Human wastewater tracking in tropical Hawaiian island streams using qualitative and quantitative assessments of combined fecal indicating bacteria and sucralose, an organic micropollutant of emerging concern.

Prevalence of cesspools on tropical islands suggests that high concentrations of enteric bacteria in streams and coastal waters are an indicator of groundwater contamination by human wastewater. But enterococci bacteria may also be from homeothermic animals common to these watersheds or bacteria living in sediments. Sucralose, a manufactured chemical not destroyed in passage through the human gut, cesspools, septic systems, or wastewater treatment facilities, was used to test for the presence of human wastewater in streams on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

[Vegetables and fruits in early childhood: maternal nutritional practices].

Introduction: Global consumption of vegetables and fruits is currently below recommendations, impacting the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases. In addition to environmental factors, mothers' feeding practices influence children's eating patterns.

Methods: Questionnaires were conducted with mothers of children 7 months to 7 years of age (n = 727), in 12 Primary Health Care Centers in the capital cities of three Argentine provinces.

Country and gender differences in the association between violence and cigarette smoking among youth.

Background: Exposure to violence in youth may be associated with substance use and other adverse health effects. This study examined cigarette smoking in two middle-income areas with different levels and types of exposure to violence.

Methods: Association of exposure to verbal and physical violence with cigarette smoking in the West Bank oPt (2008) and in Jujuy Argentina (2006) was examined using cross-sectional surveys of 14 to 17-year old youth in 7th to 10th grade using probabilistic sampling.

Youth working in tobacco farming: effects on smoking behavior and association with health status.

Background: Cultivation of tobacco raises concerns about detrimental health and social consequences for youth, but tobacco producing countries only highlight economic benefits. We compared sociodemographic and health-related characteristics of school-age youth who worked and did not work in tobacco farming and assessed the effects on smoking behavior and health at 1 year.

Methods: We used existing data collected in the province of Jujuy, Argentina where 3188 youth 13 to 17 years of age from a random middle school sample responded to longitudinal questionnaires in 2005 and 2006.

Emerging themes in food security: environmental justice, extended families and the multiple roles of grandmothers.

Background: Pre- and perinatal nutritional status defines the development of adult metabolism and energy balance in humans. Young children in poor households are disproportionately more vulnerable to food insecurity given the cumulative impact of chronic stress on susceptibility to chronic diseases as an adult. Qualitative studies focusing on the experience of food insecurity in Latin America are scarce.