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In this study, daily fine particulate matters (PM2.5) were sampled between February 22, 2011 and February 22, 2012 in Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University Campus. 277 PM2.5 samples were collected by using a stacked filter unit. The 51 elements (Li, Be, Na, K, Mg, Al, P, S, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, W, Pt, Au, Pb, Bi, Tl, Th, U) were determined using ICP-MS technique. The most frequently observed elements were Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ce, and Cd in PM2.5. Aluminum, Ca, Na, Fe, K, and Mg were the elements having the largest arithmetic means. The concentrations of elements in the summer seasons were higher than the concentrations of elements in the winter season except for As and Bi. Source apportionment of elements was performed by using positive matrix factorization. Five sources were determined for the samples namely sea salt (Na, K, Mg, Ca), coal combustion (As, Pb, Bi, Tl, Cd, Sb, Se, Mo), wood and coal combustion (K, Rb, Se, Cs, Sb, Pb, Bi, Tl, Fe, Mn, Cd), soil (Ca, Mg, Ti, Fe, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Th), and industrial activity -- iron-steel works (Cr, Mo, Fe, Ni, Cu, Mn, Cd, Sb, Ca). The factor of wood and coal combustion showed the same trend in the region for the whole year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out with a total of 75 students attending 9th grade in two high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Reyhanlı district, which hosted many Syrian refugees in Hatay province in the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic years and lasted for three weeks. A total of 75 students, 43 from two different 9th grade classes taught by the same teacher from the first high school, and 32 from the other high school, participated in the study. Two of these classes were assigned as the control group and one as the experimental group. While the symbolic language of chemistry was taught with the traditional teaching method in the control groups, an educational game with Arabic support was used in the experimental group based on the constructive learning approach. Prior knowledge, attitude-perception towards chemistry, and chemistry achievement tests were applied to all three groups before the implementation in order to control their prior knowledge and attitude and perception towards chemistry; the chemistry success test was applied again after the implementation. ANCOVA analysis was used to evaluate the data obtained from the tests. As a result of the study, it was concluded that High school 9th-grade students studying with the educational game based on constructivist learning approach had significantly higher mean score in the chemistry achievement test on the symbolic language of chemistry than the students studying with traditional teaching method, they relate the concepts more accurately, and performed more meaningful learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L., 1758) is the main source of fishmeal in Turkey. The research was carried out in 3 fishmeal factories where anchovy is processed in the Black Sea during the 2007-2008 fishing season. Factories A and B have an evaporator system, while factory C does not have an evaporator system. In the study, it was aimed to reveal the effect of the evaporator system on the mineral substance quality of the fishmeal produced in fishmeal oil factories. As a result of this study, the elements in fishmeal are listed in descending order as Ca>P>K>Na>Mg>Fe>Zn>Mn>Cu. According to the results of the research, it was determined that the phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium and zinc values of fish fishmeal produced in A and B factories using evaporator system were higher than the C factory without an evaporator system, and the difference between factories was statistically significant (P<0.05). It is recommended that all factories have an evaporator system in order to produce fishmeal of higher quality (protein and mineral substances) in fishmeal-oil factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the geographic distribution of toxic element concentrations was determined in Northeast Marmara Sea (Istanbul/Turkey) sediments. In addition, the pollution degree of the environment was analyzed using various pollution index methods. Geochemical analysis of 28 elements were performed in sediment samples. The concentrations of several elements (especially Fe, Mn, Ti, Zn, and Cr) were found to be very high in some locations. At sites, where heavy metal concentrations were high, foraminifera genera and species numbers and number of individuals were very low. The low number of foraminifera in the samples taken from some regions could be due to uncontrolled ship traffic and domestic and industrial discharges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content of some heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and macroelements (Ca, Mg, Na, and K) were determined in samples of water, sediment, macrophytes (Potamogeton crispus, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Myriophyllum spicatum, and Chara vulgaris), and leech (Hirudo sulukii n. sp.) collected from Kara Lake Adiyaman, Turkey at four distinct seasons using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). It was found that the studied heavy metals were completely below the detection limit of ICP-OES for water samples. The results showed that most heavy metals (Ni, Cr, Zn, Fe, and Pb) and macroelements (Mg and Na) had their highest values in sediment samples in August. Increases of heavy metals and macroelements may be due to evaporation because of summer stagnation at this period. The average content of studied elements was in the order of Mn>Ni>Cr>Zn>Fe>Pb>Cu in sediment samples. As a non-essential heavy metal, Cr was the most accumulated in all the macrophytes studied. The average Cr concentration was in the order of P. crispus > P. perfoliatus > M. spicatum > C. vulgaris. In C. vulgaris, the accumulation of Ca was the highest compared with other macrophytes. The accumulation of heavy metal was in the order of Fe>Zn>Cu>Pb>Mn>Cr>Ni>Cd in H. sulukii n. sp. The obtained results showed that the heavy metal and macroelement (Na, Ca, Mg, and K) concentrations in water, sediment, macrophytes, and leech are below the risk values according to the aquatic life pollutant data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, the element contents can be attributable to the geological sources because of the general absence of serious pollution in Kara Lake, Adiyaman, Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two sequential extraction methods (BCR sequential extraction method and a newly proposed sequential extraction method) were used to evaluate the bioavailability of the elements from the contaminated soils to different plants. The concentrations of As, B, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in acid digests from different plants collected from the fields near to boron mines in Turkey were determined using ICP-MS. The levels of the elements in some plants exceeded the limits of maximum and guideline levels for As, Cd and Pb; Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for Ni and B; Adequate Intakes (AIs) for Cr and Mn and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Cu, Fe and Zn. The average Transfer Factor values for elements were in the order of B>Ni>Zn>Cu>Cr>Co>Fe>Mn>Cd>Pb>As. In most cases, Principal Component Analysis and correlation analysis showed that these methods gave similar results. However, the newly proposed sequential extraction method is a more detailed method, capable of separating metals associated with manganese oxides and iron as amorphous and crystalline fractions. Three different fractions are produced for these environmental phases instead of the BCR sequential extraction procedure in which they are represented together in the second fraction. The new method therefore specifically fractionates bioavailable manganese and iron to plants. fx1 • Two sequential extraction methods evaluated for bioavailability of elements. • Mobility of elements from soils to plants near boron mines was investigated. • Transfer Factor values were calculated. • The root vegetables tended to have higher TF values. • Principal component analysis and correlation analyses were performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Golden Horn Estuary, Istanbul, Turkey, had been exposed to untreated industrial discharges and municipal wastewater for over fifty years; however, during the last fifteen years pollution has been reduced due to an extensive rehabilitation campaign. Since sediment is the main accumulation matrix of marine ecosystems, surface sediment samples were collected from the estuary and analyzed for concentrations of some elements and radioactivity. The elements of predominant anthropogenic origin such as As, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn and 137Cs were observed in the mid-estuary. Also, elevated geoaccumulation indices for Ag, Cd, Cu and Sb showed that pollution was still occurring in the estuary despite the rehabilitation. There is a huge residential area near the estuary; therefore, people living in this area are affected due to the pollution of the estuary. Thus, the obtained data of the elements and radionuclides are very important for the ecosystem of the Golden Horn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The mobility of As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soils collected from fields near boron mines was investigated using a new sequential extraction method and the BCR sequential extraction methods. The new sequential extraction method fractionates elements in more detail as F1 (water soluble and exchangeable fraction), F2 (bound to carbonates), F3 (bound to manganese oxides), F4 (bound to amorphous Fe minerals), F5 (bound to crystalline Fe minerals), F6 (oxidizable fraction—bound to organic matter and sulfides) and F7 (residual). The concentrations of the elements in these fractions from the new sequential extraction method were compared with the concentrations of the elements in the fractions obtained from the BCR sequential extraction method. A MANOVA test was used to find any inter-relationships between the fractions of these sequential extraction methods. It was concluded that the percentages of the elements extracted using the new sequential extraction method for the fractions F1 to F6 were generally higher than BCR sequential extraction method. This difference was probably related to the detailed fractionation capacity of the new sequential extraction method. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • A new sequential extraction method was developed. • The mobility of elements in the soils near boron mines was investigated. • New method was compared with BCR sequential extraction method with a MANOVA test. • Higher percentages of the elements extracted using new method. • It is probably related to the detailed fractionation capacity of the new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Çökelek samples what 30 different were collected from randomly local bazaars to investigate heavy metal contaminant and mineral levels and some physicochemical and microbiological properties of samples. While the Pb was identified in 6 of the 30 samples, the As was only found in 4 of the samples. The mean major and trace element contents of Çökelek samples were ordered as Na > P > Ca > K > Mg and Al > Zn > Ni > Cu, respectively. The physicochemical properties indicated a high deviation among samples. The mean total solids, ash, salt, fat, protein waters soluble nitrogen contents, and sample ripening index were 29.83%, 1.88%, 0.68%, 4.31%, 19.84%, 0.33%, and 1.79%, respectively. The mean total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB) count of Çökelek samples was found as 8.26 log CFU g -1 . The coliform bacteria and yeast-mold counts were detected in 11 and 27 of 30 samples, respectively. The mean coliform and yeast-mold counts were 1.82 log CFU g -1 and 7.11 log CFU g -1 , respectively. Traditional cheeses are not mentioned in legal laws such as the Turkish Food Codex. So, there is no legal limit and standard production processes. This situation is a problem in terms of traditional cheese quality. For this reason, traditional cheese should perform further studied, and determine the legal limits., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, it was aimed to determine the elemental composition of 47 propolis samples collected from different regions of Turkey by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. According to the results, the most abundant elements in propolis samples were the Ca, K, and Si with the mean values as 1556, 1383, and 731 mg/kg, respectively. Additionally, there were high degrees of positive and strong correlations of Al with S (0.925) and Fe (0.926) and Ca with Mg (0.970). According to cluster analysis results, the Aegean, Marmara, and Mediterranean regions showed strong similarities, whereas Southeastern Anatolia propolis samples were remarkably different. The elements considered as toxic for human and environmental health such as Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, and W were at the trace amounts as < 10 mg/kg. When assuming 1 g raw propolis is consumed daily by a 60-kg adult, the analyzed propolis samples were not a source carrying the negative effects of these elements. However, they could be an indicator of environmental pollution., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The objective of this study was to identify potential sources of personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), NO, SO, and O in an urban and industrial area of Turkey between May 2006 and January 2007. Personal exposures were determined once per person in 28 adults over a 24-h period. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and a wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry were used to measure 15 elements in PM, including Al, As, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Si, Ti, V, and Zn. The VOCs benzene, toluene, m/ p-xylene, o-xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, cyclohexane, 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, hexane, heptane, nonane, octane, decane, undecane, and dodecane were measured by thermal desorption and gas chromatography/flame ionization. Application of positive matrix factorization to the data obtained suggests that motor vehicles, indoor sources, and industry represent the main emission sources of the investigated chemical species. Six major sources smoking (9 %), industry (15 %), gasoline exhaust (21 %), indoor sources (17 %), diesel exhaust (19 %), and crustal (19 %) were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Thus, the chemical components in tea are of great interest, especially in relation to health. In this study, 12 tea samples (10 black, 1 white and 1 green) and 5 herbal tea samples were purchased from supermarkets in Izmir, Turkey. Sample preparation has been performed using wet and microwave digestion procedures. The elemental content (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, Na and K) in the digests and infusions has been analysed. Generally, elemental contents in tea leaves were found to be higher than those in tea infusions. The accuracy of the method was checked and confirmed by standard reference material analyses. The comparison of wet and microwave digestion has not shown significantly different results. Therefore, the microwave digestion procedure was preferred because it is less laborious. The elemental intake related to tea consumption has also been studied. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The total phenolic content, macro and micro elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu), antioxidant and antibacterial activities of roots of wild grown Glycyrrhiza glabra are reported. The amount of total phenolics was 12.88 μgGAE/mg DW in Glycyrrhiza glabra roots. The average N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Na and Cu composition in licorice roots was 2.80%, 175 mg/100 g, 1400 mg/100 g, 147 mg/100 g, 120 mg/100 g, 20 mg/100 g, 6 mg/100 g, 4.4 mg/100 g, 2.1 mg/100 g and 0.1 mg/100 g, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity of root extract was 88.7% at a concentration of 800 μg/mL. The methanol extracts of the roots showed antibacterial activities against Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilus and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, but none of the water extracts of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots showed any antibacterial activity against the these microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichen samples from different parts of the world have been known to accumulate elements to a greater degree than higher plants, if they are exposed to these elements from the atmosphere or from water and sediments. It has been hypothesized that lichens can be used to monitor air pollution around point and area emission sources. Local variation (variation in substrate, age and morphology of lichen samples) of element concentrations would not be large enough to affect the concentration patterns in large areas. We tested this hypothesis in the Aegean region of Turkey, which is very urbanized and industrialized. No such study has been conducted before in this part of the country. A total of 234 samples of the lichen Xanthoria parietina were collected from a 51 800-km2 area. Samples were washed and analyzed by INAA and ICP-AES for 35 elements. The range of the concentrations for most of the elements on a local scale was an order of magnitude lower than for the element concentrations on a regional scale. The mean local coefficient of variance (CV) was found to be 15, providing that the local variation did not affect the concentration of elements in the sampling region. According to cluster analysis, 8 (As, Hg, Pb, Sb, Fe, Mn, Na and K) elements are indicative of important local pollution locations and their zone of impact in the region. By mapping the concentrations of eight indicative elements in lichen Xanthoria parietina of the Aegean region, it was possible to relate deposition to the existence of known sources of pollution in certain areas. Location of pollution sources such as iron-steel plants, and coal burning in the cities, industrial activity and two important coal-fired power plants generally corresponded with locations of highest element accumulations in the lichens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to assess concentration of selected elements (cadmium, zinc, copper, sodium and potassium) in rooster and turkey semen and to find possible correlations between these elements. Samples were analyzed on the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The analysis of cadmium showed that the concentration in rooster is 9.06 ± 7.70 and in turkey 4.10 ± 3.59 μ g/mL. In zinc 5.25 ± 1.96 μ g/mL in rooster and 3.70 ± 1.26 μ g/mL in turkey were detected. Higher concentration of copper was found in rooster semen (6.79 ± 6.42 μ g/mL) in comparison with turkey semen (4.29 ± 5.43 μ g/mL). The level of sodium (3.96 ± 1.02 μ g/mL; 3.14 ± 0.85 μ g/mL) and potassium (2.88 ± 0.65 μ g/mL; 3.42 ± 1.41 μ g/mL) was very similar in both species. Correlation analysis detected high positive correlation between cadmium and zinc (r = 0.701) in rooster and between sodium and potassium (r = 0.899) in turkey semen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Old tracer Pb and new tracer Ba for vehicle emissions showed almost the same trend in lichen pollution maps. • As, Bi and Tl were the marker elements for coal burning in our study area. • The sources of heavy metals were coal combustion, traffic, and small scale industries. • Depleted (less negative) δ13C values were the strong evidence of coal burning in rural sites. • The depleted δ15N values close to poultry farmings were the result of NHx emissions. The main objective of this study was to determine the elemental content of (51 elements) and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) content of lichen, Xanthoria parietina. The results were evaluated according to seasonal changes, pollution source, and altitudes. The data indicated that there is no significant impact of seasonal variation in concentrations of most of the elements and isotopes. The uptake efficiency of Xanthoria parietina and pine needle was compared and it was found out that significantly higher amounts of metals were accumulated by Xanthoria parietina than by pine needles. The lowest δ13C and the highest δ15N values were obtained in pine needle in both seasons. Both δ13C and δ15N showed increasing (for summer) and decreasing (for winter) trends with a rise in an altitude. Source apportionment of elements was performed by using positive matrix factorization (PMF) and supported by G-score maps. As a result, six sources were determined for the area namely urban environment, lichen nutrient elements, contaminated soil, traffic and mixed soil, lichen metabolism and coal combustion. The concentration pollution maps and G-score maps of Pb and Ba were similar and this was an indication of the vehicle emissions. The elements As, Bi and Tl signed the coal combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundances of selected elements in different environmental compartments, namely soil, honey, and bee pollen, was determined in this study. For that purpose, sixteen soil and honey samples, and nine pollen samples were taken in the region of Mitrovica, Kosovo. The concentration of elements was measured by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Pollution level concentrations of Pb, Zn, As, and Cd were observed in soil. The level of soil pollution was estimated by calculating pollution indices. Pb was also observed at high concentrations in honey, as was Cd and Pb in pollen. Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed mostly weak and moderate correlations of the concentrations of the eight selected elements among the soil, honey, and pollen samples. Several groups of elements with geogenic and anthropogenic origin were identified by hierarchical cluster analysis. The concentrations of selected heavy metals for soil and honey were compared to those in neighboring countries, and those for pollen with samples from Turkey, Serbia, and Jordan.

In the present study, it was aimed to determine the effects of cement dust pollution on contents of some significant essential elements (P, S, K, Ca, Fe and Cl) in wild plants (Medigago varia, Anchusa leptophylla, Euphorbia orientalis, Lactuca serriola, Artemisia spicigera, Crambe orientalis, Convolvulus sepium and Senecio vernalis) using wavelength-dispersive spectrometer X-ray fluorescence technique. Plant samples were collected from different locations around a cement factory which is located at Askale about 50 km from Erzurum (Turkey). The element contents in the plant specimens that existed in both 0-100 m (dense dusted) and 2000 m (undusted) areas were compared. P, S, K and Cl contents were found to be high in the plants growing in areas 0-100 m from the cement factory, compared to same plants at 2000 m far from the factory. However, Ca and Fe contents were determined to be low in plants growing in 0-100 m area from the factory. Results of the study can contribute to understand how mineral deficiency and toxicity lead to detrimental effects on plant growth and development in the fields contaminated by cement dust.