameter) by heterotrophic dinoflagellates, major components of marine planktonic food webs. At a crude oil concentration commonly found after an oil spill (1 μL L−1), the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans and Gyrodinium spirale grew and ingested ~0.37 μg-oil μg-Cdino−1 d−1, which could represent ~17% to 100% of dispersed oil in surface waters when heterotrophic dinoflagellates are abundant or bloom. Egestion of faecal pellets containing crude oil by heterotrophic dinoflagellates could contribute to the sinking and flux of toxic petroleum hydrocarbons in coastal waters. Our study indicates that crude oil ingestion by heterotrophic dinoflagellates is a noteworthy route by which petroleum enters marine food webs and a previously overlooked biological process influencing the fate of crude oil in the sea after spills. PMID:25523528

  9. Distribution and Recovery of Crude Oil in Various Types of Porous Media and Heterogeneity Configurations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tick, G. R.; Ghosh, J.; Greenberg, R. R.; Akyol, N. H.

    2015-12-01

    A series of pore-scale experiments were conducted to understand the interfacial processes contributing to the removal of crude oil from various porous media during surfactant-induced remediation. Effects of physical heterogeneity (i.e. media uniformity) and carbonate soil content on oil recovery and distribution were evaluated through pore scale quantification techniques. Additionally, experiments were conducted to evaluate impacts of tetrachloroethene (PCE) content on crude oil distribution and recovery under these same conditions. Synchrotron X-ray microtomography (SXM) was used to obtain high-resolution images of the two-fluid-phase oil/water system, and quantify temporal changes in oil blob distribution, blob morphology, and blob surface area before and after sequential surfactant flooding events. The reduction of interfacial tension in conjunction with the sufficient increase in viscous forces as a result of surfactant flushing was likely responsible for mobilization and recovery of lighter fractions of crude oil. Corresponding increases in viscous forces were insufficient to initiate and maintain the displacement of the heavy crude oil in more homogeneous porous media systems during surfactant flushing. Interestingly, higher relative recoveries of heavy oil fractions were observed within more heterogeneous porous media indicating that wettability may be responsible for controlling mobilization in these systems. Compared to the "pure" crude oil experiments, preliminary results show that crude oil with PCE produced variability in oil distribution and recovery before and after each surfactant-flooding event. Such effects were likely influenced by viscosity and interfacial tension modifications associated with the crude-oil/solvent mixed systems.

  10. Effect of dietary crude glycerol level on ruminal fermentation in continuous culture and growth performance of beef calves.

    PubMed

    Ramos, M H; Kerley, M S

    2012-03-01

    Continuous culture and in vivo experiments were conducted to measure changes in ruminal fermentation and animal performance when crude glycerol was added to diets. For the continuous culture experiment (n = 6), diets consisted of 4 levels of crude glycerol (0, 5, 10, and 20%) that replaced corn grain. Dry matter and OM digestibility decreased linearly (P < 0.05) when crude glycerol increased in the diet, and no effect (P = 0.20 and 0.65, respectively) was observed for CP and NDF digestibility. Total VFA concentration and ammonia did not change (P > 0.05) due to crude glycerol level. Microbial efficiency increased quadratically (P = 0.012) as crude glycerol increased, whereas microbial N flow did not differ (P = 0.36) among treatments. As crude glycerol increased in the diet, crude glycerol digestibility decreased (P < 0.05). Seventy-two crossbred steer calves (250 ± 2.0 kg) were assigned to 4 treatments: 0, 5, 10, and 20% crude glycerol that replaced corn grain. Animals were fed for a total of 150 d. No differences (P = 0.08) between treatments were measured for DMI. Average daily gain and GF responded quadratically (P < 0.05), with 10% crude glycerol resulting in the greatest values. In the second in vivo experiment, 100 crossbred steer calves (300 ± 2.0 kg) were assigned to 5 treatments: 0, 5, 10, 12.5, or 15% crude glycerol replaced corn grain. Calves were fed for a total of 135 d. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were measured in growth performance. For Exp. 3, one hundred heifer calves (270 ± 2.0 kg) were assigned to 4 treatments: 0, 5, 10, or 20% crude glycerol that replaced hay. No differences (P > 0.05) were measured in animal performance. We concluded that crude glycerol addition to a diet did not negatively affect ruminal fermentation, and addition of up to 20% in concentrate and hay-based diets should not affect performance or carcass characteristics.

  11. Biocatalytic desulfurization of thiophenic compounds and crude oil by newly isolated bacteria

    PubMed Central

    Mohamed, Magdy El-Said; Al-Yacoub, Zakariya H.; Vedakumar, John V.

    2015-01-01

    Microorganisms possess enormous highly specific metabolic activities, which enable them to utilize and transform nearly every known chemical class present in crude oil. In this context, one of the most studied biocatalytic processes is the biodesulfurization (BDS) of thiophenic sulfur-containing compounds such as benzothiophene (BT) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) in crude oils and refinery streams. Three newly isolated bacterial strains, which were affiliated as Rhodococcus sp. strain SA11, Stenotrophomonas sp. strain SA21, and Rhodococcus sp. strain SA31, were enriched from oil contaminated soil in the presence of DBT as the sole S source. GC-FID analysis of DBT-grown cultures showed consumption of DBT, transient formation of DBT sulfone (DBTO2) and accumulation of 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP). Molecular detection of the plasmid-borne dsz operon, which codes for the DBT desulfurization activity, revealed the presence of dszA, dszB, and dszC genes. These results point to the operation of the known 4S pathway in the BDS of DBT. The maximum consumption rate of DBT was 11 μmol/g dry cell weight (DCW)/h and the maximum formation rate of 2-HBP formation was 4 μmol/g DCW/h. Inhibition of both cell growth and DBT consumption by 2-HBP was observed for all isolates but SA11 isolate was the least affected. The isolated biocatalysts desulfurized other model DBT alkylated homologs. SA11 isolate was capable of desulfurizing BT as well. Resting cells of SA11 exhibited 10% reduction in total sulfur present in heavy crude oil and 18% reduction in total sulfur present in the hexane-soluble fraction of the heavy crude oil. The capabilities of the isolated bacteria to survive and desulfurize a wide range of S compounds present in crude oil are desirable traits for the development of a robust BDS biocatalyst to upgrade crude oils and refinery streams. PMID:25762990

  12. 75 FR 11841 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Short Supply Regulations, Petroleum (Crude Oil)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Bureau of Industry and Security Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Short Supply Regulations, Petroleum (Crude Oil) AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security. ACTION... supporting documentation for license applications to export petroleum (crude oil) and is used by licensing...

  13. Kinetic parameters for nutrient enhanced crude oil biodegradation in intertidal marine sediments

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Arvind K.; Sherry, Angela; Gray, Neil D.; Jones, D. Martin; Bowler, Bernard F. J.; Head, Ian M.

    2014-01-01

    Availability of inorganic nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorous, is often a primary control on crude oil hydrocarbon degradation in marine systems. Many studies have empirically determined optimum levels of inorganic N and P for stimulation of hydrocarbon degradation. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of information on fundamental kinetic parameters for nutrient enhanced crude oil biodegradation that can be used to model the fate of crude oil in bioremediation programmes that use inorganic nutrient addition to stimulate oil biodegradation. Here we report fundamental kinetic parameters (Ks and qmax) for nitrate- and phosphate-stimulated crude oil biodegradation under nutrient limited conditions and with respect to crude oil, under conditions where N and P are not limiting. In the marine sediments studied, crude oil degradation was limited by both N and P availability. In sediments treated with 12.5 mg/g of oil but with no addition of N and P, hydrocarbon degradation rates, assessed on the basis of CO2 production, were 1.10 ± 0.03 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day which were comparable to rates of CO2 production in sediments to which no oil was added (1.05 ± 0.27 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day). When inorganic nitrogen was added alone maximum rates of CO2 production measured were 4.25 ± 0.91 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day. However, when the same levels of inorganic nitrogen were added in the presence of 0.5% P w/w of oil (1.6 μmol P/g wet sediment) maximum rates of measured CO2 production increased more than four-fold to 18.40 ± 1.04 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day. Ks and qmax estimates for inorganic N (in the form of sodium nitrate) when P was not limiting were 1.99 ± 0.86 μmol/g wet sediment and 16.16 ± 1.28 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day respectively. The corresponding values for P were 63 ± 95 nmol/g wet sediment and 12.05 ± 1.31 μmol CO2/g wet sediment/day. The qmax values with respect to N and P were not significantly different (P < 0.05). When N and P

  14. 19 CFR 10.179 - Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial exchange agreement between United States and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial... CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. General Provisions Canadian Crude Petroleum § 10.179 Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial exchange agreement between United States and Canadian...

  15. 19 CFR 10.179 - Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial exchange agreement between United States and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial... CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. General Provisions Canadian Crude Petroleum § 10.179 Canadian crude petroleum subject to a commercial exchange agreement between United States and Canadian...

  16. Nanoscale Delivery Systems: Actual and Potential Applications in the Natural Products Industry.

    PubMed

    Simona, Antal Diana; Florina, Ardelean; Rodica, Chis Aimee; Evelyne, Ollivier; Maria-Corina, Serban

    2017-01-01

    Compounds and extracts derived from natural sources continue to stand in the spotlight of drug design owing to their versatile interaction with enzymes, receptors and metabolic pathways. Nanomedicine offers an operative tool for the efficient delivery of natural products, in terms of increased bioavailability, targeting, and controlled release while protecting active constituents against physico-chemical alterations. The interest of the scientific community in the field of nanosized delivery of natural compounds is demonstrated by the exponential growth of the publications in this field. Beyond the presentation of successful examples of nanoscale delivery systems containing natural products, the scope of this review is to point out the yet underexplored capacities of this field with relevance for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical market. Departing from a short presentation of plant-derived natural products and strategies to obtain nanoformulations, the current work discusses nanoparticulate drug delivery systems targeting diseases of various organs and systems: skin, central nervous system, skeletal tissue, cardiovascular apparatus, and diabetes. While notable progress has been achieved in the preparation of nanomedicines containing selected dietary polyphenols, works dealing with crude extracts or standardized fractions are much less frequent. In fact, most of the plants with solidly documented therapeutic properties and registered in pharmacopoeias still wait to benefit from advances in the field of nanotechnology. At least for some of them, adequate nanoformulation shall contribute to their removal from the group of dietary supplements and pharmaceutical preparations with suboptimal bioavailability and efficacy. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  17. Naegele Forceps Delivery and Association between Morbidity and the Number of Forceps Traction Applications: A Retrospective Study.

    PubMed

    Matsumoto, Naoki; Takenaka, Toshifumi; Ikeda, Nobuyuki; Yazaki, Satoshi; Sato, Yuichi

    2015-01-01

    To present the method of Naegele forceps delivery clinically practiced by the lead author, its success rate, and morbidity and to evaluate the relationship between morbidity and the number of forceps traction applications. Naegele forceps delivery was performed when the fetal head reached station +2 cm, the forceps were applied in the maternal pelvic application, and traction was slowly and gently performed. In the past two years, Naegele forceps delivery was attempted by the lead author in 87 cases, which were retrospectively reviewed. The numbers of traction applications were one in 64.7% of cases, two in 24.7%, and three or more in 10.7%. The success rate was 100%. No severe morbidity was observed in mothers or neonates. Neonatal facial injury occurred most commonly in cases with fetal head malrotation, elevated numbers of traction applications, and maternal complications. Umbilical artery acidemia most commonly occurred in cases with nonreassuring fetal status. The significant crude odds ratio for three or more traction applications was 20 in cases with malrotation. Naegele forceps delivery has a high success rate, but multiple traction applications will sometimes be required, particularly in cases with malrotation. Malrotation and elevated numbers of traction applications may lead to neonatal head damage.

  18. Research on crude oil storage and transportation based on optimization algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Xuhua

    2018-04-01

    At present, the optimization theory and method have been widely used in the optimization scheduling and optimal operation scheme of complex production systems. Based on C++Builder 6 program development platform, the theoretical research results are implemented by computer. The simulation and intelligent decision system of crude oil storage and transportation inventory scheduling are designed. The system includes modules of project management, data management, graphics processing, simulation of oil depot operation scheme. It can realize the optimization of the scheduling scheme of crude oil storage and transportation system. A multi-point temperature measuring system for monitoring the temperature field of floating roof oil storage tank is developed. The results show that by optimizing operating parameters such as tank operating mode and temperature, the total transportation scheduling costs of the storage and transportation system can be reduced by 9.1%. Therefore, this method can realize safe and stable operation of crude oil storage and transportation system.

  19. SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN CRUDE OIL

    EPA Science Inventory

    Sampling and analytical procedures used to determine total mercury content in crude oils were examined. Three analytical methods were compared with respect to accuracy, precision and detection limit. The combustion method and a commercial extraction method were found adequate to...

  20. Identification of crude-oil components and microorganisms that cause souring under anaerobic conditions.

    PubMed

    Hasegawa, R; Toyama, K; Miyanaga, K; Tanji, Y

    2014-02-01

    Oil souring has important implications with respect to energy resources. Understanding the physiology of the microorganisms that play a role and the biological mechanisms are both important for the maintenance of infrastructure and mitigation of corrosion processes. The objective of this study was to identify crude-oil components and microorganisms in oil-field water that contribute to crude-oil souring. To identify the crude-oil components and microorganisms that are responsible for anaerobic souring in oil reservoirs, biological conversion of crude-oil components under anaerobic conditions was investigated. Microorganisms in oil field water in Akita, Japan degraded alkanes and aromatics to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) under anaerobic conditions, and fermenting bacteria such as Fusibacter sp. were involved in VFA production. Aromatics such as toluene and ethylbenzene were degraded by sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfotignum sp.) via the fumarate-addition pathway and not only degradation of VFA but also degradation of aromatics by sulfate-reducing bacteria was the cause of souring. Naphthenic acid and 2,4-xylenol were not converted.

  1. Multivariate Time Series Forecasting of Crude Palm Oil Price Using Machine Learning Techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kanchymalay, Kasturi; Salim, N.; Sukprasert, Anupong; Krishnan, Ramesh; Raba'ah Hashim, Ummi

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this paper was to study the correlation between crude palm oil (CPO) price, selected vegetable oil prices (such as soybean oil, coconut oil, and olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil), crude oil and the monthly exchange rate. Comparative analysis was then performed on CPO price forecasting results using the machine learning techniques. Monthly CPO prices, selected vegetable oil prices, crude oil prices and monthly exchange rate data from January 1987 to February 2017 were utilized. Preliminary analysis showed a positive and high correlation between the CPO price and soy bean oil price and also between CPO price and crude oil price. Experiments were conducted using multi-layer perception, support vector regression and Holt Winter exponential smoothing techniques. The results were assessed by using criteria of root mean square error (RMSE), means absolute error (MAE), means absolute percentage error (MAPE) and Direction of accuracy (DA). Among these three techniques, support vector regression(SVR) with Sequential minimal optimization (SMO) algorithm showed relatively better results compared to multi-layer perceptron and Holt Winters exponential smoothing method.

  2. Biodegradation of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) by Crude Enzyme Extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yu; Gong, Ai-Jun; Qiu, Li-Na; Li, Jing-Rui; Li, Fu-Kai

    2015-09-18

    The biodegradation effect and mechanism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by crude enzyme extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. The results demonstrated that crude enzyme extract exhibited obviously higher degradation efficiency and shorter biodegradation time than Pseudomonas aeruginosa itself. Under the optimum conditions of pH 9.0, 35 °C and protein content of 2000 mg/L, 92.77% of the initial BDE-209 (20 mg/L) was degraded after 5 h. A BDE-209 biodegradation pathway was proposed on the basis of the biodegradation products identified by GC-MS analysis. The biodegradation mechanism showed that crude enzyme extract degraded BDE-209 into lower brominated PBDEs and OH-PBDEs through debromination and hydroxylation of the aromatic rings.

  3. Crude oil as a stranding cause among loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Canary Islands, Spain (1998-2011).

    PubMed

    Camacho, María; Calabuig, Pascual; Luzardo, Octavio P; Boada, Luis D; Zumbado, Manuel; Orós, Jorge

    2013-07-01

    We report the number of strandings caused by crude oil among loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Canary Islands between 1998 and 2011 and analyze the impact of the designation of the Canary Islands as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) in 2005. Among 1,679 stranded loggerhead turtles, 52 turtles stranded due to crude oil (3.1%). The survival rate of the turtles stranded by crude oil was 88%. All turtles that died because of crude oil stranding had signs of ingestion of crude oil and lesions, included esophageal impaction, necrotizing gastroenteritis, necrotizing hepatitis, and tubulonephrosis. The number of strandings caused by crude oil after 2005 was significantly lower than it was before 2006. We show that the designation of the Canary Islands as a PSSA in 2005 by the International Maritime Organization was associated with a reduction of sea turtle strandings caused by crude oil.

  4. Effect of crude oil contamination on the chlorophyll content and morpho-anatomy of Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk.

    PubMed

    Baruah, Plabita; Saikia, Rashmi Rekha; Baruah, Partha Pratim; Deka, Suresh

    2014-11-01

    Chlorophyll plays a pivotal role in the plant physiology and its productivity. Cultivation of plants in crude oil contaminated soil has a great impact on the synthesis of chlorophyll pigment. Morpho-anatomy of the experimental plant also shows structural deformation in higher concentrations. Keeping this in mind, a laboratory investigation has been carried out to study the effect of crude oil on chlorophyll content and morpho-anatomy of Cyperus brevifolius plant. Fifteen-day-old seedling of the plant was planted in different concentrations of the crude oil mixed soil (i.e., 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 ppm). A control setup was also maintained without adding crude oil. Results were recorded after 6 months of plantation. Investigation revealed that there is a great impact of crude oil contamination on chlorophyll content of the leaves of the experimental plant. It also showed that chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content of leaves grown in different concentrations of crude oil were found to be lower than those of the control plant. Further, results also demonstrated that chlorophyll content was lowest in the treatment that received maximum dose of crude oil. It also showed that chlorophyll content was decreased with increased concentration of crude oil. Results also demonstrated that there was a reduction in plant shoot and root biomass with the increase of crude oil concentration. Results also revealed that the shoot biomass is higher than root biomass. Morphology and anatomy of the experimental plant also show structural deformation in higher concentrations. Accumulation of crude oil on the cuticle of the transverse section of the leaves and shoot forms a thick dark layer. Estimation of the level of pollution in an environment due to oil spill is possible by the in-depth study of the harmful effects of oil on the morphology and anatomy and chlorophyll content of the plants grown in that particular environment.

  5. Multiwall carbon nanotubes increase the microbial community in crude oil contaminated fresh water sediments.

    PubMed

    Abbasian, Firouz; Lockington, Robin; Palanisami, Thavamani; Megharaj, Mallavarapu; Naidu, Ravi

    2016-01-01

    Since crude oil contamination is one of the biggest environmental concerns, its removal from contaminated sites is of interest for both researchers and industries. In situ bioremediation is a promising technique for decreasing or even eliminating crude oil and hydrocarbon contamination. However, since these compounds are potentially toxic for many microorganisms, high loads of contamination can inhibit the microbial community and therefore reduce the removal rate. Therefore, any strategy with the ability to increase the microbial population in such circumstances can be of promise in improving the remediation process. In this study, multiwall carbon nanotubes were employed to support microbial growth in sediments contaminated with crude oil. Following spiking of fresh water sediments with different concentrations of crude oil alone and in a mixture with carbon nanotubes for 30days, the microbial profiles in these sediments were obtained using FLX-pyrosequencing. Next, the ratios of each member of the microbial population in these sediments were compared with those values in the untreated control sediment. This study showed that combination of crude oil and carbon nanotubes can increase the diversity of the total microbial population. Furthermore, these treatments could increase the ratios of several microorganisms that are known to be effective in the degradation of hydrocarbons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Developmental toxicity in flounder embryos exposed to crude oils derived from different geographical regions.

    PubMed

    Jung, Jee-Hyun; Lee, Eun-Hee; Choi, Kwang-Min; Yim, Un Hyuk; Ha, Sung Yong; An, Joon Geon; Kim, Moonkoo

    2017-06-01

    Crude oils from distinct geographical regions have distinct chemical compositions, and, as a result, their toxicity may be different. However, developmental toxicity of crude oils derived from different geographical regions has not been extensively characterized. In this study, flounder embryos were separately exposed to effluents contaminated by three crude oils including: Basrah Light (BLO), Pyrenees (PCO), and Sakhalin Vityaz (SVO), in addition to a processed fuel oil (MFO-380), to measure developmental toxicity and for gene expressions. Each oil possessed a distinct chemical composition. Edema defect was highest in embryos exposed to PCO and MFO-380 that both have a greater fraction of three-ring PAHs (33% and 22%, respectively) compared to BLO and SVO. Observed caudal fin defects were higher in embryos exposed to SVO and MFO-380, which are both dominated by naphthalenes (81% and 52%, respectively). CYP1A gene expressions were also highest in embryos exposed to SVO and MFO-380. Higher incidence of cardiotoxicity and lower nkx 2.5 expression were detected in embryos exposed to PCO. Unique gene expression profiles were observed in embryos exposed to crude oils with distinct compositions. This study demonstrates that crude oils of different geographical origins with different compositional characteristics induce developmental toxicity to different degrees. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Co-digestion of sewage sludge with crude or pretreated glycerol to increase biogas production.

    PubMed

    Dos Santos Ferreira, Janaína; Volschan, Isaac; Cammarota, Magali Christe

    2018-05-23

    Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and glycerol from the biodiesel industry was evaluated in three experimental stages. In the first step, the addition of higher proportions of crude glycerol (5-20% v/v) to the sludge was evaluated, and the results showed a marked decrease in pH and inhibition of methane production. In the second step, co-digestion of sludge with either a lower proportion (1% v/v) of crude glycerol or glycerol pretreated to remove salinity resulted in volatile acid accumulation and low methane production. The accumulation of volatile acids due to the rapid degradation of glycerol in the mixture was more detrimental to methanogenesis than the salinity of the crude glycerol. In the third step, much lower amounts of crude glycerol were added to the sludge (0.3, 0.5, 0.7% v/v), resulting in buffering of the reaction medium and higher methane production than in the control (pure sludge). The best condition for co-digestion was with the addition of 0.5% (v/v) crude glycerol to the sewage sludge, which equals 0.6 g glycerol/g volatile solids applied. Under this condition, the specific methane production (mL CH 4 /g volatile solids applied) was 1.7 times higher than in the control.

  8. Comparison of the antinociceptive action of crude Fuzei, the root of Aconitum, and its processed products.

    PubMed

    Liou, Shorong-Shii; Liu, I-Min; Lai, Mei Chou; Cheng, Juei-Tang

    2005-07-14

    The antinociceptive effects of crude Fuzei, the root of Aconitum carmichaeli and of Fuzei processed by three different methods were determined in mice and rats using the light tail-flick assay. A dose-dependent and significant increase in pain threshold was found at 60 min post treatment, with doses of 20-60 mg/kg crude Fuzei. The analgesic effects of processed Fuzei (20-60 mg/kg) exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of tail-flick, but the effects were lower than those produced by crude Fuzei in the same tests. The analgesic effect of Yan-Fuzei, the salt baking product, was the most potent of the processed products and was nearly that provided by crude Fuzei. Although the concentrations of aconitine were significantly lower in the processed Fuzei than in the crude Fuzei, a higher oral LD50 was found for all of the processed Fuzei formulations. Moreover, antinociception of crude Fuzei and its processed products was attenuated but not totally blocked by naloxone at doses sufficient to block opioid mu-receptors. Furthermore, the analgesic effect of crude Fuzei and its processed products was decreased in opioid mu-receptor knockout mice, but the effect remained unaltered in mice with opioid mu-receptors, indicating that the analgesic effect of Fuzei is centrally mediated. These results demonstrate that Fuzei processed by salt baking possesses analgesic effects within a large therapeutic range, probably via a mechanism involving central opioid receptors that mediate the antinociception.

  9. Characteristics of bicyclic sesquiterpanes in crude oils and petroleum products.

    PubMed

    Yang, Chun; Wang, Zhendi; Hollebone, Bruce P; Brown, Carl E; Landriault, Mike

    2009-05-15

    This study presents a quantitative gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of bicyclic sesquiterpanes (BSs) in numerous crude oils and refined petroleum products including light and mid-range distillate fuels, residual fuels, and lubricating oils collected from various sources. Ten commonly recognized bicyclic sesquiterpanes were determined in all the studied crude oils and diesel range fuels with principal dominance of BS3 (C(15)H(28)), BS5 (C(15)H(28)) and BS10 (C(16)H(30)), while they were generally not detected or in trace in light fuel oils like gasoline and kerosene and most lubricating oils. Laboratory distillation of crude oils demonstrated that sesquiterpanes were highly enriched in the medium distillation fractions of approximately 180 to 481 degrees C and were generally absent or very low in the light distillation fraction (boiling point to approximately 180 degrees C) and the heavy residual fraction (>481 degrees C). The effect of evaporative weathering on a series of diagnostic ratios of sesquiterpanes, n-alkanes, and biomarkers was evaluated with two suites of weathered oil samples. The change of abundance of sesquiterpanes was used to determine the extent of weathering of artificially evaporated crude oils and diesel. In addition to the pentacyclic biomarker C(29) and C(30) alphabeta-hopane, C(15) and C(16) sesquiterpanes might be alternative internal marker compounds to provide a direct way to estimate the depletion of oils, particularly diesels, in oil spill investigations. These findings may offer potential applications for both oil identification and oil-source correlation in cases where the tri- to pentacyclic biomarkers are absent due to refining or environmental weathering of oils.

  10. Wavelet regression model in forecasting crude oil price

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamid, Mohd Helmie; Shabri, Ani

    2017-05-01

    This study presents the performance of wavelet multiple linear regression (WMLR) technique in daily crude oil forecasting. WMLR model was developed by integrating the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and multiple linear regression (MLR) model. The original time series was decomposed to sub-time series with different scales by wavelet theory. Correlation analysis was conducted to assist in the selection of optimal decomposed components as inputs for the WMLR model. The daily WTI crude oil price series has been used in this study to test the prediction capability of the proposed model. The forecasting performance of WMLR model were also compared with regular multiple linear regression (MLR), Autoregressive Moving Average (ARIMA) and Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) using root mean square errors (RMSE) and mean absolute errors (MAE). Based on the experimental results, it appears that the WMLR model performs better than the other forecasting technique tested in this study.

  11. Arab light crude study focuses on kinematic viscosity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Beg, S.A.; Al-Mutawa, A.H.; Amin, M.B.

    1989-02-01

    Arab light crude oil has been characterized in terms of API gravity, total sulfur content, Reid vapor pressure, ash content, heating value, salt content, viscosity SUS, vanadium content as V/sub 2/O/sub 5/, pour point and analyses of various metals. The crude oil was fractionated into six true boiling point (TBP) fractions (IBP-95/sup 0/C, 95-205/sup 0/C, 205-260/sup 0/C, 260-345/sup 0/C, 345-455/sup 0/C and 455/sup 0/C+). These fractions were characterized in terms of API gravity, total sulfur, H/sub 2/S, mercaptan contents, molecular weight, elemental analyses for total carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, and analyses of various metals. The kinematic viscosity data have beenmore » obtained for 95/sup 0/C+ TBP fractions for a wide range of temperature up to 200/sup 0/C.« less

  12. Crude versus case-mix-adjusted control charts for safety monitoring in thyroid surgery.

    PubMed

    Duclos, Antoine; Voirin, Nicolas; Touzet, Sandrine; Soardo, Pietro; Schott, Anne-Marie; Colin, Cyrille; Peix, Jean-Louis; Lifante, Jean-Christophe

    2010-12-01

    Patient-safety monitoring based on health-outcome indicators can lead to misinterpretation of changes in case mix. This study aimed to compare the detection of indicator variations between crude and case-mix-adjusted control charts using data from thyroid surgeries. The study population included each patient who underwent thyroid surgery in a teaching hospital from January 2006 to May 2008. Patient safety was monitored according to two indicators, which are immediately recognisable postoperative complications: recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypocalcaemia. Each indicator was plotted monthly on a p-control chart using exact limits. The weighted κ statistic was calculated to measure the agreement between crude and case-mix-adjusted control charts. We evaluated the outcomes of 1405 thyroidectomies. The overall proportions of immediate recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypocalcaemia were 7.4% and 20.5%, respectively. The proportion of agreement in the detection of indicator variations between the crude and case-mix-adjusted p-charts was 95% (95% CI 85% to 99%). The strength of the agreement was κ = 0.76 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.98). The single special cause of variation that occurred was only detected by the case-mix-adjusted p-chart. There was good agreement in the detection of indicator variations between crude and case-mix-adjusted p-charts. The joint use of crude and adjusted charts seems to be a reasonable approach to increase the accuracy of interpretation of variations in outcome indicators.

  13. Factors affecting deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants in Bangladesh.

    PubMed

    Kibria, Gulam Muhammed Al; Ghosh, Swagata; Hossen, Shakir; Barsha, Rifath Ara Alam; Sharmeen, Atia; Uddin, S M Iftekhar

    2017-01-01

    The presence of skilled birth attendants (SBAs) is crucial in childbirth to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and to achieve the maternal mortality target of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of this study was to investigate the factors related to childbirths attended by SBAs in Bangladesh. Data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (2014 BDHS) were analyzed. Logistic regression was applied to calculate crude odds ratios (CORs), adjusted odds ratios (AORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values. In Bangladesh, 35.9% of deliveries were attended by SBAs, and 44.2% of those women received at least one antenatal check-up by a skilled provider. The deliveries by SBAs were less than 50% of the total deliveries in all divisions, excluding Khulna. Known pregnancy complications (AOR: 1.2; 95% CI: 1.1-1.4), higher level of education in both women (AOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.3) and their husbands (AOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3-2.4), receiving antenatal care (ANC) by a skilled provider during the pregnancy period (AOR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-2.1), and higher wealth quintiles (AOR: 3.4; 95% CI: 2.5-4.7) were all significantly associated with an increased likelihood of a delivery by SBAs ( p  <0.05). In contrast, women living in rural areas (AOR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.8) and the Sylhet Division (AOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3-0.5) were less likely to be delivered by SBAs. To achieve the target of the Government of Bangladesh - 50% of deliveries to be attended by SBAs - it is important to increase ANC services and awareness programs in all seven divisions of Bangladesh. Special focus in rural areas is also required to meet this target. A new study should be conducted to explore the unexamined factors associated with the presence of SBAs during childbirth.

  14. Multi-objective model of waste transportation management for crude palm oil industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silalahi, Meslin; Mawengkang, Herman; Irsa Syahputri, Nenna

    2018-02-01

    The crude palm oil industry is an agro-industrial commodity. The global market of this industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, such that it has a strategic value to be developed for Indonesian economy. Despite these economic benefits there are a number of environmental problems at the factories, such as high water consumption, the generation of a large amount of wastewater with a high organic content, and the generation of a large quantity of solid wastes and air pollution. In terms of waste transportation, we propose a multiobjective programming model for managing business environmental risk in a crude palm oil manufacture which gives the best possible configuration of waste management facilities and allocates wastes to these facilities. Then we develop an interactive approach for tackling logistics and environmental risk production planning problem for the crude palm oil industry.

  15. Microbial Degradation of Alkyl Carbazoles in Norman Wells Crude Oil

    PubMed Central

    Fedorak, Phillip M.; Westlake, Donald W. S.

    1984-01-01

    Norman Wells crude oil was fractionated by sequential alumina and silicic acid column chromatography methods. The resulting nitrogen-rich fraction was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and showed 26 alkyl (C1 to C5) carbazoles to be the predominant compounds. An oil-degrading mixed bacterial culture was enriched on carbazole to enhance its ability to degrade nitrogen heterocycles. This culture was used to inoculate a series of flasks of mineral medium and Norman Wells crude oil. Residual oil was recovered from these cultures after incubation at 25°C for various times. The nitrogen-rich fraction was analyzed by capillary gas chromatography, using a nitrogen-specific detector. Most of the C1-, C2-, and C3- carbazoles and one of the C4-isomers were degraded within 8 days. No further degradation occurred when incubation was extended to 28 days. The general order of susceptibility of the isomers to biodegradation was C1 > C2 > C3 > C4. The carbazole-enriched culture was still able to degrade n-alkanes, isoprenoids, aromatic hydrocarbons, and sulfur heterocycles in the crude soil. PMID:16346524

  16. Maglev crude oil pipeline

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knolle, Ernst G.

    1994-01-01

    This maglev crude oil pipeline consists of two conduits guiding an endless stream of long containers. One conduit carries loaded containers and the other empty returns. The containers are levitated by permanent magnets in repulsion and propelled by stationary linear induction motors. The containers are linked to each other in a manner that allows them, while in continuous motion, to be folded into side by side position at loading and unloading points. This folding causes a speed reduction in proportion to the ratio of container diameter to container length. While in side by side position, containers are opened at their ends to be filled or emptied. Container size and speed are elected to produce a desired carrying capacity.

  17. Biodegradation of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) by Crude Enzyme Extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yu; Gong, Ai-Jun; Qiu, Li-Na; Li, Jing-Rui; Li, Fu-Kai

    2015-01-01

    The biodegradation effect and mechanism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by crude enzyme extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. The results demonstrated that crude enzyme extract exhibited obviously higher degradation efficiency and shorter biodegradation time than Pseudomonas aeruginosa itself. Under the optimum conditions of pH 9.0, 35 °C and protein content of 2000 mg/L, 92.77% of the initial BDE-209 (20 mg/L) was degraded after 5 h. A BDE-209 biodegradation pathway was proposed on the basis of the biodegradation products identified by GC-MS analysis. The biodegradation mechanism showed that crude enzyme extract degraded BDE-209 into lower brominated PBDEs and OH-PBDEs through debromination and hydroxylation of the aromatic rings. PMID:26393637

  18. Three essays in corporate finance: Examining the influence of government ownership and evaluating crude oil arbitrage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holland, Kateryna

    The aim of this dissertation is twofold: first, to evaluate how governments influence firms in which they invest (chapters one and two), and second, to examine arbitrage in the crude oil market by investigating the relationship between crude oil inventories, physical prices, and financial prices (chapter three). In the first chapter (The Wealth Effects of Government Investment in Publicly Traded Firms), I study how government share ownership affects shareholder wealth. I find that government investments with higher likelihood of political interference have a negative influence on shareholder wealth, while the opposite is true for government investments with economic objectives. In the second chapter (Government Ownership and the Cost of Debt: Evidence form Government Investment in Publicly Traded Firms), I investigate how government share ownership affects the cost of debt of publicly traded firms. I find that government ownership generally leads to a higher cost of debt, except for times of economic and firm distress, when the value of the implicit government guarantee is associated with a reduction in the cost of debt. In the third chapter (Financial Trading, Spot Oil Prices, and Inventory: Evidence from the U.S. Crude Oil Market), I confirm the existence of an active cash and carry market in crude oil in Cushing, OK, the main U.S. crude oil futures settlement location. In other words, crude oil inventories in Cushing, but not in any other U.S. crude oil storage locations, are explained by the spread between the financial and the physical price of oil in addition to operational factors.

  19. Enhanced solubility and targeted delivery of curcumin by lipopeptide micelles.

    PubMed

    Liang, Ju; Wu, Wenlan; Lai, Danyu; Li, Junbo; Fang, Cailin

    2015-01-01

    A lipopeptide (LP)-containing KKGRGDS as the hydrophilic heads and lauric acid (C12) as the hydrophobic tails has been designed and prepared by standard solid-phase peptide synthesis technique. LP can self-assemble into spherical micelles with the size of ~30 nm in PBS (phosphate buffer saline) (pH 7.4). Curcumin-loaded LP micelles were prepared in order to increase the water solubility, sustain the releasing rate, and improve the tumor targeted delivery of curcumin. Water solubility, cytotoxicity, in vitro release behavior, and intracellular uptake of curcumin-loaded LP micelles were investigated. The results showed that LP micelles can increase the water solubility of curcumin 1.1 × 10(3) times and sustain the release of curcumin in a low rate. Curcumin-loaded LP micelles showed much higher cell inhibition than free curcumin on human cervix carcinoma (HeLa) and HepG2 cells. When incubating these curcumin-loaded micelles with HeLa and COS7 cells, due to the over-expression of integrins on cancer cells, the micelles can efficiently use the tumor-targeting function of RGD (functionalized peptide sequences: Arg-Gly-Asp) sequence to deliver the drug into HeLa cells, and better efficiency of the self-assembled LP micelles for curcumin delivery than crude curcumin was also confirmed by LCSM (laser confocal scanning microscope) assays. Combined with the enhanced solubility and higher cell inhibition, LP micelles reported in this study may be promising in clinical application for targeted curcumin delivery.

  20. Downward trends in surgical site and urinary tract infections after cesarean delivery in a French surveillance network, 1997-2003.

    PubMed

    Vincent, Agnès; Ayzac, Louis; Girard, Raphaële; Caillat-Vallet, Emmanuelle; Chapuis, Catherine; Depaix, Florence; Dumas, Anne-Marie; Gignoux, Chantal; Haond, Catherine; Lafarge-Leboucher, Joëlle; Launay, Carine; Tissot-Guerraz, Françoise; Fabry, Jacques

    2008-03-01

    To evaluate whether the adjusted rates of surgical site infection (SSI) and urinary tract infection (UTI) after cesarean delivery decrease in maternity units that perform active healthcare-associated infection surveillance. Trend analysis by means of multiple logistic regression. A total of 80 maternity units participating in the Mater Sud-Est surveillance network. A total of 37,074 cesarean deliveries were included in the surveillance from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2003. We used a logistic regression model to estimate risk-adjusted post-cesarean delivery infection odds ratios. The variables included were the maternity units' annual rate of operative procedures, the level of dispensed neonatal care, the year of delivery, maternal risk factors, and the characteristics of cesarean delivery. The trend of risk-adjusted odds ratios for SSI and UTI during the study period was studied by linear regression. The crude rates of SSI and UTI after cesarean delivery were 1.5% (571 of 37,074 patients) and 1.8% (685 of 37,074 patients), respectively. During the study period, the decrease in SSI and UTI adjusted odds ratios was statistically significant (R=-0.823 [P=.023] and R=-0.906 [P=.005], respectively). Reductions of 48% in the SSI rate and 52% in the UTI rate were observed in the maternity units. These unbiased trends could be related to progress in preventive practices as a result of the increased dissemination of national standards and a collaborative surveillance with benchmarking of rates.

  1. Low tanker rates are enabling more long-distance crude oil and petroleum product trade

    EIA Publications

    2016-01-01

    Recent expansion of the global crude oil and petroleum product tanker fleet has resulted in falling or lower tanker rates for much of 2016 that have widened the geographic scope for economically attractive trade at a time when inventories of both crude oil and petroleum products are at high levels.

  2. Short-Term Energy Outlook Supplement: Key drivers for EIA's short-term U.S. crude oil production outlook

    EIA Publications

    2013-01-01

    Crude oil production increased by 790,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) between 2011 and 2012, the largest increase in annual output since the beginning of U.S. commercial crude oil production in 1859. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects U.S. crude oil production to continue rising over the next two years represented in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).

  3. The determination of water in crude oil and transformer oil reference materials.

    PubMed

    Margolis, Sam A; Hagwood, Charles

    2003-05-01

    The measurement of the amount of water in oils is of significant economic importance to the industrial community, particularly to the electric power and crude oil industries. The amount of water in transformer oils is critical to their normal function and the amount of water in crude oils affects the cost of the crude oil at the well head, the pipeline, and the refinery. Water in oil Certified Reference Materials (CRM) are essential for the accurate calibration of instruments that are used by these industries. Three NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) have been prepared for this purpose. The water in these oils has been measured by both coulometric and volumetric Karl Fischer methods. The compounds (such as sulfur compounds) that interfere with the Karl Fischer reaction (interfering substances) and inflate the values for water by also reacting with iodine have been measured coulometrically. The measured water content of Reference Material (RM) 8506a Transformer Oil is 12.1+/-1.9 mg kg(-1) (plus an additional 6.2+/-0.9 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances). The measured water content of SRM 2722 Sweet Crude Oil, is 99+/-6 mg kg(-1) (plus an additional 5+/-2 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances). The measured water content of SRM 2721 Sour Crude Oil, is 134+/-18 mg kg(-1) plus an additional 807+/-43 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances. Interlaboratory studies conducted with these oil samples (using SRM 2890, water saturated 1-octanol, as a calibrant) are reported. Some of the possible sources of bias in these measurements were identified, These include: improperly calibrated instruments, inability to measure the calibrant accurately, Karl Fischer reagent selection, and volatilization of the interfering substances in SRM 2721.

  4. Impact of Bacterial Vaginosis on Perineal Tears during Delivery: A Prospective Cohort Study

    PubMed Central

    Letouzey, Vincent; Bastide, Sophie; Ulrich, Daniela; Beccera, Laurie; Lomma, Mariella; de Tayrac, Renaud; Lavigne, Jean Philippe

    2015-01-01

    Objective Long term effects of perineal tears pose a major worldwide health issue for women during delivery. Since bacterial vaginosis is related to major obstacles in obstetrics the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between bacterial vaginosis and the occurrence of perineal tears during vaginal delivery. Methods Between June 2013 and December 2013 pregnant women delivering after 37 weeks were recruited at one University hospital / tertiary care referral center in the course of this single-center, prospective cohort study. Bacterial vaginosis was assessed according to Nugent score method. Logistic-regression model was used to estimate odds ratios, adjusted for other risk factors to test the relationship between bacterial vaginosis and the occurrence of 1st to 4th degree perineal tears in women undergoing vaginal delivery. Results A total of 728 woman were included, 662 analyzed with a complete Nugent Score of the vaginal swab. The prevalence of 1st to 4th degree perineal tears was 35.8% (95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) = [32.2; 39.6]). The presence of BV was not significantly associated to the incidence of perineal tears neither in the univariate analysis (crude Odds Ratio = 1.43; 95%CI = [0.79; 2.60]; p = 0.235) nor in the multivariate analysis (adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.65; 95%CI = [0.81; 3.36]; p = 0.167). Instrumental delivery was the most important risk factor for perineal lacerations. Conclusions There is no evidence that vaginosis is a risk factor for vaginal tears. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov N° NCT01822782 PMID:26544959

  5. Microbial ecology of a crude oil contaminated aquifer

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bekins, B.A.; Cozzarelli, I.M.; Warren, E.; Godsy, E.M.

    2002-01-01

    Detailed microbial analyses of a glacial outwash aquifer contaminated by crude oil provide insights into the pattern of microbial succession from iron reducing to methanogenic in the anaerobic portion of the contaminant plume. We analysed sediments from this area for populations of aerobes, iron reducers, fermenters and methanogens, using the most probable number method. On the basis of the microbial data the anaerobic area can be divided into distinct physiological zones dominated by either iron-reducers or a consortium of fermenters and methanogens. Chemistry and permeability data show that methanogenic conditions develop first in areas of high hydrocarbon flux. Thus, we find methanogens both in high permeability horizons and also where separate-phase crude oil is present in either the saturated or unsaturated zone. Microbial numbers peak at the top of the separate-phase oil suggesting that growth is most rapid in locations with access to both hydrocarbons and nutrients infiltrating from the surface.

  6. Labour dystocia--risk of recurrence and instrumental delivery in following labour--a population-based cohort study.

    PubMed

    Sandström, A; Cnattingius, S; Wikström, A K; Stephansson, O

    2012-12-01

    To investigate risk of recurrence of labour dystocia and mode of delivery in second labour after taking first labour and fetal and maternal characteristics into account. A population-based cohort study. The Swedish Medical Birth Register from 1992 to 2006. A total of 239 953 women who gave birth to their first and second singleton infants in cephalic presentation at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation with spontaneous onset of labour. We used logistic regression analysis to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios. Labour dystocia and mode of delivery in second labour. Overall labour dystocia affected only 12% of women with previous dystocia. Regardless of mode of first delivery, rates of dystocia in the second labour were higher in women with than without previous dystocia, but were more pronounced in women with previous caesarean section (34%). Analyses with risk score groups for dystocia (risk factors were long interpregnancy interval, maternal age ≥ 35 years, obesity, short maternal stature, not cohabiting and post-term pregnancy) showed that risk of instrumental delivery in second labour increased with previous dystocia and increasing risk score. Among women with trial of labour after caesarean section with previous dystocia and a risk score of 3 or more, 66% had a vaginal instrumental or caesarean delivery (17 and 49%, respectively). In women with trial of labour after caesarean section without previous dystocia and a risk score of 0, corresponding risk was 32% (14 and 18%, respectively). Previous labour dystocia increases the risk of dystocia in subsequent delivery. Taking first labour and fetal and maternal characteristics into account is important in the risk assessments for dystocia and instrumental delivery in second labour. © 2012 The Authors BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology © 2012 RCOG.

  7. Parathyroidectomy Halts the Deterioration of Renal Function in Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

    PubMed

    Tassone, Francesco; Guarnieri, Andrea; Castellano, Elena; Baffoni, Claudia; Attanasio, Roberto; Borretta, Giorgio

    2015-08-01

    Decreased renal function has been consistently included among factors prompting recommendation for surgery in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). However, most retrospective studies addressing this issue did not show an improvement in renal function after parathyroidectomy (PTX). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in renal function after PTX in PHPT patients subdivided according to renal function at diagnosis. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. We studied 109 consecutive PHPT patients before and after PTX. Biochemical evaluation included fasting total and ionized serum calcium, phosphate, creatinine, immunoreactive intact PTH, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was assessed with the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation. Mean (± SD) CKD-EPI estimated GFR (eGFR) at diagnosis was 82.4 ± 19.3 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (median, 84.8 mL/min/1.73 m(2); interquartile range, 68.5-94.2 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). Patients with eGFR equal to or higher than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (group 1, n = 95) were significantly younger than patients with eGFR lower than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (group 2, n = 14; P < .0003). After PTX, eGFR did not change in patients of group 2 (P = .509), whereas it was significantly reduced in patients of group 1 (P < .0002). The difference in eGFR between baseline and post-PTX values was correlated negatively with baseline serum creatinine (R = -0.27; P = .0052) and positively with baseline CKD-EPI eGFR (R = 0.32; P = .00062). At multiple regression analysis, only systolic blood pressure and baseline CKD-EPI eGFR were independent predictors of GFR variation. Surgical cure of PHPT halts renal function deterioration in patients with coexisting renal disease. Our study thus supports the indication for surgery in patients with eGFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2), as recommended by current guidelines. Moreover, our data show that presurgical renal function is a relevant predictor of renal

  8. The Impact of United States Monetary Policy in the Crude Oil futures market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Padilla-Padilla, Fernando M.

    This research examines the empirical impact the United States monetary policy, through the federal fund interest rate, has on the volatility in the crude oil price in the futures market. Prior research has shown how macroeconomic events and variables have impacted different financial markets within short and long--term movements. After testing and decomposing the variables, the two stationary time series were analyzed using a Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR). The empirical evidence shows, with statistical significance, a direct relationship when explaining crude oil prices as function of fed fund rates (t-1) and an indirect relationship when explained as a function of fed fund rates (t-2). These results partially address the literature review lacunas within the topic of the existing implication monetary policy has within the crude oil futures market.

  9. [Studies on chemical components of essential oil of crude semen sinapis and roasted semen sinapis].

    PubMed

    Chen, Mi-Yu; Lin, Yan-Ni; Wu, Guo-Xin; Wu, Cui-Ping

    2006-07-01

    To study the chemical components of the essential oil of the Semen Sinapis with the different processing methods. The essential oils of the crude Semen Sinapis and the roasted Semen Sinapis were extracted by steam distillation. The chemical components were analyzed by means of GC-MS-DS. The relative content of each component was calculated by area normalization. The main chemical components of the essential oil of the crude Semen Sinapis and the roasted Semen Sinapis were similar. The main chemical components were allyl isothiocyanate and 4-isothio-cyanato-1-butene. The chemical components of the essential oil of the crude Semen Sinapis were more than that of the roasted Semen Sinapis. The effect of different processing methods on the chemical components of the essential oil of Semen Sinapis was significant. Certain chemical components such as isothiocyanato-containing substances, were found in the crude Semen Sinapis.

  10. Ternary particles for effective vaccine delivery to the pulmonary system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Terry, Treniece La'shay

    Progress in the fields of molecular biology and genomics has provided great insight into the pathogenesis of disease and the defense mechanisms of the immune system. This knowledge has lead to the classification of an array of abnormal genes, for which, treatment relies on cellular expression of proteins. The utility of DNA-based vaccines hold great promise for the treatment of genetically based and infectious diseases, which ranges from hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and HIV. Synthetic delivery systems consisting of cationic polymers, such as polyethylenimine (PEI), are capable of condensing DNA into compact structures, maximizing cellular uptake of DNA and yielding high levels of protein expression. To date, short term expression is a major obstacle in the development of gene therapies and has halted their expansion in clinical applications. This study intends to develop a sustained release vaccine delivery system using PLA-PEG block copolymers encapsulating PEI:DNA polyplexes. To enhance the effectiveness of such DNA-based vaccines, resident antigen presenting cells, macrophages and dendritic cells, will be targeted within the alveoli regions of the lungs. Porous microspheres will be engineered with aerodynamic properties capable of achieving deep lung deposition. A fabrication technique using concentric nozzles will be developed to produce porous microspheres. It was observed that modifications in the dispersed to continuous phase ratios have the largest influence on particle size distributions, release rates and encapsulation efficiency which ranged form 80--95% with fourteen days of release. Amphiphilic block copolymers were also used to fabricate porous microspheres. The confirmation of PEG within the biodegradable polymer backbone was found to have a tremendous impact on the microsphere morphology and encapsulation efficiency which varied from 50--90%. Porous microspheres were capable of providing sustained gene expression when tested in vitro using the

  11. Effect of demulsifiers on interfacial properties governing crude oil demulsification

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mukherjee, S.; Kushnick, A.P.

    1987-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how various parameters such as interfacial tension, interfacial shear viscosity, dynamic interfacial tension gradient, dilational elasticity and demulsifier clustering affect the demulsification effectiveness. The authors believe such an understanding is needed for developing more effective demulsifiers. At small thicknesses, an interfacial oil film can rupture if a continuous hydrophilic pathway exists between the droplets. Such a pathway can be provided by a demulsifier by forming water swollen reverse micelle-like clusters. They believe the differences in the effectiveness between P1 and P2 at low concentrations may be related to this phenomenon. The authorsmore » found that with both P1 and P2, the crude oil-brine interfacial shear viscosity is less than 0.1 surface poise. The interfacial dilational measurements also do not reveal any significant differences in their dynamic tension properties. But the interfacial tension vs. concentration curves show significant differences. The leveling of interfacial tension implies formation of clusters. The data indicate that the demulsifier P1 will form such clusters in the crude oil at a lower concentration than P2. Thus, other parameters being equal, the demulsifier P1 will be more efficient at a lower concentration than P2 for this crude oil emulsion.« less

  12. Microbial degradation of alkyl carbazoles in Norman Wells crude oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fedorak, P.M.; Westlake, D.W.S.

    Norman Wells crude oil was fractionated by sequential alumina and silicic acid column chromatography methods. The resulting nitrogen-rich fraction was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and showed 26 alkyl (C/sub 1/ to C/sub 5/) carbazoles to be the predominant compounds. An oil-degrading mixed bacterial culture was enriched on carbazole to enhance its ability to degrade nitrogen heterocycles. This culture was used to inoculate a series of flasks of mineral medium and Norman Wells crude oil. Residual oil was recovered from these cultures after incubation at 25/sup 0/C for various times. The nitrogen-rich fraction was analyzed by capillary gas chromatography, usingmore » a nitrogen-specific detector. Most of the C/sub 1/-, C/sub 2/-, and C/sub 3/- carbazoles and one of the C/sub 4/-isomers were degraded within 8 days. No further degradation occurred when incubation was extended to 28 days. The general order of susceptibility of the isomers to biodegradation was C/sub 1/ > C/sub 2/ > C/sub 3/ > C/sub 4/. The carbazole-enriched culture was still able to degrade n-alkanes, isoprenoids, aromatic hydrocarbons, and sulfur heterocycles in the crude soil. 26 references.« less

  13. Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lutfi, Zainal; Usup, Gires; Ahmad, Asmat

    2014-09-01

    Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compound of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation.

  14. Biodegradation of crude oil using an efficient microbial consortium in a simulated marine environment.

    PubMed

    Bao, Mu-tai; Wang, Li-na; Sun, Pei-yan; Cao, Li-xin; Zou, Jie; Li, Yi-ming

    2012-06-01

    Ochrobactrum sp. N1, Brevibacillus parabrevis N2, B. parabrevis N3 and B. parabrevis N4 were selected when preparing a mixed bacterial consortium based on the efficiency of crude oil utilization. A crude oil degradation rate of the N-series microbial consortium reached upwards of 79% at a temperature of 25 °C in a 3.0% NaCl solution in the shake flask trial. In the mesocosm experiment, a specially designed device was used to simulate the marine environment. The internal tank size was 1.5 m (L)×0.8 m (W)×0.7 m (H). The microbial growth conditions, nutrient utilization and environmental factors were thoroughly investigated. Over 51.1% of the crude oil was effectively removed from the simulated water body. The escalation process (from flask trials to the mesocosm experiment), which sought to represent removal under conditions more similar to the field, proved the high efficiency of using N-series bacteria in crude oil degradation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Progressive Degradation of Crude Oil n-Alkanes Coupled to Methane Production under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Lei; Shi, Shengbao; Li, Qiang; Chen, Jianfa; Zhang, Hui; Lu, Yahai

    2014-01-01

    Although methanogenic degradation of hydrocarbons has become a well-known process, little is known about which crude oil tend to be degraded at different temperatures and how the microbial community is responded. In this study, we assessed the methanogenic crude oil degradation capacity of oily sludge microbes enriched from the Shengli oilfield under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The microbial communities were investigated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA genes combined with cloning and sequencing. Enrichment incubation demonstrated the microbial oxidation of crude oil coupled to methane production at 35 and 55°C, which generated 3.7±0.3 and 2.8±0.3 mmol of methane per gram oil, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that crude oil n-alkanes were obviously degraded, and high molecular weight n-alkanes were preferentially removed over relatively shorter-chain n-alkanes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the concurrence of acetoclastic Methanosaeta and hydrogenotrophic methanogens but different methanogenic community structures under the two temperature conditions. Candidate divisions of JS1 and WWE 1, Proteobacteria (mainly consisting of Syntrophaceae, Desulfobacteraceae and Syntrophorhabdus) and Firmicutes (mainly consisting of Desulfotomaculum) were supposed to be involved with n-alkane degradation in the mesophilic conditions. By contrast, the different bacterial phylotypes affiliated with Caldisericales, “Shengli Cluster” and Synergistetes dominated the thermophilic consortium, which was most likely to be associated with thermophilic crude oil degradation. This study revealed that the oily sludge in Shengli oilfield harbors diverse uncultured microbes with great potential in methanogenic crude oil degradation over a wide temperature range, which extend our previous understanding of methanogenic degradation of crude oil alkanes. PMID:25409013

  16. Identification of crude oil source facies in Railroad Valley, Nevada, using multivariate analysis of crude oil and hydrous pyrolysis data from the Meridian Spencer Federal 32-29 well

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Conlan, L.M.; Francis, R.D.

    Comparison of biological markers of a hydrous pyrolyzate of Mississippian-Chainman Shale from the Meridian Spencer Federal 32-29 well with two crude oils produced from the same well and crude oils produced from Trap Springs, Grant Canyon, Bacon Flats, and Eagle Springs fields indicate the possibility of three distinct crude oil source facies within Railroad Valley, Nevada. The two crude oil samples produced in the Meridian Spencer Federal 32-29 well are from the Eocene Sheep Pass Formation (MSF-SP) at 10,570 ft and the Joana Limestone (MSF-J) at 13,943 ft; the pyrolyzate is from the Chainman Shale at 10,700 ft. The Chainmanmore » Shale pyrolyzate has a similar composition to oils produced in Trap Springs and Grant Canyon fields. Applying multivariate statistical analysis to biological marker data shows that the Chainman Shale is a possible source for oil produced at Trap Springs because of the similarities between Trap Springs oils and the Chainman Shale pyrolyzate. It is also apparent that MSF-SP and oils produced in the Eagle Springs field have been generated from a different source (probably the Sheep Pass Formation) because of the presence of gammacerane (C{sub 30}). MSF-J and Bacon Flats appear to be either sourced from a pre-Mississippian unit or from a different facies within the Chainman Shale because of the apparent differences between MSF-J and Chainman Shale pyrolyzate.« less

  17. Effect of initial oil concentration and dispersant on crude oil biodegradation in contaminated seawater.

    PubMed

    Zahed, Mohammad Ali; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Isa, Mohamed Hasnain; Mohajeri, Leila

    2010-04-01

    The effects of initial oil concentration and the Corexit 9500 dispersant on the rate of bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons were investigated with a series of ex-situ seawater samples. With initial oil concentrations of 100, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/L, removal of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) with dispersant were 67.3%, 62.5%, 56.5% and 44.7%, respectively, and were 64.2%, 55.7%, 48.8% and 37.6% without dispersant. The results clearly indicate that the presence of dispersant enhanced crude oil biodegradation. Lower concentrations of crude oil demonstrated more efficient hydrocarbon removal. Based on these findings, bioremediation is not recommended for crude oil concentrations of 2,000 mg/L or higher.

  18. Rheological Behaviour of Water-in-Light Crude Oil Emulsion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Husin, H.; Taju Ariffin, T. S.; Yahya, E.

    2018-05-01

    Basically, emulsions consist of two immiscible liquids which have different density. In petroleum industry, emulsions are undesirable due to their various costly problems in term of transportation difficulties and production loss. A study of the rheological behaviour of light crude oil and its mixture from Terengganu were carried out using Antoon Paar MCR 301 rheometer operated at pressure of 2.5 bar at temperature C. Water in oil emulsions were prepared by mixing light crude oil with different water volume fractions (20%, 30% and 40%). The objectives of present paper are to study the rheological behaviour of emulsion as a fuction of shear rate and model analysis that fitted with the experimental data. The rheological models of Ostwald-De-Waele and Herschel-Bulkley were fitted to the experimental results. All models represented well the rheological data, with high values for the correlation coefficients. The result indicated that variation of water content influenced shear rate-shear stress rheogram of the prepared emulsions. In the case of 100% light crude oil, the study demonstrated non-Newtonian shear thickening behavior. However, for emulsion with different volume water ratios, the rheological behaviour could be well described by Herschel-Bulkley models due to the present of yield stress parameter (R2 = 0.99807). As a conclusion, rheological studies showed that volume water ratio have a great impact on the shear stress and viscosity of water in oil emulsion and it is important to understand these factors to avoid various costly problems.

  19. Forecasting Crude Oil Spot Price Using OECD Petroleum Inventory Levels

    EIA Publications

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a short-term monthly forecasting model of West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot price using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) petroleum inventory levels.

  20. Halting Land Subsidence in Tucson, Arizona: Examining the Poroelastic Response to Artificial Recharge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, M. M.; Shirzaei, M.; Argus, D. F.

    2017-12-01

    Overexploitation of groundwater results in stressed aquifer systems and surface deformation in the form of land subsidence. Differential land subsidence can lead to earth fissures, which threaten buildings and infrastructure. Therefore, careful water management is necessary to ensure aquifer resources are withdrawn and replenished at a sustainable yield to preserve supplies and minimize surface deformation. Tucson, Arizona is a semi-arid desert city that is reliant on a semi-confined alluvial aquifer system for much of the water supply. To understand the poroelastic response of the aquifer system over time, we analyze data from wells equipped with extensometers, InSAR time series, and GPS. From 1990-2005, compaction of fine-grained, aquitard material is measured up to 8.5 mm/yr at well sites equipped with extensometers. This induces permanent aquifer storage volume losses up to 4.1%. Yet, interferograms from Envisat and RadarSAT-2 C-band satellites, which yield multitemporal deformation maps at high resolution, reveal that subsidence remarkably slows by the late 2000s and nearly halts by 2015. We infer this deceleration corresponds to heightened artificial recharge efforts to bank Colorado River water delivered via canal. After groundwater levels recover, residual compaction continues for just a 6.6-year interval, which suggests a high value for vertical hydraulic conductivity up to 9.8 x10-4 m/day. Successful water management and conservation plans help the city preserve existing and replenish depleted groundwater reserves, decelerate land subsidence, and likely reduce the risks associated with earth fissuring.

  1. Crude oil exposures reveal roles for intracellular calcium cycling in haddock craniofacial and cardiac development

    PubMed Central

    Sørhus, Elin; Incardona, John P.; Karlsen, Ørjan; Linbo, Tiffany; Sørensen, Lisbet; Nordtug, Trond; van der Meeren, Terje; Thorsen, Anders; Thorbjørnsen, Maja; Jentoft, Sissel; Edvardsen, Rolf B.; Meier, Sonnich

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that crude oil exposure affects cardiac development in fish by disrupting excitation-contraction (EC) coupling. We previously found that eggs of Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) bind dispersed oil droplets, potentially leading to more profound toxic effects from uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Using lower concentrations of dispersed crude oil (0.7–7 μg/L ∑PAH), here we exposed a broader range of developmental stages over both short and prolonged durations. We quantified effects on cardiac function and morphogenesis, characterized novel craniofacial defects, and examined the expression of genes encoding potential targets underlying cardiac and craniofacial defects. Because of oil droplet binding, a 24-hr exposure was sufficient to create severe cardiac and craniofacial abnormalities. The specific nature of the craniofacial abnormalities suggests that crude oil may target common craniofacial and cardiac precursor cells either directly or indirectly by affecting ion channels and intracellular calcium in particular. Furthermore, down-regulation of genes encoding specific components of the EC coupling machinery suggests that crude oil disrupts excitation-transcription coupling or normal feedback regulation of ion channels blocked by PAHs. These data support a unifying hypothesis whereby depletion of intracellular calcium pools by crude oil-derived PAHs disrupts several pathways critical for organogenesis in fish. PMID:27506155

  2. Measurement of the Rheology of Crude Oil in Equilibrium with CO2 at Reservoir Conditions.

    PubMed

    Hu, Ruien; Crawshaw, John

    2017-06-06

    A rheometer system to measure the rheology of crude oil in equilibrium with carbon dioxide (CO2) at high temperatures and pressures is described. The system comprises a high-pressure rheometer which is connected to a circulation loop. The rheometer has a rotational flow-through measurement cell with two alternative geometries: coaxial cylinder and double gap. The circulation loop contains a mixer, to bring the crude oil sample into equilibrium with CO2, and a gear pump that transports the mixture from the mixer to the rheometer and recycles it back to the mixer. The CO2 and crude oil are brought to equilibrium by stirring and circulation and the rheology of the saturated mixture is measured by the rheometer. The system is used to measure the rheological properties of Zuata crude oil (and its toluene dilution) in equilibrium with CO2 at elevated pressures up to 220 bar and a temperature of 50 °C. The results show that CO2 addition changes the oil rheology significantly, initially reducing the viscosity as the CO2 pressure is increased and then increasing the viscosity above a threshold pressure. The non-Newtonian response of the crude is also seen to change with the addition of CO2.

  3. Kinetic modeling and half life study on bioremediation of crude oil dispersed by Corexit 9500.

    PubMed

    Zahed, Mohammad Ali; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Isa, Mohamed Hasnain; Mohajeri, Leila; Mohajeri, Soraya; Kutty, Shamsul Rahman Mohamed

    2011-01-30

    Hydrocarbon pollution in marine ecosystems occurs mainly by accidental oil spills, deliberate discharge of ballast waters from oil tankers and bilge waste discharges; causing site pollution and serious adverse effects on aquatic environments as well as human health. A large number of petroleum hydrocarbons are biodegradable, thus bioremediation has become an important method for the restoration of oil polluted areas. In this research, a series of natural attenuation, crude oil (CO) and dispersed crude oil (DCO) bioremediation experiments of artificially crude oil contaminated seawater was carried out. Bacterial consortiums were identified as Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. First order kinetics described the biodegradation of crude oil. Under abiotic conditions, oil removal was 19.9% while a maximum of 31.8% total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) removal was obtained in natural attenuation experiment. All DCO bioreactors demonstrated higher and faster removal than CO bioreactors. Half life times were 28, 32, 38 and 58 days for DCO and 31, 40, 50 and 75 days for CO with oil concentrations of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/L, respectively. The effectiveness of Corexit 9500 dispersant was monitored in the 45 day study; the results indicated that it improved the crude oil biodegradation rate. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. EFFECTS OF NITROGEN SOURCE ON CRUDE OIL BIODEGRADATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    The effects of NH4Cl and KNO3 on biodegradation of light Arabian crude oil by an oil-degrading enrichment culture were studied in respirometers. In poorly buffered sea salts medium, the pH decreased dramatically in cultures that contained NH4Cl, b...

  5. Detection of genetically modified soybean in crude soybean oil.

    PubMed

    Nikolić, Zorica; Vasiljević, Ivana; Zdjelar, Gordana; Ðorđević, Vuk; Ignjatov, Maja; Jovičić, Dušica; Milošević, Dragana

    2014-02-15

    In order to detect presence and quantity of Roundup Ready (RR) soybean in crude oil extracted from soybean seed with a different percentage of GMO seed two extraction methods were used, CTAB and DNeasy Plant Mini Kit. The amplifications of lectin gene, used to check the presence of soybean DNA, were not achieved in all CTAB extracts of DNA, while commercial kit gave satisfactory results. Comparing actual and estimated GMO content between two extraction methods, root mean square deviation for kit is 0.208 and for CTAB is 2.127, clearly demonstrated superiority of kit over CTAB extraction. The results of quantification evidently showed that if the oil samples originate from soybean seed with varying percentage of RR, it is possible to monitor the GMO content at the first stage of processing crude oil. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Developmental Toxicity of Louisiana Crude Oiled Sediment to Zebrafish

    EPA Science Inventory

    Embryonic exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and petroleum products cause a characteristic suite of developmental defects in a variety of fish species. We exposed zebrafish embryos to sediment mixed with laboratory weathered South Louisiana crude oil. Oiled sedi...

  7. Interdependence between crude oil and world food prices: A detrended cross correlation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, Debdatta; Mitra, Subrata K.

    2018-02-01

    This article explores the changing interdependence between crude oil and world food prices at varying time scales using detrended cross correlation analysis that would answer whether the interdependence (if any) differed significantly between pre and post-crisis period. Unlike the previous studies that exogenously imposed break dates for dividing the time series into sub-samples, we tested whether the mean of the crude oil price changed over time to find evidence for structural changes in the crude oil price series and endogenously determine three break dates with minimum Bayesian information criterion scores. Accordingly, we divided the entire study period in four sample periods - January 1990 to October 1999, November 1999 to February 2005, March 2005 to September 2010, and October 2010 to July 2016, where the third sample period coincided with the period of food crisis and enabled us to compare the fuel-food interdependence across pre-crisis, during the crisis, and post-crisis periods. The results of the detrended cross correlation analysis extended corroborative evidence for increasing positive interdependence between the crude oil price and world food price index along with its sub-categories, namely dairy, cereals, vegetable oil, and sugar. The article ends with the implications of these results in the domain of food policy and the financial sector.

  8. The numerical simulation on swelling factor and extraction rate of a tight crude oil and SC-CO2 system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, Hongjun; Gong, Houjian; Li, Yajun; Dong, Mingzhe

    2018-03-01

    A method was established to study swelling and extraction between CO2 and crude oil, and the influences of pressure, temperature and molecular weight were investigated. Firstly, laboratory analysis was conducted to determine the pseudo-component and other parameters of the crude oil. Then swelling and extraction of the crude oil and SC-CO2 system were calculated by computer simulation. The results show that the pressure and temperature have little influence on the swelling and extraction between CO2 and crude oil when the mole fraction of CO2 is lower. A higher pressure and temperature is more beneficial to the interaction of CO2 and crude oil, while the swelling and extraction will not be obvious when the system is miscible. And the smaller the molecular weight of the oil is, the larger the maximum value of the swelling factor of CO2 and crude oil changes. The study of swelling and extraction plays an important role in the oilfield stimulation.

  9. Detection by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in microcosms of crude oil-contaminated mangrove sediments.

    PubMed

    dos Santos, A C F; Marques, E L S; Gross, E; Souza, S S; Dias, J C T; Brendel, M; Rezende, R P

    2012-01-27

    Currently, the effect of crude oil on ammonia-oxidizing bacterium communities from mangrove sediments is little understood. We studied the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in mangrove microcosm experiments using mangrove sediments contaminated with 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5% crude oil as well as non-contaminated control and landfarm soil from near an oil refinery in Camamu Bay in Bahia, Brazil. The evolution of CO(2) production in all crude oil-contaminated microcosms showed potential for mineralization. Cluster analysis of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis-derived samples generated with primers for gene amoA, which encodes the functional enzyme ammonia monooxygenase, showed differences in the sample contaminated with 5% compared to the other samples. Principal component analysis showed divergence of the non-contaminated samples from the 5% crude oil-contaminated sediment. A Venn diagram generated from the banding pattern of PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to look for operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in common. Eight OTUs were found in non-contaminated sediments and in samples contaminated with 0.5, 1, or 2% crude oil. A Jaccard similarity index of 50% was found for samples contaminated with 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2% crude oil. This is the first study that focuses on the impact of crude oil on the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium community in mangrove sediments from Camamu Bay.

  10. Fatty Amide Determination in Neutral Molecular Fractions of Green Crude Hydrothermal Liquefaction Oils From Algal Biomass

    DOE PAGES

    Palardy, Oliver; Behnke, Craig; Laurens, Lieve M. L.

    2017-07-05

    Even though hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising route to produce crude oils (referred to as 'green crude'), the molecular composition of the nitrogen fraction of such green crude oils is not fully understood. The goal of this work was to identify and quantify the fraction of fatty amides in green crude oils obtained from five different samples derived from Desmodesmus armatus, Tetraselmis sp., and Chlorella sp. biomass treated under different HTL conditions (260 or 340 degrees C as batch or continuous processes). The goal of this work was to elucidate the nature of the high nitrogen content of themore » green crude oils. We identified at least 19 distinct fatty amides present in green crude oils and quantified them based on relevant standards in purified fractions after functional group-based separation and enrichment. It was not known how much these compounds contributed to the oils or which molecular fraction they are associated with. We found that fatty amides exclusively partitioned with the neutral fraction of the oils and belonged mainly to one of five categories, based on their functional group substitution, i.e., fatty amides, monomethyl, dimethyl, monoethanolamide, and diethanolamide. The quantification of fatty amides in the neutral oil fraction was based on respective fatty amide standards, after verification of consistency in response factors between molecules with different substitutions of the amide group. Here, we found that the amount of fatty amides found in each of the five samples varied considerably and ranged between 1.4 and 3.0% of the green crude oils, with the highest levels detected in the sample with the highest oil content, after HTL of biomass derived from a nutrient deprived Chlorella sp. culture.« less

  11. Removal of crude oil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via organoclay-microbe-oil interactions.

    PubMed

    Ugochukwu, Uzochukwu C; Fialips, Claire I

    2017-05-01

    Clay minerals are quite vital in biogeochemical processes but the effect of organo-clays in the microbial degradation of crude oil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is not well understood. The role of organo-saponite and organo-montmorillonite in comparison with the unmodified clays in crude oil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) removal via adsorption and biodegradation was studied by carrying out microcosm experiments in aqueous clay/oil systems with a hydrocarbon degrading microbial community that is predominantly alcanivorax spp. Montmorillonite and saponite samples were treated with didecyldimethylammonium bromide to produce organo-montmorillonite and organo-saponite used in this study. Obtained results indicate that clays with high cation exchange capacity (CEC) such as montmorillonite produced organo-clay (organomontmorillonite) that was not stimulatory to biodegradation of crude oil polycyclic aromatic compounds, especially the low molecular weight (LMW) ones, such as dimethylnaphthalenes. It is suggested that interaction between the organic phase of the organo-clay and the crude oil PAHs which is hydrophobic in nature must have reduced the availability of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for biodegradation. Organo-saponite did not enhance the microbial degradation of dimethylnaphthalenes but enhanced the biodegradation of some other PAHs such as phenanthrene. The unmodified montmorillonite enhanced the microbial degradation of the PAHs and is most likely to have done so as a result of its high surface area that allows the accumulation of microbes and nutrients enhancing their contact. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lutfi, Zainal; Ahmad, Asmat; Usup, Gires

    Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compoundmore » of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation.« less

  13. Analysis of crude oil markets with improved multiscale weighted permutation entropy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niu, Hongli; Wang, Jun; Liu, Cheng

    2018-03-01

    Entropy measures are recently extensively used to study the complexity property in nonlinear systems. Weighted permutation entropy (WPE) can overcome the ignorance of the amplitude information of time series compared with PE and shows a distinctive ability to extract complexity information from data having abrupt changes in magnitude. Improved (or sometimes called composite) multi-scale (MS) method possesses the advantage of reducing errors and improving the accuracy when applied to evaluate multiscale entropy values of not enough long time series. In this paper, we combine the merits of WPE and improved MS to propose the improved multiscale weighted permutation entropy (IMWPE) method for complexity investigation of a time series. Then it is validated effective through artificial data: white noise and 1 / f noise, and real market data of Brent and Daqing crude oil. Meanwhile, the complexity properties of crude oil markets are explored respectively of return series, volatility series with multiple exponents and EEMD-produced intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) which represent different frequency components of return series. Moreover, the instantaneous amplitude and frequency of Brent and Daqing crude oil are analyzed by the Hilbert transform utilized to each IMF.

  14. Plasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations during chronic ingestion of crude oil in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rattner, B.A.; Eastin, W.C.

    1981-01-01

    1. Blood samples were collected from mallard ducks after 6, 12, and 18 weeks of dietary exposure to mash containing 0.015%, 0.150%, and 1.500% crude oil.2. Plasma corticosterone concentrations in ducks fed mash containing 0.150% or 1.500% Alaskan Prudhoe Bay crude oil were uniformly depressed when compared to values in untreated control birds.3. Plasma thyroxine concentration was not altered in ducks chronically exposed to crude oil.4. The observed alteration in corticosterone concentration could reduce tolerance to temperature and dietary fluctuations in the environment.

  15. Desulfurization of Saudi Arabian crudes by oxidation-extraction method.

    PubMed

    Al Otaibi, Raja L; Liu, Dong; Hou, Xulian; Song, Linhua; Li, Qingyin; Li, Mengfei; Almigrin, Hamid O; Yan, Zifeng

    The oxidation-extraction desulfurization of Saudi Arabian crudes was conducted with hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid oxidation system. The selection of extractant, the optimization of oxidation-extraction conditions, and the exploration of desulfurization mechanism were studied. As DMF was used as the extractant, the optimal desulfurization rate of 35.11 % and oil recovery of 95 % were obtained at 70 °C with the molar ratio of peracetic acid to sulfur of 8:1, the molar ratio of acetic acid to hydrogen peroxide of 2:1 and the volume ratio of extractant to oil of 1:1. The desulfurization effect of different fractions in the treated Saudi Arabian crudes was found to obey the following order: gasoline-diesel fraction >VGO fraction >VR fraction, due to different types and structures of sulfur compounds. The oil quality was less affected and most sulfides were mainly extracted via DMF.

  16. Crude and intrinsic birth rates for Asian countries.

    PubMed

    Rele, J R

    1978-01-01

    An attempt to estimate birth rates for Asian countries. The main sources of information in developing countries has been census age-sex distribution, although inaccuracies in the basic data have made it difficult to reach a high degree of accuracy. Different methods bring widely varying results. The methodology presented here is based on the use of the conventional child-woman ratio from the census age-sex distribution, with a rough estimate of the expectation of life at birth. From the established relationships between child-woman ratio and the intrinsic birth rate of the nature y = a + bx + cx(2) at each level of life expectation, the intrinsic birth rate is first computed using coefficients already computed. The crude birth rate is obtained using the adjustment based on the census age-sex distribution. An advantage to this methodology is that the intrinsic birth rate, normally an involved computation, can be obtained relatively easily as a biproduct of the crude birth rates and the bases for the calculations for each of 33 Asian countries, in some cases over several time periods.

  17. Crude oil treatment leads to shift of bacterial communities in soils from the deep active layer and upper permafrost along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline route.

    PubMed

    Yang, Sizhong; Wen, Xi; Zhao, Liang; Shi, Yulan; Jin, Huijun

    2014-01-01

    The buried China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP) across the permafrost-associated cold ecosystem in northeastern China carries a risk of contamination to the deep active layers and upper permafrost in case of accidental rupture of the embedded pipeline or migration of oil spills. As many soil microbes are capable of degrading petroleum, knowledge about the intrinsic degraders and the microbial dynamics in the deep subsurface could extend our understanding of the application of in-situ bioremediation. In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate the bacterial communities in response to simulated contamination to deep soil samples by using 454 pyrosequencing amplicons. The result showed that bacterial diversity was reduced after 8-weeks contamination. A shift in bacterial community composition was apparent in crude oil-amended soils with Proteobacteria (esp. α-subdivision) being the dominant phylum, together with Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The contamination led to enrichment of indigenous bacterial taxa like Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Caulobacter, Phenylobacterium, Alicylobacillus and Arthrobacter, which are generally capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The community shift highlighted the resilience of PAH degraders and their potential for in-situ degradation of crude oil under favorable conditions in the deep soils.

  18. Crude Oil Treatment Leads to Shift of Bacterial Communities in Soils from the Deep Active Layer and Upper Permafrost along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline Route

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Sizhong; Wen, Xi; Zhao, Liang; Shi, Yulan; Jin, Huijun

    2014-01-01

    The buried China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP) across the permafrost-associated cold ecosystem in northeastern China carries a risk of contamination to the deep active layers and upper permafrost in case of accidental rupture of the embedded pipeline or migration of oil spills. As many soil microbes are capable of degrading petroleum, knowledge about the intrinsic degraders and the microbial dynamics in the deep subsurface could extend our understanding of the application of in-situ bioremediation. In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate the bacterial communities in response to simulated contamination to deep soil samples by using 454 pyrosequencing amplicons. The result showed that bacterial diversity was reduced after 8-weeks contamination. A shift in bacterial community composition was apparent in crude oil-amended soils with Proteobacteria (esp. α-subdivision) being the dominant phylum, together with Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The contamination led to enrichment of indigenous bacterial taxa like Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Caulobacter, Phenylobacterium, Alicylobacillus and Arthrobacter, which are generally capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The community shift highlighted the resilience of PAH degraders and their potential for in-situ degradation of crude oil under favorable conditions in the deep soils. PMID:24794099

  19. The Fate of Crude Oil during Photooxidation under Natural Sunlight

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Q.; Evans, M.; Bacosa, H. P.; Hu, X.; Liu, Z.

    2016-02-01

    Photooxidation plays an important role in removing spilled crude oil, particularly the aromatic fraction, in surface seawater. Even though much research has been done regarding the changes of different oil fractions by photooxidation, including saturate, aromatic, resin and asphaltene (SARA), we know little about how specific aromatic compounds change in the SARA fractions during photooxidation. In this study, we amended 13C-labled phenanthrene in slightly weathered Louisiana light sweet crude, and followed the fates of 13C values of the SARA fractions during a 44-d incubation experiment under the natural sunlight in south Texas. Our results showed that the aromatic fraction of the crude decreased from 25.4% at time zero to 13.5% at the 44th d, while the resin increased from 12.2% to 16.5% and asphaltene from 2.4% to 13.3%, respectively. This result indicates the aromatic was transformed mostly into asphaltene by photooxidation, and most of the changes took place within the first 10 d. In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the SARA fractions in the dark controls. Analyses of 13C values and phenanthrene concentrations in the SARA fractions are currently on going and will be presented. Results from this experiment provide insights into changes of specific aromatic compounds within oil fractions by photochemical oxidation during oil weathering in the ocean.

  20. Embryotoxic effects of crude oil in mallard ducks and chicks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hoffman, David J.

    1978-01-01

    Recent studies in this laboratory have revealed that surface applications of microliter amounts of some crude and fuel oils that coat less than 10% of the egg surface reduce hatching considerably in different avian species. Applications of paraffin compounds that coat equal areas of the egg surface do not reduce hatching suggesting that toxicity is due to causes other than asphyxia. In the present study, 1–10 μl of South Louisiana crude oil, an API reference oil, were applied to the surface of fertile mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and chicken (Gallus gallus) eggs. Early embryolethality was greater in mallard embryos than in chick embryos, but later embryolethality that coincided with the time of rapid outgrowth of the chorioallantoic membrane was more prevalent in chick embryos. The overall incidence of embryolethality was similar in both species. Retardation of growth as reflected by embryonic body weight, crown-rump length, beak length, and general appearance was more pronounced in chick than mallard embryos. Teratogenic defects were more frequent in chick embryos, and incomplete or abnormal ossification of the skull was the most common. External application of equivalent amounts of a mixture of paraffin compounds present in crude oil had virtually no embryotoxic effects in either species, suggesting that other components including aromatic hydrocarbons and organometallics may cause the embryotoxicity.

  1. Electrolysis-driven bioremediation of crude oil-contaminated marine sediments.

    PubMed

    Bellagamba, Marco; Cruz Viggi, Carolina; Ademollo, Nicoletta; Rossetti, Simona; Aulenta, Federico

    2017-09-25

    Bioremediation is an effective technology to tackle crude oil spill disasters, which takes advantage of the capacity of naturally occurring microorganisms to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons under a range of environmental conditions. The enzymatic process of breaking down oil is usually more rapid in the presence of oxygen. However, in contaminated sediments, oxygen levels are typically too low to sustain the rapid and complete biodegradation of buried hydrocarbons. Here, we explored the possibility to electrochemically manipulate the redox potential of a crude oil-contaminated marine sediment in order to establish, in situ, conditions that are conducive to contaminants biodegradation by autochthonous microbial communities. The proposed approach is based on the exploitation of low-voltage (2V) seawater electrolysis to drive oxygen generation (while minimizing chlorine evolution) on Dimensionally Stable Anodes (DSA) placed within the contaminated sediment. Results, based on a laboratory scale setup with chronically polluted sediments spiked with crude oil, showed an increased redox potential and a decreased pH in the vicinity of the anode of 'electrified' treatments, consistent with the occurrence of oxygen generation. Accordingly, hydrocarbons biodegradation was substantially accelerated (up to 3-times) compared to 'non-electrified' controls, while sulfate reduction was severely inhibited. Intermittent application of electrolysis proved to be an effective strategy to minimize the energy requirements of the process, without adversely affecting degradation performance. Taken as a whole, this study suggests that electrolysis-driven bioremediation could be a sustainable technology for the management of contaminated sediments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. US crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, 1992 annual report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1993-10-18

    This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1992, as well as production volumes for the United States, and selected States and State subdivisions for the year 1992. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), its two major components (nonassociated and associated-dissolved gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, two components of natural gas liquids, lease condensate and natural gas plant liquids, have their reservesmore » and production data presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1992 is provided.« less

  3. The effect of several crude oils and some petroleum distillation fractions on intestinal absorption in ducklings (Anas platyhynchos).

    PubMed

    Crocker, A D; Cronshaw, J; Holmes, W N

    1975-01-01

    Ducklings given hypertonic saline drinking water show significant increases in the rates of Na+ and water transfer across the intestinal mucosa. These increased rates of transfer are maintained as long as the birds are fed dypertonic saline. Oral administration of a single small dose of crude oil had no effect on the basal rate of mucosal transfer in freshwater-maintained ducklings but the adaptive response of the mucosa is suppressed in birds given hypertonic saline. When crude oils from eight different geographical locations were tested, the degree of inhibition varied between them; the greatest and smallest degrees of inhibition being observed following administration of Kuwait and North Slope, Alaska, crude oils respectively. The effects of distallation fractions derived from two chemically different crude oils were also examined. The volume of each distallation fraction administered corresponded to its relative abundance in the crude oil from which it was derived. The inhibitory effect was not associated exclusively with the same distallation fractions from each oil. A highly naphthenic crude oil from the San Joaquin Valley, California, showed the greatest inhibitory activity in the least abundant (2%), low boiling point (smaller than 245 degrees C) fraction and the least inhibitory activity in the highest boiling point (greater than 482 degrees C) most abundant (47%) fraction. In contrast, a highly paraffinic crude oil from Paradox Basin, Utah, showed the greatest inhibitory effect with the highest boiling point fraction and a minimal effect with the lowest boiling point fraction; the relative abundances of these two fractions in the crude oil represented 27 and 28% respectively. Water-soluble extracts of both crude oils also had inhibitory effects on mucosal transfer rates and these roughly proportionate to the inhibitory potency of the low boiling point fraction of each oil. Weathered samples of San Joaquin Valley, California, and the Paradox Basin, Utah

  4. Toxicity of oil dispersant, crude oil and dispersed crude oil to a marine amphipod and gastropod

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gulec, I.; Holdway, D.A.

    1995-12-31

    The importance of appropriate oil spill remedial action was emphasized during the recent Iron Barron oil spill off of the Tamar river in North Tasmania. One important potential oil spill response is dispersion, but little information exists on the toxicity of dispersants and dispersed oil to Australian marine species. This research was undertaken to assess the acute toxicity of Corexit 9527 (a widely used dispersant), water accommodated fractions of Bass Strait crude oil and dispersed Bass Strait crude oil, to the saltwater amphipod, Allorchestes compressa under semi-static conditions. Acute 96 h LC50`s were determined for each toxicant as well asmore » for the reference toxicants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and zinc sulfate. Sublethal bioassays were undertaken for the same 3 toxicants utilizing the marines and snail Polinices conicus as the test species. No-observed-effect-concentrations (NOEC) and lowest-observed-effect-concentrations (LOEC) were determined using ANOVA while EC50`s and EC0`s were calculated using regression analysis. Mean acute 96 h LC50 (S.E.) values for A. compressa exposed to SDS and zinc sulfate were 3.6 mg/l (0.28) and 41.6 mg/l (9.01) respectively. EC50 (S.E.) concentrations for P. conicus exposed to SDS and zinc sulfate for 30 minutes were 44.7 mg/l and 246 mg/l respectively using burying behavior as an endpoint. These sublethal EC50`s were reduced to 20.7 mg/l for SDS and 23.5 mg/l for zinc sulfate following 24 hours of exposure.« less

  5. Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis to Biomarkers in Se-Turkey Crude Oils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gürgey, K.; Canbolat, S.

    2017-11-01

    Twenty-four crude oil samples were collected from the 24 oil fields distributed in different districts of SE-Turkey. API and Sulphur content (%), Stable Carbon Isotope, Gas Chromatography (GC), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) data were used to construct a geochemical data matrix. The aim of this study is to examine the genetic grouping or correlations in the crude oil samples, hence the number of source rocks present in the SE-Turkey. To achieve these aims, two of the multivariate statistical analysis techniques (Principle Component Analysis [PCA] and Cluster Analysis were applied to data matrix of 24 samples and 8 source specific biomarker variables/parameters. The results showed that there are 3 genetically different oil groups: Batman-Nusaybin Oils, Adıyaman-Kozluk Oils and Diyarbakir Oils, in addition to a one mixed group. These groupings imply that at least, three different source rocks are present in South-Eastern (SE) Turkey. Grouping of the crude oil samples appears to be consistent with the geographic locations of the oils fields, subsurface stratigraphy as well as geology of the area.

  6. Refining of crude rubber seed oil as a feedstock for biofuel production.

    PubMed

    Gurdeep Singh, Haswin Kaur; Yusup, Suzana; Abdullah, Bawadi; Cheah, Kin Wai; Azmee, Fathin Nabilah; Lam, Hon Loong

    2017-12-01

    Crude rubber seed oil is a potential source for biofuel production. However it contains undesirable impurities such as peroxides and high oxidative components that not only affect the oil stability, colour and shelf-life but promote insoluble gums formation with time that could cause deposition in the combustion engines. Therefore to overcome these problems the crude rubber seed oil is refined by undergoing degumming and bleaching process. The effect of bleaching earth dosage (15-40 wt %), phosphoric acid dosage (0.5-1.0 wt %) and reaction time (20-40 min) were studied over the reduction of the peroxide value in a refined crude rubber seed oil. The analysis of variance shows that bleaching earth dosage was the most influencing factor followed by reaction time and phosphoric acid dosage. A minimum peroxide value of 0.1 milliequivalents/gram was achieved under optimized conditions of 40 wt % of bleaching earth dosage, 1.0 wt % of phosphoric acid dosage and 20 min of reaction time using Response Surface Methodology design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Demulsification of crude oil-in-water emulsions by means of fungal spores.

    PubMed

    Vallejo-Cardona, Alba Adriana; Martínez-Palou, Rafael; Chávez-Gómez, Benjamín; García-Caloca, Graciela; Guerra-Camacho, Jairo; Cerón-Camacho, Ricardo; Reyes-Ávila, Jesús; Karamath, James Robert; Aburto, Jorge

    2017-01-01

    The present feature describes for the first time the application of spores from Aspergillus sp. IMPMS7 to break out crude oil-in-water emulsions (O/W). The fungal spores were isolated from marine sediments polluted with petroleum hydrocarbons. The spores exhibited the ability to destabilize different O/W emulsions prepared with medium, heavy or extra-heavy Mexican crude oils with specific gravities between 10.1 and 21.2°API. The isolated fungal spores showed a high hydrophobic power of 89.3 ± 1.9% and with 2 g of spores per liter of emulsion, the half-life for emulsion destabilization was roughly 3.5 and 0.7 h for extra-heavy and medium crude oil, respectively. Then, the kinetics of water separation and the breaking of the O/W emulsion prepared with heavy oil through a spectrofluorometric technique were studied. A decrease in the fluorescence ratio at 339 and 326 nm (I339/I326) was observed in emulsions treated with spores, which is similar to previously reported results using chemical demulsifiers.

  8. Demulsification of crude oil-in-water emulsions by means of fungal spores

    PubMed Central

    Vallejo-Cardona, Alba Adriana; Martínez-Palou, Rafael; Chávez-Gómez, Benjamín; García-Caloca, Graciela; Guerra-Camacho, Jairo; Cerón-Camacho, Ricardo; Reyes-Ávila, Jesús; Karamath, James Robert

    2017-01-01

    The present feature describes for the first time the application of spores from Aspergillus sp. IMPMS7 to break out crude oil-in-water emulsions (O/W). The fungal spores were isolated from marine sediments polluted with petroleum hydrocarbons. The spores exhibited the ability to destabilize different O/W emulsions prepared with medium, heavy or extra-heavy Mexican crude oils with specific gravities between 10.1 and 21.2°API. The isolated fungal spores showed a high hydrophobic power of 89.3 ± 1.9% and with 2 g of spores per liter of emulsion, the half-life for emulsion destabilization was roughly 3.5 and 0.7 h for extra-heavy and medium crude oil, respectively. Then, the kinetics of water separation and the breaking of the O/W emulsion prepared with heavy oil through a spectrofluorometric technique were studied. A decrease in the fluorescence ratio at 339 and 326 nm (I339/I326) was observed in emulsions treated with spores, which is similar to previously reported results using chemical demulsifiers. PMID:28234917

  9. Study of total phenol, flavonoids contents and phytochemical screening of various leaves crude extracts of locally grown Thymus vulgaris.

    PubMed

    Hossain, Mohammad Amzad; AL-Raqmi, Khulood Ahmed Salim; AL-Mijizy, Zawan Hamood; Weli, Afaf Mohammed; Al-Riyami, Qasim

    2013-09-01

    To prepare various crude extracts using different polarities of solvent and to quantitatively evaluate their total phenol, flavonoids contents and phytochemical screening of Thymus vulgaris collected from Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman. The leave sample was extracted with methanol and evaporated. Then it was defatted with water and extracted with different polarities organic solvents with increasing polarities. The prepare hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and methanol crude extracts were used for their evaluation of total phenol, flavonoids contents and phytochemical screening study. The established conventional methods were used for quantitative determination of total phenol, flavonoids contents and phytochemical screening. Phytochemical screening for various crude extracts were tested and shown positive result for flavonoids, saponins and steroids compounds. The result for total phenol content was the highest in butanol and the lowest in methanol crude extract whereas the total flavonoids contents was the highest in methanol and the lowest hexane crude extract. The crude extracts from locally grown Thymus vulgaris showed high concentration of flavonoids and it could be used as antibiotics for different curable and uncurable diseases.

  10. US crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves 1996 annual report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1997-12-01

    The EIA annual reserves report series is the only source of comprehensive domestic proved reserves estimates. This publication is used by the Congress, Federal and State agencies, industry, and other interested parties to obtain accurate estimates of the Nation`s proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. These data are essential to the development, implementation, and evaluation of energy policy and legislation. This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1996, as well as production volumes for the US and selected States and State subdivisionsmore » for the year 1996. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), nonassociated gas and associated-dissolved gas (which are the two major types of wet natural gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, reserve estimates for two types of natural gas liquids, lease condensate and natural gas plant liquids, are presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1996 is provided. 21 figs., 16 tabs.« less

  11. Biodegradation of crude oil into nonvolatile organic acids in a contaminated aquifer near Bemidji, Minnesota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thorn, K.A.; Aiken, G.R.

    1998-01-01

    As the result of a pipeline burst, a body of light aliphatic crude oil floats atop the groundwater in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer in a remote area outside Bemidji, Minnesota. Biodegradation has resulted in the formation of a plume of DOC downgradient from the oil body. Groundwater has also been contaminated in an area known as the spray zone, from vertical infiltration of DOC resulting from biodegradation of crude oil in the overlying unsaturated zone. The majority of DOC in the contaminated groundwater is in the form of nonvolatile organic acids (NVOA's) which represent the partial oxidation products of the crude oil constituents. The NVOA's have been classified into three fractions according to their isolation on XAD resins: hydrophobic neutrals (HPO-N), hydrophobic acids (HPO-A) and hydrophilic acids (HPI-A). These fractions of NVOA's were isolated from a well downgradient from the oil body (well 530; DOC=21 mg C/l), from a well in the spray zone (well 603; DOC=15 mg C/l) and from an uncontaminated well upgradient of the oil body where the naturally occurring DOC is 2.9 mg C/l (well 310). The three sets of NVOA's were characterized by elemental analyses, molecular weight determinations, 14C ages and liquid phase 1H and 13C NMR. The crude oil and the saturate, aromatic, resin and asphaltene fractions of the crude oil were similarly analyzed by elemental analysis and NMR. The NVOA's from the contaminated wells were clearly distinguishable from the naturally occurring groundwater DOC. Based upon molecular weights, sulfur contents, aromaticities and the presence of methyl groups bonded to aromatic rings, the characterization data suggests that the NVOA's originate from the C18 or greater alkylaromatic, naphthenoaromatic and sulfur-containing constituents of the crude oil, including possibly the resins and asphaltenes.

  12. 33 CFR 157.150 - Crude Oil Washing Operations and Equipment Manual: Recording information after inspections.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... MARINE ENVIRONMENT RELATING TO TANK VESSELS CARRYING OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank... used to pass the inspections under § 157.140: (1) Pressure and flow of the crude oil pumped to the COW machines. (2) Revolutions, number of cycles, and length of cycles of each COW machine. (3) Pressure and...

  13. Biotechnological potential of Bacillus salmalaya 139SI: a novel strain for remediating water polluted with crude oil waste.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Salmah; Dadrasnia, Arezoo

    2015-01-01

    Environmental contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly crude oil waste from refineries, is becoming prevalent worldwide. This study investigates the bioremediation of water contaminated with crude oil waste. Bacillus salamalaya 139SI, a bacterium isolated from a private farm soil in the Kuala Selangor in Malaysia, was found to be a potential degrader of crude oil waste. When a microbial population of 108 CFU ml-1 was used, the 139SI strain degraded 79% and 88% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons after 42 days of incubation in mineral salt media containing 2% and 1% of crude oil waste, respectively, under optimum conditions. In the uninoculated medium containing 1% crude oil waste, 6% was degraded. Relative to the control, the degradation was significantly greater when a bacteria count of 99 × 108 CFU ml-1 was added to the treatments polluted with 1% oil. Thus, this isolated strain is useful for enhancing the biotreatment of oil in wastewater.

  14. Biotechnological Potential of Bacillus salmalaya 139SI: A Novel Strain for Remediating Water Polluted with Crude Oil Waste

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Environmental contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly crude oil waste from refineries, is becoming prevalent worldwide. This study investigates the bioremediation of water contaminated with crude oil waste. Bacillus salamalaya 139SI, a bacterium isolated from a private farm soil in the Kuala Selangor in Malaysia, was found to be a potential degrader of crude oil waste. When a microbial population of 108 CFU ml-1 was used, the 139SI strain degraded 79% and 88% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons after 42 days of incubation in mineral salt media containing 2% and 1% of crude oil waste, respectively, under optimum conditions. In the uninoculated medium containing 1% crude oil waste, 6% was degraded. Relative to the control, the degradation was significantly greater when a bacteria count of 99 × 108 CFU ml-1 was added to the treatments polluted with 1% oil. Thus, this isolated strain is useful for enhancing the biotreatment of oil in wastewater. PMID:25875763

  15. Rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa USM-AR2 facilitates crude oil distillation.

    PubMed

    Asshifa Md Noh, Nur; Al-Ashraf Abdullah, Amirul; Nasir Mohamad Ibrahim, Mohamad; Ramli Mohd Yahya, Ahmad

    2012-01-01

    A biosurfactant-producing and hydrocarbon-utilizing bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa USM-AR2, was used to assist conventional distillation. Batch cultivation in a bioreactor gave a biomass of 9.4 g L(-1) and rhamnolipid concentration of 2.4 g L(-1) achieved after 72 h. Biosurfactant activity (rhamnolipid) was detected by the orcinol assay, emulsification index and drop collapse test. Pretreatment of crude oil TK-1 and AG-2 with a culture of P. aeruginosa USM-AR2 that contains rhamnolipid was proven to facilitate the distillation process by reducing the duration without reducing the quality of petroleum distillate. It showed a potential in reducing the duration of the distillation process, with at least 2- to 3-fold decreases in distillation time. This is supported by GC-MS analysis of the distillate where there was no difference between compounds detected in distillate obtained from treated or untreated crude oil. Calorimetric tests showed the calorie value of the distillate remained the same with or without treatment. These two factors confirmed that the quality of the distillate was not compromised and the incubation process by the microbial culture did not over-degrade the oil. The rhamnolipid produced by this culture was the main factor that enhanced the distillation performance, which is related to the emulsification of hydrocarbon chains in the crude oil. This biotreatment may play an important role to improve the existing conventional refinery and distillation process. Reducing the distillation times by pretreating the crude oil with a natural biosynthetic product translates to energy and cost savings in producing petroleum products.

  16. BIODEGRADABILITY OF DISPERSED CRUDE OIL AT TWO DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Laboratory experiments were initiated to study the biodegradability of crude oil after dispersants were applied. Two experiments were conducted, one at 20oC and the other at 5oC. In both experiments, only the dispersed oil fraction was investigated compared ...

  17. Draft Genome Sequence of Sphingopyxis sp. Strain MWB1, a Crude-Oil-Degrading Marine Bacterium

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Jonghyun; Kim, Soo Jung; Kim, Seon Hee; Kim, Seung Il; Moon, Yoon-Jung; Park, Sung-Joon

    2014-01-01

    Sphingopyxis sp. strain MWB1, which is capable of degrading crude oil, diesel, and kerosene, was isolated from crude oil–contaminated seashore in Tae-an, South Korea. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this strain, which comprises 3,118,428 bp with a G+C content of 62.85 mol%. PMID:25477411

  18. A Diverse Soil Microbiome Degrades More Crude Oil than Specialized Bacterial Assemblages Obtained in Culture.

    PubMed

    Bell, Terrence H; Stefani, Franck O P; Abram, Katrina; Champagne, Julie; Yergeau, Etienne; Hijri, Mohamed; St-Arnaud, Marc

    2016-09-15

    Soil microbiome modification may alter system function, which may enhance processes like bioremediation. In this study, we filled microcosms with gamma-irradiated soil that was reinoculated with the initial soil or cultivated bacterial subsets obtained on regular media (REG-M) or media containing crude oil (CO-M). We allowed 8 weeks for microbiome stabilization, added crude oil and monoammonium phosphate, incubated the microcosms for another 6 weeks, and then measured the biodegradation of crude oil components, bacterial taxonomy, and functional gene composition. We hypothesized that the biodegradation of targeted crude oil components would be enhanced by limiting the microbial taxa competing for resources and by specifically selecting bacteria involved in crude oil biodegradation (i.e., CO-M). Postincubation, large differences in taxonomy and functional gene composition between the three microbiome types remained, indicating that purposeful soil microbiome structuring is feasible. Although phylum-level bacterial taxonomy was constrained, operational taxonomic unit composition varied between microbiome types. Contrary to our hypothesis, the biodegradation of C10 to C50 hydrocarbons was highest when the original microbiome was reinoculated, despite a higher relative abundance of alkane hydroxylase genes in the CO-M microbiomes and of carbon-processing genes in the REG-M microbiomes. Despite increases in the relative abundances of genes potentially linked to hydrocarbon processing in cultivated subsets of the microbiome, reinoculation of the initial microbiome led to maximum biodegradation. In this study, we show that it is possible to sustainably modify microbial assemblages in soil. This has implications for biotechnology, as modification of gut microbial assemblages has led to improved treatments for diseases like Clostridium difficile infection. Although the soil environment determined which major phylogenetic groups of bacteria would dominate the assemblage, we

  19. Hydrocarbon Degradation Pathways used by Coastal Sediment Microbial Communities exposed to Crude Oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spaulding-Astudillo, F.; Sharrar, A.; Orcutt, B.

    2016-02-01

    The site-specific microbial community response to crude oil exposure in marine environments is not well described. Moreover, the abundance of genes implicated in long-chain alkane (LCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation are not well understood. Coastal sediments from the Beaufort Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Portland Harbor were treated with crude oil and incubated aerobically. Deep-sea sediments from the Gulf of Mexico were treated with the same crude oil and anaerobically incubated in situ for five months before recovery. Cycloclasticus, a known hydrocarbon-degrader, was abundant in all oiled, aerobic samples regardless of temperature, demonstrating a generalist oil-response strategy. Other hydrocarbon degrading bacteria showed differential response to either site or temperature. Primers for alkB, assA, bssA, and ncr, catabolic gene markers for aerobic LCA degradation, anaerobic LCA degradation, anaerobic LCA & PAH degradation, and anaerobic PAH degradation, respectively, were found in literature and tested on DNA extracts in a QPCR-based assay. Gene abundance was site and condition variable.

  20. Emulsions of crude glycerin from biodiesel processing with fuel oil for industrial heating.

    PubMed

    Mize, Hannah E; Lucio, Anthony J; Fhaner, Cassie J; Pratama, Fredy S; Robbins, Lanny A; Karpovich, David S

    2013-02-13

    There is considerable interest in using crude glycerin from biodiesel production as a heating fuel. In this work crude glycerin was emulsified into fuel oil to address difficulties with ignition and sustained combustion. Emulsions were prepared with several grades of glycerin and two grades of fuel oil using direct and phase inversion emulsification. Our findings reveal unique surfactant requirements for emulsifying glycerin into oil; these depend on the levels of several contaminants, including water, ash, and components in MONG (matter organic non-glycerin). A higher hydrophile-lipophile balance was required for a stable emulsion of crude glycerin in fuel oil compared to water in fuel oil. The high concentration of salts from biodiesel catalysts generally hindered emulsion stability. Geometric close-packing of micelles was carefully balanced to mechanically stabilize emulsions while also enabling low viscosity for pumping and fuel injection. Phase inversion emulsification produced more stable emulsions than direct emulsification. Emulsions were tested successfully as fuel for a waste oil burner.

  1. Characterization of Arab medium crude fractions with emphasis on kinematic viscosity - temperature behavior

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Beg, S.A.; Amin, M.B.; Hussain, I.

    1986-01-01

    Characterization of Arab medium Crude Oil, has been carried out in terms of API gravity, debutanized crude gravity, total sulfur content, Reid vapour pressure ash content, heating value, salt content, viscosity SUS, vanadium content as V/sub 2/O/sub 5/, pour point and analysis of various metals. Further, six true boiling point (TBP) fractions (IBP-95/sup 0/C, 95-205/sup 0/C, 205-260/sup 0/C, 260-345/sup 0/C, 345-455/sup 0/C and 455/sup 0/C+) of this crude were characterized in terms of API gravity, total sulfur contents H/sub 2/S content, mercaptons content, molecular weight, elemental analyses for total carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, analyses of various metals and paraffin, aromaticmore » and naphthene contents of lighter fractions. The kinematic viscosity-temperature data have been obtained for 95/sup 0/C+ TBP fractions for a wide range of temperatures.« less

  2. Evaluation of the toxic properties of naturally weathered Exxon Valdez crude oil to surrogate wildlife species

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stubblefield, W.A.; Hancock, G.A.; Ford, W.H.

    1995-12-31

    The toxic properties of naturally weathered Exxon Valdez crude oil (WEVC) to avian and mammalian wildlife species were evaluated using the surrogate species, mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, and European ferret, Mustela putorius. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential for toxic (rather than physical) injury to wildlife species that may have been exposed to WEVC, either through external contact or through dietary uptake. Previous studies have assessed the toxicity of unweathered crude oils, including Alaska North Slope Crude, but little information exists regarding the toxicity of a naturally weathered crude oil, typical of that encountered following a spill. Amore » battery of laboratory toxicity tests was conducted, in compliance with standard and published test procedures, to evaluate acute and subchronic toxicity of WEVC. These included tests of food avoidance, reproductive effects, and direct eggshell application toxicity. Naturally weathered EVC, recovered postspill from Prince William Sound, was used as the test material. 36 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.« less

  3. Antiviral Activity of Crude Hydroethanolic Extract from Schinus terebinthifolia against Herpes simplex Virus Type 1.

    PubMed

    Nocchi, Samara Requena; Companhoni, Mychelle Vianna Pereira; de Mello, João Carlos Palazzo; Dias Filho, Benedito Prado; Nakamura, Celso Vataru; Carollo, Carlos Alexandre; Silva, Denise Brentan; Ueda-Nakamura, Tânia

    2017-04-01

    Herpes simplex virus infections persist throughout the lifetime of the host and affect more than 80 % of the humans worldwide. The intensive use of available therapeutic drugs has led to undesirable effects, such as drug-resistant strains, prompting the search for new antiherpetic agents. Although diverse bioactivities have been identified in Schinus terebinthifolia , its antiviral activity has not attracted much attention. The present study evaluated the antiherpetic effects of a crude hydroethanolic extract from the stem bark of S. terebinthifolia against Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vitro and in vivo as well as its genotoxicity in bone marrow in mammals and established the chemical composition of the crude hydroethanolic extract based on liquid chromatography-diode array detector-mass spectrometry and MS/MS. The crude hydroethanolic extract inhibited all of the tested Herpes simplex virus type 1 strains in vitro and was effective in the attachment and penetration stages, and showed virucidal activity, which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The micronucleus test showed that the crude hydroethanolic extract had no genotoxic effect at the concentrations tested. The crude hydroethanolic extract afforded protection against lesions that were caused by Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vivo . Liquid chromatography-diode array detector-mass spectrometry and MS/MS identified 25 substances, which are condensed tannins mainly produced by a B-type linkage and prodelphinidin and procyanidin units. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  4. Distribution and quantitative assessment of world crude oil reserves and resources

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Masters, Charles D.; Root, David H.; Dietzman, William D.

    1983-01-01

    World Demonstrated Reserves of crude oil are approximately 723 billion barrels of oil (BBO). Cumulative production is 445 BBO and annual production is 20 BBO. Demonstrated Reserves of crude-oil have declined over the past 10 years consistent with discoveries lagging production over the same period. The assessment of Undiscovered Resources shows a 90 percent probability that the amount discoverable lies between 321 and 1,417 BBO, 550 BBO being the most likely value. The most likely value for Ultimate recoverable resources is 1,718 BBO. The distribution of Ultimate Resources of crude oil will remain highly skewed toward the Middle East; no frontier areas that have potentials large enough to significantly affect present distribution are recognized. Rates of discovery have continued to decline over the past 20 years even though exploration activity has increased in recent years. Prudence dictates, therefore, that the low side of the assessment of Undiscovered Resources be responsibly considered and that alternate energy sources be a part of future planning. Extra-heavy oil and bitumen are assessed separately, with Reserves being figured as the annual productive capacity of installed facilities times 25 years. The annual production of extra-heavy oil is about 8 million barrels and of bitumen about 60 million barrels.

  5. Process integration of crude oil distillation with technological and economic restrictions.

    PubMed

    Ulyev, Leonid; Vasiliev, Mikhail; Boldyryev, Stanislav

    2018-09-15

    The petrochemical industry is one of the most important industries in the world economy. In the largest oil-producing countries, more than half of GDP is generated by hydrocarbons production and refining. Reduction of oil prices and new environmental regulations are forcing petrochemical companies to improve their energy efficiency. Improvement of the energy efficiency of Crude oil distillation process at atmospheric vacuum distillation unit (AVDU) with a capacity of 3.3 million ton per year is considered in this paper. The amount of fuel spent for reprocessing of one ton of crude oil has been defined and it is 3.79 kg of natural gas. This paper shows the ways to achieve the objectives of retrofit in the context of administrative and technical restrictions. The retrofit goal was achieved by the retrofit of the heat exchange network, which allowed reducing gas consumption by 0.98 t/h (natural gas). The provided case studies show the pathway for efficient retrofit of crude oil distillation and most profitable ways for investment taking into account various administrative and technical constraints. The results of this work allow achieving reduction of energy consumption by 26%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Improving Lowland Rice (O. sativa L. cv. MR219) Plant Growth Variables, Nutrients Uptake, and Nutrients Recovery Using Crude Humic Substances.

    PubMed

    Palanivell, Perumal; Ahmed, Osumanu Haruna; Ab Majid, Nik Muhamad; Jalloh, Mohamadu Boyie; Susilawati, Kasim

    2015-01-01

    High cation exchange capacity and organic matter content of crude humic substances from compost could be exploited to reduce ammonia loss from urea and to as well improve rice growth and soil chemical properties for efficient nutrients utilization in lowland rice cultivation. Close-dynamic air flow system was used to determine the effects of crude humic substances on ammonia volatilization. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of crude humic substances on rice plant growth, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties using an acid soil mixed with three rates of crude humic substances (20, 40, and 60 g pot(-1)). Standard procedures were used to evaluate rice plant dry matter production, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties. Application of crude humic substances increased ammonia volatilization. However, the lowest rate of crude humic substances (20 g pot(-1)) significantly improved total dry matter, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil nutrients availability compared with crude humic substances (40 and 60 g pot(-1)) and the normal fertilization. Apart from improving growth of rice plants, crude humic substances can be used to ameliorate acid soils in rice cultivation. The findings of this study are being validated in our ongoing field trials.

  7. Improving Lowland Rice (O. sativa L. cv. MR219) Plant Growth Variables, Nutrients Uptake, and Nutrients Recovery Using Crude Humic Substances

    PubMed Central

    Palanivell, Perumal; Ahmed, Osumanu Haruna; Ab Majid, Nik Muhamad; Jalloh, Mohamadu Boyie; Susilawati, Kasim

    2015-01-01

    High cation exchange capacity and organic matter content of crude humic substances from compost could be exploited to reduce ammonia loss from urea and to as well improve rice growth and soil chemical properties for efficient nutrients utilization in lowland rice cultivation. Close-dynamic air flow system was used to determine the effects of crude humic substances on ammonia volatilization. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of crude humic substances on rice plant growth, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties using an acid soil mixed with three rates of crude humic substances (20, 40, and 60 g pot−1). Standard procedures were used to evaluate rice plant dry matter production, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil chemical properties. Application of crude humic substances increased ammonia volatilization. However, the lowest rate of crude humic substances (20 g pot−1) significantly improved total dry matter, nutrients uptake, nutrients recovery, and soil nutrients availability compared with crude humic substances (40 and 60 g pot−1) and the normal fertilization. Apart from improving growth of rice plants, crude humic substances can be used to ameliorate acid soils in rice cultivation. The findings of this study are being validated in our ongoing field trials. PMID:25977938

  8. Hydrous pyrolysis of crude oil in gold-plated reactors

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Curiale, J.A.; Lundegard, P.D.; Kharaka, Y.K.

    1992-01-01

    Crude oils from Iraq and California have been pyrolyzed under hydrous conditions at 200 and 300??C for time periods up to 210 days, in gold-plated reactors. Elemental (vanadium, nickel), stable isotopic (carbon), and molecular (n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, steranes, terpanes and aromatic steroid hydrocarbons) analyses were made on the original and pyrolyzed oils. Various conventional crude oil maturity parameters, including 20S/(20S + 20R)-24-ethylcholestane ratios and the side-chain-length distribution of aliphatic and aromatic steroidal hydrocarbons, were measured in an effort to assess the modification of molecular maturity parameters in clay-free settings, similar to those encountered in "clean" reservoirs. Concentrations of vanadium and nickel in the Iraq oil decrease significantly and the V/(V + Ni) ratio decreases slightly, with increasing pyrolysis time/temperature. Whole oil carbon isotope ratios remain fairly constant during pyrolysis, as do hopane/sterane ratios and carbon number distribution of 5??(H),14??(H),17??(H),20R steranes. These latter three parameters are considered maturity-invariant. The ratios of short side-chain components to long side-chain components of the regular steranes [C21/(C21 + C29R)] and the triaromatic steroid hydrocarbons [C21/(C21 + C28)] vary systematically with increasing pyrolysis time, indicating that these parameters may be useful as molecular maturity parameters for crude oils in clay-free reservoir rocks. In addition, decreases in bisnorhopane/hopane ratio with increasing pyrolysis time, in a clay-free and kerogen-free environment, suggest that the distribution of these compounds is controlled by either differential thermal stabilities or preferential release from a higher-molecular weight portion of the oil. ?? 1992.

  9. Economic feasibility of biochemical processes for the upgrading of crudes and the removal of sulfur, nitrogen, and trace metals from crude oil -- Benchmark cost establishment of biochemical processes on the basis of conventional downstream technologies. Final report FY95

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Premuzic, E.T.

    1996-08-01

    During the past several years, a considerable amount of work has been carried out showing that microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is promising and the resulting biotechnology may be deliverable. At Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), systematic studies have been conducted which dealt with the effects of thermophilic and thermoadapted bacteria on the chemical and physical properties of selected types of crude oils at elevated temperatures and pressures. Current studies indicate that during the biotreatment several chemical and physical properties of crude oils are affected. The oils are (1) emulsified; (2) acidified; (3) there is a qualitative and quantitative change inmore » light and heavy fractions of the crudes; (4) there are chemical changes in fractions containing sulfur compounds; (5) there is an apparent reduction in the concentration of trace metals; and (6) the qualitative and quantitative changes appear to be microbial species dependent; and (7) there is a distinction between biodegraded and biotreated oils. The downstream biotechnological crude oil processing research performed thus far is of laboratory scale and has focused on demonstrating the technical feasibility of downstream processing with different types of biocatalysts under a variety of processing conditions. Quantitative economic analysis is the topic of the present project which investigates the economic feasibility of the various biochemical downstream processes which hold promise in upgrading of heavy crudes, such as those found in California, e.g., Monterey-type, Midway Sunset, Honda crudes, and others.« less

  10. Induction of apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells by Ampelopsis cantoniensis crude extract.

    PubMed

    Tan, Tzu-Wei; Tsai, Huei-Yann; Chen, Yuh-Fung; Chung, Jing-Gung

    2004-01-01

    The crude extract of Ampelopsis cantoniensis induced apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells and this induction was investigated by flow cytometric analysis, DNA gel electrophoresis and poly (ADP-ribose) fluorescence staining. The results demonstrated that this extract induced dose-dependent cytotoxicity and apoptosis. The level of active caspase-3 was increased after treatment with the crude extract for 24 hours.

  11. HALT-D: A Phase II Evaluation of Crofelemer for the Prevention and Prophylaxis of Diarrhea in Patients With Breast Cancer on Pertuzumab-Based Regimens.

    PubMed

    Gao, Jennifer J; Tan, Ming; Pohlmann, Paula R; Swain, Sandra M

    2017-02-01

    Approximately 40% to 80% of patients receiving pertuzumab-directed therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer will develop chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID). Loperamide and octreotide are frequently used to treat CID after diarrhea occurs, but neither is used prophylactically or targets the underlying mechanism. Previous studies suggest blocking epidermal growth factor receptor may cause excess chloride secretion, resulting in diarrhea. Crofelemer is derived from the red latex of the Croton lechleri tree, blocks gastrointestinal cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator and calcium-activated chloride channels, and is U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for relief of diarrhea in HIV/AIDS patients on anti-retroviral therapy. Crofelemer is not systemically absorbed, has relatively few side effects, and presents a targeted approach at preventing CID in patients receiving pertuzumab-based therapy. HALT-D (DiarrHeA Prevention and ProphyLaxis with Crofelemer in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Trastuzumab, Pertuzumab, and Docetaxel or Paclitaxel with or without Carboplatin, NCT02910219) is a phase II, randomized, open-label trial that aims to recruit 46 patients from 3 MedStar sites. Adults with HER2-positive breast cancer being treated with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and docetaxel or paclitaxel (THP) or trastuzumab, pertuzumab, docetaxel, and carboplatin (TCHP) will be randomized to receive crofelemer or no medication for diarrhea prophylaxis. The primary endpoint is incidence of all grade diarrhea for ≥ 2 consecutive days during cycles 1 to 2 of THP or TCHP. Secondary endpoints include overall incidence, duration, and severity of diarrhea; time to onset of diarrhea; use of other anti-diarrheal medications; stool frequency and consistency; and quality of life. HALT-D will provide important information about the feasibility and tolerability of crofelemer in preventing diarrhea for patients receiving THP or TCHP

  12. [Adaptability of Helianthus annuus seedlings to crude oil pollution in soil and its improvement measures under salinization stress].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jing-lei; Ci, Hua-cong; He, Xing-dong; Liang, Yu-ting; Zhao, Xuan; Sun, Hui-ting; Xie, Hong-tao

    2015-11-01

    To explore the adaptability of plant under salt stress to crude oil pollution of soil and improvement measures, a pot experiment of Helianthus annuus seedlings was conducted using orthogonal experiment method with crude oil-sodium chloride-desulfurization gypsum and cinder-zeolite-desulfurization gypsum-sawdust. The results showed that, with the increase of soil crude oil concentration, the relative growth rate (RGR) of plant height, RGR of aboveground biomass and root N: P ratios of H. annuus seedlings decreased significantly, while the activity of SOD and CAT increased at first and then decreased significantly. The RGR of plant height and aboveground biomass significantly increased (P < 0.05), while the activity of SOD decreased gradually with the increase of the volume fraction of sawdust, indicating that sawdust had the most significant effect in comparison with cinder, zeolite, desulfurization gypsum under salinization condition. The crude oil pollution of soil could decrease the relative growth rate of H. annuus seedling, and sawdust could reduce the influence of crude oil pollution on plant growth under salt stress.

  13. Modulation of platelet functions by crude rice (Oryza sativa) bran policosanol extract.

    PubMed

    Wong, Wai-Teng; Ismail, Maznah; Imam, Mustapha Umar; Zhang, Yi-Da

    2016-07-28

    Rice bran is bioactive-rich and has proven health benefits for humans. Moreover, its source, the brown rice has antioxidant, hypolipidemic and other functional properties that are increasingly making it a nutritional staple especially in Asian countries. This study investigated the antiplatelet aggregation mechanisms of crude hexane/methanolic rice bran extract, in which policosanol was the targeted bioactive. Platelets play a vital role in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, and their increased activities could potentially cause arterial thrombus formation or severe bleeding disorders. Thus, in this study, platelet aggregation and adhesion of platelets to major components of basal lamina were examined in vitro. In addition, cellular protein secretion was quantified as a measurement of platelet activation. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen, and arachidonic acid (AA)-induced aggregation were studied using the microtiter technique. Rat platelets were pre-treated with various concentrations of policosanol extract, and the adhesion of platelets onto collagen- and laminin-coated surface (extracellular matrix) was studied using the acid phosphatase assay. The effect of crude policosanol extract on released proteins from activated platelets was measured using modified Lowry determination method. Rice bran policosanol extract significantly inhibited in vitro platelet aggregation induced by different agonists in a dose dependent manner. The IC50 of ADP-, collagen-, and AA-induced platelet aggregation were 533.37 ± 112.16, 635.94 ± 78.45 and 693.86 ± 70.57 μg/mL, respectively. The present study showed that crude rice bran policosanol extract significantly inhibited platelet adhesion to collagen in a dose dependent manner. Conversely, at a low concentration of 15.625 μg/mL, the extract significantly inhibited platelet adhesion to laminin stimulated by different platelet agonists. In addition to the alteration of cell adhesive

  14. Enhanced biodegradation of alkane hydrocarbons and crude oil by mixed strains and bacterial community analysis.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yu; Li, Chen; Zhou, Zhengxi; Wen, Jianping; You, Xueyi; Mao, Youzhi; Lu, Chunzhe; Huo, Guangxin; Jia, Xiaoqiang

    2014-04-01

    In this study, two strains, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 and Pseudomonas sp. XM-01, were isolated from soil samples polluted by crude oil at Bohai offshore. The former one could degrade alkane hydrocarbons (crude oil and diesel, 1:4 (v/v)) and crude oil efficiently; the latter one failed to grow on alkane hydrocarbons but could produce rhamnolipid (a biosurfactant) with glycerol as sole carbon source. Compared with pure culture, mixed culture of the two strains showed higher capability in degrading alkane hydrocarbons and crude oil of which degradation rate were increased from 89.35 and 74.32 ± 4.09 to 97.41 and 87.29 ± 2.41 %, respectively. In the mixed culture, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 grew fast with sufficient carbon source and produced intermediates which were subsequently utilized for the growth of Pseudomonas sp. XM-01 and then, rhamnolipid was produced by Pseudomonas sp. XM-01. Till the end of the process, Acinetobacter sp. XM-02 was inhibited by the rapid growth of Pseudomonas sp. XM-01. In addition, alkane hydrocarbon degradation rate of the mixed culture increased by 8.06 to 97.41 % compared with 87.29 % of the pure culture. The surface tension of medium dropping from 73.2 × 10(-3) to 28.6 × 10(-3) N/m. Based on newly found cooperation between the degrader and the coworking strain, rational investigations and optimal strategies to alkane hydrocarbons biodegradation were utilized for enhancing crude oil biodegradation.

  15. Peptide and protein delivery using new drug delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Jain, Ashish; Jain, Aviral; Gulbake, Arvind; Shilpi, Satish; Hurkat, Pooja; Jain, Sanjay K

    2013-01-01

    Pharmaceutical and biotechnological research sorts protein drug delivery systems by importance based on their various therapeutic applications. The effective and potent action of the proteins/peptides makes them the drugs of choice for the treatment of numerous diseases. Major research issues in protein delivery include the stabilization of proteins in delivery devices and the design of appropriate target-specific protein carriers. Many efforts have been made for effective delivery of proteins/peptidal drugs through various routes of administrations for successful therapeutic effects. Nanoparticles made of biodegradable polymers such as poly lactic acid, polycaprolactone, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), the poly(fumaric-co-sebacic) anhydride chitosan, and modified chitosan, as well as solid lipids, have shown great potential in the delivery of proteins/peptidal drugs. Moreover, scientists also have used liposomes, PEGylated liposomes, niosomes, and aquasomes, among others, for peptidal drug delivery. They also have developed hydrogels and transdermal drug delivery systems for peptidal drug delivery. A receptor-mediated delivery system is another attractive strategy to overcome the limitation in drug absorption that enables the transcytosis of the protein across the epithelial barrier. Modification such as PEGnology is applied to various proteins and peptides of the desired protein and peptides also increases the circulating life, solubility and stability, pharmacokinetic properties, and antigenicity of protein. This review focuses on various approaches for effective protein/peptidal drug delivery, with special emphasis on insulin delivery.

  16. Real time monitoring of the minute dynamic variation at the crude oil-water interface.

    PubMed

    Duan, Ming; Ding, Ziling; Wang, Hu; Xiong, Yan

    2018-02-21

    Quantitative recording of the minute dynamic variation at an oil-water interface is always a great challenge. Dual polarization interferometry (DPI) presents an approach in monitoring the variations of mass, thickness, and density at the interface with high resolution. In this study, a planar crude oil-water interface was established by spin-coating on a DPI chip surface. Different concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and polyacrylamide (PAM) were injected into the interface. The absorption of free SDS molecules, in low concentrations, can be interpreted as a two-step absorption. With the existence of micelles in higher concentrations, the crude oil molecules tend to be taken away by the micelles. The absorptions of the polymers at the interface are different from SDS. The crude oil can hardly be taken away by the polymers. Instead, the hydrophobic segments of polymers insert into the oil film and hydrophilic groups stretch into the solution.

  17. Variations in the sterane carbon number distributions of marine source rock derived crude oils through geological time

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Grantham, P.J.; Wakefield, L.L.

    1988-01-01

    The analysis of the sterane data of a large set of crude oils (414) derived from marine carbonate (27) and siliciclastic source rocks (14) where influences of terrestrial or lacustrine derived organic matter can reasonably be excluded, shows that there are increases in the relative content of C/sub 28/ steranes and decreases in the relative content of C/sub 29/ steranes through geological time. There are no consistent variations in the relative content of C/sub 27/ steranes through time. With one major exception (a Proterozoic oil from Oman), Paleozoic and older crude oils are thus generally characterized by strong predominances ofmore » C/sub 29/ steranes and low relative concentrations of C/sub 28/ steranes. Significantly higher proportions of C/sub 28/ steranes and lower proportions of C/sub 29/ steranes occur in oils derived from Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous source rocks. These changes through time do not appear to reflect the chemical evolution of the sterols of one particular variety of marine organism: the increase in C/sub 28/ steranes may be related to the increased diversification of phytoplantonic assemblages in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Possible sources of the C/sub 28/ sterols necessary for the observed changes in crude oil steranes includes diatoms, coccolithophores and dinoflagellates. Although the technique does not give an accurate means of determining the age of the source rock of a crude oil it is possible to distinguish younger crudes derived from the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary from Palaeozoic and older crudes.« less

  18. Use of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol for producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by the fungus Pythium irregulare.

    PubMed

    Athalye, Sneha K; Garcia, Rafael A; Wen, Zhiyou

    2009-04-08

    Crude glycerol is a major byproduct for the biodiesel industry. Producing value-added products through microbial fermentation on crude glycerol provides opportunities to utilize a large quantity of this byproduct. The objective of this study is to explore the potential of using crude glycerol for producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) by the fungus Pythium irregulare . When P. irregulare was grown in medium containing 30 g/L crude glycerol and 10 g/L yeast extract, EPA yield and productivity reached 90 mg/L and 14.9 mg/L x day, respectively. Adding pure vegetable oils (flaxseed oil and soybean oil) to the culture greatly enhanced the biomass and the EPA production. This enhancement was due to the oil absorption by the fungal cells and elongation of shorter chain fatty acids (e.g., linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid) into longer chain fatty acid (e.g., EPA). The major impurities contained in crude glycerol, soap and methanol, were inhibitory to fungal growth. Soap can be precipitated from the liquid medium through pH adjustment, whereas methanol can be evaporated from the medium during autoclaving. The glycerol-derived fungal biomass contained about 15% lipid, 36% protein, and 40% carbohydrate, with 9% ash. In addition to EPA, the fungal biomass was also rich in the essential amino acids lysine, arginine, and leucine, relative to many common feedstuffs. Elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma showed that aluminum, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sodium, sulfur, and zinc were present in the biomass, whereas no heavy metals (such as mercury and lead) were detected. The results show that it is feasible to use crude glycerol for producing fungal biomass that can serve as EPA-fortified food or feed.

  19. 33 CFR 157.160 - Tanks: Ballasting and crude oil washing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... CARRYING OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank Vessels Cow Operations § 157.160 Tanks... vessel having a COW system under § 157.10a(a)(2) or § 157.10c(b)(2) shall ensure that— (1) Ballast water...

  20. Characterization of Arab Berri (extra light) crude fractions with emphasis on kinematic viscosity-temperature behavior

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Beg, S.A.; Amin, M.B.; Hussain, I.

    1988-01-01

    The characterization data has been obtained for Arab Berri extra light crude oil (API/sup 0/ 46.9), which is one of the four crude oils being commercially produced by Saudi Arabia. Further, six true boiling point fractions (IBP-95/sup 0/C, 95-205/sup 0/C, 205-260/sup 0/C, 260-345/sup 0/C, 345-455/sup 0/C and 455/sup 0/C+) of this crude were characterized in terms of API gravity, total sulfur, H/sub 2/S, merceptans, molecular weight, elemental analysis for total carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, analysis of various metals and paraffin, aromatic and naphthalene contents of lighter fractions. The kinematic viscosity-temperature data have been obtained for 95/sup 0/C+ TBP fractions formore » wide range of temperatures.« less

  1. Transfer of crude oil from contaminated water to bird eggs

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Albers, P.H.

    1980-01-01

    Paris of breeding mallard ducks were exposed to oiled water for 2 days during the first week of incubation. Hatching success of ducks exposed to 100 ml of Prudhoe Bay crude oil per square meter of water surface was significantly less than that of controls. Hatching success of ducks exposed to 5 ml of crude oil per square meter of water surface was less than that of controls but the difference was not significant. The presence of oil on the eggs of ducks exposed to oiled water was confirmed by chemical analysis. Thermocouple probes were used to monitor the egg and nest temperatures of some of the ducks in each of the three groups. Incubation temperatures of oiled females were not significantly different from those of the controls. The incubation behavior of females exposed to oiled water and the first-week survival of their ducklings was not affected by the oil.

  2. Effect of natural and synthetic surfactants on crude oil biodegradation by indigenous strains.

    PubMed

    Tian, Wei; Yao, Jun; Liu, Ruiping; Zhu, Mijia; Wang, Fei; Wu, Xiaoying; Liu, Haijun

    2016-07-01

    Hydrocarbon pollution is a worldwide problem. In this study, five surfactants containing SDS, LAS, Brij 30, Tween 80 and biosurfactant were used to evaluate their effect on crude oil biodegradation. Hydrocarbon degrading bacteria were isolated from oil production water. The biosurfactant used was a kind of cyclic lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis strain WU-3. Solubilization test showed all the surfactants could apparently increase the water solubility of crude oil. The microbial adhesion to the hydrocarbon (MATH) test showed surfactants could change cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of microbiota, depending on their species and concentrations. Microcalorimetric experiments revealed these surfactants exhibited toxicity to microorganisms at high concentrations (above 1 CMC), except for SDS which showed low antibacterial activity. Surfactant supplementation (about 0.1 and 0.2 CMC) could improve degradation rate of crude oil slightly, while high surfactant concentration (above 1 CMC) may decrease the degradation rate from 50.5% to 28.9%. Those findings of this work could provide guidance for the application of surfactants in bioremediation of oil pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Effects of sour crude oil on fatigue properties of steel plates for shipbuilding

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ouchi, H.; Kobayashi, J.; Ishikawa, T.

    1994-12-31

    The concentration of diffusible hydrogen introduced into steel was measured, and fatigue crack growth tests and fatigue life tests were carried out in sour crude oil containing a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide and under electrolytic hydrogen-charging conditions in neutral solution, using a high strength steel produced by the thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) and a mild steel which are steels for hull plates. Comparison of the results demonstrated that a very small amount of hydrogen such as that introduced into steel from sour crude oil under atmospheric pressure accelerated the fatigue crack growth in the high {Delta}K regime and shortenedmore » the fatigue life in the high stress range region, but did not shorten the fatigue life in the low stress region. The electrolytic hydrogen-charging condition appeared to be appropriate as a fatigue-crack-growth test environment to simulate sour crude oil. The deterioration of fatigue characteristics of the TMCP high strength steel was similar with that of the mild steel.« less

  4. Total luminescence contour spectra of six topped crude oils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chisholm, B.R.; Eldering, H.G.; Giering, L.P.

    1976-11-01

    The results of a preliminary study of six topped crude oils by total luminescence are presented. Included are six contour spectra, six principal excitation/emission spectra, an interpretation of the contours by comparison with other data, a discussion of the method and recommendations for further related studies. These data are used in oil spill identification.

  5. Cross-correlations between crude oil and agricultural commodity markets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Li

    2014-02-01

    In this paper, we investigate cross-correlations between crude oil and agricultural commodity markets. Based on a popular statistical test proposed by Podobnik et al. (2009), we find that the linear return cross-correlations are significant at larger lag lengths and the volatility cross-correlations are highly significant at all of the lag lengths under consideration. Using a detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA), we find that the return cross-correlations are persistent for corn and soybean and anti-persistent for oat and soybean. The volatility cross-correlations are strongly persistent. Using a nonlinear cross-correlation measure, our results show that cross-correlations are relatively weak but they are significant for smaller time scales. For larger time scales, the cross-correlations are not significant. The reason may be that information transmission from crude oil market to agriculture markets can complete within a certain period of time. Finally, based on multifractal extension of DCCA, we find that the cross-correlations are multifractal and high oil prices partly contribute to food crisis during the period of 2006-mid-2008.

  6. Adjuvant treatment with crude rhubarb for patients with acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lina; Pan, Shuming

    2015-12-01

    Crude rhubarb has been used to treat critically ill patients for many years. However, no previous meta-analysis has been investigated the benefits of crude rhubarb in patients with acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP). To summarize the beneficial effects of adjuvant treatment with crude rhubarb in patients with AOPP by conducting a meta-analysis. A literature search of the databases through Pubmed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, and Wanfang were performed for studies published up to October 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of crude rhubarb as adjuvant treatment for patients with AOPP were included. A total of 12 RCTs with 886 patients were identified. Adjuvant treatment with crude rhubarb was associated with a significantly lower incidence of intermediate syndrome (risk ratio [RR] 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.10-0.48), as well as multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (RR 0.34; 95% CI 0.20-0.56). Crude rhubarb as adjuvant treatment reduced the total dose of pralidoxime (mean difference [MD] -5.12 g; 95% CI -8.24 to -2.00) or atropine (MD -94.89 mg; 95% CI -156.22 to -33.57), and hospital length of stay (MD -2.79 days; 95% CI -4.19 to -1.39) compared with the controls. This meta-analysis suggests that crude rhubarb as adjuvant treatment appears to have additional beneficial effects in patients with AOPP. More well-designed trials are needed to confirm our findings due to the methodological flaws of the included trials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Gas chromatographic simulated distillation-mass spectrometry for the determination of the boiling point distributions of crude oils

    PubMed

    Roussis; Fitzgerald

    2000-04-01

    The coupling of gas chromatographic simulated distillation with mass spectrometry for the determination of the distillation profiles of crude oils is reported. The method provides the boiling point distributions of both weight and volume percent amounts. The weight percent distribution is obtained from the measured total ion current signal. The total ion current signal is converted to weight percent amount by calibration with a reference crude oil of a known distillation profile. Knowledge of the chemical composition of the crude oil across the boiling range permits the determination of the volume percent distribution. The long-term repeatability is equivalent to or better than the short-term repeatability of the currently available American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) gas chromatographic method for simulated distillation. Results obtained by the mass spectrometric method are in very good agreement with results obtained by conventional methods of physical distillation. The compositional information supplied by the method can be used to extensively characterize crude oils.

  8. The unusual toxicity and stability properties of crude venom from isolated nematocysts of Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa).

    PubMed

    Marino, A; Crupi, R; Rizzo, G; Morabito, R; Musci, G; La Spada, G

    2007-09-17

    We have firstly investigated the toxicological activity by hemolytic assay of crude extract obtained by sonication of holotrichous isorhiza isolated nematocysts of the Scyphozoan Pelagia noctiluca, collected in the Strait of Messina. The hemolytic activity was both time- and dose-dependent on fish, rabbit, chicken and human red blood cells. At lowest doses rabbit and chicken erythrocytes were the most sensitive, whereas those of eel were the most resistant to the crude extract. Different storage conditions, such as -20 degrees C, -80 degrees C for up to 6 months and lyophilization, did not affect the stability of crude venom. Moreover, neither treatment at 4 degrees C, 20 degrees C and 37 degrees C for different time periods ranging between 30 min and 24 h, nor harsh thermal treatment at 80 degrees C and 100 degrees C affected the hemolytic power. The crude venom resulted even stable towards proteolysis and alkaline pH values.

  9. Two-nucleon high-spin states, the Bansal-French model and the crude shell model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chan, Tsan Ung

    1987-08-01

    Recent data on two-nucleon stretched high-spin states agree well with the crude shell model predictions. For two-neutron high-spin states, the A and T linear dependence of B2n in the Bansal-French model can be deduced from the A and T linear dependence of Bn and the crude shell model. 7-2 states in some Zn and Ge even nuclei might be two-proton states. This hypothesis should be confirmed by two-proton transfer reaction.

  10. Factors Affecting the Relationship between Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices (released in AEO2010)

    EIA Publications

    2010-01-01

    Over the 1995-2005 period, crude oil prices and U.S. natural gas prices tended to move together, which supported the conclusion that the markets for the two commodities were connected. Figure 26 illustrates the fairly stable ratio over that period between the price of low-sulfur light crude oil at Cushing, Oklahoma, and the price of natural gas at the Henry Hub on an energy-equivalent basis.

  11. Chronic crude garlic-feeding modified adult male rat testicular markers: mechanisms of action

    PubMed Central

    Hammami, Imen; Amara, Souheila; Benahmed, Mohamed; El May, Michèle V; Mauduit, Claire

    2009-01-01

    Background Garlic or Allium sativum (As) shows therapeutic effects such as reduction of blood pressure or hypercholesterolemia but side-effects on reproductive functions remain poorly investigated. Because of garlic's chemical complexity, the processing methods and yield in preparations differ in efficacy and safety. In this context, we clarify the mechanisms of action of crushed crude garlic on testicular markers. Methods During one month of treatment, 24 male rats were fed 5%, 10% and 15% crude garlic. Results We showed that crude garlic-feeding induced apoptosis in testicular germ cells (spermatocytes and spermatids). This cell death process was characterized by increased levels of active CASP3 but not CASP6. Expression of the caspase inhibitors BIRC3 and BIRC2 was increased at all doses of As while expression of XIAP and BIRC5 was unchanged. Moreover, expression of the IAP inhibitor DIABLO was increased at doses 10% and 15% of As. The germ cell death process induced by As might be related to a decrease in testosterone production because of the reduced expression of steroidogenic enzymes (Star, Cyp11a, Hsd3b5 and Hsd17b). Evaluation of Sertoli markers showed that TUBB3 and GSTA2 expression was unchanged. In contrast, AMH, RHOX5 and CDKN1B expression was decreased while GATA4 expression was increased. Conclusion In summary, we showed that feeding with crude garlic inhibited Leydig steroidogenic enzyme expression and Sertoli cell markers. These alterations might induce apoptosis in testicular germ cells. PMID:19552815

  12. Deepwater Horizon crude oil impacts the developing hearts of large predatory pelagic fish

    PubMed Central

    Incardona, John P.; Gardner, Luke D.; Linbo, Tiffany L.; Brown, Tanya L.; Esbaugh, Andrew J.; Mager, Edward M.; Stieglitz, John D.; French, Barbara L.; Labenia, Jana S.; Laetz, Cathy A.; Tagal, Mark; Sloan, Catherine A.; Elizur, Abigail; Benetti, Daniel D.; Grosell, Martin; Block, Barbara A.; Scholz, Nathaniel L.

    2014-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon disaster released more than 636 million L of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico. The spill oiled upper surface water spawning habitats for many commercially and ecologically important pelagic fish species. Consequently, the developing spawn (embryos and larvae) of tunas, swordfish, and other large predators were potentially exposed to crude oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Fish embryos are generally very sensitive to PAH-induced cardiotoxicity, and adverse changes in heart physiology and morphology can cause both acute and delayed mortality. Cardiac function is particularly important for fast-swimming pelagic predators with high aerobic demand. Offspring for these species develop rapidly at relatively high temperatures, and their vulnerability to crude oil toxicity is unknown. We assessed the impacts of field-collected Deepwater Horizon (MC252) oil samples on embryos of three pelagic fish: bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and an amberjack. We show that environmentally realistic exposures (1–15 µg/L total PAH) cause specific dose-dependent defects in cardiac function in all three species, with circulatory disruption culminating in pericardial edema and other secondary malformations. Each species displayed an irregular atrial arrhythmia following oil exposure, indicating a highly conserved response to oil toxicity. A considerable portion of Gulf water samples collected during the spill had PAH concentrations exceeding toxicity thresholds observed here, indicating the potential for losses of pelagic fish larvae. Vulnerability assessments in other ocean habitats, including the Arctic, should focus on the developing heart of resident fish species as an exceptionally sensitive and consistent indicator of crude oil impacts. PMID:24706825

  13. Prediction of physical-chemical properties of crude oils by 1H NMR analysis of neat samples and chemometrics.

    PubMed

    Masili, Alice; Puligheddu, Sonia; Sassu, Lorenzo; Scano, Paola; Lai, Adolfo

    2012-11-01

    In this work, we report the feasibility study to predict the properties of neat crude oil samples from 300-MHz NMR spectral data and partial least squares (PLS) regression models. The study was carried out on 64 crude oil samples obtained from 28 different extraction fields and aims at developing a rapid and reliable method for characterizing the crude oil in a fast and cost-effective way. The main properties generally employed for evaluating crudes' quality and behavior during refining were measured and used for calibration and testing of the PLS models. Among these, the UOP characterization factor K (K(UOP)) used to classify crude oils in terms of composition, density (D), total acidity number (TAN), sulfur content (S), and true boiling point (TBP) distillation yields were investigated. Test set validation with an independent set of data was used to evaluate model performance on the basis of standard error of prediction (SEP) statistics. Model performances are particularly good for K(UOP) factor, TAN, and TPB distillation yields, whose standard error of calibration and SEP values match the analytical method precision, while the results obtained for D and S are less accurate but still useful for predictions. Furthermore, a strategy that reduces spectral data preprocessing and sample preparation procedures has been adopted. The models developed with such an ample crude oil set demonstrate that this methodology can be applied with success to modern refining process requirements. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Towards an understanding of the role of clay minerals in crude oil formation, migration and accumulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Lin Mei; Zhou, Chun Hui; Keeling, John; Tong, Dong Shen; Yu, Wei Hua

    2012-12-01

    This article reviews progress in the understanding of the role of clay minerals in crude oil formation, migration and accumulation. Clay minerals are involved in the formation of kerogen, catalytic cracking of kerogen into petroleum hydrocarbon, the migration of crude oil, and the continued change to hydrocarbon composition in underground petroleum reservoirs. In kerogen formation, clay minerals act as catalysts and sorbents to immobilize organic matter through ligand exchange, hydrophobic interactions and cation bridges by the mechanisms of Maillard reactions, polyphenol theory, selective preservation and sorptive protection. Clay minerals also serve as catalysts in acid-catalyzed cracking of kerogen into petroleum hydrocarbon through Lewis and Brønsted acid sites on the clay surface. The amount and type of clay mineral affect the composition of the petroleum. Brønsted acidity of clay minerals is affected by the presence and state of interlayer water, and displacement of this water is a probable driver in crude oil migration from source rocks. During crude oil migration and accumulation in reservoirs, the composition of petroleum is continually modified by interaction with clay minerals. The clays continue to function as sorbents and catalysts even while they are being transformed by diagenetic processes. The detail of chemical interactions and reaction mechanisms between clay minerals and crude oil formation remains to be fully explained but promises to provide insights with broader application, including catalytic conversion of biomass as a source of sustainable energy into the future.

  15. Crude glycerol combustion: particulate, acrolein, and other volatile organic emissions

    EPA Science Inventory

    Crude glycerol is an abundant by-product of biodiesel production. As volumes of this potential waste grow, there is increasing interest in developing new value added uses. One possible use, as a boiler fuel for process heating, offers added advantages of energy integration and ...

  16. [Prediction of the side-cut product yield of atmospheric/vacuum distillation unit by NIR crude oil rapid assay].

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan-Bin; Hu, Yu-Zhong; Li, Wen-Le; Zhang, Wei-Song; Zhou, Feng; Luo, Zhi

    2014-10-01

    In the present paper, based on the fast evaluation technique of near infrared, a method to predict the yield of atmos- pheric and vacuum line was developed, combined with H/CAMS software. Firstly, the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method for rapidly determining the true boiling point of crude oil was developed. With commercially available crude oil spectroscopy da- tabase and experiments test from Guangxi Petrochemical Company, calibration model was established and a topological method was used as the calibration. The model can be employed to predict the true boiling point of crude oil. Secondly, the true boiling point based on NIR rapid assay was converted to the side-cut product yield of atmospheric/vacuum distillation unit by H/CAMS software. The predicted yield and the actual yield of distillation product for naphtha, diesel, wax and residual oil were compared in a 7-month period. The result showed that the NIR rapid crude assay can predict the side-cut product yield accurately. The near infrared analytic method for predicting yield has the advantages of fast analysis, reliable results, and being easy to online operate, and it can provide elementary data for refinery planning optimization and crude oil blending.

  17. Synergistic degradation of crude oil by indigenous bacterial consortium and exogenous fungus Scedosporium boydii.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Xinying; Chen, Xueping; Kong, Dewen; Liu, Xiaoyan; Shen, Siyuan

    2018-05-19

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of defined co-culture of indigenous bacterial consortium and exogenous fungus Scedosporium boydii for biodegradation of crude oil. After 7 days of incubation, residual oil, n-alkanes and aromatic fraction were analyzed. The degradation rate of crude oil was increased from 61.06% to 81.45% by the defined co-culture according to the 3:1 inoculation ratio of bacteria to fungi. The microbial activity was enhanced markedly and the formation of biofilms was accelerated after suitable inoculation of Scedosporium boydii. High throughput analysis showed that bacterial evenness and diversity were increased and the relative abundance of Paraburkholderia tropica was increased observably from 7.67% to 56.13% in the defined co-culture. These results indicated that synergistic degradation of crude oil in the bacteria-fungi consortium may be advantageous for bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated site. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. U.S. crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves 1997 annual report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wood, John H.; Grape, Steven G.; Green, Rhonda S.

    1998-12-01

    This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1997, as well as production volumes for the US and selected States and State subdivisions for the year 1997. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), nonassociated gas and associated-dissolved gas (which are the two major types of wet natural gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, reserve estimates for two types of natural gas liquids, leasemore » condensate and natural gas plant liquids, are presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1997 is provided. 21 figs., 16 tabs.« less

  19. Day-ahead crude oil price forecasting using a novel morphological component analysis based model.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Qing; He, Kaijian; Zou, Yingchao; Lai, Kin Keung

    2014-01-01

    As a typical nonlinear and dynamic system, the crude oil price movement is difficult to predict and its accurate forecasting remains the subject of intense research activity. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the multiscale data characteristics in the price movement are another important stylized fact. The incorporation of mixture of data characteristics in the time scale domain during the modelling process can lead to significant performance improvement. This paper proposes a novel morphological component analysis based hybrid methodology for modeling the multiscale heterogeneous characteristics of the price movement in the crude oil markets. Empirical studies in two representative benchmark crude oil markets reveal the existence of multiscale heterogeneous microdata structure. The significant performance improvement of the proposed algorithm incorporating the heterogeneous data characteristics, against benchmark random walk, ARMA, and SVR models, is also attributed to the innovative methodology proposed to incorporate this important stylized fact during the modelling process. Meanwhile, work in this paper offers additional insights into the heterogeneous market microstructure with economic viable interpretations.

  20. The Close AGN Reference Survey (CARS). Mrk 1018 halts dimming and experiences strong short-term variability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krumpe, M.; Husemann, B.; Tremblay, G. R.; Urrutia, T.; Powell, M.; Davis, T. A.; Scharwächter, J.; Dexter, J.; Busch, G.; Combes, F.; Croom, S. M.; Eckart, A.; McElroy, R. E.; Perez-Torres, M.; Leung, G.

    2017-11-01

    After changing optical AGN type from 1.9 to 1 in 1984, the AGN Mrk 1018 recently reverted back to its type 1.9 state. Our ongoing monitoring now reveals that the AGN has halted its dramatic dimming, reaching a minimum around October 2016. The minimum was followed by an outburst rising with 0.25 U-band mag/month. The rebrightening lasted at least until February 2017, as confirmed by joint Chandra and Hubble observations. Monitoring was resumed in July 2017 after the source emerged from sunblock, at which point the AGN was found only 0.4 mag brighter than its minimum. The intermittent outburst was accompanied by the appearance of a red wing asymmetry in broad-line shape, indicative of an inhomogeneous broad-line region. The current flickering brightness of Mrk 1018 following its rapid fading either suggests that the source has reignited, remains variable at a low level, or may continue dimming over the next few years. Distinguishing between these possibilities requires continuous multiwavelength monitoring. Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme(s) 098.B-0672 and 099.B-0159. The scientific results reported in this article are based on observations made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

  1. Clinical Trial of the Potassium Channel Activator Diazoxide for Major Depressive Disorder Halted Due to Intolerability.

    PubMed

    Kadriu, Bashkim; Yuan, Shiwen; Farmer, Cristan; Nugent, Allison C; Lener, Marc S; Niciu, Mark J; Park, Minkyung; Yazdian, Aaron; Ballard, Elizabeth D; Henn, Fritz A; Henter, Ioline D; Park, Lawrence T; Zarate, Carlos A

    2018-06-01

    Some glutamatergic modulators have demonstrated rapid and relatively sustained antidepressant properties in patients with major depressive disorder. Because the potassium channel activator diazoxide increases glutamate uptake via potassium channel activation, we hypothesized that it might exert antidepressant effects by increasing the removal of glutamate from the synaptic cleft, thereby reducing excessive glutamate transmission. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, single-site inpatient clinical study was conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health to assess the efficacy and safety of a 3-week course of diazoxide (200-400 mg daily, twice a day) versus a 3-week course of placebo in 6 participants with treatment-refractory major depressive disorder. The primary clinical outcome measure was change in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score from baseline to posttreatment. Quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, as well as concomitant imaging measures (electroencephalography, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetoencephalography), were used as potential surrogate markers of target (KATP channel) engagement. The study was halted due to severe adverse effects. Given the small sample size, statistical evaluation of the effect of diazoxide on Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores or the imaging measures was not pursued. Visual inspection of the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index test revealed no evidence of target engagement. Although the results are negative, they are an important addition to the literature in this rapidly changing field.

  2. Comparison of reduced sugar high quality chocolates sweetened with stevioside and crude stevia 'green' extract.

    PubMed

    Torri, Luisa; Frati, Alessandra; Ninfali, Paolino; Mantegna, Stefano; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Morini, Gabriella

    2017-06-01

    The demand for zero and reduced-sugar food products containing cocoa is expanding continuously. The present study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of producing high-quality chocolate sweetened with a crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) prepared by a green microwave-assisted water-steam extraction procedure. Seven approximately isosweet chocolate formulations were developed, mixing cocoa paste, sucrose, commercial stevioside, crude green extract and maltitol in different proportions. All samples were analyzed for the determination of polyphenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, and sensory acceptability. The use of a crude stevia extract allowed low-sugar, high-quality chocolates to be obtained that were also acceptable by consumers and had a significant increased antioxidant activity. Moreover, consumers' segmentation revealed a cluster of consumers showing the same overall liking for the sample with 50% sucrose replaced by the stevia crude extract as that obtained with the commercial stevioside and the control sample (without sucrose replacement). The results provide information that can contribute to promoting the development of sweet food products, with advantages in terms of an improved nutritional value (reduced sugar content and increased antioxidant activity) and a reduced impact of the production process on the environment. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  3. New labor management guidelines and changes in cesarean delivery patterns.

    PubMed

    Rosenbloom, Joshua I; Stout, Molly J; Tuuli, Methodius G; Woolfolk, Candice L; López, Julia D; Macones, George A; Cahill, Alison G

    2017-12-01

    In 2010 the Consortium on Safe Labor published labor curves. It was proposed that the rate of cesarean delivery could be lowered by avoiding the diagnosis of arrest of dilation before 6 cm. However, there is little information on the uptake of the guidelines and on changes in cesarean delivery rates that may have occurred. The objective of the study was to test the following hypotheses: (1) among patients laboring at term, rates of arrest of dilation disorders have decreased, leading to a decrease in the rate of cesarean delivery; (2) in the second stage, pushing duration prior to diagnosis of arrest of descent has increased, also leading to a reduction in the rate of cesarean delivery for this indication. As a secondary aim, we investigated changes in maternal and neonatal morbidity. This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of all patients presenting at ≥37 weeks' gestation from 2010 through 2014 with a nonanomalous vertex singleton and no prior history of cesarean delivery. Rates of cesarean delivery, arrest of dilation, and changes in rates of maternal and neonatal morbidity were calculated in crude and adjusted models. Cervical dilation at diagnosis of the arrest of dilation, time spent at the maximal dilation prior to diagnosis of arrest of dilation, and time in the second stage prior to the diagnosis of arrest of descent were compared over the study period. There were 7845 eligible patients. The cesarean delivery rate in 2010 was 15.8% and, in 2014, 17.7% (P trend = .51). In patients undergoing cesarean delivery for the arrest of dilation, the median cervical dilation at the time of cesarean delivery was at 5.5 cm in 2010 and 6.0 cm in 2014 (P trend = .94). In these patients, there was an increase in the time spent at last dilation: 3.8 hours in 2010 to 5.2 hours in 2014 (P trend = .02). There was no change in the frequency of patients diagnosed with the arrest of dilation at <6 cm: 51.4% in 2010 and 48.6% in 2014 (P trend = .56

  4. Tumour-specific delivery of siRNA-coupled superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, targeted against PLK1, stops progression of pancreatic cancer

    PubMed Central

    Mahajan, Ujjwal M; Teller, Steffen; Sendler, Matthias; Palankar, Raghavendra; van den Brandt, Cindy; Schwaiger, Theresa; Kühn, Jens-Peter; Ribback, Silvia; Glöckl, Gunnar; Evert, Matthias; Weitschies, Werner; Hosten, Norbert; Dombrowski, Frank; Delcea, Mihaela; Weiss, Frank-Ulrich; Lerch, Markus M; Mayerle, Julia

    2016-01-01

    Objective Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies and is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Despite extensive knowledge and insights into biological properties and genetic aberrations of PDAC, therapeutic options remain temporary and ineffective. One plausible explanation for the futile response to therapy is an insufficient and non-specific delivery of anticancer drugs to the tumour site. Design Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) coupled with siRNA directed against the cell cycle-specific serine-threonine-kinase, Polo-like kinase-1 (siPLK1-StAv-SPIONs), could serve a dual purpose for delivery of siPLK1 to the tumour and for non-invasive assessment of efficiency of delivery in vivo by imaging the tumour response. siPLK1-StAv-SPIONs were designed and synthesised as theranostics to function via a membrane translocation peptide with added advantage of driving endosomal escape for mediating transportation to the cytoplasm (myristoylated polyarginine peptides) as well as a tumour-selective peptide (EPPT1) to increase intracellular delivery and tumour specificity, respectively. Results A syngeneic orthotopic as well as an endogenous cancer model was treated biweekly with siPLK1-StAv-SPIONs and tumour growth was monitored by small animal MRI. In vitro and in vivo experiments using a syngeneic orthotopic PDAC model as well as the endogenous LSL-KrasG12D, LSL-Trp53R172H, Pdx-1-Cre model revealed significant accumulation of siPLK1-StAv-SPIONs in PDAC, resulting in efficient PLK1 silencing. Tumour-specific silencing of PLK1 halted tumour growth, marked by a decrease in tumour cell proliferation and an increase in apoptosis. Conclusions Our data suggest siPLK1-StAv-SPIONs with dual specificity residues for tumour targeting and membrane translocation to represent an exciting opportunity for targeted therapy in patients with PDAC. PMID:27196585

  5. Extraction, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Activities of Crude Polysaccharides from the Wood Ear Medicinal Mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae (Higher Basidiomycetes).

    PubMed

    Cai, Ming; Lin, Yang; Luo, Yin-long; Liang, Han-hua; Sun, Pei-long

    2015-01-01

    In this study, crude polysaccharides of culinary-medicinal mushroom Auricularia auricular-judae were extracted by hot water extraction and alcohol precipitation, and their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were investigated. An optimum extraction condition was obtained at a ratio of liquid to solid 70 mL/g, temperature 90°C, time 4 h and extraction number 4. Accordingly, the best yield of crude polysaccharides was 6.89% with 76.12% in purity. Some bacteria and fungi were used for antimicrobial studies. It was found that crude A. auricula-judae had great antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, but no activities on the others. The inhibitory diameters of antimicrobial zones for the two were 5.55 ± 0.182 and 9.84 ± 0.076 mm, respectively. Moreover, crude A. auricula-judae had significant antioxidant activities in scavenging free radicals, reducing power assays, and Fe2+ chelating ability assay. Results revealed that crude A. auricula-judae has a great potential as antimicrobial and antioxidant, and it can be a supplementary food for human health.

  6. Production of white oil from West Siberian crudes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vlasenkov, L.A.; Popova, L.V.; Radchenko, K.A.

    White oils, such as pharmaceutical white mineral oil, perfume oil, solvent for initiator of ethylene polymerization reaction, oil for the lubrication of high-pressure compressors in polyethylene production, and cable oils, are finding more and more industrial applications. The distinguishing feature of all of these oils is their high degree of dearomatization. The content of naphthenes plus paraffins, as determined by adsorptive separation on silica gel, is at least 98%. White oils are produced by multistage sulfonation of the original raw material (oil) with oleum or gaseous sulfur trioxide with subsequent neutralization and clay contact finishing. The advantages of gaseous sulfurmore » trioxide over oleum are the lower consumption of sulfonating agent and the smaller amount of acid tar that is formed, giving higher yields of sulfonic acid that are in turn a raw material for the production of sulfonate additives. This paper presents results of a research program in which crude from West Siberia was tested as raw materials for the production of white oils. Results are presented which demonstrate suitability of crude tested for the production of perfume oil, pharmaceutical white mineral oil, S-220 cable oil, oil for use in polyethylene production (solvent for initiator of ethylene polymerization reaction), and compressor oil. 9 refs.« less

  7. Two-nucleon high-spin states, the Bansal-French model and the crude shell model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chan, T.U.

    Recent data on two-nucleon stretched high-spin states agree well with the crude shell model predictions. For two-neutron high-spin states, the A and T linear dependence of B/sub 2n/ in the Bansal-French model can be deduced from the A and T linear dependence of B/sub n/ and the crude shell model. 7/sub 2//sup -/ states in some Zn and Ge even nuclei might be two-proton states. This hypothesis should be confirmed by two-proton transfer reaction.

  8. Effects of a dual-pump crude-oil recovery system, Bemidji, Minnesota, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Delin, Geoffrey N.; Herkelrath, William N.

    2014-01-01

    A crude-oil spill occurred in 1979 when a pipeline burst near Bemidji, MN. In 1998, the pipeline company installed a dual-pump recovery system designed to remove crude oil remaining in the subsurface at the site. The remediation from 1999 to 2003 resulted in removal of about 115,000 L of crude oil, representing between 36% and 41% of the volume of oil (280,000 to 316,000 L) estimated to be present in 1998. Effects of the 1999 to 2003 remediation on the dissolved plume were evaluated using measurements of oil thicknesses in wells plus measurements of dissolved oxygen in groundwater. Although the recovery system decreased oil thicknesses in the immediate vicinity of the remediation wells, average oil thicknesses measured in wells were largely unaffected. Dissolved-oxygen measurements indicate that a secondary plume was caused by disposal of the pumped water in an upgradient infiltration gallery; this plume expanded rapidly immediately following the start of the remediation in 1999. The result was expansion of the anoxic zone of groundwater upgradient and beneath the existing natural attenuation plume. Oil-phase recovery at this site was shown to be challenging, and considerable volumes of mobile and entrapped oil remain in the subsurface despite remediation efforts.

  9. Novel assay system for acidic Peptide:N-glycanase (aPNGase) activity in crude plant extract.

    PubMed

    Uemura, Ryota; Ogura, Mikako; Matsumaru, Chihiro; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi; Maeda, Megumi; Kimura, Yoshinobu

    2018-04-15

    Acidic peptide:N-glycanase (aPNGase) plays a pivotal role in plant glycoprotein turnover. For the construction of aPNGase-knockout or -overexpressing plants, a new method to detect the activity in crude plant extracts is required because endogenous peptidases present in the extract hamper enzyme assays using fluorescence-labeled N-glycopeptides as a substrate. In this study, we developed a new method for measuring aPNGase activity in crude extracts from plant materials.

  10. Fatty acid fragmentation of triacylglycerol isolated from crude nyamplung oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aparamarta, Hakun Wirawasista; Anggraini, Desy; Istianingsih, Della; Susanto, David Febrilliant; Widjaja, Arief; Ju, Yi-Hsu; Gunawan, Setiyo

    2017-05-01

    Nyamplung (Calophylluminophyllum) has many benefits ranging from roots, stems, leaves, until seeds. In this seed, C. inophyllum contained significantly high amount of crude oil (70.4%). C. inophyllum oil is known as non edible. Therefore Indonesian people generally only know that seeds can produce oil that can be used for biodiesel. In this work, the fragmentation of fatty acid in triacylglycerols (TAG) was studied. The isolation process was started with separation of non polar lipid fraction (NPLF) from crude C. inophyllum oil via batchwise multistage liquid extraction. TAG was obtained in high purity (99%) and was analyzed by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). It was found that fatty acids of TAG are palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1c), linoleic acid (C18:2c), and linolenic acid (C18:3c). Moreover, TAG isolated from C. inophyllum oil was promising as edible oil.

  11. Guatemala switch to crude saves over $1 million a month

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    de Biasi, V.

    1980-03-01

    In a two-step program designed to reduce fuel costs and improve operating efficiency, Empresa Electrica de Guatemala has modified two General Electric PG 5341 gas turbines at Laguna to run on crude oil and installed heat recovery equipment for repowering two existing steam turbines. The gas turbines, nominally rated at around 19,000 kW for base load operation at 70/sup 0/F average ambient temperature and 4000 feet altitude, were installed in 1977-78 as a base load backup to hydro power during the dry season. Original plan was to put them into immediate service as simple cycle units and then convert tomore » combined cycle operation. Priorities were shifted to switch over from distillate to crude oil firing before going ahead with the combined cycle istallation. Their economic evaluation showed the initial investment would be paid off in a few months by the savings in fuel costs.« less

  12. Assessing the rabies control and surveillance systems in Brazil: an experience of measures toward bats after the halt of massive vaccination of dogs and cats in Campinas, Sao Paulo.

    PubMed

    De Lucca, Tosca; Rodrigues, Ricardo Conde Alves; Castagna, Claudio; Presotto, Douglas; De Nadai, Diego Vinicius; Fagre, Anna; Braga, Guilherme Basseto; Guilloux, Aline Gil Alves; e Alves, Ana Júlia Silva; Martins, Camila Marinelli; Amaku, Marcos; Ferreira, Fernando; Dias, Ricardo Augusto

    2013-08-01

    Bats are less vulnerable to forest fragmentation than any other mammal, and for that reason, some species can disperse to peri-urban or urban areas. Insectivorous bats are abundant in urban areas due to the density of artificial roosts and insects attracted by city lights. Inter-species transmission of the rabies virus between bats can occur, and this is the most probable mechanism of virus circulation in bat populations. Bats can also transmit the rabies virus to other mammal species, like dogs and cats. With the halt of dog and cat vaccination campaigns in 2010, the importance of rabies surveillance in bats has increased in Brazil. A cross-sectional study performed in Campinas, Sao Paulo State, using data from the passive surveillance system for bats showed that rabies-positive bats from the families Molossidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae were found in a peri-urban area. In these areas, dog and cat emergency vaccination (vaccination blockage) was recommended after the halt of the massive vaccination campaign in 2010. This control strategy was able to increase the proportion of vaccinated animals around a critical value of 50% and even with a higher probability of infectious contact between bats and dogs or cats in the vaccination blockage areas, no dog or cat rabies case was observed, evidencing the importance of the implementation of strategic rabies control measures in this new epidemiological scenario. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. The potential of indigenous Paenibacillus ehimensis BS1 for recovering heavy crude oil by biotransformation to light fractions

    PubMed Central

    Shibulal, Biji; Al-Bahry, Saif N.; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M.; Elshafie, Abdulkadir E.; Al-Bemani, Ali S.; Joshi, Sanket J.

    2017-01-01

    Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) is a potential technology for residual heavy oil recovery. Many heavy oil fields in Oman and elsewhere have difficulty in crude oil recovery because it is expensive due to its high viscosity. Indigenous microbes are capable of improving the fluidity of heavy oil, by changing its high viscosity and producing lighter oil fractions. Many spore-forming bacteria were isolated from soil samples collected from oil fields in Oman. Among the isolates, an autochthonous spore-forming bacterium was found to enhance heavy oil recovery, which was identified by 16S rDNA sequencing as Paenibacillus ehimensis BS1. The isolate showed maximum growth at high heavy oil concentrations within four days of incubation. Biotransformation of heavy crude oil to light aliphatic and aromatic compounds and its potential in EOR was analyzed under aerobic and anaerobic reservoir conditions. The isolates were grown aerobically in Bushnell-Haas medium with 1% (w/v) heavy crude oil. The crude oil analyzed by GC-MS showed a significant biotransformation from the ninth day of incubation under aerobic conditions. The total biotransformation of heavy crude oil was 67.1% with 45.9% in aliphatic and 85.3% in aromatic fractions. Core flooding experiments were carried out by injecting the isolates in brine supplemented with Bushnell-Haas medium into Berea sandstone cores and were incubated for twelve days under oil reservoir conditions (50°C). The extra recovered oil was analyzed by GC-MS. The residual oil recovered from core flood experiments ranged between 10–13% compared to the control experiment. The GC-MS analyses of the extra recovered oil showed 38.99% biotransformation of heavy to light oil. The results also indicated the presence of 22.9% extra aliphatic compounds in the residual crude oil recovered compared to that of a control. The most abundant compound in the extra recovered crude oil was identified as 1-bromoeicosane. The investigations showed the

  14. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A gene-carrying Staphylococcus aureus isolated from foods and its control by crude alkaloid from papaya leaves.

    PubMed

    Handayani, Lita; Faridah, Didah Nur; Kusumaningrum, Harsi D

    2014-11-01

    Staphylococcus aureus is a known pathogen causing intoxication by producing enterotoxins in food. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A is one of the enterotoxins commonly implicated in staphylococcal food poisoning. The ability of crude alkaloid extract from papaya leaves to inhibit the growth of S. aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin A synthesis was investigated. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A gene-carrying S. aureus was isolated from raw milk and ready-to-eat foods. Crude alkaloid was extracted from ground, dried papaya leaves using ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and a MIC of the alkaloid was determined by the broth macrodilution method. Furthermore, S. aureus isolate was exposed to the crude alkaloid extract at one- and twofold MIC, and the expression of sea was subsequently analyzed using a quantitative reverse transcription real-time PCR. Ten isolates of S. aureus were obtained, and nine of those isolates were sea carriers. The yield of crude alkaloid extract was 0.48 to 1.82% per dry weight of papaya leaves. A MIC of crude alkaloid to S. aureus was 0.25 mg/ml. After exposure to the alkaloid at 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml for 2 h, a significant increase in cycle threshold values of sea was observed. The sea was expressed 29 and 41 times less when S. aureus was exposed to crude alkaloid at one- and twofold MIC, respectively. This study revealed that crude alkaloid of papaya leaves could control staphylococcal enterotoxin A gene-carrying S. aureus by suppressing the expression of sea, in addition to the ability to inhibit the growth of S. aureus. The expression of sea was successfully quantified.

  15. Crude oil price forecasting based on hybridizing wavelet multiple linear regression model, particle swarm optimization techniques, and principal component analysis.

    PubMed

    Shabri, Ani; Samsudin, Ruhaidah

    2014-01-01

    Crude oil prices do play significant role in the global economy and are a key input into option pricing formulas, portfolio allocation, and risk measurement. In this paper, a hybrid model integrating wavelet and multiple linear regressions (MLR) is proposed for crude oil price forecasting. In this model, Mallat wavelet transform is first selected to decompose an original time series into several subseries with different scale. Then, the principal component analysis (PCA) is used in processing subseries data in MLR for crude oil price forecasting. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to adopt the optimal parameters of the MLR model. To assess the effectiveness of this model, daily crude oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has been used as the case study. Time series prediction capability performance of the WMLR model is compared with the MLR, ARIMA, and GARCH models using various statistics measures. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the individual models in forecasting of the crude oil prices series.

  16. Crude Oil Price Forecasting Based on Hybridizing Wavelet Multiple Linear Regression Model, Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques, and Principal Component Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Shabri, Ani; Samsudin, Ruhaidah

    2014-01-01

    Crude oil prices do play significant role in the global economy and are a key input into option pricing formulas, portfolio allocation, and risk measurement. In this paper, a hybrid model integrating wavelet and multiple linear regressions (MLR) is proposed for crude oil price forecasting. In this model, Mallat wavelet transform is first selected to decompose an original time series into several subseries with different scale. Then, the principal component analysis (PCA) is used in processing subseries data in MLR for crude oil price forecasting. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to adopt the optimal parameters of the MLR model. To assess the effectiveness of this model, daily crude oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has been used as the case study. Time series prediction capability performance of the WMLR model is compared with the MLR, ARIMA, and GARCH models using various statistics measures. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the individual models in forecasting of the crude oil prices series. PMID:24895666

  17. Laboratory Validation and Field Assessment of Petroleum Laboratory Technicians' Dermal Exposure to Crude Oil Using a Wipe Sampling Method.

    PubMed

    Galea, Karen S; Mueller, Will; Arfaj, Ayman M; Llamas, Jose L; Buick, Jennifer; Todd, David; McGonagle, Carolyn

    2018-05-21

    Crude oil may cause adverse dermal effects therefore dermal exposure is an exposure route of concern. Galea et al. (2014b) reported on a study comparing recovery (wipe) and interception (cotton glove) dermal sampling methods. The authors concluded that both methods were suitable for assessing dermal exposure to oil-based drilling fluids and crude oil but that glove samplers may overestimate the amount of fluid transferred to the skin. We describe a study which aimed to further evaluate the wipe sampling method to assess dermal exposure to crude oil, with this assessment including extended sample storage periods and sampling efficiency tests being undertaken at environmental conditions to mimic those typical of outdoor conditions in Saudi Arabia. The wipe sampling method was then used to assess the laboratory technicians' actual exposure to crude oil during typical petroleum laboratory tasks. Overall, acceptable storage efficiencies up to 54 days were reported with results suggesting storage stability over time. Sampling efficiencies were also reported to be satisfactory at both ambient and elevated temperature and relative humidity environmental conditions for surrogate skin spiked with known masses of crude oil and left up to 4 h prior to wiping, though there was an indication of reduced sampling efficiency over time. Nineteen petroleum laboratory technicians provided a total of 35 pre- and 35 post-activity paired hand wipe samples. Ninety-three percent of the pre-exposure paired hand wipes were less than the analytical limit of detection (LOD), whereas 46% of the post-activity paired hand wipes were less than the LOD. The geometric mean paired post-activity wipe sample measurement was 3.09 µg cm-2 (range 1.76-35.4 µg cm-2). It was considered that dermal exposure most frequently occurred through direct contact with the crude oil (emission) or via deposition. The findings of this study suggest that the wipe sampling method is satisfactory in quantifying

  18. Degradation of crude 4-MCHM (4-methylcyclohexanemethanol) in sediments from Elk River, West Virginia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Akob, Denise M.; Baedecker, Mary; Spencer, Tracey; Jaeschke, Jeanne B.; Dunlap, Darren S.; Mumford, Adam C.; Poret-Peterson, Amisha T.; Chambers, Douglas B.

    2017-01-01

    In January 2014, approximately 37 800 L of crude 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (crude MCHM) spilled into the Elk River, West Virginia. To understand the long-term fate of 4-MCHM, we conducted experiments under environmentally relevant conditions to assess the potential for the 2 primary compounds in crude MCHM (1) to undergo biodegradation and (2) for sediments to serve as a long-term source of 4-MCHM. We developed a solid phase microextraction (SPME) method to quantify the cis- and trans-isomers of 4-MCHM. Autoclaved Elk River sediment slurries sorbed 17.5% of cis-4-MCHM and 31% of trans-4-MCHM from water during the 2-week experiment. Sterilized, impacted, spill-site sediment released minor amounts of cis- and up to 35 μg/L of trans-4-MCHM into water, indicating 4-MCHM was present in sediment collected 10 months post spill. In anoxic microcosms, 300 μg/L cis- and 150 μg/L trans-4-MCHM degraded to nondetectable levels in 8–13 days in both impacted and background sediments. Under aerobic conditions, 4-MCHM isomers degraded to nondetectable levels within 4 days. Microbial communities at impacted sites differed in composition compared to background samples, but communities from both sites shifted in response to crude MCHM amendments. Our results indicate that 4-MCHM is readily biodegradable under environmentally relevant conditions.

  19. A non-toxic microbial surfactant from Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus SdK644 for crude oil solubilization enhancement.

    PubMed

    Zenati, Billal; Chebbi, Alif; Badis, Abdelmalek; Eddouaouda, Kamel; Boutoumi, Hocine; El Hattab, Mohamed; Hentati, Dorra; Chelbi, Manel; Sayadi, Sami; Chamkha, Mohamed; Franzetti, Andrea

    2018-06-15

    This study aims to investigate the ability of a biosurfactant produced by Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus strain SdK644 isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated sediment to enhance the solubilization rate of crude oil contaminated seawater. Phylogenetic analysis shows that strain SdK644 was very closely related to M. hydrocarbonoclasticus with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.44%. Using waste frying oil as inducer carbon source, the producing biosurfactant by strain SdK644 was applied to improve crude oil solubilization in seawater. The preliminary characterization of the produced biosurfactant by FT-IR analysis indicates its possible classification in a glycolipids group. Results from crude oil solubilization assay showed that SdK644 strain biosurfactant was 2-fold greater than Tween 80 surfactant in crude oil solubilization and 12-fold higher than seawater control, as shown by GC-MS analysis of aliphatic compounds. Furthermore, this bioactive compound was shown to be nontoxic against Artemia larvae in short-term acute toxicity bioassay. Generally, the results showed the possible use of M. hydrocarbonoclasticus strain SdK644 biosurfactant in bioremediation processes of the marine environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Accumulation of Hydrocarbons by Maize (Zea mays L.) in Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Crude Oil.

    PubMed

    Liao, Changjun; Xu, Wending; Lu, Guining; Liang, Xujun; Guo, Chuling; Yang, Chen; Dang, Zhi

    2015-01-01

    This study has investigated the use of screened maize for remediation of soil contaminated with crude oil. Pots experiment was carried out for 60 days by transplanting maize seedlings into spiked soils. The results showed that certain amount of crude oil in soil (≤2 147 mg·kg(-1)) could enhance the production of shoot biomass of maize. Higher concentration (6 373 mg·kg(-1)) did not significantly inhibit the growth of plant maize (including shoot and root). Analysis of plant shoot by GC-MS showed that low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in maize tissues, but PAHs concentration in the plant did not increase with higher concentration of crude oil in soil. The reduction of total petroleum hydrocarbon in planted soil was up to 52.21-72.84%, while that of the corresponding controls was only 25.85-34.22% in two months. In addition, data from physiological and biochemical indexes demonstrated a favorable adaptability of maize to crude oil pollution stress. This study suggested that the use of maize (Zea mays L.) was a good choice for remediation of soil contaminated with petroleum within a certain range of concentrations.

  1. Effects of crude glycerin from biodiesel on the diets of lambs: intake, digestibility, performance, feeding behavior, and serum metabolites.

    PubMed

    Ribeiro, Rebeca D X; Carvalho, Gleidson G P; Silva, Thadeu M; Costa, Jonival B; Bezerra, Leilson R; Cambuí, Gabriela B; Barbosa, Analívia M; Oliveira, Ronaldo L

    2018-05-04

    This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the inclusion of crude glycerin of up to 21% of DM in the diets of lambs will not compromise variables related to animal production or health. Forty-four uncastrated Santa Inês crossbreed lambs with an average age of 5 mo and a BW average of 23.9 ± 0.34 kg (mean ± SD) were distributed into four treatment groups (11 replicates per group) including 0%, 7%, 14%, or 21% crude glycerin on a DM basis. The inclusion of crude glycerin in the diets promoted a quadratic increase in DM (P = 0.018), CP (P = 0.004), and TDN (P = 0.017). There was a linear decrease (P < 0.001) in NDF and nonfibrous carbohydrate (NFC) intake caused by glycerin in the diets. There was a linear increase (P < 0.001) in ether extract (EE) intake. There was a linear reduction in NDF (P = 0.011) and NFC (P < 0.001) for effective consumption of the diets. There was a linear increase (P < 0.001) in EE effectively consumed by the lambs, and there were no differences in the CP that was effectively consumed (P = 0.267) by glycerin. Digestibility coefficients of DM, CP, NDF, NFC, and TDN presented a linear decrease in crude glycerin inclusion. The EE digestibility presented a linear increase. The inclusion of crude glycerin in the diets promoted a quadratic increase in final BW (P = 0.015), ADG (P < 0.001), and G:F ratio (P < 0.001). There was no effect (P > 0.05) of crude glycerin inclusion in the diets on time spent (%); number of events per day; duration of events (minutes) for feeding, rumination, and idling; number of chews per bolus; or total chewing time for the lambs. The inclusion of crude glycerin in the diets improved feeding efficiency of DM (P = 0.005) and NDF (P = 0.004). The rumination efficiency of DM (P < 0.001) and NDF (P < 0.001) presented a linear decrease. The total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin:globulin ratio, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase levels, aspartate aminotransferase, and gamma glutamyl transferase serum

  2. Effects of Dual-Pump Recovery on Crude-Oil Contamination of Groundwater, Bemidji, Minnesota

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delin, G. N.; Herkelrath, W. N.; Lounsbury, S.

    2009-12-01

    In 1979 a crude-oil pipeline ruptured near Bemidji, Minnesota spilling about 1.7 million liters of crude oil onto a glacial-outwash deposit. Initial remediation efforts in 1979-80 removed about 75% of this oil. In 1983 the U.S. Geological Survey and several academic institutions began research to study the fate and transport of the petroleum hydrocarbons in the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In 1998 the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requested that the pipeline company remove as much of the remaining oil as possible. A dual-pump recovery system was installed using five wells to remove the free-phase oil. Each well had an oil skimming pump as well as a deeper pump in the groundwater, which was used to create a cone of depression in the water table near the well. The oil/water mixture from the skimming pump was pumped to a treatment facility where the oil was separated for later removal from the site. Pumped wastewater was injected into an upgradient infiltration gallery. Despite large public and private expenditures on development and implementation of this type of remediation system, few well-documented field-scale case studies have been published. The renewed remediation presented an opportunity to document how the dissolution, biodegradation, vapor transport, and other processes changed as the site transitioned from natural attenuation to a condition of pump-and-treat remediation and back again following termination of the remediation. Impacts of the remediation were evaluated in part using measurements of oil thicknesses in wells, dissolved-oxygen concentrations in groundwater, and concentrations of methane and other gases in the unsaturated zone. The remediation from 1999 - 2004 resulted in removal of about 114,000 liters of crude oil from the site, or about 27% of the total that remained following the initial remediation in 1979-80. Although the renewed remediation decreased oil thicknesses in the immediate vicinity of remediation

  3. Hydrocarbon degraders establish at the costs of microbial richness, abundance and keystone taxa after crude oil contamination in permafrost environments.

    PubMed

    Yang, Sizhong; Wen, Xi; Shi, Yulan; Liebner, Susanne; Jin, Huijun; Perfumo, Amedea

    2016-11-25

    Oil spills from pipeline ruptures are a major source of terrestrial petroleum pollution in cold regions. However, our knowledge of the bacterial response to crude oil contamination in cold regions remains to be further expanded, especially in terms of community shifts and potential development of hydrocarbon degraders. In this study we investigated changes of microbial diversity, population size and keystone taxa in permafrost soils at four different sites along the China-Russia crude oil pipeline prior to and after perturbation with crude oil. We found that crude oil caused a decrease of cell numbers together with a reduction of the species richness and shifts in the dominant phylotypes, while bacterial community diversity was highly site-specific after exposure to crude oil, reflecting different environmental conditions. Keystone taxa that strongly co-occurred were found to form networks based on trophic interactions, that is co-metabolism regarding degradation of hydrocarbons (in contaminated samples) or syntrophic carbon cycling (in uncontaminated samples). With this study we demonstrate that after severe crude oil contamination a rapid establishment of endemic hydrocarbon degrading communities takes place under favorable temperature conditions. Therefore, both endemism and trophic correlations of bacterial degraders need to be considered in order to develop effective cleanup strategies.

  4. Hydrocarbon degraders establish at the costs of microbial richness, abundance and keystone taxa after crude oil contamination in permafrost environments

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Sizhong; Wen, Xi; Shi, Yulan; Liebner, Susanne; Jin, Huijun; Perfumo, Amedea

    2016-01-01

    Oil spills from pipeline ruptures are a major source of terrestrial petroleum pollution in cold regions. However, our knowledge of the bacterial response to crude oil contamination in cold regions remains to be further expanded, especially in terms of community shifts and potential development of hydrocarbon degraders. In this study we investigated changes of microbial diversity, population size and keystone taxa in permafrost soils at four different sites along the China-Russia crude oil pipeline prior to and after perturbation with crude oil. We found that crude oil caused a decrease of cell numbers together with a reduction of the species richness and shifts in the dominant phylotypes, while bacterial community diversity was highly site-specific after exposure to crude oil, reflecting different environmental conditions. Keystone taxa that strongly co-occurred were found to form networks based on trophic interactions, that is co-metabolism regarding degradation of hydrocarbons (in contaminated samples) or syntrophic carbon cycling (in uncontaminated samples). With this study we demonstrate that after severe crude oil contamination a rapid establishment of endemic hydrocarbon degrading communities takes place under favorable temperature conditions. Therefore, both endemism and trophic correlations of bacterial degraders need to be considered in order to develop effective cleanup strategies. PMID:27886221

  5. Paraffin problems in crude oil production and transportation: A review

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Misra, S.; Baruah, S.; Singh, K.

    1995-02-01

    Problems related to crystallization and deposition of paraffin waxes during production and transportation of crude oil cause losses of billions of dollars yearly to petroleum industry. The goal of this paper is to present the knowledge on such problems in a systematic and comprehensive form. The fundamental aspects of these problems are defined, and characterization of paraffins and their solubility tendencies have been discussed. It has been established conclusively that n-paraffins are predominantly responsible for this problem. Comprehensive discussion on the mechanism of crystallization of paraffins has been included. Compounds other than n-paraffins, especially asphaltenes and resins, have profound effectsmore » on solubility of n-paraffins. In evaluations of the wax potential of a crude, the climate of the area concerned should be considered. Under the most favorable conditions, n-paraffins form clearly defined orthorhombic crystals, but unfavorable conditions and the presence of impurities lead to hexagonal and/or amorphous crystallization.The gelation characteristics are also affected the same way. An attempt was made to classify the paraffin problems into those resulting from high pipeline pressure, high restarting pressure, and deposition on pipe surfaces. Fundamental aspects and mechanism of these dimensions are described. Wax deposition depends on flow rate, the temperature differential between crude and pipe surface, the cooling rate, and surface properties. Finally, methods available in the literature for predicting these problems and evaluating their mitigatory techniques are reviewed. The available methods present a very diversified picture; hence, using them to evaluate these problems becomes taxing. A top priority is standardizing these methods for the benefit of the industry. 56 refs.« less

  6. Libya, Algeria and Egypt: crude oil potential from known deposits

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dietzman, W.D.; Rafidi, N.R.; Ross, T.A.

    1982-04-01

    An analysis is presented of the discovered crude oil resources, reserves, and estimated annual production from known fields of the Republics of Libya, Algeria, and Egypt. Proved reserves are defined as the remaining producible oil as of a specified date under operating practice in effect at that time and include estimated recoverable oil in undrilled portions of a given structure or structures. Also included in the proved reserve category are the estimated indicated additional volumes of recoverable oil from the entire oil reservoir where fluid injection programs have been started in a portion, or portions, of the reservoir. The indicatedmore » additional reserves (probable reserves) reported herein are the volumes of crude oil that might be obtained with the installation of secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations in reservoirs where none have been previously installed. The sum of cumulative production, proved reserves, and probable reserves is defined as the ultimate oil recovery from known deposits; and resources are defined as the original oil in place (OOIP). An assessment was made of the availability of crude oil under three assumed sustained production rates for each country; an assessment was also made of each country's capability of sustaining production at, or near, the 1980 rates assuming different limiting reserve to production ratios. Also included is an estimate of the potential maximum producing capability from known deposits that might be obtained from known accumulations under certain assumptions, using a simple time series approach. The theoretical maximum oil production capability from known fields at any time is the maximum deliverability rate assuming there are no equipment, investment, market, or political constraints.« less

  7. Effect of metallic additives on in situ combustion of Huntington Beach crude experiments

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baena, C.J.; Castanier, L.M.; Brigham, W.E.

    1990-08-01

    The economics and applicability of an in-situ combustion process for the recovery of crude oil are dictated to a large extent by the nature and the amount of fuel formed during the process. The aim of this work is to use combustion tube studies to determine on a quantitative basis, how the nature and the amount of fuel formed could be changed by the presence of metallic additives. These experiments follow from the qualitative observations on the effect of metallic additives on the in-situ combustion of Huntington Beach crude oil made by De los Rios (1987) at SUPRI. He performedmore » kinetic studies on the oxidation of Huntington Beach crude in porous media and showed that the nature of the fuel formed changed when metallic additives were present. Combustion tube runs were performed using the metallic additives: ferrous chloride (FeCl{sub 2{center dot}}4H{sub 2}O), zinc chloride (ZnCl{sub 2}) and stannic chloride (SnCl{sub 4{center dot}}5H{sub 2}O). Unconsolidated cores were prepared by mixing predetermined amounts of an aqueous solution of the metal salt, Huntington Beach crude oil, Ottawa sand and clay in order to achieve the desired fluid saturations. The mixture was then tamped into the combustion tube. Dry air combustion tube runs were performed keeping the conditions of saturation, air flux and injection pressure approximately the same during each run. The nature of the fuel formed and its impact on the combustion parameters were determined and compared with a control run -- an experiment performed with no metallic additive. 30 refs., 33 figs., 6 tabs.« less

  8. The influences of ambient temperature and crude protein levels on performance and serum biochemical parameters in broilers.

    PubMed

    Liu, Q W; Feng, J H; Chao, Z; Chen, Y; Wei, L M; Wang, F; Sun, R P; Zhang, M H

    2016-04-01

    This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ambient temperature, crude protein levels and their interaction on performance and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 216 Arbor Acre broiler chickens (108 males and 108 females) were used in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement and randomly reared at two temperatures (normal temperature: 23 °C; daily cyclic high temperature: 28-32 °C) and fed on three diets with different crude protein levels (153.3, 183.3 or 213.3 g/kg, with constant essential amino acids) from 28 to 42 days of age. Daily cyclic high ambient temperature decreased final body weight, average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake and serum total protein contents (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.008 respectively), but increased feed/gain, mortality, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, serum uric acid contents and serum creatine kinase activity (p = 0.008, p = 0.003, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.003 respectively), irrespective of crude protein levels. At the ambient temperature, reducing crude protein levels resulted in an increase in feed/gain (p < 0.001), but a decrease in serum total protein and uric acid contents. Only serum creatine kinase activity in broiler chickens was interacted by daily cyclic high ambient temperature and dietary crude protein levels (p = 0.003). These results indicated that daily cyclic high ambient temperature had a great effect on performance and serum biochemical parameters in broiler chickens, whereas dietary crude protein levels affected them partially. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  9. Using crude glycerol and thin stillage for the production of microbial lipids through the cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis.

    PubMed

    Yen, Hong-Wei; Yang, Ya-Chun; Yu, Yi-Huan

    2012-10-01

    Single cell oils (SCO) produced from oleaginous microorganisms are a potential alternative oil feedstock for biodiesel production. The worldwide production of glycerol, a 10% (w/w) byproduct produced in the transesterfication process of oils converted to biodiesel, is increasing as more biodiesel is being produced. For the purposes of cost reduction, crude glycerol was regarded as a suitable carbon source for the cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis. In addition to using renewable crude glycerol, waste solution collected from the brewing company (called thin stillage) was adopted as a substitute to replace a costly nitrogen source used in the medium. The results of using mixture of crude glycerol and thin stillage indicated about a 27% increase in total biomass as compared to that of using crude glycerol with a standard medium. Using glycerol instead of glucose as the carbon source could also alter the lipid profile, resulting in an increase in linolenic acid (C18:2) to comprise over 20% of the total lipid. Successfully using renewable crude glycerol and thin stillage for the cultivation of oleaginous microorganisms could greatly enhance the economic competition of biodiesel produced from SCO. Copyright © 2012 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A study on chaos in crude oil markets before and after 2008 international financial crisis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmiri, Salim

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate existence of chaos in crude oil markets (Brent and WTI) before and after recent 2008 international financial crisis. Largest Lyapunov exponent is estimated for prices, returns, and volatilities. The empirical results show strong evidence that chaos does not exist in prices and returns in both crude oil markets before and after international crisis. However, we find strong evidence of chaotic dynamics in both Brent and WTI volatilities after international financial crisis.

  11. Assessment of Tree Leaves Flakes Mixed with Crude Glycerol as a Bioenergy Source

    PubMed Central

    Hilal-AlNaqbi, Ali; Al-Omari, Salah B.; Selim, Mohamed Y. E.

    2016-01-01

    The gasification and combustion of dry tree leaves and the cogasification of dry tree leaves soaking crude glycerol were studied experimentally. An updraft fixed bed gasification and combustion system was built. The operation was conducted at different air to fuel ratios. Results show more stable combustion and more effective heat transfer to furnace walls for the cases when tree leaves flakes are mixed with 20 percent (on mass basis) of crude glycerol, as compared with the case when only dry tree leaves are used as fuel. TGA analysis was also conducted for the two fuels used under both air and nitrogen environments. For the crude glycerol, four phases of pyrolysis and gasification were noticed under either of the two surrounding gaseous media (air or nitrogen). For the dry tree leaves, the pyrolysis under nitrogen shows only a simple smooth pyrolysis and gasification curve without showing the different distinct phases that were otherwise identified when the pyrolysis is conducted under air environment. Moreover, the air TGA results lead to more gasification due to the char oxidation at high temperatures. DTG results are also presented and discussed. PMID:27413749

  12. A High Resolution Capacitive Sensing System for the Measurement of Water Content in Crude Oil

    PubMed Central

    Aslam, Muhammad Zubair; Tang, Tong Boon

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the design of a non-intrusive system to measure ultra-low water content in crude oil. The system is based on a capacitance to phase angle conversion method. Water content is measured with a capacitance sensor comprising two semi-cylindrical electrodes mounted on the outer side of a glass tube. The presence of water induces a capacitance change that in turn converts into a phase angle, with respect to a main oscillator. A differential sensing technique is adopted not only to ensure high immunity against temperature variation and background noise, but also to eliminate phase jitter and amplitude variation of the main oscillator that could destabilize the output. The complete capacitive sensing system was implemented in hardware and experiment results using crude oil samples demonstrated that a resolution of ±50 ppm of water content in crude oil was achieved by the proposed design. PMID:24967606

  13. Aphrodisiac Activity of the Aqueous Crude Extract of Purple Corn ( Zea mays) in Male Rats.

    PubMed

    Carro-Juárez, Miguel; Rodríguez-Santiago, Magdalena G; Franco, Miguel Angel; Hueletl-Soto, María Eugenia

    2017-10-01

    In the present study, the aphrodisiac properties of the purple corn ( Zea mays) in male rats were analyzed. The aqueous crude extract of purple corn (at 25, 50, and 75 mg/kg) was administered to ( a) copulating male rats and ( b) anesthetized and spinal cord transected male rats. Behavioral parameters of copulatory behavior and parameters of the genital motor pattern of ejaculation previous to its inhibition, under the influence of the purple corn extract, are described. Administration of the aqueous crude extract of purple corn significantly facilitates the arousal and execution of male rat sexual behavior without significant influences on the ambulatory behavior. In addition, purple corn extract elicit a significant increase in the number of discharges of the ejaculatory motor patterns and in the total number of genital motor patterns evoked in spinal rats. The present findings show that the aqueous crude extract of purple corn possesses aphrodisiac activity.

  14. A high resolution capacitive sensing system for the measurement of water content in crude oil.

    PubMed

    Zubair, Muhammad; Tang, Tong Boon

    2014-06-25

    This paper presents the design of a non-intrusive system to measure ultra-low water content in crude oil. The system is based on a capacitance to phase angle conversion method. Water content is measured with a capacitance sensor comprising two semi-cylindrical electrodes mounted on the outer side of a glass tube. The presence of water induces a capacitance change that in turn converts into a phase angle, with respect to a main oscillator. A differential sensing technique is adopted not only to ensure high immunity against temperature variation and background noise, but also to eliminate phase jitter and amplitude variation of the main oscillator that could destabilize the output. The complete capacitive sensing system was implemented in hardware and experiment results using crude oil samples demonstrated that a resolution of ± 50 ppm of water content in crude oil was achieved by the proposed design.

  15. Transdermal drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Prausnitz, Mark R.; Langer, Robert

    2009-01-01

    Transdermal drug delivery has made an important contribution to medical practice, but has yet to fully achieve its potential as an alternative to oral delivery and hypodermic injections. First-generation transdermal delivery systems have continued their steady increase in clinical use for delivery of small, lipophilic, low-dose drugs. Second-generation delivery systems using chemical enhancers, non-cavitational ultrasound and iontophoresis have also resulted in clinical products; the ability of iontophoresis to control delivery rates in real time provides added functionality. Third-generation delivery systems target their effects to skin’s barrier layer of stratum corneum using microneedles, thermal ablation, microdermabrasion, electroporation and cavitational ultrasound. Microneedles and thermal ablation are currently progressing through clinical trials for delivery of macromolecules and vaccines, such as insulin, parathyroid hormone and influenza vaccine. Using these novel second- and third-generation enhancement strategies, transdermal delivery is poised to significantly increase impact on medicine. PMID:18997767

  16. Can we spend our way out of the AIDS epidemic? A world halting AIDS model

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background There has been a sudden increase in the amount of money donors are willing to spend on the worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic. Present plans are to hold most of the money in reserve and spend it slowly. However, rapid spending may be the best strategy for halting this disease. Methods We develop a mathematical model that predicts eradication or persistence of HIV/AIDS on a world scale. Dividing the world into regions (continents, countries etc), we develop a linear differential equation model of infectives which has the same eradication properties as more complex models. Results We show that, even if HIV/AIDS can be eradicated in each region independently, travel/immigration of infectives could still sustain the epidemic. We use a continent-level example to demonstrate that eradication is possible if preventive intervention methods (such as condoms or education) reduced the infection rate to two fifths of what it is currently. We show that, for HIV/AIDS to be eradicated within five years, the total cost would be ≈ $63 billion, which is within the existing $60 billion (plus interest) amount raised by the donor community. However, if this action is spread over a twenty year period, as currently planned, then eradication is no longer possible, due to population growth, and the costs would exceed $90 billion. Conclusion Eradication of AIDS is feasible, using the tools that we have currently to hand, but action needs to occur immediately. If not, then HIV/AIDS will race beyond our ability to afford it. PMID:19922685

  17. A Study of the Effect of Surfactants on the Aggregation Behavior of Crude Oil Aqueous Dispersions through Steady-State Fluorescence Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Vallejo-Cardona, Alba A; Cerón-Camacho, Ricardo; Karamath, James R; Martínez-Palou, Rafael; Aburto, Jorge

    2017-07-01

    Unconventional crude oil as heavy, extra heavy, bitumen, tight, and shale oils will meet 10% of worldwide needs for 2035, perhaps earlier. Petroleum companies will face problems concerning crude oil extraction, production, transport, and refining, and some of these are addressed by the use of surfactants and other chemicals. For example, water-in-crude oil emulsions are frequently found during the production of mature wells where enhanced recovery techniques have been deployed. Nevertheless, the selection of adequate surfactant, dosage, type of water (sea, tap or oilfield), kind of crude oil (light, heavy, extra heavy, tight, shale, bitumen) affect the effectivity of treatment and usual bottle tests give limited information. We developed a fluorescence technique to study the effect of surfactants on medium, heavy, and extra heavy crude oil employing the natural fluorophore molecules from petroleum. We first carried out the characterization of commercial and synthetic surfactants, then dispersions of petroleum in water were studied by steady-state fluorometry and the size of petroleum aggregates were measured. The aggregation of petroleum incremented from medium to extra heavy crude oil and we discussed the effect of different surfactants on such aggregation.

  18. Finding the multipath propagation of multivariable crude oil prices using a wavelet-based network approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jia, Xiaoliang; An, Haizhong; Sun, Xiaoqi; Huang, Xuan; Gao, Xiangyun

    2016-04-01

    The globalization and regionalization of crude oil trade inevitably give rise to the difference of crude oil prices. The understanding of the pattern of the crude oil prices' mutual propagation is essential for analyzing the development of global oil trade. Previous research has focused mainly on the fuzzy long- or short-term one-to-one propagation of bivariate oil prices, generally ignoring various patterns of periodical multivariate propagation. This study presents a wavelet-based network approach to help uncover the multipath propagation of multivariable crude oil prices in a joint time-frequency period. The weekly oil spot prices of the OPEC member states from June 1999 to March 2011 are adopted as the sample data. First, we used wavelet analysis to find different subseries based on an optimal decomposing scale to describe the periodical feature of the original oil price time series. Second, a complex network model was constructed based on an optimal threshold selection to describe the structural feature of multivariable oil prices. Third, Bayesian network analysis (BNA) was conducted to find the probability causal relationship based on periodical structural features to describe the various patterns of periodical multivariable propagation. Finally, the significance of the leading and intermediary oil prices is discussed. These findings are beneficial for the implementation of periodical target-oriented pricing policies and investment strategies.

  19. Research on visible and near infrared spectral-polarimetric properties of soil polluted by crude oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Hui-yan; Zhou, Pu-cheng; Pan, Bang-long

    2017-10-01

    Hydrocarbon contaminated soil can impose detrimental effects on forest health and quality of agricultural products. To manage such consequences, oil leak indicators should be detected quickly by monitoring systems. Remote sensing is one of the most suitable techniques for monitoring systems, especially for areas which are uninhabitable and difficulty to access. The most available physical quantities in optical remote sensing domain are the intensity and spectral information obtained by visible or infrared sensors. However, besides the intensity and wavelength, polarization is another primary physical quantity associated with an optical field. During the course of reflecting light-wave, the surface of soil polluted by crude oil will cause polarimetric properties which are related to the nature of itself. Thus, detection of the spectralpolarimetric properties for soil polluted by crude oil has become a new remote sensing monitoring method. In this paper, the multi-angle spectral-polarimetric instrument was used to obtain multi-angle visible and near infrared spectralpolarimetric characteristic data of soil polluted by crude oil. And then, the change rule between polarimetric properties with different affecting factors, such as viewing zenith angle, incidence zenith angle of the light source, relative azimuth angle, waveband of the detector as well as different grain size of soil were discussed, so as to provide a scientific basis for the research on polarization remote sensing for soil polluted by crude oil.

  20. SCHISTOSOMICIDAL ACTIVITY OF THE CRUDE EXTRACT OF ARTOCARPUS LAKOOCHA.

    PubMed

    Preyavichyapugdee, Narin; Sangfuang, Manaw; Chaiyapum, Saowapark; Sriburin, Suwatcharaporn; Pootaeng-on, Yupa; Chusongsang, Phiraphol; Jiraungkoorskul, Wannee; Preyavichyapugdee, Mananya; Sobhon, Prasert

    2016-01-01

    Puag-Haad is a traditional anthelmintic drug used to treat taeniasis in Thailand and Lao PDR. It is derived from the aqueous extract of the plant Artocarpus lakoocha. We investigated the in vitro anthelmintic properties of Puag-Haad against Schistosoma mansoni. Adult worms were incubated in M-199 medium containing 250, 500 and 750 μg/ml of Puag-Haad or praziquantel (PZQ) at a concentration of 175 μg/ml for 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours. The relative motility (RM value), survival index (SI) and tegument alterations seen under scanning electron microscope were assessed at each incubation time. The results showed the crude extract of A. lakoocha at a concentration of 250 μg/ml was more effective in causing damage than PZQ at a concentration of 175 μg/ml using RM and SI values. The major target organ affected by Puag-Haad was the tegument. The damage was greater at higher concentrations of the crude extract. It is likely tetrahydroxystilbene (THS), the main compound in Puag-Haad, caused the damage. THS could be a future candidate as a schistosomal drug. Further studies are needed to explore its mechanism, efficiency and safety in vivo.

  1. Expanding Alternative Delivery Systems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baltzer, Jan A.

    Alternative educational delivery systems that might be useful to community colleges are considered. The following categories of delivery systems are covered: broadcast delivery systems; copy delivery systems, print delivery systems, computer delivery systems, telephone delivery systems, and satellites. Among the applications for broadcast…

  2. In vivo antimalarial activity of crude extracts and solvent fractions of leaves of Strychnos mitis in Plasmodium berghei infected mice.

    PubMed

    Fentahun, Selamawit; Makonnen, Eyasu; Awas, Tesfaye; Giday, Mirutse

    2017-01-05

    Malaria is a major public health problem in the world which is responsible for death of millions particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the control of malaria has become gradually more complex due to the spread of drug-resistant parasites. Medicinal plants are the unquestionable source of effective antimalarials. The present study aimed to evaluate antiplasmodial activity and acute toxicity of the plant Strychnos mitis in Plasmodium berghei infected mice. Standard procedures were employed to investigate acute toxicity and 4-day suppressive effect of crude aqueous and hydro-methanolic extracts of the leaves of Strychnos mitis against P. berghei in Swiss albino mice. Water, n-hexane and chloroform fractions, obtained from crude hydro-methanolic extract, were also tested for their suppressive effect against P. berghei. All crude extracts revealed no obvious acute toxicity in mice up to the highest dose administered (2000 mg/kg). All crude and solvent fractions of the leaves of Strychnos mitis inhibited parasitaemia significantly (p < 0.01). At the highest dose of 600 mg/kg, both aqueous and hydro-methanolic extracts demonstrated higher performance with 95.5 and 93.97% parasitaemia suppression, respectively. All doses of crude extracts and fractions of leaves of Strychnos mitis prolonged survival time of infected mice dose dependently. The highest two doses of the crude aqueous and hydro-methanolic extracts, and chloroform and aqueous fractions prevented weight loss in a dose dependent manner. Whereas, all doses of n-hexane fraction prevented loss of body weight but not in a dose dependent manner. The crude aqueous extract at the doses of 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg and hydro-methanolic extract at all dose levels significantly (p < 0.01) prevented packed cell volume reduction. Crude aqueous extract at a dose of 600 mg/kg and hydro-methanolic extract at all dose levels significantly prevented temperature reduction. Phytochemical screening of the crude

  3. Day-Ahead Crude Oil Price Forecasting Using a Novel Morphological Component Analysis Based Model

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Qing; Zou, Yingchao; Lai, Kin Keung

    2014-01-01

    As a typical nonlinear and dynamic system, the crude oil price movement is difficult to predict and its accurate forecasting remains the subject of intense research activity. Recent empirical evidence suggests that the multiscale data characteristics in the price movement are another important stylized fact. The incorporation of mixture of data characteristics in the time scale domain during the modelling process can lead to significant performance improvement. This paper proposes a novel morphological component analysis based hybrid methodology for modeling the multiscale heterogeneous characteristics of the price movement in the crude oil markets. Empirical studies in two representative benchmark crude oil markets reveal the existence of multiscale heterogeneous microdata structure. The significant performance improvement of the proposed algorithm incorporating the heterogeneous data characteristics, against benchmark random walk, ARMA, and SVR models, is also attributed to the innovative methodology proposed to incorporate this important stylized fact during the modelling process. Meanwhile, work in this paper offers additional insights into the heterogeneous market microstructure with economic viable interpretations. PMID:25061614

  4. Antioxidant Properties of Crude Extract, Partition Extract, and Fermented Medium of Dendrobium sabin Flower

    PubMed Central

    Abu, Farahziela; Mohd Akhir, Sobri

    2017-01-01

    Antioxidant properties of crude extract, partition extract, and fermented medium from Dendrobium sabin (DS) flower were investigated. The oven-dried DS flower was extracted using 100% methanol (w/v), 100% ethanol (w/v), and 100% water (w/v). The 100% methanolic crude extract showed the highest total phenolic content (40.33 ± mg GAE/g extract) and the best antioxidant properties as shown by DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. A correlation relationship between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content showed that phenolic compounds were the dominant antioxidant components in this flower extract. The microbial fermentation on DS flower medium showed a potential in increasing the phenolic content and DPPH scavenging activity. The TPC of final fermented medium showed approximately 18% increment, while the DPPH of fermented medium increased significantly to approximately 80% at the end of the fermentation. Dendrobium sabin (DS) flower showed very good potential properties of antioxidant in crude extract and partition extract as well as better antioxidant activity in the flower fermented medium. PMID:28761496

  5. Marine actinomycete crude extracts with potent TRAIL-resistance overcoming activity against breast cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Elmallah, Mohammed I Y; Micheau, Olivier; Eid, Mennat Allah G; Hebishy, Ali M S; Abdelfattah, Mohamed S

    2017-06-01

    Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising anticancer agent, as it can kill tumor cells selectively. In our search of bioactive natural products to overcome TRAIL-resistance, we isolated 47 actinomycete strains from different sediments and seawater samples collected from the Red Sea coast in Egypt and found four crude extracts (EGY1, EGY3, EGY24 and EGY34) displaying TRAIL sensitizing activity in the resistant breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. None of these crude extracts exhibited cytotoxic effect on normal mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), with the exception of EGY34. Analysis of the signaling pathways underlying the sensitization of MDA-MB-231 cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, by western blotting, revealed that all crude extracts facilitated initiator caspase‑8/-10 activation upon TRAIL stimulation, but that in addition, EGY3 and EGY34, alone, induced strong ER-stress activation, with the appearance of BiP in the cytosolic extracts. Our results pave the way to the discovery and the development of marine-derived drugs for cancer therapy.

  6. Duration of second stage of labor and instrumental delivery as risk factors for severe perineal lacerations: population-based study.

    PubMed

    Simic, Marija; Cnattingius, Sven; Petersson, Gunnar; Sandström, Anna; Stephansson, Olof

    2017-02-21

    We sought to investigate the impact of the duration of second stage of labor on risk of severe perineal lacerations (third and fourth degree). This population based cohort study was conducted in the Stockholm/Gotland region, Sweden, 2008-2014. Study population included 52 211 primiparous women undergoing vaginal delivery with cephalic presentation at term. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR), using 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main exposure was duration of second stage of labor, and main outcome was risks of severe perineal lacerations (third and fourth degree). Risk of severe perineal lacerations increased with duration of second stage of labor. Compared with a second stage of labor of 1 h or less, women with a second stage of more than 2 h had an increased risk (aOR 1.42; 95% CI 1.28-1.58). Compared with non-instrumental vaginal deliveries, the risk was elevated among instrumental vaginal deliveries (aOR 2.24; 95% CI 2.07-2.42). The risk of perineal laceration increased with duration of second stage of labor until less than 3 h in both instrumental and non-instrumental vaginal deliveries, but after 3 h, the ORs did not further increase. After adjustments for potential confounders, macrosomia (birth weight > 4 500 g) and occiput posterior fetal position were risk factors of severe perineal lacerations. The risk of severe perineal laceration increases with duration until the third hour of second stage of labor. Instrumental delivery is the most significant risk factor for severe lacerations, followed by duration of second stage of labor, fetal size and occiput posterior fetal position.

  7. Maternal and perinatal mortality by place of delivery in sub-Saharan Africa: a meta-analysis of population-based cohort studies.

    PubMed

    Chinkhumba, Jobiba; De Allegri, Manuela; Muula, Adamson S; Robberstad, Bjarne

    2014-09-28

    Facility-based delivery has gained traction as a key strategy for reducing maternal and perinatal mortality in developing countries. However, robust evidence of impact of place of delivery on maternal and perinatal mortality is lacking. We aimed to estimate the risk of maternal and perinatal mortality by place of delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a systematic review of population-based cohort studies reporting on risk of maternal or perinatal mortality at the individual level by place of delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality. Outcomes were summarized in pooled analyses using fixed and random effects models. We calculated attributable risk percentage reduction in mortality to estimate exposure effect. We report mortality ratios, crude odds ratios and associated 95% confidence intervals. We found 9 population-based cohort studies: 6 reporting on perinatal and 3 on maternal mortality. The mean study quality score was 10 out of 15 points. Control for confounders varied between the studies. A total of 36,772 pregnancy episodes were included in the analyses. Overall, perinatal mortality is 21% higher for home compared to facility-based deliveries, but the difference is only significant when produced with a fixed effects model (OR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.46) and not when produced by a random effects model (OR 1.21, 95% CI: 0.79-1.84). Under best settings, up to 14 perinatal deaths might be averted per 1000 births if the women delivered at facilities instead of homes. We found significantly increased risk of maternal mortality for facility-based compared to home deliveries (OR 2.29, 95% CI: 1.58-3.31), precluding estimates of attributable risk fraction. Evaluating the impact of facility-based delivery strategy on maternal and perinatal mortality using population-based studies is complicated by selection bias and poor control of confounders. Studies that pool data at an individual level may overcome some of these

  8. 33 CFR 158.210 - Ports and terminals loading crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...); (b) Bilge water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) or 2 metric...) Ballast water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 30% of the deadweight tonnage of the largest of... Criteria for Reception Facilities: Oily Mixtures § 158.210 Ports and terminals loading crude oil. The...

  9. 33 CFR 158.210 - Ports and terminals loading crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ...); (b) Bilge water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) or 2 metric...) Ballast water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 30% of the deadweight tonnage of the largest of... Criteria for Reception Facilities: Oily Mixtures § 158.210 Ports and terminals loading crude oil. The...

  10. 33 CFR 158.210 - Ports and terminals loading crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ...); (b) Bilge water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) or 2 metric...) Ballast water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 30% of the deadweight tonnage of the largest of... Criteria for Reception Facilities: Oily Mixtures § 158.210 Ports and terminals loading crude oil. The...

  11. 33 CFR 158.210 - Ports and terminals loading crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ...); (b) Bilge water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) or 2 metric...) Ballast water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 30% of the deadweight tonnage of the largest of... Criteria for Reception Facilities: Oily Mixtures § 158.210 Ports and terminals loading crude oil. The...

  12. 33 CFR 158.210 - Ports and terminals loading crude oil.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ...); (b) Bilge water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) or 2 metric...) Ballast water containing oily mixtures in the amount of 30% of the deadweight tonnage of the largest of... Criteria for Reception Facilities: Oily Mixtures § 158.210 Ports and terminals loading crude oil. The...

  13. Modeling the initial mechanical response and yielding behavior of gelled crude oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, Chen; Gang, Liu; Xingguo, Lu; Minghai, Xu; Yuannan, Tang

    2018-05-01

    The initial mechanical response and yielding behavior of gelled crude oil under constant shear rate conditions were investigated. By putting the Maxwell mechanical analog and a special dashpot in parallel, a quasi-Jeffreys model was obtained. The kinetic equation of the structural parameter in the Houska model was simplified reasonably so that a simplified constitutive equation of the special dashpot was expressed. By introducing a damage factor into the constitutive equation of the special dashpot and the Maxwell mechanical analog, we established a constitutive equation of the quasi-Jeffreys model. Rheological tests of gelled crude oil were conducted by imposing constant shear rates and the relationship between the shear stress and shear strain under different shear rates was plotted. It is found that the constitutive equation can fit the experimental data well under a wide range of shear rates. Based on the fitted parameters in the quasi-Jeffreys model, the shear stress changing rules of the Maxwell mechanical analog and the special dashpot were calculated and analyzed. It is found that the critical yield strain and the corresponding shear strain where shear stress of the Maxwell analog is the maximum change slightly under different shear rates. And then a critical damage softening strain which is irrelevant to the shearing conditions was put forward to describe the yielding behavior of gelled crude oil.

  14. Microbial activity in Alaskan taiga soils contaminated by crude oil in 1976

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Monroe, E.M.; Lindstrom, J.E.; Brown, E.J.

    1995-12-31

    Biodegradation, often measured via microbial activity, includes destruction of environmental pollutants by living microorganisms and is dependent upon many physical and chemical factors. Effects of mineral nutrients and organic matter on biodegradation of Prudhoe Bay crude oil were investigated at a nineteen-year-old oil spill site in Alaskan taiga. Microcosms of two different soil types from the spill site; one undeveloped soil with forest litter and detritus (O horizon) and one more developed with lower organic content (A horizon), were treated with various nitrogen and phosphorus amendments, and incubated for up to six weeks. Each microcosm was sampled periodically and assayedmore » for hydrocarbon mineralization potential using radiorespirometry, for total carbon dioxide respired using gas chromatography, and for numbers of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and heterotrophic bacteria using most probable number counting techniques. Organic matter in the O horizon soil along with combinations of mineral nutrients were found to stimulate microbial activity. No combination of mineral nutrient additions to the A horizon soil stimulated any of the parameters above those measured in control microcosms. The results of this study indicate that adding mineral nutrients and tilling the O horizon into the A horizon of subarctic soils contaminated with crude oil, would stimulate microbial activity, and therefore the biodegradation potential, ultimately increasing the rate of destruction of crude oil in these soils.« less

  15. Biodegradation of Diesel, Crude Oil and Spent Lubricating Oil by Soil Isolates of Bacillus spp.

    PubMed

    Raju, Maddela Naga; Leo, Rodriguez; Herminia, Sanaguano Salguero; Morán, Ricardo Ernesto Burgos; Venkateswarlu, Kadiyala; Laura, Scalvenzi

    2017-05-01

    Two species of Bacillus, B. thuringiensis B3 and B. cereus B6, isolated from crude oil-contaminated sites in Ecuador, were tested for their capability in degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in diesel (shake-flask), and to remove total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) from crude oil- or spent lubricating oil-polluted soils (plot-scale). TPHs and PAHs were analyzed by Gas chromatography-Flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. Degradation percentages of PAHs by strain B6 were in the range of 11-83 after 30 days. A mixed culture of both the strains removed 84% and 28% of TPHs from crude oil- and spent lubricating oil-polluted soils, respectively. Reduction in the abundance of total n-alkane fractions (C 8 -C 40 ) of spent lubricating oil was 94%, which was 18% higher than the control. Our results clearly indicate that the selected strains have great potential in degrading petroleum hydrocarbons at both laboratory- and field-scales.

  16. Aphrodisiac Activity of the Aqueous Crude Extract of Purple Corn (Zea mays) in Male Rats

    PubMed Central

    Carro-Juárez, Miguel; Rodríguez-Santiago, Magdalena G.; Franco, Miguel Angel; Hueletl-Soto, María Eugenia

    2017-01-01

    In the present study, the aphrodisiac properties of the purple corn (Zea mays) in male rats were analyzed. The aqueous crude extract of purple corn (at 25, 50, and 75 mg/kg) was administered to (a) copulating male rats and (b) anesthetized and spinal cord transected male rats. Behavioral parameters of copulatory behavior and parameters of the genital motor pattern of ejaculation previous to its inhibition, under the influence of the purple corn extract, are described. Administration of the aqueous crude extract of purple corn significantly facilitates the arousal and execution of male rat sexual behavior without significant influences on the ambulatory behavior. In addition, purple corn extract elicit a significant increase in the number of discharges of the ejaculatory motor patterns and in the total number of genital motor patterns evoked in spinal rats. The present findings show that the aqueous crude extract of purple corn possesses aphrodisiac activity. PMID:28508664

  17. Neutron scattering studies of crude oil viscosity reduction with electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Enpeng

    data that contains information on the properties of a sample. We can analyze the data acquisition from the detectors and get the information on size, shape, etc. This is why we choose SANS as our research tool. The world's top energy problems are security concerns, climate concerns and environmental concerns. So far, oil (37%) is still the No.1 fuel in world energy consumption (Oil 37%, Coal 25%, Bio-fuels 0.2%, Gas 23%, Nuclear 6%, Biomass 4%, Hydro 3%, Solar heat 0.5%, Wind 0.3%, Geothermal 0.2% and Solar photovoltaic 0.04%). Even more and more alternative energy: bio-fuels, nuclear and solar energy will be used in the future, but nuclear energy has a major safety issue after the Japanese Fukushima I nuclear accidents, and other energies contribute only a small percent. Thus, it is very important to improve the efficiency and reduce the population of petroleum products. There is probably one thing that we can all agree on: the world's energy reserves are not unlimited. Even though it is limited, only 30% of the oil reserves is conventional oil, so in order to produce, transport, and refine of heavy crude oil without wasting huge amounts of energy, we need to reduce the viscosity without using high temperature stream heating or diluent; As more and more off-shore oil is exploited at that we need reduce the viscosity without increasing temperature. The whole petroleum consumed in U.S. in 2009 was 18.7 million barrels per day and 35% of all the energy we consumed. Diesel is one of the very important fossil fuel which is about 20% of petroleum consumed. Most of the world's oils are non-conventional, 15 % of heavy oil, 25 % of extra heavy oil, 30 % of the oil sands and bitumen, and the conventional oil reserves is only 30%. The oil sand is closely related to the heavy crude oil, the main difference being that oil sands generally do not flow at all. For efficient energy production and conservation, how to lower the liquated fuel and crude oil viscosity is a very important

  18. Mineralization of a Malaysian crude oil by Pseudomonas sp. and Achromabacter sp. isolated from coastal waters

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ahmad, J.; Ahmad, M.F.

    1995-12-31

    Regarded as being a potentially effective tool to combat oil pollution, bioremediation involves mineralization, i.e., the conversion of complex hydrocarbons into harmless CO{sub 2} and water by action of microorganisms. Therefore, in achieving optimum effectiveness from the application of these products on crude oil in local environments, the capability of the bacteria to mineralize hydrocarbons was evaluated. The microbial laboratory testing of mineralization on local oil degraders involved, first, isolation of bacteria found at a port located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Subsequently, these bacteria were identified by means of Biomereux`s API 20E and 20 NE systems andmore » later screened by their growth on a Malaysian crude oil. Selected strains of Pseudomonas sp. and Achromabacter sp. were then exposed individually to a similar crude oil in a mineralization unit and monitored for 16 days for release of CO{sub 2}. Pseudomonas paucimobilis was found to produce more CO{sub 2} than Achromobacter sp. When tested under similar conditions, mixed populations of these two taxa produced more CO{sub 2} than that produced by any individual strain. Effective bioremediation of local crude in Malaysian waters can therefore be achieved from biochemically developed Pseudomonas sp. strains.« less

  19. Corresponding morphological and molecular indicators of crude oil toxicity to the developing hearts of mahi mahi

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edmunds, Richard C.; Gill, J. A.; Baldwin, David H.; Linbo, Tiffany L.; French, Barbara L.; Brown, Tanya L.; Esbaugh, Andrew J.; Mager, Edward M.; Stieglitz, John; Hoenig, Ron; Benetti, Daniel; Grosell, Martin; Scholz, Nathaniel L.; Incardona, John P.

    2015-12-01

    Crude oils from distinct geological sources worldwide are toxic to developing fish hearts. When oil spills occur in fish spawning habitats, natural resource injury assessments often rely on conventional morphometric analyses of heart form and function. The extent to which visible indicators correspond to molecular markers for cardiovascular stress is unknown for pelagic predators from the Gulf of Mexico. Here we exposed mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) embryos to field-collected crude oil samples from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. We compared visible heart defects (edema, abnormal looping, reduced contractility) to changes in expression of cardiac-specific genes that are diagnostic of heart failure in humans or associated with loss-of-function zebrafish cardiac mutants. Mahi exposed to crude oil during embryogenesis displayed typical symptoms of cardiogenic syndrome as larvae. Contractility, looping, and circulatory defects were evident, but larval mahi did not exhibit downstream craniofacial and body axis abnormalities. A gradation of oil exposures yielded concentration-responsive changes in morphometric and molecular responses, with relative sensitivity being influenced by age. Our findings suggest that 1) morphometric analyses of cardiac function are more sensitive to proximal effects of crude oil-derived chemicals on the developing heart, and 2) molecular indicators reveal a longer-term adverse shift in cardiogenesis trajectory.

  20. Corresponding morphological and molecular indicators of crude oil toxicity to the developing hearts of mahi mahi

    PubMed Central

    Edmunds, Richard C.; Gill, J. A.; Baldwin, David H.; Linbo, Tiffany L.; French, Barbara L.; Brown, Tanya L.; Esbaugh, Andrew J.; Mager, Edward M.; Stieglitz, John; Hoenig, Ron; Benetti, Daniel; Grosell, Martin; Scholz, Nathaniel L.; Incardona, John P.

    2015-01-01

    Crude oils from distinct geological sources worldwide are toxic to developing fish hearts. When oil spills occur in fish spawning habitats, natural resource injury assessments often rely on conventional morphometric analyses of heart form and function. The extent to which visible indicators correspond to molecular markers for cardiovascular stress is unknown for pelagic predators from the Gulf of Mexico. Here we exposed mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) embryos to field-collected crude oil samples from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. We compared visible heart defects (edema, abnormal looping, reduced contractility) to changes in expression of cardiac-specific genes that are diagnostic of heart failure in humans or associated with loss-of-function zebrafish cardiac mutants. Mahi exposed to crude oil during embryogenesis displayed typical symptoms of cardiogenic syndrome as larvae. Contractility, looping, and circulatory defects were evident, but larval mahi did not exhibit downstream craniofacial and body axis abnormalities. A gradation of oil exposures yielded concentration-responsive changes in morphometric and molecular responses, with relative sensitivity being influenced by age. Our findings suggest that 1) morphometric analyses of cardiac function are more sensitive to proximal effects of crude oil-derived chemicals on the developing heart, and 2) molecular indicators reveal a longer-term adverse shift in cardiogenesis trajectory. PMID:26658479

  1. Design and implementation of a control structure for quality products in a crude oil atmospheric distillation column.

    PubMed

    Sotelo, David; Favela-Contreras, Antonio; Sotelo, Carlos; Jiménez, Guillermo; Gallegos-Canales, Luis

    2017-11-01

    In recent years, interest for petrochemical processes has been increasing, especially in refinement area. However, the high variability in the dynamic characteristics present in the atmospheric distillation column poses a challenge to obtain quality products. To improve distillates quality in spite of the changes in the input crude oil composition, this paper details a new design of a control strategy in a conventional crude oil distillation plant defined using formal interaction analysis tools. The process dynamic and its control are simulated on Aspen HYSYS ® dynamic environment under real operating conditions. The simulation results are compared against a typical control strategy commonly used in crude oil atmospheric distillation columns. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) demonstrate potential for use in soil bioremediation by increasing the degradation rates of heavy crude oil hydrocarbons.

    PubMed

    Martinkosky, Luke; Barkley, Jaimie; Sabadell, Gabriel; Gough, Heidi; Davidson, Seana

    2017-02-15

    Crude oil contamination widely impacts soil as a result of release during oil and gas exploration and production activities. The success of bioremediation methods to meet remediation goals often depends on the composition of the crude oil, the soil, and microbial community. Earthworms may enhance bioremediation by mixing and aerating the soil, and exposing soil microorganisms to conditions in the earthworm gut that lead to increased activity. In this study, the common composting earthworm Eisenia fetida was tested for utility to improve remediation of oil-impacted soil. E. fetida survival in soil contaminated with two distinct crude oils was tested in an artificial (lab-mixed) sandy loam soil, and survival compared to that in the clean soil. Crude oil with a high fraction of light-weight hydrocarbons was more toxic to earthworms than the crude oil with a high proportion of heavy polyaromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. The heavier crude oil was added to soil to create a 30,000mg/kg crude oil impacted soil, and degradation in the presence of added earthworms and feed, feed alone, or no additions was monitored over time and compared. Earthworm feed was spread on top to test effectiveness of no mixing. TPH degradation rate for the earthworm treatments was ~90mg/day slowing by 200days to ~20mg/day, producing two phases of degradation. With feed alone, the rate was ~40mg/day, with signs of slowing after 500days. Both treatments reached the same end point concentrations, and exhibited faster degradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons C21, decreased. During these experiments, soils were moderately toxic during the first three months, then earthworms survived well, were active and reproduced with petroleum hydrocarbons present. This study demonstrated that earthworms accelerate bioremediation of crude oil in soils, including the degradation of the heaviest polyaromatic fractions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. USE OF HOPANE AS A CONSERVATIVE BIOMARKER FOR MONITORING THE BIOREMEDIATION EFFECTIVENESS OF CRUDE OIL CONTAMINATING A SANDY BEACH

    EPA Science Inventory

    Much of the variability inherent in crude oil bioremediation field studies can be eliminated by normalizing analyte concentrations to the concentration of a nonbiodegradable biomarker such as hopane. This was demonstrated with data from a field study in which crude oil was intent...

  4. Efficient Atomization and Combustion of Emulsified Crude Oil

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-09-18

    2.26 Naphthenes , vol % 50.72 Aromatics, vol % 16.82 Freezing Point, °F -49.7 Freezing Point, °C -45.4 Smoke Point, mm (ASTM) 19.2 Acid ...needed by the proposed method for capturing and oil removal , in particular the same vessels and booms used to herd the floating crude oil into a thick...slicks need to be removed more rapidly than they can be transported, in situ burning offers a rapid disposal method that minimizes risk to marine life

  5. Telemetry and control system for interplatform crude loading at the Statfjord field

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Malmin, P.C.; Lassa, P.

    1988-04-01

    A control system for crude loading to tankers at Statfjord field has been designed to allow tanker loading to the place at all times to prevent production shutdowns caused by loading-buoy problems. This paper discusses how the control system was designed to maximize the flexibility of loading operations and to meet all safety and regulatory requirements. The experience gained from more than 4 years of operation of the system is reviewed. The system has allowed maximum use of total field crude oil storage capacity while loading to 125,000-DWT (127 000-Mg) tankers nearly every day throughout the year. It has beenmore » possible to maintain a high production rate even through the periods of difficult weather conditions experienced in the northern North Sea.« less

  6. The application of pulse field gradient (PFG) NMR methods to characterize the efficiency of separation of water-in-crude oil emulsions.

    PubMed

    Marques, Debora Salomon; Sørland, Geir; Less, Simone; Vilagines, Regis

    2018-02-15

    Demulsification of water-in-crude oil emulsions is an essential and sometimes challenging procedure for crude oil processing facilities. Pulse field gradient (PFG) NMR techniques are known to monitor the dynamics of emulsion separation. This method has limitations that restrict its application to some crude oils. A comprehensive methodology applicable to all types of crude oil regardless of its viscosity, without assumptions, and providing a large number of data with fast measurements, is proposed in this paper. The coalescence and sedimentation of unstable emulsions was observed through simultaneous measurements of the evolution of the brine profile and droplet size distribution (DSD). Measurements of emulsions after stabilization, with and without the contribution of the free water layer, revealed the residual emulsified water quantity and location in the sample. A new, faster approach to separate the oil and water overlapping T 2 relaxation signals was demonstrated on real water-in-crude oil emulsions, using the root mean square displacement (RMSD) measured with the spoiler recovery and a loop of 13-interval pulsed field gradient stimulated echo (PFGSTE) oneshot sequences. The residual water within the crude oils after separation was determined and used to quantify the efficiency of the demulsifier used. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Harvest Regimens to Maximize Sericea Lespedeza Crude Protein and Condensed Tannins

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) is sold as hay or pellets for its crude protein (CP) and condensed tannin (CT) content, the latter to promote rumen bypass protein, depress methane emissions in livestock, and suppress gastro-intestinal parasites in small ruminants. Maximizing these forage c...

  8. Effects of crude glycerin supplementation on wool production, feeding behavior, and body condition of Merino ewes.

    PubMed

    Meale, S J; Chaves, A V; Ding, S; Bush, R D; McAllister, T A

    2013-02-01

    The increasing availability of crude glycerin from the biodiesel industry has led to an interest in its use as an energy source in ruminant diets. However, its effects on ruminal fermentation patterns and methane (CH4) production are unclear, and there are no reports on the effect of its inclusion in the diet on wool production or growth of Merino sheep. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine the effects of increasing levels of crude glycerin on in vitro ruminal fermentation and CH4 production and DMI, BW, feeding behavior, and wool growth and quality in Merino ewes. Crude glycerin (99.2% pure, colorless, odorless, viscous liquid) replaced whole wheat grain in completely pelleted diets at levels of 0%, 6%, and 12% DM in both in vitro and in vivo studies. For in vitro studies, diets were dried and ground through a 1-mm screen and incubated on 2 different days for 24 h. Modified McDougal's buffer and rumen liquor were mixed 3:1, and gas production and CH4 concentration was measured after 6, 12, and 24 h of incubation with pH and IVDMD measured at 24 h. Cumulative gas (mL/g DM) and methane (mL) production was similar (P ≥ 0.35) among dietary treatments. In vitro dry matter disappearance (%) increased (P < 0.01) with increasing concentrations of crude glycerin. For the in vivo study, 39 Merino ewes were randomly assigned to 3 treatments (n = 13 ewes/treatment). Pelleted diets were available continuously for a 10-wk period through the use of automatic feeders. Ewes were weighed every 7 d. Wool yield was determined on mid-side patches of 100 cm(2) shorn at d 0 and d 70. Dye bands were used to determine wool growth and fiber length. Intake and ADG were similar among treatments (P = 0.59). Neither wool yield, length, spinning fineness, nor fiber diameter (μm) were affected after supplementation with crude glycerin (P ≥ 0.13). This study indicates the potential for crude glycerin to be included in the diets of Merino sheep at up to 12% DM without

  9. Study on the biodegradation of crude oil by free and immobilized bacterial consortium in marine environment.

    PubMed

    Chen, Qingguo; Li, Jingjing; Liu, Mei; Sun, Huiling; Bao, Mutai

    2017-01-01

    Five strains of bacteria, namely, Exiguobacterium sp. ASW-1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain ASW-2, Alcaligenes sp. ASW-3, Alcaligenes sp. ASS-1, and Bacillus sp. ASS-2, were isolated from the Zhejiang coast in China. The mixed flora of the five strains performed well with degrading 75.1% crude oil (1%, w/v) in 7 days. The calcium alginate-activated carbon embedding carrier was used to immobilize bacterial consortium. Immobilized cells performed better than free ones in variations of environmental factors containing incubated temperature, initial pH, salinity of the medium and crude oil concentration. The degradation process of crude oil by immobilized bacteria was accelerated compared with that of the free ones. Bacterial consortium showed better performance on biodegradation of normal alkanes than that of PAHs. Improvement of immobilization on the biodegradation efficiency of normal alkanes (31.9%) was apparently high than that of PAHs (1.9%).

  10. Study on the biodegradation of crude oil by free and immobilized bacterial consortium in marine environment

    PubMed Central

    Li, Jingjing; Liu, Mei; Sun, Huiling; Bao, Mutai

    2017-01-01

    Five strains of bacteria, namely, Exiguobacterium sp. ASW-1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain ASW-2, Alcaligenes sp. ASW-3, Alcaligenes sp. ASS-1, and Bacillus sp. ASS-2, were isolated from the Zhejiang coast in China. The mixed flora of the five strains performed well with degrading 75.1% crude oil (1%, w/v) in 7 days. The calcium alginate—activated carbon embedding carrier was used to immobilize bacterial consortium. Immobilized cells performed better than free ones in variations of environmental factors containing incubated temperature, initial pH, salinity of the medium and crude oil concentration. The degradation process of crude oil by immobilized bacteria was accelerated compared with that of the free ones. Bacterial consortium showed better performance on biodegradation of normal alkanes than that of PAHs. Improvement of immobilization on the biodegradation efficiency of normal alkanes (31.9%) was apparently high than that of PAHs (1.9%). PMID:28346510

  11. Crude ethanolic extract from spent coffee grounds: Volatile and functional properties.

    PubMed

    Page, Julio C; Arruda, Neusa P; Freitas, Suely P

    2017-11-01

    Espresso capsule consumption and spent coffee ground (SCG) generation have increased, and the present study was undertaken to evaluate the volatile profile (VP), the antioxidant activity (AA) and the sun protection factor (SPF) of the Crude ethanolic extract obtained from the SCG in capsules. The extract yield was superior to the ether yield because a higher unsaponifiable matter (U.M.) amount was recovered by ethanol. The obtained VP (70 compounds) was typical of roasted coffee oil. Furthermore, chemometric analysis using principal components (PCA) discriminated the extracts and grouped the replicates for each sample, which showed the repeatability of the extraction process. The AA ranged from 18.4 to 23.6 (mg extract mg DPPH -1 ) and the SPF from 2.27 to 2.76. The combination of the coffee VP, AA and SPF gave the espresso SCG's crude ethanolicextract, desirable properties that can be used in cosmetic and food industries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Distillation fraction-specific ecotoxicological evaluation of a paraffin-rich crude oil.

    PubMed

    Erlacher, Elisabeth; Loibner, Andreas P; Kendler, Romana; Scherr, Kerstin E

    2013-03-01

    Crude oil is a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) with distinct chemical, physical and toxicological properties relevant for contaminated site risk assessment. Ecotoxicological effects of crude oil distillation fractions on luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), earthworms (Dendrobaena hortensis) and invertebrates (Heterocypris incongruens) were tested using two spiked soils and their elutriates. Fraction 2 (F2) had an equivalent carbon number (ECN) range of >10 to 16, and F3 from >16 to 39. F2 showed a substantially higher ecotoxicological effect than F3 for Vibrio and Dendrobaena. In contrast, severe inhibition of Heterocypris by the poorly soluble F3 is attributed to mechanical organ blockage. Immediate sequestration of PHC to the organic matter-rich soil effected reduced toxicity for all organisms. This study indicates that a more differentiated consideration (i) of PHC mixtures based on ECN range and (ii) of model soil properties employed for ecotoxicity testing should be included into PHC-contaminated site risk assessment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. p53 elevation in human cells halt SV40 infection by inhibiting T-ag expression

    PubMed Central

    Drayman, Nir; Ben-nun-Shaul, Orly; Butin-Israeli, Veronika; Srivastava, Rohit; Rubinstein, Ariel M.; Mock, Caroline S.; Elyada, Ela; Ben-Neriah, Yinon; Lahav, Galit; Oppenheim, Ariella

    2016-01-01

    SV40 large T-antigen (T-ag) has been known for decades to inactivate the tumor suppressor p53 by sequestration and additional mechanisms. Our present study revealed that the struggle between p53 and T-ag begins very early in the infection cycle. We found that p53 is activated early after SV40 infection and defends the host against the infection. Using live cell imaging and single cell analyses we found that p53 dynamics are variable among individual cells, with only a subset of cells activating p53 immediately after SV40 infection. This cell-to-cell variabilty had clear consequences on the outcome of the infection. None of the cells with elevated p53 at the beginning of the infection proceeded to express T-ag, suggesting a p53-dependent decision between abortive and productive infection. In addition, we show that artificial elevation of p53 levels prior to the infection reduces infection efficiency, supporting a role for p53 in defending against SV40. We further found that the p53-mediated host defense mechanism against SV40 is not facilitated by apoptosis nor via interferon-stimulated genes. Instead p53 binds to the viral DNA at the T-ag promoter region, prevents its transcriptional activation by Sp1, and halts the progress of the infection. These findings shed new light on the long studied struggle between SV40 T-ag and p53, as developed during virus-host coevolution. Our studies indicate that the fate of SV40 infection is determined as soon as the viral DNA enters the nucleus, before the onset of viral gene expression. PMID:27462916

  14. [Identification of two Fusarium isolates and their crude toxin allelopathic effect on Cucumis melo seedlings].

    PubMed

    Zhao, Juan; Xue, Quan-Hong; Du, Jun-Zhi; Chen, Jiao-Jiao

    2013-01-01

    Eight fungi isolates were obtained from Fusarium-infected Cucumis melo (melon) plants and their rhizosphere soils. Taking melon cultivar 'Xitian 1' as test material, the re-inoculation and seed germination experiments were conducted to investigate the pathogenicity and growth inhibition effect of these fungi isolates on melon. Through the determination of the induced enzyme activities, resistant substance contents, and cell membrane permeability of potted melon roots, the allelopathic effect of the crude toxins of two harmful fungi was studied, and according to the morphological characteristics and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequencing, the two harmful fungi were identified. The crude toxins of the two harmful fungi TF and HF had strong inhibition effects on the germination and growth of the melon seeds. The MDA and soluble protein contents and the cell membrane permeability of the 'Xitian 1' seedlings roots all increased, among which, the MDA content and cell membrane permeability increased by 108.6% and 40.6%, respectively when treated with the stock solution of TF toxin, compared with the control. The crude toxins of the two harmful fungi improved the induced enzyme activities of the melon roots, with the increment of the PAL and POD activities under the treatment of 10-fold dilution of TF crude toxin increased by 25.6% and 23.2%, respectively. When treated with the stock solution of HF toxin, the PAL activity significantly increased by 30.0%. The two harmful fungi TF and HF were primarily identified as Fusarium equisti and F. proliferatum, respectively. This study showed that the two Fusarium isolates could not infect melon via re-inoculation, but could negatively affect the melon's normal growth and normal physiological and biochemical metabolism via toxins excretion, and in the meantime, improve the root protective enzyme activities, with the effects of both benefit and harmfulness on melon plants. The allelopathic hazard of the crude toxins of the

  15. Ultrasound Assisted Synthesis of Hydroxylated Soybean Lecithin from Crude Soybean Lecithin as an Emulsifier.

    PubMed

    Chiplunkar, Pranali P; Pratap, Amit P

    2017-10-01

    Soybean lecithin is a by-product obtained during degumming step of crude soybean oil refining. Crude soybean lecithin (CSL) contains major amount of phospholipids (PLs) along with minor amount of acylglycerols, bioactive components, etc. Due to presence of PLs, CSL can be used as an emulsifier. Crude soybean lecithin (CSL) was utilized to synthesize hydroxylated soybean lecithin (HSL) by hydroxylation using hydrogen peroxide and catalytic amount of lactic acid to enhance the hydrophilicity and emulsifying properties of CSL. To reduce the reaction time and to increase rate of reaction, HSL was synthesized under ultrasound irradiation. The effect of different operating parameters such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, temperature, ultrasonic power and duty cycle in synthesis of HSL were studied and optimized. The surface tension (SFT), interfacial tension (IFT) and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the HSL (26.11 mN/m, 2.67 mN/m, 112 mg/L) were compared to CSL (37.53 mN/m, 6.22 mN/m, 291 mg/L) respectively. The HSL has better emulsion stability and low foaming characteristics as compared to CSL. Therefore, the product as an effective emulsifier can be used in food, pharmacy, lubricant, cosmetics, etc.

  16. Antiulcerogenic activity of crude extract, fractions and populnoic acid isolated from Austroplenckia populnea (Celastraceae).

    PubMed

    Andrade, Sérgio F; Antoniolli, Daiane; Comunello, Eros; Cardoso, Luis G V; Carvalho, José C T; Bastos, Jairo K

    2006-01-01

    Many plant crude extracts and their isolated compounds are the most attractive sources of new drugs and show promising results for the treatment of gastric ulcers. Austroplenckia populnea is commonly known as "marmelinho-do campo, mangabeira-brava, mangabarana and vime" and it has been used in folk medicine as anti-dysenteric and anti-rheumatic. Powdered bark wood (3.25 kg) was macerated with aqueous ethanol (96%) and the extract was concentrated under reduced pressure to yield 406 g of crude hydralcoholic extract. The hydralcoholic extract was suspended in aqueous methanol and partitioned with hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) in sequence, yielding 8.0 g, 9.5 g and 98.17 g of crude extracts, respectively. Chromatography of the hexane extract over a silica gel column led to the isolation of the triterpene populnoic acid. The oral administration of hydralcoholic, hexane, chloroform and EtOAc extracts (200 mg/kg) decreased the ulcer lesion index (ULI) by 83.15%, 46.87%, 32.2%, 68.12%, respectively. Oral administration of populnoic acid (100 mg/kg) diminished the ULI by 55.29%. All the obtained results were significant in comparison with the negative control, with exception of the chloroform extract.

  17. Crude glycerine inclusion in Limousin bull diets: animal performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality.

    PubMed

    Egea, M; Linares, M B; Garrido, M D; Villodre, C; Madrid, J; Orengo, J; Martínez, S; Hernández, F

    2014-12-01

    Three hundred and six Limousin young bulls (7±1months of age, initial body weight 273±43kg) were used to evaluate the effect of crude glycerine supplementation on animal performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Animals were assigned to three different diets: Control (0% of crude glycerine), G2 and G4 (2 and 4% of crude glycerine, respectively). The diets were administrated ad libitum for 240days (final body weight 644±24kg). Average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake, the gain:feed ratio, ultrasound measures in vivo, carcass characteristics, pH, water holding capacity, drip losses, and cooking losses were not affected (P>0.05) by diets. Diet decreased C16:0 (P<0.01) and C16:1 (P<0.05) contents in meat. The G4 meat showed lower C12:0, C14:0, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, c9,t11-c18:2, C20:0 and C20:4 levels (P<0.05) than control. Glycerine increased desirable fatty acid percentages (P<0.05) in intramuscular fat. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Learning and memory promoting effects of crude garlic extract.

    PubMed

    Mukherjee, Dhrubajyoti; Banerjee, Sugato

    2013-12-01

    Chronic administration of aged garlic extract has been shown to prevent memory impairment in mice. Acute and chronic (21 days) effects of marketed formulation of crude garlic extract (Lasuna) were evaluated on learning and memory in mice using step down latency (SDL) by passive avoidance response and transfer latency (TL) using elevated plus maze. Scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg, ip) was used to induce amnesia in mice and piracetam (200 mg/kg, ip) served as positive control. In the acute study, Lasuna (65 mg/kg, po) partially reversed the scopolamine-induced amnesia but failed to improve learning and memory in untreated animals. Chronic administration of Lasuna (40 mg/kg/day for 21 days) significantly improved learning both in control and scopolamine induced amnesic animals. Influence of Lasuna on central cholinergic activity and its antioxidant properties were also studied by estimating the cortical acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels respectively. Chronic administration of Lasuna inhibited AchE, while increasing GSH levels. Thus the results indicate that long-term administration of crude garlic extract may improve learning and memory in mice while the underlying mechanism of action may be attributed to the anti-AchE activity and anti-oxidant property of garlic.

  19. Understanding Government and Railroad Strategy for Crude Oil Transportation in North America

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-09-20

    On July 6, 2013, an oil-laden unit train derailed and exploded in Lac-Mgantic, Quebec, Canada, killing 47 people, shocking and saddening many, and leading to significantly increased public scrutiny of crude oil transported by rail. Simultaneously, ...

  20. Ocular delivery of macromolecules

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Yoo-Chun; Chiang, Bryce; Wu, Xianggen; Prausnitz, Mark R.

    2014-01-01

    Biopharmaceuticals are making increasing impact on medicine, including treatment of indications in the eye. Macromolecular drugs are typically given by physician-administered invasive delivery methods, because non--invasive ocular delivery methods, such as eye drops, and systemic delivery, have low bioavailability and/or poor ocular targeting. There is a need to improve delivery of biopharmaceuticals to enable less-invasive delivery routes, less-frequent dosing through controlled-release drug delivery and improved drug targeting within the eye to increase efficacy and reduce side effects. This review discusses the barriers to drug delivery via various ophthalmic routes of administration in the context of macromolecule delivery and discusses efforts to develop controlled-release systems for delivery of biopharmaceuticals to the eye. The growing number of macromolecular therapies in the eye needs improved drug delivery methods that increase drug efficacy, safety and patient compliance. PMID:24998941

  1. Hydrothermally tailor-made chitosan fiber for micro-solid phase extraction of petroleum acids in crude oils.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Gang-Tian; Hu, Xiao-Li; He, Sheng; He, Xiao-Mei; Zhu, Shu-Kui; Feng, Yu-Qi

    2018-06-05

    Tailor-made chitosan fiber was prepared via hydrothermal treatment to serve as a micro-solid phase extraction (micro-SPE) sorbent for the analysis of petroleum acids (PAs) in crude oils. Chitosan fiber, which is commercial and cheap, has a diameter of about 10 μm and a length of a few centimeters. The fibrous property of the sorbent enables the micro-SPE to deal with viscous crude oil samples because of the low back-pressure during extraction, while the abundant hydroxyl groups and amino groups on the surface of chitosan fiber can provide high density of specific sites for adsorption of PAs. Moreover, it was found that hydrothermal treatment at certain conditions could tune the surface properties of chitosan fiber, leading to significant improvement of the capacity of the fiber in adsorption of PAs. Using hydrothermally treated chitosan fiber as sorbent, the micro-SPE was applied to the determination of PAs in crude oils, with the advantages of easy-operation, rapidness and high sensitivity (the limits of detection range from 0.7 ng/g to 5.4 ng/g). Furthermore, coupled with comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC × GCMS), the treated chitosan fiber packed micro-SPE method showed a great potential for comprehensive profiling of PAs in crude oils. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Analysis of inland crude oil spill threats, vulnerabilities, and emergency response in the midwest United States.

    PubMed

    Brody, Thomas M; Di Bianca, Paisly; Krysa, Jan

    2012-10-01

    Although coastal oil spills tend to be highly publicized, crude oil spills in the United States affect inland areas relatively often. Spills to inland areas often affect sensitive environments and can have greater impacts to health and welfare than spills to coastal areas. For these reasons, the authors investigated inland crude oil spill threats, vulnerabilities, and emergency response in the midwestern U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These states work with the Region 5 Offices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Region 5's geospatial data in the Inland Sensitivity Atlas were turned into metrics indicating inland crude oil spill threats and vulnerabilities among the Region's sub-watersheds. These threats and vulnerabilities were weighted using data from the National Response Center and the Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration Priority System. The locations of the Region's emergency responders were geocoded in GIS. The GIS calculated the emergency response times to the Region's sub-watersheds. The resulting scatter plots are connected to the sub-watersheds in the map so stakeholders can (1) see the outlying sub-watersheds of concern and (2) better understand how reducing threats and better response time can reduce the risk of inland crude oil spills. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the U.S.A.

  3. Effects of dietary inclusion of high concentrations of crude glycerin on meat quality and fatty acid profile of feedlot fed Nellore bulls

    PubMed Central

    D'Áurea, André P.; Fávaro, Vanessa R.; van Cleef, Flavia O. S.; Barducci, Robson S.; Almeida, Marco T. C.; Machado Neto, Otávio R.; Ezequiel, Jane M. B.

    2017-01-01

    Crude glycerin, the main by-product of biodiesel production, can replace dietary energy sources, such as corn. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of up to 30% of crude glycerin in dry matter (DM) of the total diets, and its effects on meat quality parameters of feedlot Nellore bulls. Thirty animals (227.7 ± 23.8 kg body weight; 18 months old) were housed in individual pens and fed 5 experimental diets, containing 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5 or 30% crude glycerin (DM basis). After 103 d (21 d adaptation) animals were slaughtered and the Longissimus muscle was collected. The characteristics assessed were chemical composition, fatty acid profile, cholesterol, shear force, pH, color, water-holding capacity, cooking loss and sensory properties. The increasing inclusion of crude glycerin in the diets did not affect the chemical composition of the Longissimus muscle (P > 0.10). A quadratic effect was observed when levels of crude glycerin were increased, on the concentration of pentadecanoic, palmitoleic and eicosenoic fatty acids in meat (P < 0.05), and on the activity of the delta-9 desaturase 16 and delta-9 desaturase 18 enzymes (P < 0.05). The addition of crude glycerin increased the gamma linolenic fatty acid concentration (P < 0.01), and altered the monounsaturated fatty acids in Longissimus muscle of animals (Pquad. < 0.05). Crude glycerin decreased cholesterol content in meat (P < 0.05), and promoted higher flavor score and greasy intensity perception of the meat (P < 0.01). The inclusion of up to 30% crude glycerin in Nellore cattle bulls`diets (DM basis) improves meat cholesterol and sensory attributes, such as flavor, without affecting significantly the physical traits, the main fatty acid concentrations and the chemical composition. PMID:28644883

  4. Separations and characterizations of fractions from Mayan, Heavy Arabian, and Hondo crude oils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kircher, C.C.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports on Mayan, Heavy Arabian, and Hondo crude oil resids separated with a modified, extended ASTM D2007 procedure. The fractions obtained have been characterized with various analytical techniques. Chemical properties, hydrodesulfurization, and hydrodemetallation activities of the resids have been correlated with the chemical properties of the separated fractions. Many correlations were indicative of the overall bulk properties of the resids and the broad chemical classes obtained from the separation schemes. Other correlations reflected the unique chemical nature of each crude oil resid. Some potentially important correlations were found between hydrodesulfurization activity and sulfur concentration in polars and asphaltenes,more » and between hydrodemetallation activity and nitrogen concentration in the acid and bases fractions.« less

  5. Producing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol: effects of impurities on DHA production and algal biomass composition.

    PubMed

    Pyle, Denver J; Garcia, Rafael A; Wen, Zhiyou

    2008-06-11

    Crude glycerol is the primary byproduct of the biodiesel industry. Producing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) through fermentation of the alga Schizochytrium limacinum on crude glycerol provides a unique opportunity to utilize a large quantity of this byproduct. The objective of this work is to investigate the effects of impurities contained in the crude glycerol on DHA production and algal biomass composition. Crude glycerol streams were obtained from different biodiesel refineries. All of the glycerol samples contained methanol, soaps, and various elements including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sodium, and zinc. Both methanol and soap were found to negatively influence algal DHA production; these two impurities can be removed from culture medium by evaporation through autoclaving (for methanol) and by precipitation through pH adjustment (for soap). The glycerol-derived algal biomass contained 45-50% lipid, 14-20% protein, and 25% carbohydrate, with 8-13% ash content. Palmitic acid (C16:0) and DHA were the two major fatty acids in the algal lipid. The algal biomass was rich in lysine and cysteine, relative to many common feedstuffs. Elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma showed that boron, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sodium, and sulfur were present in the biomass, whereas no heavy metals (such as mercury) were detected in the algal biomass. Overall, the results show that crude glycerol was a suitable carbon source for algal fermentation. The crude glycerol-derived algal biomass had a high level of DHA and a nutritional profile similar to that of commercial algal biomass, suggesting a great potential for using crude glycerol-derived algae in omega-3-fortified food or feed.

  6. Sensitivity of the Endogeic Tropical Earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus to the Presence of Heavy Crude Oil.

    PubMed

    Del Carmen Cuevas-Díaz, María; Vázquez-Luna, Dinora; Martínez-Hernández, Sergio; Guzmán-López, Oswaldo; Ortíz-Ceballos, Angel I

    2017-08-01

    Contamination of soil with petroleum is common in oil-producing areas across the tropical regions of the world. There is limited knowledge on the sensitivity of endogeic tropical earthworms to the contamination of soil with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) present in crude oil. Pontoscolex corethrurus is a dominant species in tropical agroecosystems around oil-processing facilities. The sensitivity of P. corethrurus to soil artificially contaminated with "Maya" Mexican heavy crude oil was investigated through avoidance and acute ecotoxicity tests, using the following measured concentrations: 0 (reference soil), 551, 969, 4845, 9991 and 14,869 mg/kg. The avoidance test showed that P. corethrurus displayed a significant avoidance behavior to heavy crude oil at a concentration of 9991 mg/kg or higher. In contrast, acute toxicity tests indicate that the median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) was 3067.32 mg/kg; however, growth (weight loss) was more sensitive than mortality. Our study revealed that P. corethrurus is sensitive to TPH, thus highlighting the importance of P. corethrurus for petroleum ecotoxicological tests.

  7. Sol-gel derived flexible silica aerogel as selective adsorbent for water decontamination from crude oil.

    PubMed

    Abolghasemi Mahani, A; Motahari, S; Mohebbi, A

    2018-04-01

    Oil spills are the most important threat to the sea ecosystem. The present study is an attempt to investigate the effects of sol-gel parameters on seawater decontamination from crude oil by use of flexible silica aerogel. To this goal, methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) based silica aerogels were prepared by two-step acid-base catalyzed sol-gel process, involving ambient pressure drying (APD) method. To investigate the effects of sol-gel parameters, the aerogels were prepared under two different acidic and basic pH values (i.e. 4 and 8) and varied ethanol/MTMS molar ratios from 5 to 15. The adsorption capacity of the prepared aerogels was evaluated for two heavy and light commercial crude oils under multiple adsorption-desorption cycles. To reduce process time, desorption cycles were carried out by using roll milling for the first time. At optimum condition, silica aerogels are able to uptake heavy and light crude oils with the order of 16.7 and 13.7, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Grouping Parturients by Parity, Previous-Cesarean, and Mode of Delivery (P-C-MoD Classification) Better Identifies Groups at Risk for Postpartum Hemorrhage.

    PubMed

    Reichman, Orna; Gal, Micahel; Sela, Hen Y; Khayyat, Izzat; Emanuel, Michael; Samueloff, Arnon

    2016-10-01

    Objective We aimed to create a clinical classification to better identify parturients at risk for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Method A retrospective cohort, including all women who delivered at a single tertiary care medical center, between 2006 and 2014. Parturients were grouped by parity and history of cesarean delivery (CD): primiparas, multipara, and multipara with previous CD. Each were further subgrouped by mode of delivery (spontaneous vaginal delivery [SVD], operative vaginal delivery [OVD], emergency or elective CD). In all, 12 subgroups, based on parity, previous cesarean, and mode of delivery, formed the P-C-MoD classification. PPH was defined as a decrease of ≥3 gram% hemoglobin from admission and/or transfusion of blood products. Univariate analysis followed by multivariate analysis was performed to assess risk for PPH, controlling for confounders. Results The crude rate of PPH among 126,693 parturients was 7%. The prevalence differed significantly among independent risk factors: primiparity, 14%; multiparity, 4%; OVD, 22%; and CD, 15%. The P-C-MoD classification, segregated better between parturients at risk for PPH. The prevalence of PPH was highest for primiparous undergoing OVD (27%) compared with multiparous with SVD (3%), odds ratio [OR] = 12.8 (95% confidence interval [CI],11.9-13.9). These finding were consistent in the multivariate analysis OR = 13.1 (95% CI,12.1-14.3). Conclusion Employing the P-C-MoD classification more readily identifies parturients at risk for PPH and is superior to estimations based on single risk factors. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  9. Enzymatic lipophilization of epicatechin with free fatty acids and its effect on antioxidative capacity in crude camellia seed oil.

    PubMed

    Chen, Sa-Sa; Luo, Shui-Zhong; Zheng, Zhi; Zhao, Yan-Yan; Pang, Min; Jiang, Shao-Tong

    2017-02-01

    Crude camellia seed oil is rich in free fatty acids, which must be removed to produce an oil of acceptable quality. In the present study, we reduced the free fatty acid content of crude camellia seed oil by lipophilization of epicatechin with these free fatty acids in the presence of Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435), and this may enhance the oxidative stability of the oil at the same time. The acid value of crude camellia seed oil reduced from 3.7 to 2.5 mgKOH g -1 after lipophilization. Gas chomatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that epicatechin oleate and epicatechin palmitate were synthesized in the lipophilized oil. The peroxide, p-anisidine, and total oxidation values during heating of the lipophilized oil were much lower than that of the crude oil and commercially available camellia seed oil, suggesting that lipophilized epicatechin derivatives could help enhance the oxidative stability of edible oil. The enzymatic process to lipophilize epicatechin with the free fatty acids in crude camellia seed oil described in the present study could decrease the acid value to meet the quality standards for commercial camellia seed oil and, at the same time, obtain a new edible camellia seed oil product with good oxidative stability. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. Inhibitory effects of crude alpha-mangostin, a xanthone derivative, on two different categories of colon preneoplastic lesions induced by 1, 2-dimethylhydrazine in the rat.

    PubMed

    Nabandith, Viengvansay; Suzui, Masumi; Morioka, Takamitsu; Kaneshiro, Tatsuya; Kinjo, Tatsuya; Matsumoto, Kenji; Akao, Yukihiro; Iinuma, Munekazu; Yoshimi, Naoki

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether crude alpha-mangostin (a major xanthone derivative in mangosteen pericarp (Garcinia mangostana)) has short-term chemopreventive effects on putative preneoplastic lesions involved in rat colon carcinogenesis. The crude preparation was obtained by simple recrystallization of an ethylacetate extract of mangosteen pericarps. A total of 33 five-week-old male F344 rats were randomly divided into 5 experimental groups. Rats in groups 1-3 were given a subcutaneous injection of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)(40 mg/kg body weight) once a week for 2 weeks. Starting one week before the first injection of DMH, rats in groups 2 and 3 were fed a diet containing 0.02% and 0.05% crude alpha-mangostin, respectively, for 5 weeks. Rats in group 4 also received the diet containing 0.05% crude alpha-mangostin, while rats in group 5 served as untreated controls. The experiment was terminated 5 weeks after the start. Dietary administration of crude alpha-mangostin at both doses significantly inhibited the induction and/or development of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) (P<0.05 for 0.02% crude alpha-mangostin, P<0.01 for 0.05% crude alpha-mangostin), when compared to the DMH-treated group (group 1). Moreover, treatment of rats with 0.05% crude alpha-mangostin significantly decreased dysplastic foci (DF) (P<0.05) and beta-catenin accumulated crypts (BCAC) (P<0.05), to below the group 1 values. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling indices of colon epithelium and focal lesions in groups 2 and 3 were also significantly lower than in group 1 and this effect occurred in a dose dependent manner of the crude alpha-mangostin. This finding that crude alpha-mangostin has potent chemopreventive effects in our short-term colon carcinogenesis bioassay system suggests that longer exposure might result in suppression of tumor development.

  11. On Boiling of Crude Oil under Elevated Pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pimenova, Anastasiya V.; Goldobin, Denis S.

    2016-02-01

    We construct a thermodynamic model for theoretical calculation of the boiling process of multicomponent mixtures of hydrocarbons (e.g., crude oil). The model governs kinetics of the mixture composition in the course of the distillation process along with the boiling temperature increase. The model heavily relies on the theory of dilute solutions of gases in liquids. Importantly, our results are applicable for modelling the process under elevated pressure (while the empiric models for oil cracking are not scalable to the case of extreme pressure), such as in an oil field heated by lava intrusions.

  12. Kinetic analysis of dihydroxyacetone production from crude glycerol by immobilized cells of Gluconobacter oxydans MTCC 904.

    PubMed

    Dikshit, Pritam Kumar; Moholkar, Vijayanand S

    2016-09-01

    The present study has investigated kinetic features of bioconversion of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol to dihydroxyacetone with immobilized Gluconobacter oxydans cells using modified Haldane substrate-inhibition model. The results have been compared against free cells and pure glycerol. Relative variations in the kinetic parameters KS, KI, Vmax, n and X reveal that immobilized G. oxydans cells (on PU foam substrate) with crude glycerol as substrate give higher order of inhibition (n) and lower maximum reaction velocities (Vmax). These results are essentially implications of substrate transport restrictions across immobilization matrix, which causes retention of substrate in the matrix and reduction in fractional available substrate (X) for the cells. This causes reduction in both KS (substrate concentration at Vmax/2) and KI (inhibition constant) as compared to free cells. For immobilized cells, substrate concentration (Smax) corresponding to Vmax is practically same for both pure and crude glycerol as substrate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Geochemical changes in crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez supertanker into Prince William Sound, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hostettler, Frances D.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.

    1994-01-01

    North Slope crude oil spilled from the T/V Exxon Valdez in March 1989 and contaminated about 500 km of Prince William Sound shoreline. Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in oil samples collected in August 1990 and June 1992 from beaches on six islands impacted by the spill have been compared with the hydrocarbons from North Slope crude oil taken from the stricken tanker. Degradation processes have changed the physical appearance of this residual spilled oil; the beached oil as collected ranged from a light brown color, to a heavy black viscous oil, to a black, powder-like residue. In these physically different samples, terpane, sterane, and aromatic sterane distributions, as well as carbon isotope values, are similar and correlate with the original Exxon Valdez oil. On the other hand, n-alkanes, isoprenoids, and many of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are present in the original crude oil are dramatically altered in the oil samples collected from the beaches.

  14. Catalytic hydrothermal upgrading of crude bio-oils produced from different thermo-chemical conversion routes of microalgae.

    PubMed

    Duan, Peigao; Wang, Bing; Xu, Yuping

    2015-06-01

    This study presents experimental results that compare the use of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), alcoholysis (Al), pyrolysis (Py) and hydropyrolysis (HPy) for the production of bio-oil from a microalga (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) and the catalytic hydrothermal upgrading of crude bio-oils produced by these four conversion routes. The yields and compositions of bio-oil, solid residue, and gases were evaluated and compared. HTL resulted in a bio-oil that has a higher energy density and superior fuel properties, such as thermal and storage stabilities, compared with the other three conversion routes. The N in crude bio-oils produced from Py and HPy is more easily removed than that in the bio-oils produced from HTL and Al. The upgraded bio-oils contain reduced amounts of certain O-containing and N-containing compounds and significantly increased saturated hydrocarbon contents. All of the upgraded bio-oils have a larger fraction boiling below 350°C than their corresponding crude bio-oils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of Heat (Arrhenius Effect) on Crude Hemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

    PubMed Central

    Miwatani, Toshio; Takeda, Yoshifumi; Sakurai, Jun; Yoshihara, Akiko; Taga, Sekiko

    1972-01-01

    Crude hemolysins prepared from various strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which give positive Kanagawa phenomenon, were partly inactivated by heating at 60 C, but not inactivated significantly by heating at 80 to 90 C. The similar phenomenon has been reported as the Arrhenius effect in staphylococcal alpha toxin. Images PMID:4638496

  16. siRNA Delivery to the Glomerular Mesangium Using Polycationic Cyclodextrin Nanoparticles Containing siRNA

    PubMed Central

    Gale, Aaron; Wu, Peiwen; Ma, Rong; Davis, Mark E.

    2015-01-01

    There is an urgent need for new therapies that can halt or reverse the course of chronic kidney disease with minimal side-effect burden on the patient. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) nanoparticles are new therapeutic entities in clinical development that could be useful for chronic kidney disease treatment because they combine the tissue-specific targeting properties of nanoparticles with the gene-specific silencing effects of siRNA. Recent reports have emerged demonstrating that the kidney, specifically the glomerulus, is a readily accessible site for nanoparticle targeting. Here, we explore the hypothesis that intravenously administered polycationic cyclodextrin nanoparticles containing siRNA (siRNA/CDP-NPs) can be used for delivery of siRNA to the glomerular mesangium. We demonstrate that siRNA/CDP-NPs localize to the glomerular mesangium with limited deposition in other areas of the kidney after intravenous injection. Additionally, we report that both mouse and human mesangial cells rapidly internalize siRNA/CDP-NPs in vitro and that nanoparticle uptake can be enhanced by attaching the targeting ligands mannose or transferrin to the nanoparticle surface. Lastly, we show knockdown of mesangial enhanced green fluorescent protein expression in a reporter mouse strain following iv treatment with siRNA/CDP-NPs. Altogether, these data demonstrate the feasibility of mesangial targeting using intravenously administered siRNA/CDP-NPs. PMID:25734248

  17. Functionalized three-dimensional graphene sponges for highly efficient crude and diesel oil adsorption.

    PubMed

    Bagoole, Oscar; Rahman, Md Mahfuzur; Shah, Sohail; Hong, Haiping; Chen, Hang; Al Ghaferi, Amal; Younes, Hammad

    2018-06-02

    Modified Hummer's method has been used in this study to synthesize graphene oxide (GO) solution that was utilized for the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) graphene sponges and their subsequent functionalization through a low-cost and facile vapor-based surface enhancement approach. The functionalized 3D-graphene sponge is an excellent absorbent, which can remove more than 3300 wt.% of crude oil (calculated with respect to the original sorbent mass). The functionalization of the obtained graphene sponges with trichloro (1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)silane enhanced their wettability properties due to the super-hydrophobic nature of the resulting materials characterized by the contact angles in water greater than 150°. Furthermore, their elastic compression modulus (estimated by conducting a series of compression tests) was about 22.3 kPa. The equilibrium modeling of the oil removal process, which was performed by plotting Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms, confirmed the properties of the fabricated 3D graphene sponges as exceptional absorbents for crude and diesel oil, which could be attributed to the oleophilic nature of graphene. Moreover, the obtained 3D graphene sponges could be regenerated via heat treatment, which was conducted to release the adsorbed species. After five adsorption-desorption cycles, the sorption capacity of the produced 3D graphene sponges towards crude oil reached 95% of the initial value.

  18. Large Scale Behavior and Droplet Size Distributions in Crude Oil Jets and Plumes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Katz, Joseph; Murphy, David; Morra, David

    2013-11-01

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout introduced several million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Injected initially as a turbulent jet containing crude oil and gas, the spill caused formation of a subsurface plume stretching for tens of miles. The behavior of such buoyant multiphase plumes depends on several factors, such as the oil droplet and bubble size distributions, current speed, and ambient stratification. While large droplets quickly rise to the surface, fine ones together with entrained seawater form intrusion layers. Many elements of the physics of droplet formation by an immiscible turbulent jet and their resulting size distribution have not been elucidated, but are known to be significantly influenced by the addition of dispersants, which vary the Weber Number by orders of magnitude. We present experimental high speed visualizations of turbulent jets of sweet petroleum crude oil (MC 252) premixed with Corexit 9500A dispersant at various dispersant to oil ratios. Observations were conducted in a 0.9 m × 0.9 m × 2.5 m towing tank, where large-scale behavior of the jet, both stationary and towed at various speeds to simulate cross-flow, have been recorded at high speed. Preliminary data on oil droplet size and spatial distributions were also measured using a videoscope and pulsed light sheet. Sponsored by Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI).

  19. Fate and Effects of Crude Oil Spilled on Subarctic Permafrost Terrain in Interior Alaska: Fifteen Years Later

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-08-01

    tundra ecosystems of Alas- (75 m2) having surface oil visible. In contrast, most ka and northern Canada (Deneke et al. 1974, Atlas of the crude oil...Overall soil microbial activity was growing black spruce (Picea mariana) forest with an increased, with some components of the microbial understory of...terrestrial environments, in the heavily affected portions of the site; they 3. Determine the effect of crude oil spills on soil found that microbial

  20. Preparation of progenin III from total steroidal saponins of Dioscorea nipponica Makino using a crude enzyme from Aspergillus oryzae strain.

    PubMed

    Liu, Tingqiang; Yu, Hongshan; Liu, Chunying; Bao, Yongming; Hu, Xiangchun; Wang, Yuanhao; Liu, Bing; Fu, Yaoyao; Tang, Sihui; Jin, Fengxie

    2013-05-01

    Progenin III, one of the most active spirostanol saponins, is a potential candidate for anti-cancer therapy due to its strong antitumor activity and low hemolytic activity. However, the concentration of progenin III is extremely low in natural Dioscorea plants. In this paper, the progenin III production from total steroidal saponins of Dioscorea nipponica Makino was studied using the crude enzyme from Aspergillus oryzae DLFCC-38. The crude enzyme converting total steroidal saponins into progenin III was obtained from the A. oryzae DLFCC-38 culture. For enzyme production, the strain was cultured for 72 h at 30 °C with shaking at 150 rpm in 5 % (w/v) malt extract medium containing 2 % (v/v) extract of D. nipponica as the enzyme inducer. The crude enzyme converted total steroidal saponins into major progenin III with a high yield when the reaction was carried out for 9 h at 50 °C and pH 5.0 with the 20 mg/ml of substrate. In the preparation of progenin III, 117 g of crude progenin III was obtained from 160 g of substrate, and the crude product was purified with silica gel column to obtain 60.3 g progenin III of 93.4 % purity.

  1. Coal tar phototherapy for psoriasis reevaluated: erythemogenic versus suberythemogenic ultraviolet with a tar extract in oil and crude coal tar

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lowe, N.J.; Wortzman, M.S.; Breeding, J.

    1983-06-01

    Recent studies have questioned the therapeutic value of coal tar versus ultraviolet (UV) radiation and their relative necessity in phototherapy for psoriasis. In this investigation, different aspects of tar phototherapy have been studied in single-blind bilateral paired comparison studies. The effects of 1% crude coal tar were compared with those of petrolatum in conjunction with erythemogenic and suberythemogenic doses of ultraviolet light (UVB) using a FS72 sunlamp tubed cabinet. Crude coal tar was clinically superior to petrolatum with suberythemogenic ultraviolet. With the erythemogenic UVB, petrolatum was equal in efficacy to crude coal tar. Suberythemogenic UVB was also used adjunctively tomore » compare the effects of a 5% concentration of a tar extract in an oil base to 5% crude coal tar in petrolatum or the oil base without tar. The tar extract in oil plus suberythemogenic UVB produced significantly more rapid improvement than the oil base plus UVB. The direct bilateral comparison of equal concentrations of tar extract in oil base versus crude coal tar in petrolatum in a suberythemogenic UV photo regimen revealed no statistical differences between treatments. In a study comparing tar extract in oil and the oil base without ultraviolet radiation, the tar extract in oil side responded more rapidly.« less

  2. On-site production of crude glucoamylase for kitchen waste hydrolysis.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiao Qiang; Wang, Qun Hui; Liu, Ying Ying; Ma, Hong Zhi

    2010-06-01

    Kitchen waste from dining rooms accounts for a considerable proportion of municipal solid garbage, and economical recycle ways are needed to be developed. This study investigated glucoamylase production from kitchen waste and the feasibility of kitchen waste hydrolysis by the crude enzymes produced. The key problems of high water content and poor porosity in kitchen waste for glucoamylase production under solid-state fermentation could be solved readily by the addition of corn stover or paddy husk. As a support medium, corn stover was better than paddy husk. Smashed kitchen waste (sKW) mixed with corn stover in the ratio of 3.75 : 1 (dry basis) produced 1838 U g(-1) of glucoamylase by Aspergillus niger UV-60 within 96 h. The enzyme productivity from kitchen waste was over two-fold higher than that from wheat bran with additional nutrients. Without any recovery treatment, the produced glucoamylase could be used directly to hydrolyse sKW slurry. The optimum enzyme dose 8% (crude enzyme/kichen waste, w/w) was not too big, and was sufficient to hydrolyse 10% (dry basis) sKW slurry to produce a maximum amount of reducing sugar of 55.4 g L(-1).

  3. 33 CFR 157.138 - Crude Oil Washing Operations and Equipment Manual.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... VESSELS CARRYING OIL IN BULK Crude Oil Washing (COW) System on Tank Vessels Design, Equipment, and... 15 of the MARPOL 73/78. (2) A line drawing of the tank vessel's COW system showing the locations of pumps, piping, and COW machines. (3) A description of the COW system. (4) The procedure for the...

  4. Rapid Room-Temperature Gelation of Crude Oils by a Wetted Powder Gelator.

    PubMed

    Ren, Changliang; Shen, Jie; Chen, Feng; Zeng, Huaqiang

    2017-03-27

    Phase-selective organogelators (PSOGs) not only exhibit ability to phase-selectively congeal oil from oily water but also allow easy separation of gelled oil from the body of water. However, all hitherto reported PSOGs either necessitate carrier solvents for their dissolution or suffer from an extremely slow action in gelling oil in the powder form. A previously unexplored generally applicable wetting strategy is now described to dramatically enhance, by up to two orders of magnitude, gelling speed of the resultant wet but non-sticky gelator in the powder form in crude oils of widely ranging viscosities. Such unprecedented rapid gelling speeds enable rapid gelation of six types of (un)weathered crude oils within minutes at room temperature, making PSOGs one step closer to their eventual practical uses as one of important oil spill control technologies. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Phytoremediation of abandoned crude oil contaminated drill sites of Assam with the aid of a hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial formulation.

    PubMed

    Yenn, R; Borah, M; Boruah, H P Deka; Roy, A Sarma; Baruah, R; Saikia, N; Sahu, O P; Tamuli, A K

    2014-01-01

    Environmental deterioration due to crude oil contamination and abandoned drill sites is an ecological concern in Assam. To revive such contaminated sites, afield study was conducted to phytoremediate four crude oil abandoned drill sites of Assam (Gelakey, Amguri, Lakwa, and Borholla) with the aid of two hydrocarbon-degrading Pseudomonas strains designated N3 and N4. All the drill sites were contaminated with 15.1 to 32.8% crude oil, and the soil was alkaline in nature (pH8.0-8.7) with low moisture content, low soil conductivity and low activities of the soil enzymes phosphatase, dehydrogenase and urease. In addition, N, P, K, and C contents were below threshold limits, and the soil contained high levels of heavy metals. Bio-augmentation was achieved by applying Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains N3 and N4 followed by the introduction of screened plant species Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea, Azadirachta indica, and Michelia champaca. The findings established the feasibility of the phytoremediation of abandoned crude oil-contaminated drill sites in Assam using microbes and native plants.

  6. Ecologically friendly ways to clean up oil spills in harbor water areas: crude oil and diesel sorption behavior of natural sorbents.

    PubMed

    Paulauskiene, Tatjana

    2018-04-01

    This work aimed to evaluate the sorption capacity of natural sorbents (wool, moss, straw, peat) and their composites during the sorption of crude oil and of diesel overspread on the water surface. The work presents the research results of the maximum sorption capacity of the sorbents/their composites using crude oil/diesel; the sorption capacity of the sorbents/their composites when crude oil/diesel is spilled on the water surface; and the research results of the unrealized part of the crude oil/diesel in the sorbents. The results of the analysis showed that all the sorbents and their composites have their selectivity to crude oil less than 50%. Also the results showed that the distribution of diesel and water in the sorbents and their composites is very different compared with the distribution of crude oil during the sorption analyses. In total, the diesel in the liquid mass absorbed by the straw and the peat amounted to 17 and 20%, respectively. This shows that these sorbents are much more selective for water but not for diesel. A larger part of the diesel was in the liquid amount absorbed by the composites-up to 33%. Accordingly, the use of these composites in watery environments is much more effective than the use of individual sorbents. The composition of sorbents in the composite enhanced both the hydrophobic and the oleophilic properties; as a result, a more effective removal of the diesel and oil from the water surface was achieved.

  7. Buccal drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Smart, John D

    2005-05-01

    Buccal formulations have been developed to allow prolonged localised therapy and enhanced systemic delivery. The buccal mucosa, however, while avoiding first-pass effects, is a formidable barrier to drug absorption, especially for biopharmaceutical products (proteins and oligonucleotides) arising from the recent advances in genomics and proteomics. The buccal route is typically used for extended drug delivery, so formulations that can be attached to the buccal mucosa are favoured. The bioadhesive polymers used in buccal drug delivery to retain a formulation are typically hydrophilic macro-molecules containing numerous hydrogen bonding groups. Newer second-generation bioadhesives have been developed and these include modified or new polymers that allow enhanced adhesion and/or drug delivery, in addition to site-specific ligands such as lectins. Over the last 20 years a wide range of formulations has been developed for buccal drug delivery (tablet, patch, liquids and semisolids) but comparatively few have found their way onto the market. Currently, this route is restricted to the delivery of a limited number of small lipophilic molecules that readily cross the buccal mucosa. However, this route could become a significant means for the delivery of a range of active agents in the coming years, if the barriers to buccal drug delivery are overcome. In particular, patient acceptability and the successful systemic delivery of large molecules (proteins, oligonucleotides and polysaccharides) via this route remains both a significant opportunity and challenge, and new/improved technologies may be required to address these.

  8. Macondo crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disrupts specific developmental processes during zebrafish embryogenesis

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The Deepwater Horizon disaster was the largest marine oil spill in history, and total vertical exposure of oil to the water column suggests it could impact an enormous diversity of ecosystems. The most vulnerable organisms are those encountering these pollutants during their early life stages. Water-soluble components of crude oil and specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been shown to cause defects in cardiovascular and craniofacial development in a variety of teleost species, but the developmental origins of these defects have yet to be determined. We have adopted zebrafish, Danio rerio, as a model to test whether water accumulated fractions (WAF) of the Deepwater Horizon oil could impact specific embryonic developmental processes. While not a native species to the Gulf waters, the developmental biology of zebrafish has been well characterized and makes it a powerful model system to reveal the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind Macondo crude toxicity. Results WAF of Macondo crude oil sampled during the oil spill was used to treat zebrafish throughout embryonic and larval development. Our results indicate that the Macondo crude oil causes a variety of significant defects in zebrafish embryogenesis, but these defects have specific developmental origins. WAF treatments caused defects in craniofacial development and circulatory function similar to previous reports, but we extend these results to show they are likely derived from an earlier defect in neural crest cell development. Moreover, we demonstrate that exposure to WAFs causes a variety of novel deformations in specific developmental processes, including programmed cell death, locomotor behavior, sensory and motor axon pathfinding, somitogenesis and muscle patterning. Interestingly, the severity of cell death and muscle phenotypes decreased over several months of repeated analysis, which was correlated with a rapid drop-off in the aromatic and alkane hydrocarbon components of the oil

  9. In Vitro Virucidal and Virustatic Properties of the Crude Extract of Cynodon dactylon against Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

    PubMed Central

    Khonghiran, Oapkun; Kunanoppadol, Suchaya; Potha, Teerapong; Chuammitri, Phongsakorn

    2014-01-01

    The in vitro virustatic and virucidal tests of the crude extract of Cynodon dactylon against infection with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), a cause of major devastating pig disease, were described. Crude extract of C. dactylon was prepared for cytotoxicity on tissue-culture cells that were used to measure virustatic and virucidal activities against PRRSV. Crude extract of C. dactylon at 0.78 mg/mL showed no cytotoxicity on the cell line, and at that concentration significantly inhibited replication of PRRSV as early as 24 hours post infection (hpi). C. dactylon also inactivated PRRSV as determined by immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA) compared to the control experiments. In summary, the present study may be among the earliest studies to describe virustatic and virucidal activities of C. dactylon crude extract against PRRSV in vitro. Extracts of C. dactylon may be useful for PRRSV control and prevention on pig farms. PMID:24744959

  10. Biosurfactant production by Mucor circinelloides on waste frying oil and possible uses in crude oil remediation.

    PubMed

    Hasanizadeh, Parvin; Moghimi, Hamid; Hamedi, Javad

    2017-10-01

    Biosurfactants are biocompatible surface active agents which many microorganisms produce. This study investigated the production of biosurfactants by Mucor circinelloides. The effects of different factors on biosurfactant production, including carbon sources and concentrations, nitrogen sources, and iron (II) concentration, were studied and the optimum condition determined. Finally, the strain's ability to remove the crude oil and its relationship with biosurfactant production was evaluated. The results showed that M. circinelloides could reduce the surface tension of the culture medium to 26.6 mN/m and create a clear zone of 12.9 cm diameter in an oil-spreading test. The maximum surface tension reduction was recorded 3 days after incubation. The optimum condition for biosurfactant production was achieved in the presence of 8% waste frying oil as a carbon source, 2 g/L yeast extract as a nitrogen source, and 0.01 mM FeSO 4 . M. circinelloides could consume 8% waste frying oil in 5 days of incubation, and 87.6% crude oil in 12 days of incubation. A direct correlation was observed between oil degradation and surface tension reduction in the first 3 days of fungal growth. The results showed that the waste frying oil could be recommended as an inexpensive oily waste substance for biosurfactant production, and M. circinelloides could have the potential to treat waste frying oil. According to the results, the produced crude biosurfactant or fungal strain could be directly used for the mycoremediation of crude oil contamination in oil fields.

  11. Poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory cell penetrating peptides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartlett, Rush Lloyd, II

    Inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis cause $127.8 billion in US healthcare expenditures each year and are the cause of disability for 27% of disabled persons in the United States. Current treatment options rarely halt disease progression and often result in significant unwanted and debilitating side effects. Our laboratory has previously developed a family of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) which inhibit the activity of mitogen activated protein kinase activate protein kinase 2 (MK2). MK2 mediates the inflammatory response by activating Tristetraprline (TTP). Once activated, TTP rapidly stabilizes AU rich regions of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA which allows translation of pro-inflammatory cytokines to occur. Blocking MK2 with our labs CPPs yields a decrease in inflammatory activity but CPPs by are highly non specific and prone to rapid enzymatic degradation in vivo.. In order to increase the potency of MK2 inhibiting CPPs we have developed a novel nanoparticle drug carrier composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid). This drug carrier has been shown to have preliminary efficacy in vitro and ex vivo for suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine production when releasing CPPs. This thesis will present progress made on three aims: Specific Aim 1) Create and validate a NIPAm based drug delivery system that mimics the binding and release previously observed between cell penetrating peptides and glycosaminoglycans. Specific Aim 2) Engineer degradability into poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles to enable more drug to be released and qualify that system in vitro. Specific Aim 3) Validate poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in an ex vivo inflammatory model. Overall we have developed a novel anionic nanoparticle system that is biocompatible and efficient at loading and releasing cell penetrating peptides to inflamed tissue. Once loaded with a CPP the nanoparticle drug complex is

  12. Larvicidal efficacy screening of Anacardaciae crude extracts on the dengue hemorrhagic vector, Aedes aegypti.

    PubMed

    Zuharah, W F; Fadzly, N; Ali, Y; Zakaria, R; Juperi, S; Asyraf, M; Dieng, H

    2014-06-01

    Vector-borne diseases are still rife because of the re-emergence of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the larvicidal efficacy of crude leaf extract of Mangifera indica, Gluta renghas, and Melanochyla fasciculiflora against vector of dengue hemorrhagic fever, Aedes aegypti. These plant species are endemic species and widely distributed in Malaysian forests. Leaves of Ma. indica, G. renghas and M. fascculiflora were collected from Teluk Bahang National Park, Penang Malaysia. Fractions of leaves were segregated, air-dried, powdered and extracted using Soxhlet with methanol. The solvent was removed by using rotary evaporator to obtain the crude extract. Using WHO standard larval bioassay test method, third instar larvae of Aedes aegypti were exposed to concentration ranging from 200- 4500 ppm of methanol extract for all plant species. Larval mortality was observed after 24 hours exposure. The highest susceptibility and toxicity was recorded by Mangifera indica with the lowest concentration at 800 ppm followed by M. fasciculiflora and G. renghas. This indicates that crude plant extract is very effective in killing Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. This finding may lead to new low cost alternative, environmentally friendly method for mosquito control programs. To our knowledge, this is the first report on larvicidal bioefficacy from endemic Malaysian plants.

  13. Enzymatic decolourisation of Methyl Orange and Bismarck Brown using crude peroxidase from Armoracia rusticana

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ambatkar, Mugdha; Mukundan, Usha

    2015-12-01

    The decolourisation of Methyl Orange (MO) and Bismarck Brown (BB) by crude peroxidase from Armoracia rusticana (Horseradish) was studied by varying different reaction parameters. The pH of the reaction mixture, initial dye concentration, amount of enzyme and hydrogen peroxide concentration were optimised for ambient temperatures (30 ± 2 °C). The optimum pH for decolourisation was 4.0 (72.95 %) and 3.0 (79.24 %) for MO and BB, respectively. Also it was found that the Chemical Oxygen Demand of the enzyme-treated sample was significantly lower than that of the untreated controls for both dyes. The addition of a complex iron salt like Ferric EDTA was found to enhance the decolourisation of both dyes at pH 6.0, showing an increase of 8.69 % and 14.17 % in the decolourisation of MO and of BB, respectively. The present study explores the potential of crude peroxidase from horseradish to decolourise representative monoazo and diazo dyes, MO and BB, respectively. An attempt has been made to utilise a crude enzyme with appreciable activity obtained after minimal processing for the decolourisation of the aforesaid dyes. The findings of this study would find application in the enzymatic treatment of wastewater containing azo dyes.

  14. Tar balls from Deep Water Horizon oil spill: environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFR) formation during crude weathering.

    PubMed

    Kiruri, Lucy W; Dellinger, Barry; Lomnicki, Slawo

    2013-05-07

    Tar balls collected from the Gulf of Mexico shores of Louisiana and Florida after the BP oil spill have shown the presence of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristic of organic free radicals as well as transition metal ions, predominantly iron(III) and manganese(II). Two types of organic radicals were distinguished: an asphaltene radical species typically found in crude oil (g = 2.0035) and a new type of radical resulting from the environmental transformations of crude (g = 2.0041-47). Pure asphaltene radicals are resonance stabilized over a polyaromatic structure and are stable in air and unreactive. The new radicals were identified as products of partial oxidation of crude components and result from the interaction of the oxidized aromatics with metal ion centers. These radicals are similar to semiquinone-type, environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) previously observed in combustion-generated particulate and contaminated soils.

  15. Tar Balls from Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill: Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFR) Formation During Crude Weathering

    PubMed Central

    Kiruri, Lucy W.; Dellinger, Barry; Lomnicki, Slawo

    2014-01-01

    Tar balls collected from the Gulf of Mexico shores of Louisiana and Florida after the BP oil spill have shown the presence of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristic of organic free radicals as well as transition metal ions, predominantly iron(III) and manganese(II). Two types of organic radicals were distinguished: an asphaltene radical species typically found in crude oil (g = 2.0035) and a new type of radical resulting from the environmental transformations of crude (g = 2.0041−47). Pure asphaltene radicals are resonance stabilized over a polyaromatic structure and are stable in air and unreactive. The new radicals were identified as products of partial oxidation of crude components and result from the interaction of the oxidized aromatics with metal ion centers. These radicals are similar to semiquinone-type, environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) previously observed in combustion-generated particulate and contaminated soils. PMID:23510127

  16. Acrolein and other volatile organic emissions from the combustion of crude glycerol

    EPA Science Inventory

    Crude glycerol is an abundant by-product of biodiesel production. As volumes of this potential waste grow, there is increasing interest in developing new value added uses. One possible use, as a boiler fuel for process heating, offers added advantages of energy integration and f...

  17. [Analyzing crude/processed root of Polygonum multiflorum from different habitats by UPLC fingerprint and mode identification methods].

    PubMed

    Xiao, Rong; Lin, Yan; Lei, Si-Min; Zhang, Ying; Huang, Jie; Xia, Bo-Hou; Li, Chun; Liao, Duan-Fang; Wu, Ping; Lin, Li-Mei

    2017-06-01

    To establish a content determination method for 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (TSG) of the crude/processed root of Polygonum multiflorum from different habitats in China and set up the fingerprint by using UPLC. Various samples were pretreated by macro-porous resin. Then UPLC analysis was performed on Waters ACQUITY UPLC@BEH C18 chromatographic column (2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm) at (25±5) ℃. A binary gradient elution system was composed of acetonitrile (phase A) and 0.5% acetic acid solution (phase B). Detection was performed at the wavelength of 254 nm, and the mobile flow rate was set at 0.3 mL•min⁻¹. Results showed that the yield of extraction of the 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside from root of P. multiflorum was all over 25.0% after macro-porous resin separation; an exclusive UPLC fingerprint method of the crude/processed root of P. multiflorum from different habitats was successfully set up and 17 chromatographic peaks were calibrated. Cluster analysis can not entirely distinguish the crude one from the processed one, while principal component analysis absolutely can. 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside is the composition that has largest differences in variable importance in projection (VIP) between crude and processed root of P. multiflorum. The separating method can gain high-purity 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside, and the determination method is simple, sensitive, reliable and can be used in fast identifying the crude/processed root of P. multiflorum or as a method for overall quality control of root of P. multiflorum. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  18. Effects of Louisiana crude oil on the sheepshead minnow ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Determining the long-term effects of crude oil exposure is critical for ascertaining population-level ecological risks of spill events. A 19-week complete life-cycle experiment was conducted with the estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) exposed to reference (uncontaminated) sediment spiked with laboratory weathered South Louisiana crude (SLC) oil at five concentrations as well as one unspiked sediment control and one seawater (no sediment) control. Newly hatched larvae were exposed to the oiled sediments at measured concentrations of < 1 (sediment control), 50, 103, 193, 347, and 711 mg total polyaromatic hydrocarbons (tPAH)/kg dry sediment. Juveniles were exposed through the reproductively active adult phase at measured concentrations of <1 (sediment control), 52, 109, 199, 358, and 751 mg tPAH/kg sediment. Throughout the exposure, fish were assessed for growth, survival, and reproduction. Resulting F1 embryos were then collected, incubated, and hatched in clean water to determine if parental full life-cycle exposure to oiled sediment produced trans-generational effects. Larvae experienced significantly reduced standard length (5–13% reduction) and wet weight (13–35% reduction) at concentrations at and above 50 and 103 mg tPAH/kg sediment, respectively. At 92 and 132 days post hatch (dph), standard length was reduced (7–13% reduction) at 199 and 109 mg tPAH/kg dry sediment, respectively, and wet weight for both time periods was reduced

  19. Survival of neonates in rural Southern Tanzania: does place of delivery or continuum of care matter?

    PubMed

    Nathan, Rose; Mwanyangala, Mathew Alexander

    2012-03-23

    The concept of continuum of care has recently been highlighted as a core principle of maternal, newborn and child health initiatives, and as a means to save lives. However, evidence has consistently revealed that access to care during and post delivery (intra and postpartum) remains a challenge in the continuum of care framework. In places where skilled delivery assistance is exclusively available in health facilities, access to health facilities is critical to the survival of the mother and her newborn. However, little is known about the association of place of delivery and survival of neonates. This paper uses longitudinal data generated in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System in rural Southern Tanzania to assess associations of neonatal mortality and place of delivery. Three cohorts of singleton births (born 2005, 2006 and 2007) were each followed up from birth to 28 days. Place of birth was classified as either "health facility" or "community". Neonatal mortality rates were produced for each year and by place of birth. Poisson regression was used to estimate crude relative risks of neonatal death by place of birth. Adjusted ratios were derived by controlling for maternal age, birth order, maternal schooling, sex of the child and wealth status of the maternal household. Neonatal mortality for health facility singleton deliveries in 2005 was 32.3 per 1000 live births while for those born in the community it was 29.7 per 1000 live births. In 2006, neonatal mortality rates were 28.9 and 26.9 per 1,000 live births for deliveries in health facilities and in the community respectively. In 2007 neonatal mortality rates were 33.2 and 27.0 per 1,000 live births for those born in health facilities and in the community respectively. Neonates born in a health facility had similar chances of dying as those born in the community in all the three years of study. Adjusted relative risks (ARR) for neonatal death born in a health facility in 2005, 2006 and 2007 were 0

  20. Tetracyclic diterpenoid hydrocarbons in some Australian coals, sediments and crude oils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noble, Rohinton A.; Alexander, Robert; Kagi, Robert Ian; Knox, John

    1985-10-01

    Tetracyclic diterpenoid hydrocarbons (diterpanes) based on the ent-beyerane, phyllocladane and ent-kaurane skeletons have been identified in the hydrocarbon extracts of some Australian coals, sediments and crude oils. Structures were assigned to the geological diterpanes by comparison with synthetically prepared reference compounds. Studies of a sample suite consisting of low-rank coals and sediments indicate that the ratios of C-16 epimers of phyllocladane and ent-kaurane are maturity dependent, and that the relative proportion of the thermodynamically preferred 16β (H)-compounds increases with increasing thermal maturity. Thermodynamic equilibrium for the interconversion reactions is attained in sediments before the onset of crude oil generation. The most likely natural product precursors for the tetracyclic diterpanes are considered to be the tetracyclic diterpene hydrocarbons which occur widely in the leaf resins of conifers. Tetracyclic diterpanes have been identified in sediments and coals of Permian age or younger, suggesting that these compounds are markers for both modern and extinct families of conifers. In particular, phyllocladane is proposed as a marker for the Podocarpaceae family of conifers.

  1. Characterization of microbial communities in heavy crude oil from Saudi Arabia.

    PubMed

    Albokari, Majed; Mashhour, Ibrahim; Alshehri, Mohammed; Boothman, Chris; Al-Enezi, Mousa

    The complete mineralization of crude oil into carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and cellular constituents can be carried out as part of a bioremediation strategy. This involves the transformation of complex organic contaminants into simpler organic compounds by microbial communities, mainly bacteria. A crude oil sample and an oil sludge sample were obtained from Saudi ARAMCO Oil Company and investigated to identify the microbial communities present using PCR-based culture-independent techniques. In total, analysis of 177 clones yielded 30 distinct bacterial sequences. Clone library analysis of the oil sample was found to contain Bacillus , Clostridia and Gammaproteobacteria species while the sludge sample revealed the presence of members of the Alphaproteobacteria , Betaproteobacteria , Gammaproteobacteria , Clostridia , Spingobacteria and Flavobacteria . The dominant bacterial class identified in oil and sludge samples was found to be Bacilli and Flavobacteria , respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the dominant bacterium in the oil sample has the closest sequence identity to Enterococcus aquimarinus and the dominant bacterium in the sludge sample is most closely related to the uncultured Bacteroidetes bacterium designated AH.KK.

  2. Electronic polarizability of light crude oil from optical and dielectric studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    George, A. K.; Singh, R. N.

    2017-07-01

    In the present paper we report the temperature dependence of density, refractive indices and dielectric constant of three samples of crude oils. The API gravity number estimated from the temperature dependent density studies revealed that the three samples fall in the category of light oil. The measured data of refractive index and the density are used to evaluate the polarizability of these fluids. Molar refractive index and the molar volume are evaluated through Lorentz-Lorenz equation. The function of the refractive index, FRI , divided by the mass density ρ, is a constant approximately equal to one-third and is invariant with temperature for all the samples. The measured values of the dielectric constant decrease linearly with increasing temperature for all the samples. The dielectric constant estimated from the refractive index measurements using Lorentz-Lorentz equation agrees well with the measured values. The results are promising since all the three measured properties complement each other and offer a simple and reliable method for estimating crude oil properties, in the absence of sufficient data.

  3. Raymond International Inc. will construct twin berthing facilities for loading and offloading crude

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1978-03-06

    Raymond International Inc. will construct twin berthing facilities for loading and offloading crude in St. James Parish, La. The $16.6 million contract was let under the Strategic Petroleum Reserve program. Completion is expected in 1978.

  4. Bioaugmentation of soil contaminated with high-level crude oil through inoculation with mixed cultures including Acremonium sp.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xiao-Kui; Ding, Ning; Peterson, Eric Charles

    2015-06-01

    Heavy contamination of soil with crude oil has caused significant negative environmental impacts and presents substantial hazards to human health. To explore a highly efficient bioaugmentation strategy for these contaminations, experiments were conducted over 180 days in soil heavily contaminated with crude oil (50,000 mg kg(-1)), with four treatments comprised of Bacillus subtilis inoculation with no further inoculation (I), or reinoculation after 100 days with either B. subtilis (II), Acremonium sp.(III), or a mixture of both organisms (IV). The removal values of total petroleum hydrocarbons were 60.1 ± 2.0, 60.05 ± 3.0, 71.3 ± 5.2 and 74.2 ± 2.7 % for treatment (I-IV), respectively. Treatments (III-IV) significantly enhanced the soil bioremediation compared with treatments (I-II) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, significantly (p < 0.05) greater rates of degradation for petroleum hydrocarbon fractions were observed in treatments (III-IV) compared to treatments (I-II), and this was especially the case with the degradative rates for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and crude oil heavy fractions. Dehydrogenase activity in treatment (III-IV) containing Acremonium sp. showed a constant increase until the end of experiments. Therefore reinoculation with pure fungus or fungal-bacterial consortium should be considered as an effective strategy in bioaugmentation for soil heavily contaminated with crude oil.

  5. Algae to Bio-Crude in Less Than 60 Minutes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Elliott, Doug

    Engineers have created a chemical process that produces useful crude oil just minutes after engineers pour in harvested algae -- a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup. The PNNL team combined several chemical steps into one continuous process that starts with an algae slurry that contains as much as 80 to 90 percent water. Most current processes require the algae to be dried -- an expensive process that takes a lot of energy. The research has been licensed by Genifuel Corp.

  6. Algae to Bio-Crude in Less Than 60 Minutes

    ScienceCinema

    Elliott, Doug

    2018-01-16

    Engineers have created a chemical process that produces useful crude oil just minutes after engineers pour in harvested algae -- a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup. The PNNL team combined several chemical steps into one continuous process that starts with an algae slurry that contains as much as 80 to 90 percent water. Most current processes require the algae to be dried -- an expensive process that takes a lot of energy. The research has been licensed by Genifuel Corp.

  7. Timing of delivery after external cephalic version and the risk for cesarean delivery.

    PubMed

    Kabiri, Doron; Elram, Tamar; Aboo-Dia, Mushira; Elami-Suzin, Matan; Elchalal, Uriel; Ezra, Yossef

    2011-08-01

    To estimate the association between time of delivery after external cephalic version at term and the risk for cesarean delivery. This retrospective cohort study included all successful external cephalic versions performed in a tertiary center between January 1997 and January 2010. Stepwise logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for cesarean delivery. We included 483 external cephalic versions in this study, representing 53.1% of all external cephalic version attempts. The incidence of cesarean delivery for 139 women (29%) who gave birth less than 96 hours from external cephalic version was 16.5%; for 344 women (71%) who gave birth greater than 96 hours from external cephalic version, the incidence of cesarean delivery was 7.8% (P = .004). The adjusted OR for cesarean delivery was 2.541 (95% confidence interval 1.36-4.72). When stratified by parity, the risk for cesarean delivery when delivery occurred less than 96 hours after external cephalic version was 2.97 and 2.28 for nulliparous and multiparous women, respectively. Delivery at less than 96 hours after successful external cephalic version was associated with an increased risk for cesarean delivery. III.

  8. Argentation chromatography coupled to ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry for the separation of a heavy crude oil.

    PubMed

    Molnárné Guricza, Lilla; Schrader, Wolfgang

    2017-02-10

    Simplification of highly complex mixtures such as crude oil by using chromatographic methods makes it possible to get more detailed information about the composition of the analyte. Separation by argentation chromatography can be achieved based on the interaction of different strength between the silver ions (Ag + ) immobilized through a spacer on the silica gel surface and the π-bonds of the analytes. Heavy crude oils contain compounds with a high number of heteroatoms (N, O, S) and a high degree of unsaturation thus making them the perfect analyte for argentation chromatography. The direct coupling of argentation chromatography and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry allows to continuously tracking the separation of the many different compounds by retention time and allows sensitive detection on a molecular level. Direct injection of a heavy crude oil into a ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer showed components with DBE of up to 25, whereas analytes with DBE of up to 35 could be detected only after separation with argentation chromatography. The reduced complexity achieved by the separation helps increasing the information depth. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. BIODEGRADATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAH) FROM CRUDE OIL IN SANDY-BEACH MICROCOSMS.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Though the lower n-alkanes are considered the most degradable components of crude oil, our experiments with microcosms simulating oiled beaches showed substantial depletion of fluorene, phenanthrene, dibenzothiophene, and other PAH in control treatments consisting of raw seawater...

  10. Effect of crude and pure glycerol on biomass production and trehalose accumulation by Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii 1.

    PubMed

    Pawlicka-Kaczorowska, Joanna; Czaczyk, Katarzyna

    2017-01-01

    The dairy propionibacteria, which are traditionally used for the production of Swiss cheeses, are able to synthesize valuable biomolecules, e.g. B group vitamins, propionic acid, and trehalose with unique chemical and physical properties. Both, dairy propionibacteria cells and trehalose, have found many applications as attractive and effective components in food, beauty and health care products. This study confirmed the ability of several strains from the Propionibacterium genus to create trehalose from glycerol. The research aimed to investigate the effect of crude and pure glycerol on biomass production and on trehalose accumulation by Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii 1. The results indicated that the capacity for trehalose accumulation by Propionibacterium spp. was strain dependent. Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii 1 was able to grow on crude glycerol. For both, pure and crude glycerol, the highest amount of dry biomass leveled off at about 4 g/L. While the use of crude glycerol had no effect on the final concentration of biomass, it reduced the accumulation of trehalose in the cells. An increase in the concentration of carbon source (2-8%) resulted in more than a 5-fold rise in trehalose production. The highest trehalose concentration of 195.04 mg/L was obtained with cultures of the said strain supplemented to 8% with pure glycerol.

  11. Cross-correlations between the US monetary policy, US dollar index and crude oil market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Xinxin; Lu, Xinsheng; Yue, Gongzheng; Li, Jianfeng

    2017-02-01

    This paper investigates the cross-correlations between the US monetary policy, US dollar index and WTI crude oil market, using a dataset covering a period from February 4, 1994 to February 29, 2016. Our study contributes to the literature by examining the effect of the US monetary policy on US dollar index and WTI crude oil through the MF-DCCA approach. The empirical results show that the cross-correlations between the three sets of time series exhibit strong multifractal features with the strength of multifractality increasing over the sample period. Employing a rolling window analysis, our empirical results show that the US monetary policy operations have clear influences on the cross-correlated behavior of the three time series covered by this study.

  12. Measuring Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall of crude oil portfolio using extreme value theory and vine copula

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Wenhua; Yang, Kun; Wei, Yu; Lei, Likun

    2018-01-01

    Volatilities of crude oil price have important impacts on the steady and sustainable development of world real economy. Thus it is of great academic and practical significance to model and measure the volatility and risk of crude oil markets accurately. This paper aims to measure the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of a portfolio consists of four crude oil assets by using GARCH-type models, extreme value theory (EVT) and vine copulas. The backtesting results show that the combination of GARCH-type-EVT models and vine copula methods can produce accurate risk measures of the oil portfolio. Mixed R-vine copula is more flexible and superior to other vine copulas. Different GARCH-type models, which can depict the long-memory and/or leverage effect of oil price volatilities, however offer similar marginal distributions of the oil returns.

  13. Canine tumor development and crude incidence of tumors by breed based on domestic dogs in Gifu prefecture

    PubMed Central

    KOMAZAWA, Satoshi; SAKAI, Hiroki; ITOH, Yusuke; KAWABE, Mifumi; MURAKAMI, Mami; MORI, Takashi; MARUO, Kohji

    2016-01-01

    We analyzed the status of tumor development in dogs by breed based on tumor cases that presented to the Department of Veterinary Pathology of the Gifu University for diagnostic examinations over eight years (2005–2012). We also calculated the crude incidence of tumors in dogs by breed based on the results of a survey conducted in 2011 in Gifu Prefecture. The most common sites of tumor development included the skin, digestive organs and mammary glands. Smaller dogs showed a tendency to have a higher incidence of breast tumors. We thus identified dog breeds with a higher crude incidence of tumors (Bernese mountain dog, golden retriever, corgi, etc.) and those with a lower crude incidence of tumors (Pomeranian, poodle, Chihuahua, etc.). Unlike the current trends for domestic dogs in the US and Europe, Japan has a higher number of small dogs as pets; it is therefore necessary to develop a policy for canine cancer specific to Japan. PMID:27150207

  14. Optimization of Crude Oil and PAHs Degradation by Stenotrophomonas rhizophila KX082814 Strain through Response Surface Methodology Using Box-Behnken Design

    PubMed Central

    Virupakshappa, Praveen Kumar Siddalingappa; Mishra, Gaurav; Mehkri, Mohammed Ameenuddin

    2016-01-01

    The present paper describes the process optimization study for crude oil degradation which is a continuation of our earlier work on hydrocarbon degradation study of the isolate Stenotrophomonas rhizophila (PM-1) with GenBank accession number KX082814. Response Surface Methodology with Box-Behnken Design was used to optimize the process wherein temperature, pH, salinity, and inoculum size (at three levels) were used as independent variables and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon, Biological Oxygen Demand, and Chemical Oxygen Demand of crude oil and PAHs as dependent variables (response). The statistical analysis, via ANOVA, showed coefficient of determination R 2 as 0.7678 with statistically significant P value 0.0163 fitting in second-order quadratic regression model for crude oil removal. The predicted optimum parameters, namely, temperature, pH, salinity, and inoculum size, were found to be 32.5°C, 9, 12.5, and 12.5 mL, respectively. At this optimum condition, the observed and predicted PAHs and crude oil removal were found to be 71.82% and 79.53% in validation experiments, respectively. The % TPH results correlate with GC/MS studies, BOD, COD, and TPC. The validation of numerical optimization was done through GC/MS studies and % removal of crude oil. PMID:28116165

  15. Active inhibitor-1 maintains protein hyper-phosphorylation in aging hearts and halts remodeling in failing hearts.

    PubMed

    Pritchard, Tracy J; Kawase, Yoshiaki; Haghighi, Kobra; Anjak, Ahmad; Cai, Wenfeng; Jiang, Min; Nicolaou, Persoulla; Pylar, George; Karakikes, Ioannis; Rapti, Kleopatra; Rubinstein, Jack; Hajjar, Roger J; Kranias, Evangelia G

    2013-01-01

    Impaired sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium cycling and depressed contractility are key characteristics in heart failure. Defects in sarcoplasmic reticulum function are characterized by decreased SERCA2a Ca-transport that is partially attributable to dephosphorylation of its regulator phospholamban by increased protein phosphatase 1 activity. Inhibition of protein phosphatase 1 through activation of its endogenous inhibitor-1 has been shown to enhance cardiac Ca-handling and contractility as well as protect from pathological stress remodeling in young mice. In this study, we assessed the long-term effects of inducible expression of constitutively active inhibitor-1 in the adult heart and followed function and remodeling through the aging process, up to 20 months. Mice with inhibitor-1 had normal survival and similar function to WTs. There was no overt remodeling as evidenced by measures of left ventricular end-systolic and diastolic diameters and posterior wall dimensions, heart weight to tibia length ratio, and histology. Higher phosphorylation of phospholamban at both Ser16 and Thr17 was maintained in aged hearts with active inhibitor-1, potentially offsetting the effects of elevated Ser2815-phosphorylation in ryanodine receptor, as there were no increases in arrhythmias under stress conditions in 20-month old mice. Furthermore, long-term expression of active inhibitor-1 via recombinant adeno-associated virus type 9 gene transfer in rats with pressure-overload induced heart failure improved function and prevented remodeling, associated with increased phosphorylation of phospholamban at Ser16 and Thr17. Thus, chronic inhibition of protein phosphatase 1, through increases in active inhibitor-1, does not accelerate age-related cardiomyopathy and gene transfer of this molecule in vivo improves function and halts remodeling in the long term.

  16. L-Carnitine halts apoptosis and myelosuppression induced by carboplatin in rat bone marrow cell cultures (BMC).

    PubMed

    Abd-Allah, Adel R A; Al-Majed, Abdulhakeem A; Al-Yahya, Abdulaziz A; Fouda, Soliman I; Al-Shabana, Othman A

    2005-07-01

    Carboplatin (CP), a second generation platinum compound, is effective against various types of cancers, producing less nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity but more myelotoxicity than cisplatinum. CP-myelosuppression is the rate-limiting step of its clinical use. Prevention of CP-myelosuppression is a major target in the field of chemotherapy. Therefore, the present study investigates the use of L-carnitine (LCR)-an antioxidant, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and immunostimulant nontoxic natural compound-to protect against CP-induced myelosuppression. The viability of BMC was studied using a trypan blue exclusion technique following incubation with CP and/or LCR as a function of time and concentration. Apoptosis was tested for by detecting the amount of DNA fragmentation and the visualization of DNA ladders upon gel electrophoresis. Bone marrow progenitor cell function was examined by colony forming unit assay. Cellular contents of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were also estimated. Results revealed that LC50 of CP is 4.7 mM and the highest safe concentration of LCR is 5 mM. Co-exposure of LCR+CP rescued BMC viability by 37% compared to the CP-treated cultures. The LCR halts CP-induced apoptosis and it significantly improves the function of the bone marrow progenitors by increasing the number of colony-forming units as a response to granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factors. Finally, LCR restores CP-induced GSH depletion and prevents MDA elevation in BMC. In summary, the results suggest that LCR is able to protect against CP-induced myelosuppression, which suggests its use as an adjuvant therapy. This finding merits further investigation into the mechanism(s) of such protection as well as its interaction with CP antitumor activity.

  17. Evaluation of the ability of Eleutherine americana crude extract as natural food additive in cooked pork.

    PubMed

    Ifesan, B O T; Siripongvutikorn, S; Hutadilok-Towatana, N; Voravuthikunchai, S P

    2009-09-01

    The scavenging activities of crude ethanolic extract from Eleutherine americana, on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl free radicals were investigated. The results revealed that the extract produced IC(50) values of 8.4 microg/mL and 0.78 mg/mL on DPPH and hydroxyl free radicals, respectively. The total phenolic content of the extract was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and the crude extract yielded high phenolic content of 4.56 mumol gallic acid equivalent per milligram dried extract. The extract, at different concentrations, was incorporated into pork, cooked in the microwave, and stored at 4 degrees C for 9 d. The crude extract demonstrated antioxidant activity, which increases with increased extract concentrations and retarded lipid oxidation in the cooked pork. Antibacterial activity of the extract against Staphylococcus aureus in the cooked pork revealed that at a concentration of 10.8 mg/100 g, the extract reduced the bacterial population by 0.57 log compared to control at 9 d of storage. The sensory results revealed that the pork samples treated with the extract and the control sample were not significantly different from day 0 to 6; however, on day 9 the treatments were significantly scored higher than the control. Furthermore, addition of the extract led to an increase in the redness values of the pork and this was acceptable from the sensory point of view. E. americana crude extract could be a promising novel antioxidant to prevent lipid oxidation and a potential natural color enhancer of red meat and meat products.

  18. Superhydrophobic graphene-based sponge as a novel sorbent for crude oil removal under various environmental conditions.

    PubMed

    Shiu, Ruei-Feng; Lee, Chon-Lin; Hsieh, Ping-Yen; Chen, Chi-Shuo; Kang, Yun-Yi; Chin, Wei-Chun; Tai, Nyan-Hwa

    2018-05-15

    Mechanical recovery of oils using oil sorbents is one of the most important approaches to manage marine oil spills. However, the properties of the oils spilled into sea are influenced by external environmental conditions. In this study, we present a graphene-based (GB) sponge as a novel sorbent for crude oil removal and compare its performance with that of a commercial sorbent sheet under various environmental parameters. The GB sponge with excellent superhydrophobic and superoleophilic characteristics is demonstrated to be an efficient sorbent for crude oils, with high sorption capacity (up to 85-95 times its weight) and good reusability. The crude-oil-sorption capacity of our GB sponge is remarkably higher (about 4-5 times) than that of the commercial sheet and most other previously reported sponge sorbents. Moreover, several challenging environmental conditions were examined for their effects on the sorption performance, including the weathering time of oils, seawater temperature, and turbulence (wave effect). The results show that the viscosity of the oil increased with increasing weathering time or decreasing temperature; therefore, the sorption rate seemed to decrease with longer weathering times and lower temperatures. Turbulence can facilitate inner sorption and promote higher oil sorption. Our results indicate that the extent of the effects of weather and other environmental factors on crude oil should be considered in the assessment of the effective adsorption capacity and efficiency of sorbents. The present work also highlights the widespread potential applications of our GB sponge in marine spilled-oil cleanup and hydrophobic solvent removal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of dietary crude oil exposure on molecular and physiological parameters related to lipid homeostasis in polar cod (Boreogadus saida).

    PubMed

    Vieweg, Ireen; Bilbao, Eider; Meador, James P; Cancio, Ibon; Bender, Morgan Lizabeth; Cajaraville, Miren P; Nahrgang, Jasmine

    2018-04-01

    Polar cod is an abundant Arctic key species, inhabiting an ecosystem that is subjected to rapid climate change and increased petroleum related activities. Few studies have investigated biological effects of crude oil on lipid metabolism in this species, despite lipids being a crucial compound for Arctic species to adapt to the high seasonality in food abundance in their habitat. This study examines the effects of dietary crude oil exposure on transcription levels of genes related to lipid metabolism (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors [ppar-α, ppar-γ], retinoic X receptor [rxr-β], palmitoyl-CoA oxidase [aox1], cytochrome P4507A1 [cyp7α1]), reproduction (vitellogenin [vtg-β], gonad aromatase [cyp19a1]) and biotransformation (cytochrome P4501A1 [cyp1a1], aryl hydrocarbon receptor [ahr2]). Exposure effects were also examined through plasma chemistry parameters. Additional fish were exposed to a PPAR-α agonist (WY-14,643) to investigate the role of PPAR-α in their lipid metabolism. The dose-dependent up-regulation of cyp1a1 reflected the activation of genes related to PAH biotransformation upon crude oil exposure. The crude oil exposure did not significantly alter the mRNA expression of genes involved in lipid homeostasis except for cyp7α1 transcription levels. Plasma levels of cholesterol and alanine transaminase showed significant alterations in fish exposed to crude oil at the end of the experiment. WY exposure induced a down-regulation of ppar-α, an effect contrary to studies performed on other fish species. In conclusion, this study showed clear effects of dietary crude oil exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations on xenobiotic biotransformation but revealed only weak alterations in the lipid metabolism of polar cod. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Fast analysis of principal volatile compounds in crude and processed Atractylodes macrocephala by an automated static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jida; Cao, Gang; Xia, Yunhua; Wen, Chengping; Fan, Yongsheng

    2014-01-01

    Objective: Atractylodes macrocephala, a famous herbal medicine, is used extensively in the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Processing procedure is a common approach that usually occurs before A. macrocephala is prescribed. This paper describes a sensitive and specific assay for the determination of principal volatile compounds in crude and processed A. macrocephala. Materials and Methods: The present study concentrated on the development of a static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SHS-GC/MS) for separating and identifying of volatile compounds from crude and processed A. macrocephala samples. Results: The results showed that the volatile oil in crude and processed A. macrocephala was markedly quantitatively and qualitatively different. Processing resulted in the reduction of volatile oil contents and variation of chemical compositions in A. macrocephala. Conclusion: The proposed method proved that SHS-GC/MS is rapid and specific, and should also be useful for evaluating the quality of crude and processed medicinal herbs. PMID:25210311