The Effects of Long-Term Storage on the Quality of Palm Oil Biodiesel and Canola Oil Biodiesel

Effective storage of biodiesel has proven to be a challenge, which the Indonesian government has invested billions of Indonesian rupiahs (IDR) in to overcome. It is thus important to investigate how different storage methods can affect the quality of biodiesel. The purpose of this study was to determine how storage at room temperature in the dark affects the quality of palm oil biodiesel (POB) and canola oil biodiesel (COB). POB and COB were stored in closed containers at 22 °C in the dark for 12 months. The results showed that POB was more significantly damaged than COB. This study found increases of density (POB by 51.52 kg/m3 and COB by 17.52 kg/m3), kinematic viscosity (POB by 0.67 mm2/s and COB by 0.32 mm2/s), acid value (POB by 0.27 mg-KOH/g and COB by 0.25 mg-KOH/g), total glycerol (POB by 0.58%-mass and COB by 0.60%-mass), and peroxide value (POB by 48 meq-O2/kg and COB by 54 meq-O2/kg), whereas there were decreases in fatty acid methyl esters (POB by 7.11%-mass and COB by 9.36%-mass). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results for POB and COB showed decreases in 9-octadecenoic acid methyl ester and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-methyl ester, and increases in 9-octadecenoic acid and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results revealed the presence of methyl ester functional groups. The storage of biodiesel in a closed container at 22 °C in the dark can minimize biodiesel oxidation, as evidenced by the findings of this study, namely, the insignificant formation of ketone and aldehyde groups in the biodiesel oxidation process during storage, based on the results of FTIR

The Effects of Alpha Adrenergic Blockade on Arachidonic Acid Metabolism and Shock Sequelae during Septic Shock in the Rat

Increased activity of the alpha adrenergic nervous system may be a significant factor promoting tissue ischemia in endotoxic shock. The suggestion that increased sympathetic activity affects prostaglandin synthesis prompted investigation of the potential interaction between the adrenergic nervous system and arachidonic acid metabolites during endotoxemia and septicemia. In addition, the possibility that the underlying patterns of arachidonic acid metabolites seen in two different shock models may provide a rationale for therapeutic intervention designed to block either or both the synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites or the activity of the adrenergic nervous system was examined. Studies were undertaken to determine the effects of the alpha receptor antagonist, phenoxybenzamine (POB), and the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin (INDO), on plasma thromboxane (TxA2) and prostacyclin (PGI2) in endotoxin-induced shock. Rats were pretreated with POB (1 mg/kg i.v.) and/or INDO (10 mg/kg i.v.) 30 minutes prior to i.v. administration of 8 mg/kg S. enteritidis endotoxin (LD80). Animals were bled at 30 minutes and 4 hours post-endotoxin for determination of blood glucose, plasma beta-glucuronidase (BG), aspartate amino transferase (AST), and hematocrit as indicators of shock severity. Plasma was also taken at these intervals for radioimmunoassay of the stable immunoreactive metabolites of TxA2 and PGI2, iTxB2 and i6-keto-PGF1a, respectively. Pretreatment with INDO alone reduced endotoxin-induced hypoglycemia (P\u3c0.05). POB pretreatment reduced hypoglycemia, hemoconcentration and beta glucuronidase (P\u3c0.05). The combination of POB and INDO resulted in the improvement of all these indices of shock severity (P\u3c0.05). Rats pretreated with POB and INDO alone or conjointly also exhibited significantly (P\u3c0.05) enhanced survival compared to shocked control rats. Elevations in arachidonic acid metabolites were attenuated by POB pretreatment. In endotoxin-treated rats (15 mg/kg i.v.), the mean plasma iTxB2 value at 30 mins post-endotoxin was 1532 ± 319 pg/ml (N=10). POB pretreatment decreased iTxB2 to 719 ± 114 pg/ml (N=10) (P\u3c.05). Plasma i6-keto-PGF1a was increased at 4 hrs after endotoxin to 4161 ± 885 pg/ml (N=5) in shocked controls. POB attenuated this increase to 1184 ± 363 pg/ml (N=4) (P\u3c0.05). The data demonstrate that the alpha receptor antagonist POB inhibits the increased synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites seen in endotoxemia. The reduction in more indices of shock severity in rats receiving combined POB and INDO pretreatment suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents may be an effective adjunct to alpha adrenergic blocking agents in endotoxin shock. Other experiments were undertaken to: 1) determine the effects of POB and INDO, individually, on mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and MAP response to injected norepinephrine (NE) in control rats and endotoxin shocked rats, 2) assess the effect of POB on iTxB2 and i6-keto-PGF1a synthesis, and 3) determine the effects of POB and INDO, independently and conjointly, on survival from shock induced by intraperitoneal injection of feces. The data demonstrate that POB (1 mg/kg) leads to a reduction in MAP in unshocked rats, but does not significantly exacerbate endotoxin-induced hypotension. POB administration also effected a 60% - 90% reduction in the MAP response to injection of NE in shocked and unshocked rats. No consistent effect on heart rate in shocked and unshocked animals was observed with POB. Pretreatment with INDO (10 mg/kg) did not significantly alter MAP, HR, or the MAP response to exogenous NE in normal rats and rats challenged with endotoxin. In the intraabdominal sepsis model (LD100 within 48 hrs), pretreatment with POB did not increase survival time while INDO, independently or conjointly with POB, prolonged survival time compared to controls and animals treated only with POB (P\u3c0.05). Treatments did not alter mortality (100% within 48 hrs). The effect of the combination of INDO + POB on survival time was not significantly different from that of INDO alone (P\u3e0.05). Preliminary results suggest that POB pretreatment may suppress the elevations of iTxB2 and i6-keto-PGF1a in this shock model. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the prevailing plasma levels of iTxB2 and i6-keto-PGF1a, which have different patterns in the two shock models studied, may play a role in determining the therapeutic efficacy of POB

The Effects of Long-Term Storage on the Quality of Palm Oil Biodiesel and Canola Oil Biodiesel

Effective storage of biodiesel has proven to be a challenge, which the Indonesian government has invested billions of Indonesian rupiahs (IDR) in to overcome. It is thus important to investigate how different storage methods can affect the quality of biodiesel. The purpose of this study was to determine how storage at room temperature in the dark affects the quality of palm oil biodiesel (POB) and canola oil biodiesel (COB). POB and COB were stored in closed containers at 22 °C in the dark for 12 months. The results showed that POB was more significantly damaged than COB. This study found increases of density (POB by 51.52 kg/m3 and COB by 17.52 kg/m3), kinematic viscosity (POB by 0.67 mm2/s and COB by 0.32 mm2/s), acid value (POB by 0.27 mg-KOH/g and COB by 0.25 mg-KOH/g), total glycerol (POB by 0.58%-mass and COB by 0.60%-mass), and peroxide value (POB by 48 meq-O2/kg and COB by 54 meq-O2/kg), whereas there were decreases in fatty acid methyl esters (POB by 7.11%-mass and COB by 9.36%-mass). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results for POB and COB showed decreases in 9-octadecenoic acid methyl ester and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-methyl ester, and increases in 9-octadecenoic acid and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results revealed the presence of methyl ester functional groups. The storage of biodiesel in a closed container at 22 °C in the dark can minimize biodiesel oxidation, as evidenced by the findings of this study, namely, the insignificant formation of ketone and aldehyde groups in the biodiesel oxidation process during storage, based on the results of FTIR

A Multiple Case Study of the Influence of Positive Organizational Behavior on Human Resources

Organizations are looking for ways to have higher employee engagement and productive employees. A way that this may be accomplished is through Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) practices. There is a lack of knowledge surrounding the successes and failures of implementing a POB culture by human resource departments (HRDs). The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study design was to explore the influence POB practices have on HRDs. Specifically, the research helped to gain an understanding of how a POB strategy operates and affects HRDs. Items examined in the conceptual framework include a foundation in positive psychology theories and human resource (HR) theories. The elements of HRDs that can affect POB are culture, group dynamics, job design, and policies and procedures. The outputs of the system include employee morale, company profitability, employee productivity, and employee engagement. The research questions centered on discovering how HRDs achieve a POB culture based on their policies, procedures, funding, structure, and internal and external relationships. The research questions explored how a POB culture has affected the HRDs positively and negatively. Thirty-one participants\u27 from13 different companies provided the data. The findings cause social change by providing HR professionals insight into POB practices that increase employees\u27 job satisfaction, team productivity, and organizational profitability. The outcomes create social change by allowing individuals to have increased job and life satisfaction

Professional or amateur? The phonological output buffer as a working memory operator

The Phonological Output Buffer (POB) is thought to be the stage in language production where phonemes are held in working memory and assembled into words. The neural implementation of the POB remains unclear despite a wealth of phenomenological data. Individuals with POB impairment make phonological errors when they produce words and non-words, including phoneme omissions, insertions, transpositions, substitutions and perseverations. Errors can apply to different kinds and sizes of units, such as phonemes, number words, morphological affixes, and function words, and evidence from POB impairments suggests that units tend to substituted with units of the same kind-e.g., numbers with numbers and whole morphological affixes with other affixes. This suggests that different units are processed and stored in the POB in the same stage, but perhaps separately in different mini-stores. Further, similar impairments can affect the buffer used to produce Sign Language, which raises the question of whether it is instantiated in a distinct device with the same design. However, what appear as separate buffers may be distinct regions in the activity space of a single extended POB network, connected with a lexicon network. The self-consistency of this idea can be assessed by studying an autoassociative Potts network, as a model of memory storage distributed over several cortical areas, and testing whether the network can represent both units of word and signs, reflecting the types and patterns of errors made by individuals with POB impairment

The internationalization of Malaysian palm oil firms: The role of network relationships / Anuar Md Nor

There have been many studies conducted on multinationals from large developing Asian countries such as China and India. The multinationals from smaller Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, are also active in investing outside their countries. In particular, the Malaysian multinationals are establishing large-scale oil palm plantations in Indonesia. The Malaysian palm oil-based multinationals, which are defined as POB MNCs, need to invest in Indonesia as they are facing limited suitable lands to plant oil palms domestically. They also have to rely on immigrants labour for their Malaysian oil palm plantations. As a result, the POB MNCs’ costs of palm oil production in Malaysia are higher as compared to the costs in Indonesia. The POB MNCs’ operations in Indonesia will have a major impact on their long-term business viability as their Malaysian oil palm operations would continue to incur higher production costs. The palm oil industry is important to the Malaysian economy. Thus, the POB MNCs need to be supported by the Malaysian government to develop competitive advantages to operate successfully in Malaysia and Indonesia. The competitive advantages of the POB MNCs have been their superior oil palm plantation management techniques and skilled estate managers, both of which had been accumulated over decades. This study examines the role of network relationships in the Malaysian palm oil industry, and how the network relationships contribute to firm competitive advantages of the POB MNCs. A qualitative research method was used to gather primary data on network relationships by interviewing a sample of informants

The Perils of Positivity

The passion and productivity that characterizes research on positive organizational behavior (POB) is impressive. Yet POB research is accumulating so rapidly that it may exceed what the field's conceptual, methodological, and ideological foundation can bear. I discuss here six concerns prompted by the articles in this special issue. These concerns are (1) the emphasis of positive organizational scholarship on individual-level phenomena, (12) the ahistorical character of POB research and writing, (3) the construct validity of key concepts, (4) over-reliance on a particular research strategy, (5) implicit acceptance of fundamental flaws in how work and organizations are designed, and (6) the seductiveness of new research paradigms.Psycholog

Audit market structure, fees and choice in a period of structural change: evidence from the UK – 1998–2003

This paper presents evidence on audit market concentration and auditor fee levels in the UK market in the crucial period of structural change following the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) merger and encompassing Andersen’s demise (1998–2003). Given the current interest in auditor choice, analysis is also undertaken at the individual audit firm level and by industry sector. There is evidence of significant upward pressure on audit fees since 2001 but only for smaller auditees. Audit fee income for top tier auditors (Big 5/4) did not change significantly while the number of auditees fell significantly, consistent with a move towards larger, less risky, clients. A decomposition analysis of the aggregate Big 5/4 concentration ratio changes over the period identifies the impact of four distinct consumer-based reasons for change: leavers; net joiners; non-par auditor switches; and (only for the audit fees measure) audit fee changes. Andersen’s demise markedly reduced the level of inequality among the top tier firms but PwC retained its position as a ‘dominant firm’. On switching to the new auditor, former Andersen clients experienced an initial audit fee rise broadly in line with inflation, with no evidence of fee premia or discounting. They also reported significantly lower NAS fees, consistent with audit firms and auditees responding to public concerns about perceptions of auditor independence. There is no general evidence of knowledge spillover effects or cross-subsidisation of the audit fee by NAS. The combined findings provide no evidence to indicate that recent structural changes have resulted in anticompetitive pricing; the key concerns remain the lack of audit firm choice and issues concerning the governance and accountability of audit firms

About the POB

Original copied from POB Web sitehttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_assoc/1205/thumbnail.jp