Investigating the suitability of online flow cytometry for monitoring full-scale drinking water ozone system disinfection effectiveness.

While online monitoring of physicochemical parameters has widely been incorporated into drinking water treatment systems, online microbial monitoring has lagged behind, resulting in the use of surrogate parameters (disinfectant residual, applied dose, concentration × time, CT) to assess disinfection system performance. Online flow cytometry (online FCM) allows for automated quantification of total and intact microbial cells. This study sought to investigate the feasibility of online FCM for full-scale drinking water ozone disinfection system performance monitoring.

Protozoan-Priming and Magnesium Conditioning Enhance Dissemination and Monochloramine Resistance.

Opportunistic pathogens (OPs) are of concern in drinking water distribution systems because they persist despite disinfectant residuals. While many OPs garner protection from disinfectants via a biofilm lifestyle, () also gains disinfection resistance by being harbored within free-living amoebae (FLA). It has been long established, but poorly understood, that grown within FLA show increased infectivity toward subsequent FLA or human cells (i.

An Assessment of the Social Determinants of Health in an Urban Emergency Department.

Introduction: Social determinants of health (SDOH) have significant impacts on patients who seek care in the emergency department (ED). We administered a social needs screening tool and needs assessment survey to assess SDOH and evaluate for trends in the population of patients visiting our ED.

Methods: A survey was distributed via convenience sampling to adult ED patients to capture self-reported demographic information and data about social needs.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria in drinking water systems - the challenges of characterization and risk mitigation.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary infections are a growing concern worldwide, with a disproportionate incidence in persons with pre-existing health conditions. NTM have frequently been found in municipally-treated drinking water and building plumbing, leading to the hypothesis that an important source of NTM exposure is drinking water. The identification and quantification of NTM in environmental samples are complicated by genetic variability among NTM species, making it challenging to determine if clinically relevant NTM are present.