Examination of Dyeing Properties of the Dyed Cotton Fabrics with Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.)

ABSTRACT

In this study, it was aimed at investing the cotton fabrics dyed with different percentages of the roots of barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) via gall oak (Quercus infectoria Olivier; 10% and 20%) and aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃; 6%) mordants. The dyeing process was performed with the roots of barberry in the range of 10–100%. A reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection method was utilized for the identification of dyes present in the sample extracts. Natural yellow-dyed cotton samples were studied calorimetrically and their color coordinates L*, a*, b*, C*, h, K/S, and ?E* values were given.     

MoOx/Ag/MoOx multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n-type crystalline silicon solar cells

Substitution of highly doped layers with conventional transparent conductive electrodes as carrier collecting and selective contacts in conventional crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell configurations is crucial in increasing affordability of solar cells by lowering material costs. In this study, oxide/metal/oxide (OMO) multilayers featuring molybdenum oxide (MoO_x) and silver (Ag) thin films are developed by thermal evaporation technique, as dopant-free hole transport transparent conductive electrodes (HTTCEs) for n-type c-Si solar cells. Semidopant-free asymmetric heterocontact (semi-DASH) solar cells on n-type c-Si utilizing OMO multilayers are fabricated. The effect of outer MoO_x layer thickness and Ag deposition rate on the photovoltaic characteristics of the fabricated semi-DASH solar cells are investigated. A comparison of front side pyramid textured and flat surface solar cells is performed to optimize the optical and electrical properties. Highest efficiency of 9.3% ± 0.2% is achieved in a pyramid textured semi-DASH c-Si solar cell with 15/10/30 nm of HTTCE structure.     

Formation of Low-Density and Free-Flowing Hollow Microparticles from Butter and Fractionated Palm Oil Mixture

The use of solid fats is challenging due to difficulty in incorporating into foods, handling during industrial food production, and relatively high-calorie contributions. The objective of this study was to form free-flowing and low-density hollow microparticles from nonhydrogenated fats, namely, butter and fractionated palm oil, using a novel method based on atomization of a carbon dioxide (CO₂)-expanded lipid mixture. The melting point of the fractionated palm oil decreased from 66.2 to 47.3°C above 120 bar in the presence of pressurized CO₂. The density of the particles decreased fivefolds compared to that of the original oils. The average particle size D [4,3] decreased from 67.0 to 27.1 μm when the concentration of fractionated palm oil was increased from 50% to 100%. The hollow structure was more pronounced for the particles obtained from higher melting oils/oil blends, as well as with more spherical uniformity. Ten percent (d_10%) and 50% (d_50%) of the palm oil particles were smaller than 4.5 and 23.0 μm, respectively, whereas they were 14.5 and 58.3 μm when mixed with butter at 50% butter concentration, respectively. Polymorphic form of α was more pronounced in the solid lipid particles, indicating that they had a less-ordered crystalline structure than the original oil. This new method forms low-density and free-flowing lipid powders that make the handling and storage of solid lipids feasible and convenient, and may provide reduced fat usage and calorie intake, and more rapid oil melting in mouth.     

Comparison of different ultrasound support methods during colour and chemical oxygen demand removal of disperse and reactive dyebath solutions by ozonation

In this study, the effects of ozonation, ozonation with ultrasonic bath and ozonation with ultrasonic homogeniser processes on colour and chemical oxygen demand removal properties of disperse (CI Disperse Red 60, CI Disperse Blue 337) and reactive (CI Reactive Blue 171 and CI Reactive Blue 19) dyebath solutions with and without dyeing auxiliaries were investigated. Chemical oxygen demand (in mg/l) and colour (in Hazen) measurements of the studied dyebath solutions were determined. The ozonation process caused simultaneous chemical oxygen demand removal during decolorisation. However, the improvement in chemical oxygen demand reduction was less than of that on decolorisation. The application of the combination of ozonation with ultrasonic homogeniser is the most efficient process and creates a great time advantage over the other process types studied (ozonation alone and ozonation with ultrasonic bath) to reach the same colour and levels of chemical oxygen demand removal.     

The Effects of Ozone Treatment on Soybean Fibers

A set of knitted fabrics comprising soybean fibers was ozonated at room temperature for periods ranging from 2.5 to 300 minutes to identify any accompanying effects on either physical properties (specifically whiteness and burst-strength), fiber surface integrity or microstructure. A hydrogen peroxide treatment was applied to some of the fabric in order to provide a comparison. Ozonation was found to produce a promising increase in whiteness which, after the maximum exposure time, was significantly higher than was achieved using hydrogen peroxide.     

Decreased Serum Levels of Sphingomyelins and Ceramides in Sickle Cell Disease Patients

Limited data are available on the serum levels of different sphingomyelin (CerPCho) and ceramide (CER) species in sickle‐cell disease (SCD). This study was aimed at identifying the levels of C16–C24 CerPCho and C16–C24 CER in serum obtained from SCD patients and controls. Circulating levels of neutral sphingomyelinase (N‐SMase) activity, ceramide‐1‐phosphate (C1P), and sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) were also determined. Blood was collected from 35 hemoglobin (Hb)A volunteers and 45 homozygous HbSS patients. Serum levels of C16–C24 CerPCho and C16–C24 CER were determined by an optimized multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method using ultrafast liquid chromatography (UFLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Serum activity of N‐SMase was assayed by standard kit methods, and C1P and S1P levels were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. A significant decrease was observed in the serum levels of C18–C24 CerPCho in patients with SCD compared to controls. No significant difference was found in C16 CerPCho levels between the two groups. Very‐long‐chain C22–C24 CER were significantly decreased in SCD, while long‐chain C16–C20 CER levels showed no significant difference between SCD patients and controls. Significant positive correlation was found between the serum total cholesterol levels and C18–C24 CerPCho and C22–C24 CER in SCD patients. Patients with SCD had significantly elevated serum activity of N‐SMase as well as increased circulating levels of C1P and S1P compared to controls. The decrease in serum levels of C18–C24 CerPCho in patients with SCD was accompanied by decreased levels of C22–C24 CER. Future studies are needed to understand the role of decreased CerPCho and CER in the pathophysiology of SCD.     

Predicting Display Visibility Under Dynamically Changing Lighting Conditions

Display devices, more than ever, are finding their ways into electronic consumer goods as a result of recent trends in providing more functionality and user interaction. Combined with the new developments in display technology towards higher reproducible luminance range, the mobility and variation in capability of display devices are constantly increasing. Consequently, in real life usage it is now very likely that the display emission to be distorted by spatially and temporally varying reflections, and the observer's visual system to be not adapted to the particular display that she is viewing at that moment. The actual perception of the display content cannot be fully understood by only considering steady-state illumination and adaptation conditions. We propose an objective method for display visibility analysis formulating the problem as a full-reference image quality assessment problem, where the display emission under "ideal" conditions is used as the reference for real-life conditions. Our work includes a human visual system model that accounts for maladaptation and temporal recovery of sensitivity. As an example application we integrate our method to a global illumination simulator and analyze the visibility of a car interior display under realistic lighting conditions.     

Estimation of the vapour pressure deficit using NOAA-AVHRR data

In this study, the calculation of vapour pressure deficit (VPD) using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA/AVHRR) satellite data set is shown. Twenty-four NOAA/AVHRR data images were arranged and turned to account for both VPD and land surface temperature (LST), which was necessary to calculate the VPD. The most accurate LST values were obtained from the Ulivieri et al. split-window algorithm with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.7 K, whereas the VPD values were retrieved with an RMSE of 6 mb. Furthermore, the VPD value was calculated on an average monthly basis and its correlation coefficient was found to be 0.991, while the RMSE value was calculated to be 2.67 mb. As a result, VPD can be used in studies that examine plants (germination, growth, and harvest), controlling illness outbreak, drought determination, and evapotranspiration.     

MoleView: an attribute and structure-based semantic lens for large element-based plots

We present MoleView, a novel technique for interactive exploration of multivariate relational data. Given a spatial embedding of the data, in terms of a scatter plot or graph layout, we propose a semantic lens which selects a specific spatial and attribute-related data range. The lens keeps the selected data in focus unchanged and continuously deforms the data out of the selection range in order to maintain the context around the focus. Specific deformations include distance-based repulsion of scatter plot points, deforming straight-line node-link graph drawings, and as varying the simplification degree of bundled edge graph layouts. Using a brushing-based technique, we further show the applicability of our semantic lens for scenarios requiring a complex selection of the zones of interest. Our technique is simple to implement and provides real-time performance on large datasets. We demonstrate our technique with actual data from air and road traffic control, medical imaging, and software comprehension applications.