A study on the effects of different gums on dielectric properties and quality of breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven

In this study, the effects of different gums on dielectric properties of doughs and breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were investigated. In addition, the quality parameters of breads formulated with different gums baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were determined. The gums used were xanthan, guar, xanthan-guar blend and κ-carrageenan. The gums were added to the formulation at 0.5% concentration. The dielectric properties and quality parameters of breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were found to be dependent on gum type. κ-carrageenan resulted in undesirable final bread quality, while xanthan-guar blend addition improved bread quality (high specific volume and porosity, low hardness values). The dielectric properties of bread samples formulated with κ-carrageenan were found to be the highest among the other gum types.     

Effects of infill walls on base responses and roof drift of reinforced concrete buildings under time‐history loading

In this study, the effects of infill walls on base reaction and roof drift of reinforced concrete frames were investigated. These effects were studied using 3D finite element method on 216 building models. Number of floors, number of bays, ratio of shear walls and ratio of infilled bays were selected as parameters. Sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the effect of each parameter on base shear, normal base reaction and roof drift. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the percentage of shear walls was the most important parameter affecting base shear, normal base reaction and roof drift. The effect of infill walls on base shear, normal base reaction and roof drift decreased when the percentage of the shear walls increased. The models without any infill walls had minimal normal base reaction under time‐history loading. However, an increase in the percentage of infill walls led to an increase in normal base reaction. The roof drift of the models was not critical. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Usage of enzymes in a novel baking process

In this study, the effects of different enzymes (alpha-amylase, xylanase, lipase, protease) on quality of breads baked in different ovens (microwave, halogen lamp-microwave combination and conventional oven) were investigated. It was also aimed to reduce the quality problems of breads baked in microwave ovens with the usage of enzymes. As a control, bread dough containing no enzyme was used. Specific volume, firmness and color of the breads were measured as quality parameters. All of the enzymes were found to be effective in reducing the initial firmness and increasing the specific volume of breads baked in microwave and halogen lamp-microwave combination ovens. However, in conventional baking, the effects of enzymes on crumb firmness were seen mostly during storage. The color of protease enzyme added breads were found to be significantly different from that of the no enzyme and the other enzyme added breads in the case of all type of ovens.     

Effect of laser etching on the fracture strength of the monolithic zirconia and fiber-reinforced composite inlay-retained fixed partial dentures

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fracture strength of monolithic zirconia and fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) inlay-retained FPDs, both of which are cemented to the laser-etched cavity surfaces.

Materials and Methods: Eighty freshly extracted sound human teeth were used. A premolar and a molar tooth were embedded in an autopolymerizing acrylic resin. Forty acrylic resin models were randomly divided into two groups including monolithic zirconia and FRC inlay-retained FPDs (n = 20). Then, these groups were divided into two subgroups according to conditioning of the cavity surfaces with or without Er:YAG laser etching. Monolithic zirconia inlay-retained FPDs were produced by an inLab MC XL milling device using monolithic zirconia blocks. Tescera? Fiber Reinforcement Materials were used for the FRC inlay-retained FPDs. After 10.000 thermal cycles, fracture strength test was applied to the specimens.

Results: The monolithic zirconia inlay-retained FPDs exhibited the highest fracture strength than the FRC inlay-retained FPDs. Fracture strength was increased with laser etching for both restorative materials (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Laser etching had positively effect on the fracture strength of the inlay-retained FDPs.     

Illumination and voltage effects on the forward and reverse bias current–voltage (I-V) characteristics in In/In2S3/p-Si photodiodes

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The illumination and voltage effects on the I-V measurements of the fabricated In/In2S3/p-Si photodiode were investigated in dark and under...     

Hierarchical Organization of Structurally Colored Cholesteric Phases of Cellulose via 3D Printing

Structural color—a widespread phenomenon observed throughout nature is caused by light interference from ordered phases of matter. While state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques can produce structural organization in small areas, cost-effective and scalable techniques are still lacking to generate tunable color at sub-micron length scales. In this work, structurally colored hydroxypropyl cellulose filaments are produced with a suppressed angular color response by 3D printing. The systematic study of the morphology of the filaments reveals the key stages in the induction of a two-degree hierarchical order through 3D printing. The first degree of order originated from the changing of the cholesteric pitch at a few hundred nm scale via chemical modification and tuning of the solid content of the lyotropic phase. Upon 3D printing, the secondary hierarchical order of periodic wrinkling is introduced through the Helfrich–Hurault deformation of the shear-aligned cholesteric phases. In single-layered filaments, four morphological zones with varying orders of wrinkles are identified. Detailed morphological characterization is carried out using SEM to shed light on the mechanism of the wrinkling behavior. Through this work, the possibility of modifying the wrinkling behavior is demonstrated and thus the angle dependence of the color response by changing the printing conditions.     

Experimental and theoretical study on catalytic ozonation of humic acid by ZnO catalyst

Ozonation and catalytic ozonation of humic acid (HA) in the presence of ZnO were examined in a batch scale reactor. The degradation of HA by catalytic ozonation was found to be much more effective than ozonation alone. The quantum chemistry calculations showed that the reaction of the O₃ disproportionation on the surface of ZnO corresponds to the barrierless mechanism. The activation energy of the transition state formation was ?5.25 eV. The active oxygen atom formed on the surface of ZnO was found as interacting with both water molecules and dissolved organic molecules, which might lead to further oxidizing reactions.     

Innovative Carbon Dioxide‐Capturing Organic Solvent: Reaction Mechanism and Kinetics

The reaction rates of CO₂ with an innovative CO₂‐capturing organic solvent (CO₂COS), consisting of blends of 2‐tert‐butyl‐1,1,3,3‐tetramethylguanidine (BTMG) and 1‐propanol, were obtained as function of BTMG concentration and temperature. A stopped‐flow apparatus with conductivity detection was used. The reaction was modeled by means of a modified termolecular reaction mechanism which resulted in a second‐order rate constant, and activation energies were calculated for a defined temperature range. Quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/6‐31G(d) level also produced the activation energy of this reaction system which strongly supports the experimental findings.     

Thermal and electrical effects of basbars on Li-Ion batteries

Keeping temperature under control is critical for batteries to work effectively. When the safe operating range is exceeded, both the lifetime of batteries decreases and undesirable situations may occur such as fire. In this study, the effects of basbars on battery modules are examined. It is shown that the most intense current transitions pass through the shortest path connecting the batteries. When the distance between the batteries is increased, cooling is effective and the temperature of the batteries is expected to decrease. However, this is not the case in our study. It is observed that the temperature of the battery modules increases due to the increased length of the basbar. For this reason, it is emphasized that basbars are a parameter that cannot be ignored with respect to the temperature of battery modules. In this study, six different materials (ie, silver, copper, gold, nickel, steel and titanium) are used as basbars when trying to achieve the best results. For each basbar material, the maximum temperature values and discharge curves reached by the battery module are found. The results suggest that silver is the best basbar material. For the silver material, the temperature distributions of the battery modules, the maximum temperature value received by the module and the discharge curves are found for different C ratios.     

Oxidation States and the Acidity of Ordered Arrays of Co–Pb Mixed Oxide Nanoparticles Templated in SBA15

Co, Pb and CoPb containing SBA15 mesoporous materials were prepared by direct synthesis method. When Co and Pb were loaded simultaneously, nanoparticles were formed in the channels of SBA15 as observed by transmission electron microscopy. These nanoparticles blocked the pores and decreased the apparent surface areas indicated by BET analysis. Pyridine adsorption on these catalysts revealed that while monometallic additions did not influence the overall acidity of SBA15, in the bimetallic system, characteristic bands due to pyridine adsorption on Co²⁺ ions were observed.