This study sought to develop an index for agricultural digitalization by applying composite confirmatory analysis (CCA). Another aim was to determine the factors that affect the development of digitalization in PLAS farms. Data on the indicators of the three dimensions of digitalization were collected from 300 Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) farms in South Africa using semi-structured questionnaires. Confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) was employed to reduce the items into three digitalization dimensions and ultimately to a digitalization index. Standardized digitalization index scores were extracted and fitted to a linear regression model to determine the factors affecting digitalization. The results revealed that the model shows practical validity and can be used to measure digitalization as measures of fit (geodesic distance, standardized root mean square residual, and squared Euclidean distance) were all below their respective 95%quantiles of bootstrap discrepancies (HI95 values). Therefore, digitalization is an emergent variable that can be measured using CCA. The average level of digitalization in PLAS farms was 0.02 and varied significantly across provinces. Although farmers have attempted to digitalise their farms, there are still minimal levels of digitalization in PLAS farms. The results further reveal different digitalization patterns. As judged by the estimated weights of various dimensions of digitalization, the use of digital technologies to collect, store, analyse, and disseminate (CSAD) farm-related data contributed more towards the digitalization index. The second most important component of digitalization was automation digitalization. In contrast, value chain digitalization was the least significant contributor. The factors that significantly influence digitalization were age, gender, farm type, network type, and cellular data type. Since PLAS farmers have not embraced much digitalization, it is important to focus on awareness and capacity building. A balanced approach to digitalization would benefit PLAS farms by ensuring that strategies to integrate digital solutions within the value chain are developed. To foster and support the digitalization in PLAS farms, policymakers and stakeholders should tailor their strategies to fit specific socioeconomic factors.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of submerged fermentation with Lactobacillus spp. on the nutritional composition of Agaricus bisporus cap and stem. Fresh A. bisporus was provided, and the cap and stem parts were separated and cut into small pieces. Afterward, distilled water (400 ml) and urea (8.4 g) were added to the mushroom parts (100 g) and placed in different fermentation flasks. The fermentation flasks containing mushroom caps or stems were divided into two groups, and the pH levels of the fermentation medium were adjusted to 6 and 7. Fermentation flasks were autoclaved at 121°C for 15 minutes and Lactobacillus spp. was inoculated to each flask at 1 ml (108 CFU/ml). A positive control group was formed by allocating one uninoculated flask for each replicate of each pH value. Fermentation flasks were incubated for 48 hours at 30°C. After fermentation, fermented and inoculated mushroom cap and stem were analyzed to determine the crude protein, ash content, Lactobacillus spp. count and pH value. Lactobacillus spp. count was higher (P=0.028) in the pH 6 group of mushroom cap and tended to be higher (P=0.078) in the pH 6 group of mushroom stems compared with the pH 7 group. Submerged fermentation decreased (P<0.001) the ash content of the mushroom cap and stem in both pH values except the cap with pH 7 compared with the uninoculated mushroom. Similarly, the fermented mushroom cap and stem had lower (P<0.01) final pH values in both initial pH values. Lactobacillus spp. increased (P<0.001) the crude protein content of the mushroom cap with pH 6 but did not alter the crude protein content with pH 7. Besides, submerged fermentation decreased (P<0.001) the crude protein content of mushroom stem with both pH values. The results indicate that submerged fermentation using Lactobacillus spp. can be used to improve the nutritional composition of mushroom caps with pH 6.

İnsanların beslenmesinde gluten içeren besinler önemli yer tutmaktadır. Gluten metabolizması bozukluğuna bağlı oluşan hastalıklar bulunmakta olup bunlar çölyak hastalığı, buğdaya karşı IgE aracılı alerji ve çölyak dışı gluten duyarlılığı olarak sınıflandırılabilir. Bireylerin gluten duyarlılıkları arasında farklılıklar olup gluten duyarlılığı olan bireylerin gluten içeren besinleri tüketmeleri durumunda en başta bağırsak dokusu olmak üzere birçok dokuda histopatolojik yapılarında ve otoimmun sistemlerinde önemli değişiklikler meydana gelebilir. Dokuların histopatolojik yapısındaki değişiklikler dokulara göre değişmektedir. Otoimmun sistemdeki değişiklikler ise Transglutaminaz, Gliadin, IgA, IgG, CD4 ve CD8 gibi parametrelerden en az birinin veya birkaçının incelenmesi ile tespit edilebilir. Gluten metabolizması bozukluğuna bağlı oluşan hastalıklarda etkili tedavi şekli glutensiz/gluten kısıtlı diyet olmakla birlikte bağışıklık sisteminde rol alan mekanizma ve moleküllerin saptanması yeni tedavi yöntemlerini oluşturulmasına yol gösterebilir. Bu çalışmada amaç gluten ve gluten metabolizması bozukluğuna bağlı oluşan hastalıklar arasındaki ilişkinin derlemesidir.

The objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of ultrasound application on the probiotic characteristics and antioxidant activity of yeasts. In this context, the pH changes, probiotic properties and antioxidant activities of K. marxianus (Km), S. boulardii (Sb) and S. cerevisiae (Sc) were determined by ultrasound application at different durations (5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes at 24 kHz). The lowest pH values were determined for cultures of Km (ultrasound non-applied K. marxianus), Sb-30 (30 min. ultrasound applied S. boulardii) and Sc-5 (5 min. ultrasound applied S. cerevisiae) as 4.48, 5.15 and 5.26, respectively. The hydrophobicity values of the yeast strains varied between 6% and 24%, increased with ultrasound application. Although S. boulardii had the highest tolerance to low pH and bile salts, the resistance of all yeast to low pH and bile salts decreased with ultrasound application. K. marxianus had the least survival under in vitro conditions, but ultrasound application increased survival of K. marxianus strains and slightly affected the survival rate of S. boulardii and S. cerevisiae. Increasing of duration time of ultrasound application resulted higher antioxidant activity and so the highest antioxidant activity was determined for Sb-60. Finally, ultrasound application could be used for the development of hydrophobicity and antioxidant properties of yeast cultures.

Bu çalışmada; Türkiye'de kırsal alanlarda ısınma amaçlı olarak kullanılan yenilenebilir enerji kaynaklarından güneşte kurutulmuş sığır gübresi külünün (SGK) farklı oranlarda çimento yerine kullanılmasının, hafif betonun basınç dayanımı üzerine etkisinin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada, hafif agrega olarak pomza bağlayıcı olarak da CEM I 42,5 R tipi çimento ve SGK ikamesi kullanılmıştır. Karışımlara çimento yerine ağırlıkça belirli oranlarda (%0, %5, %10, %15 ve %20) SGK ikame edilerek 5 grup halinde toplam 45 adet 150×150×150 mm’lik küp numune üretilmiştir. Taze beton deneyleri olarak-birim ağırlık deneyleri; serleşmiş beton deneyleri olarak da kuru birim ağırlık, su emme ve basınç dayanımı deneyleri yapılmıştır. SGK kullanılan numunelerde, SGK ikamesinin artması ile kontrol örneklerine göre su emme miktarında bir miktar artış, basınç dayanımlarında ise bir miktar düşüş görülmüştür. %5, %10, %15 ve %20 oranlarında SGK ikamesi ile üretilen numunelerin 28 günlük basınç dayanımı düşüş değerleri kontrol örnekleri ile karşılaştırıldığında sırasıyla %4, %4,6, %5,5 ve %6 olarak belirlenmiştir. Çimento yerine %20 SGK ikamesinin uygulanması, numunelerin 28 günlük basınç dayanımlarında %6’lık bir azalma gözlemlenmiştir.

Non-porous materials like cellulose and starch can be extracted from agro- industrial wastes and incorporated with nanoparticles for effective biotechnological purposes. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNps), silver-cellulose nanoparticles (AgNps-C) and silver-starch nanoparticles (AgNps-S) were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify viable biomolecules involved in capping and active stabilization of AgNps. Average sizes and morphologies of AgNps, AgNps-C and AgNps-S were further analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the percentage composition of each element was investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Antimicrobial activity of the synthesized AgNPs-C and AgNPs-S was tested against multiple antibiotic resistance microorganisms isolated from fish and meat. Zones of inhibition displayed by AgNPs-C and AgNPs-S ranged from 8.00 to 13.30 mm and 5.00 to 10.30 mm, respectively. The Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for AgNPs-C and AgNPS-S ranged from 125 µg/mL to 500 µg/mL and 500 µg/mL to 1000 µg/mL, respectively. AgNPS-S and AgNPs-C inhibited the growth of microorganisms associated with spoilage of fish and meat. The bio-applications of AgNP –C and AgNP-S can be exploited in food industries as preservative agent or incorporated to packaging materials to elongate the shelf life of food products and reduce the side effects attributed to chemical preservative agents.

The aim of this study was to obtain an extract rich in bioactive components from yellow onion peels, which are generally considered waste material. Accordingly, a three-factor three-level Taguchi (L9) experimental design with three factors, namely ethanol concentration (A; 50%, 75%, 100%), extraction temperature (B; 30, 40, 50 °C), and sonication time (C; 10, 20, 30 min) was used to optimize the ultrasound-assisted extraction process of onion peel powders. Through Taguchi optimization, the optimum extraction conditions were determined as A2B3C2 to obtain the extract with the highest total phenolic matter (TPM) content and antioxidant activity (DPPH (%)). In addition, the extract produced under A2B1C2 conditions was found to be the richest in total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) content with the highest level of color pigments. In order to determine the overall optimization conditions and to reduce the three-response optimization process to a single response, the simple sum weighting (SAW) method was used as a multi-criteria decision-making method. As a result of the optimization, it was concluded that an extract rich in bioactive components with optimal TPM and TMA contents and DPPH (%) value could be obtained as a result of sonication at 30 °C for 20 min to onion peel powders mixed with a solvent containing 75% ethanol (A2B1C2). The extraction conditions of bioactive components from yellow onion peels were successfully optimized by the Taguchi-SAW hybrid optimization method.

The “Basic Design” is one of the common introductory courses in design disciplines. It has great importance in interior architecture education as it forms the basis of design practice. Education that proceeds through abstract concepts creates difficulties for students to internalize this course. To avoid these difficulties, learning by doing is of great importance. The learning-by-doing approach was carried out in the form of a workshop within the scope of the “Basic Design 1” course of the Department of Interior Architecture at Konya Technical University in the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Students were asked to produce three-dimensional designs using basic design principles and elements. The class was divided into groups of eight people and studies were carried out with a workshop coordinator in each group. The duration of the workshop was planned as four weeks. During the workshop, students learned to use materials and colors, to design an original composition. At the end of the workshop, students learned to embody the abstract concepts they learned during the year by creating a composition that considers functionality and aesthetics. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the workshop, a survey study was carried out after the course period ended. As a result, it has been seen that the intelligibility of Basic Design 1, which is a course taught through abstract concepts, has increased thanks to the workshop.

This study investigated the effects of various guar gum edible coating formulations, incorporating different proportions of waste leek powder and sunflower oil, on weight loss, color parameters (L*, a*, b* values, and ΔE), texture, and shrinkage of Agaricus bisporus mushrooms during a 7-day storage period. The goal was to assess the potential impact of these coatings on preserving the mushrooms’ quality over time. The results showed that the coatings had a significant effect on reducing weight loss compared to uncoated samples. The lowest weight loss was observed in the 0.5% leek powder and without sunflower oil, while the highest was in 2.5% leek powder and 0.1% sunflower oil. Shrinkage was also positively affected by the coatings, with 1.5% leek powder and without sunflower oil showing the most promising results. The L* values of the coated samples declined slightly, indicating better color preservation, while the a* values exhibited stable redness/greenness. On the other hand, b* values increased, indicating an increase in yellowness during storage. The ΔE values were lower for the coated samples, suggesting less color deviation compared to uncoated ones. Overall, the study indicates that these edible coatings have the potential to maintain the quality of mushrooms during storage, leading to better preservation and extended shelf life.

Erzincan Tulum Cheese (ETC) holds a significant place among the most popular cheeses in Türkiye. It has been awarded Protected Geographical Indication status, which restricts the allowable milk species, its production area, and specific sheep breed used in its production. Mineral content and antioxidant activity of ETC were aimed to be predicted using conventional FT-NIR and a portable FT-MIR spectrometer combined with partial least square regression (PLSR) and machine learning algorithms based on conditional entropy. Seventy ETC samples were analyzed for their mineral (Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and P) content using ICP-MS. The samples' antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH•+ scavenging activity method. PLSR combined with FT-NIR spectral data correlated with antioxidant activity (r=0.89) and minerals (as low as r=0.83) except for Cr and Fe. FT-MIR data provided a good correlation for minerals (as low as r=0.82) except for Cr and Mn and a moderate correlation with antioxidant activity (r=0.64). Information theory was applied to select wavenumbers used in machine learning algorithms, and better results were obtained compared to PLSR. Overall, FT-NIR and FT-MIR spectroscopy provided rapid (~ 1 min), non-destructive, sensitive, and reliable output for mineral and antioxidant activity predictions in commercial cheese samples.