Thermally exfoliated graphene oxide reinforced fluorinated pentablock poly(l‐lactide‐co‐ε‐caprolactone) electrospun scaffolds: Insight into antimicrobial activity and biodegradation

Three‐dimensional fluorinated pentablock poly(l ‐lactide‐co‐ε‐caprolactone)‐based scaffolds were successfully produced by the incorporation of thermally exfoliated graphene oxide (TEGO) as an antimicrobial agent with an electrospinning technique. In a ring‐opening polymerization, the fluorinated groups in the middle of polymer backbone were attached with a perfluorinated reactive stabilizer having oxygen‐carrying ability. The fiber diameter and its morphologies were optimized through changes in TEGO amount, voltage, polymer concentration, and solvent type to obtain an ideal scaffold structure. Instead of the widely used graphene oxide synthesized by Hummer's method, TEGO sheets having a low amount of oxygen produced by thermal expansion were integrated into the fiber structure to investigate the effect of the oxygen functional groups of TEGO sheets on the degradation and antimicrobial activity of the scaffolds. There was no antimicrobial activity in TEGO‐reinforced scaffolds in the in vitro tests in contrast to the literature. This study confirmed that a low number of oxygen functional groups on the surface of TEGO restricted the antimicrobial activity of the fabricated composite scaffolds. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43490.     

Enhanced gravimetric CO2 capacity and viscosity for ionic liquids with cyanopyrrolide anion

Ionic Liquids (ILs) are considered as alternative solvents for the separation of CO₂ from flue gas due mainly to their CO₂ affinity and thermal stability. The cation architecture in a matrix of ammonium and mostly phosphonium‐based ILs with 2‐cyanopyrrolide as the anion to evaluate its impact on gravimetric CO₂ absorption capacity, viscosity, and thermal stability and the three fundamental properties vital for application realization are systematically investigated. Among the investigated ILs, [P2,2,2,8][2‐CNpyr] demonstrated the lowest viscosity, 95 cP at 40°C, and highest CO₂ uptake, 114 mg CO₂ per g IL at 40°C. Combined effects of asymmetry and the optimized chain lengths also resulted in improved thermal stability for [P2,2,2,8][2‐CNpyr], with a mass loss rate of 1.35 × 10^?6 g h^?1 (0.0067 mass % h^?1) at 80°C. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2280–2285, 2015     

Extending the information delivery manual approach to identify information requirements for performance analysis of HVAC systems

Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems account for more than 15% of the total energy consumption in the US. In order to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems, researchers have developed hundreds of algorithms to automatically analyze their performance. However, the complex information, such as configurations of HVAC systems, layouts and materials of building elements and dynamic data from the control systems, required by these algorithms inhibits the process of deploying them in real-world facilities. To address this challenge, we envision a framework that automatically integrates the required information items and provides them to the performance analysis algorithms for HVAC systems. This paper presents an approach to identify and document the information requirements from the publications that describe these algorithms. We extend the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) approach so that the identified information requirements can be mapped to multiple information sources that use various formats and schemas. This paper presents the extensions to the IDM approach and the results of using it to identify information requirements for performance analysis algorithms of HVAC systems.     

Different approaches to synthesize carnosine selective imprinted polymers

Selective recognition of proteins by synthetic molecularly imprinted polymers is one of the interesting topics in biosciences. Carnosine (β-alanyl-l-histidine) and related histidine containing peptides are distributed in a wide range of tissues in vertebrate organisms. These peptides have been extensively studied because of their important physiological properties besides their metal chelation property. In this study, preparation of carnosine specific imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the recognition of imidazole containing peptides with and without copper ion is reported. Carnosine and copper–carnosine complex were employed as template molecules where 4-vinylpyridine and ethylenglycol dimethacrylate were chosen as monomer and crosslinker, respectively. The selectivity and binding studies of copper–carnosine imprinted polymer showed high selectivity toward both carnosine (template peptide) and the cupric ion. The selectivity of copper–carnosine imprinted polymer was 65% and carnosine imprinted polymer was approximately 40%. These results indicate that specific recognition of carnosine is depending on the basis of metal coordination     

Effects of Variety,Maturation and Growing Region on Chemical Properties,Fatty Acid and Sterol Compositions of Virgin Olive Oils

Chemical properties, fatty acid and sterol compositions of olive oils extracted from Gemlik and Halhal? varieties grown in Hatay and Mardin provinces in Turkey were investigated during four maturation stages. The olive oil samples were analyzed for their chemical properties such as free acidity, peroxide value, total carotenoid, total chlorophyll, total phenolic contents, antioxidant activity, fatty acid and sterol compositions. Chemical properties, fatty acids and sterol profiles of olive oil samples generally showed statistically significant differences depending on the varieties, maturation and growing areas (p < 0.05). As free fatty acid contents and total phenolic contents increased, total carotenoid and chlorophyll contents decreased throughout the maturity stages. Total carotenoid and chlorophyll contents of oil samples from Mardin were higher than those of Hatay. The total phenolic compounds of olive oil samples ranged from 20.62 in Gemlik to 525.22 mg GAE/kg oil in Halhal? from Hatay. In general, the phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of olive oil samples were positively associated. Oleic acid content was the highest 71.53 % in H1 samples in Hatay. Total sterol contents were 1194.33 mg/kg in Halhal? and 2008.66 mg/kg in Gemlik from Hatay. Stigmasterol contents of oils obtained from Hatay were lower than those of Mardin. Oleic acid, palmitic acid, β‐sitosterol, ?‐5‐avenasterol and campesterol contents fluctuated with maturation for each of variety from both growing regions. These results showed that the variety, growing area and maturation influence the chemical properties, fatty acid and sterol compositions.     

Characterization of nanocomposite resol resins: Individual/synergist effects of alendronic acid and sepiolite

Alendronic acid modified resol nanocomposite resins (AA‐PFNCRs) and sepiolite modified resol nanocomposite resins (SEP‐PFNCRs) have been synthesized by in situ method in the presence of base catalyst. Additionally, the synergistic effects of alendronic acid and sepiolite clay (AA‐SEP‐PFNCR) on the resol resin have been studied. The structure, morphology, and thermal properties of these nanocomposites have been investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and X‐ray Diffraction (XRD). The results demonstrated the interactions between the fillers and resol resin. Thermal properties of nanocomposite resins were improved due to alendronic acid and sepiolite. The obtained samples were also characterized morphologically by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43807.     

Automatic reconstruction of as-built building information models from laser-scanned point clouds: A review of related techniques

Building information models (BIMs) are maturing as a new paradigm for storing and exchanging knowledge about a facility. BIMs constructed from a CAD model do not generally capture details of a facility as it was actually built. Laser scanners can be used to capture dense 3D measurements of a facility's as-built condition and the resulting point cloud can be manually processed to create an as-built BIM — a time-consuming, subjective, and error-prone process that could benefit significantly from automation. This article surveys techniques developed in civil engineering and computer science that can be utilized to automate the process of creating as-built BIMs. We sub-divide the overall process into three core operations: geometric modeling, object recognition, and object relationship modeling. We survey the state-of-the-art methods for each operation and discuss their potential application to automated as-built BIM creation. We also outline the main methods used by these algorithms for representing knowledge about shape, identity, and relationships. In addition, we formalize the possible variations of the overall as-built BIM creation problem and outline performance evaluation measures for comparing as-built BIM creation algorithms and tracking progress of the field. Finally, we identify and discuss technology gaps that need to be addressed in future research.     

Contextual Information Requirements of Cost Estimators from Past Construction Projects

Past project data sources provide key information for construction cost estimators. Previous research studies show that relying only on one’s own experience during estimation results in estimators’ bias. Having and referring to historical databases, containing objective information on what happened in past projects, are essential for reducing estimators’ biases. The first step toward development of useful project history databases is to understand what information estimators require from past projects. The research described in this paper targets estimators’ information needs identified through interviews, brainstorming sessions, task analyses, and card games conducted with estimators with different experience levels and specialized in heavy/civil and commercial construction projects, and exploration of historical and standard databases available in companies to determine what is being currently represented. Findings show that estimators need contextual information, depicting the conditions under which specific production rates were achieved, so that they can identify which production rate would be more realistic to use during the production rate estimation of an activity in a new bid. Comparison of the contextual information needs identified in this research with information items available in historical data sources (such as company cost reports, RSMeans, previous studies) highlighted some gaps and important opportunities for improvements in those sources. The identified contextual information items are significant for practitioners in developing ways to augment their existing project history databases to make them more beneficial for estimators.     

Knowledge,attitudes and self-reported practices of food service staff regarding food hygiene in Edirne,Turkey

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices among food service staff with regards to food hygiene in hospitals in Edirne, Turkey, and to provide baseline data for implementing HACCP in hospital food services by carrying out a questionnaire by a face-to-face interview. The current study shows that food service staff in Edirne hospitals have insufficient knowledge regarding the basics of food hygiene. And also revealed a discrepancy between attitudes and practices towards food hygiene. There is an immediate need for continuous training among food handlers regarding safe food handling practices.