Prediction of chemical water quality used for drinking purposes based on artificial neural networks

The Groundwater resources generally have a good water quality and can be used for drinking purposes than water surfaces. However, the anthropogenic activities and climate change effects have been degrading the groundwater quality particularly in the arid and semi-arid areas. In addition, the monitoring of water quality in these regions is poor, as it is expensive and faces financial constraints, notably in rural areas. For this problem, we need to develop a new alternative that allows us to predict the water quality easily. Therefore, the solutions of this challenge would be to develop accurate and reliable models that would allow the prediction of chemical parameters commonly, used for evaluating the suitability of water for drinking uses. This study aims to develop Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models for predicting the Total Dissolved Solid (TDS in mg/l), Total Hardness (TH), sulphate (SO42-) mg/l and Chloride (Cl-) mg/L parameters using Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH and Temperature as input variables. These models were developed based on the 42 samples collected and analyzed from Tanobart Groundwater in Morocco. Among the 42 samples, 30 samples were used for training of the models while the remaining data were used for the validation processes. The results showed that the ANN models are highly accurate for predicting the TDS, TH, Sulphate and of Chloride with coefficients of determination 0.962, 0.993, 0.986 and 0.957 for the TH, TDS, Sulphate and Chloride parameters respectively, for training processes. Also, the results during the calibration revealed a good accuracy for predicting theses parameters. Hence, these models can improve the water quality monitoring in rural areas to assess the chemical suitability of water for drinking purpose with low costs and in a short time.   

Characterization of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and insecticide resistance profile relative to physicochemical properties of breeding habitats within Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Malaria is endemic in Ghana as in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This study was conducted to characterize Anopheles gambiae s.l. and determine pyrethroid resistance profiles relative to physicochemical properties of breeding habitats in Accra, Ghana. Eight aquatic habitats containing Anopheles larvae were identified and from each habitat, larvae and water were sampled. Adult An. gambiae reared from larvae were morphologically identified and tested for permethrin (0.75%) and deltamethrin (0.05%) resistance using WHO bioassay method. An. gambiae s.s. found were identified to their molecular levels and kdr mutation detected using PCR-based methods. Twenty-nine physicochemical parameters of each water sample were measured and their levels connected with pyrethroid resistance and proportions of An. gambiae s.s. molecular forms in habitats. A total of 2,257 mosquitoes were morphologically identified as An. gambiae s.l. and all 224 processed for PCR were identified as An. gambiae s.s., of which 56.46% and 43.54% were M and S-forms, respectively. Both forms occurred in sympatry in all larval habitats and no S/M hybrids were detected. However, M-form larvae were in high proportion in polluted habitats than the S-form. An. gambiae s.s. was highly resistant to both deltamethrin and permethrin with mortality rates of 42.98-70.0% and 6.5-20.0% respectively. The frequency of kdr mutation was 60.5 % (n=195). This mutation occurred in both S and M-forms, but was mainly associated with the S-form (X2=10.92, df =1, P=0.001). Carbonate and pH were both selected in discriminant function analysis as best predictors of high proportion of M-form in the habitats. The adaptation of An. gambiae s.s. in polluted aquatic habitats coupled with occurrence of insecticide resistance is quite alarming particularly for urban malaria control and needs further exploration in a wider context

Assessment of groundwater quality in Berrechid Aquifer, Morocco

The aquifer of the Berrechid plain is the most important of Morocco. He sustains many activities closely linked to regional and national socio-economic development (farming, industrial). High concentrations of chlorides, nitrates, electrical conductivity in the soil, and the risks to the environment and public safety are the subject of increased interest in the Berrechid aquifer. The main objective of this study was to analyze the quality of groundwater in the region of Berrechid. This region is subject to high agricultural and industrial activity.The mapping of physicochemical parameters was realized with ArcGIS Software, Version 10.3. These distribution maps were generated by Distance Weighted Inverse interpolation (DWI). For comparison analyses, the simplified groundwater quality grid was used. The physicochemical and bacteriological characterization of the Berrechid aquifer showed high values for electrical conductivity (EC) (7100 μS/cm), Chlorides (Cl-) (2409 mg/l), nitrates (NO3-) (190 mg/l), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+) (0.02 mg/l), organic matter (OM) (4.55 mg/l), fecal coliforms (FC) (40000 UFC/100ml). Generally, the approaches developed in this work proved to be promising for real-time and low-cost groundwater quality prediction by using physicochemical parameters

Malaria entomological profile in Tanzania from 1950 to 2010: a review of mosquito distribution, vectorial capacity and insecticide resistance

In Sub Saharan Africa where most of the malaria cases and deaths occur, members of the Anopheles gambiae species complex and Anopheles funestus species group are the important malaria vectors. Control efforts against these vectors in Tanzania like in most other Sub Saharan countries have failed to achieve the set objectives of eliminating transmission due to scarcity of information about the enormous diversity of Anopheles mosquito species and their susceptibility status to insecticides used for malaria vector control. Understanding the diversity and insecticide susceptibility status of these vectors and other factors relating to their importance as vectors (such as malaria transmission dynamics, vector biology, ecology, behaviour and population genetics) is crucial to developing a better and sound intervention strategies that will reduce man-vector contact and also manage the emergency of insecticide resistance early and hence a success in malaria control. The objective of this review was therefore to obtain the information from published and unpublished documents on spatial distribution and composition of malaria vectors, key features of their behaviour, transmission indices and susceptibility status to insecticides in Tanzania. All data available were collated into a database. Details recorded for each data source were the locality, latitude/longitude, time/period of study, species, abundance, sampling/collection methods, species identification methods, insecticide resistance status, including evidence of the kdr allele, and Plasmodium  falciparum sporozoite rate. This collation resulted in a total of 368 publications, encompassing 806,273 Anopheles mosquitoes from 157 geo-referenced locations being collected and identified across Tanzania from 1950s to 2010. Overall, the vector species most often reported included An. gambiae complex (66.8%), An. funestus complex (21.8%), An. gambiae s.s. (2.1%) and An. arabiensis (9%). A variety of sampling/collection and species identification methods were used with an increase in molecular techniques in recent decades. Only 32.2% and 8.4% of the data sets reported on sporozoite analysis and entomological inoculation rate (EIR), respectively which highlights the paucity of such important information in the country. Studies demonstrated efficacy of all four major classes of insecticides against malaria vectors in Tanzania with focal points showing phenotypic resistance. About 95% of malaria entomological data was obtained from north- eastern Tanzania. This shows the disproportionate nature of the available information with the western part of the country having none. Therefore it is important for the country to establish entomological surveillance system with state of the art to capture all vitally important entomological indices including vector bionomics in areas of Tanzania where very few or no studies have been done. This is vital in planning and implementing evidence based malaria vector control programmes as well as in monitoring the current malaria control interventions

The Grizzly, November 17, 2016

Town Hall Discusses Election, Future of UC • Ursinus Mourns the Death of Junior Student • International Perspective: Moroccan TA Finds Place in the U.S. • UC Poetry Slams Hard • UCDC Fall Dance Concert to Showcase Student and Professional Work • Get to Know Kristin Evans, New Campus Safety Officer • Opinions: Post-Election Steps: Show Up, Resist, Be Nuanced; Waking Up the Morning After Trump Won • Men\u27s Track Looks to Top the Conference in \u2716 • Fresh Faces to Make an Impact for UC Basketballhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1656/thumbnail.jp

The Dynamics of Pyrethroid Nesistance in Anopheles Arabiensis from Zanzibar and an Assessment of the Underlying Genetic Basis.

The emergence of pyrethroid resistance in the malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis, threatens to undermine the considerable gains made towards eliminating malaria on Zanzibar. Previously, resistance was restricted to the island of Pemba while mosquitoes from Unguja, the larger of the two islands of Zanzibar, were susceptible. Here, we characterised the mechanism(s) responsible for resistance on Zanzibar using a combination of gene expression and target-site mutation assays. WHO resistance bioassays were conducted using 1-5d old adult Anopheles gambiae s.l. collected between 2011 and 2013 across the archipelago. Synergist assays with the P450 inhibitor piperonyl-butoxide were performed in 2013. Members of the An. gambiae complex were PCR-identified and screened for target-site mutations (kdr and Ace-1). Gene expression in pyrethroid resistant An. arabiensis from Pemba was analysed using whole-genome microarrays. Pyrethroid resistance is now present across the entire Zanzibar archipelago. Survival to the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin in bioassays conducted in 2013 was 23.5-54.3% on Unguja and 32.9-81.7% on Pemba. We present evidence that resistance is mediated, in part at least, by elevated P450 monoxygenases. Whole-genome microarray scans showed that the most enriched gene terms in resistant An. arabiensis from Pemba were associated with P450 activity and synergist assays with PBO completely restored susceptibility to pyrethroids in both islands. CYP4G16 was the most consistently over-expressed gene in resistant mosquitoes compared with two susceptible strains from Unguja and Dar es Salaam. Expression of this P450 is enriched in the abdomen and it is thought to play a role in hydrocarbon synthesis. Microarray and qPCR detected several additional genes putatively involved in this pathway enriched in the Pemba pyrethroid resistant population and we hypothesise that resistance may be, in part, related to alterations in the structure of the mosquito cuticle. None of the kdr target-site mutations, associated with pyrethroid/DDT resistance in An. gambiae elsewhere in Africa, were found on the islands. The consequences of this resistance phenotype are discussed in relation to future vector control strategies on Zanzibar to support the ongoing malaria elimination efforts on the islands

Agro-biodiversity in national pathways for food system transformation: case of West Africa

The challenges relating to biodiversity loss, food insecurity and climate change show the urgent need to make transition towards sustainable food systems in West Africa. To bring about such a transition worldwide, the United Nations’ Food Systems Summit was held in September 2021. One of the main outcomes of the Summit was the national pathways to sustainable food systems. This review analyses whether and how agro-biodiversity is addressed in the food system transformation pathways submitted by West African countries in the framework of the Summit. The content analysis suggests that agro-biodiversity is not a central topic in the national transformation pathways. In fact, it is completely overlooked in some pathways documents, and rather marginal in others. Some national documents (cf. Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria) refer to the promotion of the diversity of crops and farm animals as a means of adapting to climate change, improving livelihoods and diversifying diets thus contributing to nutrition security. Moreover, only a few measures and actions dealing with the valorisation of the neglected and underutilised species (NUS) and traditional crop varieties are included in the national transformation pathways (cf. Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone). The conservation, management and restoration of agro-biodiversity and agro-ecosystems are crucial to boost the transition towards nature-positive food systems in the region. Therefore, a paradigm change is needed in policy, research and practice to conserve the natural resource base and contribute to sustainable development by addressing, inter alia, food insecurity and malnutrition, rural poverty and climate change challenges

Conflict transformation and history teaching: social psychological theory and its contributions

The aim of this introductory chapter is to render intelligible how history teaching can be enriched with knowledge of social psychological theories that deal with the issue of conflict transformation and partcularly the notions of prejudice reduction and reconciliation. A major aim of history teaching is to engage students with historical texts, establish historical significance, identify continuity and change, analyse cause and consequence, take historical perspectives and understand the ethical dimensions of historical interpretations. Such teaching, enriched with social psychological theory, will enlarge the notion of historical literacy into a study of historical culture and historical consciousness in the classroom so that students become reflective of the role of collective memory and history teaching in processes of conflict transformation and understand the ways in which various forms of historical consciousness relate the past, present and future. This is what the editors of this volume call an interdisciplinary paradigm of transformative history teachin