Fecal contamination of drinking-water in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: access to safe drinking-water is a fundamental requirement for good health and is also a human right. Global access to safe drinking-water is monitored by WHO and UNICEF using as an indicator “use of an improved source,” which does not account for water quality measurements. Our objectives were to determine whether water from “improved” sources is less likely to contain fecal contamination than “unimproved” sources and to assess the extent to which contamination varies by source type and setting.Methods and findings: studies in Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish were identified from online databases, including PubMed and Web of Science, and grey literature. Studies in low- and middle-income countries published between 1990 and August 2013 that assessed drinking-water for the presence of Escherichia coli or thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) were included provided they associated results with a particular source type. In total 319 studies were included, reporting on 96,737 water samples. The odds of contamination within a given study were considerably lower for “improved” sources than “unimproved” sources (odds ratio [OR] = 0.15 [0.10–0.21], I2 = 80.3% [72.9–85.6]). However over a quarter of samples from improved sources contained fecal contamination in 38% of 191 studies. Water sources in low-income countries (OR = 2.37 [1.52–3.71]; p<0.001) and rural areas (OR = 2.37 [1.47–3.81] p<0.001) were more likely to be contaminated. Studies rarely reported stored water quality or sanitary risks and few achieved robust random selection. Safety may be overestimated due to infrequent water sampling and deterioration in quality prior to consumption.Conclusion: access to an “improved source” provides a measure of sanitary protection but does not ensure water is free of fecal contamination nor is it consistent between source types or settings. International estimates therefore greatly overstate use of safe drinking-water and do not fully reflect disparities in access. An enhanced monitoring strategy would combine indicators of sanitary protection with measures of water qualit

Handbook for Learning-centred evaluation of Computer-facilitated learning projects in higher education

This handbook supports a project funded by the Australian Government Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development (CUTSD). The amended project title is “Staff Development in Evaluation of Technology-based Teaching Development Projects: An Action Inquiry Approach”. The project is hosted by Murdoch University on behalf of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), as a consortium of 11 universities. The rationale of the project is to guide a group of university staff through the evaluation of a Computer-facilitated Learning (CFL1) project by a process of action inquiry and mentoring, supported by the practical and theoretical material contained in this handbook

Dynamics of perpendicular recording heads

3D modeling and inductance measurements were used to design an ultra-high frequency perpendicular system. Kerr microscopy and spin-stand experiments with focused ion beam (FI-B) trimmed perpendicular heads and perpendicular media directly verified the high frequency concepts

Macrophage Migration Is Impaired within Candida albicans Biofilms

Acknowledgments: We thank the Microscopy and Histology Core Facility at the University of Aberdeen. This work was funded by NHS Grampian Endowments (grant RG10191); the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award in Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (grant 097377); the Wellcome Trust Investigator award (grants 101873, 086827, 075470, & 200208) and the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology (grant MR/N006364/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Near infrared tunable diode laser spectroscopy for aero engine related applications

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy is a widely used technique for recovering quantitative gas information in a range of industrial applications. Established methods often use readily available, robust and low cost optoelectronic hardware in the near-infrared, with output wavelengths that coincide with the absorption spectra of several important gas species of interest, providing a versatile platform for gas analysis instrumentation. In this work the challenges associated with the recovery of gas information from harsh detection environments, particularly for aero engine diagnostics, are considered. For stand-alone instrumentation, calibration-free direct absorption measurements are highly advantageous yet calibrated techniques employing wavelength modulation spectroscopy are often favoured due to their significantly higher sensitivities. Recent developments have enabled calibration-free line shape recovery using lock-in amplifier detection of the residual amplitude modulation in wavelength modulated signals. These techniques have significant potential in harsh environments, but the overall sensitivity is limited by distortions to the recovered line shapes at high modulation amplitudes and by large background signals that saturate the detection electronics. In this thesis, solutions to these two problems are proposed, investigated and validated. A correction function is derived that is able to account for line shape distortions at arbitrarily high modulation indices. Application of the function depends upon knowledge of the experimental modulation index and two methods for extracting this information directly from the experimental signals are described. The full correction procedure has been experimentally validated. An investigation was made into the use of autobalanced photoreceivers, typically used for common mode noise cancellation, for direct absorption measurements and in a different configuration for nulling of the residual amplitude modulation (RAM) in wavelength modulation spectroscopy. Initial measurements suggest that removal of the background RAM can increase the lock-in detection sensitivity by over an order of magnitude. In addition an external amplitude modulator has been iv shown to be an effective method for producing sensitive absorption signals that are free of distortions, recoverable at frequencies that are outside the bandwidth of most environmental noise sources. A temperature sensor based on ratio thermometry of ambient water vapour absorption was designed and evaluated. The sensor is intended to provide accurate intake gas temperature information during aero engine ground testing when misting conditions prevent standard thermocouples from providing reliable data. Direct detection and second harmonic wavelength modulation spectroscopy experiments were undertaken in an environmental chamber, over the range 273-313K, to test the potential accuracy of the proposed system. Using a second harmonic peak height method, temperature information based on a calibration was able to recover temperature measurements with precision of ±0.4K however the overall accuracy suffered from a problematic calibration drift. Three engine test campaigns are described in which a range of recovery methods and potential optical system layouts are evaluated for the purposes of intake and exhaust mounted test bed sensor systems. The effects of extreme noise conditions were observed on a variety of measurements and favourable detection and modulation options were identified for the purpose of planning proposed future engine tests. Exhaust plume measurements of high temperature water vapour on the Rolls-Royce Environmentally Friendly Engine demonstrator established the viability of temperature and concentration measurements up to 850K.Tunable diode laser spectroscopy is a widely used technique for recovering quantitative gas information in a range of industrial applications. Established methods often use readily available, robust and low cost optoelectronic hardware in the near-infrared, with output wavelengths that coincide with the absorption spectra of several important gas species of interest, providing a versatile platform for gas analysis instrumentation. In this work the challenges associated with the recovery of gas information from harsh detection environments, particularly for aero engine diagnostics, are considered. For stand-alone instrumentation, calibration-free direct absorption measurements are highly advantageous yet calibrated techniques employing wavelength modulation spectroscopy are often favoured due to their significantly higher sensitivities. Recent developments have enabled calibration-free line shape recovery using lock-in amplifier detection of the residual amplitude modulation in wavelength modulated signals. These techniques have significant potential in harsh environments, but the overall sensitivity is limited by distortions to the recovered line shapes at high modulation amplitudes and by large background signals that saturate the detection electronics. In this thesis, solutions to these two problems are proposed, investigated and validated. A correction function is derived that is able to account for line shape distortions at arbitrarily high modulation indices. Application of the function depends upon knowledge of the experimental modulation index and two methods for extracting this information directly from the experimental signals are described. The full correction procedure has been experimentally validated. An investigation was made into the use of autobalanced photoreceivers, typically used for common mode noise cancellation, for direct absorption measurements and in a different configuration for nulling of the residual amplitude modulation (RAM) in wavelength modulation spectroscopy. Initial measurements suggest that removal of the background RAM can increase the lock-in detection sensitivity by over an order of magnitude. In addition an external amplitude modulator has been iv shown to be an effective method for producing sensitive absorption signals that are free of distortions, recoverable at frequencies that are outside the bandwidth of most environmental noise sources. A temperature sensor based on ratio thermometry of ambient water vapour absorption was designed and evaluated. The sensor is intended to provide accurate intake gas temperature information during aero engine ground testing when misting conditions prevent standard thermocouples from providing reliable data. Direct detection and second harmonic wavelength modulation spectroscopy experiments were undertaken in an environmental chamber, over the range 273-313K, to test the potential accuracy of the proposed system. Using a second harmonic peak height method, temperature information based on a calibration was able to recover temperature measurements with precision of ±0.4K however the overall accuracy suffered from a problematic calibration drift. Three engine test campaigns are described in which a range of recovery methods and potential optical system layouts are evaluated for the purposes of intake and exhaust mounted test bed sensor systems. The effects of extreme noise conditions were observed on a variety of measurements and favourable detection and modulation options were identified for the purpose of planning proposed future engine tests. Exhaust plume measurements of high temperature water vapour on the Rolls-Royce Environmentally Friendly Engine demonstrator established the viability of temperature and concentration measurements up to 850K

Rab14 regulates the maturation of macrophage phagosomes containing the fungal pathogen Candida albicans and the outcome of the host-pathogen interaction

Date of Acceptance: 02/02/2015 Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Studies of neutron inelastic scattering in crystal and liquid scintillators

An investigation has been made of the feasibility of using crystal, liquid and gel scintillators for the study of neutron inelastic scattering from elements, contained or loaded in the scintillators. The nuclides included those of iodine, cesium, lanthanum, holmium, praseodymium and bismuth. investigations showed that the technique was feasible for crystal and liquid scintillators, and indicated the study or 12 7I iri sodium iodide crystal to be the most suitable for further investigation. A study was then made of inelastic scattering to the 59 keV level of 1 2 7 I for incident neutrons in the energy range 60 to 360 keV. Cross section data obtained were compared with inelastic scattering cross sections calculated using a Hauser-Feshbach model of Auerbach and Moore. Experimental data were; found to be in reasonable agreement with the calculated cross sections based on neutron transmission coefficients given by Auerbach and Perey

Hyphal growth of phagocytosed fusarium oxysporum causes cell lysis and death of murine macrophages

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cost effective flat plate photovoltaic modules using light trapping

Work in optical trapping in 'thick films' is described to form a design guide for photovoltaic engineers. A thick optical film can trap light by diffusive reflection and total internal reflection. Light can be propagated reasonably long distances compared with layer thicknesses by this technique. This makes it possible to conduct light from inter-cell and intra-cell areas now not used in photovoltaic modules onto active cell areas