A new alien gastropod Pseudorhaphitoma iodolabiata (Hornung & Mermod, 1928) (Mangeliidae, Mollusca) in the Mediterranean Sea

The study documents the occurrence of a new alien gastropod Pseudorhaphitoma iodolabiata in the Mediterranean Sea, collected inIskenderun Bay, Turkey, on September 2011. This record increases to 213 the number of alien molluscs in the Mediterranean

The effects of Aminoethoxyvinylglycine and Methyl Jasmonate on bioactive compounds and fruit quality of ‘north wonder’ sweet cherry

Background: AVG is an organic ethylene inhibitor. AVG treatments retarded the ripening process, increased fruit sizes and delayed loss of postharvest fruit flesh firmness by inhibiting ethylene. MeJA is a natural plant growth regulator and plays a regulatory role in various metabolic reactions. Apart from its role in fruit ripening, cell activities like anthocyanin and carotenoid synthesis and inhibitive role in aromatic material formation, chlorophyll and lycopene production.Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted to determine the effects of pre-harvest aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments on bioactive compounds, mineral nutrients and other fruit quality characteristics of ‘North Wonder’ sweet cherries variety in 2011. AVG was sprayed on experimental trees at 125 mg L-1 dose in two different periods i.e. 3 weeks and 2 weeks before the anticipated harvest date. MeJA was applied 3 week before the anticipated harvest date at a dose of 2240 mg L-1.Results: MeJA significantly increased fruit weight and geometric mean diameter. AVG significantly decreased fruit weight and flesh/stone ratio, significantly increased L*, chroma and hue angle values. Effects of both AVG and MeJA on flesh firmness were also found to be significant. While soluble solids concentration and pH values significantly decreased with AVG treatment, titrate acidity significantly increased. Both AVG and MeJA treatments significantly decreased total phenolics (TP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total anthocyanin (TA). Effects of AVG on such decreases in TAC and TA were more efficient than MeJA. While the effects of both AVG and MeJA on iron content were significant, effects of only MeJA on nitrogen and phosphor contents were found to be significant.Conclusion: Growth regulators significantly decreased bioactive compounds. AVG was more effective in such decreases than MeJA.Key words: Antioxidant, color, flesh firmness, mineral nutrients, phenolics, Prunus avium L

Effect of Reynolds Number and Periodic Unsteady Wake Flow Condition on Boundary Layer Development, Separation, and Re-attachment along the Suction Surface of a Low Pressure Turbine Blade

The paper experimentally studies the effects of periodic unsteady wake flow and different Reynolds numbers on boundary layer development, separation and re-attachment along the suction surface of a low pressure turbine blade. The experimental investigations were performed on a large scale, subsonic unsteady turbine cascade research facility at Turbomachinery Performance and Flow Research Laboratory (TPFL) of Texas A&M University. The experiments were carried out at Reynolds numbers of 110,000 and 150,000 (based on suction surface length and exit velocity). One steady and two different unsteady inlet flow conditions with the corresponding passing frequencies, wake velocities, and turbulence intensities were investigated. The reduced frequencies chosen cover the operating range of LP turbines. In addition to the unsteady boundary layer measurements, surface pressure measurements were performed. The inception, onset, and the extent of the separation bubble information collected from the pressure measurements were compared with the hot wire measurements. The results presented in ensemble-averaged, and the contour plot forms help to understand the physics of the separation phenomenon under periodic unsteady wake flow and different Reynolds number. It was found that the suction surface displayed a strong separation bubble for these three different reduced frequencies. For each condition, the locations defining the separation bubble were determined carefully analyzing and examining the pressure and mean velocity profile data. The location of the boundary layer separation was dependent of the Reynolds number. It is observed that starting point of the separation bubble and the re-attachment point move further downstream by increasing Reynolds number from 110,000 to 150,000. Also, the size of the separation bubble is smaller when compared to that for Re=110,000

An Update of Weed Flora of Vıneyards ın Northwestern Turkey

The weed flora of vineyards in northwestern Turkey was determined in a survey carried out in 93 vineyards. Total of 68 species 53 dicotyledonous and 11 monocotyledonous belonging to 32 families were identified in grape growing areas. The majority of weed species were annual species with different vegetation periods. The dominant weed species in the region were Capsella bursa pastoris, Convolvulus arvensis, Senecio vulgaris, Stellaria media, Sorghum halepense, Euphorbia helioscopia. Meanwhile frequent families were Poaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae, Polygonaceae and Euphorbiaceae

Alien species on the coasts of Turkey

The compilation of data on alien species reported from the Turkish coasts yielded a total of 263 species belonging to 11 systematic groups, of which Mollusca had the highest number of species (85 species), followed by Crustacea (51), fishes (43) and phytobenthos (39). The Black Sea is represented by a total of 20 alien species, the Sea of Marmara by 48 species, the Aegean Sea by 98 species and the Levantine Sea by 202 species. The majority of aliens found in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara were transported via shipping, whereas the Levantine coast is extensively subjected to Lessepsian migration. Benthic habitats (soft and hard substrata) comprise 76% of the total alien species and the pelagic environment is inhabited by thirty-nine species. Almost 50% of aliens collected from the Turkish coasts were found only at 0-10 m depth. Eight species occur at depths deeper than 100 m. The impacts of aliens on the benthic and pelagic ecosystems are presented

Fouling and boring organisms that deteriorate various European and tropical woods at Turkish seas

This study aims to investigate the diversity of fouling and boring organisms damaging wood material at Turkish coasts. Trials were carried out at six harbour sites throughout the seas surrounding Turkey.Various Euopean and tropical wood samples were hanged down at a depth of six meters in the sea for a period of one year. Identification of the organisms obtained from wood panels revealed the presence offive wood borer and 26 fouling species. skenderun harbour had the highest boring organism diversity (five species) and it was followed by Trabzon and Finike harbours (three species) and Bandirma, Eregli and Alacati harbours (two species). The two molluscan boring species, Teredo navalis and Lyrodus pedicellatus were observed at all harbour sites, but Nototeredo norvegica was at Trabzon and skenderun harbours only. Bankia carinata was obtained only at skenderun harbour and the crustacean wood borer Limnoria tripunctata was found at Finike and skenderun harbours. All native tree species, except for the olive, were significantly damaged by fouling and boring organisms

New optimization methods in Data Mining

Data mining is a modern area of science dealing with the learning from given data in order to make predictions and estimations. Applications of Data mining can be found in various areas of academical and non academical life. This paper introduces new contributions by continuous optimization as a key technology in data mining. The methods suggested for solution of such important problems as clustering and classification, were recently obtained by the authors in collaboration with members of EURO working group EUROPT

Nanofiber-enhanced lightweight composite textiles for acoustic applications

This paper proposes lightweight textile acoustic structure, wherein electrospun polyacrylonitrile-based nanofibers enhance sound absorption properties with no weight and thickness penalty. Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers with diameter of 110 ± 7 nm were electrospun on spacer-knitted fabrics by varying deposition amount and surface coating arrangement. Proposed novel approach eliminated additional processing steps such as handling and post-lamination and provided easy scalability of nanofibers at macro-scale. The results showed that the sound absorption of nano-enhanced specimens was improved drastically when deposited amount of nanofibers or its effective surface area increased. Sound propagation paths in different configurations were interpreted from sound absorption and air permeability measurements. The sound absorption coefficient values up to 0.7 are achieved in the low and medium frequency ranges with no weight and thickness penalty by tuning deposition amount and surface coating arrangement

Carcass and meat quality of Karacabey Merino and Kivircik lambs under an intensive finishing system

Carcass and meat quality traits of male and female lambs are important considerations in planning gender-based production and developing a marketing strategy for the product. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of sex on carcass and meat quality of Kivircik and Karacabey Merino lambs. Twenty male and 17 female lambs were used. Lambs were weaned at 45 days old and then fed ad libitum with concentrates and roughage until slaughter at 120 days. The study was carried out in two experiments at three-month intervals. Kivircik lambs had greater dressing percentage (47.96% vs 46.49%, P <0.05) and omental-mesenteric fat proportion (1.71% vs 1.10%, P <0.01), while Karacabey Merino lambs had a greater proportion of skin (11.14% vs 9.42%, P =0.001). Breed had no influence on water-holding capacity, shear force, L* and hue values (P >0.05). The meat of Karacabey Merino lambs had greater a*, b* and chroma values after blooming for 24 hours than meat from Kivircik lambs. Male lambs had greater proportions of head (5.39% vs 4.62%, P <0.001), feet (2.65% vs 2.46%, P <0.01) and visceral organs (4.53% vs 4.15%, P <0.05), while females had a greater proportion of visceral fat (1.76% vs 1.05%, P =0.001). Meat from female lambs was darker than meat from male lambs. In conclusion, under intensive conditions, the indigenous Kivircik breed had similar carcass and meat quality characteristics to the Karacabey Merino, a wool and meat breed. Keywords: breed effect; carcass quality; sex; lamb; meat qualit