Used cooking oil as a source for biodiesel blend

With the depleted world petroleum reserves and increase demand for oil as a fuel, it has become imperative to investigate the possibility of using non-fossil fuel as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Therefore, this paper describes the experimental investigation on possibility of producing biodiesel from used cooking oil and their properties, characteristics and performance as a blended biodiesel for diesel engine at constant speed. Properties analysis of biodiesel from used cooking oil in accordance to the ASTM D6751 specification showed that it fulfilled the requirements of a biodiesel fuel specification. Comparison also conducted between the ordinary diesel as a standard fuel and several set of blended biodiesel range from I% to 5% volume of biodiesel. The properties of blended biodiesel were not much different to the properties of conventional diesel fuel except the density and specific gravity. The density of diesel is 0.8358 gm/cc and the biodiesel is 0.8723 gm/cc. For blended biodiesel, it's slightly increased from 0.8363 gm/cc for I% to 0.8385 gm/cc for 5%. The results from Detroit Deisel Engine performance test showed that the blending fuel sample produced almost the same performance characteristics as compared to conventional diesel. As a result, blended biodiesel with used cooking oil is suitable to be used up to 5% as a fuel for diesel engine at constant speed and gives the same engine performances as conventional diesel fue

Legislative basis of the rights and interests protection of ethnic groups in modern Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the multiethnic and multi-religious country on territory of the former Soviet Union. The country became independent in 1991 and built a democratic, legal state, where the highest values are freedoms, rights and interests of citizens. One of the main tasks of strengthening the sovereignty and stability is protection of the rights and interests of ethnic groups and minorities. The country has created and developed the constitutional, legislative and institutional basis protecting the rights of ethnic groups. Modern democratic Constitution, the laws on language, education, NGOs, the media protect the rights and interests of ethnic groups and minorities in Kazakhstan. The legislative framework allows ethnic groups to freely use, study their language, culture and traditions. Restrictions of the rights and freedoms of ethnic groups and minorities, discriminations on the base of language, ethnicity, religion are nit allowed by Constitution and laws. Well-developed legislature regulates the legal basis of use of the two major languages of the country: the Kazakh language and Russian language

Formulating Specific Water Quality Criteria for Lakes: A Malaysian Perspective

Monitoring water quality of inland water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and ponds throughout Malaysia is important to ensure that these water bodies can be managed sustainably for their ecosystem functioning and services. Determining the quality of these water bodies for different uses is limited due to the unavailability of specific criteria or standards for such water bodies in the country. The aim of this study is to develop national water quality criteria and guidance values for lakes to enhance the water quality of the water bodies in Malaysia. The work is based on a literature review and a consensus among experts from the various stakeholders’ consultative sessions. The criteria were divided into four specific uses which aim at protecting the health of human and aquatic life. The criteria and standards are targeted for non‐regulatory purposes to promote lake quality monitoring by various stakeholders. More than 20 parameters were identified in the lake criteria to determine the classification. The identification of parameters and limits for the standards, however, was limited by data availability and appropriate understanding of the water body characteristics. The role of the criteria and their limitation was also discussed

Optimization of exposure parameters in automatic optimization of exposure parameters (Aop) mode of full field digital mammography (FFDM) system: breast phantom study / Hairenanorashikin Sharip and Rafidah Supar

This experimental study investigated the significant different in image quality and dose between different automatic exposure of exposure parameter (AOP) mode in full field digital mammography (FFDM) system. CIRS012A and PMMA breast phantom (4cm, 5cm and 6 cm thickness) were used as subject using Senographe Essential FFDM system. TLD chip was used as dose measurement tool. Exposures were taken in cranio-caudal projection. 2 radiographers with more than 10 years of working experience in performing mammography scored the image independently. Kappa finds a good agreement between raters (kappa value=0.9, p0.05). DOSE mode is the preferred selection in optimizing between dose and image quality

Reverse the Resistance to PARP Inhibitors

One of the DNA repair machineries is activated by Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase (PARP) enzyme. Particularly, this enzyme is involved in repair of damages to single-strand DNA, thus decreasing the chances of generating double-strand breaks in the genome. Therefore, the concept to block PARP enzymes by PARP inhibitor (PARPi) was appreciated in cancer treatment. PARPi has been designed and tested for many years and became a potential supplement for the conventional chemotherapy. However, increasing evidence indicates the appearance of the resistance to this treatment. Specifically, cancer cells may acquire new mutations or events that overcome the positive effect of these drugs. This paper describes several molecular mechanisms of PARPi resistance which were reported most recently, and summarizes some strategies to reverse this type of drug resistance

Optimization of exposure parameters in digital mammography: breast phantom study / Hairenanorashikin Sharip

This experimental study investigated the effect of kVp variation on image quality and dose. This study also identified the significance difference in image quality and dose between Mo/Mo and Mo/Rh combination, and also the significance difference in image quality and dose between different AOP. CIRS012A and PMMA breast phantom (4cm, 5cm and 6 cm thickness) were used as subject. Study was done at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur using Senographe Essential FFDM and Diamond GE system. TLD chip was used as dose measurement tool. Exposures were taken using Mo/Mo combination (26kVp, 28kVp and 30kVp) and Mo/Rh combination (28kVp, 30kVp and 32kVp) in cranio-caudal projection using AEC and AOP mode. SPSS 21.0 was used as statistical tool. Criteria of image quality assessment were adapted from ACR 1999, Mammography QC. 2 experienced radiographer with at least 10 years of working experience in performing mammography scored the image independently. Kappa finds a good agreement between raters (kappa value=0.9, p0.05). Independent t-test had shown a significant difference in dose value between Mo/Mo and Mo/Rh for 4cm breast thickness (p=0.046). However, there is no significant difference between Mo/Mo and Mo/Rh combination in image quality (p>0.05). One way ANOVA showed a significant difference in dose between CNT and DOSE in AOP mode (p=0.013). However, there is no significant difference in image quality between CNT, DOSE and STD (p>0.05). Study finds that 30kVp in Mo/Rh is the optimum exposure factor to be used regardless of breast thickness. STD and DOSE mode is the preferred selection in optimizing between dose and image quality

Corrosion Prevention of Carbon Steel Using Tapioca Polysaccharides – Based Coating

Coating is widely used as corrosion prevention and also for aesthetic property. The composition of common industry coating consists of binder, pigment extender, solvent and additive. This coating composition is detrimental to the environment because it contains Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). Besides that, the synthetic polymers are neither renewable nor biodegradable which impact the sustainability of the nature. With an intention to provide alternative solution for global coating issues and highlight the application of green technology, the effectiveness of tapioca polysaccharides(TPS) based coating for corrosion prevention of carbon steel is evaluated. The basic performance can be determined by conducting standard coating testing with salt spray testing as per ASTM B117 and adhesion testing as per ASTM D3359. With 85% epoxy- 15% TPS biopolymer mixture, the coating showed satisfactory anti corrosive behaviour in protecting the carbon steel. The adhesion strength of the mixture was also passed the average pressure acceptance criteria used in industry. With the promising preliminary results, the potential of the epoxy-TPS biopolymer coating to contribute to green technology is positive. However, more tests should be conducted to characterize the formulatio