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  1. Transesterification reaction for synthesis of palm-based ethylhexyl ester and formulation as base oil for synthetic drilling fluid
    Abdul Habib NS, Yunus R, Rashid U, Taufiq-Yap YH, Abidin ZZ, Syam AM, et al.
    J Oleo Sci, 2014;63(5):497-506.
    PMID: 24717547
    The use of vegetable oil-based ester as a base fluid in synthetic drilling fluid has become a trend in drilling operations due to its environmental advantages. The transesterification reaction of palm oil methyl ester (POME) with 2-ethylhexanol (2EH) produced 98% of palm oil-based ethylhexyl ester in less than 30 minutes. Since the transesterification reaction of POME with 2EH is a reversible reaction, its kinetics was studied in the presence of excess EH and under vacuum. The POME-to-EH molar ratio and vacuum pressure were held constant at 1:2 and 1.5 mbar respectively and the effects of temperature (70 to 110°C) were investigated. Using excess of EH and continual withdrawal of methanol via vacuum promoted the reaction to complete in less than 10 minutes. The rate constant of the reaction (k) obtained from the kinetics study was in the range of 0.44 to 0.66 s⁻¹ and the activation energy was 15.6 kJ.mol⁻¹. The preliminary investigations on the lubrication properties of drilling mud formulated with palm oil-based 2EH ester indicated that the base oil has a great potential to substitute the synthetic ester-based oil for drilling fluid. Its high kinematic viscosity provides better lubrication to the drilling fluid compared to other ester-based oils. The pour point (-15°C) and flash point (204°C) values are superior for the drilling fluid formulation. The plastic viscosity, HPHT filtrate loss and emulsion stability of the drilling fluid had given acceptable values, while gel strength and yield point could be improved by blending it with proper additives.
  2. Real-world insights of patient voices with age-related macular degeneration in the Republic of Korea and Taiwan: an AI-based Digital Listening study by Semantic-Natural Language Processing
    Jeon H, Yu SY, Chertkova O, Yun H, Ng YL, Lim YY, et al.
    BMC Med Inform Decis Mak, 2025 Mar 18;25(1):137.
    PMID: 40102785 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-025-02929-5
    BACKGROUND: In this era of active online communication, patients increasingly share their healthcare experiences, concerns, and needs across digital platforms. Leveraging these vast repositories of real-world information, Digital Listening enables the systematic collection and analysis of patient voices through advanced technologies. Semantic-NLP artificial intelligence, with its ability to process and extract meaningful insights from large volumes of unstructured online data, represents a novel approach for understanding patient perspectives. This study aimed to demonstrate the utility of Semantic-NLP technology in presenting the needs and concerns of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea and Taiwan.

    METHODS: Data were collected and analysed over three months from January 2023 using an ontology-based information extraction system (Semantic Hub). The system identified patient "stories" and extracted themes from online posts from January 2013 to March 2023, focusing on Korea and Taiwan by filtering the geographic location of users, the language used, and the local online platforms. Extracted texts were structured into knowledge graphs and analysed descriptively.

    RESULTS: The patient voice was identified in 133,857 messages (9,620 patients) from the Naver online platform in Korea and included internet chat forums focused on macular degeneration. The most important factors for AMD treatments were effectiveness (1,632/3,401 mentions; 48%), price and access to insurance (33%), tolerability (10%) and doctor and clinic recommendations (9%). Treatment burden associated with intravitreal injection of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors related to tolerability (254/942 mentions; 27%), financial burden (20%), hospital selection (18%) and emotional burden (14%). In Taiwan, 444 messages were identified from Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. The success of treatment was judged by improvements in visual acuity (20/121 mentions; 16.5%), effect on oedema (10.7%), less distortion (9.1%) and inhibition of angiogenesis (5.8%). Tolerability concerns were rarely mentioned (26/440 mentions; 5.9%).

    CONCLUSIONS: Digital Listening using Semantic-NLP can provide real-world insights from large amounts of internet data quickly and with low human labour cost. This allows healthcare companies to respond to the unmet needs of patients for effective and safe treatment and improved patient quality of life throughout the product lifecycle.

  3. Fulltext Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by NiZn ferrite nanoparticles through mitochondrial cytochrome C release
    Al-Qubaisi MS, Rasedee A, Flaifel MH, Ahmad SH, Hussein-Al-Ali S, Hussein MZ, et al.
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2013;8:4115-29.
    PMID: 24204141 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S50061
    The long-term objective of the present study was to determine the ability of NiZn ferrite nanoparticles to kill cancer cells. NiZn ferrite nanoparticle suspensions were found to have an average hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of 254.2 ± 29.8 nm, 0.524 ± 0.013, and -60 ± 14 mV, respectively. We showed that NiZn ferrite nanoparticles had selective toxicity towards MCF-7, HepG2, and HT29 cells, with a lesser effect on normal MCF 10A cells. The quantity of Bcl-2, Bax, p53, and cytochrome C in the cell lines mentioned above was determined by colorimetric methods in order to clarify the mechanism of action of NiZn ferrite nanoparticles in the killing of cancer cells. Our results indicate that NiZn ferrite nanoparticles promote apoptosis in cancer cells via caspase-3 and caspase-9, downregulation of Bcl-2, and upregulation of Bax and p53, with cytochrome C translocation. There was a concomitant collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential in these cancer cells when treated with NiZn ferrite nanoparticles. This study shows that NiZn ferrite nanoparticles induce glutathione depletion in cancer cells, which results in increased production of reactive oxygen species and eventually, death of cancer cells.
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