Public space networks as a guide to sustainable urban development and social life: A case study of Muğla,Turkey

This study examines the possibility of designating and implementing a citywide public space network, constituted of randomly dispersed and not interrelated public spaces and greenways across the city of Mu?la. Although Mu?la is a major coastal province, with worldwide tourism districts, the city centre falls behind other settlements in terms of quality of social life, physical layout, economic investment and tourism revenue. In 2001, the local government commissioned the Department of Landscape Architecture of Ege University to prepare a comprehensive master plan towards achieving a corporate public space network, as well as development strategies to ameliorate the previous failures. The master plan developed a blueprint for the citywide network and addressed each existing or potential public space and greenway as integrated components of the network. The process involved short-, medium- and long-term action from the local government to achieve the physical layout and efficiently implement phases of the network. As a guide for other small or medium urban settlements in Turkey, a model proposal was derived from the study to address formulation, implementation, and management of the network in order to create a sustainable urban development.     

Effects of nanoparticles on Daphnia magna population dynamics

Spherical TiO₂ nanoparticles (npTiO₂) were prepared by controlled hydrolysis of tetraethoxy orthotitanate under a nitrogen atmosphere. ZnO nanoparticles (npZnO) were prepared using hydrothermal methods. The crystal structure, chemical, thermal and morphological properties of npZnO and npTiO₂ were characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, enery-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope techniques. The short- and long-term experiments were started with neonates taken from the same culture and laboratory condition. In the acute experiments, npTiO₂, npZnO, and cocktail concentrations were applied. 96h-LC₅₀ values were 1.8, 0.7, and 0.1?mg?L^?1, respectively (p?<?.05). For the chronic experiments, different npTiO₂ concentrations were performed. 21d-LC₅₀ value was 1.0?mgL^?1 (p?<?.05). Morphometry became progressively worse in concentrations of more than 1?mgL^?1 npTiO₂. Neonate and young individuals were more sensitive to death because of their low tolerance. This result was affected by population progeny and growth rates (p?<?.05). While control and 0.5?mgL^?1 npTiO₂ groups were determined as growing population, 1.5 and 2?mgL^?1 npTiO₂ groups had decreased population size as R₀ values. Consequently, the relationships between nanoparticle accumulation within Daphnia magna and its population structure and body morphometry for each concentration were important indicators. Its tolerance level to nanoparticles under laboratory conditions reflected its replacement and behaviour in the ecosystem.     

Evaluation of soil solid amendments for TCE biodegradation in a biobarrier system

Permeable biobarrier systems (PBSs) are being recognized as low‐cost passive bioremediation technologies for chlorinated organic contamination. This innovative technology can play a crucial and effective role in site restorations. Laboratory‐scale experiments were conducted to investigate the biodegradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) to ethylene in shallow groundwater through the use of a PBS enhanced by bioaugmentation at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS). Two composts and two plant amendments, eucalyptus mulch (EM) and corncobs (CC), were examined for their effectiveness at creating and maintaining conditions suitable for TCE anaerobic dechlorination. These materials were evaluated for their (1) nutrient and organic carbon content, (2) TCE sorption characteristics, and (3) longevity of release of nutrients and soluble carbon in groundwater to support TCE dechlorination. Native bacteria in the columns had the ability to convert TCE to dichloroethenes (DCEs); however, the inoculation with the TCE‐degrading culture greatly increased the rate of biodegradation. This caused a significant increase in by‐product concentration, mostly in the form of DCEs and vinyl chloride (VC) followed by a slow degradation to ethylene. Of the tested amendments, eucalyptus mulch was the most effective at supporting the reductive dechlorination of TCE. Corncobs created a very acidic condition in the column that inhibited dechlorination. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dry Deposition Monitoring in Europe

Between 1993 and 1999 two EU funded projects wereexecuted aimed at (i) the development of drydeposition monitoring methods for core sites andlarge scale application, (ii) the installation andrunning of three core sites in Europe and (iii) the improvement and validation of models used forregional application. This article provides anoverview of the development of depositionmonitoring stations and the main results of thethree core sites, which were operated between1995 and 1998. Furthermore, the results of thedevelopment of a low cost monitoring system arepresented. Continuous measurements were made ofboth wet and dry deposition of sulphur andnitrogen components and base cations. The 4 yearsof data show a decrease in sulphur loads and notrend for the other components. It is shown thatthe surface affinities for sulphur depositionalso changed during the years, underpinning theneed for dry deposition monitoring. A conditionaltime average gradient system was successfullydeveloped and tested and provides a good meansfor low cost monitoring of dry deposition fluxes.The costs can be reduced by a factor of 3–4 without losing the accuracy of the annual average gas fluxes.     

Are nest characters of importance when choosing a male in the fifteen-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia)?

Male fifteen-spined sticklebacks (Spinachia spinachia) build their nests by wrapping epiphytic algae around macroalgae and securing them with secretional threads. In this study, I show that female fifteen-spined stickleback prefer males which have built their nests above the surrounding vegetation. High-located nests are safer, because they are less likely to attract egg-predators such as shore crabs (Carcinus maenas). Thus, I found that shore crabs more rapidly find eggs in nests built close to the bottom than in nests well above the it. Moreover, male-male competition could be an additional explanation as to why males build nests high up. Thus, my field results suggest that the closer the males were to a neighbour, the higher they built. Larger males were also found to have larger territories but male size did not correlate with the height of the nest above the surrounding vegetation. Females showed no preference for nest size, regardless of the presence of egg-predators. However, they tended to choose nests that had no egg-predators in the vicinity over nests with egg-predators close by. Female choosiness for certain nest characters may provide one explanation for the evolution of male care in this species. Received: 29 December / 1999 Revised: 18 April 2000 / Accepted: 28 May 2000     

Conjoint analysis for environmental evaluation

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Conjoint analysis and the related choice-modelling methods have been used for many years in marketing research to evaluate consumer behaviour and preferences for different kinds of product attributes. Recently, the number of applications in environmental science and management has started to grow. Conjoint analysis is found in many different forms, and the environmental studies evaluated in this review display the same range of methods as in other fields. The key characteristic of all these methods is that trade-offs are evaluated by jointly considering a number of important attributes. MAIN FEATURES: This paper is a review of the literature on environmental applications of conjoint analysis and assesses in which environmental area conjoint analysis has been most successful. The method and the design of the studies are reviewed as well. RESULTS: A total of 84 studies were found, dealing with environmental issues that were evaluated by conjoint analysis. The studies concern agriculture, ecosystem management, energy, environmental evaluation, forestry, land management, pollution, products, recreation, environmental risk analysis and waste management. DISCUSSION: Choice experiments seem to have a comparatively stronger position in environmental studies than elsewhere. Most of the environmental applications are related to natural resource management. This is somewhat surprising, but a number of reports have appeared also on product evaluation, which could be a key application area in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to marketing and transportation, the number of environmental conjoint studies is rather small but increasing, and the method has proven to work effectively in eliciting preferences on environmental issues. In environmental issues, experimenters often use choice experiments, especially concerning ecosystem management and environmental evaluations. When it comes to evaluating preferences concerning agriculture, forestry, energy and products, a more traditional approach of conjoint analysis is favoured. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Two new areas of application are identified in this review--environmental communication and expert elicitation. Conjoint analysis can thus be developed into a useful instrument for environmental risk analysis and communication, both of which are necessary for an efficient approach to risk governance.     

Eco-assessment of streams of Konya closed river basin (Turkey) using various ecoregional diatom indices

Ecological assessment of freshwater ecosystems based on diatom metrics is an important issue for attaining environmental sustainability. The present study aimed to evaluate differences in the diatom–stressor relationship in relatively least disturbed streams in the Konya closed river basin using multivariate analyses and to bio-assess streams by the application of different ecoregional diatom indices. Cocconeis euglypta, Cymbella excisa, Cocconeis placentula, and Achnanthidium minutissimum are the most contributing species to the dissimilarity of sampling stations between rainy (spring) and dry (summer and fall) seasons and also between altitude (A2 800- < 1600 m and A3 ≥ 1600 m) groups. The first two axes of canonical correspondence analysis revealed a significant (82.8%) relationship between diatom species and stressors. Diatom species displayed distinct responses to environmental variables (electrical conductivity, Ni, Cu, B, and altitude) playing important roles on the distribution of species. Diatom indices indicate different ecological statuses of stations, from bad to high. European diatom indices except Duero Diatom Index (DDI) and Trophic Diatom Index (TDI) showed good responses to the eco-assessment of streams and indicated high ecological status for the least disturbed sampling stations symbolized as S16, S20, S24, S25, S27-29, S37, and S39. These results were also supported by abiotic evaluation. Although TIT was more competitive in the bio-assessment of streams among diatom indices, it is necessary to increase its species list by determining their trophic weights in future studies. Therefore, the use of ecoregion-specific diatom indices is suggested along with increasing the number of used species to correctly interpret the water quality.

Graphical Abstract

     

Radiological hazard assessment of natural gross radioactivity in some cosmetic products

Many kinds of cosmetic products were analyzed to determine gross radioactivity. In this study, gross alpha/beta radioactivity concentrations in 51 cosmetic samples were determined. The examined cosmetic products consist of blusher, eye shadow, lipstick, nail polish, shampoo, hand cream, cellulite cream, baby powder, soap, and toothpaste. The gross alpha–beta activity concentrations were measured with a nuclear spectroscopic system which contains gas-flow proportional counters. The highest gross alpha/beta activity concentrations were found in eye shadow samples of 1.621Bq g^?1 for alpha and 6.471Bq g^?1 for beta. The total effective doses due to gross radioactivity for skin were calculated. Although the effective dose of eye shadow samples had the highest value, the effective doses due to gross radioactivity concentrations in this study were found to be lower than the radiological limits given by the authorities.     

Prenatal diagnosis of autosomal recessive osteopetrosis,infantile type,by X-ray evaluation

Prenatal diagnosis for infantile osteopetrosis was attempted during the third pregnancy of a first-cousin marriage whose family history revealed an affected previous child. At the 25th week of pregnancy, fetal X-ray evaluation revealed marked sclerosis of osteopetrotic bone and metaphyseal splaying and clubbing of both femurs. The pregnancy was terminated and repeated X-rays and histopathological examination of fetal bone (femur) confirmed the diagnosis.