Weathering performance of particleboards manufactured from blends of forest residues with red pine (Pinus brutia) wood

Red pine cone and barks combined with red pine wood particles in various proportions were used as the raw materials for one and three layered experimental particleboard manufacturing in laboratory conditions. The pine cones and barks have higher lignin, but lower holocellulose content compare to wood. For bark-based panels, the highest MOR (2.52 MPa) corresponded to the lowest thickness swelling (9.3%) and marginally highest IB at 150oC and 8% adhesive level. The 24 hour thickness swelling (TS) values obtained in this study were lower than the required TS-EN 312 (2005) value of 14% for all bark-based boards. However, the single-layer bark-based boards demonstrated higher mechanical properties compared to three-layer boards using similar manufacturing conditions. The boards exposed to atmospheric conditions have considerably darkened (-DL) and lower surface roughness changes. Meanwhile, for single-layer cone boards, the highest MOR (4.66 MPa) was found at 150oC and 8% adhesive level, whereas the highest IB (1.54 MPa) and lowest TS (32.9%) were found at 150oC and 10% adhesive content. The cone-based panels had higher surface color changes (lightness and total color difference) compared to red pine wood panels. The particleboards produced using cone in the proportion of wood resulted in lower TS compared to boards made from only red pine wood

Production of Bovine Colostrum for Human Consumption to Improve Health

Colostrum contains all essential nutrients for the neonate during the first days of life, with impacts that continue far beyond these first days. Bovine colostrum has been used for human consumption due to the high concentrations of bioactive proteins, vitamins, minerals, growth factors, as well as free and conjugated oligosaccharides. Processes involved in the preparation of bovine colostrum for human consumption play a pivotal role in preserving and maintaining the activity of the bioactive molecules. As bovine colostrum is a multifunctional food that offers a myriad of benefits for human health, assessing the main processes used in preparing it with both advantages and disadvantages is a crucial point to discuss. We discuss major processes effects for colostrum production on the nutritional value, some advanced technologies to preserve processed bovine colostrum and the endproduct forms consumed by humans whether as dairy products or dietary supplements

Alternatif Hammadde Kaynağı Olarak Kargı Kamışı (Arundo donax L.) Üzerine Bir İnceleme

Kargı kamışı (Arundo donax L.) Akdeniz iklim kuşağında farklı ekolojik koşullarda yetişebilen ve hızlı gelişebilen çok yıllık bir bitki türüdür. İnsanlar tarafından kullanımı binlerce yıl öncesine dayanmaktadır. Başlıca kullanım alanlarını, üflemeli çalgı aleti ile geleneksel ve yöresel eşyaların yapımı oluşturmaktadır. Türkiye’de ney yapımında kullanılmasının yanı sıra bitkisel örücülük ve bitkisel dokumacılığın vazgeçilmez hammadde kaynağıdır. Kimyasal içeriği ve lifsel özelliklerinden dolayı potansiyel olarak selüloz ve kağıt endüstrisi ile kompozit levha üretimi için uygun bir hammadde özelliği taşımaktadır. Uygun şartlar oluştuğunda, hektarda 100 ton/yıl’a kadar biyokütle verebilmektedir. Lif özellikleri ve kimyasal içerik bakımından yapraklı ağaç liflerine benzemektedir. Başta Akdeniz ülkeleri ve Amerika Birleşik Devletleri olmak üzere dünya genelinde ilgi gören bir biyokütle kaynağı olan kargı kamışına ülkemizde yeteri kadar ilgi gösterilmemektedir. Bu çalışmada, kargı kamışının, ekolojik, fiziksel ve kimyasal özellikleri zengin literatür bilgileri doğrultusunda açıklanmış ve orman ürünleri endüstride kullanımına yönelik önerilerde bulunulmuştur.Gaint reed is an important plant that in the Mediterranean climate zone. It is a perennial and a fast-growing species that can grow in various conditions. Humans have been utilized that plant for the thousands of years. the windy instruments as well as traditional and regional purpose goods are the main application areas of that specie. in Turkey, it is a raw material for the manufacture of weaving goods as well as vegetable and herbal essentials. Due to its chemical and fibrous properties, it is a potential raw material for cellulose and paper industry as well as composite industry. in suitable conditions, up to 100 tonnes/year of biomass from hectares can be harvested. However, It’s fibrous properties and chemical constituents similar to wood species. At the Mediterranean countries as well as United States, it became a popular biomass material but it is not consider an biomass source in our country. in this study, the general characteristics of giant reed have been established with literature findings. Hence, the main objective of that study to be a potential utilization of Giant reed in future research

Weathering performance of particleboards manufactured from blends of forest residues with Red pine (Pinus brutia) wood

Red pine cone and barks combined with red pine wood particles in various proportions were used as the raw materials for one and three layered experimental particleboard manufacturing in laboratory conditions. The pine cones and barks have higher lignin, but lower holocellulose content compare to wood. For bark-based panels, the highest MOR (2.52 MPa) corresponded to the lowest thickness swelling (9.3%) and marginally highest IB at 150ºC and 8% adhesive level. The 24 hour thickness swelling (TS) values obtained in this study were lower than the required TS-EN 312 (2005) value of 14% for all bark-based boards. However, the single-layer bark-based boards demonstrated higher mechanical properties compared to three-layer boards using similar manufacturing conditions. The boards exposed to atmospheric conditions have considerably darkened (-DL) and lower surface roughness changes. Meanwhile, for single-layer cone boards, the highest MOR (4.66 MPa) was found at 150ºC and 8% adhesive level, whereas the highest IB (1.54 MPa) and lowest TS (32.9%) were found at 150ºC and 10% adhesive content. The cone-based panels had higher surface color changes (lightness and total color difference) compared to red pine wood panels. The particleboards produced using cone in the proportion of wood resulted in lower TS compared to boards made from only red pine wood

Unsymmetrically pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid substituted phthalocyanine-based photoanodes for use in water splitting photoelectrochemical and dye-sensitized solar cells

A new photosensitizer, PCA-ZnPc-2, was synthesized through the asymmetric functionalization of phthalocyanine ring with a pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid as the electron-withdrawing and anchoring group and six hexylsulfanyl as the bulky electron-donating groups. PCA-ZnPc-2 was tested in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and its performance was compared with PCA-ZnPc-1. It was found that PCA-ZnPc-2 has higher electron-donating ability which is favorable for light harvesting and suppress the dye aggregation on TiO2 when compared to PCA-ZnPc-1. Also, the new photosensitizer was used in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells for hydrogen production under visible irradiation. The results show that PCA-ZnPc-2 is a promising photosensitizer to harvest the red/near-IR regions

Single Molecule Nanocontainers Made Porous Using a Bacterial Toxin

Encapsulation of a biological molecule or a molecular complex in a vesicle provides a means of biofriendly immobilization for single molecule studies and further enables new types of analysis if the vesicles are permeable. We previously reported on using DMPC (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine) vesicles for realizing porous bioreactors. Here, we describe a different strategy for making porous vesicles using a bacterial pore-forming toxin, α-hemolysin. Using RNA folding as a test case, we demonstrate that protein-based pores can allow exchange of magnesium ions through the vesicle wall while keeping the RNA molecule inside. Flow measurements indicate that the encapsulated RNA molecules rapidly respond to the change in the outside buffer condition. The approach was further tested by coencapsulating a helicase protein and its single-stranded DNA track. The DNA translocation activity of <i>E. coli</i> Rep helicase inside vesicles was fueled by ATP provided outside the vesicle, and a dramatically higher number of translocation cycles could be observed due to the minuscule vesicle volume that facilitates rapid rebinding after dissociation. These pores are known to be stable over a wide range of experimental conditions, especially at various temperatures, which is not possible with the previous method using DMPC vesicles. Moreover, engineered mutants of the utilized toxin can potentially be exploited in the future applications

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder: 15 Years of Experience

Aim: To present our 15 years of clinical experience on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the bladder. Methods: A total of 3590 patients with bladder tumors operated between September 1998 and May 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. A total of 42 patients with SCC confirmed by histopathology were included in this study. The patients’ characteristics, including age, gender, smoking history, tumor size, and location, pathological tumor stages, treatment modalities, and survival rates were all evaluated. Results: The median age of the patients at diagnosis was 62 years (range: 40-85) and the male-to-female ratio was 9.5: 1. The most common locations of tumors were left lateral, trigone, right lateral, posterior, dome, and bladder neck, respectively. Eight patients (16.7%) had metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-one patients underwent radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy ± adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy/ radiotherapy) and 19 patients, who refused surgery, received radiotherapy ± chemotherapy. The median survival time in patients with squamous cell carcinoma who underwent radical cystectomy + adjuvant therapy was 27 months (range: 25-32) and 17 months (range: 16-19) in those who received radiotherapy + chemotherapy. Conclusions: SCC of the urinary bladder are aggressive tumors with low survival rates. The role of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in treatment is limited. Early radical cystectomy is a good treatment option for a favorable prognosis. (The Medical Bulletin of Haseki 2015; 53:192-5