Synthesis of MnO-NiO-SO4 2/ZrO2 solid acid catalyst for methyl ester production from palm fatty acid distillate

Biodiesel is a found promising alternative biofuel to popular fossil fuel because of to its renewable and biodegradable nature and thus is considered as environmentally benign. This paper reports on the synthesis of a novel heterogeneous manganese-nickel doped on sulfated zirconia catalyst (MnO-NiO-SO4−2/ZrO2) by using simple wet impregnation method for biodiesel production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD). The synthesized catalyst was characterized through ammonia temperature programmed desorption (TPD-NH3), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), pyridine adsorption via FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The synthesized catalyst was tested for PFAD through esterification reaction where more than 97% of biodiesel yield was observed under the optimized reaction conditions of 15:1 methanol to PFAD ratio, 70 °C reaction temperature, 3 wt% catalyst loading and 3 h reaction time. The reusability of the catalyst was tested and found that it could be reused for at least five times without significant reduction in activity. Hence, the catalyst was found suitable for biodiesel production from low grade feedstock

Qualitative Analysis of the Factors Associated with Whistleblowing Intentions among Athletes from Six European Countries

Although whistleblowing is thought to represent an effective mechanism for detecting and uncovering doping in sport, it has yet to become a widely adopted practice. Understanding the factors that encourage or discourage whistleblowing is of vital importance for the promotion of this practice and the development of pedagogical material to enhance the likelihood of whistleblowing. The current study employed a qualitative methodology to explore the personal and organisational factors that underpin intentions to blow the whistle or that may lead to engagement in whistleblowing behaviours in sport. Thirty-three competitive athletes across a range of sports took part in a semi-structured interview which sought to explore what they would do should they encounter a doping scenario. Content analysis revealed that whistleblowing is a dynamic process characterised by the interaction of a range of personal and organisational factors in determining the intention to report PED use. These factors included moral reasoning, a desire to keep the matter "in-house", perceived personal costs, institutional attitudes to doping, and social support. Analysis revealed a number of 'intervening events' (Ajzen, 1991), including a perceived lack of organisational protection (e.g., ethical leadership) within some sporting sub-cultures, which present an important obstacle to whistleblowing. The intention to report doping was underpinned by a "fairness loyalty trade-off" which involved athletes choosing to adhere to either fairness norms (which relate to a sense that all people and groups are treated equally) or loyalty norms (which reflect preferential treatment towards an in-group) when deciding whether they would blow the whistle. The promotion of fairness norms that emphasise a group's collective interests might encourage athletes to view whistleblowing as a means of increasing group cohesiveness and effectiveness and thereby increase the likelihood of this practice

A feasibility randomised controlled trial examining the effects of the Anti-Doping Values in Coach Education (ADVICE) mobile application on doping knowledge and attitudes towards doping among grassroots coaches

Objectives: Sports coaches are influential in whether athletes dope, but receive very little anti-doping education, particularly within entry level coaching qualifications. We tested the feasibility of an anti-doping intervention, delivered via a mobile application, which was designed to increase coaches’ knowledge of doping and to reduce favourable doping attitudes. Methods: A two-arm randomised controlled trial, with grassroots coaches who coach young amateur athletes aged between 14 and 18 years of age, was conducted. The Anti-Doping Values in Coach Education (ADVICE) mobile application included modules on fair play, substances, nutritional supplements, rules, and leadership. The primary outcome was the change in doping knowledge, 6 weeks after receiving the mobile application. The secondary outcome was changes in doping attitudes. Results: Grassroots coaches (n=200; aged between 18- and 71-years-old, with between 1- and 42-years coaching experience) from 29 different countries completed baseline assessments, and 85 completed follow-up assessments, and were included in mixed analysis of variance analyses. The intervention increased coaches’ knowledge about doping and also reduced favourable doping attitudes in the experimental arm. Conclusion: The ADVICE mobile application is a feasible method for delivering and increasing grassroots coaches’ knowledge of banned substances and the potential side effects of doping. Mobile application-based resources could facilitate a much wider dissemination of anti-doping education

Impact of Aspergillus fumigatus in allergic airway diseases

For decades, fungi have been recognized as associated with asthma and other reactive airway diseases. In contrast to type I-mediated allergies caused by pollen, fungi cause a large number of allergic diseases such as allergic bronchopulmonary mycoses, rhinitis, allergic sinusitis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Amongst the fungi, Aspergillus fumigatus is the most prevalent cause of severe pulmonary allergic disease, including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), known to be associated with chronic lung injury and deterioration in pulmonary function in people with chronic asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF). The goal of this review is to discuss new understandings of host-pathogen interactions in the genesis of allergic airway diseases caused by A. fumigatus. Host and pathogen related factors that participate in triggering the inflammatory cycle leading to pulmonary exacerbations in ABPA are discussed

Geographic variation in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis is a disease associated with chronic progressive and irreversible dilatation of the bronchi and is characterised by chronic infection and associated inflammation. The prevalence of bronchiectasis is age-related and there is some geographical variation in incidence, prevalence and clinical features. Most bronchiectasis is reported to be idiopathic however post-infectious aetiologies dominate across Asia especially secondary to tuberculosis. Most focus to date has been on the study of airway bacteria, both as colonisers and causes of exacerbations. Modern molecular technologies including next generation sequencing (NGS) have become invaluable tools to identify microorganisms directly from sputum and which are difficult to culture using traditional agar based methods. These have provided important insight into our understanding of emerging pathogens in the airways of people with bronchiectasis and the geographical differences that occur. The contribution of the lung microbiome, its ethnic variation, and subsequent roles in disease progression and response to therapy across geographic regions warrant further investigation. This review summarises the known geographical differences in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis. Further, we highlight the opportunities offered by emerging molecular technologies such as -omics to further dissect out important ethnic differences in the prognosis and management of bronchiectasis.NMRC (Natl Medical Research Council, S’pore)MOH (Min. of Health, S’pore)Published versio

Linguistic dual-tasking: Understanding temporal overlap between production and comprehension

Contains fulltext : 203906.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Radboud University, 07 juni 2019Promotor : Meyer, A.S. Co-promotores : Bögels, S., Hervais-Adelman, A.237 p

Open Papers: How to make your work accessible, why it’s important (& why you should do it)

There is a big push in scientific publishing for researchers to make any papers they publish openly accessible to the public, partially driven by the fact that lots of research is paid by public funds. The traditional publishing system, with subscription-based journals, typically doesn't provide papers free for readers. However, this system is changing, with the introduction of open access journals, and authors self-archiving their work. In this talk, I aim to give an overview of what open access is and give practical information about how you can make your papers open. I'll also discuss why making your papers open is important, both for you as an individual researcher, and for the world in general. There are pros and cons to publishing openly, and we'll talk about these. Aside from publishing manuscripts openly, there is also another type of paper: a preprint. A preprint is a final, non-peer-reviewed version of your manuscript. There has been a recent push for more disciplines to make preprints freely accessible, by uploading them to different preprint repositories. However, there is more concern about the pros, and especially cons, of sharing a preprint. I'll talk more about what a preprint is, how to share it, and discuss why you would - and why you might not - want to share a preprint. Publishing papers - both final versions and preprints - is just the tip of the open science iceberg. At the end of the talk, I'll introduce other areas of open science, and let people know how they can get involved. Bring your open science hats - we want a lot of discussion