Challenges in microalgal biofuel production: A perspective on techno economic feasibility under biorefinery stratagem.

Rapidly exhausting fossil fuels combined with the ever-increasing demand for energy led to an ongoing search for alternative energy sources to meet the transportation, manufacturing, domestic and other energy demands of the grown population. Microalgae are at the forefront of alternative energy research due to their significant potential as a renewable feedstock for biofuels. However, microalgae platforms have not found a way into industrial-scale bioenergy production due to various technical and economic constraints. The present review provides a detailed overview of the challenges in microalgae production processes for bioenergy purposes with supporting techno-economic assessments related to microalgae cultivation, harvesting and downstream processes required for crude oil or biofuel production. In addition, biorefinery approaches that can valorize the by-products or co-products in microalgae production and enhance the techno-economics of the production process are discussed.

Biomolecular characterisation of marine microalga in comparison to fishmeal and soymeal as an alternative feed ingredient.

INTRODUCTION: Marine microalgae protein has better solubility and digestibility than other protein-based feeds. Apart from protein, high-value biomolecules have an immense potential to enhance the quality of feed, but knowledge about them is scarce. OBJECTIVE: Marine microalga Picochlorum sp. biomass molecular characterisation along with commonly used protein feed such as fishmeal and soymeal for potential feed ingredients. METHODOLOGY: Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used for biomolecular characterisation. The correlation of biomolecules sets was evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap clustering. RESULTS: LC-MS identified 116 biomolecules cumulatively among microalga, fishmeal, and soymeal that includes fatty acids, acylglycerols, vitamins, sterols, pigments, nucleotides, unique amino acids, amines, sugars and miscellaneous. These 116 biomolecules were screened based on their functional importance as feed ingredients. Among the different sets of biomolecules, microalga contained a more diverse set of fatty acids, pigments, sterols, and vitamins than acylglycerols, unique amino acids, nucleotides, and sugars. Fishmeal contained a more diverse set of acylglycerols, unique amino acids, nucleotides, and amines, while soymeal contained the highest number of sugars and miscellaneous biomolecules. The PCA confirmed the significance level (P > 95%) and heatmap clustering showed the diversity and relatedness of biomolecules among the microalga, fishmeal, and soymeal. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the marine microalga Picochlorum sp. biomass has a rich source of biomolecules and could complement fishmeal or soymeal in feed and is also sustainable and economical as compared to fishmeal and soymeal.

Hepatic venous outflow obstruction in paediatric liver transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular complications after orthotopic split liver transplantation in children result in significant post-operative complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of children undergoing liver transplantation from 2004 to 2006 was undertaken. The data was obtained based on a proforma-based analysis. RESULTS: Seven of 106 transplants were identified to have hepatic venous outflow obstruction (HVOO) of whom five were males and two were females. Median age at transplant was 8 years (range 3 years 4 months-15 years). The median donor-to-recipient weight ratio was 2.78 (range 0.97-6.15). ANASTOMOTIC TECHNIQUE: Hepatic vein-IVC in four, Hepatic vein-hepatic vein (HV-IVC) confluence in two and cavo hepatic in one. Ascites was the commonest post op manifestation of HVOO. Although Doppler USG was useful in identifying the venous outflow obstruction, venography confirmed the exact site of obstruction aiding in therapeutic dilatation. Three of seven cases had early onset (<1 month) while 4/7 had late onset (>1 month). 5/7 underwent venography and dilatation, of whom three are well and one is awaiting a repeat venography and dilatation. 2/7 died without intervention and 1/7 died in the waiting list for retransplantation. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of HVOO requires a high index of suspicion, prompting early venography to manage HVOO successfully. Technical steps to avoid HVOO are to keep the hepatic vein-caval anastomosis short and wide with triangulation and to avoid graft rotation at the hepato caval junction.

Retroperitoneal approach for laparoscopic nephrectomy is feasible in a child with difficult access due to severe scoliosis.

Retroperitoneal minimal access surgery has been widely described and practiced in many paediatric urology units. However, retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy performed in the presence of severe scoliosis has not been described in the literature before. We report a challenging case of a 13-year-old girl with severe scoliosis requiring a nephrectomy. The feasibility of performing a retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy in paediatric patients with severe scoliosis is discussed.

Ataxia-telangiectasia and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a multi-system disease involving the cerebellum, cutaneous blood vessels and the immune system including both cellular and humoral components. It also involves hematological, endocrine and peripheral nervous systems. This disease is often associated with abnormal liver function tests, such as, raised alkaline phosphatase and various nonspecific histological changes in the liver. High incidence of various malignancies involving lymphoreticular, gastrointestinal and mesenchymal organs have reported in ataxia-telangiectasia. Elevated levels of alpha fetoprotein have been noted commonly in this disorder. In spite of the hepatic histological and biochemical changes associated with elevated alpha fetoprotein, to our knowledge, development of hepatocellular carcinoma has not been reported in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia. A case of a young white female with AT who developed hepatocellular carcinoma along with significantly elevated levels of alpha fetoprotein is presented.