Rhamnolipid: nature-based solution for the removal of microplastics from the aquatic environment.

Over the past two decades, research into the accumulation of small plastic particles and fibers in organisms and environmental settings has yielded over 7,000 studies, highlighting the widespread presence of microplastics in ecosystems, wildlife, and human bodies. In recent years, these contaminants have posed a significant threat to human, animal, and environmental health, with most efforts concentrated on removing them from aquatic systems. Given this urgency, the purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of rhamnolipid, a biosurfactant, for the removal of microplastics from water.

Elucidating the antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic potential of methanolic and water extracts of edible Boiss.

is a pharmacotherapeutic herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and consumed as a vegetable. Here, the methanolic and water extracts of were obtained from its aboveground parts (stem, leaves, and flowers), and the phytochemical potentials were investigated by LC-HRMS (liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry) analysis for the first time. The antibacterial, antifungal, and anticarcinogenic activities of extracts were investigated using experimental and in silico methods.

Anti-metastatic Effects of Bee Venom and Melittin in Breast Cancer Cells by Upregulation of BRMS1 and DRG1 Genes.

Apitherapy has started to gain tremendous recognition because of extraordinary pharmacological importance of honeybee-related ingredients and their derivatives. There has been a renewed interest in the bee venom-based therapies. Interdisciplinary researchers are studying the chemistry and translational value of venom for effective cancer treatment.

Adapting nature's own solution: The effect of rhamnolipid and lytic bacteriophage cocktail on enteric pathogens that proliferate in mucilage.

The mucilage event witnessed in the Sea of Marmara in 2021 has emerged as a prominent environmental concern, capturing public attention due to its detrimental effects on ecological, economic, and aesthetic dimensions. Addressing the multifaceted impacts of mucilage demands a nature-centric scientific approach, given its global ramifications spanning economy, public health, international relations, and tourism. Consequently, this study sought to explore alternative approaches for the removal of pathogenic enteric bacteria associated with mucilage occurrences, diverging from conventional methodologies.

Preparation of polylactic acid (PLA) films plasticized with a renewable and natural Liquidambar Orientalis oil.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a brittle biodegradable thermoplastic due to its relatively high glass transition temperature (T ∼ 60 °C). This T limits the using of PLA in flexible applications, for example packaging films. In this study, it has been shown for the first time that the Liquidambar Orientalis (LO) oil as a nontoxic, environmentally friendly, and green additive can be successfully used as a natural, renewable, and sustainable plasticizer to produce flexible PLA parts and improve its thermal and physical properties and application potential.

The new era hypothesis of coastal degradation: G(s) elements-gallium, gadolinium, and germanium.

Mining of precious metals contributes to environmental pollution, especially in coastal areas, and conventional treatment methods are not always effective in removing metal contaminants. Some of these metals, such as gadolinium, germanium and gallium, have caused increasing concern worldwide, as little is known about their current concentrations in the aquatic environment and their biological significance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine for the first time the variation of average G(s) concentrations (gallium, gadolinium and germanium) by month/season/site differences along the coast of Istanbul.

Potential Ecological Risk Assessment of Critical Raw Materials: Gallium, Gadolinium, and Germanium.

In recent years, the demand for critical raw materials such as gallium, gadolinium and germanium (G(s)) has steadily increased in various industries. However, treatment or recycling rates of these elements are extremely low, which can lead to environmental pollution. An assessment of the ecological risks was also not possible until now, as there were no calculated toxicity coefficients for G(s).

Isolation and characterization of detergent-compatible amylase-, protease-, lipase-, and cellulase-producing bacteria.

Detergent-compatible enzymes are the new trend followed by most in the detergent industry. Cellulases, lipases, proteases, and amylases are among the enzymes frequently used in detergents. Detergent-compatible enzymes can be obtained from many organisms, but the stability, cheapness, and availability of microbial enzymes make them preferable in industrial areas.

Impact of coastal wastewater treatment plants on microplastic pollution in surface seawater and ecological risk assessment.

This study aims to understand the influence of wastewater treatment plant discharge on the microplastic status in the surface seawater of Istanbul. For this purpose, for the first time, the distribution, composition, and ecological risk of microplastics at nine sampling stations on the southern coast of Istanbul, Marmara, were investigated at monthly intervals over a one-year period. The results showed that the microplastic abundance ranged from 0 to over 1000 particles per liter.

Generic foresight model in changing hygiene habits with the pandemic: use of wet wipes in next generations.

The vast use of wet wipes has now become a habitude, particularly following the altered perception of cleanliness during the pandemic and the encouragement towards using WW (wet wipe) to ensure parent's and children's hygiene. This study primarily aims to create a projection of the WW waste that will emerge in Turkey as a result of the promoted consumption by children who are predicted to retain the WW usage practices of their parents. In line with this habit adopted by children, the number of daily WW usage which is currently around 210 million is expected to rise to over 250 million between the years 2040 and 2060, depending on how the children are guided by their parent's existing habits.

Transgenerational effects of polyethylene microplastic fragments containing benzophenone-3 additive in Daphnia magna.

Maternal exposure to microplastics (MPs) plays an important role in the fitness of unexposed progeny. In this study, the transgenerational effects of polyethylene MP fragments (17.35 ± 5.

Evaluation of Istanbul from the environmental components' perspective: what has changed during the pandemic?

This study aims to determine the 1-year change over the pandemic period in Istanbul, the megacity with the highest population in Turkey, based on environmental components. Among the environmental topics, water consumption habits, changes in air quality, changes due to noise elements, and most importantly, the changes in usage habits of disposable plastic materials that directly affect health have been revealed. The results obtained showed that, in Istanbul, 8.

The spatial and temporal changes of beach litter on Istanbul (Turkey) beaches as measured by the clean-coast index.

Possible access routes of macro and mesoplastics, acting as the main sources of pollution in the coastal ecosystem, are examined as a case study on four beaches along the Istanbul coast. A total number of 3787 items belonging to 12 categories of debris types were collected as follows: macroplastics 47.8%; mesoplastics 9.

Comparison of metropolitan cities for mortality rates attributed to ambient air pollution using the AirQ model.

In the present study, the air pollution dynamics of the metropolitan cities of Balıkesir, Bursa, Istanbul, Kocaeli, Sakarya and Tekirdağ in the Marmara Region, which is the geographical region with the highest urban and industrial activity in Turkey, were examined for the time period between 2016 and 2019. Annual changes in the cities in terms of air pollution, which was examined with a focus on the PM parameter as indicated by United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); differences in the cities by years; and the seasonal changes in air pollution in the cities were investigated. Additionally, mortality rates attributed to air pollution were calculated with the AirQ + software based on integrated exposure-response function recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN using city-scale statistics of fatal disease cases that can be attributed to air pollution.

Temporal changes in water quality index of polluted lagoon ecosystems: a case study on the Küçükçekmece Lagoon.

For lagoon ecosystems, it is crucial to conduct long-term monitoring of the water quality parameters and predict their potential effects. This study aimed to analyse the changes in the water quality index (WQI) profile of the Küçükçekmece Lagoon in Istanbul, Turkey, which has been facing ecological problems, and determine the increased stress in aquatic biota due to different pollutants. To begin, the sampling data were obtained from the Küçükçekmece Lagoon throughout a 13-month period in 2018-2019.

Modelling of possible tanker accident oil spills in the Istanbul Strait in order to demonstrate the dispersion and toxic effects of oil pollution.

Countries located on the Black Sea coast perform most of their sea trade through the Istanbul Strait (IS). Approximately 50,000 ships pass through the IS each year, with crude oil tankers making up the majority. Thus, the aim of the study is to determine the acute toxic effect of oil pollution that may occur as a result of crude oil tanker accidents in the IS.

A comprehensive bibliometric overview: antibiotic resistance and Escherichia coli in natural water.

The environment is the most important reservoir for both resistance mechanisms and gene transfer in biological science studies. This study gives a bibliometric overview of studies of "antibiotic resistance" and "Escherichia coli" in the field of "Agricultural and Biological Sciences" from 2015 to 2019 to assess both research trends and scholarly networks in diverse research disciplines. The two keywords of "antibiotic resistance" and "Escherichia coli" were selected to search in the Scopus database.

An alternative material for an effective treatment technique proposal in the light of bibliometric profile of global scientific research on antibiotic resistance and Escherichia coli.

Antibiotic resistance is considered by the countries to be a global health issue and a huge threat to public health. The reduction of resistant microorganisms from water/wastewater is of importance in environmental sciences since they are resistant in the aquatic environment. In this study, a bibliometric analysis of literature from the field of environmental science in water ecosystems from 2015 to 2019 was carried out using the keywords "Antibiotic Resistance (AR)" and "Escherichia coli".

Microplastic contamination in surface waters of the Küçükçekmece Lagoon, Marmara Sea (Turkey): Sources and areal distribution.

The distribution of freshwater and marine microplastics (MPs) varies due to the difference in fresh and seawater densities and MP sources. This study aims to investigate the abundance of MPs and their possible sources in surface waters of different ecosystems, such as sea, lagoon, and lake. We classified MPs in terms of their color and type and established the relationship between the MPs in surface waters with different characteristics.

Potential threat of plastic waste during the navigation of ships through the Turkish straits.

The Turkish Straits System (TSS) is a dangerous and narrow waterway extending between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, including the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles, and the Marmara Sea and the Gulf of Izmit. The western banks of the TSS constitute the geographic starting point of the European continent, while the banks to the east are the beginnings of the Asia. TSS is considered one of the most strategically significant waterways of the world.

GIS based evaluation of social determinants of children's health in Turkey: Case study of Istanbul.

Basic elements considered as social determinants of the health varies in political, socio-economic, structural and intermediary contexts. While socio-economic and political contexts are directly related with the social, economic, public and health policies in country scale. The structural context additionally includes socio-economic dimensions such as income, education, occupation, social class, gender and race/ethnicity.

Freshwater plastic pollution: Recognizing research biases and identifying knowledge gaps.

The overwhelming majority of research conducted to date on plastic pollution (all size fractions) has focused on marine ecosystems. In comparison, only a few studies provide evidence for the presence of plastic debris in freshwater environments. However, owing to the numerous differences between freshwater studies (including studied species and habitats, geographical locations, social and economic contexts, the type of data obtained and also the broad range of purposes), they show only fragments of the overall picture of freshwater plastic pollution.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase intron 4a/b polymorphism in coronary artery disease in Thrace region of Turkey.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the frequent cardiovascular mortality causes in the world. Common risk factors explain only about half the risk of CAD. The healthy familial predisposition to CAD, combined with advances in genetic analysis, has led to a number of studies in recent years making an effort to identify the genetic factors that influence the risk.