Biodiesel can be prepared from various types of vegetable oils or animal fats with the aid of a catalyst.
Calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the prospective heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. Modification
of CaO by impregnation on silica (SiO2) can improve the performance of CaO as catalyst. Egg shells and rice
husks as biomass waste can be used as raw materials for the preparation of the silica modified CaO catalyst.
The present study was directed to synthesize and characterize CaO impregnated SiO2 catalyst from biomass
waste and apply it as catalyst in biodiesel synthesis. The catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation
method and characterized by x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and
basicity density. The activity of the catalyst in biodiesel synthesis was assayed at different molar ratios of
palm oil to methanol ranging from 1:6, 1:9, 1:12 and 1:15. The biodiesel composition was determined by gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy and the properties of the biodiesel were also characterized. The results
showed that the CaO impregnated SiO2 catalyst was successfully synthesized based on confirmation by XRD
and XRF. The catalyst has a surface area, average pore diameter, total pore volume, and basicity density of
19.38 m2
/g, 3.22 nm, 0.0122 cm3
/g, and 3.4 mmol/g, respectively. The catalyst activity assay indicates that
the molar ratio of palm oil to methanol of 1:12 is the optimum condition for biodiesel synthesis. At this
molar ratio, 81.4% biodiesel yield was achieved, and it met the quality standards according to ASTM D
6751.
Pre-eclampsia is the most common medical complication of pregnancy associated with increased maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Its exact etiology is not known, although several evidences indicate that various elements might play an important role in pre-eclampsia. This study was carried out to analyze and to compare the concentration of calcium, in mild pre-eclampsia and in normal pregnant women , and to determine the effect of oral supplementation with calcium on mild pre-eclampsia , and whether this effect is related to the change in the level of serum calcium. Forty- five women in the third trimester of pregnancy were selected to participate in this study and divided into: fifteen apparently healthy, normo
... Show MoreIn this study, the zinc oxide NPs have been synthesized from the fresh pomegranate peels extract using the precipitation method. The ZnO nanoparticles were produced from the reaction of fresh peels extract with zinc acetate salt which was used as zinc source in the presence of 2 M NaOH. The green synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD patterns confirm the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase structure for ZnO synthesized using pomegranate peels extract with average crystalline size of 28 nm. FTIR spectra identify the presence of many active functional groups for the pom
... Show MoreBackground: The potential use of zinc oxide and other metal oxide nanoparticles in biomedical are gaining interest in the scientific and medical communities, largely due to the physical and chemical properties of these nanomaterials. The present work revealed the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the total salivary peroxidase enzyme activity of human saliva in comparison to de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Forty eight unstimulated saliva samples were collected from dental students/University of Baghdad 18-22 years. Then measure the total salivary peroxidase activity first without any addition to human saliva as a control, second with dilution the saliva with de-ionized water, and third with zinc oxide nanoparticles in c
... Show MoreFluorescent proteins (FPs) have revolutionised the life sciences, but the chromophore maturation mechanism is still not fully understood. Here we photochemically trap maturation at a crucial stage and structurally characterise the intermediate.
Urban agriculture is one of the important urban uses of land in cities since the inception of cities and civilizations, but the great expansion of cities in the world during the twentieth century and the beginning of the twentieth century and the increase in the number of urban residents compared to the rural population has led to a decline in this use in favor of other uses.
This decline in agricultural and green land areas in cities has negatively affected the environment, natural life and biological diversity in cities in addition to the great impact on the climate and the increase in temperatures and the negative impact on the economic side, since urban agriculture is an important pillar of the economy, especially
... Show MoreObjective: We hypothesized that attacking cancer cells by combining various modes of action can hinder them from taking the chance to evolve resistance to treatment. Incorporation of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with oncolytic virotherapy might be a promising dual approach to cancer treatment. Methods: NDV AMHA1 strain as virotherapy in integration with aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) using low power He-Ne laser as PDT in the existing work was examined against breast cancer cells derived from Iraqi cancer patients named (AMJ13). This combination was evaluated using Chou–Talalay analysis. Results: The results showed an increased killing rate when using both 0.01 and 0.1 Multiplicity of infection (MOI) of the virus when combined with a dose of 617
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration and small business performance Baghdad, Iraq. This study proposed a quantitative analysis in which entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration is a critical success factor of small business in Iraq. The method employed in the collection of data was by the means of self-administered questionnaire which was filled and completed by small business owners randomly selected from a sampling frame of registered small businesses. The questionnaire was adapted from the study of Davis, Halls & Mayer (2015) and Abdel-Maksoud, Asada & Nakagawa (2008) which was used to measure entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration using a ten items scale and small business
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Timely diagnosis of periodontal disease is crucial for restoring healthy periodontal tissue and improving patients’ prognosis. There is a growing interest in using salivary biomarkers as a noninvasive screening tool for periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of two salivary biomarkers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein, for periodontal disease by assessing their sensitivity in relation to clinical periodontal parameters. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the impact of systemic disease, age, and sex on the accuracy of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal health. Materials and methods: A total of 145 participants were categorized into three groups based
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