Enyzmed pretreated empty pabn fruit bunch for biofuel production

Lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (1.1nP) enzymes were used to pre-treat empty fruit bunch (EPFB) before pyrolysis. Statistical analysis indicated that at 71.6%, LiP demonstrated greater lignin degradation compared to 67.9% J\1nP. Interestingly, the pretreatment sample has resulted in higher bio-oil yield compared to the untreated sample. Both LiP-treated and MnP-treated EPFB yielded approximately 30 wt% of bio-oil compared to 20 wt% of yield for the untreated sample

Anti N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor encephalitis with ovarian teratoma: a dilemma in diagnosis

We report a rare case of altered mental status in a young patient with immature ovarian teratoma. A 22-year-old woman presented with seizures, hallucination, amnesia and orofacial dyskinesia. Examination and investigation revealed an ovarian massand asalphing-oophorectomy was performed. The histopathological examination result showed an immature teratoma grade 2 with thepresence of immature primitive glial tissue. Her CSF N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor (Anti-NMDAR) antibodytest was positive. N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor antibody associated limbic encephalitis is an autoimmune antibody-mediated neuropsychiatric disorder. Resection of the tumour and immunotherapy resulted in full recovery

Patterns of metacognitive awareness among primary school teachers

The purpose of this study is to identify level and patterns of metacognitive awareness among teachers in primary schools. This study focuses on aspects of declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, planning, monitoring and evaluation of teachers. The study was descriptive in nature. A sample of 100 primary school teachers in Puchong, Selangor answered the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teacher by Cem Balcikanli (2011). The data analysis was carried out using IBM Statistics version 24 to obtain descriptive measures. The results show that levels of metacognitive awareness among teachers are high at ninety three percent (93%). The results also show that there are no significant differences by gender, age, teaching experience, academic qualification and subject of teaching among primary school teachers. The metacognitive framework shows that metacognition knowledge and regulatory expertise were used by individuals to control their cognition. Teachers who have a higher level of metacognitive awareness can produce students with good academic achievement

Influence of metallic and basic sites of Ni-promoted SBA-15 on the mechanistic path of CO2-methanation

The utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) has become an important topic in recent years. As CO2 is one of the main contributors to greenhouse effect and hence to climate change, there is a growing interest in its use as a feedstock in chemical processes. The conversion of CO2 into methane (CH4) has been investigated extensively, using variety of supported metal catalysts including Ni/SBA-15. However, proper design of catalyst preparation is needed to prepare well-dispersed Ni/SBA-15. In addition, the real function of metal and basic sites on the CO2 methanation process over Ni/SBA-15 is still unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study is to synthesis the well-dispersed Ni/SBA-15 for CO2 methanation and investigates the influence of metallic and basic sites of Ni/SBA-15 on the mechanistic path of CO2 methanation. The well-dispersed Ni/SBA-15 were synthesized by studying the effect of TEOS/P123 mass ratios (R1.5, R2.21, R3.0), hydrothermal techniques (Reflux (R) and Teflon (T)) and Ni content (1 – 10 wt%). The properties of Ni/ SBA-15 were determined by XRD, BET, FTIR, TEM, FESEM-EDX, H2-TPR. The CO2 methanation were carried out in a stainless steel fixed-bed reactor and the role of metallic and basic sites on mechanistic path of CO2 methanation were clarified using in-situ FTIR adsorbed pyrrole, H2, CO2 and H2 + CO2. The results revealed that the well-dispersed Ni/SBA-15 was successfully synthesized at TEOS/P123 = 2.21, reflux hydrothermal technique and 5 wt.% Ni, with CO2 conversion = 99.7% and CH4 yield = 98.2% at T = 673 K. The in-situ FTIR studies of adsorbed H2, CO2, and H2 + CO2 confirmed that the CO2 methanation of Ni/SBA-15 proceeded by CO dissociative reaction pathway. Firstly, the CO2 and H2 molecule were dissociated to CO, O, and H atoms on the surface of Ni metal active sites and spillover onto the support to form unidentate carbonates, bidentate carbonates and linear carbonyl as the main adsorption species. Then, these intermediate species were further undergoing hydrogenation with the atomic hydrogen to form CH4 and H2O. In conclusion, well dispersed Ni/SBA-15 was successfully synthesized and the role of metallic and basic sites of Ni/SBA-15 on CO2 methanation were successfully discovered. The metal sites were responsible in the dissociation of CO2 and H2, while the concentration of basic sites influenced the CO2 adsorption ability of the catalyst

Bone health in urban midlife Malaysian women: risk factors and prevention

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors associated with osteoporosis in urban midlife Malaysian women and to assess the effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in bone loss prevention with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a positive control. A total of 514 disease-free, uterus-intact, non-HRT-using women aged 45 years and older were recruited into the study. After initial bone mineral density (BMD) assessments, they were randomized into three groups: GI (control), G2 (lifestyle intervention), and G3 (lifestyle intervention with HRT). The study group was composed of 67.5% Chinese, 27.8% Malay, and 4.2% Indians with a mean age of 51.07+/-5.28 years. Two-fifths were postmenopausal, and the prevalence of osteoporosis was 24.1%, seen predominantly at the hip. Postmenopausal women had significantly lower mean BMD and a higher incidence of osteoporosis compared with the premenopausal women, 42.1% vs. 11.1% (p<0.0005). A lower incidence of osteoporosis was found in women who took calcium supplementation regularly as opposed to those who do not, 18.7% vs. 29.3% (p=0.036). Age and a greater postmenopausal duration showed a significant negative association with BMD, whereas higher family income, weight, body mass index, and waist and hip circumference were positively correlated. After 18-20 months, the effect of intervention was assessed based on BMD values of 279 women at baseline and after intervention. Lifestyle intervention alone was effective in premenopausal women, preventing over 90% of spinal bone loss compared with the controls, who lost 11.6% (0.046 g/cm2) bone mass with similar losses of hip bone, 2.0% (0.026 g/cm2) vs. 1.5% (0.020 g/cm2). Premenopausal women on HRT also showed a substantial decrease in spine and hip BMD, 18.6% (0.081 g/cm2) and 9.0% (0.122 g/cm2), respectively. The lifestyle intervention program retarded postmenopausal bone loss by 21% and 37% compared with controls, who lost 9.6% (0.141 g/cm2) and 6.0% (0.138 g/cm2) bone mass at the spine and hip. In comparison, lifestyle intervention with HRT increased postmenopausal BMD by 12.7% (0.216 g/cm2) at the spine and 1.9% (0.042 g/cm2) at the hip. The changes in hip BMD were influenced by current age, ethnicity, and income, while intervention had the strongest effect on spine BMD changes. In conclusion, lifestyle intervention prevented spinal bone loss in premenopausal women and retarded postmenopausal spine and hip bone loss compared with controls. The benefits of physical activity on spine and hip BMD highlight its potential as a safe and cost-effective alternative to HRT, which is not advocated because of its potential adverse effects