Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) is used in biomedical applications due to its high wear-resistance, ductility, and biocompatibility. A great deal of research in recent decades has focused on further improving its mechanical and tribological performances in order to provide durable implants in patients. Several methods, including irradiation, surface modifications, and reinforcements have been employed to improve the tribological and mechanical performance of UHMWPE. The effect of these modifications on tribological and mechanical performance was discussed in this review.

In this present study, cold flow properties of biodiesel produced from palm oil were improved by adding cotton seed oil into palm oil. Three different mixtures of palm and cotton oil were prepared as P50C50, P60C40, and P70C30. Among three oil mixtures, P60C40 was selected for biodiesel production via ultrasound assisted transesterification process. Physiochemical characteristics—including density, viscosity, calorific value, acid value, and oxidation stability—were measured and the free fatty acid composition was determined via GCMS. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques were utilized for the sake of relation development among operating parameters (reaction time, methanol-to-oil ratio, and catalyst concentration) ultimately optimizing yield of palm–cotton oil sourced biodiesel. Maximum yield of P60C40 biodiesel estimated via RSM and ANN was 96.41% and 96.67% respectively, under operating parameters of reaction time (35 min), M:O molar ratio (47.5 v/v %), and catalyst concentration (1 wt %), but the actual biodiesel yield obtained experimentally was observed 96.32%. The quality of the RSM model was examined by analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANN model statistics exhibit contented values of mean square error (MSE) of 0.0001, mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.1374, and mean absolute deviation (MAD) of 2.5088. RSM and ANN models provided a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.9560 and a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9777 respectively.

A new zinc(II) complex of pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC), bis[(μ ²-pyrrolidinedithiocarbamato-S,S′)(pyrrolidinedithiocarbamato-S,S′)zinc(II)], [Zn₂(PDTC)₄] (1) has been prepared by reaction of ZnCl₂ with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate in 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 ratio, respectively. The complex has been characterized by IR, NMR and X-ray crystallography. Compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P 1 in the form of a centrosymmetric dimer. The solid-state structure contains two crystallographically equivalent Zn⁺² centers in a tetrahedrally distorted ion sphere. A mixed-ligand complex, [Zn(PDTC)(MSC)]⁻ (MSC = mercaptosuccinate) was also prepared but the structure of the resulting complex was found to be the same as 1, suggesting that the thiolate ligand was replaced on addition of PDTC.