Antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of Lactifluus rugatus and its antiproliferative activity on A549 cells

In the present study, the antioxidant, antimicrobial potential and antiproliferative activity of Lactifluus rugatus mushroom were determined. Thus, extracts of the mushroom were obtained using a Soxhlet device. Antioxidant and oxidant potentials were determined using Rel Assay kits. Antimicrobial potential was tested on 9 microorganisms using the modified agar dilution method. MTT test was conducted on A549 cells to determine the anti-proliferative activity. As a result, high level of antioxidant activity was determined in L. rugatus. Furthermore, it was determined that the mushroom had antimicrobial properties on tested bacteria and fungi and strong anti-proliferative activity on A549 cells. In conclusion, it was considered that L. rugatus had pharmacological potential and it can be utilized as a natural pharmacological agent

Antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of Lactifluus rugatus and its antiproliferative activity on A549 cells

423-427In the present study, the antioxidant, antimicrobial potential and antiproliferative activity of Lactifluus rugatus mushroom were determined. Thus, extracts of the mushroom were obtained using a Soxhlet device. Antioxidant and oxidant potentials were determined using Rel Assay kits. Antimicrobial potential was tested on 9 microorganisms using the modified agar dilution method. MTT test was conducted on A549 cells to determine the anti-proliferative activity. As a result, high level of antioxidant activity was determined in L. rugatus. Furthermore, it was determined that the mushroom had antimicrobial properties on tested bacteria and fungi and strong anti-proliferative activity on A549 cells. In conclusion, it was considered that L. rugatus had pharmacological potential and it can be utilized as a natural pharmacological agent

In silico sequence analysis of predicted beta-amylase 7-like protein in Juglans regia L.

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is a deciduous tree of the Juglandaceae family. Beta-amylase (β-amylase, EC 3.2.1.2) is an enzyme that catalyses hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in polysaccharides. In this study; sequence, physicochemical, and three-dimensional analyses of predicted β-amylase 7-like protein in Juglans regia using various bioinformatic tools were conducted. The physicochemical properties of the predict β-amylase 7-like protein were analyzed by using ExPASy ProtParam tool that revealed the molecular weight (MW), Isoelectric Points (pI), total number of negatively charged residues (Asp + Glu), total number of positively charged residues (Arg + Lys), instability index, aliphatic index, and GRAVY (Grand Average of Hydropathy) values. Subcellular localization using CELLO v.2.5, putative phosphorylation sites using NetPhos 3.1 server, domain analysis using Pfam, and secondary structure prediction using SOPMA were accom-plished. To predict the 3D structure of the predict  β-amylase 7-like protein, homology models were applied using PSIPRED, RAMPAGE, and PyMOL programs. The results of our study provide insight into fundamental characteristics of the predicted β-amylase 7-like protein in Juglans regia. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.58313

Modelling Scenarios for Low Carbon Heating Technologies in the Domestic Sector Towards a Circular Economy

The UK Government’s Net Zero strategy requires strong commitments to avoid catastrophic impacts of climate change. The built environment puts major pressure on the natural environment, especially with space heating-related emissions; therefore, transitioning to a circular economy is vital. In this direction, the heat pump market in the UK has been growing gradually whereas the number is still low (43,000 units in 2021). The UK Government aims to reach 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028, and according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), this number should reach 1 million by 2030. In order to accelerate the transition, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) has been introduced to provide a £5,000 grant in the UK, and the Scottish Government granted Home Energy Scotland (HES) loan and cashback scheme providing a £7,500 grant and a £2,500 interest-free loan for heat pumps. Islands are facing environmental, economic and social pressure due to the lack of connection to the mainland and dependency on fossil fuel imports. Exploring the benefits of renewable energy and low carbon heating technologies is crucial to overcome these issues. Orkney has a huge potential for renewable energy by producing electricity more than its needs. Therefore, this study chooses Orkney as a case study to explore potential heat pump uptake scenarios in line with government targets towards Circular Economy (CE). The study aims to create a comprehensive holistic approach to evaluate the environmental, energy and economic impacts of heat pump deployment scenarios. The consequences of replacing conventional heating technologies with heat pumps have been assessed through (i) comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of heat pumps with gas boilers in UK houses, (ii) energy systems modelling (ESM) to optimise the performance of a heat pump coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) tank to reduce use phase related impacts in Orkney, (iii) building stock modelling (BSM) of Orkney’s domestic sector to understand the housing condition, (iv) economic modelling to analyse life cycle cost of an air source heat pump and potential savings when existing conventional heating systems are replaced with heat pumps in Orkney, and (v) heat pump diffusion model to quantify hourly electric load curves of variable heat pump operation optimised by the energy model. The integrated methodology creates a more holistic and life cycle-wide approach to both demand, supply and end-user side of the system; therefore, the results are illustrated in both individual house archetypes level to provide guidance to the end-users and at the Orkney level to calculate cumulative savings for the policymakers. The results show that the use phase is the major contributor to the environmental impacts; therefore, increasing the renewable share in the UK’s electricity mix could help to reduce negative impacts in most of the categories. However, the high deployment of wind farms also creates toxicity and metal depletion problems. The heat pump uptake scenarios in Orkney shows that 82% reductions in energy supply could be achieved when ambitious energy efficiency improvement measures are taken in the CE scenario. The use phase-related emissions could be reduced by 98% when the heat pump becomes the only heating technology in Orkney. However, the life cycle-wide approach suggests that strong commitments are required in the manufacturing stage of these technologies through implementing circular principles such as including the use of secondary materials, eco-design and reusability of all components. Moreover, a market introduction program should be provided before shifting from one technology to another so greener production lines could be achieved. Total heating costs paid by consumers in Orkney could be reduced by 84% in the CE scenario when heat pump uptake is coupled with energy efficiency improvement measures; however, it requires a £130 million investment to insulate the unrefurbished housing stock of Orkney. Therefore, subsidies and incentives are also required for efficiency improvements such as reductions in VAT on equipment and labour costs, grants similar to BUS/HES and interest-free loans for the remaining costs. Future scenarios indicate that decision-making has significant importance on overall results; therefore, CE standards for heat pump manufacturing and deployment are crucial to reduce the negative impacts of fuel poverty and reach the Net Zero target

Design and Development of a Mineral Exploration Ontology

In this thesis, an ontology for the mineral exploration domain is designed and developed applying the Protégé ontology editor. The MinExOnt ontology includes a formal and explicit representation of the terms describing real objects, activities, and processes in mineral exploration. The stages used for these activities have various vocabularies, which are semantically modeled in this ontology with Web Ontology Language (OWL). The aim of the thesis is to show how ontologies can be designed and developed to help manage and represent geological knowledge. In addition to providing a general workflow for building the ontology, this thesis presents a simple user guide for the used software, including Protégé, used for ontology development, and Knoodl-OntVis, used for OWL visualization

Essays on Energy and Behavioral Financial Economics

AbstractsChapter 1 - An analysis of Turkey’s solar PV auction scheme: What can Turkey learn from Brazil and South Africa? As global investments continue in renewable energy technologies, investment costs have declined significantly. Meanwhile, many governments have shifted from pre-set renewable support schemes to auction schemes in order to introduce competition in price setting. Turkey has initiated Renewable Energy Resource Zone (RERZ) auctions to promote solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind technologies. We examine the first of these auctions, Solar PV RERZ, which has ambitious targets in terms of increasing solar PV capacity and enhancing domestic competence in solar technologies. Despite the auction being hailed as a success in terms of low prices, we utilize the Levelized Cost of Electricity generation (LCOE) analysis to demonstrate that the project is vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks and financial risks. Model results show that the capacity factor is the most prominent factor in costs, and a 10% change in the capacity factor affects the LCOE about the same rate. Investment cost and interest rate are the other major factors affecting the LCOE. Based on these results, we make recommendations by discussing how Turkey can improve its auction design by incorporating some of the elements used by Brazil and South Africa. Chapter 2 - How do macroeconomic dynamics affect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the power sector in developing economies: Evidence from Turkey Developing economies are currently projected to hold a major share of the global energy demand in the upcoming decades, giving them a key role in addressing climate change. However, new renewable energy investments in these countries have so far been relatively slow. A specific set of challenges dominate the investment environment in developing countries, including higher exposure to macroeconomic and political risks, uncertainties due to climate change, limited domestic manufacturing capabilities, and heavy reliance on foreign debt in capital investments. These factors tend to disproportionately affect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which currently hold a sizeable share of renewable and distributed energy technology investments. Not only does this impact the viability of energy transition, but also has important energy justice and local economic development implications – an overlooked subject in literature. Using a rich, novel dataset and panel data methods, this paper estimates the effect of a set of key macroeconomic variables on the capital structure and investment outcomes of SMEs within the Turkish power sector. Our results indicate that unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, which lead to a significant growth in liabilities and increased risk of bankruptcy, can cause a slowdown in power sector SME investments despite the prevalence of subsidies. Chapter 3 - Should Children Listen to their Parents’ Investment Advice? This study investigates the impact of intergenerational advice on investment behavior in an experimental setting. We explore the effects of positive and negative advice from one generation to the next on asset allocation decisions. Results indicate that the transmission of advice can significantly influence investment behavior, as participants who received positive advice allocated a higher proportion of their portfolio to risky assets. The transmission of advice to allocations appears to be through participants forming more optimistic beliefs about future returns rather than any change in their risk preferences. Even when challenged by a significant downturn, the group that received positive advice continued to hold optimistic beliefs. The study also challenges the assumptions of modern portfolio theory and suggests that inexperienced investors may be more influenced by the advice of previous generations

Antioxidant, oxidant potentials and element content of edible wild mushroom Helvella leucopus

266-271This study aims to determine the total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), DPPH free radical scavenging activity and element levels of the mushroom Helvella leucopus Pers. Ethanol, methanol and dichloromethane extracts of the mushroom samples were obtained using a Soxhlet device. TAS, TOS and OSI values were determined using Rel Assay kits. Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Zn contents were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Consequently, this study has demonstrated that H. leucopus has antioxidant potential. As a result of the studies, TAS value of the mushroom was found as 2.181±0.069 mmol/L, TOS value was 14.389±0.170 μmol/L and OSI value was 0.661±0.022. DPPH free radical activity was determined as EtOH extract 49.80±0.71, MeOH extract 44.98±2.18 and DCM extract 23.68±1.37 in 1 mg/mL extract concentration of mushroom. In addition, it was found that the mushroom contains high levels of Pb and Mn. In conclusion, it was found that H. leucopus could be used as a natural agent in pharmacological designs due to its antioxidant activity

Circular Economy and Eco-Innovation Solutions for Low-Carbon Buildings in Cities: The Case of Kayseri

An analysis of eco-innovations solutions for efficient low carbon buildings through circular economy principles (reduce, reuse, recycle), that also consider economic and social indicators has been performed at the national (Turkey) and urban scale (Kayseri). The framework for the city of Kayseri and the implementation of the circular economy for construction chain were determined that the three enabler tools which are policies, funding and awareness and collaboration could help to implement circular city model in Turkey. Reducing energy intensity and understanding the factors that can influence this (such as urbanization and industrialisation) will help mitigate future climate changes, improve local air pollution and health

Achillea millefolium L. subsp. millefolium essential oil’s antifungal effect

This study was carried out with the aim of determining the antifungal effect of the essential oil isolated from Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium plant against pathogenic fungi. In order to test the antifungal effect of the oil, an analysis was conducted on a total of 4 pathogen fungi which included Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the effect of the essential oil on the growth of these fungi was investigated. The essential oil of A. millefolium ssp. millefolium had varying degrees of effect on the tested fungi. The highest antifungal effect was found against S. cerevisiae; whereas the lowest antifungal effect was found against C. parapsilosis. Nystatin showed a higher activity than the essential oil of A. millefolium subsp. millefolium against the tested fungi. MIC values ​​of the essential oil against the tested fungi ranged from 1.25 μl/ml to 10 μl/ml. The results obtained indicate that essential oil of A. millefolium subsp. millefolium can be used as an alternative to antifungal agents such as amphotericin, ketoconazole, and fluconazole. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.134633

Life Cycle Assessment of Domestic Heat Pumps with Gas Boilers and Hybrid Scenario Analysis in the UK

This research analyses the environmental impacts of domestic heat pumps with gas boilers and scenario analysis through a life cycle approach. The study analyses three scenarios (Transport (SK), 50% Hybrid and 75% Hybrid) to compare their results with a baseline model and also CE 2050 model which has a future outlook. The results show that changing the manufacturing location from Europe to South Korea doesn’t have a significant impact on both models as the weight of manufacturing and transport phases are relatively small compared to the use phase. Hybrid scenario results show increases in GHG emissions; however, the remaining categories have reductions. 50% Hybrid scenario results expect a reduction of 18% and 12% on average in ASHP and GSHP respectively in the baseline model. However, 75% Hybrid scenario results offer less reduction than the half-hybrid scenario in the same model with 8% and 5% decrease in ASHP and GSHP. In CE 2050 model, the results expect an increase of 27% and 21% on average in both heat pumps for 50% Hybrid scenario. On the other hand, CE 2050 model results offer less increase than the half-hybrid scenario for 75% Hybrid scenario with 18% and 13% increase in ASHP and GSHP respectivel