The Story of Istanbul's Modernisation

Since reform started under Ottoman rule in the early 19th century, Istanbul has undergone a substantial period of modernisation that has spanned more than 150 years. İlhan Tekeli outlines the metropolis' enduring development, characterising Istanbul's transformation into a modern city into four distinct periods. It is a story that bridges the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the reconstruction of the Turkish Republic as a nation-state, with the initial demise of the city in favour of Ankara; and continues with Istanbul regaining its status as a world city; as it evolves from a monstrous industrial city to an urban region and global centre. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identifying the factors affecting the willingness to pay for fuel-efficient vehicles in Turkey: A case of hybrids

This paper aims to determine the factors that have an impact on the consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for hybrid automobiles in Turkey. A web-based random survey was conducted in different regions of Turkey. A questionnaire was administered to 1983 participants in January–March of 2009. The questionnaire was prepared by taking the issues raised in various sources into account. An ordered Probit model was used to meet the objective. Results show that variables such as income, gender, education, concerns about global warming, number of automobiles, importance of automobile performance, risk preference, attitude toward the alternative energy sources have an impact on the consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for hybrids. Findings suggest that consumers who have high income, higher educational level, and concerns about the global warming are more likely to pay a premium for hybrids. This study is expected to make important contributions to the current literature related to the consumers’ willingness to pay for hybrids by providing a research study from a developing country’s perspective. Results of this study also make important contributions to the policy and decision makers, environmental groups and automotive industry.     

Effect of ultraviolet and far infrared radiation on microbial decontamination and quality of cumin seeds

Abstract: Cumin seeds might be exposed to a high level of natural bacterial contamination, and this could potentially create a public health risk besides leading to problems in exportation. Ultraviolet (UVC) and far infrared (FIR) radiation has low penetration power, and due to that, there might be no detrimental defects to the products during a possible decontamination process. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of UVC and FIR treatment on microbial decontamination and quality of cumin seeds. For this purpose, FIR treatment at different exposure times and temperatures were applied followed by constant UVC treatment with an intensity of 10.5 mW/cm² for 2 h. Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria of the cumin seeds were decreased to the target level of 10⁴ CFU/g after 1.57, 2.8, and 4.8 min FIR treatment at 300, 250, and 200 °C, respectively, following a 2 h UVC treatment. Under the given conditions, a complete elimination for total yeast and molds were obtained while there were no significant changes in volatile oil content and color of the cumin seeds. Consequently, combined UVC and FIR treatment was determined to be a promising method for decontamination of the cumin seeds. Practical Application: This research attempts to apply UVC and far infrared (FIR) radiation for pasteurization of cumin seeds. The data suggested that combined UVC and FIR radiation treatments can become a promising new method for pasteurization of cumin seeds without causing any detrimental defect to the quality parameters. The results of this industry partnered (Kadioglu Baharat, Mersin, Turkey— http://www.kadioglubaharat.com ) study were already applied in industrial scale production lines.     

Molecular characterization of mulberry (Morus spp.) genotypes via RAPD and ISSR

BACKGROUND: In recent years, DNA‐based markers have been used quite extensively because of their many advantages over the traditional morphological and biochemical markers. Many studies have shown that molecular markers are useful in delineating the genetic relationships among closely related mulberry genotypes and cultivars. Thus, in the present study, polymer chain reaction based DNA fingerprinting techniques were used to investigate the genetic relationships among mulberry genotypes growing in different agro‐climatic regions of Turkey. RESULTS: 20 RAPD primers generated a total of 173 bands, of which 157 (90.75%) were polymorphic. As for 11 ISSR primers, 124 bands (96.55%) were polymorphic in a total of 128. The similarity index for RAPD technique ranged between 0.24–0.98; 25?s203 with 25?s112 were found to be the closest genotypes, while 24Ke10 and 25?s123 were the most distant ones. According to the ISSR result, the genetic similarity index changed between 0.21–095; 25?s203 with 25?s112 genotypes were the closest, while 25?s08 and 01KaD2 were the most distant ones. CONCLUSION: The RAPD and ISSR markers were found to be promising for assessing genetic diversity in mulberry genotypes. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

A novel method for determining effects of fire damage on the safety of the Type I pressure hydrogen storage tanks

Consumption of the fossil fuels causes greenhouse gas effect and environmental pollution, which are two basic problems of our age. As a result of this problem, clean and renewable alternative energy sources are beginning to replace fossil fuels. Nowadays, the use of hydrogen energy, which is one of the clean energy, is increasing in transportation and industrial areas. Increasing of hydrogen energy usage, scientists are attempting to solve the many safety problems (such as fire, burst, impact and hydrogen embrittlement) that can occur during the storage and consumption of hydrogen energy. In this study, during the event of fire, the safety of metallic Type I pressure hydrogen storage tanks is investigated by using a novel approach. In this new approach, the mechanical strength drops of the tank materials that is related with temperature rising are added to the safety calculations. In the study, 6061 T6 aluminum and SS 316L stainless steel alloys were used as hydrogen tank material. The safety of hydrogen tanks modelled using these alloys was investigated under different temperature conditions (22, 100, 200 and 300 °C) and internal pressure (15, 20 and 25 MPa).     

Liquefaction/Solubilization of Low-Rank Turkish Coals by White-Rot Fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium)

Microbial coal liquefaction/solubilization of three low-rank Turkish coals (Bursa-Kestelek, Kütahya-Seyitömer and Mu?la-Yata?an lignite) was attempted by using a white-rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium DSM No. 6909); chemical compositions of the products were investigated. The lignite samples were oxidized by nitric acid under moderate conditions and then oxidized samples were placed on the agar medium of Phanerochaete chrysosporium. FTIR spectra of raw lignites, oxidized lignites and liquid products were recorded, and the acetone-soluble fractions of these samples were identified by GC-MS technique. Results show that the fungus affects the nitro and carboxyl/carbonyl groups in oxidized lignite sample, the liquid products obtained by microbial effects are the mixture of water-soluble compounds, and show limited organic solubility.