The contamination status of trace metals in Sinop coast of the Black Sea, Turkey

The concentration of some heavy metals in sediment from the Sinop coasts of the Black Sea were measured to monitor metal pollution in 2013. The distribution of the heavy metals in sediments of the Black Sea shows a variable pattern. The objectives of the present study were to elucidate the distribution of heavy metals such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Mn, Fe, As, Cd, Cr, Hg and Co in sediment from Sinop coast of the Black Sea. In order to determine the quality of sediment in the Black Sea, pollution levels of the metals were evaluated using the enrichment factor technique (EF). The lowest EF values were between 0-5 in Cu, Fe, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb, Mn and Co. These values did not have statistically significant differences. As, Cr and Hg concentrations were estimated relatively higher enrichment values than other the metals. The results indicated that contamination of surface sediments in Sinop Coast is dominated by As (10.2-7.4 mg.kg-1), Cr (67-374 mg.kg-1) and Hg (0.07-0.03 mg.kg-1) and to a lesser extent Cu (7.24- 5.09 mg.kg-1), Fe (1.76-1.12%), Zn (19.3-13.8 mg.kg-1), Ni (16.2-12.5 mg.kg-1), Cd (0.06-0.04 mg.kg-1), Pb (7.12-6.32 mg.kg-1), Mn (470-227 mg.kg-1), Co (9.5-5.9 mg.kg-1). Also, the requirement of age determination is of great importance to assess the extent of the anthropogenic contribution in pollution

Metal-macrofauna interactions determine microbial community structure and function in copper contaminated sediments

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum