Search Results (10)

We coupled the global climate models (GCMs) from the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) and Future Land Use Simulation model (FLUS) to evaluate land use change in the Bailong River Basin (BRB) under three shared socioeconomic pathway and representative concentration pathway scenarios (SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5, SSP5–8.5). Additionally, we used calibrated soil and water assessment tools (SWATs) to evaluate the streamflow in the BRB from 2008 to 2100 under the combined influence of climate and land use changes. The results indicate that (1) under the SSP126-EP scenario, forests have been well preserved, and there has been an increase in the combined area of forests and water bodies. The SSP245-ND scenario has a similar reduction pattern in agricultural land as SSP126-EP, with relatively good grassland preservation and a moderate expansion rate in built-up land. In contrast, the SSP585-EG scenario features a rapid expansion of built-up land, converting a significant amount of farmland and grassland into built-up land. (2) From 2021 to 2100, the annual average flow increases under all three scenarios, and the streamflow change is most significant under SSP5–8.5. (3) Compared to the baseline period, the monthly runoff increases, with the most significant increase occurring during the summer months (June to August). This study offers a thorough assessment of potential future changes in streamflow. Its findings are expected to be applied in the future to improve the management of water resources at a local level. Full article

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) was applied to evaluate the consumption trends of pharmaceuticals (i.e., antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, antihypertensives, and others), as well as recreational drugs (caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine), in Latvia from December 2020 to July 2023. The time period covers both the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic periods; therefore, the impact of the implemented restrictions and the consequences of the illness in terms of the usage of pharmaceuticals thereon were investigated. Additionally, the seasonality and impact of the seasonal flu and other acute upper respiratory infections were studied. The results revealed that the pandemic impacted the consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, as well as several pharmaceuticals, such as antihypertensives, antidepressants, psychiatric drugs, and the painkiller ibuprofen. The findings suggest that the imposed restrictions during the pandemic may have had a negative effect on the population’s health and mental well-being. Distinct seasonal trends were discovered in the consumption patterns of caffeine and alcohol, where lower use was observed during the summer. The seasonal consumption trends of pharmaceuticals were discovered in the case of antibiotics, the antiasthmatic drug salbutamol, and the decongestant xylometazoline, where higher consumption occurred during colder seasons. Full article

Currently, there are over 602 million severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases and 6.4 million COVID-19 disease-related deaths worldwide. With ambitious vaccine strategies, reliable and accurate serological testing is needed to monitor the dynamics of the novel coronavirus pandemic and community immunity. We set out to improve serological testing of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2. We hypothesize that by multiplexing the serological diagnostic test kit (SARSPLEX) and screening for three antibodies, an even more robust diagnostic can be developed. A total of 293 sera were analyzed for IgM, IgG, or IgA immune reactions to the subunit 1 spike glycoprotein and the nucleocapsid protein in a standardized ELISA platform. Testing IgM, IgG, and IgA demonstrated high positive and negative agreements compared to RT-PCR and serology reference tests. Comparison with the pre-2019-CoV (n = 102) samples highlighted the specificity of this test kit and indicated that no unspecific binding, even with the summer flu patients (n = 44), was detected. In addition, SARSPLEX demonstrated to be a valuable occupational surveillance tool used in a functional medicine facility. With increased and broader testing, SARSPLEX will be a valuable tool in monitoring immunity and aid in prioritizing access to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for high-risk patients. Full article

PM_2.5 samples were collected at Tung Chung (TC), Hong Kong, during four nonconsecutive months in 2011/2012 to determine the concentrations, seasonal variations, and potential sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes (n-C₁₅-n-C₃₅). Samples were analyzed using the thermal desorption gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) method. The concentrations of particulate PAHs ranged from 1.26–13.93 ng/m³ with a mean value of 2.57 ng/m³, dominated by 4-ring species. Phenanthrene (Phe) and fluoranthene (Flu) were the two most abundant species, accounting for 13% and 18%, respectively. The dominant sources of PAHs were coal and biomass burning. The inhalation cancer risk value in our study exceeded 1 × 10⁻⁶ but was below 1 × 10⁻⁴, implying that the inhalation cancer risk of PAHs at the TC site is acceptable. The average concertation of n-alkanes was 103.21 ng/m³ (ranging from 38.58 to 191.44 ng/m³), and C₂₅ was the most abundant species. Both PAHs and n-alkanes showed higher concentrations in autumn and winter whilst these values were lowest in summer. The carbon preference index (CPI) and percent contribution of wax n-alkanes showed that biogenic sources were the major sources. The annual average contributions of higher plant wax to n-alkanes at TC were over 40%. Full article

This study provides baseline information on the concentrations of antibiotics in influent and effluent from two wastewater treatment plants in regular operation in the State of Kuwait. Wastewater samples were collected from the influent and effluent streams of two WWTPs, over four sampling campaigns and analyzed for a broad range of antibiotics. The mean influent concentrations of sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, and cefalexin were 852 ng/L, 672 ng/L, 592 ng/L), and 491 ng/L, respectively, at Umm Al Hayman WWTP. At the Kabd WWTP, the influent concentration of clarithromycin was highest with a mean of 949 ng/L, followed by ciprofloxacin (mean, 865 ng/L), cefalexin (mean, 598 ng/L), and sulfamethoxazole (mean, 520 ng/L). The dominant compounds in the effluent from Umm Al Hayman were sulfamethoxazole (mean, 212 ng/L), ciprofloxacin (mean, 153 ng/L), ofloxacin (mean, 120 ng/L), dimetridazole (mean, 96 ng/L), and metronidazole (mean, 93 ng/L). Whereas, at the Kabd WWTP, the dominant compounds were sulfamethoxazole (mean, 338 ng/L), dimetridazole (mean, 274 ng/L), cefalexin (mean, 213 ng/L), ciprofloxacin (mean, 192 ng/L), and clarithromycin (189 ng/L). The mean influent concentrations of all compounds were higher than those measured in the effluents. The concentrations of antibiotic compounds were not significantly different between the two WWTPs (p > 0.05). The removal efficiencies of the various antibiotics over the four sampling campaigns for the Kabd and Umm Hayman WWTPs ranged between 10.87 and 99.75% and also showed that they were variable and were compound dependent. The data clearly show that the concentrations of antibiotics measured in the influents of both WWTPs were highest in samples collected during the winter-summer (September samples) transition followed by the concentrations measured during the winter-summer (March samples) transition period. This is possibly linked to the increased prescription of these medications to treat infectious diseases and flu prevalent in Kuwait during these periods. This study provides the first reported concentrations of antibiotics in the dissolved aqueous influents and effluents of WWTPs in Kuwait. Additional studies are required to evaluate the environmental impact that antibiotic residues may cause since treated wastewater is used in irrigation, and often there are instances when untreated wastewater is discharged directly into the marine environment. Full article

We analyze the data about casualties in Italy in the period 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2020 released by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). The aim of this article was the description of a statistically robust methodology to extract quantitative values for the seasonal excesses of deaths featured by the data, accompanying them with correct estimates of the relative uncertainties. We will describe the advantages of the method adopted with respect to others listed in literature. The data exhibit a clear sinusoidal behavior, whose fit allows for a robust subtraction of the baseline trend of casualties in Italy, with a surplus of mortality in correspondence to the flu epidemics in winter and to the hottest periods in summer. The overall quality of the fit to the data turns out to be very good, an indication of the validity of the chosen model. We discuss the trend of casualties in Italy by different classes of ages and for the different genders. We finally compare the data-subtracted casualties, as reported by ISTAT, with those reported by the Italian Department for Civil Protection (DPC) relative to the deaths directly attributed to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19), and we point out the differences in the two samples, collected under different assumptions. Full article

Human polymicrobial infections in tick-borne disease (TBD) patients is an emerging public health theme. However, the requirement for holistic TBD tests in routine clinical laboratories is ambiguous. TICKPLEX^® PLUS is a holistic TBD test utilized herein to assess the need for multiplex and multifunctional diagnostic tools in a routine clinical laboratory. The study involved 150 specimens categorized into Lyme disease (LD)-positive (n = 48), LD-negative (n = 30), and febrile patients from whom borrelia serology was requested (n = 72, later “febrile patients”) based on reference test results from United Medix, Finland. Reference tests from DiaSorin, Immunetics, and Mikrogen Diagnostik followed the two-tier LD testing system. A comparison between the reference tests and TICKPLEX^® PLUS produced 86%, 88%, and 87% positive, negative, and overall agreement, respectively. Additionally, up to 15% of LD and 11% of febrile patients responded to TBD related coinfections and opportunistic microbes. The results demonstrated that one (TICKPLEX^® PLUS) test can aid in a LD diagnosis instead of four tests. Moreover, TBD is not limited to just LD, as the specimens produced immune responses to several TBD microbes. Lastly, the study indicated that the screening of febrile patients for TBDs could be a missed opportunity at reducing unreported patient cases. Full article

Heat stress provokes thermal discomfort to people living in semiarid and arid climates. This study evaluates thermal discomfort levels, building design concepts, and some heat mitigation strategies in low-income neighborhoods of Faisalabad, Pakistan. The outdoor and indoor weather data are collected from April to August 2016 using a weather station installed ad hoc in urban settings, and the 52 houses of the five low-income participating communities living in congested and less environment-friendly areas of Faisalabad. The discomfort index values, related to the building design concepts, including (i) house orientation to sunlight and (ii) house ventilation, are calculated from outdoor and indoor dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures. Our results show that although June was the hottest month of summer 2016, based on the monthly mean temperature of the Faisalabad region, the month of May produced the highest discomfort levels, which were higher in houses exposed to sunlight and without ventilation. The study also identifies some popular heat mitigation strategies adopted by the five participating low-income communities during various heat-related health complaints. The strategies are gender-biased and have medical, cultural/customary backgrounds. For example, about 52% of the males and 28% of the females drank more water during dehydration, diarrhea, and eye infection. Over 11% and 19% of the males and females, respectively, moved to cooler places during fever. About 43% of the males and 51% of the females took water showers and rested to combat flu (runny nose), headache, and nosebleed. The people did not know how to cure muscular fatigue, skin allergy (from a type of Milia), and mild temperature. Planting trees in an area and developing open parks with greenery and thick canopy trees can be beneficial for neighborhoods resembling those evaluated in this study. Full article

To improve the understanding of the emission sources and pathways of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal environments of remote areas, their particulate and dissolved concentrations were analyzed on a monthly basis from 2015 to 2018 in surface waters of Nanao Bay, Japan. The concentration of the targeted 13 species of PAHs on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority pollutant list in dissolved and particle phases were separately analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector. Particulate and dissolved PAHs had average concentrations of 0.72 ng∙L⁻¹ and 0.95 ng∙L⁻¹, respectively. While most of the samples were lower than 1 ng∙L⁻¹, abnormally high levels up to 10 ng∙L⁻¹ were observed in the winter of 2017–2018 for particulate PAHs. Based on the isomer ratios of Flu to Flu plus Pyr, it was possible to determine that the pyrogenic loads were greater than the petrogenic loads in all but four out of 86 samples. The predominant environmental pathway for PAHs in winter was determined to be long-range atmospheric transportation fed by the East Asian winter monsoon, while for the summer, local sources were more relevant. By the risk quotients method, it was determined that PAHs in surface seawater presented a very low risk to marine life during the interannual survey. Full article

The sediment-water exchange, spatial variations, and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the water and sediment of the Songhua River, China, were investigated and assessed in this paper. The fugacity fraction (ff) was used to evaluate the sediment–water exchange of PAHs between the water and sediment. The results suggest that the values of ff decreased with an increasing number of PAH rings. The sediment acts as a secondary emission source for three- and four-ring PAHs, whereas five-ring PAHs were deposited in the sediment from the water. The high ff values of PAHs found in autumn suggest large releases of PAHs after abundant deposition in summer, and the lowest ff values of PAHs occurred in summer. The values were especially low for five- and six-ring PAHs, which exhibited considerable deposition from the water to the sediment. PAHs with low molecular weights showed strong variations, which were potentially caused by their active physical-chemical properties. Additionally, high molecular weight BaP displayed weak variations, increasing the potential risk in the sediment. The simplified qualitative method of C_water/C_sediment is useful for assessing variations in the sediment–water exchange. The relationships between C_water/C_sediment and ff were investigated by determining the Pearson correlation coefficients (R). The results exhibited a significant negative correlation, with R = −1.000 and P = 0.000 for Flu, R = −0.993 and P = 0.007 for Phe, R = −0.998 and P = 0.002 for FlA, and R = −0.971 and P = 0.029 for BaP. The coefficients of variation indicated that five-ring PAHs were more sensitive than three- and four-ring PAHs. Thus, these low-ring PAHs can be easily exchanged between the sediment and the water. Additionally, the ecological risk of PAHs to aquatic organisms in the Songhua River is relatively low. Full article