EFFECT OF SODIUM STEARATE (NAST) ON AIR FRESHENER TRANSPARENCY

Sodium Stearate (NaSt) is produced in Stabilchem (M) Sdn. Bhd. via the fusion process between palm-based Fatty Acid (FA) and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). NaSt has a multitude of applications ranging from lubricating agents in wire drawing to emulsifying agents in the food industry. NaSt is also beginning to be used as a gelling agent in gel-based air fresheners. It is required that the NaSt used in the air freshener produce a translucent gel. In order to fulfill this industrial requirement, NaSt has to be tested for its performance in gel-based air fresheners. To do this, samples of NaSt with different chemical and physical properties are used to produce air fresheners. The air fresheners produced are then measured for transparency. The object of this project is to study the effect of chemical and physical properties of NaSt on gel air freshener transparency and to recommend the optimum NaSt parameters to be used in air fresheners. For this project, only the NaSt produced by Stabilchem (M) Sdn. Bhd. were used. To measure the gel transparency, a spectrophotometer called Hunter Lab Meter was used. Only three parameters were studied in this project, namely the effect of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) value and moisture content of the NaSt as well as the heating temperature when producing the air freshener. All the sample analysis laboratory test methods are that as stated in Stabilchem's Quality Control department. The air freshener formulation used was provided by a client of Stabilchem under confidentiality and trust. Therefore, the detailed formulation is not provided in this report. Among the components in the air freshener are D-Limonene, NaSt, Nonyl phenol and ethanol. After conducting this investigative project, it was found that gel air freshener transparency decreases slightly with increasing FFA values. The moisture content of NaSt has insignificant effect on gel transparency. Last but not least, gel transparency decreases as heating temperature is increased. From these findings, it can be concluded that Stabilchem's NaSt are capable of producing air freshener gels with satisfactory clarity as long as its chemical and physical properties are within the specifications set by the QC department. To ensure that the gel producedis always clear, the air freshener should be produced in a clean and dry area. Additives such as fragrance and colour can cause cloudiness. Therefore, compatible colouring and fragrance should be used in correct amounts to preserve the clarity ofthe air freshener gel

Health-status outcomes with invasive or conservative care in coronary disease

BACKGROUND In the ISCHEMIA trial, an invasive strategy with angiographic assessment and revascularization did not reduce clinical events among patients with stable ischemic heart disease and moderate or severe ischemia. A secondary objective of the trial was to assess angina-related health status among these patients. METHODS We assessed angina-related symptoms, function, and quality of life with the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) at randomization, at months 1.5, 3, and 6, and every 6 months thereafter in participants who had been randomly assigned to an invasive treatment strategy (2295 participants) or a conservative strategy (2322). Mixed-effects cumulative probability models within a Bayesian framework were used to estimate differences between the treatment groups. The primary outcome of this health-status analysis was the SAQ summary score (scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status). All analyses were performed in the overall population and according to baseline angina frequency. RESULTS At baseline, 35% of patients reported having no angina in the previous month. SAQ summary scores increased in both treatment groups, with increases at 3, 12, and 36 months that were 4.1 points (95% credible interval, 3.2 to 5.0), 4.2 points (95% credible interval, 3.3 to 5.1), and 2.9 points (95% credible interval, 2.2 to 3.7) higher with the invasive strategy than with the conservative strategy. Differences were larger among participants who had more frequent angina at baseline (8.5 vs. 0.1 points at 3 months and 5.3 vs. 1.2 points at 36 months among participants with daily or weekly angina as compared with no angina). CONCLUSIONS In the overall trial population with moderate or severe ischemia, which included 35% of participants without angina at baseline, patients randomly assigned to the invasive strategy had greater improvement in angina-related health status than those assigned to the conservative strategy. The modest mean differences favoring the invasive strategy in the overall group reflected minimal differences among asymptomatic patients and larger differences among patients who had had angina at baseline

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used