Comparative Evaluation of Pumice Stone as an Alternative Immobilization Material for 1,3-Propanediol Production from Waste Glycerol by Immobilized Klebsiella pneumoniae

In this study, pumice stone (PS), which is a vastly available material in Turkey, was evaluated as an alternative immobilization material in comparison to other commercially available immobilization materials such as glass beads and polyurethane foam. All immobilized bioreactors resulted in much better 1,3-propanediol production from waste glycerol in comparison to the suspended cell culture bioreactor. It was also demonstrated that the locally available PS material is as good as the commercially available immobilization material. The maximum volumetric productivity (8.5?g?L^?1?h^?1) was obtained by the PS material, which is 220?% higher than the suspended cell system. Furthermore, the immobilized bioreactor system was much more robust against cell washout even at very low hydraulic retention time values.     

Effect of inquiry-based instruction enriched with origami activities on achievement,and self-efficacy in geometry

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of inquiry-based instruction enriched with origami activities on 7th grade students’ achievement in reflection symmetry and self-efficacy in geometry. Two classes, instructed by the first author of the paper, were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. In order to gather data, participants were administered Reflection Symmetry Achievement Test, and Geometry Self-Efficacy Scale as pre-test and post-test. The Analysis of Covariance was performed in order to answer the research questions. Moreover, five participants were interviewed to examine self-efficacy sources which are determinant of the change in self-efficacy levels. Findings revealed that the inquiry-based instruction enriched with origami activities had a significantly positive effect on students’ achievement in reflection symmetry and self-efficacy in geometry. Interviews showed that all four sources were influenced by the intervention.     

Parameter estimation of an agent‐based stock price model

The influence of the behavior and strategies of traders on stock price formation has attracted much interest. It is assumed that there is a positive correlation between the total net demand and the price change. A buy order is expected to increase the price, whereas a sell order is assumed to decrease it. We perform data analysis based on a recently proposed stochastic model for stock prices. The model involves long‐range dependence, self‐similarity, and no arbitrage principle, as observed in real data. The arrival times of orders, their quantity, and their duration are created by a Poisson random measure. The aggregation of the effect of all orders based on these parameters yields the log‐price process. By scaling the parameters, a fractional Brownian motion or a stable Levy process can be obtained in the limit. In this paper, our aim is twofold; first, to devise statistical methodology to estimate the model parameters with an application on high‐frequency price data, and second, to validate the model by simulations with the estimated parameters. We find that the statistical properties of agent level behavior are reflected on the stock price, and can affect the entire process. Moreover, the price model is suitable for prediction through simulations when the parameters are estimated from real data. The methods developed in the present paper can be applied to frequently traded stocks in general. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation of multilayered gold-silica-polystyrene core-shell particles by seeded polymerization

A preparation method for multilayered gold-silica-polystyrene core-shell composite particles is proposed. The gold-silica core-shell particles of 192-nm-sized, synthesized by coating the 18-nm-sized gold particles with silica by a seeded growth technique, were used as cores for succeeding polystyrene coating. After surface modification of gold-silica composite particles by methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS), polymerizations of styrene (0.16-0.4 M) were conducted with 8 x 10(-3) M of potassium persulfate initiator in the presence of 1 x 10(-3) M of sodium p-styrenesulfonate anionic monomer. Multilayered core-shell gold-silica-polystyrene particles that contained a single core could be obtained. The coefficient of variation of size distribution (CV) of the composite particles was less than 7%, and polystyrene shell thickness was in a range of 193 to 281 nm.     

The Synthesis of Ester and Ketone Derivatives of Azocalix[4]arene Containing Chromogenic Groups

Azocalix[4]arenes were prepared by linking 4-ethylaniline, 4-n-butylaniline, 4-acetamide aniline and 2-aminothiazol to calix[4]arene through a diazo-coupling reaction. A new family of azocalix[4]arenes, L1–L12, have been prepared by the incorporation of acetyl, benzoyl, and methyl ketone units to azocalix[4]arene. Characterization of the synthesized compounds was carried using elemental analyses, UV–Vis, IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies.     

Synthesis and electropolymerization of 5,12-dihydrothieno[3′,4′:2,3][1,4]dioxocino[6,7-b]quinoxaline and its electrochromic properties

Synthesis of a new thiophene-based monomer; 5,12-dihydrothieno[3′,4′:2,3][1,4]dioxocino[6,7-b]quinoxaline (DDQ), was realized. The chemical structure of the monomer was characterized by ¹H NMR, FTIR and mass spectroscopy techniques. Electrochemical polymerization of DDQ and characterization of the resulting polymer [P(DDQ)] was performed. Moreover, the spectroelectrochemical and electrochromic properties of the polymer film were investigated. P(DDQ) has a low oxidation potential (0.9 V) and low band gap (1.73 eV) compared to polythiophene. In addition, dual-type polymer electrochromic device (ECD) based on P(DDQ) with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was constructed. Spectroelectrochemistry, electrochromic switching, stability and open-circuit stability of the device were studied. It was observed that polymer have good switching time, reasonable contrast and optical memory.     

Comparative Studies on Essential Oil and Phenolic Content with In Vitro Antioxidant,Anticholinesterase, Antimicrobial Activities of Achillea biebersteinii Afan. and A. millefolium subsp. millefolium Afan. L. Growing in Eastern Turkey

The potential applications of Achillea species in various industries have encouraged the examination of their phytochemical components along with their biological potential. In the present study, phenolic contents and essential oil compositions together with the in vitro biological activities of the aerial parts from Achillea biebersteinii Afan. and Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium Afan. collected from Turkey were evaluated. Different solvent extracts (n-hexane, chloroform, methanol, water) were prepared and their antimicrobial, anticholinesterase, and antioxidant activities were studied. The LC-MS/MS results revealed the presence of 16 different phenolic compounds, including chlorogenic acid, rutin, quercetin, and luteolin glycosides, in methanolic extracts. According to GC-FID and GC/MS results, the primary components of the oils were identified as 1,8-cineole (32.5%), piperitone (14.4%), and camphor (13.7%) in A. biebersteinii and 1,8-cineole (12.3%) and β-eudesmol (8.9%) in A. millefolium subsp. millefolium. The infusion and methanolic extracts of both species were found to be rich in their total phenolic content as well as their antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity. In contrast, the n-hexane and chloroform extracts of both species showed strong antimicrobial activity with MIC values ranging from 15 to 2000 μg/mL. Our findings suggest that the investigated Achillea species could be evaluated as potent natural agents, and further studies into the promising extracts are needed.     

Search for supernova relic neutrinos at Super-Kamiokande

A search for the relic neutrinos from all past core-collapse supernovae was conducted using 1496 days of data from the Super-Kamiokande detector. This analysis looked for electron-type antineutrinos that had produced a positron with an energy greater than 18 MeV. In the absence of a signal, 90% C.L. upper limits on the total flux were set for several theoretical models; these limits ranged from 20 to 130 macro nu(e) cm(-2) s(-1). Additionally, an upper bound of 1.2 macro nu(e) cm(-2) s(-1) was set for the supernova relic neutrino flux in the energy region E(nu)>19.3 MeV.     

Limits on the neutrino magnetic moment using 1496 days of Super-Kamiokande-I solar neutrino data

A search for a nonzero neutrino magnetic moment has been conducted using 1496 live days of solar neutrino data from Super-Kamiokande-I. Specifically, we searched for distortions to the energy spectrum of recoil electrons arising from magnetic scattering due to a nonzero neutrino magnetic moment. In the absence of a clear signal, we found micro(nu)相似文献