Evaluation of ecological risk,source, and spatial distribution of some heavy metals in marine sediments in the Middle and Eastern Black Sea region,Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present study, the concentration levels of heavy metals such as Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Pb in sediment samples collected from 16 sampling...     

Microfibrillated Cellulose-Silver Nanocomposite Based PVA Hydrogels and Their Enhanced Physical,Mechanical and Antibacterial Properties

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Modification of cellulose with silver nanoparticles produces various nanocomposites with significantly developed properties. This work aims to prepare a...     

Heavy metals in three commercially valuable cyprinids in the river Panjkora,district Lower Dir,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

This study was conducted in river Panjkora (Khall, upstream; Timergara, downstream) and its tributary (Konhaye stream, reference site) at district Lower Dir. The study was aimed to assess heavy metal load in gills, liver, kidneys, and muscles of three fish species, namely Schizothorax esocinus, Racoma labiata, and Crossocheilus diplocheilus. The heavy metals, including nickel, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, chromium, iron, and manganese were determined using an atomic absorption spect-rophotometer. Nickel and cadmium were not detected in any of the collected specimens at all sampling sites. Concentration of the detected metals varied significantly depending upon fish species and tissue type. Crossocheilus diplocheilus showed higher accumulated concentration of heavy metals while R. labiata contained the least. Schizothorax esocinus and R. labiata displayed significant differences in their concentrations of metals. The order of accumulation of heavy metals in different tissues was liver>kidneys>muscles>gills. Data demonstrated that heavy metal levels in the studied species were within permissible limits and thus, apparently suitable for human consumption. Currently, the river contains a sewage burden, and continued heavy pollution may ultimately lead to serious problems in the future.     

Rheological Investigation of Wood-Polypropylene Composites in Rotational Plate Rheometer

In this research work, the rheological properties of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) with some selected compositions are investigated. WPC is being recognized as a green composite that, in the past 20?years, has emerged to a commercial product. A study on rheological properties of these materials can give insight into the proper selection of composition and processing condition. Two grades of polypropylene (PP) with two different melt flow indexes (MFI) were selected to prepare WPCs with three different wood contents (50, 60 and 70?% wt.). Four types of rheological experiments were performed utilizing a rotational plate rheometer: (1) strain sweep, (2) frequency sweep, (3) temperature sweep and (4) steady shear rate sweep. The independent variables were chosen as wood content, MFI of polymer (two types), melt temperature, frequency or shear rate, the gap between the plates, and strain percentage. The strain sweep tests specified the linear and non-linear viscoelastic zones of each experiment. The results of frequency sweep experiments indicated that increasing the wood content and frequency and also decreasing the strain percentage and the gap distance, lead to an increase in the storage modulus. Regarding the loss modulus, wood percentage and the gap distance presented positive effects and strain percentage showed a negative effect. The behavior of complex viscosity was almost similar to that of the storage modulus but increasing the frequency caused a decrease in the complex viscosity. In case of temperature sweep experiments, it was observed that the rheological properties exhibit a rapid change near to a temperature of 160?°C. The results also showed that beyond this point, increasing the wood content and also MFI of polypropylene caused an increase in the storage modulus. The results of steady shear rate sweep experiments specified that increasing wood content and also decreasing the MFI of PP, the gap distance and shear rate lead to an increase in both viscosity and shear stress.     

Stability of some quality traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes

This study was carried out in order to determine some quality traits such as thousand grain weight (TGW), hectoliter weight (HW), grain protein content (GPC), Zeleny sedimentation volume (ZSV) and stability of quality traits of 25 bread wheat genotypes. The experiment was conducted at seven environmental conditions during 2 growing periods (2003-2004 and 2004-2005) using randomized complete block design with four replicates. The ANOVA showed that out of the total sum of squares, 48.4, 28.0 and 23.6% for TGW, 71.4, 14.9 and 13.7% for HW, 54.4, 23.0 and 22.6% for GPC, 44.7, 41.7 and 13.6% for ZSV was attributable to E, G and G x E interaction effects, respectively. Thousand grain weight, hectoliter weight, grain protein content and Zeleny sedimentasyon volume of genotypes changed from 34.5 to 41.4 g, from 76.5 to 80.4 Kg, from 11.49 to 13.37% and from 22.1 to 46.0 ml, respectively. Seven stability parameters, covering a wide range of statistical approaches, were used so as to predict the genotypes. The study of genotypic stability showed that Bezostaya and advanced lines numbered 11 and 24 had high stability for quality traits and proved to be the best within the pool of the studied genotypes. Also, 8 and 17 numbered genotypes demonstrated high stability for TGW, HW, GPC and HW, GPC and ZSV, respectively.     

Effect of lead on growth and nitrate assimilation of Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek seedlings in a salt affected environment

The inhibition of seedling growth and nitrate reductase activity in 5 d old Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek cv. Pusa Baisakhi in the presence of 1.0 mM lead acetate increased drastically, if NaCl (6 and 12 EC) was also present in the nutrient media along with the metal salt. Correspondingly higher endogenous Na+ levels were accumulated in the roots and leaves of seedlings in presence of the two stresses. On the other hand, the levels of endogenous lead get reduced in presence of NaCl in both the roots and leaves. Roots accumulated more Pb2+ and Na+ than the leaves. The two stresses affect more drastically in the additive or even synergistic manner during the early growth phase of the seedlings.     

Effect of environmental factors on pheromone trap catches of (Hubner)

Prediction models relating pheromone trap catches of (H) with several onvironmental factors are worked out. It is expected that those models will help overcome indiscriminate use of pesticides.     

Monitoring and assessment of land use status by GIS

The objectives of this study were to assess land suitability andto monitor the spatial and temporal changes in land use types (LUTs)by using GIS. The study was conducted in an irrigated area of 920ha, located in the East Mediterranean region of Turkey. Archiveddata of LUTs were utilized. Data analysis was conducted by usingArcInfo and ArcView GIS softwares. The land characteristics werecompared with land requirements of present LUTs by taking intoaccount the land evaluation results. Three major soil series andtwelve different LUTs were identified. Corn and citrus were themost planted LUTs in the assessment period. Generated mapsdemonstrated how LUTs changed spatially and temporally. Most LUTswere clustered in certain areas indicating that farmer'sselection of LUTs was affected by their habits and neighbor'sbehavior. Land suitability assessment results indicated thatCanakci and Mursel soil series were found to be highly suitable forall LUTs while Arikli soil series was determined to be moderately suitablecitrus, vegetables and watermelon. Citrus plantationmaps overlaid on soil series maps demonstrated that the citrushas not been planted completely on suitable areas. Landsuitability assessment showed that citrus plantation in Arikliseries would result in 40% yield loss and 58% of land is notused at its potential.     

Techno-environmental risks and ecological modernisation in “double-risk” societies: reconceptualising Ulrich Beck’s risk society thesis

By utilising a relatively underused framework developed by Maurie J. Cohen (1997. Risk society and ecological modernisation alternative visions for post-industrial nations. Futures, 29 (2), 105–119), this theoretical paper joins two of the most debated theories of environmental politics – ecological modernisation (EM) and Ulrich Beck’s risk society thesis – into a unified framework and problematises some of their implicit assumptions to theoretically introduce the notion of a “double-risk” society. In addition, it explains the differences between the traditional “Risk Society” theorised by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck and the newly introduced concept of a “double-risk” society. The arguments put forward in this paper provide some fresh perspectives facilitating the study of the techno-environmental risks and other ecological problems faced by “double-risk” societies. Theoretically, this paper adds to both EM theory and the risk society thesis as the generalisability of their existing versions is limited precisely because they fail to address some important social changes at the global structural level.