Modelling and Optimization of Uranium (VI) Ions Adsorption Onto Nano-ZnO/Chitosan Bio-composite Beads with Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Nano-ZnO-chitosan bio-composite beads were prepared for the sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) from aqueous media. The resulting nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads were characterized by TEM, XRD etc. The sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) by bio-composite beads was optimized using RSM. The correlation between four variables was modelled and studied. According to RSM data, correlation coefficients (R²?=?0.99) and probability F-values (F?=?2.24?×?10^??10) show that the model fits the experimental data well. Adsorption capacity for nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads was obtained at 148.7 mg/g under optimum conditions. The results indicate that nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads are appropriate for the adsorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) ions from aqueous media. Also, the suitability of adsorption values to adsorption isotherms was researched and thermodynamic data were calculated.     

Assessment of the natural-cultural resources in Çanakkale for nature-based tourism

While the world is going into different tourism expectations, the tourism understanding in Turkey is defined as tourism in the sea-sand-sun triangle. However, it is possible to contribute to the income and local development of the indigenous people by developing nature-based tourism. Besides, with the sustainable use and preservation of the natural-cultural assets, the damage of the traditional tourism industry on the natural and cultural environment could be reduced. In this study, it is aimed to bring up the nature-based tourism concept in Çanakkale by evaluating the nature-based tourism industry in the general of Turkey and assessing the natural-cultural resources that Çanakkale comprehends. The most important areas that have a nature-based tourism potential in Çanakkale and the tourism activities that are most suitable for these areas have been determined.     

Prenatal prediction of childhood-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in Turkish families

Childhood-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the most common neurodegenerative genetic disorders. SMN1 is the SMA-determining gene deleted or mutated in the majority of SMA cases. There is no effective cure or treatment for this disease yet. Thus, the availability of prenatal testing is important. Here we report prenatal prediction for 68 fetuses in 63 Turkish SMA families using direct deletion analysis of the SMN1 gene by restriction digestion. The genotype of the index case was known in 40 families (Group A) but unknown in the remaining 23 families (Group B). A total of ten fetuses were predicted to be affected. Eight of these fetuses were derived from Group A and two of these fetuses were from Group B families. Two fetuses from the same family in Group A had the SMNhyb1 gene in addition to homozygous deletion of the NAIP gene. One fetus from Group A was homozygously deleted for only exon 8 of the SMN2 gene, and further analysis showed the presence of both the SMN1 and SMNhyb1 genes but not the SMN2 gene. In addition, one carrier with a homozygous deletion of only exon 8 of the SMN1 gene was detected to have a SMNhyb2 gene, which was also found in the fetus. To our knowledge, these are the first prenatal cases with SMNhyb genes. Follow-up studies demonstrated that the prenatal predictions and the phenotype of the fetuses correlated well in 33 type I pregnancies demonstrating that a careful molecular analysis of the SMN genes is very useful in predicting the phenotype of the fetus in families at risk for SMA. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing local planning capacity to promote environmentally sustainable residential development

Smart growth and sustainability planning have, in recent years, become central issues in planning discourse. Scholars have argued that planning capacity at the local government level is critical for smart growth planning, and that planners have a fundamental role to play in advancing local and regional sustainability. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which local planning capacity enables communities to promote more sustainable, smart growth residential development. Based on a 2013 survey of 38 county and 53 municipal governments in the state of Wisconsin, USA, this study finds that the majority of the sample communities have permitted residential developments characterized as transit-oriented, New Urbanist, mixed use, infill developments, or conservation subdivisions as alternatives to low-density, automobile-dependent conventional developments. The study also finds that jurisdictions with higher planning capacities are more likely to overcome significant barriers to more sustainable residential development.     

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.     

The assessment of the relationship between various waterscapes and outdoor activities: Edirne,Turkey

The environment is very important in terms of the behaviours and actions of human beings, and activity–environment correlation is used frequently in outdoor arrangements. The environment must meet the requirements and expectations of society. Outdoor activities are the activities that contribute to the well-being of human beings in physical (heartbeat, respiration, blood pressure, etc.) (Ulrich, Journal of Environmental Psychology 11:210–230, 1991), psychological (fear, anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, etc.) (Marcus and Barnes 1999) and behavioural (insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, passivity, etc.) (Ulrich 1999) terms. It is known that human beings are affected significantly by the environments they are in, and more importantly, it is known that the environment they are in affects their happiness status. The causes of this effect are the features and appearances of the spatial elements and components that mainly make up such environments. One of the elements that is used frequently in landscape is water. If one examines designed or natural open spaces, it may be observed that water has very distinctive features. Dynamic (in the form of a leak, with intense flow rate, cascade, foamy, squirting, jet, graded, etc.) and still water elements may be used with sculptures, plants, rocks and elevations (on land). This study aims to reveal which age groups of students enjoy the different types of activities with regards to water features and emotional associations that motion and characteristics of water bring out in human beings and also to reveal the water preferences of human beings, including their reasons for such preference. Thus, 20 different water compositions located in Edirne Province were selected, and in 2-min camera reels, the students of various age groups assessed water with various characteristic features via a survey. As a result, it was revealed that human beings from various age groups wish to perform different activities with water elements having distinctive characteristic features, and the types of water elements that are subject to various age groups’ like and dislike were determined. Kruskal–Wallis test was used during testing the effect of age differences. Chi-square analysis was used in order to examine the effect of age differences on preferences with regards to the activities that shall be performed at locations that include utilization of various water elements. The results reveal that while the use of water should be allowed in landscaping, selections regarding the elements of these water features should be made based on the type of activity and the age group of users in relation to the location.     

Time-varying causality between income inequality and ecological footprint in Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper investigates the relationship between income inequality and environmental degradation for the case of Turkey between 1987 and 2017 through...     

Nearest neighbor methods for testing reflexivity

Nearest neighbor (NN) methods are widely employed for drawing inferences about spatial point patterns of two or more classes. We introduce a method for testing reflexivity in the NN structure (i.e., NN reflexivity) based on a contingency table which will be called reflexivity contingency table (RCT) henceforth. The RCT is based on the NN relationships among the data points and was used for testing niche specificity in literature, but we demonstrate that it is actually more appropriate for testing the NN reflexivity pattern. We derive the asymptotic distribution of the entries of the RCT under random labeling and introduce tests of reflexivity based on these entries. We also consider Pielou’s approach on RCT and show that it is not appropriate for completely mapped spatial data. We determine the appropriate null hypotheses and the underlying conditions/assumptions required for all tests considered. We investigate the finite sample performance of the tests in terms of empirical size and power by extensive Monte Carlo simulations and illustrate the methods on two real-life ecological data sets.     

Modeling 4-Chlorophenol Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Granular Activated Carbon

Since phenols and phenolic compounds in many industrial wastewaters are toxic organic contaminants for humans and aquatic life, to remove these compounds via the most efficient way is very important for environmental remediation treatment. In this context, almost all of the isotherm models (Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, Redlich–Peterson, Sips, and Khan) for adsorption in the literature were applied to explain the adsorption mechanism of 4-chlorophenol on activated carbon in this study. Also theoretical modeling data were obtained using model equations; interpolation and analysis of variance were made to compare data by using statistics software. In addition, the thermodynamic and kinetic studies for adsorption mechanism were included in the article. The adsorption of 4-chlorophenol on activated carbon fits well to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model than the pseudo-second-order, intraparticular diffusion and Bangham models. It is also indicated that 4-chlorophenol adsorption by granular activated carbon would be attributed to a type of transition between physical and chemical adsorption rather than a pure physical or chemical adsorption process. As a result, an environmental remediation problem and the adsorption mechanism on activated carbon that can be regarded as a solution to this problem are described and explained using the mathematical models and calculations in this study.