Tocopherol contents of some Turkish wine by-products

The aim of this study was to determine the tocopherol contents of wine by-products including grape seed, pomace (seed, skin and stem) and bagasse (skin and stem) by using two different extraction methods in order to evaluate the possibilities of them as natural non-polar antioxidants. Cold extraction appeared to give more tocopherol contents in seeds than hot extraction. But hot extraction was found more suitable for pomace and bagasse. α-Tocopherol was the most abundant tocopherol in the grape seed, pomace and bagasse. Although γ- and δ-tocopherols were found in the samples with low concentrations, β-tocopherol was not detected in the samples. Kalecik karası had the highest α and total tocopherol compared to the other cultivars. On the other hand, hot extracted bagasse in all cultivars gave the highest tocopherol contents. As a conclusion, wine by-products, a large scale wastes, can be evaluated both to get natural tocopherol source and to obtain economical gain.     

Maximization of total surface area of Pt-SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalyst by the Taguchi method

The maximization of the total surface area of Pt-SnO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst was studied by using the Taguchi method of experimental design. The catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of HNO₃, H₂O and aluminum nitrate concentrations and the stirring rate on the total surface area were studied at three levels of each. L₉ orthogonal array leading nine experiments was used in the experimental design. The parameter levels that give maximum total surface area were determined and experimentally verified. In the range of conditions studied it was found that, medium levels of HNO₃ and H₂O concentration and lower levels of aluminum nitrate concentration and stirring rate maximize the total surface area.     

Investigation of Ant System parameter interactions by using design of experiments for job-shop scheduling problems

In recent years, one of the most important and promising research fields has been metaheuristics to find optimal or near-optimal solutions for NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. Improving the quality of the solution or the solution time is basic research area on metaheuristics. Modifications of the existing ones or creation of hybrid approaches are the focus of these efforts. Another area of improving the solution quality of metaheuristics is finding the optimal combination of algorithm control parameters. This is usually done by design of experiments or one-at-a-time approach in genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and similar metaheuristics. We observe that, in studies which use Ant Colonies Optimization (ACO) as an optimization technique; the levels of control parameters are determined by some non-systematic initial experiments and the interactions of the parameters are not studied yet.In this study, the parameters of Ant System have been investigated on different sized and randomly generated job-shop scheduling problems by using design of experiments. The effects and interactions of the parameters have been interpreted with the outputs of the experiments. Referring to the statistical analysis it is observed that none of the interactions between the Ant System parameters has a significant effect on makespan value. A specific fractional experimental design is suggested instead of the full factorial design. Depending on the findings from the benchmark problems it will be a reliable approach to use the suggested design for saving time and effort in experiments without sacrificing the solution quality.     

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.     

Evaluation of the bond strength of different bonding agents to porcelain and metal alloy

This study was carried out with the purpose of testing the bond strength of different bonding agents bonded to different substrates.Substrates consisted of cylindrical specimens of three different materials: porcelain, metal, and a porcelain–metal combination. Specimens were all 10 mm in diameter and 4 mm thick. Surfaces to be bonded were air-abraded with Al₂O₃ and cleaned ultrasonically in distilled water for 10 min. After the preparation of the surface was complete, three different bonding agents were applied to the central region of the substrates. Composite resin of a 3.5 mm diameter and 2 mm thick was applied. All specimens were thermocycled between 5 and 55 °C for 200 cycles with a 30-s dwell time. After thermocycling, specimens were stored at 37 °C in distilled water for an additional 7 days before being subjected to a shear load. Shear testing was conducted Hounsfield test machine.The univariate analysis of variance and the Duncan multiple comparison test were used for statistical assessment. It was found that both type of bonding agents and of substrate led to statistically significant differences in bond strength (p<0.01).It was found that the highest bond strength was produced by Clearfil and on pure alloy substrate (33.36 MPa) and the lowest bond strength in Single Bond and porcelain–alloy substrate (4.25 MPa).     

Acetylation of Wood with Various Catalysts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare two different acetylation mechanisms using acetic anhydride (AA) or vinyl acetate (VA) modification with using various catalysts. Acetylation of Scots pine wood flour with acetic anhydride could be significantly improved in the presence of potassium acetate, potassium carbonate, and sodium carbonate at 100°C. Sodium carbonate had low effect on VA acetylation, potassium acetate was found to be more effective, and potassium carbonate was better for vinyl acetate modification of wood flour. The two modification methods and the effect of different catalysts on AA or VA modification were characterized by infrared and NMR spectra and analyzed in detail. The acetylation of Scots pine flour with VA and AA showed almost the same WPG values for catalysts when based on long reaction times.     

Effect of area on color harmony in simulated interiors

The main aim of this study is to examine the effect of area on color harmony in simulated interior spaces. The secondary aim of the study is to investigate how the term color harmony is defined and the link between color harmony and related terms used to define it. These terms can explain why a color scheme is evaluated as harmonious. Four sets of three-color combinations created by using the hues red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange were studied in a simulated office interior emphasizing different proportional use of each color. Firstly, participants evaluated harmony content of the images. Secondly, they evaluated each image regarding the terms related to color harmony. Findings indicated that area had an effect on color harmony for two of the color combinations (warm & cool). However, there were no strong but rather moderate and weak correlations between color harmony and the terms.     

Colour semantics in residential interior architecture on different interior types

Colour meaning is a challenging decision in interior architecture during the design process; however, specific meanings within different interior types have not yet been investigated. This study explored colour meaning in the context of residential interior types (eg, bedroom) under controlled conditions using 42 Munsell colours varying in hues, value, and chroma levels, with 14 adjectives (eg, comfortable, pleasant). The results demonstrate that some colours convey the same meanings (eg, vulgar) regardless of type of room; however, others (eg, beautiful) tend to require more complicated and sophisticated colour applications in different residential interiors. The study findings proved that colour meaning in RITs can be affected by all colour attributes. All colours that are named orange and red are selected for both negative and positive meanings. Colours that are named purple are selected less and only for negative connotations. The findings present an overall colour meaning guide for these residential interior types, which will be beneficial for decision makers (interior architects, designers, users) and colour researchers.