Age Structure and Body Size Variation in Common Toad (Bufo bufo,Linnaeus 1758) from Three Different Altitudes in Turkey

Russian Journal of Ecology - We describe here for the first time the body size and age of the Common Toad (Bufo bufo) from high (Trabzon, 1090 m and Kastamonu, 925 m above sea level) and low...     

Re-usage of waste foundry sand in high-strength concrete

In this study, the potential re-use of waste foundry sand in high-strength concrete production was investigated. The natural fine sand is replaced with waste foundry sand (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%). The findings from a series of test program has shown reduction in compressive and tensile strengths, and the elasticity modulus which is directly related to waste foundry inclusion in concrete. Nevertheless the concrete with 10% waste foundry sand exhibits almost similar results to that of the control one. The slump and the workability of the fresh concrete decreases with the increase of the waste foundry sand ratio. Although the freezing and thawing significantly reduces the mechanical and physical properties of the concrete. The obtained results satisfies the acceptable limits set by the American Concrete Institute (ACI).     

Monitoring the drastic growth of ship breaking yards in Sitakunda: a threat to the coastal environment of Bangladesh

The vast coastal and marine resources that occur along the southern edge of Bangladesh make it one of the most productive areas of the world. However, due to growing anthropogenic impacts, this area is under considerable environmental pressure from both physical and chemical stress factors. Ship breaking, or the dismantling and demolition of out-of-service ocean-going vessels, has become increasingly common in many coastal areas. To investigate the extent of ship breaking activities in Bangladesh along the Sitakunda coast, various spatial and non-spatial data were obtained, including remote sensing imagery, statistical records and published reports. Impacts to coastal and marine life were documented. Available data show that ship breaking activities cause significant physical disturbance and release toxic materials into the environment, resulting in adverse effects to numerous marine taxonomic groups such as fish, mammals, birds, reptiles, plants, phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic invertebrates. Landsat imagery illustrates that the negatively impacted coastal area has grown 308.7 % from 367 ha in 1989 to 1,133 ha in 2010. Physicochemical and biological properties of coastal soil and water indicate substantially elevated pollution that poses a risk of local, regional and even global contamination through sea water and atmospheric transport. While damage to the coastal environment of Bangladesh is a recognized hazard that must be addressed, the economic benefits of ship breaking through job creation and fulfilling the domestic demand for recycled steel must be considered. Rather than an outright ban on beach breaking of ships, the enterprise must be recognized as a true and influential industry that should be held responsible for developing an economically viable and environmentally proactive growth strategy. Evolution of the industry toward a sustainable system can be aided through reasonable and enforceable legislative and judicial action that takes a balanced approach, but does not diminish the value of coastal conservation.     

Sulfur-oxidizing autotrophic and mixotrophic denitrification processes for drinking water treatment: elimination of excess sulfate production and alkalinity requirement

The activity of copper oxide, titanium carbide and silicon nitride nanoparticles for the oxidative degradation of environmentally relevant concentrations (μg L⁻¹ range) of enrofloxacin - an important veterinary antibiotic drug - in aqueous solutions was investigated. With hydrogen peroxide as an oxidative agent, both copper oxide and titanium carbide decrease the concentration of enrofloxacin by more than 90% over 12 h. Addition of sodium halide salts strongly increases the reaction rate of copper oxide nanoparticles. The mechanism for the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) was investigated by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR).     

Exo-pectinase production by Bacillus pumilus using different agricultural wastes and optimizing of medium components using response surface methodology

In this research, the production of exo-pectinase by Bacillus pumilus using different agricultural wastes was studied. Agricultural wastes containing pectin such as wheat bran, sugar beet pulp, sunflower plate, orange peel, banana peel, apple pomace and grape pomace were tested as substrates, and activity of exo-pectinase was determined only in the mediums containing sugar beet pulp and wheat bran. Then, effects of parameters such as concentrations of solid substrate (wheat bran and sugar beet pulp) (A), ammonium sulphate (B) and yeast extract (C) on the production of exo-pectinase were investigated by response surface methodology. First, wheat bran was used as solid substrate, and it was determined that exo-pectinase activity increased when relatively low concentrations of ammonium sulphate (0.12–0.21 %?w/v) and yeast extract (0.12–0.3 %?w/v) and relatively high wheat bran (~5–6 %?w/v) were used. Then, exo-pectinase production was optimized by response surface methodology using sugar beet pulp as a solid substrate. In comparison to P values of the coefficients, values of not greater than 0.05 of A and B ² showed that the effect of these process variables in exo-pectinase production was important and that changes done in these variables will alter the enzyme activity.     

Investigation of Synthesis of Copolymers from the Waste Products of Industrial Oil Refinement having Adhesion Properties and Strength to the Thermal Destruction

In this study, the waste products of industrial vegetable oil refinement were transformed into the glycidyl ester for preventing the effects of them to the environment, the ways for evaluating them in polymer chemistry were investigated, copolymers having high adhesion property and strength to the thermal destruction were synthesized and the area of their usage was determined. For this reason, the waste product of sunflower oil refination as a vegetable oil in the industry; soap stock (SS) was converted to the unsaturated glycidyl esters by the interaction with epichlorohidrine in the alkaline medium. After that the copolymerization of synthesized unsaturated glycidyl esters and the other waste product of oil refinement fatty acid (FA) with styrene in the radicalic initiator medium were investigated and copolymers that have high strength to the thermal destruction and adhesion property were synthesized. From the results of TGA and DTA analysis, it was determined that synthesized copolymers have low loss of weight at high temperature. The structures of copolymers were fixed by spectral and chemical analysis methods.     

Protective role of Ginkgo biloba on petroleum wastewater-induced toxicity in Vicia faba L. (Fabaceae) root tip cells

The Melet is one of Turkey's economically important rivers. Most of the petroleum plants are located at fairly nearby of the river This situation is considered as main source of heavy metal pollution in the river. The present study was designed to evaluate the protective role of Ginkgo biloba (GB) on cytotoxicity induced by petroleum wastewater in Vicia faba root tip cells. For this aim, we used the germination percentage, root length, weight gain and micronucleus (MN) frequency as indicators of cytotoxicity. Additionally to the cytological analysis, lipid peroxidation analyses were also performed in V. faba roots. Heavy metal concentrations in wastewater were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The V. faba seeds were divided into six groups. They were treated with petroleum wastewater and 10, 20 and 30 microM doses of GB. As a result, the mean concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater were observed in the order: Pb > A > Ni > Cr > Fe > Cu > Zn > Cd. The highest germination percentage was observed in the seeds of the control and positive control groups (in proportion as 98 and 96%, respectively). Wastewater treatment caused a significant decrease in the germination percentage of Group III (in proportion as 44%). The highest root length and weight gain were observed in the seeds of the control and positive control groups at the end of the experimental period. The least root length and weight gain were observed in the seeds of Group III treated with wastewater alone. In the control group, the final weights of all the seeds increased about 4.08 g according to initial weight. The root lengths of the control seeds were measured as 6.80 cm at the end of the experimental period. The final weights of the seeds exposed to wastewater alone increased about 0.90 g according to initial weight. Besides, there was a significantly increase in the MDA levels of the roots exposed to wastewater. Heavy metals in wastewater significantly affected the MDA production indicating lipid peroxidation. But, GB-treatment caused amelioration in indices of the germination percentage, root length, weight gain, MN frequency and lipid peroxidation when compared with group III. Each dose of GB provided protection against wastewater toxicity and its strongest protective effect observed at dose of 30 microM. In vivo results showed that GB is a potential protector against toxicity induced by petroleum wastewater and its protective role is dose-dependent.     

Effects of some pretreatments on germination of bladder-senna (Colutea armena Boiss. and Huet.) and smoke-tree (Cotinus coggygria Scop.) seeds

This study was carried out to determine effects of pre-treatments including floating in hot water(100 degrees C) followed by continual cooling for 24 hr in the same water floating in tap water for 24 hr submersion in concentrate (98%) sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and cold stratification for different durations (20, 40 and 60 days) and their combinations on seed germination and to investigate how to overcome dormancy of seeds of Colutea armena Boiss. and Huet. and Cotinus coggygria Scop. The seeds were sown in polyethylene pots in the greenhouse and on seedbeds under open field conditions. The statistical design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The highest germination percentage (77.19%), the best germination rate (16 days) and the highest growth rate (69.01%) were obtained from Colutea armena seeds that were submersed in sulphuric acid for 30 min and sown in the greenhouse. The pre-treatment of submersion in sulphuric acid for 20 min with cold stratification for 60 days gave the highest germination percentage (82.77%) and the highest growth rate (79.37%) in the greenhouse for Cotinus coggygria seeds. On the other hand, the best germination rate (9 days) was obtained from smoketree seeds that were cold stratified 60 days and sown under open field conditions. It can be stated that there is an affirmative effect of the greenhouse condition on germination percentage and growth rate values of the seeds used in this study     

Review on DDT and its residues in Turkey's wetlands

Turkey is a country rich in wetlands (250 wetlands, approximately one million hectares). As it is in many countries, the wetlands in Turkey are threatened by the agricultural activities, loss of habitats due to these activities and by pesticide contamination. After 1940, large quantities of pesticides, especially DDT were used intensively against mosquitoes and pests in most of the wetlands in Turkey causing considerable contamination. In the beginning of 1980's, production, import and use of DDT was forbidden due to its toxicity on non-target organisms, environmental persistence, and accumulation in food chains. The scientific studies made in Turkey on the level of contamination in various environs and organisms by DDTand its metabolites, are limited These limited studies, especially the ones made after 1990's, have shown that we still observe DDT contamination in many wetlands (including internationally important ones like Goksu Delta and Meric Delta) and in organisms like birds and fishes. The data on the concentrations of DDTand its metabolites in the organisms and the biological magnification levels are not adequate since in most of the studies only water and sediment samples were analyzed. Besides, in the few studies made on the organisms, standard methods and suitable indicator organisms were not used. Because of these reasons, it is very difficult to make reliable evaluations on the DDT levels and its effects in the wetlands of Turkey. It is interesting that DDTlevels are higher than its metabolites in water sediment and organism samples in some wetlands which imply the possible use of DDT recently The aim of this review is to summarize the studies made so far on DDT and its residues in the wetlands of Turkey and to shed light on the possible hazardous effects and to propose approaches for future studies.