Biofuel Production from Chinese Tallow Tree Seeds Using Microwave Technology

In-situ transesterification (simultaneous extraction and transesterification) of Chinese tallow tree seeds into methyl esters using two microwave systems were investigated in this study. In the first part, utilizing a batch system, parameters tested were catalyst concentration (1-4 wt.%), solvent ratio (2-6 v/w), reaction time (15-60 min) and temperature (50-70°C). A high degree of oil extraction and efficient conversion of oil to biodiesel were found in the proposed range. The process was further optimized in terms of product yields and conversion rates using Dohlert optimization methodology. Based on the experimental results and statistical analysis, the optimal production yield conditions for this process were determined as: catalyst concentration of 1.74 wt.%, solvent ratio about 3 (v/w), reaction time of 20 min and temperature of 58.1°C. GC and H-NMR were used to profile the fatty acid methyl esters and reaction conversion, respectively. All methyl esters produced using this method met ASTM biodiesel quality specifications. For the second part, a continuous In-situ transesterification of the seeds using a microwave-assisted CSTR system was investigated with determination of kinetic parameters. A high production yield of 90.02% with 97.53% conversion rate was obtained in 24 min CSTR residence time at a methanol/hexane/CTT seed ratio of 3:3:1 (v/v/w), a microwave heating power of 290 W and 14 sec exposure time, reaction temperature of 60°C and sodium hydroxide catalyst loading of 4% wt. of oil. The experimental data fits the first order reaction kinetics. The values of rate constants at different temperatures and the corresponding activation energy were found out to be 0.083-0.087 min -1 and 1987.82 J/mol, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters values such as Gibbs free energy (ÄG), enthalpy (ÄH) and entropy of activation (ÄS) were also determined. The positive values of ÄG and small negative value of ÄH indicated that the reaction has an unspontaneous/endergonic nature and is slightly exothermic

A BIM Compatible Schema for Architectural Programming Information

Having access to architectural programming information that documents the predesign requirements for the building throughout the lifecycle of a building can add value to design evaluation, facility management, renovation and extension. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a new approach to manage the information that represents the characteristics of a building throughout its lifecycle. Architectural programming, although a key part of Architecture/Engineering/Construction/Operations (AECO) processes, has not been well integrated into Building Information Modeling (BIM) standards. Although research for many years has established computational data models for a BIM, there is not yet a comprehensive and standard data model to store architectural programming information that is compatible with BIM data modeling standards. This study investigated the possibility for a Universal Format for an Architectural Program Of Requirements (UFPOR) that can connect the architectural programming information to the BIM. Three well-known formats for architectural programming were analyzed to produce data models representing each format. The data models were further analyzed and compared to form a common data model that can bring together all three formats, producing a Universal Format for Architectural Program Of Requirements (UFPOR). The capabilities of UFPOR in representing PORs from the industry was further analyzed by modeling a POR excerpt using UFPOR. In the next phase, the data schema for the industry standard International Foundation Classes (IFC), which represents Building Information Models, was analyzed to explore its capabilities in supporting architectural programming information. Previous attempts to use IFC in documenting architectural programming information were reviewed and analyzed. The findings were compared with UFPOR to evaluate the capabilities of IFC in supporting a universal format for architectural programming. The result was a subset of IFC that can partially represent UFPOR (UFPOR-IFC). The limitations of IFC to fully support UFPOR are also discussed. In the next phase, a computer application prototype (Target) was developed based on the findings of the previous phase to demonstrate how a limited subset of architectural programming requirements can be represented in IFC based on UFPOR-IFC. The output of the application was tested to ensure the IFC physical files produced by the application accurately reflect the data inserted by the application’s user. UFPOR-IFC was tested by modeling two architectural programming documents to assess the external credibility of the findings. The devised system offers a blueprint for creating a link between real-world Architectural Programs and BIM models through IFC physical files. For future work, the findings of the study can be further analyzed by testing the extensibility of the UFPOR-IFC in modeling architectural programming requirements in different subdomains such as lighting, earthquake resilience, and acoustics. Enhancement of IFC to fully support UFPOR could also be investigated and devised. The capabilities of UFPOR-IFC to create a link between UFPOR information and other BIM models should be further tested and analyzed

Specificity of Methylation Assays in Cancer Research: A Guideline for Designing Primers and Probes

DNA methylation is an epigenetic regulation mechanism of genomic function, and aberrant methylation pattern has been found to be a common event in many diseases and human cancers. A large number of cancer studies have been focused on identification of methylation changes as biomarkers (i.e., breast cancer). However, still clinical use of them is very limited because of lack of specificity and sensitivity for diagnostic test. This highlights the critical need for specific primer and probe design to avoid false-positive detection of methylation profiling. The guideline and online web tools that are introduced in this paper might help to perform a successful experiment and to develop specific diagnosis biomarkers by designing right primer pair and probe prior to experimental step

Methylation profile of TP53 regulatory pathway and mtDNA alterations in breast cancer patients lacking TP53 mutations

The present study investigated promoter hypermethylation of TP53 regulatory pathways providing a potential link between epigenetic changes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alterations in breast cancer patients lacking a TP53 mutation. The possibility of using the cancer-specific alterations in serum samples as a blood-based test was also explored. Triple-matched samples (cancerous tissues, matched adjacent normal tissues and serum samples) from breast cancer patients were screened for TP53 mutations, and the promoter methylation profile of P14ARF, MDM2, TP53 and PTEN genes was analyzed as well as mtDNA alterations, including D-loop mutations and mtDNA content. In the studied cohort, no mutation was found in TP53 (DNA-binding domain). Comparison of P14ARF and PTEN methylation patterns showed significant hypermethylation levels in tumor tissues (P < 0.05 and <0.01, respectively) whereas the TP53 tumor suppressor gene was not hypermethylated (P < 0.511). The proportion of PTEN methylation was significantly higher in serum than in the normal tissues and it has a significant correlation to tumor tissues (P < 0.05). mtDNA analysis revealed 36.36% somatic and 90.91% germline mutations in the D-loop region and also significant mtDNA depletion in tumor tissues (P < 0.01). In addition, the mtDNA content in matched serum was significantly lower than in the normal tissues (P < 0.05). These data can provide an insight into the management of a therapeutic approach based on the reversal of epigenetic silencing of the crucial genes involved in regulatory pathways of the tumor suppressor TP53. Additionally, release of significant aberrant methylated PTEN in matched serum samples might represent a promising biomarker for breast cance

Assessing the value of CAN-gene mutations using MALDI-TOF MS

Purpose: To identify cancer-linked genes, Sjöblom et al. and Wood et al. performed a genome-wide mutation screening in human breast and colorectal cancers. 140 CAN-genes were found in breast cancer, which in turn contained overall 334 mutations. These mutations could prove useful for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Methods: We used a MALDI-TOF MS 40-plex assay for testing 40 loci within 21 high-ranking breast cancer CAN-genes. To confirm mutations, we performed single-plex assays and sequencing. Results: In general, the mutation rate of the analyzed loci in our sample cohort was very low. No mutation from the 40 loci analyzed could be found in the 6 cell lines. In tissue samples, a single breast cancer tissue sample showed heterozygosity at locus c.5834G>A within the ZFYVE26 gene (Zinc finger FYVE domain-containing gene 26). Conclusions: Sjöblom et al./Wood et al. already showed that the vast majority of CAN-genes are mutated at very low frequency. Due to the fact that we only found one mutation in our cohort, we therefore assume that at the selected loci, mutations might be low-frequency events and therefore, more rarely detectable. However, further evaluation of the CAN-gene mutations in larger cohorts should be the aim of further studie

Knowledge and attitude of dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences about substance abuse in 2013

The increase in substance abuse among youths and its complications form one of the most pressing health problems among students as an important and vulnerable group in society. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences  regarding substance abuse in 2013. This is a descriptive-analytic cross sectional study carried out on dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences   regarding substance abuse in 2013. 604 male and female students living in the dormitories were selected via random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher based on the questionnaire used by Dehghan, and on a review of relevant literature and expert opinion obtained from professors of the field. Data were analyzed by SPSS16 using descriptive and analytical tests (Pearson correlation, T-test and chi-square). The mean score of knowledge of dormitory students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was 9.86±2.13. Most students (65.6%) had moderate knowledge about drugs. The subjects' mean score on attitude was 61.99±10.10. Most students (58.3%) had moderate positive attitudes towards drugs. Students are considered as major assets of a country. Therefore, planning and developing intervention strategies to prevent and reduce substance abuse among university students is essential and plays a major role in improving their health.

The Study of Knowledge, attitude and practice towards physical activity and its Related Factorsof College Students Living on Campus in Shahid Beheshti University of medical science

Regular physical activity has a positive effect on physical, mental, and social aspects of individual and community health. Regarding prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as primary hypertension, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases that sedentary is responsible for them; health policy makers plan to encourage people to do more physical activity. In this study, knowledge, attitude and practice towards physical activity and its related factors of students living on campus at Shahid Beheshti university of medical science were determined.In this descriptive analytic survey, 665 individuals college students living on campus at Shahid Beheshti university of medical science were selected by clustering sampling method. Data collected using  questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS16 software.54.9% of the subjects were female and 45.1% male. Mean age of participants was 21.82 years for female and 22.76 years for male. Mean scores of knowledge was 73±1.72 for male and 78.90 ±1.66 for female. In addition mean scores of attitude was 79.18 for male and 74.33 for female and mean scores of practice was 228.78 minute per week for male and 174.41minute per week for female.Results indicated that students had no optimal practice towards physical activity. Thus, more attention is necessary to be paid by authorities to this specific topic and some measures are essential in training students

Perceived social support, depression, and perceived stress in university students

      Psychological disorders are universally common problems. Social support contributes much to the health of individuals. Focusing upon social support and upon vicissitudes of life can help prevent the depression-induced disorders. The present paper investigated the relationship between perceived social support, depression and perceived stress in university students.The descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 390 students living in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sceince campus, whom were selected based on a simple random selection method. The related questionnaires of multidimensional scales of perceived social support, Beck’s depression, and perceived stress then were distributed during midterm among students to collect the necessary data. Data was fed into SPSS 16 and analysed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, Chi-square, and Fisher exact test.Our results indicated that 49.7 per cent of students suffered from specific degrees of depression. 30.5 per cent of students had given educational progress and employment as sources of stress in living in the campus. The perceived social support scores were 28.32±9.56, depression, 12.10±9.02, and for perceived stress was 26.84±8.27. A significant relationship was shown to be between perceived social support, depression, and perceived stress (p&lt;0.001) The conclusion made in the paper is that considering depression and stress is crucial to the health of the students. Also, forming workgroups to increase social support for students can help alleviates depression and stress in university students

Integrated Epigenetics of Human Breast Cancer: Synoptic Investigation of Targeted Genes, MicroRNAs and Proteins upon Demethylation Treatment

The contribution of aberrant DNA methylation in silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and microRNAs has been investigated. Since these epigenetic alterations are reversible, it became of interest to determine the effects of the 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (DAC) demethylation therapy in breast cancer at different molecular levels

Hypermethylation of Tumor Suppressor Genes Involved in Critical Regulatory Pathways for Developing a Blood-Based Test in Breast Cancer

Aberrant DNA methylation patterns might be used as a biomarker for diagnosis and management of cancer patients