The use of natural (Pinus pinaster) resin in the production of printing ink and the printability effect

Alkyd resins are generally used in the production of printing inks. All industries look for alternative raw materials in the production of ink with the growing inclination toward using natural products. Resins forming the vehicle of the ink to be obtained from natural resources will provide benefits for the environment, nature, and living creatures. The aim of the study was to promote the use of natural resin in the ink system. Natural Pinus pinaster resin was added into vegetable and mineral oil-based solvents in pure form with alkyd resin in different amounts and ink varnishes of different combinations were prepared. Then, printing inks were produced from these varnishes in pure and hybrid form. Following the assessment of the rheological properties of the inks prepared, printing tests were conducted to assess the printing quality parameters. Ideal mixing ratios of the natural resins in the ink were determined for printability. The environmental importance and advantages of the use of natural resins were discussed. Recommendations were given in line with the results to encourage widespread use of natural resins in near future.     

Evaluation of antioxidant level and protein oxidation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets during rigor and post-rigor

In this study, the relationship between stunning techniques and protein oxidation which are accepted as the main cause of food spoilage was investigated. For this purpose, the antioxidant status, in vivo myofibrillary protein (MP) oxidation and sensitivity, and postmortem oxidation (inducted with hydroxyl radical system) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets killed by hitting to head (T1), neck crushing (T2), and convulsion (T3) methods, were investigated. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) were found among all parameters examined and it was observed that the most stressing technique was the convulsion method. It was determined that in protein profiles myosin were influenced too much from stunning technique and in actin observed oxidation-induced reductions. Reductions in S-S and S-H were also found to be increased in carbonyl concentrations, but the most effective values in both processes were determined by the convulsive technique. Our results show that short-term stunning techniques (hitting to head, neck crushing) give better meat quality results in terms of O. mykiss welfare and low MP oxidation rates. In general, we can say that T3 group fillets are more sensitive to oxidative damage, while T1 and T2 groups give better results in maintaining meat quality with low MP oxidation rates.     

3D Hair sketching for real-time dynamic & key frame animations

Physically based simulation of human hair is a well studied and well known problem. But the “pure” physically based representation of hair (and other animation elements) is not the only concern of the animators, who want to “control” the creation and animation phases of the content. This paper describes a sketch-based tool, with which a user can both create hair models with different styling parameters and produce animations of these created hair models using physically and key frame-based techniques. The model creation and animation production tasks are all performed with direct manipulation techniques in real-time.     

Ant colony optimization approach to estimate energy demand of Turkey

This paper attempts to shed light on the determinants of energy demand in Turkey. Energy demand model is first proposed using the ant colony optimization (ACO) approach. It is multi-agent systems in which the behavior of each ant is inspired by the foraging behavior of real ants to solve optimization problem. ACO energy demand estimation (ACOEDE) model is developed using population, gross domestic product (GDP), import and export. All equations proposed here are linear and quadratic. Quadratic_ACOEDE provided better-fit solution due to fluctuations of the economic indicators. The ACOEDE model plans the energy demand of Turkey until 2025 according to three scenarios. The relative estimation errors of the ACOEDE model are the lowest when they are compared with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) projection.