The Improvement of Waste Cooking Oil Quality using H5-NZA Adsorbent in Fluid Fixed Bed Reactor

Investigation of waste cooking oil quality improvement have been done using H-zeolite as an adsorbent and fluid fixed bed reactor which was operated in a various temperatures. H-zeolite adsorbent was prepared through physical and chemical treatments as follows: washing, acid, calcination and oxidation. The characterization of this adsorbent covered cations contain (Pb, Cu, Zn, Na, K, Ca and Fe) using AAS, Si/Al ratio using AAS, surface area spesific, pore volume as well as pore diameter using surface area analyzer NOVA 1000, and acidity using gravimetric method with amonia adsorption. Quality parametric of cooking oil that were investigated covered water contain, acid as well as peroxide value and density. Sample of waste cooking oil was taken from cooking oil which have been previously used three times for frying kerupuk, tempe and tahu. Fifty milliliter waste cooking oil was flowed throught 10 g H-zeolite adsorbent in fluid fixed bed reactor which was operated at various temperatures (50, 70, 90, 110oC). The oil was placed in the bottle to be analyzed. The results showed that the adsorpstion process using H-zeolite adsorbent and fluid fixed bed reactor could reduce the water contain, acid and peroxide value and density, thus it improved quality of waste cooking oil. The optimum temperature was 70oC

Cost-Utility Analysis of Cancer Prevention, Treatment, and Control

Substantial innovation related to cancer prevention and treatment has occurred in recent decades. However, these innovations have often come at a significant cost. Cost-utility analysis provides a useful framework to assess if the benefits from innovation are worth the additional cost. This systematic review on published cost-utility analyses related to cancer care is from 1988 through 2013. Analyses were conducted in 2013–2015

Breast Cancer in Young Women

Little is known about the effect of breast cancers on health-related quality of life among women diagnosed between age 18 and 44 years. The goal of this study is to estimate the effect of breast cancer on health state utility by age at diagnosis (18–44 years versus ≥45 years) and by race/ethnicity

The impact of chronic conditions on the economic burden of cancer survivorship: a systematic review

This systematic review examines the excess cost of chronic conditions on the economic burden of cancer survivorship among adults in the US

Estimation of Breast Cancer Incident Cases and Medical Care Costs Attributable to Alcohol Consumption Among Insured Women Aged <45 Years in the U.S.

This study estimated the percentage of breast cancer cases, total number of incident cases, and total annual medical care costs attributable to alcohol consumption among insured younger women (aged 18–44 years) by type of insurance and stage at diagnosis

Medical Care Costs of Breast Cancer in Privately Insured Women Aged 18–44 Years

Breast cancer in women aged 18–44 years accounts for approximately 27,000 newly diagnosed cases and 3,000 deaths annually. When tumors are diagnosed, they are usually aggressive, resulting in expensive treatment costs. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalent medical costs attributable to breast cancer treatment among privately insured younger women

Landsat time series reveal forest loss and woody encroachment in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) of Tanzania, is globally significant for biodiversity conservation due to the presence of iconic fauna, and, since 1959 has been managed as a unique multiple land-use areas to mutually benefit wildlife and indigenous residents. Understating vegetation dynamics and ongoing land cover change processes in protected areas is important to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable development. However, land cover changes in savannahs are especially difficult, as changes are often long-term and subtle. Here, we demonstrate a Landsat-based monitoring strategy incorporating (i) regression-based unmixing for the accurate mapping of the fraction of the different land cover types, and (ii) a combination of linear regression and the BFAST trend break analysis technique for mapping and quantifying land cover changes. Using Google Earth Pro and the EnMap-Box software, the fractional cover of the main land cover types of the NCA were accurately mapped for the first time, namely bareland, bushland, cropland, forest, grassland, montane heath, shrubland, water and woodland. Our results show that the main changes occurring in the NCA are the degradation of upland forests into bushland: we exemplify this with a case study in the Lerai Forest; and found declines in grassland and co-incident increases in shrubland in the Serengeti Plains, suggesting woody encroachment. These changes threaten the wellbeing of livestock, the livelihoods of resident pastoralists and of the wildlife dependent on these grazing areas. Some of the land cover changes may be occurring naturally and caused by herbivory, rainfall patterns and vegetation succession, but many are linked to human activity, specifically, management policies, tourism development and the increase in human population and livestock. Our study provides for the first time much needed and highly accurate information on long-term land cover changes in the NCA that can support the sustainable management and conservation of this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site

DC-SIGN Is the Major Mycobacterium tuberculosis Receptor on Human Dendritic Cells

Early interactions between lung dendritic cells (LDCs) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis, are thought to be critical for mounting a protective anti-mycobacterial immune response and for determining the outcome of infection. However, these interactions are poorly understood, at least at the molecular level. Here we show that M. tuberculosis enters human monocyte-derived DCs after binding to the recently identified lectin DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN). By contrast, complement receptor (CR)3 and mannose receptor (MR), which are the main M. tuberculosis receptors on macrophages (Mφs), appeared to play a minor role, if any, in mycobacterial binding to DCs. The mycobacteria-specific lipoglycan lipoarabinomannan (LAM) was identified as a key ligand of DC-SIGN. Freshly isolated human LDCs were found to express DC-SIGN, and M. tuberculosis–derived material was detected in CD14−HLA-DR+DC-SIGN+ cells in lymph nodes (LNs) from patients with tuberculosis. Thus, as for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is captured by the same receptor, DC-SIGN–mediated entry of M. tuberculosis in DCs in vivo is likely to influence bacterial persistence and host immunity

Experiences of outbreak laboratory management in the Ebola Disease outbreak in West-Africa 2014-2015

During the Ebola Disease outbreak in 2014-2015 West-Africa about 24 organizations operated laboratories at 40 sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Representatives of ten organisations which had deployed laboratories to 16 sites across the three countries in West-Africa convened for a two day symposium in Dakar (4-5.02.16) to exchange their experiences. This article summarizes the discussion and points made during the discussion of the laboratory deployment experiences during the epidemic touching organisational and procedural issues.Additional co-authors: P Jansen van Vuren, K Stroecker, J Paweska, C Picard, H Sheeley, P Smit, AA Sal

Galvanic coupling effects on the corrosion behavior of the 6061 aluminum alloy used in research nuclear reactors

The 6061 alloy is used in different thermomechanical conditions in research nuclear reactors. Nuclear fuel plates are manufactured by the picture frame technique (PFT) and the 6061 alloy is used as cladding for the nuclear fuel “sandwiches”. After the process, these nuclear plates are placed in a case composed of 6061-T6 alloy. In this work, the galvanic effects of coupling the 6061 alloy in the T6 and PFT conditions on the corrosion behavior was investigated in solutions of different chloride contents. The results showed that galvanic corrosion was favored due to the different microstructural features related to these two thermomechanical conditions of the 6061 alloy. The 6061 alloy in the PFT condition was cathodic to the alloy in the T6 condition. Local electrochemical techniques were useful in characterizing the electrochemical behavior of the coupled alloys