The objective of this study was to find out the effects of torque rise on lugging ability of tractors. In British terminology, torque rise refers to torque back-up or torque reserve. Torque rise is the amount of torque that the engine can produce above the manufacturers rated amount of torque. It is the percent increase in torque, from rated torque to peak torque. In order to meet the above objective, two tractor reports issued by Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory were used. Powertrain schemas obtained from three different tractor manufacturers were used and the total transmission ratios from these schemas were calculated. The effect of torque rise on lugging ability of the two tractors with four different gear boxes was studied. From the study, it was concluded that higher torque rise enables the tractor to run in a wide range of torque and the gear box to be chosen should be such that it can match with the engine.

Land use could impact soil properties and processes in varying degrees. Therefore, the impact of different land use systems on soil water status and its relationship with some physiochemical properties was studied at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. The land use types included native forest (NF); Paddock (P); Oil palm plantation (OP); Teak (TK); new yam plot (NY) and yam plot under fallow (YF). Structure and disturbed surface soils (0 - 15 cm) samples were taken at three (3) locations in each land use type. Soil water content (SWC) significantly varied among the different land use types, with oil palm plantation storing the highest amount of water. The results also showed significant differences in soil bulk density, organic carbon, porosity, texture and hydraulic conductivity among the land use types. SWC associated positively and significantly with organic matter, silt content and silt + clay. The association between SWC and pH and silt/clay were positive but weak while particle density, bulk density and sand content showed negative and significant association. The principal component regression (PCR) showed a highly significant, positive relationship between SWC and the principal components of other physicochemical properties. Cluster analysis showed that SWC is highly related and linked to OM, Bd, Pd, Pt and silt/clay. The results implied that conversion to paddock and continuous cultivation led to depletion in soil water, physical and chemical properties, whereas cultivation of tree crops conserved these soil properties better. Therefore, establishment of tree crop and conservative soil management practices are suggested to prevent agricultural lands from degradation in areas with soils under similar conditions.

Events such as oxidative stress caused by spinal cord injury (SCI) are a serious condition because they negatively affect many organs. Alternative treatment options for this type of injury are quite limited. In this study, we planned to investigate the effect of oxidative damage on the spleen tissue of rats with spinal cord damage and the protective role of valproic acid (VPA) in this damage. Sixteen Wistar albino rats were divided into two equal groups. No treatment was administered to the rats in Group 1 (SCI-(Control), but a single dose of 300 mg/kg intraperitoneally VPA was administered to the rats in Group 2 (SCI-VPA). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels were examined as markers of oxidative stress in spleen tissues taken after decapitation of rats. VPA treatment increased the SOD and TAS level but decreased the TOS level, indicating improved oxidative damage and impaired enzymatic antioxidant levels in spleen tissue homogenate damaged by SCI. We have observed that VPA, which has many beneficial properties, has a significant healing effect on spleen tissue affected by SCI-induced oxidative stress.

Mycotoxin is a worldwide problem threatening animal health and performance as well as public health. The objective of this experiment was to test the effect of ammonization on elimination of common mycotoxins in laying hen compound feed (CF) and dairy cattle total mixed ration (TMR). The CF for laying hens and TMR for dairy cows were contaminated with commonly occurring mycotoxins [aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA)] at 25 times of their accepted legal limits (20 ppb, 200 ppb and 500 ppb, respectively). They were then subjected to ammonization with ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3) at 50C for 24 hours under the atmospheric pressure. Mycotoxin levels were analyzed using the LC-MS/MS technique. The elimination levels in CF and TMR were 53% and 54% for AFB1; 31% and 31% for OTA and 22% and 22% for ZEA, respectively. In conclusion, ammonization was effective in destroying common mycotoxin, at an order of AFB1 > OTA > ZEA.

Kanser tedavisinde kullanılan ilaçların etkileri yalnızca kanser hücrelerine özgü olmayıp sağlıklı hücreleri de olumsuz etkilemektedir. Bu çalışmada antikanser bir ilaç olan paklitaksel’in (PAX) böbrek dokusundaki olası zararlı etkilerine karşı antioksidan etkileriyle öne çıkan silimarin’in (SLY) olası koruyucu etkilerinin ortaya konulması amaçlandı. Toplam 28 adet Sprague-Dawley cinsi dişi sıçandan rastgele bir seçimle: Kontrol, PAX, SLY ve PAX + SLY olmak üzere dört grup (n=7) oluşturuldu. PAX grubuna 2 mg/kg intraperitoneal yolla PAX, SLY grubuna oral gavaj sonda ile 100 mg/kg SLY, PAX + SLY grubuna ise önceki gruplarla aynı doz ve yolla PAX ve SLY uygulandı. Deneysel işlemlerin sonunda hayvanlardan alınan kan ve böbrek dokularında yapılan biyokimyasal analizlerde PAX’ın, böbrek dokusunda oksidatif stresi, serumda ise kreatinin (Cr) ve kan üre azotu (blood urea nitrogen, BUN) seviyelerini artırdığı tespit edildi. Böbrek dokusunda yapılan histopatolojik incelemelerde PAX’ın renal korpüskül atrofisi, fırçamsı kenarda hasar, vakuolar dejenerasyon ve deskuamasyon gibi patolojik değişikliklere yol açtığı gözlendi. Antienflamatuar, antiapoptotik ve antioksidan etkilere sahip bir farmakolojik ajan olan SLY uygulanması ise, PAX kullanımı sonucu meydana bu gelen patolojik değişiklikleri büyük oranda engelledi. Mevcut çalışmada elde edilen sonuçlar PAX ile yapılacak tedavilerde böbrek dokusunda şekillenecek zararlı etkilere karşı koruyucu olarak SLY’nin kullanılabileceğini gösterdi.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, belonging to the Pseudomonadaceae family, is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic, endospore negative, oxidase and catalase positive. It is widely found in nature and isolated from soil, plants, water and animals. It can grow rapidly on the surface of the food and form oxidized products and mucous substances. P. aeruginosa, one of the leading foodborne pathogens, causes important concerns in food safety due to being a source of contamination, causing food poisoning and antimicrobial resistance in animals, forming biofilms and difficulties in preventing biofilms. In this review, information on history, microbiological, cultural and biochemical characteristics, virulence factors and pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa are given. In addition, infections caused by P. aeruginosa and its presence in food are described.

In this study, dragon fruit was dried by a microwave-assisted foam drying method and the effect of different microwave powers (350, 460 and 700W) on the drying kinetics and powder product properties were investigated. The properties (foam stability, expansion and density) of the foams obtained by adding egg white to dragon fruit puree were examined. The highest R2 and lowest RMSE and χ2 values of foam dried samples obtained from the Silva models. The effective moisture diffusion coefficient values of the samples (5.93×10-8-1.16×10-7 m2/s) increased due to the increase of microwave power. Activation energy values were calculated as 74.77 W/g. The effects of different microwave powers on moisture, water activity, color and powder product properties of dragon fruit powders dried by foam drying method were determined. In addition, in all conditions where microwave foam drying is performed, dragon fruit powders showed very good flowability and low stickiness.

The aim of this work is the isolation, identification and evaluation of the antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi from the Algerian medicinal plant Marrubium vulgare L. The isolation of endophytic fungi is carried out by the method of sterilization of surface to eliminate epiphytes then incubation of the fragments treated according to a precise protocol. The identification of the grown isolates allowed us to obtain three fungal strains belonging to three genera: Fusarium, Alternaria and Chaetomium, which are generally of the Deuteromycete phylum. The antibacterial capacity of the fungi was tested against five human pathogenic bacteruim using the agar-fungi disk diffusion method. With an inhibition zone (IZ) spanning from 7.5 to 25 mm, all isolated fungal strains showed antibacterial activity against at least one of the bacteria tested.. However, Fusarium sp has the highest antibacterial activity with an IZ of 19 and 24 mm against S. aureus and B. subtilis, respectively. Finally, our results clearly confirm that the medicinal plant M. vulgare L. presents a reservoir of endophytic fungi, which can be used in various fields, especially pharmaceutical fields.

Tıbbi ve aromatik bitkiler, doğadan toplananlar ve yetiştirilenler olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılır. Doğadan toplanan tıbbi ve aromatik bitkiler, orman gibi doğal yerlerde kendiliğinden yetişen bitkilerdir. Akdeniz bölgesinde bulunan bu bitkilerden ikisi Laurus nobilis L. ve Myrtus communis L'dir. Bu çalışma, defne ağaçları ve mersin bitkilerinden elde edilen uçucu yağların oran ve bileşenlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Türkiye'nin Osmaniye ili florasında yoğun olarak yetişen bu bitkilerden elde edilen yapraklar endüstriyel uygulamalarda büyük damıtma kazanlarında (imbik) su buharı distilasyon yöntemi uygulanarak uçucu yağları elde edilmiştir. İmbik yöntemleriyle elde edilen uçucu yağ oranları defne bitkisinde %0,9-1,4 ve mersin bitkisinde %0,4-0,8 arasında gözlenmiştir. Uçucu yağ bileşenleri incelendiğinde defnenin ana bileşenleri α-pinene (%5,75), sabinen (%8,9), eucalyptol (%44,42) ve α-terpinyl asetat (%17,37) olarak belirlenmiş olup, mersin bitkisinin ana bileşenleri ise, α-pinene (%50,79), limonene (%4,08), eucalyptol (%31,66), α-terpineol (%5,57), α-terpinyl acetate (%2,37) olarak belirlenmiştir.