Comparison of the swimming performance of farmed and wild gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata

Farmed gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata, frequently escape from the sea cages and interact with wild populations. The impact of these interactions on the wild populations will depend, in part, on differences in performance of the bream. This study compared the swimming performance of the wild and farmed fish in a current channel. The absolute critical swimming speed (U_crit) increased with increasing size while the relative U_crit decreased. Even at the same length there were noticeable performance differences between the individuals. The wild sea bream have significantly higher (P<0.05) absolute U_crit performance (0.86±0.01 m s⁻¹) than the farmed fish (0.79±0.01 m s⁻¹) and significantly higher (P<0.05) relative U_crit performance (4.52±0.05 BL s⁻¹) than the farmed fish (4.21±0.05 BL s⁻¹). The present study suggests that cultured sea bream may not have the ability to compete with wild sea bream in native seawaters.     

The Effects of Fresh and Composted Chicken Manures on Some Soil Characteristics

The effects of fresh and composted chicken manures on some soil characteristics were investigated. Fresh and composted chicken manures were mixed with the soil at the rates of 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%, and then were incubated for 90 days. At the end of this incubation period, some soil physical properties closely related to soil aggregation (such as hydraulic conductivity, water stable aggregates, aeration porosity, and available water) and some soil chemical characteristics (such as organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, and electrical conductivity, EC) were determined. As doses of both manures in the soil mixtures increase, the amounts of water stable aggregates, hydraulic conductivity, and aeration porosity increased, whereas the available water content decreased. Increasing doses of both manures increased the amount of the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen. Application of both manures to the soil increased the EC values, but it was limited in the composted chicken manure.     

Zeta Potential of Kaolinite in the Presence of Alkali,Alkaline Earth and Hydrolyzable Metal Ions

Electrokinetic remediation is one of the promising subsurface clean up techniques whose efficiency is directly affected by the zeta potential of clay minerals. To determine the factors affecting the zeta potential, in turn, electrokinetic remediation, the zeta potential of kaolinite is determined usingelectrophoretic mobility in the salt and heavy metals ions asfunctions of pH and concentration. The zeta potential of kaolinite ranged from -25 mV (pH 3) to -42 mV (pH 11) in water. The zeta potential of kaolinite became more negativewith increasing pH. The zeta potential of kaolinite was also found to be sensitive to the valence of ions. Results, furthermore, revealed that kaolinite has higher zeta potentialvalues in the presence of NaCl and LiCl than in water. However, the zeta potential of kaolinite decreased with divalent cationssuch as Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. The zeta potential of kaolinitewith heavy metal ions such as Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Pb²⁺ showed a similar trend, i.e., increase in the concentration ofthese ions caused a decrease in the zeta potential up to neutral pH, then it became positive. In highly basic environments, thezeta potential became negative again, giving two apparent pzcs. One of two apparent pzcs was attributed to kaolinite and the other one to the precipitation of these ions in highly basic solutions (pH ≥ 9).     

GROWTH OF PRIMULA PLANT IN COIR DUST AND PEAT-BASED GROWING MEDIA

This study was performed under greenhouse conditions, with coir dust, moss peat, and sedge peat as the main components of the growing media. The performance of the media was evaluated through the growth of the primula (Primula obconica) plant. In general, aeration capacities were found to be relatively low, except for growing media that included moss peat mixtures. Nevertheless, easily available water content of all growing media was found to be within the appropriate ranges. Total and water-available plant nutrient contents of coir dust, moss peat, and sedge peat significantly fluctuated. Ornamental parameters related to media treatments were statistically significant, with respect to visual score performances, total leaf numbers, crown width, and total plant fresh weights. This study determined that coir dust, which is an industrial by-product, could be utilized for up to 50% of the total composition of coir dust-moss peat based media in floricultural aims. As floricultural quality parameters considered, 50% coir dust and 50% moss peat and 25% coir dust and 75% moss peat gave good results as much as 100% moss peat.     

Effect of lordosis on the swimming performance of juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

The critical swimming speed (U_crit, cm s⁻¹) value of normal juvenile sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) (64.7±6.33) was significantly higher than that of fish with lordosis (60.3±6.66) (P<0.05). Both normal fish and those with lordosis showed increased endurance with increasing length during exercise at a fixed water velocity of 50 cm s⁻¹. This speed was used to investigate the separation possibility of deformed specimen from the normal developed fish based on their swimming performance, and 28% separation was achieved without losing any normal fish by the end of the 10th minute. To achieve a better separation of the deformities from the normal, first grading of the juveniles and then a swimming endurance test is advised.     

Destruction of PCB 44 in Spiked Subsurface Soils Using Activated Persulfate Oxidation

The effectiveness of persulfate oxidation for the destruction of tetrachlorobiphenyl a representative polychlorobiphenyl (PCB), in spiked subsurface soils was evaluated in this study. Kaolin and glacial till soils were selected as representative low permeability soils; both soils were spiked with 50 mg PCB per dry kilogram of soil. Activation of persulfate oxidation was necessary to achieve effective destruction of PCBs in soils. As persulfate oxidation activators, temperature and high pH were used in order to maximize PCB destruction. In addition, the effect of oxidant dose and reaction time was investigated. The optimal dose for persulfate was found to be 30% for maximum oxidation. The persulfate activation with temperature of 45°C was superior to persulfate activation with high pH (pH 12), where higher PCB destructions were observed for kaolin and glacial till soils. PCB destruction increased with reaction time, where maximum degradation was achieved after 7 days. The highest PCB destruction was achieved with temperature activation at 45°C using a dosage of 30% persulfate at pH 12 for kaolin and glacial till soils after 7 days.     

Morphology, chemical properties, and radiocarbon dating of eutrophic peat in Turkey

Morphologies, classifications, chemical properties and radiocarbon dates of Akgöl–Sakarya peatland located in the northwestern part of Turkey, which has never been studied up to now, were investigated. Three representative profiles were excavated in the study area and soil samples were taken based on soil horizons. Additionally, soil samples were taken at the different depths in each profile for radiocarbon dating. Accretion rates changed between 1.40 and 1.69 mm year^− 1 according to ¹⁴C measurements. Radiocarbon ages ranged between 365 ± 90 and 195 ± 50 years depending on sampling depth. Profile I was Sapric Haplohemist, profile II was Hydric Haplohemist and profile III was Typic Haplosaprist. Soil properties varied widely depending on the profiles. Fibre contents were between 9.4% and 34.7% due to degree of organic matter decomposition. pH and ECe values varied between 4.20–6.62 and 0.51–2.50 dS m⁻¹, respectively. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 100 to 140 cmol kg⁻¹. Total nitrogen and phosphorus ranged from 0.78% to 1.82% and from 0.45% to1.03%, respectively. Total calcium contents were between 1.44% to 3.25%, and magnesium contents varied from 0.22 to 0.71%. Both nutrients were higher in the surface horizons of profiles I and II. Total Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B contents varied considerably among profiles. It was found that total amounts of Fe, Zn, Cu and B in samples were between 4660–16220 mg kg^− 1, 89–451 mg kg^− 1, 16–57 mg kg^− 1, 3–11 mg kg^− 1 and 12–37 mg kg^− 1, respectively. Cr, Ni and Pb contents in peat samples were 22–55 mg kg^− 1, 24–58 mg kg^− 1, and 3–93 mg kg^− 1, respectively. However, there was no Cd and Hg detected. It was observed that seasonal ground water fluctuations, eutrophic formation and differences in decomposition degrees have a substantial effect on changing of morphological and chemical properties of organic soils in the study area.     

Antimicrobial activity of plant extract Ankaferd Blood Stopper

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS) was assessed on 102 clinical isolates from both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria and four standard strains, including MRSA ATCC 43300, MSSA ATCC 25923, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and E. coli ATCC 35218. ABS was significantly active against all bacteria investigated.     

Defence responses in leaves of resistant and susceptible pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars infected with different inoculum concentrations of Phytophthora capsici Leon

Three pepper cultivars (PM-702: resistant, Demre-8 and KM-hot: susceptible) with different resistances to Phytophthora capsici-22 (P. capsici-22) were inoculated with different concentrations of zoospores to analyze the time course of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), proline and total protein.