Population dynamics and distribution of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria in Automobile workshops within Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State

Laboratory studies were carried out to assess the bacterial population dynamics and distribution in composite soil samples collected from five (5) different automobile workshops at various locations (Ikpa road, Nwaniba road, Udi street, Idakokpo lane and Mechanic village) within Uyo metropolis. The hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria were isolated and characterized from the soils of automobile workshops using cultural techniques. The total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC) ranged from 2.5 × 105 to 8.0 × 105 CFU/g of soil sample, while the hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial count (HUBC) ranged from 2.5 × 104 to 4.4 × 104 CFU/g of soil sample. The bacterial isolates which were both Gram positive and Gram negative belonged to the genera; Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Achromobacter, Micrococcus, Citrobacter and Acinetobacter. The total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC) and hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial count (HUBC) were higher in Ikpa road automobile workshop and Nwaniba road automobile workshops respectively. Bacillus species was found to be present in all the soil samples analysed thus had the highest frequency 5(28%) of occurrence while Achromobacter species had the lowest frequency 1(6%) of occurrence. The presence of these organisms in soils contaminated with spent and unspent lubricating oil and their subsequent growth in enrichment medium supplemented with 1% spent lubricating oil suggest their hydrocarbon utilizing potential, hence, their possible use for the bioremediation of soils impacted with lubricating oil.Keywords: automobile workshops, hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria, bioremediation, enrichment medium,lubricating oi

Using Web Search Query Data to Monitor Dengue Epidemics: A New Model for Neglected Tropical Disease Surveillance

A variety of obstacles, including bureaucracy and lack of resources, delay detection and reporting of dengue and exist in many countries where the disease is a major public health threat. Surveillance efforts have turned to modern data sources such as Internet usage data. People often seek health-related information online and it has been found that the frequency of, for example, influenza-related web searches as a whole rises as the number of people sick with influenza rises. Tools have been developed to help track influenza epidemics by finding patterns in certain web search activity. However, few have evaluated whether this approach would also be effective for other diseases, especially those that affect many people, that have severe consequences, or for which there is no vaccine. In this study, we found that aggregated, anonymized Google search query data were also capable of tracking dengue activity in Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Singapore. Whereas traditional dengue data from official sources are often not available until after a long delay, web search query data is available for analysis within a day. Therefore, because it could potentially provide earlier warnings, these data represent a valuable complement to traditional dengue surveillance

Prevalence and risk factors of malaria among children in southern highland Rwanda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased control has produced remarkable reductions of malaria in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Rwanda. In the southern highlands, near the district capital of Butare (altitude, 1,768 m), a combined community-and facility-based survey on <it>Plasmodium </it>infection was conducted early in 2010.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 749 children below five years of age were examined including 545 randomly selected from 24 villages, 103 attending the health centre in charge, and 101 at the referral district hospital. Clinical, parasitological, haematological, and socio-economic data were collected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>infection (mean multiplicity, 2.08) was identified by microscopy and PCR in 11.7% and 16.7%, respectively; 5.5% of the children had malaria. PCR-based <it>P. falciparum </it>prevalence ranged between 0 and 38.5% in the villages, and was 21.4% in the health centre, and 14.9% in the hospital. Independent predictors of infection included increasing age, low mid-upper arm circumference, absence of several household assets, reported recent intake of artemether-lumefantrine, and chloroquine in plasma, measured by ELISA. Self-reported bed net use (58%) reduced infection only in univariate analysis. In the communities, most infections were seemingly asymptomatic but anaemia was observed in 82% and 28% of children with and without parasitaemia, respectively, the effect increasing with parasite density, and significant also for submicroscopic infections.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>infection in the highlands surrounding Butare, Rwanda, is seen in one out of six children under five years of age. The abundance of seemingly asymptomatic infections in the community forms a reservoir for transmission in this epidemic-prone area. Risk factors suggestive of low socio-economic status and insufficient effectiveness of self-reported bed net use refer to areas of improvable intervention.</p

Evaluation of Injury Severity Updates in California Collision Data

Fatal or injury collisions in California must be reported to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for inclusion in the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). After records have been entered into SWITRS they are made publicly available and are accessible through the CHP’s report and data retrieval site called I-SWITRS. However, records accessed in SWITRS are considered provisional and can be updated several years after initial entry. This includes the injury severity level of collisions. If the collision data was accessed prior to an injury severity update, the agency retrieving the data may unknowingly be working with an outdated version. This can have an impact on government agencies use of data driven safety analyses to apply for safety improvement funding in order to achieve key safety goals in reducing fatal and serious injury collisions. This paper evaluated the frequency and level of injury severity changes for severe injury and fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 and which were retrieved at four different times between March 2017 and June 2018. In total, 94 injury collisions were upgraded to fatal collisions (2.653%) and 2 fatal collisions were downgraded to severe injury collisions (0.056%) out of the 3,543 total fatal collisions that occurred in 2016. The authors concluded that government agencies need to perform regular checks of their data to ensure that fatal and severe injury collisions are properly accounted for to maximize their ability to achieve safety performance targets

Evaluation of Injury Severity Updates in California Collision Data

Fatal or injury collisions in California must be reported to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for inclusion in the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). After records have been entered into SWITRS they are made publicly available and are accessible through the CHP’s report and data retrieval site called I-SWITRS. However, records accessed in SWITRS are considered provisional and can be updated several years after initial entry. This includes the injury severity level of collisions. If the collision data was accessed prior to an injury severity update, the agency retrieving the data may unknowingly be working with an outdated version. This can have an impact on government agencies use of data driven safety analyses to apply for safety improvement funding in order to achieve key safety goals in reducing fatal and serious injury collisions. This paper evaluated the frequency and level of injury severity changes for severe injury and fatal collisions that occurred in 2016 and which were retrieved at four different times between March 2017 and June 2018. In total, 94 injury collisions were upgraded to fatal collisions (2.653%) and 2 fatal collisions were downgraded to severe injury collisions (0.056%) out of the 3,543 total fatal collisions that occurred in 2016. The authors concluded that government agencies need to perform regular checks of their data to ensure that fatal and severe injury collisions are properly accounted for to maximize their ability to achieve safety performance targets

Evaluation of the Accuracy of Global Positioning System Coordinates for Collision Locations in California

Traffic collision reports typically provide descriptive locations indicating where a collision occurred and referencing the nearest intersection. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used to provide latitude and longitude coordinates in addition to the descriptive location and many states now include GPS coordinates in collision reports. However, research has shown that there is potential for numerous errors when police agencies use GPS to complete traffic collision reports. In California, GPS coordinates have been included in the statewide collision database since 2006, but their overall accuracy has never been evaluated. The objective of this paper was to review the status of GPS coordinates in California collision data from 2009 to 2011 and to categorize types of errors or discrepancies that were exhibited, investigate error trends, and develop recommendations for use of the GPS coordinates. Instead of just classifying a GPS coordinate location as correct or incorrect, eleven categorizations were developed to better assess the breadth of differences between the GPS coordinate and descriptive location. Overall, 43% of GPS coordinates were categorized as correct, 2.5% were unknown, and the other 54.5% exhibited some type of discrepancy with the descriptive location. GPS coordinates located off the roadway were the most frequent error type, comprising nearly 20% of the sample, while systematic GPS errors such as truncated coordinates occurred 7% of the time. Accuracy appears to be improving over time, but it is recommended to thoroughly review the coordinate locations prior to conducting any spatial analyses.

Evaluation of the Accuracy of Global Positioning System Coordinates for Collision Locations in California

Traffic collision reports typically provide descriptive locations indicating where a collision occurred and referencing the nearest intersection. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used to provide latitude and longitude coordinates in addition to the descriptive location and many states now include GPS coordinates in collision reports. However, research has shown that there is potential for numerous errors when police agencies use GPS to complete traffic collision reports. In California, GPS coordinates have been included in the statewide collision database since 2006, but their overall accuracy has never been evaluated. The objective of this paper was to review the status of GPS coordinates in California collision data from 2009 to 2011 and to categorize types of errors or discrepancies that were exhibited, investigate error trends, and develop recommendations for use of the GPS coordinates. Instead of just classifying a GPS coordinate location as correct or incorrect, eleven categorizations were developed to better assess the breadth of differences between the GPS coordinate and descriptive location. Overall, 43% of GPS coordinates were categorized as correct, 2.5% were unknown, and the other 54.5% exhibited some type of discrepancy with the descriptive location. GPS coordinates located off the roadway were the most frequent error type, comprising nearly 20% of the sample, while systematic GPS errors such as truncated coordinates occurred 7% of the time. Accuracy appears to be improving over time, but it is recommended to thoroughly review the coordinate locations prior to conducting any spatial analyses.

Traffic Injury on Tribal Lands in California

There is a disproportional risk of motor vehicle death and injury among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in the United States. As home to the nation’s largest population of AI individuals, it is vital that California develop a better understanding of the factors contributing to this risk to guide the development and implementation of interventions to improve traffic safety for this population on the nearly 100 Rancherias and reservations in the state. However, there is very little data about the numbers and types of collisions, and driver and environmental factors contributing to the collisions that occur on tribal lands. As a first step toward better understanding the scope of the risk disparity, and the shortcomings in data collection, SafeTREC conducted a literature review and crash analysis using data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Record System (SWITRS) and tribal area base maps targeting these communities. As a result of presentations and discussions at a California Tribal Safety conference where these analyses were presented, a number of procedural and institutional challenges were identified. Addressing these issues will not only help policymakers identify interventions to improve traffic safety on tribal lands, but it will give tribal jurisdictions tools to compete for scarce safety funding through the use of data documenting the need for safety improvements. Future research efforts should be aimed at refining these and other initiatives to address both the dire conditions of traffic safety on California’s tribal lands, and the limitations of the data