In vitro antioxidant/free radical scavenging and antibacterial properties of endemic oregano and thyme extracts from Greece

The present investigation was to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of hexane and methanol extracts from Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum and Thymus vulgaris (Komotini, Greece). The methanol extracts of oregano and thyme against DPPH radical were more active than the hexane extracts (mean values 0.94 and 0.47, respectively) and oregano exhibited stronger activity than thyme (mean values 0.82 and 0.55, respectively). The results from the β-carotene/linoleic acid assay showed that all plant extracts inhibited linoleic acid oxidation up to 70.78±1.17%. The oregano extracts exhibited the strongest inhibition against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus using the disc diffusion assay. The chemical composition of the hexane and methanol extracts, by using GC-MS, showed that carvacrol, thymol, and p-cymene were the most prominent compounds. The methanol extract of oregano was found the most potent antioxidant with the highest content of total phenolics (138.92 mg GA/g extract) and carvacrol (76.7%).     

Active vibration suppression of a flexible structure using sliding mode control

In this paper, sliding mode control (SMC) is designed and applied to an elastic structure to suppress some of its vibration modes. The system is an elastic beam clamped on one end and the designed controller uses only the deflection measurement of the free end. The infinite dimensional mathematical model of the beam is reduced to an ordinary differential equation set to represent the behavior of required modes. Since the states of the finite dimensional model are not physically measurable quantities, an observer is designed to estimate these states by measuring the tip deflection of the beam. The performance of the observer is important because the observed states are used in the SMC design. In this study, by using the output information, an observer is designed and tested to estimate the states of the finite dimensional model of the beam. Then the designed SMC is applied to the experimental beam system which gives satisfactory suppressed vibrations.     

X-ray investigation of sintered cadmium doped hydroxyapatites

Pure and cadmium (Cd) doped hydroxyapatites (HA, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂) were synthesized by a precipitation method from aqueous solutions of Ca(NO₃)₂4·H₂O for the former and Cd(NO₃)₂4·H₂O for the latter, by using (NH₄)₂HPO₄ as the phosphate source, while pH was kept in the range of 11–12. The effect of incorporation of Cd²⁺ ions into the structure of HA was investigated after the air sintering at 1100 °C for 1 h. The results indicate that Cd²⁺ addition into HA yields nearly fully densified products with respect to pure stoichiometric HA. The XRD patterns showed that Cd doping increases the crystallinity of HA. The 2, 4.4, and 8.8 mol% Cd doped HAs had calcium oxide (CaO) impurity phase in their lattice. The CaO phase in the HA structure gradually disappeared with increasing Cd amount, and was replaced with cadmium oxide (CdO) in the CdHA doped with 11 mol% Cd. Cd²⁺ ion incorporation decreased the a- and c-axis lattice constants and unit cell volume of HA.     

Comparison of textile dyeing effluent adsorption on commercial activated carbon and activated carbon prepared from olive stone by ZnCl2 activation

Adsorption of Remazol Red B on activated carbon prepared from olive stone and commercial activated carbon from aqueous solutions was compared. Different activating agent (ZnCl₂) amounts and adsorbent particle size were studied to optimize adsorbent surface area. The adsorptive property of commercial activated carbon and activated carbon prepared from olive stone were investigated in terms of adsorbent dose, temperature, equilibrium time and pH. Then the obtained results were compared for all parameters, According to the results, the equilibrium time, optimum pH, adsorbent dosage were found 60 min, pH < 3–4 and 1.0 g/50 ml respectively. Lower adsorption capacity for RRB on activated carbon prepared from olive stone was found. The kinetic data for both adsorbents supports pseudo-second order model (r² > 0.99) and intra-particle model (r² > 0.95) but the first order kinetic model did not adequately fit to the experimental values (r² < 0.76). The equilibrium adsorption data were interpreted using Langmuir and Freundlich models. The adsorption of Remazol Red B was better represented by the Langmuir equation. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters, standard free energy (ΔG°), standard enthalpy (ΔH°), standard entropy (ΔS°) of the adsorption process were calculated for both adsorbents. To reveal the adsorptive characteristics of the produced active carbon, surface area measurements were carried out and structural analysis was performed using SEM-EDS.     

Water-soluble poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) stabilized ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters as highly active catalysts in hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia–borane

Water-soluble poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid), PSSA-co-MA, stabilized ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters were for the first time prepared in situ from the reduction of ruthenium(III) chloride and potassium tetrachloropalladate(II), respectively, by ammonia–borane during its hydrolysis at room temperature. PSSA-co-MA stabilized ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters having average particle size of 1.9 ± 0.5 and 3.5 ± 1.6 nm, respectively, were isolated from the reaction solution and characterized by TEM and UV–visible electronic absorption spectroscopy. PSSA-co-MA stabilized ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters are highly active catalysts for hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia–borane at low temperature. PSSA-co-MA stabilized ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters provide 51,720 and 8720 turnovers, respectively, in the hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia–borane at 25 °C before deactivation. Catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia–borane is first order with respect to the catalyst concentration, but zero order with respect to the substrate concentration in the case of both ruthenium(0) and palladium(0) nanoclusters. Activation energies for the hydrolysis of ammonia–borane in the presence of PSSA-co-MA stabilized ruthenium(0) or palladium(0) nanoclusters (54 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹ and 44 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively) are smaller than most of the values reported for the same reaction in the presence of other catalyst systems.     

Effect of injection timing on the exhaust emissions of a diesel engine using diesel–methanol blends

Environmental concerns and limited resource of petroleum fuels have caused interests in the development of alternative fuels for internal combustion (IC) engines. For diesel engines, alcohols are receiving increasing attention because they are oxygenated and renewable fuels. Therefore, in this study, the effect of injection timing on the exhaust emissions of a single cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke, direct injection diesel engine has been experimentally investigated by using methanol-blended diesel fuel from 0% to 15% with an increment of 5%. The tests were conducted for three different injection timings (15°, 20° and 25 °CA BTDC) at four different engine loads (5 Nm, 10 Nm, 15 Nm, 20 Nm) at 2200 rpm. The experimental test results showed that Bsfc, NO_x and CO₂ emissions increased as BTE, smoke opacity, CO and UHC emissions decreased with increasing amount of methanol in the fuel mixture. When compared the results to those of original injection timing, NO_x and CO₂ emissions decreased, smoke opacity, UHC and CO emissions increased for the retarded injection timing (15 °CA BTDC). On the other hand, with the advanced injection timing (25 °CA BTDC), decreasing smoke opacity, UHC and CO emissions diminished, and NO_x and CO₂ emissions boosted at all test conditions. In terms of Bsfc and BTE, retarded and advanced injection timings gave negative results for all fuel blends in all engine loads.     

Optimization of Multireservoir Systems by Genetic Algorithm

Application of optimization techniques for determining the optimal operating policy of reservoirs is a major issue in water resources planning and management. As an optimization Genetic Algorithm, ruled by evolution techniques, have become popular in diversified fields of science. The main aim of this study is to explore the efficiency and effectiveness of genetic algorithm in optimization of multi-reservoirs. A computer code has been constructed for this purpose and verified by means of a reference problem with a known global optimum. Three reservoirs in the Colorado River Storage Project were optimized for maximization of energy production. Besides, a real-time approach utilizing a blend of online and a posteriori data was proposed. The results obtained were compared to the real operational data and genetic algorithm was found to be effective and can be utilized as an alternative technique to other traditional optimization techniques.