Assessment of the Streptomyces-plant system to mitigate the impact of Cr(VI) and lindane in experimental soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phytoremediation techniques have been proposed as ecological methods to clean up contaminated sites. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of the...     

Effects of environmental illiteracy and environmental awareness among middle school students on environmental behavior

This study proposes and employs a structural model to examine the effects of environmental literacy, environmental awareness, environmental attitudes, and environmental behavior among middle school students in Eski?ehir on their purchase of environmentally friendly products. In the proposed structural model, environmental illiteracy and environmental awareness were the exogenous latent variables, while pro-environmental attitude, pro-environmental behavior, and the purchase of environmentally friendly products were the endogenous latent variables. The latent variable of environmental illiteracy did not have a statistically significant effect on environmental attitudes and purchase of environmentally friendly products, whereas environmental awareness had a positive effect on pro-environmental attitudes and the purchase of environmentally friendly products. These findings indicate that students with environmental awareness also develop positive attitudes toward the environment, and the presence of a positive attitude toward the environment leads them to display pro-environmental behaviors and adopt a positive attitude toward environmentally friendly products.     

Consumer attitudes on the use of plastic and cloth bags

This paper examines consumer attitudes and behavior on the use of plastic and cloth bags in Eski?ehir, Turkey. To this end, a structural equation model is proposed. Environmental consciousness regarding the use of plastic bags, social pressure, support for the banning of plastic bags, the intention to use cloth bags and behavior to reduce plastic bag use are employed as latent variables in the model. The intention to use cloth bags and the behavior to reduce the use of plastic bags are defined as endogenous latent variables in the structural model. In the conclusion of the study, it is identified that consumers who are environmentally conscious and feel under social pressure, tend to reduce the use of plastic bags and switch to using cloth bags.     

Multiple comparisons of organic,microbial, and fine particulate pollutants in typical indoor environments: Diurnal and seasonal variations

This study was performed to investigate the possible sources as well as seasonal and diurnal variations of indoor air pollutants in widely used four different environments (house, office, kindergarten, and primary school) in which people spend most of their time. Bioaerosol levels and species, volatile organic compound (VOC) levels, and PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm) levels were determined in different parts of these environments in parallel with outdoor sampling. Air pollution samplings were carried out in each microenvironment during five subsequent days in both winter and summer in Ankara, Turkey. The results indicated that bioaerosol, VOC, and PM_2.5 levels were higher in the winter than in the summer. Moreover, PM_2.5 and bioaerosol levels showed remarkable daily and diurnal variations, whereas a good correlation was found between the VOC levels measured in the morning and in the afternoon. Bacteria levels were, in general, higher than fungi levels. Among the VOCs, toluene was the most predominant, whereas elevated n-hexane levels were also observed in the kindergarten and the primary school, probably due to the frequent wet cleaning during school days. According to factor analysis, several factors were found to be significantly influencing the indoor air quality (IAQ), and amongst them, VOC-based products used indoors ranked first. The overall results indicate that grab sampling in naturally ventilated places may overestimate or underestimate the IAQ due to the inhomogeneous composition of indoor air caused by irregular exchanges with the outdoor air according to the season and/or occupants' habits.

Implications Seasonal and diurnal variations of VOCs, PM_2.5, bioaerosols in house, office, and schools were observed, in which PM_2.5 and bioaeorosols showed marked both intra- and interday variability, but VOCs did not. VOC-containing products were the most common source of air pollutants affecting the indoor air quality. External factors affecting the indoor air quality were season and indirectly ventilation. A grab sample cannot be representative in evaluating the air quality of a naturally ventilated environment precisely.     

The eye and some effects of light on locomotor activity in Nephrops norvegicus

The compound eye of Nephrops norvegicus (L.) is of the superposition type, well-adapted to the low levels of light prevailing at the sea bed during the activity periods of the species. Only the proximal retinal shielding pigment responds to light, the distal retinal shielding pigment being in the dark-adapted position at all times. The response of the proximal pigment appears to vary seasonally. Field observations compared light intensity at the sea bed with the numbers of N. norvegicus caught by trawl at various times of day in the Irish Sea in summer and winter. Laboratory experiments were combined with these field data to indicate that light is an important modulator of locomotor activity in this species.     

Design solutions to coastal human-wildlife conflicts

Coastal areas can be a challenge for conservation due to multiple competing land uses including development, tourism, and extractive resource use. These multiple land uses often lead to human-wildlife conflicts. Here we propose that collaboration with industrial designers and architects has the potential to generate innovative and effective solutions to coastal human-wildlife conflicts. Many products for modifying animal behavior are already used by conservationists, such as barriers, corridors, and model predators. We propose that their effectiveness, quality, harmonization with local values, and integration with the designed human environment can be improved through collaboration with designers and architects. We illustrate this approach with a case study. We engaged in an industrial design- conservation collaboration focused on the design of multiple product proposals that would support a range of human-sea lion interactions in public parks and the fish market in Valdivia, Chile. The sea lions in Valdivia are a tourist attraction but also potentially dangerous. We produced images of seven proposed products of varying scales, facilitating a range of different sea lion- human interactions. Such collaborations can be useful for developing products that reduce human-wildlife conflicts and align conservation and management with local values. We urge researchers to publish conservation design proposals as well as tests of existing conservation products?? functionality, in order to improve conservation design practice around the world.     

Multiple kinetic Langmuir modeling to predict the environmental behaviour of As(v) in soils

A soil with a relatively high Fe content (2.82% [w/w]) was loaded for up to one year with As(v) by equilibrating it with a solution containing 1000 mg l(-1) As(v) at a soil mass-to-solution ratio of 0.1 kg l(-1). The incorporation of As(v) into the soil and its distribution over the soil phases were monitored by sampling at strategic time intervals using an operationally defined five-step sequential extraction procedure (Wenzel et al., Anal. Chim. Acta, 2001, 436, 309) and subsequent As measurement. A multiple kinetic Langmuir model was developed to retrieve the dynamic parameters (adsorption and desorption rate constants, capacities and Langmuir equilibrium constants) for each of the soil phases by numerical fitting of the experimental adsorption data to the model. Under the equilibration conditions used the adsorption rate constants for all five operationally defined soil phases were very similar but the desorption rate constants decreased by a factor of ca. 150 from soil phase 1 (non-specifically sorbed As) to 5 (residual phases). This implies that As(v) incorporation "deeper" into the soil leads to stronger binding which is associated with the Langmuir equilibrium constants (adsorption rate constants/desorption rate constants). Equilibration of the soil with As(v) was complete in ca. 10 days with As(v) predominantly bound to soil phase 2 (specifically sorbed As) and soil phase 3 (amorphous and poorly crystalline hydrous oxides). X-Ray absorption spectroscopy techniques revealed that these binding characteristics may be related to adsorption of As(v) on Si- and/or Al-containing structures and natural hydrous iron oxide (HFO) surface sites, respectively. Since the model is independent of the initial As(v) concentration in the solution and the soil mass-to-solution ratio, the behaviour of the thus characterized soil-As(v) system can be predicted for a range of conditions. Simulations showed that in an accidental As(v) spill the soil studied would actively scavenge As(v) by instantaneous adsorption onto all soil phases followed by redistribution of As(v) from weaker binding sites to stronger ones over time.     

Phytoplankton and water quality in a Mediterranean drinking-water reservoir (Marathonas Reservoir, Greece)

Phytoplankton and water quality of Marathonas drinking-water Reservoir were examined for the first time. During the study period (July-September 2007), phytoplankton composition was indicative of eutrophic conditions although phytoplankton biovolume was low (max. 2.7 mm3 l?1). Phytoplankton was dominated by cyanobacteria and diatoms, whereas desmids and dinoflagellates contributed with lower biovolume values. Changing flushing rate in the reservoir (up to 0.7% of reservoir's water volume per day) driven by water withdrawal and occurring in pulses for a period of 15-25 days was associated with phytoplankton dynamics. Under flushing pulses: (1) biovolume was low and (2) both 'good' quality species and the tolerant to flushing 'nuisance' cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa dominated. According to the Water Framework Directive, the metrics of phytoplankton biovolume and cyanobacterial percentage (%) contribution indicated a moderate ecological water quality. In addition, the total biovolume of cyanobacteria as well as the dominance of the known toxin-producing M. aeruginosa in the reservoir's phytoplankton indicated a potential hazard for human health according to the World Health Organization.