Recovery of water-soluble compounds from Ganoderma lucidum by hydrothermal treatment

The polypore fungus Ganoderma lucidum provides bioactive compounds containing several triterpenoids and polysaccharides that are reported to posses anti-cancerous and immunomodulatory properties. In this study, we determined the optimal conditions for extracting water-soluble polysaccharide compounds present in the ground form (3-mm particle size) of G. lucidum using water in subcritical conditions at distinct temperatures by two methods: batch-type subcritical water extraction and semi-continuous-type extraction. The optimal condition where solubility is higher to recover the maximum total amount of β-glucan from G. lucidum (0.44 mg/100 g dried sample) was determined to be 473 K at 10 MPa, with a water flow rate of 1 ml/min for 130 min. For batch-type and semi-continuous-type extractions, the best solubility was obtained at 473 K having efficiencies of 78.1% and 57.4%, and the highest extracted amounts of total WSOC were 328 and 241 mg WSOC/g dry sample, respectively.     

Effect of the age of a spin pack on the dyeing properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres

The spin pack is an essential component of melt spinning processes. However, the age of the spin pack can affect the physical properties of polymers. The dyeing properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres over time in relation to spin pack age were investigated in the present study. With an increase in the age of the spin pack, an increase in colour strength and a decrease in fibre crystallinity were observed. The crystallinity decrease of the fibres through spin pack age was explained by the increase in polymer melt temperature due to increase in spin pack pressure.     

A mathematical model and a heuristic approach for design of the hybrid manufacturing systems to facilitate one-piece flow

One-piece flow is a design rule that entails production in manufacturing cells on a ‘make one, check one, and move-on one’ basis (Black, J.T., 2007. Design rules for implementing Toyota Production System. International Journal of Production Research, 45 (16), 3639–3664), which reduces manufacturing lead time significantly. This paper proposes a sequential methodology comprised of a mathematical model and a heuristic approach (HA) for the design of a hybrid cellular manufacturing system (HMS), to facilitate one-piece flow practice. The mathematical model is employed in the cases of small- and medium-sized problems, and it attempts to minimise the total number of exceptional operations, while considering machine capacities and alternative machines. The machine-part matrix achieved by the mathematical model is input into the flow line design stage of the HA, where backflow within the cells is eliminated. However, for industrial problems, the proposed HA is utilised. After the formation of the cells by clustering, the HA attempts to eliminate exceptional operations of a given cellular configuration together with a functional structure by employing alternative machines, based on the decision rules developed. Later, unidirectional flow within the cells is achieved and the capacity and budget constraints are satisfied. A medium-sized problem is solved by using both of the approaches, namely, the model integrated with the flow-line design stage of the HA and the complete HA. The results are discussed and the limitations are explained.     

A heuristic approach for a multi-product capacitated lot-sizing problem with pricing

We address a multi-product capacitated lot-sizing problem with pricing. The objective is to maximise profit. The problem extends the multi-product capacitated lot-sizing problem (CLSP) found in the literature to include price as a decision variable, demand as a function of price, setup time, and more general holding costs. We present a heuristic procedure that can be used to solve large problem instances quickly with good solution quality. The results of computational testing are presented.     

Synthesis and characterization of sub-micron sized copper–ruthenium–tantalum composites for interconnection application

Sub-micron sized ruthenium and tantalum reinforced copper composites as suitable material for electronic interconnection applications was synthesized using high temperature high pressure technique. High purity sub-micron starting powders were blended in a turbula mixer at varying compositions and consolidated at temperature of 850 °C and pressure of 30 MPa for 30 min. The density, phase composition, microstructure, hardness and electrical conductivity of the resulting materials were investigated. The addition of 2.5 vol% ruthenium improved the density of the pure sintered Cu from 97.20% of the theoretical to 99.89% and increased the Vickers hardness value from 114.2 HV to 127.8 HV. Tantalum addition was found to inhibit copper grain growth during sintering. The electrical resistivity of copper based composites remained relatively low with the addition of reinforcement materials.     

A novel robot arm selection methodology based on axiomatic design principles

Many companies intend to utilize the robotic systems to improve the performance of their manufacturing systems. Since the robotic systems are complex, it is required to determine the most suitable robot arm at the beginning of the complete design process. However, due to the increase in the number of robot arm alternatives and existence of the multiple and conflicting criteria, it has become hard to the decision makers to select the appropriate robot arm for a production system. Although the traditional multiple criteria of decision-making techniques were heavily employed in the past for this problem, they were based on subjective judgments for both the alternatives and the criteria. Therefore, a methodology based on Axiomatic Design principles is proposed to help the decision maker decide the most appropriate robot arm on a scientific, systematic, and objective basis. Moreover, the proposed methodology is extended into a decision support system (DSS) through MATLAB software, to evaluate more alternatives rapidly. Both the proposed methodology and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) were applied to solve a small problem, so that the techniques will be compared and the utility of the proposed approach will be revealed. Besides, the proposed DSS was applied to a real robot arm selection problem of a food manufacturing system to show its performance in evaluating several alternatives and choosing the most suitable one in an objective and quick manner.     

The photovoltaic performance of new ruthenium complexes in DSSCs based on nanorod ZnO electrode

Three new heteroleptic ruthenium complexes, [Ru(L1)(dcbpy)(NCS)₂] Ru^II(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-disulfonic acid disodium salt)(4,4′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridyl)-di(thiocyanate) [K28], [Ru^II(L1)₂(NCS)₂] Ru^IIbis(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-disulfonic acid disodium salt)-di(thiocyanate) [K313], and [Ru(L2)(dcbpy)(NCS)₂] Ru^II(1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)(4,4′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridyl)-di(thiocyanate) [K27], have been synthesized as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using ZnO nanorod electrode. The photovoltaic performances of the solar cells based on these sensitizer dyes are studied under AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW/cm²). Their photophysical and electrochemical properties are also investigated. ZnO nanorod based dye sensitized solar cell sensitized with K28 ruthenium complex bearing bulky sulfoxy groups gives an overall conversion efficiency of 2.51, a short-circuit current of 7.19 mA/cm², and an open circuit voltage of 550 mV. K28 is firstly designed and synthesized in the literature to increase molar extinction coefficients and enhanced spectral response in the visible light by expanding the π-conjugation, and of course to reduce back electron transfer due to the bulky sulfoxy groups. The vertical excitation energies, corresponding excitation wavelengths and oscillator strengths, predominant orbitals involved in ten singlet–singlet transitions and their characters obtained from the single point TD-DFT calculations have been obtained for K28.     

Comparison between synthesis techniques to obtain ZnO nanorods and its effect on dye sensitized solar cells

This paper reports additive-free, reproducible, low-temperature solution-based process for the preparation of crystalline ZnO nanorods by homogeneous precipitation from zinc acetate. Also, ZnO nanorod structured dye sensitized solar cells using ruthenium dye (Z907) have been fabricated and characterized. The formation and growth of zinc oxide nanorods are successfully achieved. We analyzed three different synthesis method using solution phase, autoclave and microwave. The calcination effects on the morphology of ZnO nanorods are also investigated. Analysis of ZnO nanorods shows that calcination at lower temperature is resulted in a nanorod growth. Additive-free, well-aligned ZnO nanorods are obtained with the length of 330–558 nm and diameters of 14–36 nm. The XRD, SEM, and PL spectra have been provided for the characterization of ZnO nanorods. Microwave-assisted ZnO nanostructured dye sensitized solar cell devices yielded a short-circuit photocurrent density of 6.60 mA/cm², an open-circuit voltage of 600 mV, and a fill factor of 0.59, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 2.35% under standard AM 1.5 sun light.     

Screening of antioxidative properties of the methanolic extracts of Pelargonium endlicherianum Fenzl., Verbascum wiedemannianum Fisch. & Mey., Sideritis libanotica Labill. subsp. linearis (Bentham) Borm., Centaurea mucronifera DC. and Hieracium cappadocicum Freyn from Turkish flora

Five extracts from five plants, of which four are endemic to Turkish flora, were screened for their possible in vitro antioxidant activities by two complementary test systems, namely DPPH free radical-scavenging and β-carotene/linoleic acid. In the first case, Pelargonium endlicherianum extract exerted greater antioxidant activity than those of other plant extracts studied with an IC₅₀ value of 7.43 ± 0.47 μg/ml, followed by Hieracium cappadocicum (30.0 ± 0.14 μg/ml). When compared to the synthetic antioxidant BHT (18.0 ± 0.40 μg/ml), the methanolic extract of P. endlicherianum exhibited more than two fold greater antioxidant activity. In the β-carotene/linoleic acid test system, the most active plant was P. endlicherianum with 72.6% ± 2.96 inhibition rate, followed by H. cappadocicum (55.1% ± 2.33) and Verbascum wiedemannianum (52.5% ± 3.11). Antioxidant activities of curcumin and ascorbic acid were also determined as positive controls in parallel experiments.     

Analysis of a discrete time table polling system with MAP input and time‐limited service discipline

An iterative procedure based on the MAP/PH/1 and MAP/PH/1/K queues with vacation is presented for approximating the performance measures of a table polling system. Each queue has a time limit after which it relinquishes the server. This is formally known as the token holding time (THT) in IEEE 802.5 and IEEE 802.4 standards. The polling table can be tailored such that queues with limits on the cycle time are visited more frequently, thus, limiting the delays for real time applications. The visit period and vacation period distributions were obtained based on the properties of the discrete phase distribution. Several examples are presented and they show that the algorithm converges fairly fast and gives reasonable results. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.