The effect of different water discharge patterns from the artificial Oyan Reservoir in Ogun State, Nigeria, on water level fluctuations and on schistosomiasis transmission was investigated between August 1990 and March 1993 to determine the impact of water level regulation on schistosomiasis transmission and control. The results show that transmission was greatly influenced by the pattern of water discharge during the hot dry season (January-April). A high discharge during this period of no rainfall, high temperatures, and intense sunshine stimulated rapid water level fluctuations and lake draw-down, which led to significant reductions in all indices of schistosomiasis transmission, i.e. snail density, snail infection rates, human water contact patterns, and incidence of infection. Although these results support continuous water discharges from the reservoir during the hot dry season, this may run counter to current water management policies. Further investigation is therefore required to harmonize the potential benefits in this type of discharge pattern with the objectives of efficient water management in artificial reservoirs.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2487010 | PMC |
Can J Microbiol
January 2025
Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada;
Agricultural practices, specifically the use of antibiotics and other biocides, have repercussions on human, animal and plant health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus, as antibiotic resistant marker bacteria, in various matrices across the agro-ecosystem of an antibiotic-free swine farm in Quebec (Canada), namely pig feed, feces, manure, agricultural soil, water and sediment from a crossing stream, and soil from nearby forests. Samples were collected in fall 2022, spring and fall 2023 and spring 2024.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Speech Lang Hear Res
January 2025
Division of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, Department of Otolaryngology, Munich University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Munich University (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität), Germany.
Purpose: This study explores the effects of water intake and a hyaluronic acid (HA)-containing lozenge on acoustic measurements and vocal oscillation patterns investigated after a vocal loading test (VLT).
Method: Ten healthy subjects (five females, five males) read out loud a standardized text for 10 min at a target level of 80 dB(A), measured 30 cm from the mouth, under three conditions but each after fasting for 2 hr: (a) drinking 0.7 l of water, (b) sucking an HA-containing lozenge, and (c) neither of both before the VLT.
Sci Adv
January 2025
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
The circumstellar liquid-water habitable zone guides our search for potentially inhabited exoplanets but remains observationally untested. We show that the inner edge of the habitable zone can now be mapped among exoplanets using their lack of surface water, which, unlike the presence of water, can be unambiguously revealed by atmospheric sulfur species. Using coupled climate-chemistry modeling, we find that the observability of sulfur gases on exoplanets depends critically on the ultraviolet (UV) flux of their host star, a property with wide variation: Most M-dwarfs have a low UV flux and thereby allow the detection of sulfur gases as a tracer of dry planetary surfaces; however, the UV flux of Trappist-1 may be too high for sulfur to disambiguate uninhabitable from habitable surfaces on any of its planets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
January 2025
School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Ofloxacin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, raises serious environmental concerns due to its persistence in aquatic systems. This study offers new insights into the environmental behavior of ofloxacin and its interactions with carbon-based adsorbents with the aim of enhancing our understanding of its removal mechanisms via adsorption processes. Using a comprehensive computational approach, we analyzed the speciation, pK values, and solubility of ofloxacin across various pH conditions, accounting for all four microspecies, including the often-overlooked neutral form.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntegr Environ Assess Manag
January 2025
Henkel AG & Co KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany.
The assessment of humans indirectly exposed to chemicals via the environment (HvE) is an assessment element of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. The European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances (EUSES) is the default screening tool, aimed at prioritizing chemicals for further refinement/higher tier assessment. This review summarizes the approach used in EUSES, evaluates the state of the science in human exposure modeling via the environment, and identifies areas for further research to strengthen the confidence and applicability of EUSES for assessing HvE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!