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Novel nanocomposite smart hydrogel (NSH) and smart hydrogel (SH) are prepared to be used as a support for invertase. Spectrophotometric and thermal analysis methods were used for the characterization. Lower critical solution temperature values of SH and NSH were found as 32.68°C and 30.44°C, respectively. From the pH-responsive swellings performed at three different temperatures, the inflection point values of NSH were found at higher pHs compared to SH. Invertase was immobilized onto SH and NSH (SH−I and NSH−I). The optimum pH and temperature values were found. Michaelis constant and maximum reaction rate were calculated. NSH−I showed excellent thermal, operational and pH stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, mathematical models of air cooled condensers with circular and elliptic cross-sections were developed and performances were evaluated with artificial neural networks. Air velocity, orientation angle and ambient temperature were used as the input to the neural network structure while heat transfer rate to the air was used as the output. The data sets were generated from high fidelity, computationally inefficient expensive three dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations. It was observed that artificial neural network model replaces computational fluid dynamics model and based on the mathematical model with artificial neural network, elliptic condensers perform better in terms of heat transfer compared to circular ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is becoming a serious problem in many urban cities of the world and it can have a serious effect on both health and the environment. Although experimental studies have shown that alcohol fuels burn cleaner than unleaded gasoline and produce lesser emission, there is limited information regarding the comparison among the alcohol fuels as gasoline additive in spark-ignited engines. Therefore, a comparison has been performed in this experimental work on the exhaust emissions of a spark-ignited engine when operating on a blend of methanol, ethanol, orn-butanol with unleaded gasoline. Methanol, ethanol and n-butanol were added to unleaded gasoline by mass percent of 10% (denoted as M10, E10 and Bu10, respectively), and then tested in a four cylinder, four strokes spark-ignited engine. Although the experimental results show little differences in exhaust emissions between M10, E10, and Bu10, compared with Bu10, M10 and E10 have lower carbon monoxide emission and higher fuel consumption, hydrocarbon, and CO2emission. Compared with unleaded gasoline, blended fuels containing different alcohols appear to have a lower carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions and a higher fuel consumption rate and CO2emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide/sodium acrylate (AAm/SA) copolymers, prepared by using various crosslinkers, were used in experiments on swelling, diffusion, immobilization of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and production of ethyl alcohol. AAm/SA hydrogels were used for swelling and diffusion studies in the nutrient medium of the cells. The parameters of equilibrium swelling, maximum swelling, initial swelling rate, diffusional exponent, network constant and diffusion coefficient of the hydrogel/penetrant systems were calculated and evaluated. Yeast cells were immobilized onto the hydrogels by adsorption method during multiplication and ethyl alcohol production of the hydrogels was investigated. Swelling of AAm increased with the addition of SA and ethyl alcohol production increased with increasing SA in the hydrogels. The best system for immobilization is found to be AAm/SA hydrogels containing N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide as crosslinker. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Radiation crosslinked acrylamide/maleic acid (AAm/MA) copolymers were prepared by γ-irradiation. They were used in experiments on swelling, diffusion, and immobilization of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) for the production of ethyl alcohol. AAm/MA hydrogels containing different amount of MA, irradiated at different doses, were used for swelling and diffusion studies. The parameters of swelling, diffusional exponents, network constants, diffusion coefficients and percent porosity of the hydrogel/penetrant systems were calculated and evaluated. Yeast cells were immobilized on to the hydrogels by adsorption during multiplication, and ethyl alcohol production by the hydrogels was investigated. Swelling of AAm/MA increased with increase in MA content. Ethyl alcohol production also increased with increasing MA in the hydrogels but decreased with an increase of irradiation dose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite advancements in diagnostic modalities, delineating the etiology of fever of unknown origin (FUO) remains a significant challenge for clinicians. Notably, cases with hematological malignancies often have a poor prognosis due to delayed diagnosis. This study investigated the potential of readily obtainable laboratory markers to differentiate hematological causes from other etiologies during the early stages of FUO. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical records of 100 patients who fulfilled the modified FUO criteria between January 2010 and April 2023. Hematological etiologies were identified in 26 of the 100 patients. Peripheral blood neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet counts, and the systemic immune inflammation (SII) index, were significantly lower in the hematological group compared to the non-hematological group. Conversely, serum ferritin levels were demonstrably higher in the hematological group. ROC analysis identified a neutrophil-to-ferritin ratio (NFR) cutoff value of < 8.53 as optimal for predicting hematological etiology. Subsequent multivariate analysis demonstrated that the NFR was the sole independent predictor of hematological etiology (p = 0.013).This study proposes a novel approach for early diagnosis of a potentially life-threatening subset of FUO patients. The NFR presents as an inexpensive and readily available marker for predicting hematological etiology in FUO cases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: This study examined the influence of socio-economic and demographic variables, the frequency of travel to Turkey and years of living in Sydney on the life satisfaction of older Turkish people., Methods: This study was conducted with 110 participants of 60 years of age or older, at the New South Wales Turkish Welfare Association in Sydney, Australia. The surveys were administered face-to-face at a date and time these participants went to the Association. The dependent variable of the study was the Life Satisfaction Scale. The study data were analysed using hierarchical regression analysis, and the three sets of regression models were run for each sex., Results: The research found that in addition to sociodemographic factors, frequency of travel to Turkey, particularly for older women, and their years of living in Sydney had negative effects on life satisfaction. The study results indicate that the frequency of both the male and female participants' visits to Turkey had a strong negative influence on their life satisfaction. Life satisfaction decreased as the frequency of the participants' visits to Turkey and years of living in Sydney increased., Conclusion: These findings support the current literature that shows the effects of the frequency of travel to Turkey and years of living in Sydney, which were considered to influence relationships with social networks, on life satisfaction, and indicates the necessity for a more detailed examination of social network relationships., (© 2017 AJA Inc.)