Price interactions between wild and farmed products: Turkish sea bass and sea bream markets

We investigate empirically market interactions in the Turkish wild and farmed sea bass and sea bream markets. For gilthead sea bream and European sea bass, we conduct a Granger causality test between the prices of the wild and farmed products, based on the estimation of a vector autoregressive model. Our data set consists of annual fish prices from 1996 to 2016. Our empirical results show that the wild and farmed sea bass are neither substitutes nor complements: the markets for each product are independent. However, in the case of sea bream, the price variations for farmed sea bream have a causal impact on the price of wild sea bream. Moreover, the price of wild sea bream Granger-causes the price variation of farmed sea bream. Thus, the wild and farmed sea bream markets are integrated.     

Preparation of a Composite Biosorbent Using Scenedesmus quadricauda Biomass and Alginate/Polyvinyl Alcohol for Removal of Cu(II) and Cd(II) Ions: Isotherms,Kinetics, and Thermodynamic Studies

Diatoms are good indicators of water quality in lotic systems. Unlike in the temperate region, the effect of substrate on diatom-based water quality assessment in tropical streams is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of substrate on diatom-based multivariate water quality assessment. Epilithic, epiphytic, epipsammic and epipelic diatom community and water quality sampling was done four times at 10 sites during the dry season (2008 and 2009). Artificial substrates (brick and glasses) were also placed at the sampling sites during this period and sampled after 1 month. Cluster analysis was performed to show the main differences and similarities in community composition amongst substrates sampled and amongst sampling sites. The IndVal method was used to identify indicator species characterising different substrates. Canonical correspondence analyses (CCAs) were performed to relate the structure of diatom communities from different substrates to predictor variables. A gradient of increasing metal and organic pollution, eutrophication and ionic strength was observed from the agricultural/forested area to the urban area. Diatom community structure closely reflected this gradient, with communities from polluted sites (8, 9 and 10) being different from other communities. Polluted sites were associated with such species as Nitzschia palea, Plantago lanceolata, Achnanthes exigua, Caloneis hyaline, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Gomphonema parvulum, Fallacia monoculata, Luticola goeppertiana, Pinnularia microstauron, Pinnularia subcapitata and Sellaphora pupula. Indicator species analysis showed that common diatom species were not restricted to a single substrate, though preference was generally high for natural (especially macrophytes) compared to artificial substrates. Six CCAs corresponding to six substrates performed to relate diatom community structure to simultaneous effects of predictor variables explained ～50% of the diatom species variance in all cases and roughly separated highly polluted sites from the rest of the sites. This indicates that the results of diatom-based multivariate water quality assessment based on different substrates may be interchangeable. Only one substrate has to be collected at each site for water quality assessment surveys, thus avoiding unnecessary expensive and time-consuming oversampling. Given the limitations of artificial substrates, sampling of natural substrates is highly recommended.     

Immobilization of Mucor miehei esterase on core-shell magnetic beads via adsorption and covalent binding: Application in esters synthesis

In this work, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate/glycidylmethacrylate), p(HPMA-GMA), magnetic beads were prepared via suspension polymerization, and grafted with poly(methacrylic acid), p(MMAc) via redox polymerization. Esterase from M. miehei was immobilized onto core-shell magnetic beads with two different methods (i.e., adsorption and covalent binding). For adsorption, the effects of pH and initial esterase concentration on the immobilization efficiency via adsorption have been studied. The maximum adsorption capacity of the magnetic beads for esterase was found to be 27.6 mg/g magnetic beads at pH 7.0. The covalent immobilization of esterase via carbodiimide coupling on mp(HEMA-GMA)-g-p(MAAc) beads was found to be the more effective than the direct immobilization of the enzyme on the mp(HEMA-GMA) beads. The covalently immobilized esterase on the mp(HEMA-GMA)-g-p(MAAc) beads exhibited higher activity compared to the adsorbed esterase on the same magnetic beads. Tributyrin hydrolysis properties of the free and both immobilized esterase preparations were determined under different experimental conditions. The operational, thermal and storage stabilities of the immobilized esterase preparations were increased compared with the free esterase. Finally, esterification reactions have been performed to produce citronellyl-esters (namely: acetate, butyrate and propionate) in n-hexane medium using covalently immobilized esterase. The immobilized esterase was effectively reused in successive batch runs in n-hexane medium for citronellyl-butyrate synthesis, and only 23 % activity was lost after 6 cycles.     

Optimization of Electrocoagulation Process for the Treatment of Metal Cutting Wastewaters with Response Surface Methodology

In the present investigation, treatment of metal cutting wastewater (MCW) using electrocoagulation (EC) process is designed and analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). RSM is applied to optimize the operating variables viz. initial pH, current density, and operating time on the treatment of MCW in a batch mode by EC process using iron and aluminum electrodes. Quadratic models are developed for the responses such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), and turbidity, and operating cost is calculated with respect to energy, electrode, and chemical consumptions. The actual COD, TOC, and turbidity removal efficiencies at optimized conditions are found to be 93.0%, 83.0%, and 99.8% for Fe electrode and 93.5%, 85.2%, and 99.9% for Al electrode, respectively, which agree well with the predicted response. The proposed model fits very well with the experimental data with R ² adjusted correlation coefficients of 0.927 for COD, 0.924 for TOC, and 0.968 for turbidity removal for Al and 0.904 for COD, 0.976 for TOC, and 0.989 for turbidity removal for Fe electrodes, respectively. This study clearly shows that RSM is one of the suitable methods to optimize the operating conditions and maximize the COD, TOC, and turbidity removal efficiencies for both electrodes while keeping the operating costs to minimal (0.371 ?/m³ for Fe and 0.337 ?/m³ for Al electrodes).     

Characterization of a nucleopolyhedrovirus variant of the gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in Turkey

The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L., Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) is one of the most serious pest of various forestal, food and industrial crops worldwide. We have characterized a new Lymantria dispar nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV-T4) variant, which was isolated from dead L. dispar larvae in Turkey. Scanning electron microscope observations showed that the polyhedral occlusion bodies (OBs) of the LdMNPV-T4 were irregularly shaped. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that OBs of LdMNPV-T4 were occupied with several virions in which multiple nucleocapsids packaged by viral envelope. Restriction analysis of the LdMNPV-T4 DNA purified from the viral inclusion bodies yielded BamHI, BglII, EcoRI and HindIII fragments. The mean size estimated for the complete LdMNPV-T4 genome was calculated to be 163.3 kb. Phylogenetic analysis of amplified polh, lef-8 and lef-9 sequences showed its relation to the other NPVs from Lymantria species. Mortality values of the LdMNPV-T4 at four different concentrations against third instar larvae of L. dispar ranged from 45% to 88%. These results suggest that LdMNPV-T4 isolated from Turkey is a promising microbial control agent to be utilized for the biological control of L. dispar.     

Poly(methyl methacrylate-glycidiyl methacrylate) film with immobilized iminodiacetic acid and Cu(II) Ion: For protein adsorption

Poly(methyl methacrylate-glycidiyl methacrylate) p(MMA-GMA) film was fabricated by UV initiated photo-polymerization. Iminodiacetic acid ligand (IDA) was covalently immobilized to the p(MMA-GMA) film via ring opening reaction of epoxy groups. Cu(II) ion was chelated with the immobilized ligand. The morphology and properties of the films were characterized with SEM, FTIR, AFM, water content, the specific surface area, and contact angle. HSA (human serum albumin) was used as a model protein to describe the adsorption propency of the support. The information obtained in this research will serve for scaling up the process in industrial applications. The HSA adsorption capacity of the metal chelated film was found to be 2.7 mg/cm² film. The p(MMA-GMA)-IDA-Cu(II) films exhibited a high adsorption capacity and fast adsorption rate compared to Cu(II) ion free counterpart.