Influence of Reaction Parameters and Feedstock Type on the Synthesis of Fatty Acid Propyl, Butyl, Isobutyl, Pentyl, and Isopentyl Esters

In recent decades, conventional biodiesel synthesis from methanol or ethanol and sunflower and rapeseed oil as feedstock has also introduced the use of higher and branched alcohols and the use of waste sources of triglycerides. This study examined the influence of reactant molar ratio (5:1–12:1), mass fraction of the potassium hydroxide catalyst (1–3 wt%), time (30–120 min), type of feedstock and alcohol on the conversion of fatty acid alkyl esters. The results showed that the presence of structural branching had a negative influence on the reaction conversion. Regarding the feedstocks, the highest conversions were obtained when using coconut oil rich in short-chain saturated fatty acids, while the conversions of biodiesel obtained from animal fat and unsaturated oils were lower. Molar ratio of the reactants and the mass fraction of the catalyst had the highest influence on the reaction conversion. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

A gold nanoparticles and hydroxylated fullerene water complex as a new product for cosmetics

Three types of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesised with a custom-made Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) device, from aqueous solutions of gold (III) chloride (AuCl3) and gold (III) acetate (AuC6H12O6), with an initial concentration of Au 0.5 g/L. AuNPs were collected in suspensions of deionised (D.I.) water with the stabilisers polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or polyethylene glycol (PEG), followed by the process of freeze drying the AuNPs to be useful as a new additive for the cream. The standard cream base was used as a matrix for preparation of three types of cream with AuNPs in the same concentration ratios. The third AuNPs cream was prepared with a patented hydroxylated fullerene water complex (3HFWC-W) matrix. To examine the effect of AuNPs as additive in creams, a six-week study of test creams was conducted on 33 volunteers with no dermatological diseases. During the study three main parameters of the skin where measured: Collagen quality, skin moisturisation and the epidermis-dermis function. The results of the study found improvements of collagen quality between 18-24 %, achieved due to the use of AuNPs in standard creams, while the cream with the combination of 3HFWC-W and AuNPs gave significantly higher improvements with a value of 45.7 %. It was also discovered that hydration of the skin (stratum cornum) increased by 6.4-9.6 % in standard creams with AuNPs, and 73.7 % in the 3HFWC/AuNPs' cream. Similar results were measured by the epidermisdermis function, where 24-28 % improvement for standard creams with AuNPs was identified, and 38.4 % for the cream 3HFWC-W/AuNPs

Late cardiac events after childhood cancer: Methodological aspects of the pan-european study pancaresurfup

Background and Aim Childhood cancer survivors are at high risk of long-Termadverse effects of cancer and its treatment, including cardiac events. The pan-European PanCareSurFup study determined the incidence and risk factors for cardiac events among childhood cancer survivors. The aim of this article is to describe the methodology of the cardiac cohort and nested case-control study within PanCareSurFup. Methods Eight data providers in Europe participating in PanCareSurFup identified and validated symptomatic cardiac events in their cohorts of childhood cancer survivors. Data onsymptomatic heart failure, ischemia, pericarditis, valvular disease and arrhythmia were collected and graded according to the Criteria for Adverse Events. Detailed treatment data, data on potential confounders, lifestyle related risk factors and general health problems were collected. Results The PanCareSurFup cardiac cohort consisted of 59,915 5-year childhood cancer survivors with malignancies diagnosed between 1940 and 2009 and classified according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer 3. Different strategies were used to identify cardiac events such as record linkage to population/ hospital or regional based databases, and patient-And general practitioner-based questionnaires. Conclusion The cardiac study of the European collaborative research project PanCareSurFup will provide the largest cohort of 5-year childhood cancer survivors with systematically ascertained and validated data on symptomatic cardiac events. The result of this study can provide information to minimize the burden of cardiac events in childhood cancer survivors by tailoring the follow-up of childhood cancer survivors at high risk of cardiac adverse events, transferring this knowledge into evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and providing a platformfor future research studies in childhood cancer patients. © 2016 Feijen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

The PanCareSurFup cohort of 83,333 five-year survivors of childhood cancer: a cohort from 12 European countries

Childhood cancer survivors face risks from a variety of late effects, including cardiac events, second cancers, and late mortality. The aim of the pan-European PanCare Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survivor Care and Follow-Up Studies (PanCareSurFup) Consortium was to collect data on incidence and risk factors for these late effects among childhood cancer survivors in Europe. This paper describes the methodology of the data collection for the overall PanCareSurFup cohort and the outcome-related cohorts. In PanCareSurFup 13 data providers from 12 countries delivered data to the data centre in Mainz. Data providers used a single variable list that covered all three outcomes. After validity and plausibility checks data was provided to the outcome-specific working groups. In total, we collected data on 115,596 patients diagnosed with cancer from 1940 to 2011, of whom 83,333 had survived 5 years or more. Due to the eligibility criteria and other requirements different numbers of survivors were eligible for the analysis of each of the outcomes. Thus, 1014 patients with at least one cardiac event were identified from a cohort of 39,152 5-year survivors; for second cancers 3995 survivors developed at least one second cancer from a cohort of 71,494 individuals, and from the late mortality cohort of 79,441 who had survived at least 5 years, 9247 died subsequently. Through the close cooperation of many European countries and the establishment of one central data collection and harmonising centre, the project succeeded in generating the largest cohort of children with cancer to date

Numerical Analysis of the Rapid Solidification Process of NiTi Binary Alloy

The objective of the present work is to analyse the solidification process of NiTi binary alloy. The physical medium is taken as an incompressible fluid where the heat is transferred by conduction and convection, including the thermal phase change phenomenon. The last one is modelled by the improvement procedure called enthalpy-porosity formulation, where the liquid-solid mushy zone is treated as a porous zone with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The numerical model is based on the finite volume method in body fitted coordinates with a SIMPLER scheme to couple the pressure and velocity fields. The results are presented for the velocity and temperature field, as well as for the NiTi mass fraction during the solidification process

Numerical Analysis of the Rapid Solidification Process of NiTi Binary Alloy

The objective of the present work is to analyse the solidification process of NiTi binary alloy. The physical medium is taken as an incompressible fluid where the heat is transferred by conduction and convection, including the thermal phase change phenomenon. The last one is modelled by the improvement procedure called enthalpy-porosity formulation, where the liquidsolid mushy zone is treated as a porous zone with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The numerical model is based on the finite volume method in body fitted coordinates with a SIMPLER scheme to couple the pressure and velocity fields. The results are presented for the velocity and temperature field, as well as for the NiTi mass fraction during the solidification process