Investigations for Modification of Polyacrylamide-Bentonite by Phytic Acid and its Usability in Fe3+, Zn2+ and UO2 2+ Adsorption

Composite of polyacrylamide-bentonite (PAA-B) was prepared by direct polymerisation of PAA in a suspension of bentonite (B). Adsorption and thermodynamic features of phytic acid (Phy) adsorption onto B, PAA and PAA-B, and those of Fe³⁺, Zn²⁺, UO₂ ²⁺ adsorption onto PAA-B and its modification by Phy (PAA-B-Phy) have been investigated. The reusability, storagability, ion selectivity and recoverability of sorbed ions with 1 M HCl have also been considered.The chemical and physical structure of adsorbents has been characterised by means of FT-IR and XRD. All adsorption isotherms for Phy and the ions were L-type of the Giles classification except, the one which is S type for adsorption of Phy onto PAA. The maximum adsorption capacities for the ions adsorbed were in order of UO₂ ²⁺ > Fe³⁺ > Zn²⁺ for PAA-B and Zn²⁺ > Fe³⁺ > UO₂ ²⁺ for PAA-B-Phy. Langmuir equilibrium constants for the adsorption of ions onto PAA-B-Phy were significantly higher than those found for PAA-B; the magnitude of increase for UO₂ ²⁺ was about 100. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that adsorption reactions are spontaneous in terms of adsorption free enthalpy.The chemical structure of PAA-B-Phy was not changed at the end of the studies of reusability and storagability. The composite was selective for UO₂ ²⁺ of the ions of interest.The composite of PAA-B and its modification by Phy have been used for the first time in this investigation. It is proposed that the composites can be practically used in the investigations and applications of adsorption.     

New 6-(4-Bromophenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole Derivatives: Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity

Summary.  New 4-alkyl/aryl-1-((6-(4-bromophenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)-acetyl)-3-thiosemicarbazides and 3-alkyl/aryl-2-(((6-(4-bromophenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)-acetyl)-hydrazono)-4-thiazolidinones were synthesized from 6-(4-bromophenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-3-acetic acid hydrazide. Their structures were elucidated by elemental analyses and spectroscopic data. All compounds were tested for antibacterial and antifungal activities. The antimicrobial activities of the compounds were assessed by the microbroth dilution technique. The compounds were also evaluated for antituberculosis activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv (ATCC 27294); they exhibited varying degrees of inhibition in the in vitro primary screening at 6.25 μg · cm⁻³. The most active compound was 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-(((6-(4-bromophenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)-acetyl)-hydrazono)-4-thiazolidinone. Corresponding author. E-mail: nurayulusoy@yahoo.com Received December 10, 2001. Accepted (revised) March 1, 2002     

Vertical distribution of the natural and artificial radionuclides in various soil profiles to investigate soil erosion

Vertical distributions of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb in soil profiles were examined to study their availability in soil erosion at Gökova region where there exists intensive agricultural activities on sloppy fields. Since the mobility of these radionuclides depend on soil characteristics, soil samples were analyzed also for their physical and chemical properties. From ¹³⁷Cs inventories measured, erosion rates for cultivated and disturbed (no cultivation) soils were calculated to range from 79.1 to 6.5 t^.ha^-1.y^-1 and from 79.9 to 3.5 t^.ha^-1.y^-1, respectively. The ²¹⁰Pb technique is found to be not suitable for erosion determination for this area, presumably due to the coal-fired power plants operating in the region.     

Application of Phosphorus-31 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrosocopy for the Study of Human Diabetic Cataractogenesis

Intact human Senses incubated at 5.5 mM (normal) and 35.5 mM glucose were examined by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR) spectroscopy. Lense in 35.5 mM glucose showed an altered metabolic steady-state characterized by a lowered adenosine triphosphate/inorganic orthophosphate ratio. ³¹P NMR spectroscopy can be used to measure metabolic changes in the lens. This model offers an important means to study dynamic metabolism in the human lens in the setting of diabetic cataractogenesis.     

Photopolymerization of enzymatically synthesized methacrylated poly(caprolactone) with poly(ethylene glycol) macromonomer

Polycaprolactone (PCL) based α,ω-methacrylated macromonomer (DMPCL) was synthesized via enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP) by using Novozyme 435 as the enzyme immobilized catalyst. DMPCL was further photopolymerized with monofunctional poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA-950) macromonomer and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) as tri-functionalized crosslinking agent in glass vials when CHCl₃ was the solvent and Irgacure 819 was the photoinitiator. Ultraviolet (UV) Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs enabled photoinduced reactions at room temperature with low heat generation and high reaction efficiency. The obtained gels were characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). DMPCL participated as an effective crosslinking agent in the photopolymerization of PEGMA-950. Combined usage of DMPCL and PEGMA-950 resulted in significantly more effective polymerization than the separate photopolymerizations of these macromonomers.     

A Ready‐to‐Use Electrochemical Kit Design for the Diagnosis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

In this study, for the first time a model electrochemical kit was constructed for the detection of a functional polymorphism in catechol‐O‐methyl transferase (COMT) gene which is important for diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders as Alzheimer disease. The disposable pencil graphite electrode (PGE) is designed as a “kit” and the probe DNA covered PGE can detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from real samples based on the guanine oxidation signal even after 5 months of kit preparation (150 days durability).The detection limit (S/N=3) of the biosensor was calculated as 1.18 pmol of synthetic target sequence and 6.09×10⁵ molecules of real samples in 30 min detection time.     

A Pencil Graphite Electrode In Situ Modified by Monovalent Copper: a Promising Tool for the Determination of Methylxanthines

A pencil graphite electrode (PeGE) exhibits a promising tool for the electrochemical analysis of xanthine (Xan) and its N‐methyl derivatives (1‐, 3‐, 7‐ and 9‐mXan). The changes in their level in blood, serum, urine, as products of purine catabolism, can indicate the development of some diseases. Sensitivity‐enhanced voltammetric detection of mXans was achieved by forming of complex with Cu(I) and application of elimination procedure. The Cu(I)‐mXan complex was identified by means of titration of electrochemically produced cuprous ions by mXan. Our approach enables separation of overlapped mXan oxidation signals. Based on the obtained results, we found that the effect of methyl group position on the xanthine skeleton was significant and it was also discussed.     

Natural Melanin Nanoparticle‐decorated Screen‐printed Carbon Electrode: Performance Test for Amperometric Determination of Hexavalent Chromium as Model Trace

A biosensor was prepared with natural melanin nanoparticles (MNP) decorated on a screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Hexavalent chromium was selected as a well‐known heavy metal ion to be detected for testing the performance of novel biosensor. Natural MNP was extracted from cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) ink. Surface decoration of SPCEs with MNP was performed by two different methods. The first one was layer‐by‐layer assembly (LBL‐A) for different cycle times(n). In the second one, plasma treatment of SPCE incorporated with evaporation‐induced self‐assembly (EI‐SA) techniques including different incubation times in MNP solutions. The performance of both modified SPCEs were tested for amperometric detection of Cr(VI) in various water samples, and peak reduction of Cr(VI) was determined at 0.33 V. Amperometric results showed wide linear ranges of 0.1–2 μM and 0.1–5 μM of Cr(VI) for SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA, respectively. The sensitivities of SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA techniques were 0.27 μA μM^?1 and 0.52 μA μM^?1, respectively. In addition, both modified SPCEs selectively detected Cr(VI) in a model aqueous system composed of certain other heavy metals and minerals, and tap and lake water samples. The LOD and LOQ values for 12h‐EI‐SA were 0.03 μM and 0.1 μM, respectively. This showed that MNP‐modified‐SPCEs generated via EI‐SA techniques have the potential to be an alternative to conventional detection methods such as ICP‐MS.     

Multiprocessor task scheduling in multistage hybrid flow-shops: a genetic algorithm approach

This paper considers multiprocessor task scheduling in a multistage hybrid flow-shop environment. The objective is to minimize the make-span, that is, the completion time of all the tasks in the last stage. This problem is of practical interest in the textile and process industries. A genetic algorithm (GA) is developed to solve the problem. The GA is tested against a lower bound from the literature as well as against heuristic rules on a test bed comprising 400 problems with up to 100 jobs, 10 stages, and with up to five processors on each stage. For small problems, solutions found by the GA are compared to optimal solutions, which are obtained by total enumeration. For larger problems, optimum solutions are estimated by a statistical prediction technique. Computational results show that the GA is both effective and efficient for the current problem. Test problems are provided in a web site at www.benchmark.ibu.edu.tr/mpt-hfsp.     

Acoustic Analysis Findings in Objective Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Patients

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the effects of objective laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) on the acoustic parameters of patients by comparing their voice samples with that of control subjects. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study in two tertiary reference hospitals. METHODS: 48 consecutive patients with symptoms related to LPR and 64 control subjects were included in the study. Suspected LPR patients underwent a 24-hour ambulatory pH monitoring, and 25 (52%) of them were shown to have objective LPR. Acoustical evaluation results of objective LPR patients were compared with that of symptomatic LPR patients and control subjects. RESULTS: All frequency perturbation values obtained from objective and symptomatic LPR patients were higher than the control subjects (P<0.01). Mean fundamental frequency, amplitude perturbation measures, and noise-to-harmonics ratio were not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSION: LPR patients have significantly different frequency perturbation values than control subjects.