Domestic Pig Facts

Domestic Pig Facts The 600 breeds of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) on our planet today are descended from the wild boar, Sus scrofa, a process that occurred at least twice in different places between 9,000–10,000 years ago. Domesticated pigs are bred for human consumption. Pork and pork products make up the largest percentage of meat and poultry consumed in the world, representing over 40% of the worlds meat and poultry eaten in 2017.   Fast Facts: Domestic Pig Scientific Name: Sus scrofa domesticaCommon Name: Pig, hog, swineBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 7–8 feet long, 3.7–4.7 feet highWeight: 600–1,000 pounds or moreLifespan: 6 to 10 years  Diet:  OmnivoreHabitat: Pastures, farms, and commercial buildings on all continents except AntarcticaPopulation: Estimated at two billion (nearly 1 billion are slaughtered each year)Conservation Status: Sus scrofa domestica has not been evaluated by the IUCN. Description There are over 600 different breeds of domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) extant in the world. The top five most recorded in North America are American Yorkshire, Duroc, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Landrace. The most commonly produced is the American Yorkshire, a version of the English Large White pig, developed in 1761 and first imported to the U.S. in 1830.   Yorkshires are white in color and quite muscular, with a high proportion of lean meat and low back fat. Its body is covered in fine hair, and they have long snouts and erect ears. Depending on the breed, adult pigs range from seven to eight feet in length and weigh between 600 and 1,000 pounds. There are many smaller pig breeds as well.   All domestic pigs belong to the family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, kingdom Animalia, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata.   Yorkshire pigs on an organic farm. Agnormark / iStock / Getty Images Plus Habitat and Distribution Domestic pigs are found on all continents of the world, excepting Antarctica. As of 2010, the largest producers of pigs include China (about 500 million each year), US (64 million), Brazil (40 million), Germany (27 million), Vietnam (27 million), and Spain (25 million). Pigs are kept in pens, in facilities, and in open farm fields and forests, and the farms range in size from facilities with tens of thousands of animals to subsistence farms of one or two. Diet and Behavior   Pigs are omnivores and they will eat anything, meat and plants both. The digestive system of pigs is such that it can also consume bulky foods with high levels of roughage. If kept in a well-fenced field they will eat all of the plants and grass, digging into the ground to consume the roots as well. Farmers put a ring into a pigs nose to keep it from digging up the plant roots.   Domestic pigs cannot be raised solely on pastures. Their diets need to be supplemented with vegetables, corn, or other crops, and they can be fed table scraps. A permanent pasture to keep pigs is one that stays planted to grass or legumes such alfalfa and clover, and/or perennial grasses such as orchard grass, timothy, and bromegrass.   Pigs grow well on large, open-air concrete platforms, in pens with a partial-solid floor area for resting and feeding and another area with a slatted floor so manure drops through and keeps the pen clean, or on pastures supplemented with grains. They require plenty of clean water every day. Pigs are gregarious and can be quite social: but males can be aggressive and farmers typically castrate them at an early age.   Free range pigs grazing in an organic ecological farm. RonyZmiri / iStock / Getty Images Plus Reproduction and Offspring Pigs have male and female sexes, and in most modern facilities, reproduction is controlled at all steps, inducing heat in females, artificial insemination, and weaning. Most breeds of pig reach puberty (come into heat) at 5 months, but sources recommend that females not be bred until 6 months of age.   Non-pregnant sows naturally come into heat every 21 days throughout the year, and the heat lasts between 8 and 36 hours. During that period, impregnation occurs either artificially, or by the farmer introducing a boar. Once impregnated, sows give birth after three months, three weeks and three days. Sows make a nest within 24 hours before giving birth, and farrowing usually lasts between 2 to 3 hours. Healthy sows give birth to between 10 and 13 piglets twice a year. Without coaxing, piglets immediately search for an available teat on their mother, starting to feed within an hour of their birth.  They subsist on mothers milk alone for 2–3 weeks, then begin taking solid food. They can continue to take some milk until about 7 weeks, but farmers can wean them as early as 4 weeks. Males pigs are typically castrated at 2–3 weeks of age. Curious pigs in Pig Breeding farm in swine business in tidy and clean indoor housing farm with pig mother feeding piglet. Chayakorn Lotongkum / iStock / Getty Images Plus Conservation Status In 2007, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) listed over 742 specific breeds of domestic pig in the world. Of those, 137 were listed as extinct and 130 were listed as endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) does not list Sus scrofa domestica at all but does include nine other (non-domesticated) Sus species in the listings as Vulnerable, Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Extinct (Indo-Chinese warty pig).  Ã‚   Sources Breeds of Livestock- Yorkshire Swine. Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University.  Chapter 4: The Pig. A Manual for the Primary Animal Health Care Worker. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2004.  Ã‚  Global Distribution of Pigs in 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Hasheider, Philip E. How to Raise Pigs: Everything You Need to Know. Voyageur Press, 2014.Frantz, Laurent, et al. The Evolution of Suidae. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 4.1 (2016): 61–85. Print.Gilbert, Marius, et al. Global Pigs Distribution in 2010 (5 Minutes of Arc). Harvard Dataverse, 2018. Kittawornrat, Apisit, and Jeffrey J. Zimmerman. Toward a Better Understanding of Pig Behavior and Pig Welfare. Animal Health Research Reviews 12.1 (2011): 25–32. Print.Major Swine Breeds. Pork Checkoff.Pukite, John. A Field Guide to Pigs. Globe Pequot Press, 1999.

STrategies for Special Populations in CTE Assignment

STrategies for Special Populations in CTE - Assignment Example This part further highlights a few legislations concerning learners from the special population. It highlights four students James, John, Marie and Sarah who have pertinent problems and are special population learners. If left unattended to, learners from this category are at high risk of not graduating or becoming useful members of the workforce. Teaching special population learners using conventional means without understanding their condition works. Special strategies must be used in order for them to learn and or become useful members of the workforce. Yes. I have had a misconception that students who are inattentive in class often dozing off as not serious in their learning outcomes. This view obviously is incorrect as students with this type of problems often tend to belong to the special population. This part focuses on teaching strategies. It begins by highlighting elements that foster success in students. These elements include helping students monitor their progress, setting up clear discipline rules, recognizing student’s achievement, etc. This module next introduces the concept of instructional "Backpack". Instructional backpack includes setting up instruction plans, motivational teaching and how to get students in learning group. Next, types of instructions used by CTE are outlined. These include direct instructions, small group instructions and differentiated instructions. Direct instruction incorporates the whole class and often will use the lecture technique. Small group instruction involves flexible grouping and cooperative learning. Differentiated learning is a one on one form of relaying instruction to the student. This module further moves to what turns off students. These include poor visuals from the instructor, unclear structure of the lesson, disruptive habits such as constantly looking at your watch etc. What turns on students is also highlighted. Instructor enthusiasm, clearly written

Summary, findings and opinions on the reading Essay

Summary, findings and opinions on the reading - Essay Example Each website an internet user visit during his or her browsing session usually facilitate to the achievement of some objectives that are beyond mere identification of independent visitors to the site (White and Kamal, 2012).This similarity amongst all websites makes it easy for any person to note their relations to each other. When different website are complementary like search engine and content website, then internet users willingness to visit the combination of these sites depend on the rate of advertisement of each site (White and Kamal, 2012).This means that the number of visitors each site get per a specified period depends on its advertisement policy and frequency. So each website should keenly develop its advertisement strategies in an effective manner to ensure it attract higher number of visitors. In scenarios where complementary sites act independently, then their total distraction from their advertising becomes too high thus discouraging many internet users from visiting these sites. This makes it hard for these sites to maximize their total profits from advertisements. Secondly when complementary sites decide to operate independently, they end up allocating inefficient demands to attract internet user’s attention. When there are two competing companies with constant marginal cost that provides customers with perfectly complementary components, then overall business gains can be maximized only when one of the companies decides to lower it price to equal it marginal cost and the other firm freely adopt optimal price (White and Kamal, 2012).However, this fact does not apply to website owners when they opt to distract internet user from using their site in their attempt to advertise their sponsors’ product. This means that forcing one of the complementary sites not to advertise does not necessarily maximize total profits of the complementary sites. In fact, it can lead to decline in total profits of the two complementary sites due to lac k of cooperation between them. While increased competition from a multiple complementary sites solves the problem of double marginalization, the competition, also leads to increased problem of mis'-marginalization. Effect of differentiation among content website To achieve greater efficiency, when the market is in equilibrium and all firms tend to behave non-cooperatively, and content website has relatively inefficient advertising technologies, then it is socially desirable that the website owners increase the number of content websites than the internet users induces to enter (White and Kamal, 2012). This is because an increase in the number of content websites shifts advertising away from the content websites to the more efficient search engine advertising technology. Effect of competition When two or more sellers who deals with complementary products engages in double marginalization, then to ensure that they all maximize profits, then they need to increase competition in all mar kets (White and Kamal, 2012).This is because if the market of one firm becomes perfectly competitive, then the other complementary firm can successfully charge a price that implements the optimum outcome of the industry as a whole. Otherwise if, a set of complementary websites, whose

Beware the Cat Essay Example for Free

Beware the Cat Essay In Beware the Cat, William Baldwins immediate target is Catholicism. This book is one of many anti-catholic satires that appeared during Edward VIs Protestant reign. In this story Baldwin goes beyond putting down the practices of the Church of Rome and exposes some of its foundational problems. He portrays, satirically, how knowledge is obtained and passed down in the church. At this time the culture was going through a transition from a largely oral and visual way of communicating to one based on text. The whole idea of Protestantism is about having a personal relationship with God and not relying on someone else to read the Bible for you. But what about those that didnt have access to a Bible? Again, people were left to rely on the church and the traditions that were being passed down. The trouble with traditions is that after so long, one cant be certain of their origin. We see a debate being set up in the story about where true authoritative knowledge comes from. From the Protestant view, the trouble with that is these traditions and stories can and do mislead the devout christian. In the beginning of the book in The Argument, Streamer disagrees with the author on what makes up knowledge; whether it is gained by experiences or authors (the reading of textual evidence). In Streamers Oration we see that he gets off track a number of times as he tries to begin his story. We find him wandering from gate to gate, talking about about how the gates got their names. It is evident that he doesnt quite know where or how to begin his story. The use of the word gate is exceptional because Streamer is truly searching for an entrance for his story line. Because he cant seem to find it, it foreshadows the fact that Streamers knowledge, as we come to find out, really has no origin of its own. Baldwin uses another play on words with the word Criplegate and cripple, foreshadowing again that Streamers kind of reasoning has crippled him. We read that Streamers experience with cats is based on other peoples stories about cats, and that their stories are based on yet another series of stories. Here Baldwin is demonstrating how Catholicism has passed down tories and oral traditions over time and we never really know the origin of these stories and traditions well enough to prove them. It also shows the reader that these kinds of stories simply lead to more stories and it ends up being uncontrolled and unmonitored. He then questions if having this experience based knowledge is truly having knowledge at all. Baldwin is building the story up in a rational way, for example, suggesting that the cats use human transportation and by suggesting that they revenge the death of Grimalkin, forming a close knit society, again alluding to the Catholic church. What we read about in Part I sort of comes to life in Part III as the animals take over the narration of the story. They begin to tell tales of their vast experiences with humans. They show us a world where humans are an easy mark (where the wife believes that the cat is old womans daughter) and preposterous (where the sound of Mouse-Slayers feet brings panic to a town). In Part I we read about preying animals and Part III is then dealing with preying humans. The old woman takes advantage of the young men, then they take advantage of others in order to keep paying the old woman, in order to spend time with the girls. This vicious cycle is representative of the Roman Church because she (the old woman), like the church, prospers from deceiving people and enticing them to do harmful acts in order to get her money. She is also making the young men psychologically dependent on her in a way, again, not unlike the church. In this work were able to see what happens in a religion and in a culture where written text plays a minor role and also when oral communication (traditions, passed down stories) is left uncontrolled by any textual authority.

feminaw freeaw Kate Chopins The Awakening as a Story of Independence :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Awakening: A Story of Independence Kate Chopin's The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a Southern wife and mother. At the time this novel was published, women did as they were expected by society. They were expected to be good daughters, good wives, and good mothers. A woman was expected to move from the protection of her father's roof to the protection of her husband. Edna did not fit this mold, and that eventually leads her husband to send for a doctor. When her husband does this Edna Pontellier says words, which define The Awakening, "I don't want anything but my own way. That is wanting a good deal, of course, when you have to trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices of others - but no matter"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At first, Edna is married and seems vaguely satisfied with her life. However, she cannot find true happiness. Her "awakening" begins when a persistent young man named Robert begins courting her. Edna begins to respond to him with a passion she has never felt before. She begins to realize that she can play roles other than wife and mother. Throughout the book, Edna takes many steps to increase her independence. She sends her children away, she refuses to stay at home on Tuesdays (as was the social convention of the time), and she frequents races and parties. Unfortunately, her independence proves to be her downfall. Edna remains married, because divorce is unheard of. She wants to marry Robert, but he will not because it will disgrace her to leave her husband. No matter how much Edna exceeds social boundaries and despite what she wants, she is held down by the will of others. In today's world divorce, sadly, is almost commonplace, but in he r time she would have been an outcast of her society. By the end of The Awakening, Edna feels like a possession - of her husband, of her children, and of her society. The only solution she sees is to end her life, which she does by swimming out into the sea until her strength gives out. The theme of The Awakening is deeper than the obvious themes of independence and women's rights. The Awakening presents suicide as a valid solution to problems. People commit suicide because of isolation and loneliness or a serious disruption of one's life. It is easy to connect these with Edna's life: the isolation of her small house, the disruption caused by Adele's death, and the common good of the children.

Algal Biomass

In addition to that, access to carbon dioxide and water areessential. Even though microalgae can produce in the presence of saline water,fresh water is needed in a raceway pond system to compensate for the evaporativeloss depending on the wind velocity, air temperature, and humidity level of thelocation. Temperature is an important element in biomass cultivation. Most algaegrow better in warmer climates ranging from 25-40?. Tropical locations with auniformly warm temperature throughout the year (Chisti, 2016), can act as perfectlocations for algaculture as the temperature doesn't have to be monitored at alltimes, and the algae can adapt to local conditions.There are however some drawbacks while using raceway pond systems, thatrender them sometimes ineffective. Since, carbon dioxide is required to acceleratethe production of microalgae, an accumulation of oxygen can act as a hindrance tothe process. There is no known mechanism in a raceway pond, that helps curb thisaccumulation of oxygen. Peak sunlight hours during the day can hamper with thephotosynthesis, as the level of oxygen may increase to up to three times of the levelin saturated water. For this reason, smaller raceway ponds achieve better resultsthan larger ponds with respect to oxygen removal, and in turn better productivity. Another issue with raceways is the contamination due to exposure to rain, dust andother debris. Smaller ponds may be placed inside, but that can't be said for largerponds. Filtration can help inhibit infestations and contamination of the ponds, but thatis an expensive process.The production cost of biomass with raceways is considered to be the leastexpensive option. The cost of a pond depends on the type of facility it is built in,plastic lined earthen raceways are the least expensive alternatives with their totalcost of construction amounting to be approximately $70,000 per hectare, whereasponds enclosed in greenhouses or covered facilities are more expensive as theyprotect from contamination. Raceways require least amount of capital investmentand therefore remain the system of choice, despite their low productivity anddrawbacks.Photo-bioreactors (PBRs)A photo-bioreactor is a closed equipment which provides a controlledenvironment and enables high productivity of algae. PBRs curb all the problems thatare faced in raceways ponds, like carbon dioxide supply, temperature, optimaloxygen levels, pH levels etc. There are two types of photo-bioreactors- flat-plate andand tubular. Both PBRs are made of transparent materials for maximum solar lightenergy absorption. Flat-plate PBRs are suitable for mass cultivation of algae,because high photosynthetic efficiencies can be achieved. Tubular PBRs aresuitable for outdoor cultivation, and are constructed with either glass or plastic tubes. Systems covering large areas outdoors, consist of tubes exposed to sunlight and canbe operated either in batches or continuously. Photo-bioreactors usually have a4water pool as a temperature control system in order to prevent the tubes fromoverheating as they act as solar receptors. They also have built in cleaning systemfor the tubes without stopping production. Fundamentally, using photo-bioreactorsare more advantageous than using raceways for many reasons, like cultivation ofalgae under controlled environments resulting in higher productivity, protection fromcontamination, space-saving and larger surface to volume ratio. However there aresome limitations attached to PBRs; the capital cost is very high which is impedingthe progress of microalgae biofuel production, in spite of larger production levels. Also, data from the past two decades has shown that the productivity in an enclosePBR is not much higher than that achieved in open-pond cultures.3. Environmental Limitations of Microalgae CultivationAs with all large scale productions, wide scale microalgae biofuel productioncould have diverse environmental impacts. Water is a critical element of the biofuelproduction processes, in both raceway-ponds and PBRs. With the current globalwater crisis, using large amounts of fresh water to compensate for evaporation inopen ponds or to cool PBRs, renders the system economically unviable. Seawater orbrackish water may be used in these functions, but have to be filtered in order toprevent infestation of bacteria, and contamination. Recirculating water is onealternative to curb the usage of water, but that has risks of virus infestations, and theresidues of previously destroyed algae cells. Filtration systems are expensive, andfactor in with the lack of cost effectiveness of these systems.Most microalgae production farms have to be located close to the equator inorder to ensure high levels of production due to the uniformity of the climate, andadequate amount of solar radiation. Another factor is the type of land and terrain thefarm is located in, for instance to install a large raceway pond, a relatively flat land isrequired. The addition of nutrients and fertilisers like nitrogen and phosphorus is alsoessential for algaculture. The amount of nutrients and fertilisers to be usedadditionally depends on the soil porosity and permeability of the land. Algalcultivation requires a lot of fertilisers to make up for the compensation for fossil fuels.Researching and budgeting nutrients and fertilisers is a key concern in research anddevelopment of microalgae cultivation. Algal cultivation requires usage of fossil fuels continuously in a plethora ofways, ranging from electricity consumption during cultivation and natural gas used todry the algae for production. In PBRs, the temperature control for cooling the pipesfrom overheating increases the use of fossil fuels. This use of fossil fuels in algaebiofuel production is paradoxical to the cause and a dire need to optimise the systemto minimise the energy usage is established. That being said, microalgae cultivationfaces a variety of environmental challenges, coming from the location to the type of5algae. Energy conservation and water management are two of the main challengesto be conquered to make the system sustainable in the future.4. Cost EffectivenessThe cost of algae biofuel production is essential to establish to know howsustainable this system can be in the future. The cost of biofuel production dependson a variety of factors, such as the the yield of the biomass, geographical location, oilcontent, scale of production systems etc. Presently, microalgae biofuel production isstill more expensive than normal diesel fuels because of the ongoing R&D, and theambiguity of current knowledge. Chisti in 2007 approximated the cost of productionof algal-oils from a PBR with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons per yearand estimated the cost of $2.80 per litre, considering the oil content to be 30% in thealgae used. This estimation is exclusive of the algal oil to biodiesel conversion costs,logistics, marketing costs and taxes. Due to these high costs of algal-fuel, the utmostimportance during research should be given to cost-saving itself, in an attempt tomake biofuel from microalgae affordable enough to be commercialised in the nearfuture.Open pond systems would ideally be the most economically viable way tocultivate microalgae biofuel, but not without it's set of intrinsic disadvantagesdiscussed earlier in this research paper. As the technology gets increasinglyadvanced, the cost factor multiplies as well making the entire process a lot lesseconomical than what was started with first hand. Improved yield of biomass andnutrient oils (or lipids) would make the production costs drop rapidly.Moreover, to reduce the production costs alternative ways to manage energy andwater consumption have to be devised, a simplified design for PBRs is necessary.Substitutes for fresh water like wastewater and flue gases can contribute to lowercosts of production. Biofuel Production The rapid growth of environmental pollution by the usage of conventionalfossil fuels has sparked a lot of concern globally. The research and development foralternative fuels is one of the principal focuses for every country in an attempt for asustainable and promising future on this planet for all generations. Various optionsare available to us to help us make this shift, however to find a sustainable methodwhich is as promising as it is economically viable is a global challenge. Currently,biomass derived fuels seem to be the most optimistic path.Various ways of harvesting algae have been discussed in this paper, the next step istypically to process the algae in a series of steps which differ from species to6species. One of the most important approaches in biomass production isHydrothermal Liquefaction or HTL.5.1 Hydrothermal LiquefactionHydrothermal Liquefaction employes â€Å"a continuous process that subjectsharvested wet algae to high temperatures and pressures† (Elliot, 2013). Convertingsolid biomass to liquid fuels is not a spontaneous process. The liquid fuels derivedfrom fossil fuels on a large scale took thousands of years to convert biomass tocrude oil and gas. In present day, there are many modern conversion technologies toobtain liquefied fuels from various biomasses, these conversion technologies canfundamentally be classified into biochemical and thermochemical conversion.Biochemical mass usually has low energy density, high moisture content and doesnot have a very viscous physical form. Thermochemical conversions in comparisonare much more viscous as they are converted at very high temperatures in highpressures in the presence of catalysts that make the conversions much more rapid.Simply, Hydrothermal Liquefaction is â€Å"the thermochemical conversion of biomassinto liquid fuels by processing in a hot, pressurized environment for sufficient time tobreak down into solid bio polymeric structure to mainly liquid components†(Gollakota, 2017). Microalgae is, amongst all possible biomass sources, the most efficientand reliable source of wet biomass due to its high photosynthetic efficiency,maximum production levels, and its rapid growth in almost all environments. Overthe years, many thermochemical conversions have made their way, and while eachhas their pros and cons, HTL has come a long way as one of the most appropriateprocesses to tackle thermochemical conversion of wet biomass. Many scientists overthe years have done extensive research pertaining to the development ofhydrothermal liquefaction, such as Beckmann and Elliott who studied the propertiesof oil obtained from HTL of biomass, and gave crucial inputs with respect to the kindof catalysts and other parameters are pertinent to the HTL process to ensuresignificant productivity.5.2 Process MechanismCurrently, the knowledge about HTL process mechanisms is qualitative andneeds a lot more space for research. The mechanism comprises of three majorsteps: depolymerisation, decomposition and recombination. The chemistry behind allthese processes is very complex as the biomass is a complex mixture ofcarbohydrates, proteins, oils etc. Each working mechanism of hydrothermalliquefaction is discussed below.5.2.1 Depolymerisation7In this process the macromolecules of the biomass are dissolves through theirphysical and chemical properties. Depolymerisation makes it easier for the biomassto overcome it's natural qualities and start behaving like fossil fuels. It mimics thegeological processes, that are involved in the production of conventional fossil fuels.The process first grounds the feedstock material into small chunks and mixes it withwater, if the feedstock is fry. This mixture is then put into a pressure vessel reactionchamber where it is heated at a constant volume at a temperature of 250?, themixture is held in these conditions for approximately 15 minutes at the end of whichthe pressure is released and most of the water is boiled off. The resultant concoctionconsists of crude hydrocarbons and solid minerals. The minerals are removed andthe hydrocarbons are sent to the second stage.The disadvantage of this process is that it only breaks down long molecularchains into shorter ones, this implies that smaller molecules like carbon dioxide ormethane cannot be broken down further by depolymerisation. Decomposition or Dehydration The second stage of hydrothermal liquefaction involves the loss of the watermolecule, the carbon dioxide molecule and the acid content. Water at high pressuresand temperatures breaks down the hydrogen bonded structure of celluloses and inturn forms glucose monomers. This is how HTL provides an alternative processroute from microalgae biofuels to hydrocarbon liquid fuels.5.2.3 RecombinationThis is the last step in HTL which is reverse of the two previous processesbecause of the absence of the hydrogen compound. The free radicals are largelyavailable which in turn recombine or repolymerise to form high molecular weight charcompounds.5.3 Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Microalgae:The main advantage of using HTL for microalgae is that it doesn'trequire the predrying of feedstock, yet ensuring a relatively high production. Theprocess of HTL applied to microalgae is similar to treating cellulose but with a fewdifferences, the major one being treating wed feedstock as opposed to dryfeedstock. One of the principally researched issues that will ensure high productivityis a high lipid yield, which is necessary to convert microalgae into biodiesel. Theeffect of significant variables, such as temperature, pressure, volume, biomassconcentration and compositions of algae, catalysts et al. is still under research.During hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae, a rational heat management system8must be put in place that ensures energy efficiency and separation of the endproduct. Current Situation ; Future Viability:In present day, pertaining to all the advantages and disadvantages of HTL,there is sufficient proof that HTL has potential to become a commercialisedtechnology in the future.Biofuels produced using hydrothermal liquefaction are absent of carbon, thisimplies that there are no carbon emissions produced when the biofuel is burnt.Materials like algae use photosynthesis to grow, and therefore use the carbondioxide already present in the atmosphere. The carbon imprint produced by biofuelsis exponentially lower than what is already being experienced by conventional fossilfuels. Hydrothermal Liquefaction is a clean process, which doesn't harm theenvironment by producing harmful gases like ammonia or sulphur. If the technologyis mastered, HTL can pave the way for clean algal biofuels globally, although thereare still a number of challenges to be overcome. Conclusion The cultivation and production of microalgae biofuels is swiftly developing andis receiving attention and funding from global leaders. The rapid increase in worldpopulation, and hence the energy demand is a siren call to devise an alternativeenergy source. Microalgae's versatile qualities make it a promising path to tread onwhen it comes to biofuels. There are various ways to derive biofuels from algae aswe saw in this paper, and also many challenges attached with them. Bio-oil obtainedfrom various processes suffers from various drawbacks such as a high oxygencontent, instability etc, therefore an optimal technique to efficiently convert biomassto biofuel should be researched in order to be able to commercialise the use ofbiofuels in the near future. Making biofuels economically viable in the future is a bigchallenge in itself. Even though, photo-bioreactors promise a bright future in terms ofbiofuel cultivation, the overhead costs attached from cultivating the biofuel to makingit market ready and selling it are still quite high. These high costs of biofuels ascompared to conventional fossil fuels are what render them unready forcommercialisation. However, even with theoretical development and research, abright future for microalgae fossil fuels presents itself.

A Brief History of the Chinese Yuan Currency

Literally translated as the peoples currency the renminbi (RMB) has been the currency of China for over 50 years. It is also known as the Chinese yuan (CNY) and by the symbol  ¥. For many years, the renminbi was pegged to the U.S. dollar. In 2005, it was officially unpegged and as of February 2017, had an exchange rate of 6.8 RMB to $1 U.S. dollar. The Renminbis Beginnings The renminbi was first issued on December 1, 1948, by the Chinese Communist Partys Peoples Bank of China. At that time, the CCP was deep into the civil war with the Chinese Nationalist Party, which had its own currency, and the first issuance of the renminbi was used to stabilize Communist-held areas which assisted in a CCP victory. After the defeat of the Nationalists in 1949, Chinas new government addressed the extreme inflation that plagued the old regime by streamlining its financial system and centralizing foreign exchange management. The Currencys Second Issue In 1955, the Peoples Bank of China, now Chinas central bank, issued its second series of the renminbi that replaced the first at a rate of one new RMB to 10,000 old RMB, which has remained unchanged since. A third series of RMB was issued in 1962 which used multi-color printing technology and used hand-engraved printing plates for the first time. In this period, the RMBs exchange value was unrealistically set with many western currencies which created a large underground market for foreign exchange transactions. With Chinas economic reforms in the 1980s, the RMB was devalued and became more easily traded, creating a more realistic exchange rate. In 1987, a fourth series of RMB was issued featuring a watermark, magnetic ink, and fluorescent ink. In 1999, a fifth series of RMB was issued, featuring Mao Zedong on all notes. Unpegging the Renminbi From 1997 to 2005, the Chinese government pegged the RMB to the United States currency at about 8.3 RMB per dollar, despite criticisms from the United States. On July 21, 2005, the Peoples Bank of China announced that it would lift the peg to the dollar and phase in a flexible mechanism of exchange rates. Following the announcement, the RMB was reevaluated to 8.1 RMB per dollar.