Browsing by Publisher "Bellwether Publishing, Ltd."
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Item A constraint programming heuristic for a heterogeneous vehicle routing problem with split deliveries(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2010) Ozfirat P.M.; Ozkarahan I.This article considers fresh goods distribution of a retail chain store in Turkey. The problem is formulated as a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet for which no exact algorithm has ever been designed to solve it. A fast and effective algorithm based on constraint programming is proposed for the solution. The procedure is tested on some of the benchmark problems in literature. The real-life case is first solved assuming that delivery of a customer cannot be split between vehicles. Then it is resolved considering split deliveries. Solutions of both strategies are compared with the current performance of the firm to determine a distribution strategy. Results indicate considerable improvement in the performance of the firm.Item An integrated fuzzy approach for determining engineering characteristics in concrete industry(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2011) Ertay T.; Akyol D.E.; Araz C.This paper deals with the modeling of conceptual knowledge to capture the major customer requirements effectively and to transform these requirements systematically into the relevant design requirements. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a well-known planning and problem-solving tool for translating customer needs (CNs) into the engineering characteristics (ECs) and can be employed for this modeling. In this study, an integrated methodology is presented to rank ECs for implementing QFD in a fuzzy environment. The proposed methodology uses fuzzy weighted average method as a fuzzy group decision making approach to fuse multiple preference rankings for determining the weights of the customer needs. It adopts a fuzzy Analytic Network Process (ANP) approach which enables the consideration of inner dependencies in a cluster as well as the interdependencies between the clusters to determine the importance of ECs. The proposed approach is illustrated through a case study in ready-mixed concrete industry. Copyright © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Comparison of the Effects of Two Legal Blood Alcohol Limits: The Presence of Alcohol in Traffic Accidents According to Category of Driver in Izmir, Turkey(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2015) Karakus A.; İdiz N.; Dalgiç M.; Uluçay T.; Sincar Y.Objectives: Under existing Turkish road traffic law, there are 2 different blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits allowed for drivers in 2013: zero blood alcohol and ≤0.50 g/L. All public transport, taxi, commercial, and official vehicle drivers must maintain a zero blood alcohol concentration while driving. Private vehicle drivers must maintain a BAC of 0.50 g/L or lower. The aim of the recent study was to evaluate the effect of these 2 legal blood alcohol limits on nonfatal traffic accidents that occurred due to the driver being under the influence of alcohol. Methods: This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the blood alcohol concentration of 224 drivers in nonfatal road accidents between June 2010 and July 2011 using headspace gas chromatography at the Izmir Forensic Medicine Group Presidency, Turkey. All cases evaluated by the toxicology department were entered into a database. We used descriptive statistics, χ2 test, and independent sampling test to analyze the data. Results: The total number of drivers involved in nonfatal traffic accidents was 224; 191 were private vehicle drivers and 33 were public transport, taxi, commercial, and official vehicle drivers. In the present study, alcohol was detected in the blood of about 27.2% (n = 61) of the 224 drivers. Sixty (31.4%) private vehicle drivers involved in nonfatal traffic accidents tested positive for alcohol. BAC values were also above the legal limit (0.50 g/L) in 27.7% (n = 53) of private vehicle drivers. However, the BAC was above the legal limit in only 3% (n = 1) of public transport, commercial, and official vehicle drivers involved in nonfatal traffic accidents. These results showed that private vehicle drivers subject to a BAC limit of ≤0.50 g/L were significantly associated with an increased risk of nonfatal accident involvement than drivers subject to a zero BAC limit (odds ratio [OR] = 12.29, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64–92.22; Fisher's exact test, P <.001). Mean BAC in private vehicle drivers subject to a 0.50 g/L level (52.60 mg/dl ± 94.84) was significantly higher than that of drivers subject to a zero alcohol level (10.76 mg/dl ± 61.80; t = 2.44, P <.001). Conclusion: In light of our results, lowering the BAC limit for private vehicle drivers may reduce the level of driving under the influence of alcohol. A change in the law will decrease the rates of alcohol-related road accidents in Turkey. © 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Poly(methyl methacrylate-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) copolymer for adsorptive removal of erythrosine dye from aqueous solution(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2015) Altındağ İ.G.; Dinçer A.; Becerik S.; Eser A.; Aydemir T.The preparation and characterization of poly(methyl methacrylate-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), (poly(MMA-EGDMA)) polymer for erythrosine adsorption has been investigated. Erythrosine is a synthetic red dye used to color food. Water-soluble acid dyes have caused serious water pollution. Poly(MMA-EGDMA) polymer showed better adsorption performance for erythrosine at acidic region and at 30°C. The adsorption process had also been verified by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms at 30, 40, and 50°C. Free energy of adsorption (∆G°), enthalpy (∆H°), and entropy (∆S°) changes were calculated to predict the nature of adsorption. The estimated value for ∆G° was calculated as −125.6 kJ/mol at 303 K (30°C). The estimated value for ∆H° was found as −60.69 kJ/mol at 303 K. The negative value for ∆H° indicated that the adsorption of erythrosine on poly(MMA-EGDMA) polymer was an exothermic process. © 2014, © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.Item Arsenic removal from aqueous system using modified chestnut shell(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2015) Targan Ş.; Tirtom V.N.Natural adsorbent chestnut shell treated with FeCl3 was prepared and employed by means of batch method for selective adsorption and removal of arsenic from aqueous system. The influences of different parameters, such as contact time, pH, temperature, and concentration of adsorbate, on adsorption performance of chestnut shell treated with FeCl3 was studied in order to optimize the adsorption conditions. Batch adsorption studies have shown that removal capacity of chestnut shell can be increased by FeCl3 treatment. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 0.885 mg g−1 As(III) of chestnut shell, which was treated with FeCl3. The adsorption data obtained follow a first-order rate expression and fit the Freundlich isotherm that has been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters, such as standard free energy (ΔG°), standard enthalpy (ΔH°), and standard entropy (ΔS°), of the adsorption process were calculated. It was found that the adsorption of arsenic on chestnut shell was exothermic. The adsorbents were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.Item Effect of Boron on Antioxidant Response of Two Lentil (Lens culinaris) Cultivars(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2017) Dilek Tepe H.; Aydemir T.Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants through paticipating key reactions such as reproduction, development, and regeneration. Similar to its deficiency, its over-concentations possess toxic effects on plant growth. In this work, possible boron toxicity was researched through evaluating alaterations in antioxidant enzymes, oxidative stress biomarkers, and chlorophyll contents for two types of lentil species as red (native) and green (winter flake 11) lentil (Lens culinaris L.cv) cultivars, which are indigenous to Turkey. Ten days old seedling lentil plants were subjected to low as 0.5, 1.0 mM and high 2.0 and 5.0 mM boric acid treatments for 7 days. B worked as a growth-promoting nutrient for 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mM concentration by enhancing length and weight of both shoot and root tissues, while it started showed its suppression effect on these tissues at 5-mM cocentration, which were obtained more dramatic for green lentil in comparison to red lentil. In contrast to this, oxidative stress markers such as MDA, H2O2, and proline concentrations showed increasing trend for 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 mM B treatment, accompanied with a change in photosynthetic pigment concentrations (p < 0.01). MDA in red lentil shoot control was 30,3871 (μmol/gFW) and it was significantly increased to 36,5806 and 51,7414 by the 2.0 and 5.0 B rates, respectively. However, enzymes in anti-oxidation metabolism include superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), lipoxygenase (LOX), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were obtained higher in high-B-treated groups, while decreased and stable activities were obtained for catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzymes. CAT and APX activities were higher than those were obtained for 2.0 and 5.0 mM B treatments in both root and shoot tissues. The lentil species manipulated their metabolism to suppress B-stress, and enhanced growth in shoot and root tissues up to 5-mM B stress even though oxidative stress markers showed increasing trend from low B concentrations, 1.0 mM. Therefore, B stress can be claimed as “doubled edge sword” for these lentil species. Abbreviations AOS, active oxygen species; APX, ascorbate peroxidase; CAT, catalase; DAB, diamino-benzidine tetrahydrochloride; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide DW, dry weight; EDTA, ethylenediamine-N,N,N0,N0-tetraacetic acid; FW, fresh weight GPX, guaiacol peroxidase; GSH-Px, glutathione peroxidase; LOX, lipoxygenase; MDA, malondialdehyde; NBT, nitroblue tetrazolium; PEG, polyethylene glycol; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; H2O2, Hydrogen peroxide;. © 2017 Taylor & Francis.Item Determination of Phytochemical Content by Chromatographic Methods and Antioxidant Capacity in Methanolic Extract of Jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.) and Oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.)(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2020) Dilek Tepe H.; Doyuk F.In this study, the antioxidant effects, protein contents and phytochemical structure content of jujube, oleaster fruits and their seeds were investigated. Methanol extraction of fruits and seeds was prepared and volatile organic components were examined by GC-MS and phenolic components were examined by LC-MS/MS. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH and NO scavenging (%). In addition, mineral content was defined with ICP-MS. DPPH scavenging activity (%) was observed most in jujube fruit (80.36%) then it continued as oleaster seed (79.33%) and oleaster fruit (72.00%) and jujube seed (66.26%) respectively. According to protein results, there was a 2.19-fold difference between jujube fruit and seed. This difference was found 0.78 times between oleaster fruit and seed. 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid and vanillic acid contents of phenolic compounds were found in high amounts. P (phosphorus) contents in jujube, oleaster, jujube seed and oleaster seed, respectively; 722.67, 736.91, 453.74 and 687.10 mg/kg. In the jujube and jujube seed samples, the contents of Ca (calcium) were found 1261.02 and 2228.24 mg/kg. K (potassium) contents were determined 7351.16 and 7688.42 mg/kg in jujube and oleaster, respectively. © 2020 Taylor & Francis.Item When proper cyclics are homomorphic image of injectives(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2020) Meriç E.T.Quasi-Frobenius rings are precisely rings over which any right module is a homomorphic image of an injective module. We investigate the structure of rings whose proper cyclic right modules are homomorphic image of injectives. The class of such rings properly contains that of right self-injective rings. We obtain some structure theorems for rings satisfying the said property and apply them to the Artin algebra case: It follows that an Artin algebra with this property is Quasi-Frobenius. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Effects of potassium fertilization on leaf nutrient content and quality attributes of sweet cherry fruits (Prunus Avium L.)(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2021) Yener H.; Altuntaş Ö.Cherry is a fruit preferred by consumers with its beautiful appearance, low calorie content and positive effects on human health. Turkey is the leader in cherry production due to its favorable ecological conditions. Potassium is an important nutrient which affects quality in agricultural production. 0900 Ziraat cherry was used as a test plant and cultivated in Gisela 6 rootstocks for 2 years in 2017 and 2018. The effects of different doses of potassium (K) on the quality of cherry fruit and the nutrient content of the leaves were investigated. Different doses of K (0, 100, 200, 400, 600 g K2O tree−1) were applied with 4 replications under the crown of 5 trees in each replication for two consecutive years. Quality characteristics in fruit samples and nutrient contents in leaf samples were determined. Fruit size, fruit firmness (FF), soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA) were found to have increased with potassium doses, pH, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were found to have decreased. The effect on the breaking force from the handle was found insignificant. Potassium application increased the potassium content of the leaves, while the highest dose of 600 g K2O tree−1 caused a decrease in other nutrients. 600 g K2O tree−1 application also caused a decrease in FF, SS and TA, which may result in environmental pollution, as well. It was concluded that potassium application positively affects the quality features of cherry fruit and the most appropriate dose is 400 g K2O tree−1. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Metal borate nanostructures for industrial antibacterial ceramic fabrication(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2021) Aguş O.; Arslan O.; Abalı Y.Silver and copper borate nanostructures were mechanistically synthesized for novel boron-containing antibacterial applications. Different concentration, temperature, time parameters were varied for obtaining hierarchical formulations. Metal borate nanostructures showed interesting crystalline and optical properties since temperature and concentration adjustments provided correlated shape and surface properties with around 300 nm size. Chemical analysis and crystallinity of both copper and silver formulations were conducted with X-ray diffraction and unveiled that especially temperatures ranging from 40 to 90 °C has a huge impact on the formation of nanostructures. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis comprehensively provided all atomic compositions especially about boron atom at 191–192 eV range. Additionally, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis with scanning electron microscope measurements revealed the morphological properties of the nanostructures and showed the purity of the obtained materials. Finally, metal borate-containing glazes were obtained on 1 × 1 cm samples for antibacterial tests against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Boswellia sacra essential oil manages colon cancer stem cells proliferation and apoptosis: a new perspective for cure(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2021) Becer E.; Kabadayı H.; Başer K.H.C.; Vatansever H.S.Boswellia sacra Flueck essential oil is obtained from frankincense obtained from Boswellia sacra trees. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro anti-cancer activity of Boswellia sacra (BS) essential oil in CD133+ and CD133- Colo-320 cells. Essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS. CD133+ cells, cancer stem cells, were obtained from the Colo-320 by the MiniMACS system. Cytotoxicity were evaluated with MTT assay. Anti-cancer activity of BS essential oil was investigated by immunocytochemistry. 41 compounds were identified in the essential oil. 1:2 dilution BS essential oil was found to be active against all the cells for 24 h incubation. β-catenin immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in both BS essential oil-treated CD133+ and CD133- Colo-320 cells. Caspase-3 immunoreactivity significantly increased in BS essential oil-treated CD133- Colo-320 cells. We conclude that BS essential oil decreased β-catenin signaling molecules which play a crucial role in cancer cell proliferation. BS essential oil promoted apoptosis in CD133- Colo-320 cells. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Effective removal of heavy metals from an aqueous solution with poly(N-vinylimidazole-acrylamide) hydrogels(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2021) Tirtom V.; Dinçer A.In this study poly(N-vinylimidazole-acrylamide) p(N-VI-AAm) hydrogels were prepared as an adsorbent for adsorptive removal of lead (II) and copper (II) ions from aqueous solution. Adsorption studies showed that poly(N-vinylimidazole-acrylamide) p(N-VI-AAm) hydrogels can be effectively used to remove heavy metals. Hydrogel characterization was done by FTIR and SEM. The effect of the removal conditions such as contact time, pH, temperature, and initial metal ion concentration on the Pb (II) and Cu (II) ions binding was also tested. Maximum adsorption was achieved at 30°C and 35°C for Pb (II) and Cu (II) after 24 h, respectively. Experimental capacities were calculated as 262 and 53 mg g−1 for lead and copper, respectively. The isotherms were analyzed with Langmuir and Freundlich models. Briefly, this economic and high adsorption performance poly(N-VI-AAm) hydrogel is a promising candidate for sewage disposal and metal pollution treatment. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.