THE UTILIZATION OF WHEAT HULL ASH FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BARIUM AND CALCIUM SILICATES

TERZIOGLU, Pinar/0000-0003-4114-7044;WOS: 000335937300005Wheat is the world's second most produced grain because of its high consumption rate, easy growth, multipurpose use and important role in the human diet. Every year, abundant amounts of wheat hull are obtained after shell process of the wheat as a waste material. Wheat hull, a by-product of the food industry, has low economic value. The utilization of wheat hull ash in various areas of industry can contribute to both financial and waste management strategies. In the present study, wheat hull ash that contains a high proportion of silica (43.22%), was utilized for barium and calcium silicate production. The wheat hull ash based barium and calcium silicate had a BET surface area of 30 and 54 m(2)/g, respectively. There has been no research on barium and calcium silicate production from wheat hull. So, this study will present originality on this area.Yildiz Technical University, Coordination of Scientific Research Projects (BAP)Yildiz Technical University [29-07-04-YL05]The authors would like to express their thanks for the financial support provided by Yildiz Technical University, Coordination of Scientific Research Projects (BAP) (Project number:29-07-04-YL05)

A new method for fully automated detection of algae blooms in Antarctica using Sentinel-2 satellite images

The melting of Antarctic glaciers has become a significant issue as a result of global climate change. Algae on the Antarctic ice/snow is an important part of terrestrial photosynthetic organisms. Monitoring and tracking these algal blooms is crucial for understanding the melting of glaciers in the region. Due to the climatic and natural conditions of the region, traveling to and arranging logistics for monitoring and observing snow algae in the Antarctic continent becomes extremely challenging. To overcome these challenges, a novel algorithm has been developed and designed to automatically detect and analyze green algae (Chlorella sp.) from satellite images. Leveraging the vast and free available data from the Sentinel -2 satellite, the algorithm utilizes its high spectral resolution capabilities, capturing invaluable information from various spectral bands. The algorithm was formulated based on the image obtained on February 28, 2017, where green algae formations were intensively seen in the Ryder Bay. The algorithm was developed based on rule -based detection of algae, with the usage of reflection values from the areas where ground truth was established on this date. The developed algorithm was coded and tested using Python version 3.9. The accuracy analysis of the algorithm was conducted using overall accuracy (OA), F1 score, and Kappa statistical test. As a result of the analysis, the OA, F1 score, and Kappa statistic values were calculated as %91, %88.82-% 95.27, and 0.901, respectively. (c) 2023 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Fixed bed pyrolysis of the rapeseed cake

The fixed bed atmospheric pressure pyrolysis and nitrogen swept pyrolysis of the rapeseed cake obtained from cold extraction press have been investigated. Experiments were performed in the Heinze retort at a 7 degrees C min(-1) heating rate, with a 500 degrees C final temperature varying sweep gas velocity (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 cm(3) min(-1)) under nitrogen atmosphere. Liquid, gas, and char yields were determined, pyrolysis conversion was calculated, and liquid, char, and gas products were presented as an environmentally friendly fuel candidate

Non-destructive Measurement of Sugar Content in Chestnuts Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

International audienceThe chestnut (Castanea) is an important fruit in Europe and Asia. As a highly variable fruit, its quality is graded according to nutrition components, especially according to the sugar content, which are traditionally measured by using chemical methods. However, the traditional methods are time-consuming, laborious, and expensive. Here, we analyzed the sugar content of intact and peeled chestnuts by near-infrared spectroscopy. The spectra of intact and peeled chestnut samples were collected in the wavelength range from 833 nm to 2500 nm. The Sample Set Partitioning based on joint X–Y distances was used when the calibration and validation subsets were partitioned. The predictive models for intact and peeled chestnut samples respectively, were developed using partial least squares (PLS) regression based on the original spectra and the spectra derived from different pretreatments. The PLS models developed from the spectra of peeled samples gave accurate predictions. The correlation coefficient (R2) of the optimized model for calibration set and validation set were 0.90 and 0.86. Although the models established on the spectra of intact samples did not perform excellently, they were still qualified to measure sugar content of the chestnut kernel. The correlation coefficient (R2) of optimized model for calibration set and validation set were 0.89 and 0.59. These results suggested that NIR spectroscopy could be used as a fast and accurate alternative method for the nondestructive evaluation of sugar content in chestnuts during orchard and post-harvest processes

Bioconversion of Alkali Pretreated Hazelnut Shells to Fermentable Sugars for Generation of High Value Products

Hazelnut shells are lignocellulosic by-products of hazelnut processing. As the shells are rich in cellulose and hemicellulose, they have high potential as a raw material for production of food enzymes, biofuel, and various chemicals (acetic acid, furfural and lignin degradation products) after bioprocessing. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of alkali pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis on production of fermentable sugars from hazelnut shells. The hazelnut shells were pretreated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at concentrations of 3-7 % (w/v) for 30-90 min at 121 C-A degrees. Pretreatments were evaluated measuring delignification, solid recovery and production of reducing sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated biomass. Up to 20 % lignin removal was achieved and the highest reducing sugar yield of 318.3 mg/g pretreated biomass (or 91.7 % enzyme conversion efficiency) was obtained from biomass pretreated with 3 % NaOH at a solid to liquid ratio of 1:20 for 60 min. The response surface model predicted the optimal reducing sugar production (357.2 mg/g pretreated biomass) under 3 % NaOH, 1:13 of solid to liquid ratio and 63 min of pretreatment period at 121 degrees C. Overall, the results of this study show a promise for hazelnut shells to be used in production of value-added products

Genetic analysis of innate immunity in Behcet’s disease identifies an association with IL-37 and IL-18RAP

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and the IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) family play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of IL-1 and IL-1R family genes with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) and Behcet’s disease (BD) in Han Chinese. The case-control study was divided into two stages and included 419 VKH cases, 1063 BD cases and 1872 healthy controls. The MassARRAY platform (Sequenom), iPLEX Gold Assay and TaqMan SNP assays were used to score genotypes of 24 SNPs. The expression of IL-37 and IL-18Rap was measured by ELISA and real-time PCR in genotyped healthy individuals. A significantly lower frequency of the AG genotype, and a higher frequency of the GG genotype and G allele of IL-37/rs3811047 were observed in BD as compared to controls. AA genotype and A allele frequency of IL-18RAP/rs2058660 was significantly decreased in BD as compared to controls. Functional studies performed in healthy controls showed that rs3811047 AG genotype carriers had a higher IL-37 gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) than GG carriers. GG carriers showed a higher cytokine expression as compared to AG carriers. No association was detected between the tested SNPs and VKH