Effects of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs on gene expression profiles in the liver of schizophrenia subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although much progress has been made on antipsychotic drug development, precise mechanisms behind the action of typical and atypical antipsychotics are poorly understood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed genome-wide expression profiling to study effects of typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics in the postmortem liver of schizophrenia patients using microarrays (Affymetrix U133 plus2.0). We classified the subjects into typical antipsychotics (n = 24) or atypical antipsychotics (n = 26) based on their medication history, and compared gene expression profiles with unaffected controls (n = 34). We further analyzed individual antipsychotic effects on gene expression by sub-classifying the subjects into four major antipsychotic groups including haloperidol, phenothiazines, olanzapine and risperidone.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Typical antipsychotics affected genes associated with nuclear protein, stress responses and phosphorylation, whereas atypical antipsychotics affected genes associated with golgi/endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasm transport. Comparison between typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics further identified genes associated with lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function. Analyses on individual antipsychotics revealed a set of genes (151 transcripts, FDR adjusted p < 0.05) that are differentially regulated by four antipsychotics, particularly by phenothiazines, in the liver of schizophrenia patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics affect different genes and biological function in the liver. Typical antipsychotic phenothiazines exert robust effects on gene expression in the liver that may lead to liver toxicity. The genes found in the current study may benefit antipsychotic drug development with better therapeutic and side effect profiles.</p

Evaluation of soybean/canola/palm biodiesel mixture as an alternative diesel fuel

This study examines fuel properties and performance characteristics of diesel engine fueled with three different biodiesel mixtures (soybean, canola and palm oils) and their blends with diesel fuel according to ASTM and EN standards. Viscosity and pour point of soybean-canola-palm (S-C-P) biodiesel blends were found out of standard ranges. Blend with soybean (25%) - canola (25%) - palm (25%) - diesel (25%) reached acceptable fuel properties (kinematic viscosity 4.3 mm2/s, cetane number 53, pour point -4°C). It performed 3% power loss with 8% higher specific fuel consumption. While CO and CO2 emissions were reduced, NOx emissions were increased with increasing biodiesel contents in blends. As a result, diesel usage was minimized to 25% by blending it with S-C-P biodiesels together

Evaluation of advanced steel usage on seat construction to reduce bus weight in compliance with FMVSS and APTA regulations

In this study, advanced steel usage on seat construction was studied to obtain weight reduction, and structural analysis was done by using finite-element analysis (FEA) method. Two different seat frames were used. Different loading conditions were applied. One of the seat frames were made of mild steel which is conventional seat frame material and used as a reference for comparison. The other was made of advanced steel to obtain a weight reduction by optimising thickness and improving the design. The results show that the maximum displacement and maximum stress are decreased for four tests when advanced steel is used. In addition, using advanced steel can provide significant weight reduction for seat frame. Thus, using advanced steel can provide fuel efficiency over the vehicle's operating life and also reduce CO2 emissions. Besides comparison of the structural safety and weight reduction, this study researches a lightweight seat concept for future electric/hybrid buses. © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Biodiesel fuel specifications: A review

This article is a literature review on biodiesel fuel specifications. Various methods were also studied by researchers in the production of biodiesel. The study is focused on the fuel specifications of alkali catalyst transesterified biodiesels from different raw materials, and it is based on the reports of more than 60 scientists who published their results previously. Studies are continuing to find out the best quality esters under different transesterification circumstances. Changing the production conditions makes the fuel specification results variable. While production, performance, and emission study reviews are available in the literature, there is no review on biodiesel fuel specifications based on detailed raw materials. It is thought that a literature review on fuel specifications will make a contribution to the literature on alkali-transesterified biodiesel fuels of different raw materials. Fuel specifications that are commonly concluded, such as density, viscosity, cetane number, cold flow properties, flash point, and calorific value, were examined and reviewed from published articles. It is also found that more than 85% of published papers don't include extensive fuel quality reports according to ASTM 6751 and EN 14214. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Ricinus Communis (Castor oil) methyl ester as a natural additive for biodiesel fuels

In this study, Ricinus Communis methyl ester (RCME) was evaluated as a natural additive in order to improve the cetane number and cold flow specifications of different biodiesel fuels. In the production of RCME, methanol was used as alcohol and sodium hydroxide was used as catalyst and RCME was produced via the transesterification method. Fuel specifications of RCME such as density, kinematic viscosity, flash point, cetane number, copper strip corrosion, pour point and calorific value were determined. It is found that RCME has higher cetane number (81.1) and lower pour point (-30°C) than the other biodiesels. Because of its high viscosity (12.64 cSt), the direct use of RCME was determined unsuitable for compression ignition engines according to ASTM standards. For this reason, RCME was evaluated as an additive for alternative diesel fuels. Therefore blends with common biodiesel fuels (rapeseed, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower and palm biodiesels) were prepared with a content of 20% RCME. Fuel property results of different biodiesel fuels-RCME blends showed that Ricinus Communis Methyl Ester is an effective additive for rapeseed and soybean biodiesel fuels to improve cetane number and cold flow characteristics. © Sila Science

Performance and exhaust emission studies of a compression ignition engine fueled with Waste Chicken Oil Methyl Ester (WCOME)-Diesel fuel blends

ASME Turkey Section;Loughborough UniversityASME 2010 10th Biennial Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis, ESDA2010 --12 July 2010 through 14 July 2010 -- Istanbul --Performance and exhaust emission studies of Waste Chicken Oil Methyl Ester (WCOME)-diesel fuel blends has been presented in this paper. The production of biodiesel from waste chicken oil was carried out via transesterification method. Blending ratios were preferred as 5% (B5), 10% (B10), 25% (B25) and 50% (B50) respectively. Performance and emission studies were carried out in a commercial diesel engine. The performance results reveal that blends of WCOME with diesel fuel provide increase on the brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) and decrease on the brake power output proportional to the reduction in the heating value of blends. As a result, while the carbon monoxide (CO) and the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were reduced, nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were stated higher compared with the diesel fuel emission characteristics. © 2010 by ASME

Determination of effects of various alcohol additions into peanut methyl ester on performance and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine

In this experimental study, effects of various alcohol additions into peanut methyl ester (PME) with ratio of 20% (by vol.) are investigated. After determining fuel properties of ethanol-methyl ester (EME), methanol-methyl ester (MME) and buthanol-methyl ester (BME), their effects on engine performance and emissions are compared with PME and neat diesel fuel. It is observed that oxygen content of alcohols enhances combustion and increased engine power and torque values are achieved compared to PME. Also, improved combustion results in reduced carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and increased nitrogen oxides (NO x). It is concluded that, average increments of 2.4%, 10% and 12.8% are obtained for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to PME, in terms of engine power. Average increments of 1.2%, 3.4% and 6.1% are obtained for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to PME, in terms of engine torque. Average reductions of 4.8%, 1.8% and 9.1% are achieved for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to PME, in terms of CO emissions and average increments of 13.8%, 4.1% and 17.4% are achieved for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to PME, in terms of NOx emissions. On the other hand, average reductions of 26.36%, 20.85% and 18.91% are attained for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to neat diesel fuel, in terms of engine power. Average reductions of 20.53%, 18.81% and 16.67% are acquired for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to neat diesel fuel, in terms of engine torque. Average reductions of 12.17%, 9.37% and 16.14% are obtained for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to neat diesel fuel, in terms of CO emissions and average increments of 18.49%, 8.26% and 22.19% are achieved for MME, EME and BME, respectively compared to neat diesel fuel, in terms of NOx emissions. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Prediction of emissions of a diesel engine fueled with soybean biodiesel using artificial neural networks

Recently, the usage of biodiesel as an alternative energy source instead of fossil-based fuels becomes very popular because biodiesel is totally renewable and has more favorable combustion emission profile, however; to determine exhaust emission values at different loads and engine speeds is an important challenge and requires both time consuming and expensive experiments. Instead of conducting experiments, artificial neural network (ANN) models which are computing systems composed of neurons are used to solve complex functions can be used. Therefore, in this study an ANN model was prepared in order to predict the exhaust emissions values of 100% soybean biodiesel using diesel engine for different engine speeds at varying load conditions. Engine speed, torque and exhaust temperature values were used as input in order to predict CO, CO 2, NO x and NO 2 emissions and coefficient of correlation (R), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values were calculated in order to define correlation between the target value and output value and identify the convergence between the target and the output values. Calculated R values are in the range of 0,9979-0, 9999 and MAPE values are in the range of 0,69-2,55%. According to results, the usage of ANNs is highly recommended to predict the engine's emissions of a diesel engine fueled with pure soybean biodiesel. © Sila Science

Using HHO (Hydroxy) and hydrogen enriched castor oil biodiesel in compression ignition engine

Hydrogen and HHO enriched biodiesel fuels have not been investigated extensively for compression ignition engine. This study investigated the performance and emissions characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with hydrogen or HHO enriched Castor oil methyl ester (CME)-diesel blends. The production and blending of CME was carried out with a 20% volumetric ratio (CME20) using diesel fuel. In addition, the enrichment of intake air was carried out using pure HHO or hydrogen through the intake manifold with no structural changes – with the exception of the reduction of the amount of diesel fuel – for a naturally aspirated, four cylinder diesel engine with a volume of 3.6 L. Hydrogen amount was kept constant with a ratio of 10 L/min throughout the experiments. Engine performance parameters, including Brake Power, Brake Torque, Brake Specific Fuel Consumption and exhaust emissions – including NOx and CO, – were tested at engine speeds between 1200 and 2600 rpm. It is seen that HHO enriched CME has better results compared to pure hydrogen enrichment to CME. An average improvement of 4.3% with HHO enriched CME20 was found compared to diesel fuel results while pure hydrogen enriched CME20 fuel resulted with an average increase of 2.6%. Also, it was found that the addition of pure hydrogen to CME had a positive effect on exhaust gas emissions compared to that adding HHO. The effects of both enriched fuels on the engine performance were minimal compared to that of diesel fuel. However, the improvements on exhaust gas emissions were significant. © 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LL