Helminth Egg Automatic Detector (HEAD): Improvements in development for digital identification and quantification of Helminth eggs and its application online.

Conventional analytical techniques for evaluating Helminth eggs are based on different steps to concentrate them in a pellet for direct observation and quantification under a light microscope, which can generate under-counts or over-counts and be time consuming. To enhance this process, a new approach via automatic identification was implemented in which various image processing detectors were developed and incorporated into a Helminth Egg Automatic Detector (HEAD) system. This allowed the identification and quantification of pathogenic eggs of global medical importance.

Electrochemical degradation of triclosan in aqueous solution. A study of the performance of an electro-Fenton reactor.

The electro-Fenton degradation of Triclosan in aqueous solution was studied using a cylindrical reactor in which polarized carbon cloth electrodes and a cation exchange resin were employed. Using a factorial design of experiments approach, the effect of four variables (considering two levels for each one), was measured on four response parameters that reflect the electrooxidation efficiency of the electrochemical reactor. The results revealed that in all cases triclosan degradation was very efficient (above 95%) and that while there is a reasonable effect of all variables and their interactions, the one with the strongest influence on the process is the nature and magnitude of the ionic strength of the electrolytic solution.

[Study of a population-wide epidemic outbreak of mumps virus G1 in Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)].

Objectives: To characterize the mumps outbreak, assess the effectiveness of vaccines and discuss prevention and control measures.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study of cases by person, place, and time.

Location: City Jerez de la Frontera and 8 Primary Care centres.

The effects of temperature, pH, and ammonia concentration on the inactivation of Ascaris eggs in sewage sludge.

The reported inactivation of Ascaris eggs during alkaline sludge stabilization is highly variable. The objective of our research was to better understand the sources of this variability by quantifying the effects of temperature, pH, and ammonia concentration on the inactivation of indigenous Ascaris eggs in wastewater sludge. Primary sludge was supplemented with ammonia (0, 1000, and 5000 mg/l NH(3)-N) and Ca(OH)(2) and incubated in sealed bottles across the range of temperatures (20, 30, 40, and 50 degrees C) and pH (7 and 12) that may be encountered during treatment.

A real-time PCR method for quantifying viable ascaris eggs using the first internally transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA.

Worldwide, 1.4 billion people are infected with the intestinal worm Ascaris lumbricoides. As a result, Ascaris eggs are commonly found in wastewater and sludges.