Transesterification of Palm-based Methyl Palmitate into Esteramine Catalyzed by Calcium Oxide Catalyst

The technology for transesterification reactions between methyl esters and alcohols is well established by using classical homogeneous alkaline catalysts, which provide high conversion of methyl esters to specialty or nonindigenous esters. However, in certain products where the purity of the esters is of concern, the removal of homogeneous catalysts after the completion of the reaction is a challenge in terms of production cost and water footprint. Therefore, a study to investigate the potential of heterogeneous catalysts was conducted on reactions between methyl palmitate and triethanolamine. The degree of basicity and active surface area of calcium oxide (CaO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and magnesium oxide (MgO) were first characterized by using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD-CO₂) and Brunauere–Emmett–Teller (BET), respectively. Among the metal oxides investigated, the CaO catalyst showed the best catalytic activity toward the transesterification process as it gave the highest conversion of methyl palmitate and yielded fatty esteramine compositions similar to the conventional homogeneous catalyst. The optimum transesterification condition by using the CaO catalyst utilized a lower vacuum system of approximately 200 mbar, which could minimize a considerable amount of energy consumption. Furthermore, low CaO dosage of 0.1% was able to give a conversion of 94.5% methyl ester and formed esteramine at 170 °C for 2 h. Therefore, the production of esterquats from esteramine may become more economically feasible through the methyl ester route by using the CaO catalyst, which can be recycled three times.     

Restoration of blood pressure by choline treatment in rats made hypotensive by haemorrhage

1. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of choline (25-150 micrograms) increased blood pressure in rats made acutely hypotensive by haemorrhage. Intraperitoneal administration of choline (60 mg kg-1) also increased blood pressure, but to a lesser extent. Following i.c.v. injection of 25 micrograms or 50 micrograms of choline, heart rate did not change, while 100 micrograms or 150 micrograms i.c.v. choline produced a slight and short lasting bradycardia. Choline (150 micrograms) failed to alter the circulating residual volume of blood in haemorrhaged rats. 2. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (50 micrograms) in haemorrhaged rats was abolished by pretreatment with mecamylamine (50 micrograms, i.c.v.) but not atropine (10 micrograms, i.c.v.). The pressor response to choline was blocked by pretreatment with hemicholinium-3 (20 micrograms, i.c.v.). 3. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (150 micrograms) was associated with a several fold increase in plasma levels of vasopressin and adrenaline but not of noradrenaline and plasma renin. 4. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (150 micrograms) was not altered by bilateral adrenalectomy, but was attenuated by systemic administration of either phentolamine (10 mg kg-1) or the vasopressin antagonist [beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopenta-methylenepropionyl1, O-Me-Tyr2,Arg8]-vasopressin (10 micrograms kg-1). 5. It is concluded that the precursor of acetylcholine, choline, can increase and restore blood pressure in acutely haemorrhaged rats by increasing central cholinergic neurotransmission. Nicotinic receptor activation and an increase in plasma vasopressin and adrenaline level appear to be involved in this effect of choline.     

Diabetes education infrastructure and capacity in hospitals and home health agencies in Maryland and Pennsylvania

Sex-peptide (SP), which is secreted by the accessory gland of Drosophila males, is transferred to the female during copulation, thereby reducing her sexual appetite (receptivity to males) and stimulating ovulation/oviposition. SP is known to be taken up into the hemolymph of mated females, but it is not clear whether there are two separate target tissues, for behavioral changes and ovulation or only one target for both responses. We have employed the GAL4-UAS system to express SP transgene constructs, both in different tissues and in different cellular components of virgin females. A cytoplasmic form of SP lacking a signal sequence did not evoke any responses, even when expressed ubiquitously. In contrast, a membrane-bound form of SP induced typical post-mating behavior, indicating that SP must be outside the cell in order to exert its biological effects. A total of 204 randomly selected P[GAL4] enhancer-trap lines were screened for their ability to induce SP responses in combination with the membrane-bound SP expressed under GAL4 control. Thirty-three lines were associated with both behavioral change and stimulated ovulation. No line was associated with only one of the two responses, implying that the SP target(s) mediating the two responses are either identical, very closely located, or present in two distinct tissues with a common set of genetic determinants. Western blot analysis of head, thorax, and abdominal extracts revealed that the biological activity was correlated with expression in the head fraction.     

Synergistic interactions of etoposide and interleukin-1 alpha are not due to DNA damage in human melanoma cells

Family nursing, always a component of nursing, has been recently receiving increased attention through publications, educational programs, clinical practice settings and family nursing research. Nurses are in the best position to assist families experiencing the illness of a loved one, but often lack the skills and confidence necessary to assist with the psychosocial needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a family nursing program within a large, tertiary care facility. The program's evaluation is ongoing but early outcomes indicate that day-to-day nursing practice has been positively influenced and improved job satisfaction may result.     

Thermomechanical behaviour of composites

This paper derives the governing equations for the thermomechanical behaviour of composites. When the basic equations for the thermoelastic behaviour of solids were first derived in the nineteenth century several approximations were made. The effect of these assumptions are discussed and illustrated by the results of a simple laboratory test. The implications of this work on the analysis of impact damaged laminates are then discussed.     

Development of Stretch Solder Interconnections for Wafer Level Packaging

A wafer level packaging technique has been developed with an inherent advantage of good solder joint co-planarity suitable for wafer level testing. A suitable weak metallization scheme has also been established for the detachment process. During the fabrication process, the compliancy of the solder joint is enhanced through stretching to achieve a small shape factor. Thermal cycling reliability of these hourglass-shaped, stretch solder interconnections has been found to be considerably better than that of the conventional spherical-shaped solder bumps.     

The activity of acid phosphatase and its isoenzymes in patients with food poisonings

Changes in the activity of acid phosphatase (AP) and its isoenzymes (tartrate-insensitive AP and formalin-insensitive AP) were investigated in patients with food poisoning in the course of the disease. The activity of AP and its isoenzymes in the serum started to grow in early convalescence and reached maximum in late convalescence. Total activity of AP in food toxic infections consists primarily of the activity of its platelet fraction. AP activity may serve as an additional criterion to predict vascular platelet involvement of hemostasis.     

Development of a monoclonal antibody to 6 beta-hydroxycortisol and its application in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for 6 beta-hydroxycortisol in urine

A novel monoclonal antibody to 6 beta-hydroxycortisol (6 beta-OHC) was generated and incorporated into an antigen-coated indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using 6 beta-OHC-protein conjugate as the steroid-coating antigen. The monoclonal antibody is specific to 6 beta-OHC and 6 beta-OHC-3-carboxymethyloxime. Cross-reactivity with other structurally related steroids such as cortisol, cortisone, and 6 beta-hydroxycortisone was less than 10%. Two different clones (clone 5C1 and 19F) of the monoclonal anti-6 beta-OHC antibody have been developed, each with slightly different sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity of the MAb clones was not significantly improved when compared to the rabbit polyclonal antibodies in this study, but still within the accepted detection limit for 6 beta-OHC in both human and laboratory animals. The assay had a detection limit of 200 ng/ml, an intraassay variation of 6.4% and an interassay variation of 7.3%. The application of the anti-6 beta-OHC-MAb-based-ELISA was tested by measuring the urinary output of 6 beta-OHC in human before and after enzyme induction by rifampicin treatment. The mean 24-h urine output of 6 beta-OHC in human subjects was 485 +/- 100 micrograms and 1478 +/- 281 micrograms before and after rifampicin administration, respectively. In conclusion, the monoclonal anti-6 beta-OHC antibody developed in this study has the required specificity and sensitivity as an alternative method for measuring urinary 6 beta-OHC in the detection of enzyme induction or enzyme inhibition of CYP3A in humans and laboratory animals.