Use of natural soda ash production process waste for SO2 removal

Results of ChemCad©6.0 simulation have been presented on usability of natural soda ash production process waste in order to remove SO2 from flue gas. Properties and concentrations of the solutions used in this study belong to the waste stream of Eti Soda Inc., and the flue gas compositions were acquired from an existing thermal power plant. SO2 and H2O feed rates and flue gas entrance temperature to the absorption tower were optimized through the response surface methodology (RSM) in order to attain highest SO2 removal yields. It has been found that SO2 removal remained at 33.83% when the waste composition was lower than 2 wt. % while 100% SO2 removal was reached as the waste composition was increased to 8 wt. %. This result clearly demonstrates that treatment of natural soda ash production process waste can be done safely and economically while serving as an SO2 removal agent at the same time

Experimental Self-Tuning Proportional Integral Derivative pH Control: Application to a Bioprocess

pH control has received considerable attention in preparation of cheese whey drink, by fermentation with kefir yeast, because of its critical role in quality assurance. To improve the rheological and sensory properties of this drink, milk and grape juice are added to the bioprocess medium. Cheese whey drink was produced from the pasteurized mixture, which contains cheese whey, glucose, grape juice and milk. The fermentation of this mixture with kefir yeast in a batch bioreactor was investigated. The pH was monitored during the production of cheese whey drink. Experiments show that kefir yeast is very resistant to contamination. A self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative control was applied to the bioprocess. The software of controller was developed by using the autoregressive moving average exogenous model. The model parameters were evaluated from input-output data by using a pseudo random binary sequence. The experimental results illustrate that the controller can maintain the pH at the desired value. It is noted that the self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative pH control results with the best controller tuning parameters and provides very good results, compared to initially adjusted case, without control. The best tuning parameters were found as t₁=0.1, t₂=0, t₃=0, by comparing experimental application results

Molecular diversity of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ species in pome and stone fruits in Turkey

Apple, pear and apricot trees showing phytoplasma associated symptoms from Ankara and Isparta provinces were sampled and investigated to verify the presence of phytoplasma-associated diseases. Totally 31 samples were tested with phytoplasma universal and group specific primers and the PCR products were restricted using Tru1I, RsaI and SspI endonucleases. Different RFLP profiles were obtained and selected samples were directly sequenced. The apple samples were found infected with 16SrX-A (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’), while the majority of the pear samples were infected with 16SrX-A and 16SrX-C subgroup phytoplasmas in mixed infection. The 16SrX-B (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum’), 16SrX-C (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri’) and mixed infection of 16SrX-A/16SrX-C and 16SrX-C/16SrI (aster yellows) were detected in the apricot samples. In this study the 16SrI phytoplasmas in apricot and the mixed phytoplasma infections in pear and apricot trees were detected in Turkey for the first time

Determination of the most significant serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibilities of avian pathogenic escherichia col isolates in turkey [Bestimmung der wichtigsten serotypen und der antibiotika-resistenz von pathogenen escherichia coli isolaten beim geflügel in der türkey]

The present study aimed to isolate Escherichia coli from chickens with colibacillosis, to detect the presence of important serotypes (O1, O2, O18, O78) and to examine antibiotic susceptibility profiles and resistance genes in antibiotic resistant isolates in Turkey. A total of 150 E. coli isolates collected from internal organs of broilers with colibacillosis were used in the study. Antibiotic resistance status of these isolates to 12 antimicrobial agents that belong to 7 antimicrobial families was examined by the disk diffusion method. The most important 23 resistance genes in antibiotic-resistant isolates and important APEC (Avian pathogenic E. coli) serotypes were investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). While 6.7% of the isolates were found to be susceptible to all antimicrobials, 66.7% were multidrug resistant. It was determined that 150 isolates of E. coli were resistant at a rate of 73.3%, 68.7%, 63.4%, and 60.7% to amoxicillin/ampicillin, tetracycline, enrofloxacin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, respectively. The blaTEM, blaCMY, blaSHV, blaCTX, blaOXA, tetA, tetB, qnrA, drfA1, drfA7,17 and sulII antibiotic resistance genes were detected. It was determined that 18.0% of isolates were O78, 10.0% were O2, 2.7% were O1, and 2.0% were O18. It was concluded that further epidemiological studies should be designed to investigate the virulence properties and clonal groups of APEC. This study was the first research of serotypes and antibiotic resistance genes of APEC isolates in Turkey using molecular methods. © 2019, Verlag Eugen Ulmer. All rights reserved

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in adults: Low incidence of primary neoplasm as a trigger in a case series from Turkey

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an indicator of an exaggerated immune response and eventually adverse outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory features and outcomes of patients with HLH. The medical records of 26 HLH adult patients (? 16 years of age) were retrospectively analyzed. Gender, age, the duration of fever, time to diagnosis, etiology and laboratory data were extracted from the records. The mean age was 38 ± 18 years, and 15 (58%) patients were female. A total of nine cases had infectious diseases; four cases had rheumatologic diseases, three cases had hematological malignancies while nine cases could not have a definitive diagnosis. The median time to detection of HLH was 20 days (IQR: 8-30 d). Of the 25 patients, 11 (44%) died. The erythrocyte sedimentation rates of the surviving and non-surviving patients were 39 ± 22 mm/h and 15 ± 13 mm/h, respectively. When a long-lasting fever is complicated by bicytopenia or pancytopenia (especially), clinicians should promptly consider the possibility of HLH syndrome to improve patients' prognosis. © 2018 Slovensko Kemijsko Drustvo. All Rights Reserved