Nitrate and nitrite variability at the seafloor of an oxygen minimum zone revealed by a novel microfluidic in-situ chemical sensor

Microfluidics, or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a promising technology that allows the development of miniaturized chemical sensors. In contrast to the surging interest in biomedical sciences, the utilization of LOC sensors in aquatic sciences is still in infancy but a wider use of such sensors could mitigate the undersampling problem of ocean biogeochemical processes. Here we describe the first underwater test of a novel LOC sensor to obtain in situ calibrated time-series (up to 40 h) of nitrate+nitrite (ΣNOx) and nitrite on the seafloor of the Mauritanian oxygen minimum zone, offshore Western Africa. Initial tests showed that the sensor successfully reproduced water column (160 m) nutrient profiles. Lander deployments at 50, 100 and 170 m depth indicated that the biogeochemical variability was high over the Mauritanian shelf: The 50 m site had the lowest ΣNOx concentration, with 15.2 to 23.4 μM (median=18.3 μM); while at the 100 site ΣNOx varied between 21.0 and 30.1 μM over 40 hours (median = 25.1μM). The 170 m site had the highest median ΣNOx level (25.8 μM) with less variability (22.8 to 27.7 μM). At the 50 m site, nitrite concentration decreased fivefold from 1 to 0.2 μM in just 30 hours accompanied by decreasing oxygen and increasing nitrate concentrations. Taken together with the time series of oxygen, temperature, pressure and current velocities, we propose that the episodic intrusion of deeper waters via cross-shelf transport leads to intrusion of nitrate-rich, but oxygen-poor waters to shallower locations, with consequences for benthic nitrogen cycling. This first validation of an LOC sensor at elevated water depths revealed that when deployed for longer periods and as a part of a sensor network, LOC technology has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the benthic biogeochemical dynamics

“İlköğretim ve Ortaöğretimde Öğrenim Gören Öğrencilerin Spor ve Oyun Alışkanlıklarının İncelenmesi”,

Bu çalışmanın amacı ilköğretim ve ortaöğretimde öğrenim gören öğrencilerin spor ve oyun alışkanlıkları incelemektir. Araştırma bulgularına göre öğrencilerin %7,3’ünün bir spor kulübünde, %40.6’sının okul spor etkinliklerinde yer aldığı ve %52.1’inin ise hiç spor yapmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Oyun kültürü bakımından; öğrencilerin tercihi, %86.1’i “Bilgisayar oyunları”, %70.7’si “Zeka oyunları”, %62.6’sı “Atari oyunları” ve %49.8’i “Çocuk oyunları” olduğu gözlenmiştir. Geleneksel oyun kültürü hakkında; %54.3’ünün bilgi sahibi olduğu, %45.7’sinin bilgi sahibi olmadığı, bilgi sahibi olunan geleneksel spor dalları arasında da; %46.4’ü “Yağlı güreş”, %29.1’i “Cirit oyunu” ve %28.8’i “Atıcılık ve Avcılık” yer aldığı bulunmuştur. Sonuç olarak, ilköğretim öğrencilerinin, geleneksel oyun kültürü ve fiziksel aktivite alışkanlıklarının değişime uğradığı, yerini bilgisayar oyunlarına, yeni alışkanlıklara bıraktığı ve çocuklarımızın geleneksel oyun kültüründen uzaklaştığı kanısına varılmıştır

Orbitofrontal and caudate volumes in cannabis users: a multi-site mega-analysis comparing dependent versus non-dependent users.

Cannabis (CB) use and dependence are associated with regionally specific alterations to brain circuitry and substantial psychosocial impairment.The objective of this study was to investigate the association between CB use and dependence, and the volumes of brain regions critically involved in goal-directed learning and behaviour-the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and caudate.In the largest multi-site structural imaging study of CB users vs healthy controls (HC), 140 CB users and 121 HC were recruited from four research sites. Group differences in OFC and caudate volumes were investigated between HC and CB users and between 70 dependent (CB-dep) and 50 non-dependent (CB-nondep) users. The relationship between quantity of CB use and age of onset of use and caudate and OFC volumes was explored.CB users (consisting of CB-dep and CB-nondep) did not significantly differ from HC in OFC or caudate volume. CB-dep compared to CB-nondep users exhibited significantly smaller volume in the medial and the lateral OFC. Lateral OFC volume was particularly smaller in CB-dep females, and reduced volume in the CB-dep group was associated with higher monthly cannabis dosage.Smaller medial OFC volume may be driven by CB dependence-related mechanisms, while smaller lateral OFC volume may be due to ongoing exposure to cannabinoid compounds. The results highlight a distinction between cannabis use and dependence and warrant examination of gender-specific effects in studies of CB dependence

Researching Of Ranking Handball Referees' Job Satisfaction Levels In Terms Of Some Parameters,

This research has been conducted in order to determine the job satisfaction levels of the ranking referees in terms of some parameters (sex, age, marital status, income states, other profession, and refereeing period). This research is a descriptive study towards the review of job satisfaction levels of Handball ranking referees. Referees take charge in 2010-11 season in Turkish leagues constitute the population of the research. Accordingly 107 Ranking referees under Turkish Handball Federation constitute the sample of the research. SPSS package program was used for the statistical analyses. Measuring tool is constituted of two sections. In first section a test directed towards to determine the demographical features of the referees while in second section “Minnesota job satisfaction scale” was used. Validity and reliability studies were made (cronbach alpha =0.70). It was determined that statistically there is not a significant gap between the job satisfaction levels of the referees according to their sex, marital status, ranking position, refereeing periods and income status; and statistically there is a significant gap between their job satisfaction levels according to their ages. Increase of job satisfaction with the increase of age, increase of the experience, awards, rise of refereeing ranking and coalescence with the job are considered to be the factors for the existence of such difference. Income levels of the majority of the referees are seen to be at intermediate level

Community succession in hydrothermal vent habitats of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and Valu Fa Ridge, Tonga

Patterns of succession in Lau Basin hydrothermal vent communities determined with high-resolution imagery and in situ physico–chemical data collected over 4 yr and analyzed within a Geographic Information System show that Alviniconcha snails are a pioneering group, the snail Ifremeria nautilei is a mid-successional species, and the heat-intolerant mussel Bathymodiolus brevior dominates when venting declines. The associated fauna also changes as communities progress through the successional stages, and eventually non-vent–endemic deep-sea species appear when venting has mostly subsided. This is a unique example of primary succession in which the primary producers form symbiotic associations with mobile animals, resulting in successional patterns not observed in other systems. I. nautilei dominates newly formed substrates or venting sources where both I. nautilei and Alviniconcha spp. are already established (e.g., by migration), while Alviniconcha spp. seem to be better at colonizing newly active vents (e.g., by settlement) that are remote from colonized vents. Thus, on the scale of a 5–39 m2 diffuse flow area or a single edifice, the mid-successional species dominates new substrates instead of the pioneering group. These communities are remarkably stable over long time periods relative to other hydrothermal vent regions. In addition to the sequential replacements of species as sites age and overall conditions change, Lau vent animals track changes in vent fluids and relocate themselves when local hydrothermal plumbing changes over small spatial scales

Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yüksekokulu Öğrencilerinin Serbest Zaman (rekreasyon) Aktivitelerine Katılımlarının Belirlenerek İncelenmesi (İnönü Üniversitesi Örneği),

Bu çalışmanın amacı Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yüksekokulu (BESYO) öğrencilerinin, serbest zaman aktivitelerine katılım düzeyleri ile ilgili görüşlerini belirlemektir. Araştırmanın örneklemini BESYO’nun farklı sınıf ve bölümlerinde okuyan tesadüfî yöntemle seçilmiş 233 katılımcı oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada Balcı ve İlhan (2006) tarafından geliştirilen ve örneklemin rekreasyon faaliyetlerine katılım düzeyini belirleyen 13 soruluk bir anket kullanılmıştır. Anketin güvenirlik katsayısı (Cronbach’s Alpha) tarafımızdan 0,76 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Anketlerden elde edilen verilerin çözümlenmesi için SPSS 15,0 paket programı kullanılarak frekans (f) ve yüzde (%) hesaplamaları yapılmıştır. Dağılımlardan elde edilen sonuçlar tablolar halinde gösterilip bulgular yorumlanarak çözüm önerileri getirilmiştir. Katılımcıların genel olarak serbest zaman aktivitelerindeki tercihlerinin oransal dağılımı sırayla; futbol (% 43,8), voleybol (% 26,2), basketbol (% 16,3), tenis (% 11,2) ve hentbol (% 10,7) olarak belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada yer alan öğrencilerin serbest zaman aktivitelerine katılım süreleri ay, hafta, gün ve saat olarak incelendiğinde; katılımın en çok yılda 2 ve 4 ay, haftada 2 ve 3 gün, günde ise 2 ve 3 saat seçeneklerinde yoğunlaştığı ve bu faaliyetlere bireysel girişimler neticesinde iştirak ettikleri görülmektedir. Katılımcıların çoğunlukla kendi spor dallarını daha iyi konuma getirebilmek için sosyal ve kültürel aktivitelerden çok sportif serbest zaman aktivitelerine yöneldikleri görülmüştür. Ayrıca üniversite yöneticilerinin, bireylerin kişisel gelişiminde ve sosyalleşmesinde önemli bir yeri olan serbest zaman etkinliklerini düzenleme ve öğrencileri yönlendirmede yetersiz kaldıkları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır

Examination Of Mobbing Behaviors Experıenced By The Personnel Working At Youth Services And Provincial Directorates Of Sports,

The purpose of this research is to examine mobbing behaviors experienced by the personnel working at Youth Services and Provincial Directorates of Sports according to their sex, age, marital status, occupational seniority and graduated school. The research is such made by using general scanning model. The personnel working at the district and provincial offices of Youth Services and General Directorate of Sports constitute the population of the research and 325 personnel working at Youth Services and Provincial Directorates of Sports selected randomly from the population in 25 provinces constitute the sample of the research. The data regarding mobbing actions experienced by the personnel was collected by using “Negative Acts Questionnaire” (NAQ). “Negative Acts Questionnaire” (NAQ) was developed by Einarsen and Raknes (1) and adapted to Turkish by Cemaloglu (2). Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the subjected scale was re-calculated and determined to be 0,89. During the analysis of data frequency (f), percentage distribution (%), arithmetic average (x), -t and F tests were used and data were analyzed by means of SPSS 15,00 packaged software. Significance level was accepted as 0.5 in order to determine whether a difference exists between the variants applied in the questionnaire. As a result of our research it was determined that 44% of the personnel working in GHSİM (Youth Services and General Directorate of Sports) suffered mobbing behaviors. When the questionnaire results are analyzed it is seen that women exposed more mobbing behaviors comparing to men, those between 21-30 age group exposed more mobbing behaviors comparing to other age groups, those married exposed more mobbing behaviors comparing to single and divorced, those having 1-10 years of seniority exposed more mobbing behaviors comparing to those having other seniorities, those having bachelor’s degree and associate degree exposed to more mobbing behaviors comparing to other graduates. It was determined that there is a significant difference between mobbing experiencing levels according to sex, age, occupational seniority and graduated school of the GHSİM personnel and no significant difference according to marital status variant

Evaluation of type C fly ash in the production of composite material

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.In this study, the availability as a new composite material of the class C fly ashes which have negative effects on environment was investigated. First of all, the properties of fly ash and polypropylene have been identified. By making use of the obtained results, the availability of fly ash and polypropylene materials was investigated in production of a new composite material. For this purpose, by using type C fly ash of thermal power plants in mass ratios of 10% - 60%, a new composite material was produced. To determine mechanical and physical properties of the produced composite samples, thermal conductivity, compressive strength, water absorption capacity, and abrasive loss were performed. From the results, it was witnessed that both environmental problems can be reduced and economical profit can be achieved by means of energy saving.dc201