Crosslinking of Kapok Cellulose Fiber via Azide Alkyne Click Chemistry as a New Material for Filtering System: A Preliminary Study

A new class of green material has been elaborated by grafting the modified kapok fiber, by the means of azidated kapok fiber followed by “click-chemistry” reaction with the terminal alkyne crosslinker. The modified and synthesized product was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study also was undertaken to investigate the effect on the absorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution onto the click fiber prepared. The findings showed that the click kapok absorbed more compared to the untreated kapok. Based on the result, the reaction of click chemistry influenced the properties of the filter made from kapok fiber

Effect of calcium promoter on nano structure iron catalyst for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has been recognized as a heterogeneous surface-catalyzed polymerization process. During this process, CHx monomers formed via the hydrogenation of adsorbed CO on transition metals produce hydrocarbons and oxygenates with a broad range of chain lengths and functional groups. A series of Fe/Cu Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts incorporated with a calcium promoter were prepared by a microemulsion method. The composition of the final nanosized iron catalysts in terms of the atomic ratio is as follows: 100Fe/4Cu, 100Fe/4Cu/2Ca, 100Fe/4Cu/4Ca. XRD, BET, TEM, and TPR techniques were used to study the catalysts phase, structure, and morphology. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction test was performed in a fixed bed reactor. All the promoted catalysts, compared to the unpromoted catalysts, have higher rates of FT and the secondary reaction for CO2 production. The formation of methane and light hydrocarbons is restrained with increasing the amount of calcium. The 100Fe/4Cu/2Ca shows the best performance between the prepared catalysts.</span

Flame retardancy of particleboards made from oil palm trunk-poly(vinyl) alcohol with citric acid and calcium carbonate as additives

Flame retardant particleboards from oil palm trunk particles were made by treatment with sodium chloride solution, then bonded with poly(vinyl) alcohol together with citric acid and calcium carbonate as additives. Flame retardancy, thermal, physical, and mechanical properties were evaluated for suitability as construction materials. The novel flame-retardant oil palm trunk particleboard was successfully produced. Treated oil palm trunk with 20% of poly(vinyl) alcohol and 10% of calcium carbonate showed the highest limited oxygen index (LOI) with good thermal stability and potential to be used as flameretardant particleboard. Also, salt pre-treatment was found to enhance the flame retardancy of particleboard

Predicting the Number of Calories in a Dish Using Just Neural Network

Abstract: Heart attacks, or myocardial infarctions, are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early prediction and accurate analysis of potential risk factors play a crucial role in preventing heart attacks and improving patient outcomes. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive review of datasets related to heart attack analysis and prediction. We begin by examining the various types of datasets available for heart attack research, encompassing clinical, demographic, and physiological data. These datasets originate from diverse sources, including hospitals, research institutions, and public health agencies. Our analysis aims to identify common features, data quality, and potential biases in these datasets. Next, we explore the predictive modeling techniques employed in heart attack prediction. Machine learning algorithms, such as decision trees, support vector machines, and deep neural networks, have gained prominence in predicting heart attacks. We discuss the strengths and limitations of these methods and highlight recent advancements in predictive modeling. Furthermore, we delve into the critical risk factors associated with heart attacks. Factors such as age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol levels are examined for their significance in predicting cardiac events. We also investigate the role of lifestyle factors, including smoking, diet, and physical activity, in heart attack risk assessment. Additionally, this review addresses the importance of data preprocessing and feature engineering in improving prediction accuracy. Feature selection methods, missing data handling, and data scaling techniques are discussed to enhance the robustness of heart attack prediction models. In conclusion, this comprehensive dataset review provides valuable insights into the state of heart attack analysis and prediction. It serves as a resource for researchers and healthcare professionals seeking to better understand the datasets available for heart attack research and the methods employed for accurate prediction. Ultimately, our efforts in dataset analysis and predictive modeling contribute to the advancement of preventive cardiology and the reduction of heart attack-related morbidity and mortality

Mdscs in Infectious diseases: regulation, roles, and readjustment

Many pathogens, ranging from viruses to multicellular parasites, promote expansion of MDSCs, which are myeloid cells that exhibit immunosuppressive features. The roles of MDSCs in infection depend on the class and virulence mechanisms of the pathogen, the stage of the disease, and the pathology associated with the infection. This work compiles evidence supported by functional assays on the roles of different subsets of MDSCs in acute and chronic infections, including pathogen-associated malignancies, and discusses strategies to modulate MDSC dynamics to benefit the host

The effect of Z-group modification on the RAFT polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone controlled by "switchable" N-pyridyl-functional dithiocarbamates

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Royal Society of Chemistry in the Polymer Chemistry on 24/08/2015, available online: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5PY01021G The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The ability of a RAFT agent to control the polymerization of a monomer is dictated by the structures of both the monomer and the RAFT agent. In this paper, the polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone was examined with a series of cyanomethyl N-aryl-N-pyridyldithiocarbamates [(4-R′Ph)N(py)C(S)SCH2CN] varying in the substituent (R′) at the 4-position on the phenyl ring. The polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone was best controlled when R′ was methoxy; one of the least active RAFT agents in the series. The preservation of RAFT agent functionality was demonstrated by chain extension experiments with further N-vinylpyrrolidone. Again best control again was found for the RAFT agent with R′ = MeOPh. The utility of this RAFT agent was also proved with the preparation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone).The authors gratefully acknowledge the Australian Government for award of an Australian Postgraduate Award to S.J.S., the CSIRO Manufacturing Flagship and the School of Science and Technology at the University of New England for project funding.Published versio

Study of Nanocellulose Fibrils. Derived from Bioresource Waste: Reduction of Agglomeration and Cross-linking.

The research was intended to study the nanofibrils obtained from bioresource waste (palm oil empty fruit bunches). The azide-alkyne click chemistry was used as a tool to modified the nanofibrils. It was found that both attachment of bulky substituents and non-polar substituents prevented the agglomeration of nanofibrils

Effect of UV/EB radiation dosages on the properties of nanocomposite coatings

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) radiation on the properties of cured nanocomposite coatings. Surface hardness increased with increase in radiation dosages (number of passes) for all samples. This was due to the increase in crosslinking with increase in radiation dosage. Pendulum hardness, gel content, and thumb twist results were analyzed to choose appropriate curing dosage for both curing techniques. The selected dosages were then used to cure coatings for scratch and abrasion resistance tests. It was found that the UV curing produced coatings with better abrasion resistance, whereas EB curing was a more suitable approach for producing scratch resistance coatings