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Enhanced dielectric and surface properties of chitosan-based nanocomposites reinforced with Ag-GO nanoparticles
Get PDFIntegrating bio-based polymers with synthetic materials provides a novel approach to developing functional materials with enhanced properties. In this study, chitosan (CS)-based nanocomposites were synthesized using poly(pentafluorophenyl)methyl-2-methylprop-2-enoate (PPFOEMA) as the polymer blend, reinforced with silver-graphene oxide (Ag-GO NP) nanoparticles at different weight ratios (3%, 5%, and 7%). The nanocomposites were prepared via an in situ hydrothermal method, and their dielectric, electrical, and surface properties were systematically investigated. FTIR, SEM, and X-XRD analyses confirmed the successful formation of the nanocomposites, with Ag-GO nanoparticles homogenously dispersed in the CS-PPFOEMA blend. The dielectric constant (epsilon') at 1000 Hz increased with Ag-GO NP content, reaching 5.92 for the 5% Ag-GO nanocomposite compared to 4.09 for the 3% Ag-GO NP sample. The alternating current conductivity (sigma ac) exhibited a significant increase, reaching 1.13 x 10(-8) S/cm for the 7% Ag-GO sample at 1000 Hz while rising to similar to 10(-5) S/cm at 1 MHz, indicating enhanced charge transport capabilities. Impedance (Z) values decreased with increasing frequency, and the nanocomposite containing 7% Ag-GO exhibited the lowest impedance, confirming its superior electrical conductivity. The contact angle measurements revealed that the water contact angle increased from 64.01 degrees (3% Ag-GO) to 68.81 degrees (7% Ag-GO), indicating increased hydrophobicity, while diiodomethane contact angles decreased from 29.35 degrees to 25.90 degrees, confirming enhanced oleophilicity. The surface free energy (SFE) correspondingly decreased from 49.459 mN/m to 48.715 mN/m, making these materials suitable for oil-water separation applications. These findings demonstrate that CS-PPFOEMA/Ag-GO nanocomposites exhibit improved dielectric, electrical, and surface properties, making them promising candidates for energy storage systems, flexible electronics, biomedical coatings, and self-cleaning surfaces.Afyon Kocatepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [FENED.06]This study has been supported by the Afyon Kocatepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit. The Project Number is 24. FENED.06
Deep learning-based detection of diabetic retinopathy stages
Get PDFBu yüksek lisans tezinde, diyabetik retinopatinin (DR) beş evresinin otomatik olarak sınıflandırılmasına yönelik derin öğrenme tabanlı bir model geliştirilmiştir. Çalışmada, APTOS 2019 veri setinde bulunan retina görüntüleri kullanılarak MobileNetV2, DenseNet169, NASNet, VGG19, ConvNeXt Large, EfficientNetB5, EfficientNetB6 ve EfficientNetV2-S olmak üzere sekiz farklı derin öğrenme mimarisi, transfer öğrenme yöntemiyle eğitilmiştir. Görüntü işleme ve veri artırma teknikleri ile sınıf dengesizliği problemleri azaltılmış, model performansı artırılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, EfficientNetV2-S modeli en yüksek başarıyı göstermiş ve ince ayar (fine-tuning) yöntemiyle performansı daha da iyileştirilmiştir. Test aşamasında, geliştirilen model test zamanı artırma (test-time augmentation) yöntemi ile %92,24 doğruluk, %96,77 özgüllük, %92,28 duyarlılık, %92,07 F1 skoru ve %98,99 AUC değerlerine ulaşmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, geliştirilen sistemin diyabetik retinopatinin erken teşhisinde etkili bir yardımcı tanı aracı olabileceğini göstermektedir.In this master's thesis, a deep learning-based model was developed for the automatic classification of the five stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The study utilized retinal images from the APTOS 2019 dataset and employed eight different deep learning architectures—MobileNetV2, DenseNet169, NASNet, VGG19, ConvNeXt Large, EfficientNetB5, EfficientNetB6, and EfficientNetV2-S—trained using the transfer learning approach. Image processing and data augmentation techniques were applied to mitigate class imbalance issues and enhance model performance. Among the evaluated models, EfficientNetV2-S achieved the highest performance, which was further improved through fine-tuning. During the testing phase, the proposed model achieved 92.24% accuracy, 96.77% specificity, 92.28% sensitivity, 92.07% F1-score and 98.99% AUC by employing test-time augmentation. The findings indicate that the developed system can serve as an effective computer-aided diagnostic tool for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy
Forest canopy cover estimation with machine learning using GEDI and Landsat data in the Western Marmara Region, Türkiye
No full textForests play a crucial role in carbon dioxide absorption, biodiversity preservation, and climate regulation. Timely and precise maps detailing tree cover attributes are vital tools for the fields of environmental research and natural resource management. This study addresses the challenge of accurately estimating forest canopy cover by integrating Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and Landsat data in the Eastern Marmara Region of T & uuml;rkiye. Despite the advancements in remote sensing technologies such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and optical sensors, and the importance of forest canopy cover in assessing forest health and carbon stocks, there is limited research on utilizing spaceborne GEDI Level 2B data for forest canopy cover mapping. Six different machine learning methods were employed, namely Classification and Regression Trees (CART), Categorical Boosting (CTB), Light Gradient Boosting Machines (LGBM), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), to generate forest canopy cover maps using Landsat 8 and 9 satellite images with a variety of vegetation indices and texture features. Model performances were evaluated using metrics such as R2, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Median Absolute Error (MdAE), with statistical significance assessed via Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. The results of the tests indicated that the XGB (R2 = 0.5570, RMSE = 0.1603, MdAE = 0.0885) and RF (R2 = 0.5497, RMSE = 0.1617, MdAE = 0.0896) algorithms, which were trained with GEDI Level 2B data, provided greater accuracy in forest canopy cover estimation compared to the other algorithms. This study offers insight into the prediction performance of GEDI Level 2B spaceborne LiDAR data in conjunction with XGB and RF algorithms for forest canopy cover estimation and underscores the significance of integrating advanced remote sensing data for forest monitoring.Afyon Kocatepe UniversityThe authors thank NASA LPDAAC and USGS for providing GEDI and Landsat data products
Identification of potential antigenic proteins and epitopes for the development of a monkeypox virus vaccine: an in silico approach
Get PDFVirus assembly, budding, or surface proteins play important roles such as viral attachment to cells, fusion, and entry into cells. The present study aimed to identify potential antigenic proteins and epitopes that could be used to develop a vaccine or diagnostic assay against the Monkeypox virus (MPXV) which may cause a potential epidemic. To do this, 39 MPXV proteins (including assembly, budding, and surface proteins) were analyzed using an in silico approach. Of these 39 proteins, the F5L virus protein was found to be the best vaccine candidate due to its signal peptide properties, negative GRAVY value, low transmembrane helix content, moderate aliphatic index, large molecular weight, long-estimated half-life, beta wrap motifs, and being stable, soluble, and containing non-allergic features. Moreover, the F5L protein exhibited alpha-helical secondary structures, making it a potential structural antigen recognized by antibodies. The other viral protein candidates were A9 and A43, but A9 lacked beta wrap motifs, while A43 had a positive GRAVY value and was insoluble. These two proteins were not as suitable candidates as the F5L protein. The KRVNISLTCL epitope from the F5L protein demonstrated the highest antigen score (2.4684) for MHC-I, while the GRFGYVPYVGYKCI epitope from the A9 protein exhibited the highest antigenicity (1.754) for MHC-II. Both epitopes met the criteria for high antigenicity, non-toxicity, solubility, non-allergenicity, and the presence of cleavage sites. Molecular docking and dynamics (MD) simulations further validated their potential, revealing stable and energetically favorable interactions with MHC molecules. The immunogenicity assessment showed that GRFGYVPYVGYKCI could strongly induce immune responses through both IFN-gamma and IL-4 pathways, suggesting its capacity to provoke a balanced Th1 and Th2 response. In contrast, KRVNISLTCL exhibited limited immunostimulatory potential. Overall, these findings lay the groundwork for future vaccine development, indicating that F5L, particularly the GRFGYVPYVGYKCI epitope, may serve as an effective candidate for peptide-based vaccine design against MPXV
Effects of preharvest salicylic acid and oxalic acid treatments on blackberry (cv. Bursa 1) fruit quality
No full textThe aim of the current study was to determine how the pre-harvest different dosages of oxalic acid (OA) and salicylic acid (SA) affect the quality of blackberry (cv. Bursa 1) fruits at harvest. Thus, blackberry plants were sprayed with solutions containing 0.5 mM SA, 1 mM SA, 2.5 mM OA, and 5 mM OA seven and fourteen days to before the commercial maturity of fruits. Some characteristics of these fruits were investigated, including their biochemistry (phenolic compounds, organic acids, and general phytochemical characteristics), pomology (fruit width, fruit length, and fruit weight), and physiology (respiration). Regarding the results, the application of SA and OA increased fruit size and fruit weight by up to 40% and 23%, respectively, while leading to a reduction in soluble solid content by up to 7%. However, the organic acids and phenolic compounds with antioxidant impact were unaffected by this decline and were found to increase, especially with OA application. The control group's respiration rate was the highest among the harvested fruits, and the treatments lowered it by 30%. Consequently, the pre-harvest application of oxalic acid or salicylic acid could enhance the quality characteristics of blackberry fruit. © 2025 Pamukkale University. All rights reserved
High-entropy processed high quality and low-temperature cofired LiMgPO4-based dielectric ceramics for low-loss packaged millimeter-wave filters
No full textIn this work, we successfully integrated the high-entropy concept into LiMgPO4-based ceramics by strategically substituting Mg2+ with various divalent ions. Through a low-temperature solid-phase reaction method, a series of high-entropy LiMg0.9R0.1PO4 (R = Ni, NiCo, NiCoZn, NiCoZnCu, NiCoZnCuMn) ceramics were prepared successfully, and their MW dielectric properties were found to be heavily influenced by the ionic character, lattice energy, bond energy, entropy, ion radius disorder, and electronegativity of chemical bonds. Remarkably, LiMg0.9(Ni0.2Co0.2Zn0.2Cu0.2Mn0.2)(0.1)PO4 (LM5RP) ceramics exhibited exceptional MW dielectric properties (epsilon(r) = 7.43, tau(f) = - 27.6 ppm/degrees C, and Q x f = 83,216 GHz@13 GHz and 105,889 GHz@28 GHz) when sintered at an extraordinarily low temperature of 900 degrees C for 2 h. To demonstrate the real-world applicability of the LM5RP high-entropy ceramic, we designed and fabricated a state-of-the-art millimeter-wave (mmWave) filter, operating at 28 GHz, using low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) packaging technology. The filter exhibited unparalleled performance, featuring a low insertion loss (0.9 dB) and wide stopband suppression (> 17 dB @ 2.14 f(0)). These groundbreaking findings underscore the immense potential of high-entropy ceramics in revolutionizing advanced MW applications, particularly in the domain of B5G/6 G mmWave communication systems.National Natural Science Foundation of China [52161145401, 51672063]; Leading geese research and development planning project of Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province [2023C01183]This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 52161145401, 51672063) , and the leading geese research and development planning project of Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province (Grant no. 2023C01183)
Sustainable fruit growing basin of Sultandağı district of Afyonkarahisar and Akşehi̇r district of Konya: The case of cherry
No full textSürdürülebilir Kalkınma, ülkelerde tarım, sanayi ve hizmet sektörünün bir yıldan diğerine üretim artışı yanında çevrenin korunması, toplumun her kesiminin refahının ve gelirinin yükseltilmesi şeklinde açıklanabilir. Bu tanıma kırsal kalkınma da denilmiştir. Her ülkenin her bölgesi aynı seviyede gelişmemiş ve aynı ekonomik kaynaklara sahip değildir. Sürdürülebilir kalkınma olmaksızın tabana yayılan ve toplumun her kesimini kapsayan bir bölüşüm olmadığından toplumsal eşitsizlikler ortaya çıkar. Özellikle çevre kirliliği ekolojik dengeleri bozar ve diğer sektörlere hammadde sağlanamaz ve sonuçta ekonomik küçülme meydana gelir. Sürdürülebilir kalkınma, çevre, toplumsal eşitlik ve adalet ve ekonomik büyümeyi kapsar. Sürdürülebilir kalkınmanın alt başlıkları ise çevre, tarım, enerji, imalat, teknoloji, ulaştırma ve lojistik, işletmeler, gelir dağılımı, bayındırlık, siyaset ve kültürel değerler gibi başlıklardan oluşur. Sürdürülebilir kalkınma açısından tarım çok önemlidir. Çünkü kişilerin biyolojik yaşamı için gerekli gıda üretimi yanında sanayii ve hizmet sektörüne de hammadde sağlar. Türkiye, toprak yapısı, iklimi ve ekolojik sistemi ile birçok tarımsal ürünün üretim merkezidir. Örneğin Türkiye, dünyanın önemli kiraz üreticisi ülkelerinden birisi olup, İzmir, Konya, Manisa, Afyonkarahisar ve Isparta gibi şehirlerinde yerel halkın en önemli geçim kaynaklarından birisidir. Bunun yanında Sultandağı – Akşehir bölgesi, toprak yapısı, Eber ve Akşehir göllerinin mikro klima etkisi gibi ekolojik sebeplerle kiraz üretiminin en uygun bir bölgelerinin başında gelir. Kiraz üretiminin yoğun yapıldığı bu bölgelerde diğer meyvelerin üretimi de mevcuttur. Bu üretim bölgesinin sürdürülebilir kalkınmaya katkısı, bölgeden dışarıya daha az göç veren bir yapı, yaşam standartlarının yüksekliği ve daha yeşil bir toplumsal çevrenin varlığıdır. Sonuç olarak dünya kiraz üretiminin %30’unu karşılayan Türkiye’nin ve Sultandağı – Akşehir havzası gibi bölgelerinin sürdürülebilir kalkınması doğru ve yerinde tarım politikalarının oluşturulmasıyla sağlanabilecektir.Sustainable Development is defined as increasing the production of agriculture, industry and service sectors in countries from one year to another, as well as protecting the environment and increasing the welfare and income of all segments of society. This definition is also called rural development. Not every region of every country is developed at the same level and has the same economic resources. Without sustainable development, social inequalities arise because there is no distribution that spreads to the base and includes all segments of society. Environmental pollution disrupts ecological balances and raw materials cannot be provided to other sectors, resulting in economic shrinkage. Sustainable development includes the environment, social equality and justice, and economic growth. The subheadings of sustainable development consist of headings such as environment, agriculture sector, energy, manufacturing, technology, transportation and logistics, businesses, income distribution, public works, politics and cultural values. Agriculture is very important in terms of sustainable development. Because it provides raw materials for the industry and service sectors, as well as the food production necessary for the biological life of people. Turkey serves as a major production hub of many agricultural products with its soil structure, climate and ecological system. One of these important fruits is cherry. Turkey is one of the important cherry producing countries in the world. It is an important source of income in cities such as Izmir, Konya, Manisa, Afyonkarahisar, Isparta. In addition, Sultandağı - Akşehir region is one of the most suitable regions for cherry production due to ecological reasons such as soil structure, microclimate effect of Eber and Akşehir lakes. In this region where cherry production is intensive, there is also production of other fruits. The contribution of this production region to sustainable development is less outward migration, higher living standards and a greener social environment. As a result, the sustainable development of Turkey, which accounts for 30% of the world's cherry production, and regions such as the Sultandağı - Akşehir basin can be achieved through the establishment of correct and appropriate agricultural policies
Development of frozen french fries-like product from taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) tuber and determination of suitability for industrial production
Get PDFKadının iş hayatına girmesi, kentleşmenin artması ile trafikte geçirilen zamanın artması ev dışında geçirilen za-manı arttırmıştır. Bu nedenle tüketiciler sınırlı zamanlarında uzun süreli yemek hazırlamaktan ziyade pratik kısa sürede hazır olacak tam ya da yarı pişmiş ürünleri tercih etmektedir. Bu nedenle son yıllarda dondurulmuş ürün-lere olan talep artmıştır. Dondurulmuş ürünler içerisinde en büyük pazar payına dondurulmuş patates gelmek-tedir. Üretim esnasında kısa süreli ön kızartması uygulanan yarı pişmiş bir ürün olan donuk patates tüketiciye hızlı şekilde hazırlandığı için kolaylık sağlamaktadır. Donuk patates sadece ev tüketimi için değil hazır yeme sek-törünün ve fast food zincir restaurantların menülerinin vazgeçilmez bir parçasıdır. Bu nedenle büyük bir pazar payına sahiptir. Donuk patates fırında ya da derin yağda pişirme işlemi uygulanarak tüketilmektedir. Patatesin iyi bir karbonhid-rat kaynağı olması ve glisemik indeksinin yüksekliği sürekli tüketiminin obezite başta olmak üzere insülin direnci tip 2 diyabet gibi rahatsızlıklara neden olabileceği göz önünde bulundurulmalıdır. Artan tüketici bilinci bu an-lamda tüketim tercihlerine yön vermektedir. Bu nedenle glisemik indeksi düşük ve fenolik bileşence zengin gıda-lara talep artmaktadır. Gölevez [Colocasiaesculenta (L.) Schott], nişastalı bitkiler sınıfındadır. Fakat dirençli nişasta oranı patatese göre yükse olduğu için orta glisemiks indekse sahip gıda olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Ülkemizde Akdeniz bölgesinde patatesten daha fazla yetiştirilip tüketilmekte olan gölevezin bilinirliliği bölgesel kalmıştır. Göleveizn yüksek su içeriği hasattan sonra kısa raf ömrü nedeniyle de tüketimi bölgesel kalmıştır. Bu tez kapsamında ülkemizde yetişen gölevez yumrusundan dondurulmuş parmak patates üretim olanakları belirlenecektir. Bu sayede raf ömrü kısa olan gölevez yumrusundan katma değerli yüksek bir ürün elde edilmiş olacaktır. Ayrıca düşük glisemik indeksi, içerdiği Ca, Na, K, Cl mineralleri, fenolik bileşenleri ve vitaminleri göz önünde bulundurulduğunda parmak patatese alternatif daha sağlıklı bir ürün geliştirilmiş olacaktır.Women's work-dwelling meetings, those who use the practices of urbanization in traffic with children have increased the time outside the home. Those who prepare a long-term meal file in their time within the scope of these restrictions are ready in a practical short time, full or half-consuming products are preferred. Therefore, the list of demand for the products listed in recent years. Frozen potatoes have the biggest market share among frozen products. Frozen potato, which is a semi-product that is pre-fried for a short time during production, provides convenience to the consumer as it is prepared quickly. Frozen potatoes are not only for home consumption, but also an indispensable part of fast food chain restaurants' menus. Therefore, it has a large market share. It is consumed by applying the frozen potato condensation or deep fat cooking process. It should be taken into account that the potato is a good source of carbohydrates and the constant use of the aggressiveness of the glycemic index causes harmful effects such as obesity and insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes. Increasing consumer awareness is shaping consumer preferences in this sense. Therefore, an increase in demand for foods with a low glycemic index and rich in phenolic compounds. Gooseberry [Colocasiaesculenta (L.) Schott] is in the horned plants class. However, since its storage rate is higher than potatoes, it is considered as a food with a medium glycemic index. The taro, which is grown and consumed more than potatoes in the Mediterranean regions, is known locally. Göleveizn remained in the consumption area due to its short shelf life after its high water harvest content. Within the scope of this thesis, the production possibilities of clustered French fries from taro tubers will be determined. In this way, a high value-added product will be obtained from taro tubers with a short shelf life. In addition, a healthier alternative to French fries will be developed, considering its low glycemic index, collections of Ca, Na, K, Cl minerals, phenolic contents and vitamins
The adaptation of Ömer Seyfettin’s stories “inat” and “sivrisinek” to a2 level within the framework of textlinguistic criteria in teaching turkish as a foreign language
No full textBir anadilin yabancı dil olarak öğretilmesi sürecinde özgün metin mi yoksa sadeleştirilmiş metin mi kullanılacağı tartışmaları içerisinde bu çalışma, özgün metinlerin sadeleştirilme süreçlerinden geçirilerek temel kullanıcı düzeyine uygulanması gerekliliği düşünülerek hazırlanmıştır. Oysa tartışmaların bir boyutu yabancı dil öğretim sürecinin temel kullanıcı düzeylerinden bağımsız kullanıcı boyutlarına dek özgün metinlerin kullanılması gerekliliğini savunurken diğer boyutu ise sadeleştirilmiş metinlerin kullanılması gerekliliğini öne çıkarmaktadır. Hazırlanan bu çalışmada Ömer Seyfettin’ in İnat ve Sivrisinek isimli iki hikâyesinin A2 seviyesine uyarlanması ile temel kullanıcı boyutundaki dil öğrenicilerine dil öğretim materyali sağlanmış olacaktır. Modern Türk hikâyeciliğinin kurucularından olan Ömer Seyfettin’ in eserlerinin seçilmesinin sebepleri ise zamanına göre yalın bir üslup kullanması, hikâyelerinin halkın içerisinden çıkması ve halk yaşantısını doğrudan yansıtmasıdır. Küreselleşen dünya düzeninde bir dilin sadece dilsel yapılarını öğrenmenin yetersiz kaldığı, hedef yabancı dilin yaslandığı sosyolojik ve kültürel boyutları öğrenmenin öneminin vurgulandığı bir noktada çalışmamızın doğru yerde konumlanmaya çalıştığını söyleyebiliriz. Sadeleştirme süreci Avrupa Dilleri Ortak Çerçeve Programı (CEFR) rehberliğinde metindilbilimsel ölçütler kullanılarak yürütülmüş, kelime değiştirimlerinde İlyas Göz’ ün (2020) Yazılı Türkçenin Kelime Sıklığı Sözlüğü kullanılmıştır. Sadeleştirme işleminin ardından dil öğrenicilerinin kavrama düzeylerini artırmak amacıyla metin öncesi ve metin sonrası etkinlikler ve hikâyenin sahip olduğu anahtar kelimeler için sözlük oluşturulmuştur. Sadeleştirmenin metindilbilim kriterleri gözetilerek sistematik biçimde yapılmış olmasıyla uygulayıcı yanlılığını ortadan kaldırmak amaçlanmış ve sezgisel çeviri yönteminin dezavantajları engellenmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışma bu yönüyle sadeleştirme sürecini bilimsel bir yaklaşımla ele almakta ve diğer uygulayıcılar tarafından tekrarlanabilir bir nitelik taşımaktadır. Çalışmayla ayrıca alandaki okuma materyali eksikliğine yönelik olarak eğitimcilere ve dil öğrenicilere kaynak metin sağlamak amaçlanmıştır.This study was prepared within the scope of ongoing debates in the field of teaching a native language as a foreign language, particularly regarding whether authentic texts or simplified texts should be used at the elementary levels of language instruction. While one side of the debate advocates the use of authentic texts across all levels of language learning—from basic to independent users—, the other side emphasizes the necessity of employing simplified texts, especially at lower proficiency levels. Rooted in the latter perspective, this study aims to adapt two short stories by Ömer Seyfettin, namely İnat and Sivrisinek, to A2 level in order to provide teaching materials suitable for basic users of Turkish as a foreign language. Ömer Seyfettin, a foundational figure in modern Turkish storytelling, was chosen as the source author due to his relatively simple and clear style, his ability to derive narratives from the everyday life of ordinary people, and his faithful representation of the sociocultural realities of his time. In an increasingly globalized world, where learning the grammatical structures of a language alone is no longer sufficient, the cultural and sociological dimensions of the target language have gained vital importance. In this respect, the present study is situated in line with the contemporary understanding that values the integration of linguistic and cultural elements in foreign language education. The simplification process was carried out under the guidance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), with textlinguistic criteria (e.g., cohesion, coherence, intentionality) serving as the primary framework. In lexical adaptations, İlyas Göz’s Word Frequency Dictionary of Written Turkish was utilized. Following the simplification, various pre-reading and post-reading activities were designed, along with a glossary built upon the key vocabulary of each adapted story, aiming to enhance learners' comprehension. By employing a systematic, criteria-based approach grounded in textlinguistic principles, this study eliminates practitioner subjectivity and avoids the limitations commonly associated with intuitive simplification methods. In this regard, it offers a replicable and academically reliable model for other practitioners. Additionally, the study contributes to the field by addressing the scarcity of graded reading materials and offering resource texts for both educators and learners
Enhancing Gluten-Free Muffins with Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) and Carob-Taro-Rice Flour Blend: A Functional and Bioactive Approach
No full textThis study introduces a complementary ingredient strategy to improve gluten-free muffins by combining the bioactive properties of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) with the techno-functional advantages of a carob-taro-rice flour blend. A rice-only formulation served as the control, while other formulations included partial substitution with carob and/or taro flours, enriched with 0%, 4%, or 8% Cornelian cherry pulp, and were evaluated using a comprehensive set of physicochemical, textural, microstructural, and sensory analysis. The incorporation of pulp and flour substitution markedly increased total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and dietary fiber, reaching up to 7.9 times the levels observed in the rice-only control. Carob flour substitution reduced muffin hardness by 51-64%, indicating substantial textural improvement. Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and heatmap clustering confirmed that carob and taro enhanced the sensory profile by increasing crumb porosity and reducing firmness. Image analysis supported these findings, showing that carob-containing blends exhibited a more desirable microstructure with larger air cell area (>48%) and greater circularity (>0.86), thus linking internal structure to improved texture. These results provide a practical approach for bakeries and food manufacturers to enhance the nutritional and sensory quality of gluten-free muffins.Afyon Kocatepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [24.FEN.BIL.01]This study received partial financial support for the analytical work from the Afyon Kocatepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project Number: 24.FEN.BIL.01)