Potential of pulsed electric field to control Aspergillus parasiticus,aflatoxin and mutagenicity levels: Sesame seed quality

Seed processing technologies are essential for seed safety and functionality through protection of physicochemical quality, pathogen inactivation, aflatoxin detoxification and alleviation of mutagenicity. Design of a pilot-scale unit of pulsed electric fields (PEF) to treat sesame seeds with respect to quality parameters, Aspergillus parasiticus inactivation and aflatoxin reduction as well as alleviation of aflatoxin mutagenicity were prompted in this study. PEF energy ranged from 0.97 to 17.28 J achieved maximum reductions of peroxide value and acidity number of 67.4 and 85.7%, respectively, and did not change color L*, a*, b* and hue values. A 60% reduction of A. parasiticus counts occurred at the maximum PEF energy. Aflatoxins G1, G2, B1, and B2 contents decreased by 94.7, 92.7, 86.9, and 98.7%, respectively. Except for the samples treated by 2.16 J with 100 μg/plate and by 6.80 J with 10 μg/plate, PEF treatment provided elimination of aflatoxin mutagenity. It is concluded that PEF treatment can be used to treat sesame seeds with preservation of physicochemical properties, inactivation of A. parasiticus and decomposition of aflatoxins with reduced mutagenicity.     

Assessing the potential of renewable energy sources in Turkey

To meet Turkey’s growing energy demand, the installed electric power capacity of 27.8 GW in 2001 has to be doubled by 2010 and increased fourfold by 2020. The difference between Turkey’s total primary energy supply (TPES) of from its own sources and total final consumption (TFC) is projected grow from 1 quad (1.06–2.06) in 1999 to 5.71 quads (2.79–8.5) in 2020 (1 QUAD=293.071 TWh). Turkey’s limited amount of fossil fuels has a present average ratio of proved reserves of 97.38 quads to production rate of 3.2 quads yr⁻¹ of about 30 years. Turkey’s reliance on fossil fuel-based energy systems to meet the growing demand is most likely to exacerbate the issues of energy insecurity, national environmental degradation, and global climate change in increasing proportions. Economically-feasible renewable energy potential in Turkey is estimated at a total of ca. 1.69 quads yr⁻¹ (495.4 TWh yr⁻¹) with the potential for 0.67 quads yr⁻¹ (196.7 TWh yr⁻¹) of biomass energy, 0.42 quads yr⁻¹ (124 TWh yr⁻¹) of hydropower, 0.35 quads yr⁻¹ (102.3 TWh yr⁻¹) of solar energy, 0.17 quads yr⁻¹ (50 TWh yr⁻¹) of wind energy, and 0.08 quads yr⁻¹ (22.4 TWh yr⁻¹) of geothermal energy. Pursuit and implementation of sustainability-based energy policy could provide about 90 and 35% of Turkey’s total energy supply and consumption projected in 2010, respectively. Utilization of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation would necessitate about 23.2 Mha (29.8%) of Turkey’s land resources.     

Computer-based testing: An alternative for the assessment of Turkish undergraduate students

Virtually errorless high speed data processing feature has made computers popular assessment tools in education. An important concern in developing countries considering integrating computers as an educational assessment tool before making substantial investment is the effects of computer-based testing on students’ test scores as compared to paper-and-pencil tests. This study investigated whether test scores of Turkish students were different in the computer-based test and in the paper-and-pencil test, with forty-seven undergraduate students studying at a public university located in the Blacksea region of Turkey. Findings of this study showed that test scores of undergraduate students were not different in the computer-based test and in the paper-and-pencil test which led us to reach the conclusion that computer-based testing can be considered as a promising alternative technique for the undergraduate students in Turkey.     

Mechanical and microstructural properties of low-carbon steel-plate-reinforced gray cast iron

In the present experimental study, strengthening of gray cast iron by reinforcing with steel plates was investigated in the as-cast and normalized conditions. Normalizing heat treatments were applied to the specimens at temperatures of 800 °C and 850 °C. Three-point bend specimens were manufactured from gray cast iron and also from gray cast iron with reinforced steel plates. Flexural strengths of the steel-plate-reinforced cast iron were calculated for four distinct volume fractions (V_r = 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, and 0.16). The current study shows that the steel-plate-reinforced gray cast iron has higher flexural strength and flexural modulus than the cast iron without reinforcement. The flexural strength considerably increases with slight increase in normalization temperature. Optical and scanning electron microscopy analyses were used to examine flake morphology and microstructures of gray cast iron and steel-plate-reinforced gray cast iron. It is noted that carbon diffuses from the gray cast iron to the steel plates. A transition region containing partially dissolved graphite and having high hardness was observed due to the carbon diffusion.     

Friction and wear behavior of styrene butadiene rubber‐based composites reinforced with microwave‐devulcanized ground tire rubber

In this work, the tribological properties of a new material obtained by revulcanization with styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and devulcanized ground tire rubber (GTR) were investigated. GTR was devulcanized using the microwave method at a constant power while varying the microwave exposure time. Devulcanized rubber (DV‐R) and untreated GTR were revulcanized by mixing with SBR at different rates (10, 30, 50 phr). To determine friction and wear characteristics of the samples, pin (ball) on disc and abrasion tests were conducted. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to observe the worn surfaces of the composites to correlate the experimental test results to the wear mechanisms. All of these tests and experiments were performed on original vulcanized rubber samples for comparison. The composites exhibited different friction and wear behavior due to morphology, dispersion behavior and devulcanization functionalization of ground tire rubber. In general, DV‐R/SBR composites exhibited improvement in both mechanical and tribological properties. However, the enhanced compatibility of DV‐R resulting from the specific chemical coupling of DV‐R with SBR was crucial for the mechanical, friction and wear properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42419.     

Seasonal changes of fatty acids of cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L. (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) in the north eastern Mediterranean sea

The total lipids and seasonal variations in the fatty acids of the mantle of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) captured in the north eastern Mediterranean were investigated and the mantle was found to be a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFAs, in particular). In all seasons, the major fatty acids in the cuttlefish mantle were observed to be palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3). A comparison of the saturated fatty acid (29.5–36.8%), monounsaturated fatty acids (7.81–9.84%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (43.7–49.6%) of the cuttlefish mantle revealed that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) constituted the highest proportion. The levels of DHA in the cuttlefish mantle in autumn, winter, spring and summer were 27.6%, 28.5%, 29.5% and 23.9%, while those of EPA were 16.8%, 15.4%, 14.7% and 13.9%, respectively.     

Inactivation of Penicillum expansum in sour cherry juice, peach and apricot nectars by pulsed electric fields

Inhibitory effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on Penicillum expansum inoculated into sour cherry juice, apricot and peach nectars were determined based on germination tube elongation, spore germination rate, and light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations in this study. After inoculation of juice/nectar samples with P. expansum spores at the level of 10(5)-10(6)cfu/mL, the samples were processed by bench scale PEF pulse generator as a function of differing electric field strengths (0, 13, 17, 20, 23, 27, 30 and 34kV/cm) and processing times (0, 62, 94, 123, 163, 198 and 218mus). Results revealed that with an increase in electric field strength and processing time, germination tube elongation and spore germination rate were completely inhibited. Light and SEM observations revealed considerable morphological alterations in fungal conidia such as cytoplasmic coagulation, vacuolations, shrinkage and protoplast leakage. PEF processing of juice/nectars was demonstrated to be effective in inactivating P. expansum. To our knowledge, this is the first study confirming the inhibitory effects of PEF on germination tube elongation and spore germination rate of P. expansum in fruit juice/nectars.