Quality assessment of surface and groundwater in Solaklı Basin (Trabzon, Turkey)

The paper reports a study of the surface and ground water in Solakl? Basin, Trabzon, from an assessment of 33 sampling points. Many of the parameters analysed are only marginally acceptable as potable water, even though the samples were collected during the wet season. The highest concentrations of contaminants were found downstream of the centres of population. The results indicate regular monitoring is required and some measures should be taken to protect the limited resources.     

Enhancing Effect of Calix[4]arene Amide Derivatives on Lipase Performance in Enantioselective Hydrolysis of Racemic Arylpropionic Acid Methyl Esters

Calix[4]arene amide derivatives were employed as new additives within the sol-gel encapsulation of lipase from Candida rugosa (CRL) to improve its catalytic properties. Evaluation of catalytic activity of the encapsulated lipases was acheived by enantioselective hydrolysis of both racemates, Naproxen methyl ester and 2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl ester, in aqueous buffer solution/isooctane reaction system. Results show that enantioselectivity was improved by using calix[4]arene amide derivatives-based encapsulated lipases. The reaction of naproxen methyl ester resulted in 47.6% conversion (x) in 24 h with 88.9% enantiomeric excess of substrate (ee_s), analogous to an enantioselectivity (E) value of 297 (E = 137 for the encapsulated free enzyme). The conversion of 2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl ester, obtained was 48.4% with E value of 327, enantiomeric excess of substrate (ee_s) of 92% for the reaction time of 1 h (E = 211 for the encapsulated free enzyme).     

The effects of xanthan and guar gums on staling of gluten-free rice cakes baked in different ovens

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different concentrations of xanthan and guar gums and their blends on staling of gluten-free rice cakes baked in microwave-infrared combination oven (MW–IR) and to compare the cakes with conventionally baked ones. Gums were added at concentrations of 0.3% and 1.0%. For preparation of gum blend, 0.5% xanthan gum was mixed with 0.5% guar gum. In order to understand the staling behaviour of cakes, cakes were stored at 22 ± 2 °C for 120 h. Xanthan-guar gum blend decreased hardness, weight loss, retrogradation enthalpy and the change in setback viscosity values of cakes during storage for both types of ovens as compared to control formulation. It was found that oven type was a significant factor in affecting staling parameters of gluten-free cakes.     

Separation and purification of hyaluronic acid by glucuronic acid imprinted microbeads

The purification of hyaluronic acid (HA) is relatively significant to use in biomedical applications. The structure of HA is formed by the repetitive units of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl glucosamine. In this study, glucuronic acid-imprinted microbeads have been supplied for the purification of HA from cell culture (Streptococcus equi). Histidine-functional monomer, methacryloylamidohistidine (MAH) was chosen as the metal-complexing monomer. The glucuronic acid-imprinted poly(ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate-MAH-Copper(II)) [p(EDMA-MAH-Cu²⁺)] microbeads have been synthesized by typical suspension polymerization procedure. The template glucuronic acid has been removed by employing 5 M methanolic KOH solution. p(EDMA-MAH-Cu²⁺) microbeads have been characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and swelling studies. Moreover, HA adsorption experiments have been performed in a batch experimental set-up. Purification of HA from cell culture supernatant has been also investigated by determining the hyaluronidase activity using purified HA as substrate. The glucuronic acid imprinted p(EDMA-MAH-Cu²⁺) particles can be used many times with no significant loss in adsorption capacities. Also, the selectivity of prepared molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) has been examined. Results have showed that MIP particles are 19 times more selective for glucuronic acid than N-acetylglucose amine.     

Liquefaction/Solubilization of Low-Rank Turkish Coals by White-Rot Fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium)

Microbial coal liquefaction/solubilization of three low-rank Turkish coals (Bursa-Kestelek, Kütahya-Seyitömer and Mu?la-Yata?an lignite) was attempted by using a white-rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium DSM No. 6909); chemical compositions of the products were investigated. The lignite samples were oxidized by nitric acid under moderate conditions and then oxidized samples were placed on the agar medium of Phanerochaete chrysosporium. FTIR spectra of raw lignites, oxidized lignites and liquid products were recorded, and the acetone-soluble fractions of these samples were identified by GC-MS technique. Results show that the fungus affects the nitro and carboxyl/carbonyl groups in oxidized lignite sample, the liquid products obtained by microbial effects are the mixture of water-soluble compounds, and show limited organic solubility.     

Coping in context: Sociocultural determinants of responses to sexual harrassment.

The authors investigated coping responses to sexual harassment across 4 samples of working women from 3 cultures and 2 occupational classes. Complete-link cluster analyses provide preliminary support for D. E. Knapp, R. H. Faley, S. E. Ekeberg, and C. L. Z. Dubois's (1997) coping framework, suggesting that avoidance, denial, negotiation, advocacy seeking, and social coping are universal responses to sexual harassment. Further, L. F. Fitzgerald's (1990) internal-extemal dichotomy appears to capture higher order relationships among coping responses. In addition, regression analyses suggest that Turkish and Hispanic American women engage in more avoidance than Anglo American women, and Hispanic women also use more denial but less advocacy seeking. No differences emerged in social coping. The authors discuss these results in the context of coping theory, individualism-collectivism, power distance, and patriarchal gender norms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)