Effects of concentration methods on bioactivity and color properties of poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) sorbet,a traditional Turkish beverage

This study investigated the effects of concentration methods such as vacuum, microwave and conventional heating methods on total phenolic and anthocyanin contents, antiradical activity, antioxidant capacity and color of Papaver rhoeas L. (poppy) sorbet, a traditional beverage of Turkey. The effects of concentration method on bioactivity and color of sorbet were also determined during the 90 day-storage at 4, 20 and 37 °C. The sample obtained with vacuum method (1022.84 mg GAE/kg) had the highest phenolic content compared to microwave (925.77 mg GAE/kg) and conventional methods (936.42 mg GAE/kg). While the lowest initial anthocyanin content was found to be 571.31 mg cyn-3-glu/kg in the conventional method, the highest anthocyanin content were determined to be 774.49 mg cyn-3-glu/kg in the vacuum treated sorbet at the beginning of the storage. The results revealed that the poppy sorbet was an excellent source of phenolic and anthocyanin. Storage degradation of poppy anthocyanins followed first order reaction kinetics. Concentration method and storage temperature had significant effect on the bioactivity and color of sorbets. In general, vacuum method was the best treatment for preserving the bioactivity and color of poppy sorbet followed by microwave during the 90-day storage.     

Effect of ultrasound on separation selectivity and efficiency of flotation

The effect of the use of ultrasound in the froth phase on the flotation performance has been investigated in relation to the flotation rate of a complex sulphide ore. A series of kinetic flotation tests with and without ultrasound were conducted in a flotation machine with a 2-L cell, in which an ultrasonic probe is located in the froth zone. The results indicate that there is a considerable effect of ultrasound on separation selectivity and efficiency in the flotation of a complex sulphide ore at intermediate and high level airflow rates whereas, no significant differences in the separation performance were obtained from the flotation with and without ultrasound at low airflow rates. In addition, the results of the size-by-size analysis show that a much better cleaning action in the froth was promoted for coarse particles rather than fine particles as a result of the use of ultrasound. As a result of increase in the bubble coalescence, it was found that the use of ultrasound in the froth is more effective at shallow froths. Therefore, either effective pulp volume can be increased with a negligible loss of flotation performance or the pulp density can be decreased to obtain better product quality with the use of ultrasound in shallow froths.     

Signal level performance variation of radio frequency identification tags used in cow body

Ruminant diseases are strictly connected to pH and temperature values of the rumen. Therefore, the attenuation to dynamic measurement and tracking of both pH and temperature values through animal rumen has grown rapidly for decades. Reading performance of RFID tags depends on signal quality and signal level, and this can be understood by means of wave attenuation through tissue. In this article, attenuation through cow body is investigated for improving reading performance and battery life. Number of receiving antennas will be used in the system, their location and heights are critical for this aim. Signals from different points of animals' body are measured and compared with the signals spread just out of RFID tags. Equivalent dielectric constants of tissue between RFID tag and receiving antenna is modeled by using literature data, and finally simulation and analytical results are verified by measurement results. Measured value of attenuation through the cow body is varying between 25 dB and 87 dB for RFID tags operating at 434 MHz. Within the 30 m radius, the strongest signal is obtained at 50 cm height and taken from the left side of the animal body, which is offered as optimum communication position.     

Development of polyampholyte hydrogels based on laponite for electrically stimulated drug release

Polyampholyte hydrogels (PAHs) composed of laponite, polyacrylamide and poly(3‐acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride crosslinked with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate were synthesized and characterized for their sensitivity to external conditions and their ability to control the release of the active drug agent paracetamol. Three PAHs were synthesized by taking the weight ratio of laponite to total monomer as 7, 15 and 29%. PAHs were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and swelling measurements carried out in various media. Equilibrium and pulsatile swelling studies were performed on all hydrogels to determine to what extent the hydrogels would respond to changes in environmental pH, ionic strength and electric field, and how fast that response would be. Paracetamol was loaded into the hydrogels, and was released into buffered solutions as a function of pulsatile changes in pH and electric field. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

A distributed routing algorithm for datagram traffic in LEOsatellite networks

Satellite networks provide global coverage and support a wide range of services, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites provide short round-trip delays and are becoming increasingly important. One of the challenges in LEO satellite networks is the development of specialized and efficient routing algorithms. In this work, a datagram routing algorithm for LEO satellite networks is introduced. The algorithm generates minimum propagation delay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated through simulations. The robustness issues of the algorithm are also discussed     

Prediction of earthquake damage to urban water distribution systems: a case study for Denizli,Turkey

Prediction of damage to water supply lines during an earthquake is a critical part of seismic planning. This study evaluates the performance of the water supply system in Denizli, Turkey, in the event of an M6, M6.3, M6.5 and M7 earthquake associated with the Pamukkale and Karakova-Akhan Faults. The relative effects of transient ground deformations and permanent ground deformations based on maps of liquefiable soil and zones of predicted lateral ground displacements are compared. The relative effects of the different magnitude earthquakes and pipeline damage relationships on the pipeline performance following a seismic event are assessed.     

Bioactivity and mineral contents of wild-grown edible Morchella conica in the Mediterranean Region

In this study, antiradical and antimicrobial activity, total phenolic, mineral and heavy metal content of Morchella conica Pers. were determined in the methanolic extracts of dried M. conica collected from wild-grown edible mushroom in the Mediterranean region from Turkey. Free radical scavenging activity was determined to be 43.72 ± 0.13% DPPH decoloration, however, total phenolic activity to be 20.64 ± 0.33 mg GAE/g dry ext. sample. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was tested against fourteen microorganism including 12 bacteria and 2 yeasts. It was determined that the mushroom extracts had no effect against the bacteria and yeasts. Antimicrobial effect was determined only against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. M. conica was determined to contain some heavy metals such as arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) in the concentrations of 0.25, 0.06, 0.20, 1.20, 0.70 and 1.10 (mg/kg dw), respectively. Potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) contents were determined to be 20,400, 13,250, and 1,600 (mg/kg dw), respectively, being higher than those of the other minerals in the M. conica extracts.