Detection of transfluthrin and metofluthrin genotoxicity in the ST cross of the Drosophila Wing Spot Test

In this study, different concentrations of transfluthrin and metofluthrin have been assayed for genotoxicity by using the Wing Spot Test on Drosophila melanogaster. Standard cross was used in the experiment. Third-instar larvae that were trans-heterozygous for the two genetic markers mwh and flr³ were treated at different concentrations (0.0103 mg mL⁻¹, 0.103 mg mL⁻¹ for transfluthrin and 6 μg mL⁻¹, 60 μg mL⁻¹ for metofluthrin) of the test compounds. Feeding ended with pupation of the surviving larvae and the genetic changes induced in somatic cells of the wing’s imaginal discs lead to the formation of mutant clones on the wing blade. Results indicated that two experimental concentrations of transfluthrin and 60 μg mL⁻¹ metofluthrin showed mutagenic and recombinogenic effects in both the marker-heterozygous (MH) flies and the balancer-heterozygous (BH) flies.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Assessment of environmental radioactivity for Batman, Turkey

The province of Batman, located in southern Anatolia, has a population of approximately 500,000. To our knowledge, there exists no information regarding the environmental radioactivity in this province. Therefore, gamma activity measurements in soil, building materials and water samples and an indoor radon survey have been carried out in the Batman province. The mean activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) and a fission product (¹³⁷Cs) were 35 ± 8, 25 ± 10, 274 ± 167 and 12 ± 7 Bq kg^???1, respectively, in the soil samples. The concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in the selected building materials ranged from 18 to 48 Bq kg^???1, 8 to 49 Bq kg^???1 and 68 to 477 Bq kg^???1, respectively. All the calculated radium equivalent (Ra_eq) activity values of the building material samples are lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg^???1, equivalent to a γ-dose of 1.5 mSv year^???1. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in tap waters collected from the study area were determined with mean specific activity concentrations of 42 ± 15, 35 ± 9 and 524 ± 190 mBq L^???1, respectively. Indoor radon measurements were made at 95 dwellings in Batman using a CR-39 detector. The radon concentration levels were found to vary from 23 to 145 Bq m^???3. The arithmetic mean of the measured radon concentration levels was found to be 84 Bq m^???3 with a standard deviation value of 23 Bq m^???3. The measurement results obtained in this study did not significantly differ from those taken in other parts of the country. The data generated in this study can be used to determine whether the Batman province is in a normal or high background radiation area and provides a valuable database for future estimations of the impact of radioactive pollution.     

Determination of total Cr in wastewaters of Cr electroplating factories in the I.organize industry region (Kayseri, Turkey) by ICP-AES

The wastewater pollution in industrial areas is one of the most important environmental problems. Heavy metal pollution, especially chromium pollution in the wastewater sources from electroplating, dyeing, and tannery, has affected the life on earth. This pollution can affect on all ecosystems and human health directly or by food chain. Therefore, the determination of total chromium in this study is of great importance. In this study, accurate, rapid, sensitive, selective, simple, and low-cost technique for the direct determination of total Cr in wastewater samples collected from the some Cr electroplating factories in March 2008 by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry has been developed. The analysis of a given sample is completed in about 15 min by this technique applied. As the result of the chromium analysis, the limit of quantification for the total Cr were founded to be over the limit value (0.05 mg L^???1; WHO, EPA, TSE 266, and inland water quality classification) as 1,898.78 ± 0.34 mg/L at station 1 and 3,189.02 ± 0.56 mg/L at station 2. The found concentration of total Cr has been determined to be IV class quality water according to the inland water classification. In order to validate the applied method, recovery studies were performed.     

Variations of measured and simulated soil-loss amounts in a semiarid area in Turkey

The main goal of this research was soil-loss determination and comparison of the plot measurement results with simulation model (universal soil loss equation (USLE)) results in different land use and slope classes. The research took place in three different land-use types (Scotch pine forest, pasture land, and agricultural land) and in two different slope classes (15–20%, 35–40%). Within six measurement stations (for each land-use type and slope class-one station), totally 18 measurement plots have been constituted, and soil-loss amount measurements have been investigated during the research period (3 years along). USLE simulation model is used in these measurement plots for calculation the soil-loss amounts. The results pointed out that measured (in plots) and simulated (with USLE) soil-loss amounts differ significantly in each land-use type and slope class.     

Total metal levels in crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823), and surface sediments in Lake Terkos, Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the total metal accumulation (aluminium, copper, manganese, lead, cadmium and iron) in different organs and eggs of Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) and sediments total metal contents (aluminium, copper, manganese, lead, cadmium, iron, zinc, chromium, nickel) in Lake Terkos. Water and sediment samples were collected from two stations at two different depths (1 and 2 m) of Lake Terkos in May 2008. Crayfish samples were collected by trammel net at the same region. Primary hydrographic conditions, such as temperature (13.6–19.4°C), salinity (0.27–0.34‰), dissolved oxygen (7.04–12.30 mg l^???1) and pH (7.42–8.51), were recorded for each sampling point. Moreover, the total organic carbon (1.65–5.44%) and the total calcium carbonate contents (19.44–41.16%) of sediment samples were determined. According to the Turkish Food Codex (J Zool 26:283–288, 2002), the maximum allowable Pb and Cd levels in crayfish are 0.5 mg/kg wet weight. Accordingly, the Pb and Cd levels determined in A. leptodactylus samples are below this limit. However, when compared with the acceptable metal limits defined by WHO, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Ministry of Agriculture in United Kingdom (UK), it is clear that the Cu level is at the limit and the Cd results exceed the limit. When the metal contents in sediment samples from Lake Terkos are examined, it is seen that the Al, Fe, Mn, Ni and Cu contents are lower while Zn, Cr, Cd and Pb contents are higher than the crustal average values. The high values draw attention to the land-based domestic and industrial inputs. Lake Terkos sediments have high enrichment factors (EF) of Zn, Cr, Cd and Pb metals which corroborate this result. The low EFs of Fe, Ni and Cu are due to the natural (terrigeneous) inputs. Additionally, there is no Al, Fe, Ni and Cu metal enrichment in these lake sediments because of the low contamination factor (CF) values. However, it is moderately contaminated by Zn, Cr and Pb, and heavily contaminated by Cd.     

Effect of humic deposit (leonardite) on degradation of semi-volatile and heavy hydrocarbons and soil quality in crude-oil-contaminated soil

In order to investigate the bioremedial potential of humic deposit (leonardite), the effects of the treatments of leonardite and a commercial bioaugmentation agent on the degradation of a variety of petroleum hydrocarbons (C13–C31) and soil enzyme activities (urease acid-alkaline phosphatase and dehydrogenase) were tested within a soil incubation experiment lasting 120 days. Experimentally crude-oil-contaminated soil (2.5%) was regulated to a C:N:P ratio (100:15:1; Oilcon), amended with 5% of leonardite and regulated to the same C:N:P ratio (Oilcon-L) or mixed with a commercial bioaugmentation product (Oilcon-B), respectively. In the short period of incubation (60 days), Oilcon and Oilcon-B treatments showed higher hydrocarbon degradations, whereas Oilcon-L showed higher hydrocarbon degradation over Oilcon and Oilcon-B treatments in the long-term (120 days). Applying contaminated soil with leonardite increased urease (LSD, 4.978, *P?<?0.05) and dehydrogenase (LSD, 0.660, *P?<?0.05) activities. However, acid and alkaline phosphatase activities showed no certain inclination between different treatments. Dehydrogenase seemed to be more related to hydrocarbon degradation process. Overall results showed that leonardite enhanced biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and also stimulated soil ecological quality measured as soil enzyme activities.     

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.