Genotoxic effects of water pollution on two fish species living in Karasu River,Erzurum, Turkey

Karasu River, which is the only river in the Erzurum plain, is the source of the Euphrates River (Eastern Anatolia of Turkey). The river is in a serious environmental situation as a result of pollution by agricultural and industrial sewage and domestic discharges. The present study aims to evaluate genotoxic effects of toxic metals in chub, Leuciscus cephalus, and transcaucasian barb, Capoeta capoeta, collected from contaminated site of the Karasu River, in comparison with fish from an unpolluted reference site. Heavy metal concentrations in surface water of the river were determined. The condition factor (CF) was taken as a general biomarker of the health of the fish, and genotoxicity assays such as micronucleus (MN) and other nuclear abnormalities (NA) were carried out on the fish species studied. MN and NA such as kidney-shaped nucleus, notched nucleus, binucleated, lobed nucleus, and blebbed nucleus were assessed in peripheral blood erythrocytes, gill epithelial cells, and liver cells of the fish. A significant decrease in CF values associated with a significant elevation in MN and NA frequencies was observed in fish collected from the polluted sites compared with those from the reference site. Results of the current study show the significance of integrating a set of biomarkers to identify the effects of anthropogenic pollution. High concentrations of heavy metals have a potential genotoxic effects, and the toxicity is possibly related to industrial, agricultural, and domestic activities.     

The effect of pyrolysis atmosphere on bio-oil yields and structure

A food industry waste, almond shell, was pyrolyzed under three different environment static, nitrogen, and steam to produce bio-oil and its derivatives. The oil yield obtained at pyrolysis temperature of 600°C was 24.23% in a static atmosphere, whereas it increased to 27.25% and 33.05% in nitrogen and steam atmospheres, respectively. The bio-oil obtained under steam atmosphere is very efficient due to the production of high liquid and gas yields. Moreover, co-feeding steam during the pyrolysis altered the bio-oil structure by increasing the aliphatics and reducing the asphaltenes. Moreover, steam treatment also increases H/C and heating value of bio-oils. According to the obtained results, steam pyrolysis is an alternative option for future applications in refineries.     

Genotoxic risk assessment in professionals working hairdressers area using buccal micronucleus assay,in Aydın City,Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the genotoxic risk of professional hairdressers in Ayd?n City, Turkey, through investigating the micronucleus frequencies in buccal mucosa epithelial cells. All the hairdresser working hairdresser area were included in the genotoxic risk group (GRG = 20) in Ayd?n City, Turkey. The control group (CG = 20) comprised healthy individuals matching the gender and age of the GRG. Buccal mucosal scraping from all the 40 subjects of GRG (10 women and 10 men) and CG (10 women and 10 men) was stained with Giemsa stain and observed under light microscope (×40) for the presence of micronuclei (M 10 N) and karyolysis, pyknosis, condensed chromatin, karyorrhexis, nuclear bud, and binucleates in the exfoliated epithelial cells. There are significance between the incidence of MN in GRG and CG (P = <0.005) using one-way ANOVA, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z test, and Spearman Rank Correlation Tests.     

Enzyme activity and microorganisms diversity in soil contaminated with the Boreal 58 WG herbicide

Next-generation herbicides are relatively safe when used properly, but the recommended rates are relatively low, which can lead to overdosing. This study evaluated the responses of soil-dwelling microorganisms and soil enzymes to contamination with the Boreal 58 WG herbicide. The analyzed product contains active ingredients flufenacet and isoxaflutole. All tests were performed under laboratory conditions. The analyzed material was sandy clay. Boreal 58 WG was introduced to soil in four doses. Soil without the addition of the herbicide served as the control. The soil was mixed with the tested herbicide, and its moisture content was maintained at 50% of capillary water capacity. Biochemical and microbiological analyses were performed on experimental days 0, 20, 40, 80 and 160. Accidental contamination of soil with the Boreal 58 WG herbicide led to a relatively minor imbalance in the soil microbiological and biochemical profile. The herbicide dose influenced dehydrogenase activity in only 0.84%, urease activity in 2.04%, β-glucosidase activity in 8.26%, catalase activity in 12.40%, arylsulfatase activity in 12.54%, acid phosphatase activity in 42.11%, numbers of organotrophic bacteria in 18.29%, actinomyces counts in 1.31% and fungi counts in 6.86%.     

Acute effect of benzo[a]anthracene on the biodegradation of peptone under aerobic conditions

Background

This study investigated the acute effect of benzo[a]anthracene, a significant compound among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, on the biodegradation of a synthetic organic substrate??a peptone/meat extract mixture??under aerobic conditions.

Methods

A laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor was sustained at steady state at a sludge age of 10?days with substrate feeding. Inhibition tests involved running a series of batch reactors initially seeded with the biomass obtained from the parent reactor. After the biomass seeding, the reactors were started with the peptone mixture and a range of initial benzo[a]anthracene concentrations between 0.5 and 88?mg/L. Experimental profiles of oxygen uptake rates and polyhydroxyalkanoates were evaluated by calibration of a selected model.

Results

Lower doses of benzo[a]anthracene had no effect on process kinetics. The noticeable acute impact was only observed with the addition of 88?mg/L of benzo[a]anthracene, but it was limited with the storage mechanism: the amount of organic substrate diverted to polyhydroxyalkanoates was significantly reduced with a corresponding decrease in the maximum storage rate, k _STO, from 2.7 down to 0.6?day^?1. Similarly, the maximum growth rate from internally stored polyhydroxyalkanoates was lowered from 2.3 to 1.0?day^?1.

Conclusion

Among the mechanisms for direct substrate utilization, only the hydrolysis rate was slightly reduced, but otherwise, the overall COD removal efficiency was not affected.     

The status and distribution of PCBs along the coast of Vietnam

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), well-known as an important scientific achievement, are now considered as one of the most persistent organic pollutants...     

The influence of biomass energy consumption on CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions: a wavelet coherence approach

In terms of today, one may argue, throughout observations from energy literature papers, that (i) one of the main contributors of the global warming is carbon dioxide emissions, (ii) the fossil fuel energy usage greatly contributes to the carbon dioxide emissions, and (iii) the simulations from energy models attract the attention of policy makers to renewable energy as alternative energy source to mitigate the carbon dioxide emissions. Although there appears to be intensive renewable energy works in the related literature regarding renewables’ efficiency/impact on environmental quality, a researcher might still need to follow further studies to review the significance of renewables in the environment since (i) the existing seminal papers employ time series models and/or panel data models or some other statistical observation to detect the role of renewables in the environment and (ii) existing papers consider mostly aggregated renewable energy source rather than examining the major component(s) of aggregated renewables. This paper attempted to examine clearly the impact of biomass on carbon dioxide emissions in detail through time series and frequency analyses. Hence, the paper follows wavelet coherence analyses. The data covers the US monthly observations ranging from 1984:1 to 2015 for the variables of total energy carbon dioxide emissions, biomass energy consumption, coal consumption, petroleum consumption, and natural gas consumption. The paper thus, throughout wavelet coherence and wavelet partial coherence analyses, observes frequency properties as well as time series properties of relevant variables to reveal the possible significant influence of biomass usage on the emissions in the USA in both the short-term and the long-term cycles. The paper also reveals, finally, that the biomass consumption mitigates CO₂ emissions in the long run cycles after the year 2005 in the USA.     

Development of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system model for predict trihalomethane formation potential in distribution network simulation test

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Trihalomethanes (THMs), which is one of the major classes of DBP known to be highly cytotoxic and genotoxic, were formed and modeled under controlled...     

Analysis of winter thermal comfort conditions: street scenarios using ENVI-met model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Rapid migration to cities and the increasing demand for housing negatively affect living areas. Furthermore, uncontrolled population growth,...     

Debriefing with teachers after the Marmara earthquake: an evaluation study1

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the debriefing meetings conducted after the 1999 earthquakes in Marmara, Turkey. The sample consisted of 265 teachers, 223 of whom attended the debriefing meetings. The personal satisfaction ratings of the teachers who attended the meetings revealed that they found the sessions satisfactory. The results of the comparison between those who reported that they benefited from the meetings and those who felt they did not indicated that the first group had lower scores on all of the psychopathology measures. A comparison between 42 teachers who did not attend the meetings and a randomly chosen group of 45 teachers who did attend revealed that the two groups differed significantly in terms of their post‐traumatic stress symptom scores. The findings of the study suggest that, in general, the teachers' debriefing sessions were satisfactory.