Evaluation of Cost-Effectiveness for Different Sealant Materials Used in Highway Maintenance Operations

An important element in pavement maintenance practices is the sealing and filling of cracks. Hot pour materials are the most commonly used material, providing good performance for most of the cases. However, some maintenance processes utilize cold pour asphalt emulsion crack sealants. Cold pour crack sealants require longer setting and curing times, especially in areas of high humidity. In addition, the performance history of these cold pour sealants is not known nor well documented in comparison to the performance of hot rubber crack sealants. The costs associated with the use of this material versus hot rubber asphalt are also not well documented or determined. An extensive, three year research has been completed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in pursuit of evaluating and comparing the costeffectiveness for hot pour and cold pour sealants. Eight different roads in five districts were selected for the comparison of the sealants. A total of thirty-three different test sections were obtained through this operation. The surveys and field study indicate that hot pour rubber sealants performed better than cold pour sealants. In the test sections, hot pour sealants performed better over time than cold pour sealants. The cost analysis for this research is based on the comparison of all aspects related to the placement of hot and cold pour sealants. Construction cost is not the sole factor in cost-effectiveness. Performance of a sealant is also another significant factor, because a poorly performing sealant will require sealing to occur more often. Based on the service-life information collected from field evaluations, life-cycle costs can be calculated. The average annual cost (AAC) values were calculated for each sealant in twenty-five test sections in five districts. The cost analyses showed that the overall AAC for cold pour materials is $0.351/m, and for hot pour materials, the average AAC is$0.147/m

M9 Anaçlı Elma Bahçelerinde Organik Yetiştiriciliğin Uygulanabilirliği

M9 anacı üzerine aşılı Williams Pride, Jonafree, Rajka ve Golden Delicious elma çeşitlerinde organik tarım uygulamaları ile konvansiyonel tarım uygulaması fenolojik özellikler, verim, kalite, hastalık ve zararlılar, hasat sonrası muhafaza, pazarlama imkanları ve maliyet bakımından karşılaştırılmıştır. Bu çalışma ile Eğirdir (Isparta) koşulları ve benzer bölgelerde organik elma yetiştiriciliğinin uygulanabilirliği araştırılmıştır. Veriler değerlendirildiğinde kümülatif verim bakımından en yüksek değer konvansiyonel yetiştiricilikte Rajka çeşidinden elde edilirken en düşük değer organik yetiştiricilikteki 3. uygulamadaki Jonafree çeşidinden elde edilmiştir. Pazarlanabilir meyve oranı bakımından hem konvansiyonel hem de organik yetiştiricilikte en yüksek değerler Rajka çeşidinden elde edilmiştir. Yapılan ekonomik analizde, 1 kg elma maliyeti organik yetiştiricilikte daha yüksek olmasına rağmen, 2008 yılı elma satış fiyatlarına göre organik elma yetiştiriciliğinin daha karlı olduğu görülmektedir

Volume CXIV, Number 4, November 7, 1996

Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population.Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014.Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosis) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto's thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%.Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespa

Surface modification of aluminium by friction stir processing

WOS: 000286954200001In this study. SiC particles were incorporated by using Friction Stir Processing (FSP), into the commercially pure aluminium to form particulate surface layers. Samples were subjected to the various tool rotating and traverse rates with and without SiC powders. Microstructural observations were carried out by employing optical microscopy of the modified surfaces. Mechanical properties like hardness and plate bending were also evaluated. The results showed that increasing rotating and traverse rate caused a more uniform distribution of SiC particles. The hardness of produced composite surfaces was improved by three times as compared to that of base aluminium. Bending strength of the produced metal matrix composite was significantly higher than processed plain specimen and untreated base metal. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Double connector to TiO2 surface in small molecule triphenyl amine dyes for DSSC applications

WOS: 000475587800070Two novel dyes 3a and 3b named triphenylamine groups containing donor-acceptor structural units have been explored to be used in dye sensitized solar cells as organic sensitizers. The absorption bands of the dyes were extended up to550nm with visible absorption maxima at 408-430nm and optical band gaps of 2.44-2.47eV. Compared to the methoxyphenyl-substituted dye, the introduction of triisopropylphenyl group instead of that increased fluorescence quantum yields and exhibited red-shift emission in chloroform. We have investigated the photovoltaic properties of DSSCs based on these metal free organic dyes. It has been found that the power conversion efficiency of DSSCs sensitized with methoxyphenyl based triphenylamine dye is higher than that for sensitized with triisopropylphenyl derivative.Ministry of Science and Technology of Turkey [16-DPT-002]This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Turkey (Project Nr: 16-DPT-002)