Chemical performance of multi‐environment trials in lens (Lens culinaris M.)

BACKGROUND: Genotype–environment (GE) interaction has been a major effect to determine stable lens (Lens culinaris (Medik.) Merr.) cultivars for chemical composition in Turkey. Utilization of the lines depends on their agronomic traits and stability of the chemical composition in diverse environments. The objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the influence of year and location on the chemical composition of lens genotypes; and (ii) to determine which cultivar is the most stable. Genotypes were evaluated over 3 years (2005, 2006 and 2007) at four locations in Turkey. Effects of year had the largest impact on all protein contents. RESULTS: GE interaction was analyzed by using linear regression techniques. Stability was estimated using the Eberhart and Russell method. ‘K??l?k K?rm?z?51’ was the most stable cultivar for grain yield. The highest protein was obtained from ‘K??l?k K?rm?z?51’ (4.6%) across environments. According to stability analysis, ‘F?rat 87’ had the most stable chemical composition. This genotype had a regression coefficient (b_i = 1) around unity, and deviations from regression values (δ_ij = 0) around zero. CONCLUSION: Chemical composition was affected by year in this study. Temperature might have an effect on protein, oil, carbohydrate, fibre and ash. F?rat 87 could be recommended for favourable environments. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis,characterization and dielectric behavior of (ES)-form polyaniline/cerium(III)-nitrate-hexahydrate composites

In this study, morphological, thermal and dielectric properties of chemically synthesized polyaniline (PANI) and its cerium(III)-nitrate-hexahydrate (Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O) doped composites with various doping levels were investigated. Characteristic bands of emeraldine salt (ES)-form of PANI was clearly observed in UV–visible (UV–vis) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. Thermal analyses carried out by Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that there was a glass transition at about 70 °C and the doping process increased thermal stability of the polymer. In the surface morphologies examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), various microstructures depending on the doping level were observed. Real dielectric constant exhibited a significant decrease due to the increase in the doping level especially at higher frequencies. Conductivity mechanisms of PANI and its composites were investigated by universal power law as conventional models could not provide a complete picture for all the samples. Dramatic increases up to 45, 35 and 30 times in the conductivity of 10% doped PANI were observed for 300, 350 and 400 K, respectively.     

Comparison of physicochemical characteristics and photofermentative hydrogen production potential of wastewaters produced from different olive oil mills in Western-Anatolia,Turkey

Olive oil extraction produces a dark-colored wastewater that contains nutrients that can be further processed using biotechnology, in parallel with treatment for disposal. For instance, olive mill wastewater (OMW) can be used as a substrate for photofermentative hydrogen production by purple bacteria. A comparative study was investigated with several OMW samples from different olive oil mills in Western-Anatolia, Turkey. The composition of OMW varies significantly for each mill; thus, a detailed physicochemical analysis of each sample has been carried out. Subsequently, samples were assessed for their functioning in anaerobic photofermentative hydrogen production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides O.U.001. The highest hydrogen production potential (19.9 m³ m^?3) was obtained by the OMW sample with the highest organic content (mainly acetic acid, 9.71 kg m^?3) and the highest carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) molar ratio (73.8 M M^?1). The organic content was found to be composed of primarily acetic, aspartic, and glutamic acids. There was a linear relationship between C/N ratio and hydrogen production potential across the different OMW samples. This study is unique due to the wide range of analyses of OMW samples and the comparison of many parameters for hydrogen production from wastewater. The results obtained throughout this study can aid in the design of systems using wastewater for biohydrogen production. Particularly, the C/N ratio was found to be the best parameter for choosing a proper substrate.     

Generating diagnostic information for behavioral preorders

Summary.  This paper describes a method for generating diagnostic information that explains why a given finite-state system fails to be greater than its specification with respect to the prebisimulation preorder. The information takes the form of a logical formula satisfied by the specification but not by the system and thus may be used by system designers for debugging purposes. Our technique relies on modifying an algorithm for computing the prebisimulation preorder so that information needed for generating these distinguishing formulas is saved appropriately. As a number of other behavioral preorders may be characterized in terms of prebisimulation preorder, our approach may be used as a basis for computing diagnostic information for these relations as well. Received: August 1992/Accepted: May 1995     

A Novel Method Facilitating the Simple and Low-Cost Preparation of Human Osteochondral Slice Explants for Large-Scale Native Tissue Analysis

For in vitro modeling of human joints, osteochondral explants represent an acceptable compromise between conventional cell culture and animal models. However, the scarcity of native human joint tissue poses a challenge for experiments requiring high numbers of samples and makes the method rather unsuitable for toxicity analyses and dosing studies. To scale their application, we developed a novel method that allows the preparation of up to 100 explant cultures from a single human sample with a simple setup. Explants were cultured for 21 days, stimulated with TNF-α or TGF-β3, and analyzed for cell viability, gene expression and histological changes. Tissue cell viability remained stable at >90% for three weeks. Proteoglycan levels and gene expression of COL2A1, ACAN and COMP were maintained for 14 days before decreasing. TNF-α and TGF-β3 caused dose-dependent changes in cartilage marker gene expression as early as 7 days. Histologically, cultures under TNF-α stimulation showed a 32% reduction in proteoglycans, detachment of collagen fibers and cell swelling after 7 days. In conclusion, thin osteochondral slice cultures behaved analogously to conventional punch explants despite cell stress exerted during fabrication. In pharmacological testing, both the shorter diffusion distance and the lack of need for serum in the culture suggest a positive effect on sensitivity. The ease of fabrication and the scalability of the sample number make this manufacturing method a promising platform for large-scale preclinical testing in joint research.     

Cross‐layer MAC design for location‐aware wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we propose an optimization of MAC protocol design for wireless sensor networks, that accounts for cross‐layering information, in terms of location accuracy for nodes and residual energy levels. In our proposed solution we encode this cross‐layer information within a decreasing backoff function in the MAC. The protocol is optimized by appropriately selecting priority window lengths, and we have shown that accurate cross‐layer information plays a crucial role in achieving an optimal performance at the MAC layer level. The estimation accuracy can be characterized spatially using a location reliability probability distribution function. We show that this distribution function greatly influences the design of the optimal backoff window parameters, and the overall throughput performance of the MAC protocol. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microbiological quality of fresh-squeezed orange juice and efficacy of fruit surface decontamination methods in microbiological quality

The aims of this study were to evaluate the microbiological quality of fresh-squeezed orange juice and to reduce the microbial population by using various chemical and physical fruit surface decontamination methods. In the first step of the study, polyethylene-bottled fresh-squeezed orange juice samples purchased in Ankara, Turkey, were examined. The average aerobic plate count (APC) and coliform count (CC) varied within the ranges of 3 to 5 log CFU/ml and 1 to 4 log MPN/ml, respectively. Ten of 60 samples contained various levels of Escherichia coli, while Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in any of the samples. Comparing the efficacy of various fruit surface decontamination methods on microbial population of oranges, the best results were obtained following two applications of submersion in boiling water and 5% H(2)O(2) solution for both the uninoculated and inoculated samples. Orange juice samples obtained from surface-inoculated and decontaminated oranges were also examined. We showed that about 17.4% of the E. coli population was transferred to orange juice after extraction, indicating the separation of microbial contaminants from fruit peel during extraction. Finally, the levels of microbial contamination occurred throughout the extraction process on the inner surfaces of a commercial juice extractor at one of the sale points investigated. Significant (P < 0.05) increases in the APC and CC were determined in surface samples of the extractor after the extraction. Surface decontamination and extraction are critical steps in fresh juice production for preventing microbial contamination. Immersion in boiling water for 0.5 min, without using any chemicals, can be offered as an effective method to reduce microbial population on orange surfaces.     

Optical-physical and inkjet printing properties of created hybrid CaCO3 coated papers

The aim of this study is to examine the role of different formulations of calcium carbonates on the inkjet printing quality, with the use of cationic carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-starch as a binder in the formation of the coating structure of paper to use for inkjet printing. For this, GCC (ground calcium carbonate), PCC (precipitated calcium carbonate) and ECC (eggshell calcium carbonate), which have been tried as new coating materials in recent years, are mixed in different proportions to form a different coated formulation and plastered on the newly produced paper surface. Then, optical and physical tests of the obtained samples are carried out. Then, printing properties of the papers on which drop-on-demand system inkjet printing is made are examined. According to the obtained data, it is determined that the optical properties of coated paper with GCC + PCC blends outperformed papers coated with other blends. According to the physical test results, GCC + PCC blended coated papers showed the best performance in breaking length and tear indices. ECC + PCC blended coated papers however showed the best performance in burst indices. It is determined that as the particle size of the calcium carbonates in the coating materials decreased, the burst indices value also decreased. This situation is the opposite for breaking length and tear indices values. When the inkjet printing features are examined, it is seen that the best results are obtained from GCC + ECC coated papers in general. The most optimal metamerism indices results, measured under three different light sources, are obtained on GCC + PCC coated papers.