An evaluation of Akabe mass housing settlement in Sanliurfa, Turkey

Traditional living spaces contain climatic and cultural elements that may be used in the design of future living spaces. The sustainable characteristics that have been developed by trial and error for hundreds of years can be reinterpreted in contemporary architecture according to modern conditions. In this study, user satisfaction levels have been examined in the new living spaces in Sanliurfa, a city located in southeastern Turkey. The design of the mass housing settlement examined within the scope of this study was inspired by traditional living spaces. It has been shown that, contrary to expectations, the similarities between the modern and traditional living spaces are not always accepted by today’s users. In this study, users reflected that they would be more satisfied if there were some changes in the design of their houses terms of spatial organization. They also raised some concerns about the setting and characteristics of the settlement.     

Executive functions, information sampling, and decision making in narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Objective: Narcolepsy with cataplexy (NC) affects neurotransmitter systems regulating emotions and cognitive functions. This study aimed to assess executive functions, information sampling, reward processing, and decision making in NC. Method: Twenty-one NC patients and 58 healthy participants performed an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Results: NC patients scored as controls in executive function tasks assessing set shifting, reversal learning, working memory, and planning. Group differences appeared in a task measuring information sampling and reward sensitivity. NC patients gathered less information, tolerated a higher level of uncertainty, and were less influenced by reward contingencies than controls. NC patients also showed reduced learning in decision making and had significantly lower scores than controls in the fifth block of the IOWA gambling task. No correlations were found with measures of sleepiness. Conclusions: NC patients may achieve high performance in several neuropsychological domains, including executive functions. Specific differences between NC patients and controls highlight the importance of the hypocretin system in reward processing and decision making and are in line with previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of plasma nitriding treatment on the adhesion of DLC films deposited on AISI 4140 steel by PVD magnetron sputtering

Duplex surface treatments composed of diamond like carbon (DLC) coating followed by plasma nitriding have drawn attention for a while. In this study, AISI 4140 steel substrates were plasma nitrided at different treatment temperatures and times. Then, DLC films were deposited on both untreated and plasma nitrided samples using PVD magnetron sputtering. The effect of different plasma nitriding temperatures and times on the structural, mechanical and adhesion properties of DLC coatings was investigated by XRD, SEM, microhardness tester and scratch tester, respectively. It was found that surface hardness, intrinsic stresses, layer thickness values and phase distribution in modified layers and DLC coating were the main factors on adhesion properties of duplex coating system. The surface hardness and residual stress values of AISI 4140 steel substrates significantly increased with both DLC coating and duplex surface treatment (plasma nitriding + DLC coating). Increasing plasma nitriding temperature and time also increased the diffusion depth and the thickness of modified layers. Hard surface layers led to a significant improvement on load bearing capacity of the substrate material. However, it was also determined that the process parameters, which provided lower intrinsic stresses, improved the adhesion properties of the duplex coating system.     

COMBUSTION PROPERTIES AND CALCULATION HIGHER HEATING VALUES OF DIESEL FUELS

ABSTRACT

Physical, chemical, and fuel properties of diesel fuel samples were investigated in the research. Combustion heats as higher heating values (HHV) of the samples were determined experimentally and calculated from ultimate analysis data. The HHV (MJ kg^?1) of the samples as a function of carbon (C, wt%) and hydrogen (H, wt%) was calculated from the following equation :

for which the correlation coefficient was 0.999. The calorific values calculated from the equation showed a mean difference of 0.41 %.     

Equilibrium studies for trimethoprim adsorption on montmorillonite KSF

In this study, the adsorption of trimethoprim (TMP) on montmorillonite KSF was studied under different conditions (pH, ionic strength, temperature). The results indicate that a pH value of 5.04 is optimum value for the adsorption of TMP on KSF. The adsorption kinetics was interpreted using pseudo-first-order kinetic model, pseudo-second-order kinetic model and intraparticle diffusion model. The pseudo-second-order model provides the best correlation with the experimental data of KSF adsorption. The adsorption data could be fitted with Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich equation to find the characteristic parameters of each model. It was found that linear form of Langmuir isotherm seems to produce a better model than linear form of Freundlich equation. From the Langmuir and Freundlich equation, the adsorption capacity values raised as the solution temperature decreased. From DR isotherm, it was also determined that the type of adsorption can be considered as ion-exchange mechanism. Determination of the thermodynamic parameters DeltaH(0), DeltaS(0) and DeltaG(0) showed that adsorption was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. It was also added that adsorption of TMP by KSF may involve physical adsorption.     

Treatment of dairy wastewaters by electrocoagulation using mild steel electrodes

The removal of COD and oil-grease from dairy wastewater was experimentally investigated using direct current (DC) electrocoagulation (EC). In the EC of dairy wastewater, the effects of initial pH, electrolysis time, initial concentration of COD, conductivity and current density were examined. The COD and oil-grease in the aqueous phase were effectively removed when iron was used as sacrificial anode. The optimum operating range for each operating variable was experimentally determined. The batch experimental results revealed that COD and oil-grease in aqueous phase was effectively removed. The overall COD and oil-grease removal efficiencies reached 98 and 99%, respectively. The optimum current density, pH and electrolysis time for 18,300 mg COD/L and 4570 mg oil-grease/L were 0.6 mA/cm2, 7 and 1 min, respectively. Mean energy consumption was 0.003 kWh/kg of COD.     

An alternative approach for calculating/measuring fundamental powers based on wavelet packet transform and its frequency sensitivity analysis

Power and harmonic analysis are among the most important topics of power systems. These analyses usually are based on Fourier transform method. In this study, as a novel approximation, the accuracy of proposed method using wavelet packet transform for fundamental active-reactive-apparent powers, displacement power factor are pointed out with computer simulations. Moreover, frequency sensitivity of the wavelet packet based power analysis, any study concerned with it is not found in the literature up to now, is carried out in comparison with the classic Fourier-based analysis. The results show the supremacy of the proposed wavelet packet-based approach over the Fourier-based approach when the frequency variation is concerned.     

Microstructural characteristics of glass bead‐ and wollastonite‐filled isotactic‐polypropylene composites modified with thermoplastic elastomers

Microstructural characteristics of isotactic‐polypropylene/glass bead (iPP/GB) and iPP/wollastonite (iPP/W) composites modified with thermoplastic elastomers, poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene‐co‐butylene‐b‐styrene) copolymer (SEBS) and corresponding block copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride (SEBS‐g‐MA), were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) showed that the iPP/SEBS and iPP/SEBS‐g‐MA blends were partially compatible two‐phase systems. Well‐dispersed spherical GB and acicular W particles without evidence of interfacial adhesion were observed in the iPP/GB and iPP/W binary composites respectively. Contrary to the blends, melt flow rates of the iPP/GB and PP/W composites decreased more with SEBS‐g‐MA than with SEBS because of enhanced interfacial adhesion with SEBS‐g‐MA elastomer. The SEM analyses showed that the ternary composites containing SEBS exhibited separate dispersion of the rigid filler and elastomer particles (i.e., separate microstructure). However, SEBS‐g‐MA elastomer not only encapsulated the spherical GB and acicular W particles completely with strong interfacial adhesion (i.e., core‐shell microstructure) but also dispersed separately throughout iPP matrix. In accordance with the SEM observations, the DSC and DMA revealed quantitatively that the rigid filler and SEBS particles in iPP matrix acted individually, whereas the rigid filler particles in the ternary composites containing SEBS‐g‐MA acted like elastomer particles because of the thick elastomer interlayer around the filler particles. The Fourier transform infrared analyses revealed an esterification reaction inducing the strong interfacial adhesion between the SEBS‐g‐MA phase and the filler particles. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1265–1284, 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Implications of excessive water withdrawals to the environment of Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus (NC) is at the cutting edge of complete salinization of freshwater resources. In spite of some precautions taken to reduce seawater intrusion of the groundwater resources, the contamination had increased up to brackish water attribute in the coastal aquifers. The Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management (IWRM) system was introduced as a powerful tool in order to identify water consumption in the country. To perform the future forecast, it is necessary to determine the water needs at the present time; thus, this research analysed the present and historical water budget of the country under normal and drought conditions. The calculations were extended to future forecasting of water needs considering different scenarios for the country. The results obtained were grouped into monthly, sector wise and regional consumptions. The water extractions are linked to the available water amounts, and the water deficiencies in the aquifers were revealed. A rough economical analysis of new water resources was also performed. Conclusions and recommendations are provided to guide scientists, engineers and stakeholders for the future studies and evaluations.     

nm23 Protein expression in larynx cancer and the relationship with metastasis

The nm23 gene, which encodes nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase, is proposed as a metastatic suppressor gene and has been demonstrated to correlate inversely with metastatic potential in several tumours. To elucidate the role of nm23 in larynx carcinomas, we examined using immunohistochemistry the expression of the nm23 protein in matched sets of primary tumours and metastatic lymph nodes. nm23 Protein was expressed in all the carcinomas as well as in non-neoplastic larynx mucosa. Overexpression of nm23 protein was found in the majority of primary tumours compared with corresponding normal mucosa, while decreased expression was associated with poor differentiation and distant metastasis and/or recurrence. No significant difference in age, sex and stage was found between primary tumours with high and low nm23 protein expression. These results suggest that decreased nm23 protein expression may play a role in metastasis and/or recurrence in larynx cancer and therefore could be used as a prognostic factor.