Investigation of ethyl biodiesel via transesterification of rice bran oil: bioenergy from residual biomass in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil

The energy sector in Brazil produces liquid biofuels as bioethanol and biodiesel. The most common technique to produce biodiesel is the transesterification of oils extracted from biomass. Rice processing generates grain bran, an agricultural residue. Brazil is one of the main countries that produce this grain. Therefore, the objective of this study was to produce a renewable biofuel using vegetable oil from grain bran via homogeneous basic transesterification. There are only three experimental studies reported in the literature on the production of biodiesel from rice bran oil via alkaline transesterification. Furthermore, the studies do not include results regarding biodiesel acidity, iodine, saponification and moisture content. Although potassium hydroxide (KOH) is the most commonly deployed alkaline catalyst in industrial biodiesel production, there are no reports regarding ethyl biodiesel production using rice bran oil with this catalyst. Therefore, this study applied a factorial arrangement in the experimental phase to produce ethyl biodiesel from rice bran oil using KOH as a catalyst on transesterification. The factors including reaction time, alcohol/oil molar ratio and amount of catalyst allowed to determine the best conditions for biodiesel production. To determine the viability of the biodiesel production, it was necessary to analyze the main parameters required by the national standards, which were kinematic viscosity, iodine index, acidity index, saponification index and moisture. All the yielded biodiesel were complied with the standards of ANP, ASTM and EN, except kinematic viscosity, which ranged from 8.061 to 22.791 mm2s-1. According to the conditions of the factorial arrangement, the calculated kinematic viscosity indicated the need to raise the proportion of catalyst and/or the molar ratio between ethanol and KOH The lower kinematic viscosity, around 8–9 mm2s-1, occurred with 1.5% catalyst and, in general, with molar ratio 9:1. These results suggest that future studies could explore the production of high-quality ethyl biodiesel using rice bran vegetable oil. According to the results, it represents a viable possibility to produce fully renewable and sustainable biodiesel within the socio-economic, environmental and agricultural context in Brazil

Risk perception among Brazilian individuals with high risk for colorectal cancer and colonoscopy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Risk perception is considered a motivating factor for adopting preventive behaviors. This study aimed to verify the demographic characteristics and cancer family history that are predictors of risk perception and to verify if risk perception is a predictor of colonoscopy adherence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Individuals with a family colorectal cancer history as indicated by a proband with cancer were interviewed by telephone. They responded to a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, colonoscopy history and four questions on risk perception. Tests of multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used to identify associations between dependent and independent variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 117 participants belonged to 62 families and had a mean age of 45.2 years. The majority of these individuals were female (74.4%) and from families who met the Amsterdam Criteria (54.7%). The average risk perception was 47.6%, with a median of 50%. The average population perception of individual risk was 55.4%, with a median of 50%. Variables associated with a higher risk perception were age, gender, religion, school level, income, and death of a family member. The variable predicting colonoscopy was receiving medical information regarding risk (odds ratio OR 8.40).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found that family cancer history characteristics (number of relatives with cancer, risk classification) are associated with adequate risk perception. Risk perception does not predict colonoscopy in this sample. The only variable that predicted colonoscopy was receiving medical information recommending screening.</p

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

Peer reviewe

Precise determination of the mass of the Higgs boson and tests of compatibility of its couplings with the standard model predictions using proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for Dark Matter and Supersymmetry with a Compressed Mass Spectrum in the Vector Boson Fusion Topology in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the production cross section ratio σ(χb2(1P))/σ(χb1(1P))in pp collisions at √s=8TeV

A measurement of the production cross section ratio σ(χb2(1P))/σ(χb1(1P))σ(χb2(1P))/σ(χb1(1P)) is presented. The χb1(1P)χb1(1P) and χb2(1P)χb2(1P) bottomonium states, promptly produced in pp collisions at View the MathML sources=8 TeV, are detected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC through their radiative decays χb1,2(1P)→ϒ(1S)+γχb1,2(1P)→ϒ(1S)+γ. The emitted photons are measured through their conversion to e+e−e+e− pairs, whose reconstruction allows the two states to be resolved. The ϒ(1S)ϒ(1S) is measured through its decay to two muons. An event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.7 fb−120.7 fb−1 is used to measure the cross section ratio in a phase-space region defined by the photon pseudorapidity, |ηγ|<1.0|ηγ|<1.0; the ϒ(1S)ϒ(1S) rapidity, |yϒ|<1.5|yϒ|<1.5; and the ϒ(1S)ϒ(1S) transverse momentum, View the MathML source7<pTϒ<40 GeV. The cross section ratio shows no significant dependence on the ϒ(1S)ϒ(1S) transverse momentum, with a measured average value of View the MathML source0.85±0.07(stat+syst)±0.08(BF), where the first uncertainty is the combination of the experimental statistical and systematic uncertainties and the second is from the uncertainty in the ratio of the χbχb branching fractions