Studies of Effectiveness of Commercial Home Treatment Systems

Eleven home water systems were tested representing six different types of filtering systems. Tests were made for Sulfates, Nitrates, Phosphate, Iron and Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes before and after passing through a home treatment system. All of the systems removed iron adequately but had little effect on the removal of nitrates, phosphates, sulfates or control of pH. Since none of the ground waters was contaminated by coli- forms, nothing was established regarding the effectiveness of bacterial removal by these systems

Perspectives on open access high resolution digital elevation models to produce global flood hazard layers

Global flood hazard models have recently become a reality thanks to the release of open access global digital elevation models, the development of simplified and highly efficient flow algorithms, and the steady increase in computational power. In this commentary we argue that although the availability of open access global terrain data has been critical in enabling the development of such models, the relatively poor resolution and precision of these data now limit significantly our ability to estimate flood inundation and risk for the majority of the planet’s surface. The difficulty of deriving an accurate ‘bare-earth’ terrain model due to the interaction of vegetation and urban structures with the satellite-based remote sensors means that global terrain data are often poorest in the areas where people, property (and thus vulnerability) are most concentrated. Furthermore, the current generation of open access global terrain models are over a decade old and many large floodplains, particularly those in developing countries, have undergone significant change in this time. There is therefore a pressing need for a new generation of high resolution and high vertical precision open access global digital elevation models to allow significantly improved global flood hazard models to be developed

Baptism in the theology of Martin Luther simper ES in Motu Et Initio

The thesis examines Luther's mature doctrine of baptism in the context of his wider thought. The study is centred upon the years after 1527 when, after the impact of the radical reformation had fully worked through, Luther's baptismal theology reached its final form, as regards content, balance of emphasis, and profile. A two-pronged approach to the material is adopted. Luther's formal baptismal doctrine is analysed according to the categories of the Greater Catechism (1529): baptism as word and water; what baptism accomplishes; baptism and faith; baptism's significatia, and Kindertaufe. But it is argued that an examination of the formal baptismal theology needs to be complemented by an understanding of the dynamics of Luther's use of baptism and its place in his thought. This is supplied by an examination of Luther's handling of baptismal themes in a wide variety of contexts in the Lectureson Genesis (1535-45). The difficulties of relating the older Luther's sacramental theology of baptism to the central themes of his thought are posed. These problems areviewed from a number of angles: the continuity of Luther's baptismal doctrine over time is assessed, and the interplay between his view of baptism and a number of soteriological and ecclesiological themes discussed. Finally, Luther's baptismal doctrine is viewed against its sixteenth-century background. The 'present tense' of baptism emerges as crucial to Luther's understanding of it from 1520 onwards. This theme reflects Luther's theology of the means of grace; it is linked to his understanding of the shape of the Christian life, the nature of the Church, and the simul doctrine. When understood like this, Luther's baptismal theology, so far from being at odds with his doctrine of justification by faith, is a most powerful expression of it

A High Efficiency Cathodoluminescence System and its Application to Optical Materials

A high collection efficiency spectroscopic cathodoluminescence (CL) system based on an in-line ellipsoidal mirror has been constructed for use on a Cambridge S250 scanning electron microscope (SEM). It can be fitted to or removed from the SEM in about 30 minutes and requires no significant modification of the instrument. It can be used to obtain total CL images, monochromatic CL images or CL spectra with an ultimate spectral resolution of 1 nm. The system has been applied to the study of doped synthetic quartz crystals, optical fibres and optical fibre preforms, and to yttrium aluminium garnet, bismuth silicon oxide and potassium tantalum niobate crystals. The CL technique has proved particularly valuable in the study of quartz and his revealed a number of interesting features related to crystal growth. For optical fibres and their preforms CL provides a convenient method of monitoring the distribution of germanium, used as a dopant to increase the refractive index in the core region of the fibre

Examining Movement Dynamics of the Gulf Menhaden Fishery Using an Individual-based Model

This study investigates the movement and harvest dynamics of the Gulf Menhaden Brevoortia patronus fishery. The fishery-dependent data collected by NOAA (years 2006-2009 and 2011) describe vessel-specific information on catch locations (latitude and longitude) and magnitude of harvest in metric tons (mt). A series of probability distribution functions (PDFs) were fit to the frequency distributions of number of harvests per day (Poisson), between-harvest distances (gamma), and harvest magnitude (log-normal). These analyses were used to inform an individual-based model (IBM). The IBM was run under several different spatial restriction regimes, including (1) current regulations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; (2) additional restrictions off the coast of Jackson County, MS; (3) an extension of current regulations to 2.6 km (two miles) from shore; and (4) closures of all Mississippi waters. This study describes fleet dynamics of one of the more important commercial fisheries in the region and illustrates how they can be simulated using a spatially-explicit IB

Protective Efficacy of Menthol Propylene Glycol Carbonate Compared to N, N-diethyl-Methylbenzamide Against Mosquito Bites in Northern Tanzania.

The reduction of malaria parasite transmission by preventing human-vector contact is critical in lowering disease transmission and its outcomes. This underscores the need for effective and long lasting arthropod/insect repellents. Despite the reduction in malaria transmission and outcomes in Tanzania, personal protection against mosquito bites is still not well investigated. This study sought to determine the efficacy of menthol propylene glycol carbonate (MR08), Ocimum suave as compared to the gold standard repellent N, N-diethyl-methylbenzamide (DEET), either as a single dose or in combination (blend), both in the laboratory and in the field against Anopheles gambiae s.l and Culex quinquefasciatus. In the laboratory evaluations, repellents were applied on one arm while the other arm of the same individual was treated with a base cream. Each arm was separately exposed in cages with unfed female mosquitoes. Repellents were evaluated either as a single dose or as a blend. Efficacy of each repellent was determined by the number of mosquitoes that landed and fed on treated arms as compared to the control or among them. In the field, evaluations were performed by human landing catches at hourly intervals from 18:00  hr to 01:00  hr. A total of 2,442 mosquitoes were collected during field evaluations, of which 2,376 (97.30%) were An. gambiae s.l while 66 (2.70%) were Cx. quinquefaciatus. MR08 and DEET had comparatively similar protective efficacy ranging from 92% to 100 for both single compound and blends. These findings indicate that MR08 has a similar protective efficacy as DEET for personal protection outside bed nets when used singly and in blends. Because of the personal protection provided by MR08, DEET and blends as topical applicants in laboratory and field situations, these findings suggest that, these repellents could be used efficiently in the community to complement existing tools. Overall, Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly prevented from blood feeding compared to An. gambiae s.l. The incorporation of these topical repellents for protection against insect bites can be of additional value in the absence or presence of IRS and ITNs coverage. However, a combination of both the physical (bed nets) and the repellent should be used in an integrated manner for maximum protection, especially before going to bed. Additional research is needed to develop repellents with longer duration of protection

An affordable, quality-assured community-based system for high-resolution entomological surveillance of vector mosquitoes that reflects human malaria infection risk patterns.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: More sensitive and scalable entomological surveillance tools are required to monitor low levels of transmission that are increasingly common across the tropics, particularly where vector control has been successful. A large-scale larviciding programme in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is supported by a community-based (CB) system for trapping adult mosquito densities to monitor programme performance. Methodology An intensive and extensive CB system for routine, longitudinal, programmatic surveillance of malaria vectors and other mosquitoes using the Ifakara Tent Trap (ITT-C) was developed in Urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and validated by comparison with quality assurance (QA) surveys using either ITT-C or human landing catches (HLC), as well as a cross-sectional survey of malaria parasite prevalence in the same housing compounds. RESULTS: Community-based ITT-C had much lower sensitivity per person-night of sampling than HLC (Relative Rate (RR) [95% Confidence Interval (CI)] = 0.079 [0.051, 0.121], P < 0.001 for Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 0.153 [0.137, 0.171], P < 0.001 for Culicines) but only moderately differed from QA surveys with the same trap (0.536 [0.406,0.617], P = 0.001 and 0.747 [0.677,0.824], P < 0.001, for An. gambiae or Culex respectively). Despite the poor sensitivity of the ITT per night of sampling, when CB-ITT was compared with QA-HLC, it proved at least comparably sensitive in absolute terms (171 versus 169 primary vectors caught) and cost-effective (153US$versus 187US$ per An. gambiae caught) because it allowed more spatially extensive and temporally intensive sampling (4284 versus 335 trap nights distributed over 615 versus 240 locations with a mean number of samples per year of 143 versus 141). Despite the very low vectors densities (Annual estimate of about 170 An gambiae s.l bites per person per year), CB-ITT was the only entomological predictor of parasite infection risk (Odds Ratio [95% CI] = 4.43[3.027,7. 454] per An. gambiae or Anopheles funestus caught per night, P =0.0373). Discussion and conclusion CB trapping approaches could be improved with more sensitive traps, but already offer a practical, safe and affordable system for routine programmatic mosquito surveillance and clusters could be distributed across entire countries by adapting the sample submission and quality assurance procedures accordingly