A study of the local site effects on the ground response for the city of Eskişehir,Turkey

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Local soil characteristics play a key role in determining soil-structure interaction and reliability of the superstructure behavior under...     

Histone Methylation Marks on Circulating Nucleosomes as Novel Blood-Based Biomarker in Colorectal Cancer

Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) are under investigation as a liquid biopsy in cancer as potential non-invasive biomarkers, as stable structure in circulation nucleosomes could be valuable sources for detection of cancer-specific alterations in histone modifications. Our interest is in histone methylation marks with a focus on colorectal cancer, one of the leading cancers respective the incidence and mortality. Our previous work included the analysis of trimethylations of lysine 9 on histone 3 (H3K9me3) and of lysine 20 on histone 4 (H4K20me3) by chromatin immuno- precipitation-related PCR in circulating nucleosomes. Here we asked whether global immunologic measurement of histone marks in circulation could be a suitable approach to show their potential as biomarkers. In addition to H3K9me3 and H4K20me3 we also measured H3K27me3 in plasma samples from CRC patients (n = 63) and cancer free individuals (n = 40) by ELISA-based methylation assays. Our results show that of three marks, the amounts of H3K27me3 (p = 0.04) and H4K20me3 (p < 0.001) were significantly lower in CRC patients than in healthy controls. For H3K9me3 similar amounts were measured in both groups. Areas under the curve (AUC) in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicating the power of CRC detection were 0.620 for H3K27me3, 0.715 for H4K20me3 and 0.769 for the combination of both markers. In conclusion, findings of this preliminary study reveal the potential of blood-based detection of CRC by quantification of histone methylation marks and the additive effect of the marker combination.     

The influence of environmental aesthetics on economic value of housing: an empirical research on virtual environments

Previous studies on house prices tend to focus on parameters such as location, size and view. Such studies ignored the influence of environmental aesthetics on house prices. Considering the scientific evidence that showed a significant effect of environmental aesthetic on people’s environmental preference and behaviour, this study aims to investigate the influence of environmental aesthetic on estimated house prices. Twelve computer-simulated residential environments were created. Computer-simulated images vary on three categories to manipulate complexity and coherence along a street: (1) building location (attached, detached and both), (2) building height (same and different) and (3) building setback (same and different). Forty-seven university students viewed the computer-simulated environments and answered questions to evaluate aesthetic and economic values of each street. For the aesthetic value, participants evaluated the extent to which the environment is arousing, pleasant, exciting, relaxing, complex, coherent and safe. For the economic value, participants estimated market price (for sale and for rent) of a specific apartment on a computer simulation of a residential street. Results showed that estimated sale price was influenced by excitement, coherence and pleasantness; estimated rental price was influenced by complexity, arousal, coherence and pleasantness. This study aimed to pave the way for such studies by introducing an inspiring methodology and highlighting the importance of environmental aesthetics on house prices. Moreover, the findings have applied value for planners, urban designers and real estate agents.     

Processing and Properties of Textured Potassium Sodium Niobate [K,Na]NbO3 Ceramic Ribbons by Alginate Gelation Method

Random and <001> textured potassium sodium niobate – [K,Na]NbO₃ (KNN) ceramics with 1 mole% CuO sintering aid were fabricated in ribbon form through a combination of novel alginate gelation process and templated grain growth methods using platelike sodium niobate ‐ NaNbO₃ (NN) template particles. The platelike NN template particles were prepared by a two‐step molten salt synthesis method. Ribbons were drawn from alginate‐based slurries without or with 10 wt% NN template particles using 50 mm long slit nozzle with a rectangular orifice of 10 mm × 1 mm. Development of crystallographic texture as a result of varying sintering time and temperature was evaluated through the calculation of the degree of orientation as measured by the Lotgering factor (?₍₀₀₁₎) and an ?₍₀₀₁₎ of 0.81 was achieved. The electrical properties of textured ribbons were evaluated with polarization and strain versus electric field measurements.     

Migration behavior of landfill leachate contaminants through alternative composite liners

Four identical pilot-scale landfill reactors with different alternative composite liners were simultaneously operated for a period of about 540 days to investigate and to simulate the migration behaviors of phenolic compounds (phenol, 2-CP, 2-MP, 3-MP, 4-MP, 2-NP, 4-NP, 2,4-DNP, 2,4-DCP, 2,6-DCP, 2,4,5-TCP, 2,4,6-TCP, 2,3,4,6-TeCP, PCP) and heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Ni) from landfill leachate to the groundwater. Alternative landfill liners of four reactors consist of R1: Compacted clay liner (10 cm + 10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn), R2: Geomembrane (2 mm HDPE) + compacted clay liner (10 cm + 10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn), R3: Geomembrane (2 mm HDPE) + compacted clay liner (10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn) + bentonite liner (2 cm) + compacted clay liner (10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn), and R4: Geomembrane (2 mm HDPE) + compacted clay liner (10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn) + zeolite liner (2 cm) + compacted clay liner (10 cm, k = 10⁻⁸ m/sn). Wastes representing Istanbul municipal solid wastes were disposed in the reactors. To represent bioreactor landfills, reactors were operated by leachate recirculation. To monitor and control anaerobic degradation in the reactors, variations of conventional parameters (pH, alkalinity, chloride, conductivity, COD, TOC, TKN, ammonia and alcaly metals) were also investigated in landfill leachate samples. The results of this study showed that about 35-50% of migration of organic contaminants (phenolic compounds) and 55-100% of migration of inorganic contaminants (heavy metals) to the model groundwater could be effectively reduced with the use of bentonite and zeolite materials in landfill liner systems. Although leachate contaminants can reach to the groundwater in trace concentrations, findings of this study concluded that the release of these compounds from landfill leachate to the groundwater may potentially be of an important environmental concern based on the experimental findings.     

Electrokinetic and antibacterial properties of needle like‐TiO2/polyrhodanine core/shell hybrid nanostructures

The aim of this study was to fabricate needle like‐TiO₂/polyrhodanine nanostructures by polymerizing rhodanine monomer on the TiO₂ nanoparticles' surfaces and investigate their antibacterial activities. The structural, thermal, morphological, surface and electrical properties of non‐covalently functionalized nanoparticles were characterized by using FTIR, XPS, elemental analysis, TGA, XRD, SEM‐EDX, TEM, contact angle, and conductivity measurements. Characterization results confirmed the formation of needle like‐TiO₂/polyrhodanine (PRh) core/shell hybrid nanostructures. Alterations on the surface and electrokinetic properties of the materials were characterized by zeta (ζ)‐potential measurements with the presence of various salts and surfactants. The ζ‐potential of needle like‐TiO₂ was observed to increase from ?7.6 mV to +28.4 mV after forming a core/shell needle like‐TiO₂/PRh nanocomposite structure and with the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant. Thereby colloidally more stable dispersions were formed. Antibacterial properties of needle like‐TiO₂/PRh were also tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli by various methods and they showed good antibacterial activity. The highest killing efficiency was determined for needle like‐TiO₂/PRh against E. coli by colony‐counting method as 0.95. TEM experiments also showed the immobilizations of the nanoparticles on E. coli and revealed the interactions between E. coli and the nanoparticles. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41554.     

A highly selective and sensitive benzothiazole‐based ‘turn‐on’ fluorescent sensor for Hg2+ ion

A simple benzothiazole‐based fluorescent probe (TDA) for the determination of Hg²⁺ ion in aqueous solutions was synthesised in one step and characterised by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, APT, COSY, FTIR, and elemental analysis. TDA shows a significant fluorescence change upon the interaction of Hg²⁺ ion in DMF–water (v/v = 1/1), while only minor changes in fluorescence intensity are observed with 18 other metal ions. Fluorescence enhancement by a factor of 15 is achieved upon selective interaction with Hg²⁺ ion. The Hg²⁺ ion detection process is found to be pH dependent; therefore, TDA could be feasible within a pH range of 4.0–7.0.