Integration of municipal state, society and university efforts for sanitary risk prevention associated with Aedes aegypti mosquito in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The sanitary problem of Aedes aegypti mosquito acquires relevance around the world because it is the vector of dengue, zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. The vector is adapting to southern regions faster, and the propagation of these diseases in urban areas is a complex problem for society. We aimed to contribute to the risk prevention of disease transmission in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, through monitoring Aedes aegypti population levels and developing education campaigns with government agencies and society participation.

Ecological meta-analysis of bloom-forming planktonic Cyanobacteria in Argentina.

The aim of the present research was to summarize the main reasons that explain the distribution of harmful blooms of cyanobacteria in Argentina. It is a large territory with climates ranging from humid tropical to cold temperate. We performed a meta-analysis of the published data and information in technical reports published from 1945 to 2015, and included additional data from personal non-published studies.

Dispersal of Aedes aegypti: field study in temperate areas using a novel method.

Background & Objectives: Since Aedes aegypti was identified as vector of yellow fever and dengue, its dispersal is relevant for disease control. We studied the dispersal of Ae. aegypti in temperate areas of Argentina during egglaying, using the existing population and egg traps.

Baseline water quality and macrophyte assemblages in Pampean streams: a regional approach.

Streams of the pampas region (central Argentina) are characterized by the lack of riparian forests and by low current velocities, and receive a large amount of industrial and domestic effluents. Intensive agriculture in the region has greatly increased during the last years; nevertheless, regional studies to determine baseline conditions are not available. Here, we characterized pampean streams considering physico-chemical water features and the composition of macrophyte communities, and we established if the regions proposed by an early hydrological regionalization show differentiated water chemistry and macrophyte assemblages.

Capsular polysaccharides secreted by building façade colonisers: characterisation and adsorption to surfaces.

Exopolymers secreted by algal and cyanobacterial strains isolated from building façades were imaged by microscopy techniques. They were extracted and characterised to investigate their possible contribution to interactions with solid surfaces. The polymers were polysaccharides, with anionic and hydrophobic properties varying between the various strains.

Factors involved in the colonisation of building façades by algae and cyanobacteria in France.

Algae and cyanobacteria are colonisers of building façades. A multivariate analysis of data gathered during a sampling campaign around France proved that precipitation, hygrometry, thermal amplitude, distance from the sea and proximity to vegetation were environmental parameters influencing this colonisation. Other influencing factors could be attributed to the nature of the façade coating, mineral substrata being more frequently colonised, and to the architecture, favouring in some cases the formation of damp conditions and thus the colonisation of the building envelope.

The assessment of water quality in the Lower Luján River (Buenos Aires, Argentina): phytoplankton and algal bioassays.

The monitoring of river phytoplankton and several hydrological, physical and chemical variables, in combination with bioassays using Selenastrum capricornutum Printz, allowed the characterisation of three distinct reaches of the Lower River Luján. The upstream stretch, characterised by the lowest depth and discharge, registered the highest nutrient, dissolved heavy metal and chlorophyll a concentrations in accordance with low phytoplankton diversity and the occurrence of several species typical of organically polluted lowland rivers. A downstream improvement, concomitant to increasing river discharge, is revealed by a progressive decrease of organic pollution parameters even though algal toxicity is registered through bioassays.