A study on the determination of the natural park’s sustainable tourism potential

The surface site of Yesilyuva Nature Park encompasses natural, social, economic, and cultural characteristics and has become a marker of the region’s natural and cultural heritage. To support the preservation of this site, promotional activities should be planned. In this study, because of tourism and related opinions of residents and visitors alike in terms of their natural determination, an important cultural and historical feature is aimed at evaluating the tourism potential of Yesilyuva Nature Park. This framework is designed to establish prospective tourism sustainability. As a result, Yesilyuva Nature Park’s natural and cultural properties have been determined to be suitable for sustainable tourism activities using geographic information systems (GIS). This protection in the field, which balances sustainability and landscape design, will provide for the development of tourism activities. In the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis and survey, residents and visitors reported that the most important feature of the Yesilyuva Nature Park was its natural beauty. Visitors often come to observe traditional and natural life and to engage in tourism activities. All the data, which includes maps derived from GIS, represents landscape planning for sustainable tourism areas in Yesilyuva Nature Park.     

Organic pollution of the Büyük Menderes River,Turkey and effects on aquaculture

Water quality was measured at eight stations on the Buyuk Menderes River in Turkey (Ad?güzel dam, Yenice regülator, Sarayköy bridge, Feslek regülator, Yenipazar bridge, Ayd?n bridge, Koçarl? bridge, Söke regülator) between 2000 and 2013 in February, April, June, August, October and December. The resulting data were evaluated in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammoniac–nitrogen (NH₃–N), nitrite–nitrogen (NO₂–N), nitrate–nitrogen (NO₃–N) and orthophosphate (o-PO₄) aquaculture. According to the analysis, while river water pollution generally varied during each year, samples from certain measurement points demonstrated high pollution levels throughout the year. In this study, water parameters were classified according to the “Turkish water pollution control regulation.” The studied parameters are also compared with TS 266 and WHO guidelines. While levels at Sarayköy station were generally higher than other stations, values at Ad?güzel dam were the lowest, giving it the best water quality of the eight stations. The highest values on a yearly basis were obtained in 2007 due to the severe drought in the Menderes basin within which irrigation water levels fell to 4255 m³/ha. The BOD, COD levels are the lowest in 2009 and highest in 2007; the DO level is lowest in 2007 and highest in 2009; NH₃–N, NO₂–N, and NO₃–N parameters are the lowest in 2007 and highest in 2009; and the o-PO₄ are at the lowest level in 2004 and seen as the highest in 2007. Analysis of the data was performed by SPSS 21 statistics program. One direction ANOVA was applied to the data, which were also subject to Tukey multiple comparison tests. Differences between groups were evaluated at p?<?0.05. Box–plot graphs were used to demonstrate the data distribution. In the study, it was analyzed, the effect of fish species and pollution involved in the Büyük Menderes River so far on fish species.     

Prenatal diagnosis in three cases of iniencephaly with unusual postmortem findings

Iniencephaly is a rare and lethal congenital malformation of the neural tube characterized by occipital bone defect, cervical dysraphism, fixed retroflexion of the fetal head and severe lordosis of the cervicothoracic spine. The etiology is unknown. Prenatally diagnosed cases of iniencephaly are rare because careful and early ultrasonographic evaluation is necessary. We present three cases of iniencephaly prenatally diagnosed by sonography at 20–22 weeks' gestation in which therapeutic abortion was induced. The sonographic findings were compatible with the postmortem findings. The present cases of iniencephaly were found to carry unusual associated malformations such as two lobes in the right lung and chorangiosis of the placenta. Only hypoplastic lungs have been reported by previous authors. We also studied the 677C→T mutation on the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene in the parents in one of the present cases. The mother was found to be heterozygous for the 677CT polymorphism. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rural women and agrotourism in the context of sustainable rural development: A case study from Turkey

As in many developing countries also in Turkey, agriculture is on the center of rural development and rural women are on the center of agriculture. Although they are main part as a major labor force at every stage of agricultural activity and undertake responsibilities such as domestic task and childcare, women do not profit from social and economic benefits proportionate to the responsibilities they have undertaken. Agrotourism is an alternative activity in the rural development process, which combines agriculture and tourism, improves natural resources, contributes the rural area socially and economically. The aim of this study is to examine the participation conditions of rural women to the agrotourism activities, which is considered as an option in the context of sustainable rural development, and to identify the possible social and economic implications of agrotourism on the rural women’s life, after determining the situation and importance of rural women in the agricultural activity. This research was carried out in three villages of Kalecik district of Ankara and data gathered from group meetings and surveys.     

Nutrient dynamics between sediment and overlying water in the inner part of Izmir Bay, Eastern Aegean

In this article a concept is described in order to predict and map the occurrence of benthic communities within and near the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea. The approach consists of two work steps: (1) geostatistical analysis of abiotic measurement data and (2) calculation of benthic provinces by means of Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and GIS-techniques. From bottom water measurements on salinity, temperature, silicate and nutrients as well as from punctual data on grain size ranges (0–20, 20–63, 63–2,000 μ) raster maps were calculated by use of geostatistical methods. At first the autocorrelation structure was examined and modelled with help of variogram analysis. The resulting variogram models were then used to calculate raster maps by applying ordinary kriging procedures. After intersecting these raster maps with punctual data on eight benthic communities a decision tree was derived to predict the occurrence of these communities within the study area. Since such a CART tree corresponds to a hierarchically ordered set of decision rules it was applied to the geostatistically estimated raster data to predict benthic habitats within and near the EEZ.     

Superior incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of Mo-doped activated carbon supported CdS-sensitized solar cells

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, the performance of activated carbon (AC) produced from defatted black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) by chemical activation with zinc...     

Land degradation assessment by geo-spatially modeling different soil erodibility equations in a semi-arid catchment

Land degradation by soil erosion is one of the most serious problems and environmental issues in many ecosystems of arid and semi-arid regions. Especially, the disturbed areas have greater soil detachability and transportability capacity. Evaluation of land degradation in terms of soil erodibility, by using geostatistical modeling, is vital to protect and reclaim susceptible areas. Soil erodibility, described as the ability of soils to resist erosion, can be measured either directly under natural or simulated rainfall conditions, or indirectly estimated by empirical regression models. This study compares three empirical equations used to determine the soil erodibility factor of revised universal soil loss equation prediction technology based on their geospatial performances in the semi-arid catchment of the Saraykoy II Irrigation Dam located in Cankiri, Turkey. A total of 311 geo-referenced soil samples were collected with irregular intervals from the top soil layer (0-10?cm). Geostatistical analysis was performed with the point values of each equation to determine its spatial pattern. Results showed that equations that used soil organic matter in combination with the soil particle size better agreed with the variations in land use and topography of the catchment than the one using only the particle size distribution. It is recommended that the equations which dynamically integrate soil intrinsic properties with land use, topography, and its influences on the local microclimates, could be successfully used to geospatially determine sites highly susceptible to water erosion, and therefore, to select the agricultural and bio-engineering control measures needed.     

Comparison of chemical composition of the essential oil of Laurus nobilis L. leaves and fruits from different regions of Hatay, Turkey

The essential oils of the leaves and fruits from bay (Laurus nobilis L.) grown in Antakya, Yayladagi and Samandagi were isolated by solvent extraction and analysed by capillary gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In Antakya, Yayladagi and Samandagi the chemical compositions of the fruits and leaves were similar according to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Although in both fruits and leaves the major component was found to be 1.8-Cineole a concentration of about 50% compared with essential oils. The composition of the essential oil from the leaves has high content of 1.8-Cineole, Sabinene and alpha-Terpinyl acetate, but a low content of a-Pinene, alpha-Phellandrene and trans-/beta-osimen. 1.8-Cineole was found major component of the leaves essential oil collected from Samandagi (59.94%) which is sea coast of region. Interestingly alpha-Pinene, beta-Pinene, alpha-Phellandrene, 1.8-Cineole and trans-beta-osimen were found the major components of fruits of Laurus nobilis L. harvested from Antakya, Yayladagi and Samandagi Trans-beta-osimen was detected as the major component of fruits essential oil collected again from Samandagi (28.35%)     

Modelling leachate quality and quantity in municipal solid waste landfills.

The operational phase of landfills may last for 20 years or more. Significant changes in leachate quality and generation rate may occur during this operational period. A mathematical model has been developed to simulate the landfill leachate behaviour and distributions of moisture and leachate constituents through the landfill, taking into consideration the effects of time-dependent landfill development on the hydraulic characteristics of waste and composition of leachate. The model incorporates governing equations that describe processes influencing the leachate production and biochemical processes taking place during the stabilization of wastes, including leachate flow, dissolution, acidogenesis and methanogenesis. To model the hydraulic property changes occurring during the development stage of the landfills, a conceptual modelling approach was proposed. This approach considers the landfill to consist of cells or columns of cells, which are constructed at different times, and considers each cell in the landfill to consist of several layers. Each layer is assumed to be a completely mixed reactor containing uniformly distributed solid waste, moisture, gases and micro-organisms. The use of the proposed conceptual model enables the incorporation of the spatial changes in hydraulic properties of the landfill into the model and also makes it possible to predict the spatial and temporal distributions of moisture and leachate constituents. The model was calibrated and partially verified using leachate data from Keele Valley Landfill in Ontario, Canada and data obtained from the literature. Ranges of values were proposed for model parameters applicable for real landfill conditions.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression among survivors of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey

This study examined the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid depression some three years after the August 1999 earthquake in Turkey among a sample of 769 survivors relocated to a permanent housing site built for homeless survivors in the epicentre region. Time since trauma was 3.1 years for 81 per cent of the participants and 3.9 years for the remainder. Survivors were assessed using the Screening Instrument for Traumatic Stress in Earthquake Survivors, an easily administered self-rating scale with demonstrated validity. The estimated rates of PTSD and comorbid depression were 40 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively. Linear regression analyses showed that PTSD strongly related to fear during the earthquake, while depression related to loss of family members. These results suggest that catastrophic earthquakes have long-term psychological consequences and highlight the need for a cost-effective mental health care model for earthquake survivors.