Synthesis Of Hydroxyl-Alkoxylate Fatty Esters From Methyl Esters Of Palm Fatty Acid Distillate And Their Potential Application As Lubricant-Based Stock

Methyl ester of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD-ME) was used to synthesize hydroxyl-alkoxylate fatty esters via epoxidation of its double bonds in the fatty acid chains and alcohol oxirane group cleavage reaction. The effects of reaction temperature, molar ratio of the hydrogen peroxide to PFAD-ME unsaturation and molar ratio of the formic acid to the unsaturation on the epoxidation of PFAD-ME were studied. The study showed that more than 98% conversion of the unsaturation to epoxide ring moiety could be achieved within 3 hours of reaction period without any catalyst with the molar ratio of unsaturation: formic acid: hydrogen peroxide of 1:1:4 respectively and reaction temperature of 50 °C. For the epoxy ring opening process, optimization was also studied by changing various reaction parameters. The amount of boron trifluoride ethyl etherate, the catalyst used for the ring opening reaction of the epoxidized PFAD-ME with 2-ethyhexanol, was 0.75 % (wt/wt). The ring-opening reaction was carried out at 70 °C for 3 hours.Other primary alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, iso-butanol, n-pentanol, and n-hexanol were also used for the ring opening reaction of the epoxidized PFAD-ME. The viscosity of the products improved by around 85% as compared to those of the epoxidized PFAD-ME and original PFAD-ME. Although their pour points were similar to that of the PFAD-ME of which was 18 °C, the cloud point of the hydroxyl-alkoxylates decreased as the carbon chain of the alcohol used was increased. The RBOT time increased from 27.9 min for the PFAD-ME to 120.4 min for epoxidized PFAD-ME indicating that introduction of the epoxy group in the PFAD-ME increased its polarity. However, oxidation stability of the hydroxylalkoxylate fatty ester after reacting with 2-ethylhexoxyl groups was slightly better than that of the PFAD-ME. When the thermal stability of the products was examined using TGA/DTG, it was observed that the decomposition temperature increased from 290 °C for PFAD-ME and epoxidized PFAD-ME to around 390 °C for the hydroxylalkoxylate samples

Longshi

LONGSHI is a Graduate Thesis film, a M.F.A Thesis at the Rochester Institute of Technology 2009, made by Pei-Cheng Lee. LONGSHI is a story about a man in search of a legendary treasure which is very valuable in the historical record. The reality of this treasure is actually a trap set up by barbarians to attract the greedy. The film is a 3D computer animation, created primarily using Autodesk MAYA 8.5 for production, Adobe Photoshop, After Effect, and Premiere for pre and post-production. This film＇s technical aspects focus on texturing, lighting and compositing to represent an illustration-style animation. The following paper will describe its techniques and aesthetic concept

The Effect Of Peroxisome Proliferatorr Activated Receptor Gamma (Pparγ) On The Expression Of Foxp3, Tigit, Icos And Histone Proteins In Natural T-Regulatory Cells

Natural T Regulatory (nTreg) cells represent approximately 8-10% of the total CD4+ T cell population. These cells are crucial for immune homeostasis and autoimmunity prevention. Previous study showed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) ligands suppress Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) expression in nTreg cells following 72 hours in vitro culture. Current study was performed to elucidate the effects of PPARγ ligands on T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) and Inducible T cell costimulator (ICOS) expressions in activated nTreg cells isolated from Balb/c mice. We also focused on histone modifications on FoxP3 gene expression in activated nTreg cells following PPARγ ligand, 15-Deoxy-△(12,14)-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) and its inhibitor, GW9662 treatment in type 1 diabetes (T1D) mouse model. Spleens of Balb/c, NOD and NOR mice were harvested through cervical dislocation. CD4+CD25+ cells were isolated using MoFlow automated sorter or Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) magnetic separation and purity was analyzed by flow cytometry method. Isolated CD4+CD25+ cells were cultured for 72 hours in supplemented RPMI in the presence of anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies and IL-2 cytokine. In Balb/c mice, sorted cells treated with or without 15d-PGJ2 or ciglitazone for TIGIT and ICOS surface marker profiling. In NOD/NOR mice, isolated cells were treated with 15d-PGJ2 or ciglitazone with or without GW9662 inhibitor

Covid-19: Protecting lives and livelihoods

After more than one month of Movement Control Order (MCO), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced a partial lifting to Conditional MCO (CMCO) to allow some economic sectors to operate. Companies, however, must adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) outlined by the Ministry of Health, leading to mixed reactions. On one hand, business owners were happy with the decision allowing them to resume operations while another segment of society feels that the decision may cause another wave of infections