Life Cycle Analysis of Biodiesel Blends for Aviation

In the aviation sector, the use of biofuels has increased worldwide, therefore, this study assesses the environmental impact of these mass-based blends, named BK0, BK10, BK20 and BK30, according to their composition (Biodiesel + Kerosene) and the percentage of mass fraction. The study uses life cycle analysis with the SimaPro software and the Ecoinvent database for Colombia. The stages of cultivation, oil extraction and refining were established for biodiesel, while for the kerosene the stages defined were crude oil extraction and its refining. Results show that the stage with the greatest impact is the cultivation and extraction for both the category of freshwater ecotoxicity, acidification and terrestrial eutrophicatio

Effect of ruboxistaurin in patients with diabetic macular edema: Thirty-month results of the randomized PKC-DMES clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of orally administered ruboxistaurin (RBX) as a mesylate salt in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). 1 Design: Multicenter, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 686 patients receiving placebo or RBX orally ( 4, 16, or 32 mg/d) for 30 months. At baseline, patients had DME farther than 300 mu m from the center of the macula, an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study retinopathy severity level from 20 to 47A without prior photocoagulation, and an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity of 75 or more letters in the study eye. The primary study outcome was progression to sight-threatening DME or application of focal/grid photocoagulation for DME. Main Outcome Measure: Masked grading of stereoscopic fundus photographs. Results: The delay in progression to the primary outcome was not statistically significant ( 32 mg of RBX vs placebo, P=.14 [unadjusted]; Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for covariates, hazards ratio=0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-1.0; P=.06). However, application of focal/ grid photocoagulation prior to progression to sight-threatening DME varied by site, and a secondary analysis of progression to sight-threatening DME alone showed that 32 mg of RBX per day reduced progression, compared with placebo (P=.054 [ unadjusted]; Cox proportional hazards model, hazards ratio= 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.47-0.93; P=.02). Conclusions: Although progression to the primary outcome was not delayed, daily oral administration of RBX may delay progression of DME to a sight-threatening stage. Ruboxistaurin was well tolerated in this study