Effects of fish farming on nutrients and benthic community structure in the Eastern Aegean (Turkey)

The impact of a sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L., 1758) farm on water quality and benthic community structure was investigated at a fish farm site in Engeceli Bay (western part of Izmir Bay) between April 2001 and February 2002. The characteristics of the water column in the fish farm were investigated in terms of physical and chemical parameters. Concentrations of nitrate, phosphate and ammonium ions in all sampling stations within the Bay were compared with the water quality parameters measured at the outer part of Izmir Bay (Eastern Aegean Sea). While there were significant differences from season to season of the levels of ammonium, orthophosphate, total phosphate and nitrite, there were no significant differences among stations. However, nitrate values and organic carbon contents showed significant differences among sampling stations. A reference station was selected to compare benthic groups. While the reference site is characterized by a sandy bottom with the lowest carbon and highest diversity values, the other stations with silty‐clay bottoms showed higher organic enrichment and lower diversity with increasing abundance of polychaeta. Organic enrichment and particle size of sediments were closely associated with faunal groups particularly with polychaeta and mollusca.     

Reduction of ochratoxin a levels in red wine by bentonite, modified bentonites, and chitosan

Adsorption method may play an important role to remove ochratoxin A (OTA) from wine by bentonite (B), nonylammonium bentonite (NB), dodecylammonium bentonite (DB), KSF-montmorillonite (KSF), and chitosan bead (CB). The optimum conditions of OTA adsorption from synthetic solutions were revealed at room temperature and pH 3.5. The adsorption equilibria of B and NB were almost established within 120 and 240 min, respectively. DB, KSF, and CB had about 90 min of equilibration time. The adsorption efficiency carried out in the synthetic OTA solution did not change remarkably when the amounts of adsorbents were 25 mg for bentonite, DB, and KSF and 100 mg for NB and CB. Furthermore, 25 mg of adsorbents was used at all adsorption studies in synthetic solution. The adsorption isotherm was fitted with mostly a Freundlich equation with respect to the correlation coefficients. The adsorption data were evaluated using Langmuir and Freundlich equations having Kf values ranging from 0.011 to 9.5 with respect to correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.900-0.977). DB and KSF have the highest adsorption capacity for OTA in synthetic solutions. In wine, the removal of OTA was succeeded at a percentage of 60-100 by KSF and CB. Furthermore, the highest adsorption capacity of OTA for red wine was obtained by using 250 mg of KSF, which caused less damage to the nature of wine and also low adsorption of polyphenols and anthcyans.     

Distribution, density and histochemical profiles of the lung mast cells during the post-hatching period of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

The distribution, density and histochemical characteristics of mast cells in the lungs of the Japanese quail were investigated during the post-hatching period. In the period starting from the first to the 60th day post-hatching, based on proteoglycan content, three types of mast cells, which were alcian blue-positive, safranin O-positive and alcian blue/safranin O-positive, were found to exist in the lungs. The application of staining with berberine sulphate demonstrated that, similar to the distribution of safranin O-positive cells, the heparin-containing cells were located in the periphery of large blood vessels. The percentages of mast cells in different localization sites of the lungs were found to vary with age in the post-hatching period with toluidine blue staining. The lack of any statistically significant increase/decrease in the number of mast cells per unit area of the right and left lung lobes is partially in favour of the proposal that the mast cell number increases with the growth of the lung volume in the post-hatching period.     

Changes in gas exchange capacity and selected physiological properties of squash seedlings (Cucurbita pepo L.) under well-watered and drought stress conditions

Water use efficiency (WUE) is considered as an important component of adaptation to drought stress. This study was conducted to determine the effect of drought stress on gas exchange parameters and selected physiological properties, and also its relations with WUE in summer squash seedlings (Cucurbita pepo L.). Plants were grown in pots under different irrigation levels (D0: 100%, D1: 67% and D2: 33% of the water required to reach the field capacity) in controlled greenhouse. The results show that drought treatments significantly decreased the leaf chlorophyll reading values (LCRV), leaf relative water content (LRWC), stomatal conductance (g_s), photosynthetic rate (P_N), transpiration rate (T_r), fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) of squash seedlings by 7, 42, 69, 62, 62 63 and 82%, respectively, in D2 treatment compared to D0. However, electrolyte leakage (EL) values increased 72% with severe drought treatments (D2). The highest WUE was obtained by D0 treatment as 0.26 g mm^?1. The relationship between P_N and WUE is the strongest one among all leaf gas exchange parameters. Together with T_r, the linear relation with WUE was considerably higher compared to other measured parameters.     

Phenotypic and genetic parameter estimates for racing traits of Arabian horses in Turkey

The racing records for Arabian horses used in the study were obtained from the Turkish Jockey Club. The traits used in the study were racing time, best racing time, rank, annual earnings, earnings per start, log annual earnings and log earnings per start. Genetic parameters were estimated by the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure using the DFREML program. The effects of age, sex and origin of horse were significant for each trait. The effect of year was significant on time and earning traits, but not rank. The effect of month on time traits was also significant. Heritability estimates of the entire data set were 0.280, 0.281, 0.069, 0.139, 0.174, 0.152 and 0.171 for racing time, best racing time, rank, annual earnings, earnings per start, log annual earnings and log earnings per start respectively. Estimates of repeatability varied from 0.349 to 0.500 for racing time, from 0.430 to 0.524 for best racing time and from 0.129 to 0.171 for rank depending on the data set used in the analyses. Best racing time was the most appropriate trait for selection in this study, as this might lead to genetic improvement than other traits.     

Agronomic importance of first development of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under semi-arid conditions: II. Seed imbibition

Due to the slowness growth and weakness of the first developments of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), it could not combated with weeds and easily caught up by Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei (Pass) Labr.) disease. Additionally, due to biotic and abiotic stress factors, esp. at the late sowing, important seed yield losses could be happened. To be able to avoid from them is only possible to accelerate of its first development as possible as. So, one of the best solutions to is to use chemical compounds such as Humic Acid (HA) known soil regulator under the semi-arid conditions. With this aim this research was performed in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications under semi-arid field conditions during (2008/2009) and (2009/2010) in Turkiye. Two cultivars (V1 = Gokce and V2 = Ispanyol) and four seed imbibition methods (A0 = 0, A1 = Tap Water, A2 = 1/2 Tap Water + 1/2 Humic acid (HA), A3 = Full HA, as w/w) and seven yield components Plant Height (PH), Number of Branches per Plant (NBP), Number of Pods per Plant (NPP), First Pod Height (NFP), Number of Seeds per Pod (NSP), Seed Weight per Plant (SWP) and 100-Seed weight (HSW) were investigated. The PH and FPH were affected the A0, the NBP, NPP and NSP were affected the A2 and the SWP and HSW were given the varied but not clear responses according to varieties for all the parameters in A1. The A0 and A1 were encouraged the germination and top soil of the plant but, the A2 to A3 were encouraged root system's development. It was concluded that the A2 is a promising method which makes the maximum and positive effect to the first development of the chickpea agronomy under the semi-arid conditions.     

TiO2 Immobilized Biodegradable Polymer for Photocatalytic Removal of Chlorophenol

This study concentrated on the direct immobilization of anatase nano titanium dioxide particles (TiO₂, 44?nm particle size) into or onto a biodegradable polymer, polycaprolactone, by solvent-cast processes. The photocatalytic properties of the produced materials were tested by photocatalytic removal of organic contaminant 4-chlorophenol. Produced TiO₂ immobilized polymer successfully removed 4-chlorophenol (4-CP, 20?ppm which is equal to 1.56?×?10^?4?M) from aqueous solution without additional pH arrangement employing a UV-A light (365?nm) source. Immobilization of n-TiO₂ onto polycaprolactone (PCL) produced improved 4-CP removal percentages, reaching to nearly 85?%. Increased PCL mass significantly increases the removal percentage of 4-CP. When a UVC lamp emitting 254?nm light is used, the removal percentage reaches to 89?%. UV irradiation did not cause any change in the microstructure of the polymeric material (confirmed with ATR-FTIR analysis). This is an important evidence that the material could be reused for further photocatalytic treatments. Produced material seems to be highly promising for successful removal of organic pollutants beside its biodegradable nature.     

Roles of glycine betaine in mitigating deleterious effect of salt stress on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

This study was conducted to evaluate the roles of glycine betaine (GB) in mitigating deleterious effect of salt stress on lettuce. Lettuce plants were subjected to two salinity (0 and 100 mmol l^?1 NaCl) and four GB levels (0, 5, 10, 25 mmol l^?1). Salinity resulted in a remarkable decrease in growth parameters, relative leaf water content and stomatal conductance. Plants subjected to salt stress exhibited an increase in membrane permeability (MP), lipid peroxidation (MDA), leaf chlorophyll reading value, H₂O₂ and sugar content. Exogenous foliar applications of GB reduced MP, MDA and H₂O₂ content in salt-stressed lettuce plants. Salt stress increased Na and generally decreased other nutrient elements. GB reduced Na accumulation, but significantly increased other element contents under salinity conditions. The study showed that gibberellic acid (GA) and salicylic acid (SA) content in salt-stressed plants were lower than those of nonstressed plants. However, salinity conditions generally increased the abscisic acid content. GB treatments elevated the concentrations of GA, SA and indole acetic acid (IAA) at especially 10 and 25 mmol l^?1 GB under salt stress conditions. It could be concluded that exogenous GB applications could ameliorate the harmful effects of salt stress in lettuce.     

The time factor in egg formation for hens exposed to ahemeral light-dark cycles

Three hundred and two White Leghorn pullets were killed at intervals 5 min to 7 h following oviposition. The reproductive tract was then examined and, from the position of the yolk, estimates were made of the mean time spent by the ovum in different parts of the oviduct. Half the birds examined had been kept under 24‐h cycles (14 h light : 10 h dark) and half under 27‐h cycles (14 h light : 13 h dark). Mean intervals from oviposition to ovulation were 24 min and 36 min for birds under 24‐h and 27‐h cycles respectively. The difference between these values can be associated with the different rates of lay of birds under the two treatments. Mean times spent in the upper oviduct and the shell gland were estimated as 5·15 h and 19·76 h for the 24‐h cycles and 5·41 h and 20–70 h for the 27‐h cycles. The increase in albumen weight which has been reported to follow from the use of 27‐h cycles can thus be associated with extra time spent in the magnum. The reported increase in shell weight of 10% is more than would be expected from a 5% increase in time spent in the shell gland.