An automotive vehicle dynamics prototyping platform based on a remote control model car

The use of a modified remote control (RC) model car as a vehicle dynamics testing and development platform is detailed. Vehicle dynamics testing is an important aspect of automotive engineering and it plays a key role during the design and tuning of active safety control systems. Considering the fact that such tests are conducted at great expense, scaled model cars can potentially be used to help with the process to reduce the costs. With this view, we instrument and develop a standard electric RC model car into a vehicle dynamics testing platform. We then implement 2 representative active safety control applications based on this platform, namely an antilock brake system using open-loop pulse brake control and a roll-over prevention system utilizing lateral acceleration feedback. Both applications are presented with sensor measurements and the effectiveness of the suggested control algorithms are demonstrated. © TÜBİTAK

Start-up Lost Time and its Effect on Signalized Intersections in Turkey

Start-up lost time is an important parameter in performance of signalized intersections which may in turn depict the effect of behaviour of different drivers for different countries. In this study the parameters affecting the startup lost time in Turkey will be defined and a model will be established to present the relationship between start-up lost time, saturation flow as well as start response time with the behaviour of Turkish drivers. For this purpose, observations were carried out at eight intersections in Turkey. Analyses have shown that saturation headways decrease with the increase in time in start response since the drivers in the 2nd and higher rows of a queue have a longer time to get prepared to discharge. Results also indicated that start-up lost time increases rapidly as cycle time increases, and lower start-up lost time values can be observed in left or right turning lanes.</p

DMSA-coated cubic iron oxide nanoparticles as potential therapeutic agents

AIM: Superparamagnetic cubic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesized and functionalized with meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) as a potential agent for cancer treatment. METHODS: Monodisperse cubic IONPs with a high value of saturation magnetization were synthesized by thermal decomposition method and functionalized with DMSA via ligand exchange reaction, and their cytotoxic effects on HeLa cells were investigated. RESULTS: DMSA functionalized cubic IONPs with an edge length of 24.5 ± 1.9 nm had a specific absorption rate value of 197.4 W/gFe (15.95 kA/m and 488 kHz) and showed slight cytotoxicity on HeLa cells when incubated with 3.3 × 10^{10}, 6.6 × 10^{10} and 9.9 × 10^{10} NP/mL for 24, 48 and 72 h. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate both the cytotoxic effects of DMSA-coated cubic IONPs on HeLa cells and hyperthermia performance of these nanoparticles

Determination of Sliced Pineapple Drying Characteristics in a Closed Loop Heat Pump Assisted Drying System

Pineapple (Ananascomosus) slices were dried with the aid of a heat pump assisted dryer (HPD). During this process, air velocity was kept constant at 1m/s, while air temperatures were changed as 37°C, 40°C and 43°C. The drying air was also circulated by using an axial fan in a closed cycle and fresh air was not allowed into the system. The drying rate and drying time were significantly influenced by drying temperature. It was observed that drying temperatures had significant effects on the drying rate and drying time. During the conduct of the study, pineapple slices were dried at 37, 40 and 43°C for 465, 360 and 290 min, respectively. The specific moisture extraction ratio (SMER) values were observed to change as drying temperatures were changed. The drying rate curves indicated that the whole drying process occurred in the falling rate period. Seven well-known thin-layer models (Lewis, Henderson &Pabis, Logarithmic, Page, Midilli & Kucuk, Weibull and Aghbashlo et al.) were employed to make a prediction about drying kinetics through nonlinear regression analysis. The Midilli & Kucuk and Aghbashlo et al. models were consistent with the experimental data. Fick\u27s second law of diffusion was used to determine the moisture diffusivity coefficient ranging from 3.78×10–9 to 6.57×10-9 m2/s the each of the above mentioned temperatures. The dependence of effective diffusivity coefficient on temperature was defined by means a fan Arrhenius type equation. The activation energy of moisture diffusion was found to be 75.24kJ/mol. Article History: Received: July 18th 2017; Received: October 27th 2017; Accepted: January 16th 2018; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Tunçkal, C., Coşkun, S., Doymaz, I. and Ergun, E. (2018) Determination of Sliced Pineapple Drying Characteristics in A Closed Loop Heat Pump Assisted Drying System. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(1), 35-41.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.1.35-4

Investigation of genotyping and phenotyping characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates

Abstract Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections and plays a prominent role in the widespread antibiotic resistance crisis. Accurate identification of carbapenemases is essential to facilitate effective antibiotic treatment and reduce transmission of K. pneumoniae. This study aimed to detect carbapenemase production in carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strains using phenotypic and genotypic methods. A total of 67 carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strains obtained from various clinical samples were utilized for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility by the Vitek 2 Compact system (Biomerieux, France). Carbapenemase production was determined by using the Polymerase chain reaction, Blue-carba test (BCT) and Carbapenem inactivation method (CIM). Out of the isolates, 59 (88.1%) were positive bla OXA-48, 16 (23.9%) bla IMP, and five (7.5%) were positive bla NDM. No bla KPC genes were detected. The CIM identified 62 (92.5%), BCT identified 63 (94%) of PCR-positive isolates. The sensitivity and specificity of the BCT and the CIM were determined to be 96.7%, 40%, and 96.7%, 25% respectively. The bla OXA-48 gene was found to be the most prevalent in K. pneumoniae isolates. Early identification of carbapenem resistance plays a vital role in designing effective infection control strategies and mitigating the emergence and transmission of carbapenem resistance, thus reducing healthcare-associated infections

PARADOXICAL REACTIONS, ESPECIALLY PSORIASIS IN RHEUMATOLOGY PATIENTS RECEIVING BIOLOGIC THERAPY FROM THE TREASURE DATABASE: A 5-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY

EULAR European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) -- JUN 01-04, 2022 -- Copenhagen, DENMARK[Abstract Not Available]European Alliance Assoc Rheumato

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRAL HEPATITIS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES - IMPLICATIONS FROM TREASURE DATABASE

EULAR European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) -- JUN 01-04, 2022 -- Copenhagen, DENMARK[Abstract Not Available]European Alliance Assoc Rheumato

Influencia de un injerto en el perfil de ácidos grasos y algunas propiedades fisicoquímicas de la semilla y el aceite de semillas de sandía

This study aimed to investigate the effects of grafting on the fatty acid profile and some physicochemical properties of watermelon seed and seed oil. The ‘Crimson Tide’ cultivar was used as the scion while two wild watermelon (Citrullus lanatus&nbsp;var.&nbsp;citroides&nbsp;(A1 and A2)), one&nbsp;Lagenaria siceraria&nbsp;(A3) and one&nbsp;Cucurbita maxima&nbsp;Duchesne x&nbsp;Cucurbita moschata&nbsp;Duchesne (A4) were used as rootstocks. The use of rootstock significantly influenced the fatty acid profile and the physical parameters of seeds and seed oils. The highest linoleic acid ratio was found in the seed oil from A1 and A2, the oil from A3 had the highest oleic acid ratio. The results showed that the content and acid value in seed oils were improved, and that total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of both seed and oil were decreased by grafting. Wild rootstocks can be used in watermelon cultivation to obtain a watermelon seed which is rich in linoleic acid.El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar los efectos del injerto en el perfil de ácidos grasos y algunas propiedades fisicoquímicas de la semilla y el aceite de semillas de sandía. El cultivar ‘Crimson Tide’ se utilizó como vástago, mientras que dos sandías silvestres (Citrullus lanatus&nbsp;var.&nbsp;Citroides&nbsp;(A1 y A2)), una&nbsp;Lagenaria siceraria&nbsp;(A3) y una&nbsp;Cucurbita maxima&nbsp;Duchesne x&nbsp;Cucurbita moschata&nbsp;Duchesne (A4) se utilizaron como portainjertos. El uso de portainjertos influyó significativamente en el perfil de ácidos grasos y los parámetros físicos de semillas y aceites de semillas. La proporción de ácido linoleico más alta se encontró en el aceite de semillas de A1 y A2, el aceite de A3 tuvo la proporción de ácido oleico más alta. Los resultados mostraron que el contenido de aceite y el índice de acidez mejoró y los compuestos fenólicos totales y la actividad antioxidante tanto de la semilla como del aceite se redujeron mediante el injerto. Para obtener un aceite de semillas de sandía rico en ácido linoleico, se pueden utilizar portainjertos silvestres en el cultivo de sandía

Neonatal umbilical cord blood transplantation halts skeletal disease progression in the murine model of MPS-I

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a promising source of stem cells to use in early haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) approaches for several genetic diseases that can be diagnosed at birth. Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS-I) is a progressive multi-system disorder caused by deficiency of lysosomal enzyme α-L-iduronidase, and patients treated with allogeneic HSCT at the onset have improved outcome, suggesting to administer such therapy as early as possible. Given that the best characterized MPS-I murine model is an immunocompetent mouse, we here developed a transplantation system based on murine UCB. With the final aim of testing the therapeutic efficacy of UCB in MPS-I mice transplanted at birth, we first defined the features of murine UCB cells and demonstrated that they are capable of multi-lineage haematopoietic repopulation of myeloablated adult mice similarly to bone marrow cells. We then assessed the effectiveness of murine UCB cells transplantation in busulfan-conditioned newborn MPS-I mice. Twenty weeks after treatment, iduronidase activity was increased in visceral organs of MPS-I animals, glycosaminoglycans storage was reduced, and skeletal phenotype was ameliorated. This study explores a potential therapy for MPS-I at a very early stage in life and represents a novel model to test UCB-based transplantation approaches for various diseases

Estimation and Prediction for the Half-Normal Distribution based on Progressively Type-II Censored Samples

In this paper, estimation and prediction problems are discussed for the half-normal distribution under a progressively Type-II censoring scheme. This study focuses on two statistical inferential problems. In the first part of the study, several point estimators and confidence intervals are obtained for the scale parameter of the half-normal distribution. In the second part, several predictors and predictive intervals are derived for the removed failure times. A Monte Carlo simulation study is performed to discuss the mean squared error (mean squared prediction errors) and bias of estimates (predictors). The coverage probabilities and average length of the confidence and predictive intervals are simulated and a numerical example is provided