Adsorption of bentazon and propanil from aqueous solutions at the high area activated carbon-cloth

Removal of the pesticides bentazon and propanil from single and bisolute solutions by adsorption at the high area activated carbon-cloth was investigated. Kinetics of adsorption was followed and adsorption isotherms of the two pesticides were determined. A special V-shaped cell with an UV cuvette attached to it was used for adsorption studies. With this cell it was possible to follow the concentration of pesticide molecule by in situ UV spectroscopy as it is adsorbed at the carbon-cloth. It was found that concentration of pesticides decreased from the same initial concentration of 4.5 x 10(-5) to 1.1 x 10(-5) for bentazon and to 9.5 x 10(-6) for propanil in about 2 h. The fits of experimental adsorption isotherm data to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations were almost equally successful. Monolayer capacities determined from Langmuir isotherms of pesticides showed that bentazon has greater monolayer capacity than propanil. This conclusion was also confirmed through the 1/n parameter of Freundlich equation.     

Adsorption kinetics and isotherms of pesticides onto activated carbon-cloth

Adsorption of pesticides ametryn, aldicarb, dinoseb and diuron from aqueous solution onto high specific area activated carbon-cloth was studied. Kinetics of adsorption was followed by in situ UV-spectroscopy and the data were treated according to various rate models. The extent of adsorption was determined at the end of 125 min adsorption period. Rate constants and the extent of adsorption for the four pesticides were found to follow the order: dinoseb > ametryn > diuron > aldicarb. Adsorption isotherms were derived at 25 °C on the basis of batch analysis. Isotherm data were treated according to Langmuir and Freundlich models. The fits of experimental data to these equations were examined. The types of interactions between the surface and pesticide molecules were discussed.     

The microbial community in a green turtle nesting beach in the Mediterranean: application of the Biolog EcoPlate approach for beach pollution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aims to characterize the microbial community and its relationship with heavy metal pollution in the beaches of Sugözü, an...     

A study of background radioactivity level for Canakkale, Turkey

This study assesses the level of background radiation for Canakkale province of northwestern Turkey. Radon concentrations in indoor air were determined using CR-39 nuclear track detectors and ²²²Rn activity was found to be 167 Bq m^???3 (equivalent to an annual effective dose of 4.2 mSv). Measurements of outdoor gamma radiation (of terrestrial and cosmic origin) in air were performed using plastic scintillators, and the average absorbed gamma dose rate was found to be 66.4 nGy h^???1 (corresponding to an annual effective dose of 81.4 μSv). The radionuclide activity concentrations in soil samples collected from the study area were measured through gamma-ray spectrometry, and the average activities were determined as 94.55, 110.4, and 1,273 Bq kg^???1 for the natural radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K, respectively, and 19.39 Bq kg^???1 for the fission product ¹³⁷Cs. The natural radioactivity sources resulted in an annual effective dose of 184 μSv. The radioactivity levels of drinking water samples were measured as 0.0599 Bq l^???1 for gross-alpha activity and 0.0841 Bq l^???1 for gross-beta activity using a low-background counting technique (equivalent to an annual effective dose of 12.25 μSv). The results of this study show that the activity levels of radon in air, radionuclides in soil, and alpha activities in drinking water are higher compared to the data available for other Turkish cities and the world averages. On the other hand, the outdoor gamma dose rates in air and beta activities in drinking water are within natural limits.     

Higher number of microplastics in tumoral colon tissues from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Microplastics have been detected in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, yet the toxic effects of microplastics on living organisms are poorly known. In particular,...     

Determination of 7-ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) induction in leaping mullet (Liza saliens) from the highly contaminated Aliaga Bay, Turkey

Pollution of the aquatic environment is a global concern owing to the devastating effects of contaminants whose levels are growing at an alarming rate, and it has become a major threat for marine organisms, as well as to humans as consumers. This study has been carried out on leaping mullet obtained from Aliaga Bay, which is located on the west coast of the Aegean Sea near Izmir and hosts the world’s fifth largest shipyard, plus a broad range of industrial activities, including an oil refinery and a paper factory. The waste from these industries, combined with municipal sewer discharges, is the main cause of pollution in this region. There is no national documentation or research on the determination of pollution resulting from the industrial activities in this area. In the present study, the degree of induction of CYP4501A-associated 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity and immunochemical detection of CYP1A1 in the liver of leaping mullet (Lisa saliens) were used as biomarkers for the assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-type organic pollutants in Aliaga Bay. Mullet caught from different locations of the bay had approximately 52 times more EROD activity than the feral fish sampled from a clean reference site near Foca, Izmir. The results of this study indicate that Aliaga Bay is highly contaminated with PAH-type organic pollutants.     

Effect of polystimulin growth regulators and scion clones on graft success and subsequent growth in Atlantic cedar (Cedrus atlantica Manetti)

Atlantic cedar (Cedrus atlantica Manetti) was grown, grafting onto the rootstocks of 2 years old Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani L.). The mixture of polystimulin (PS) growth regulators was used to determine the effects on graft success and subsequent growth during three growing seasons. Scion clones had no effect on grafts success. PS increased the graft success by 20% in comparison to controls. PS-treated grafts burst their buds 18-20 days earlier than control grafts and increased shoot elongation. The PS-treated grafts had 4-5 cm longer shoots than controls at the end of three growing seasons. Thus, this research indicates the significance of PS-application on graft success and subsequent shoot growth on Atlantic cedar. It suggested that use of PS-treated grafts was more profitable than controls. Polystimulins which were used in small doses contributed significantly to the metabolism of Atlantic cedar seedlings after grafting.     

Integrated risk prioritization and action selection for cold chain

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cold chain, which affects human health and quality of life, is applied for temperature-sensitive and perishable products. Any problems occurring in...     

Buying price of event information in two-action decision problems

Being able to determine in advance whether certain events occur or not enables a decision maker to reduce the uncertainty of a two-action lottery, although the exact outcome of the lottery may still not be known with certainty. This paper studies the á priori value of information in such a decision making environment. Of interest to the decision maker is to compare the value of information about different events in advance of gathering the information. Using buying price as value of information, we show that when information about the occurrence of two different events are offered to a risk neutral decision maker, the event with a greater contribution in absolute value to the expected value of the lottery has higher value in terms of its buying price. For risk averse decision makers, a preference condition needs to be imposed on the set difference of two events to obtain a generic conclusion. We provide several examples that demonstrate the usefulness of these results.