The synthesis and spectral properties of novel phthalocyanines with pendant bulky units

Novel phthalocyanines with biphenyl substituents and ester groups that are readily soluble in organic solvents were synthesized from a phthalonitrile derivative obtained by displacement of the –CH proton in 1-chloro-3,4-dicyano-6-(1,1-dicarbethoxymethyl)benzene with 4-(chloromethyl)biphenyl, followed by cyclotetramerization in the presence of metal salts {CuCl₂, Pb(CH₃COO)₂·3H₂O, CoCl₂ and Zn(CH₃COO)₂}. Transesterification of malonyl esters occurred during the cyclotetramerization of dinitrile with CuCl₂, Pb(CH₃COO)₂·3H₂O in 1-pentanol in the presence of DBU. The structures of the newly synthesized molecules were verified using elemental analysis, ¹H NMR, FT-IR, MicroTOF mass and UV–vis spectral data.     

Effect of aqueous ozonation on the pasting,flow and gelatinization properties of wheat starch

Wheat starch–water suspensions were exposed to ozone gas for 15, 30, and 60 min at 5 °C at a concentration of 0.00042 g dissolved ozone/100 g. Pasting properties were determined by using a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) while a Bohlin rheometer was used to obtain flow behaviour (n) and consistency (K) indices. An enzymatic method using glucoamylase was applied to calculate percent starch gelatinization. Pasting temperature (P_T) of ozonated starch samples decreased significantly (P < 0.05) as compared to that of native starch. Cooking stability starch samples increased upon ozonation indicated by lower breakdown viscosity (B_V) values. The retrogradation tendency of wheat starch samples was reduced after ozonation which was indicated by lower setback viscosities (S_V). Native and ozonated starch samples exhibited a shear-thinning behaviour with values of flow behaviour indices (n) between 0.57 and 0.76. The greater n values obtained for ozonated starch samples as compared to native starch showed that ozonation increased the shear-thinning behaviour of wheat starch. Percent gelatinization for all ozonated starch samples were significantly higher than the control starch samples (P < 0.05), probably due to, weakened hydrogen bonding between the starch molecules and partial depolymerization of starch molecules by ozonation.     

Earthquake Response Spectra Models Incorporating Fuzzy Logic with Statistics

It is well accepted that the ground motion at a site depends on the rupture mechanism, source-to-site distance, local geologic conditions, and energy released by the earthquake. However, design spectra represent expected responses that do not explicitly include the influence of the uncertainties associated with these fundamental features. The objective of this article is to present a viable methodology that can be used to develop a response spectra using fuzzy logic and statistical analysis and to demonstrate how fuzzy-statistical response spectra can be used to evaluate potential structural response.
Site-specific response spectra from the Northridge earthquake are used to develop response spectra models that quantify uncertainties inherent to the ground motion. The uncertainty in these computational models is quantified using fuzzy-set logic, statistics, and random vibrations. The local geologic conditions are characterized as rock or alluvium, and fuzzy sets are used to represent near, intermediate, and far epicentral distances. Proposed ground-motion models are used to define uncertain input motion for use in dynamic analyses of an example building. The resulting structural responses are compared with those obtained from time-dependent accelerations. Comparisons are made with the current design codes, and suggested implementation strategies for the proposed models are discussed.     

Insensitive current-mode universal filter with minimum componentsusing dual-output current conveyors

A novel universal current-mode active filter with four inputs and one output is presented, which contains only three dual-output current conveyors. Two grounded capacitors and two grounded resistors. The circuit is very advantageous from an integration point of view. The proposed active filter realises all filter responses without any matching conditions at high impedance output and has low passive and active sensitivities     

UAV instantaneous power consumption prediction using LR-TCN with simple moving average

The usage of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has rapidly increased in a variety of industries recently, which has caused a quick rise in the quantity of research works on the topic. Remaining battery life prediction, anomaly detection and instantaneous power consumption prediction are among the topics that attract the most attention of researchers. This article presents the development and utilization of a modified temporal convolutional network (TCN) model, a commonly employed approach for anomaly detection and instantaneous power consumption prediction in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The first modification to the TCN model was to use the Leaky ReLu activation function in place of the rectified linear unit (ReLu) activation function from the original TCN model. In the next step, instantaneous power consumption prediction for UAVs was performed by using the data obtained from both sensors and simple moving average (SMA) algorithm. As a result of the tests performed with the created simulation setup, it has been clearly shown that the proposed method gives better results compared to other deep learning models used for comparison with the lowest RMSE of 0.0496.     

Determination of the quality and purity characteristics of olive oils obtained from different regions of Turkey,depending on climatic changes

Virgin olive oils (VOOs) obtained from olives grown in different regions of Turkey under changing climatic conditions sometimes show different sensory and chemical properties. This study was planned to determine whether these deviations are due to climatic changes or not. For this purpose, five different olive varieties (Ayvalık, Memecik, Gemlik, Nizip Yağlık, Kilis Yağlık) of commercial importance were harvested from the provinces/districts (four different region) where cultivation is intense during the 2017/2018–2020/2021 harvest years. Every year, olive samples were collected from 3 orchards from 13 provinces/districts. One hundred and fifty-six samples were subjected to the purity, quality and sensory analysis. Basic climatic values (average, minimum and maximum temperature, humidity and precipitation) were examined for four consecutive years. All of the examined olive oil samples were determined within the legal limits in terms of fatty acid composition and fatty acid ethyl ester values. However, delta-7-stigmastenol value from the sterol composition was found to be above 0.5% in some samples in all the years studied (total 21 samples). Delta-7-stigmastenol values of olive oil samples varied between 0.16% and 1.14%. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied using a genetic algorithm-based inverse least squares method to determine whether there is a relationship between climate data and delta-7-stigmastenol values. According to this result, it has been determined that the delta-7-stigmastenol value is high when the annual average relative humidity is low and the annual average temperature is high. There is an urgent need to make forward-looking plans due to climate change.     

Process improvement and efficiency analysis using the Single-Minute Exchange of Dies method applied to the set-up and operation of screen-printing machines

Lean manufacturing methods are concerned with simplifying the production process and thus maximising efficiency and minimising wastage. All production processes contain several steps, which include sub-steps such as cleaning and changing devices and preparing the production areas for later steps. Most of these sub-steps require that machines are stopped and therefore they must be performed as quickly as possible. This downtime causes a decrease in efficiency, while increasing the costs and production time. Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is a lean manufacturing strategy that has been applied successfully in many sectors to minimise excessive downtime. In this study, the SMED technique is applied in a textile screen-printing company for the case of changing the screens between each design. The steps are evaluated and designated as either external steps, which are performed without downtime, or internal steps, which take place during downtime. The number of external steps is increased while being decreased for internal steps. Also, the production time decreased by 54% and a 32% increase in efficiency was achieved during the screen-printing production of a sample t-shirt.     

Erlotinib-Modified BODIPY Photosensitizers for Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an innovative, non-invasive and highly selective therapeutic modality for tumours and non-malignant diseases. BODIPY based molecules can function as new generation photosensitizers (PSs) in various PDT applications. Despite numerous conjugated PS systems are available, BODIPYs containing erlotinib lagged behind other photosensitizer units. In this study, smart photosensitizers containing BODIPY, erlotinib and hydrophilic units were prepared for the first time, their physicochemical properties and PDT effects were investigated. Compared with non-halogenated compound, halogenated derivatives possessed much lower fluorescence profile as well as the good ROS generation ability under red light. In vitro PDT studies were performed on both healthy (PNT1a) and prostate cancerous cells (PC3) to determine the selectivity of the compounds on cancerous cells and their effects under light. The halogenated conjugates, exposed to low dose of light illumination exhibited potent activity on cancer cell viability and the calculated IC₅₀ values proved the high phototoxicity of the photosensitizers. It was also determined that the PSs have very low dark toxicity and that the light illumination and ROS formation are required for the initiation of the cell death mechanism. As a result, erlotinib modified BODIPYs could serve as promising agents in anticancer photodynamic therapy.