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Water is a precious commodity and needs to be conserved. Water plays an important role in daily life: in sustenance of life, sanitation and food production. Scarcity of water may lead to water wars among water-stressed nations. Therefore, there is a need for development of democratic principles among nations to assure free access to water to one and all. In view of the fact that lack of access to clean water affects health and infant mortality gap. Great importance is given to improve water resources in the communities (Millennium Development Goal number 7). As professionals entrusted with the health of mother and child, we must strive to improve access to potable clean water to communities in underdeveloped countries.
Municipal water samples were analyzed by membrane filter (MF) and presence-absence (P-A) tests for pollution indicator bacteria. In four years, 11 514 bacterial cultures were isolated from either raw water, drinking water, or new main water samples submitted to three environmental laboratories. The bacterial species occurring most often in all types of water samples were Escherichia coli (11.6-39.7%), Enterobacter aerogenes (18.1-26.3%), Aeromonas hydrophila (8.8-17.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.7-10.3%), and Citrobacter freundii (5.9-22.7%). A lactose - lauryl tryptose - tryptone broth was examined as an alternative medium to modified MacConkey broth in the presumptive portion of the P-A test. The intensity of acid and gas production in presumptive positive P-A bottles was compared with the types and frequencies of indicator bacteria shown by confirmatory tests. The results of detecting indicator bacteria following the analysis of 53 130 samples over a 2-year period were arranged by water source (well, lake, river, mixed) and water type (raw or drinking) to determine the influence of these parameters on the recovery of indicator bacteria. A further subdivision of the sample types into raw surface, raw ground, in-plant, plant discharge, reservoir, and distribution samples demonstrated the effect of water treatment practices.
We investigated the applicability of (2)H to measure the amount of body water (TBW) and water fluxes in relation to diet type and level of food intake in a mollusk-eating shorebird, the Red Knot (Calidris canutus). Six birds were exposed to eight experimental indoor conditions. Average fractional (2)H turnover rates ranged between 0. 182 day(-1) (SD = 0.0219) for fasting birds and 7.759 day(-1) (SD = 0.4535) for birds feeding on cockles (Cerastoderma edule). Average TBW estimates obtained with the plateau method were within the narrow range of 75.9-85.4 g (or between 64.6 and 70.1% of the body mass). Those obtained with the extrapolation method showed strong day-to-day variations (range 55.7-83.7 g, or between 49.7 and 65.5%). Average difference between the two calculation methods ranged between 0.6% and 36.3%, and this difference was strongly negatively correlated with water flux rate. Average water influx rates ranged between 15.5 g/day (fasting) and 624.5 g/day (feeding on cockles). The latter value is at 26.6 times the allometrically predicted value and is the highest reported to date. Differences in (2)H concentrations between the blood and feces (i.e., biological fractionation) were small but significant (-3.4% when fed a pellet diet, and -1.1% for all the other diets), and did not relate to the rate of water flux (chi(2)(1) = 0.058, P < 0.81). We conclude that the ingested water equilibrated rapidly with the body water pool even in an avian species that shows record water flux rates when living on ingested marine bivalves.
This is a report on the occurrence and numerical behaviour of Ps. aeruginosa in natural waters with and without waste water contamination, in dams, cooling water circulations and cooling water discharge, in clarification plant and supplementary laboratory tests. The results show that Ps. aeruginosa may occur in the natural flora of open waters, but only following the introduction of human sewage. In the main, a more or less rapid reduction in the number of Ps. aeruginosa to low levels occurs, but periods of several days to several weeks must be allowed for this. In the presence of large quantities of nutrient, multiplication of Ps. aeruginosa in natural waters cannot be excluded. It certainly appears in technical systems such as cooling water circuits and filter plants. Presumably Ps. aeruginosa also multiplies in waste water, whereas in the biological aerobic clarification process a reduction occurs. The effect of a higher temperature on the survival or multiplication of Ps. aeruginosa could not be confirmed by laboratory experiments.
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The properties of two improved versions of charge-on-spring (COS) polarizable water models (COS/G2 and COS/G3) that explicitly include nonadditive polarization effects are reported. In COS models, the polarization is represented via a self-consistently induced dipole moment consisting of a pair of separated charges. A previous polarizable water model (COS/B2), upon which the improved versions are based, was developed by Yu, Hansson, and van Gunsteren. To improve the COS/B2 model, which overestimated the dielectric permittivity, one additional virtual atomic site was used to reproduce the water monomer quadrupole moments besides the water monomer dipole moment in the gas phase. The molecular polarizability, residing on the virtual atomic site, and Lennard-Jones parameters for oxygen-oxygen interactions were varied to reproduce the experimental values for the heat of vaporization and the density of liquid water at room temperature and pressure. The improved models were used to study the properties of liquid water at various thermodynamic states as well as gaseous water clusters and ice. Overall, good agreement is obtained between simulated properties and those derived from experiments and ab initio calculations. The COS/G2 and COS/G3 models may serve as simple, classical, rigid, polarizable water models for the study of organic solutes and biopolymers. Due to its simplicity, COS type of polarization can straightforwardly be used to introduce explicit polarization into (bio)molecular force fields.
The mechanisms by which moderate water stress (adding polyethylene glycol 6000 to the root medium) induces a sustained inhibition of growth in emerging first leaves of intact rice (Oryza sativa) seedlings was investigated under growth-chamber conditions. Early (24 h) inhibition of leaf growth was not related to changes in root size or in osmotic potential gradients and cell wall-yielding characteristics in the leaf-expansion zone of stressed seedlings. However, reductions in root-to-leaf hydraulic conductance (L) were measured in two rice cultivars after 4 or 24 h at various levels of water stress, and these reductions correlated well with the inhibition of leaf growth. We assayed L by a psychrometric method and, in intact seedlings, by a novel osmotic-jump method. The addition of 0.5 mM HgCl2 to the root medium to inhibit water transport through Hg-sensitive water channels in the roots did not inhibit leaf growth in unstressed seedlings. However, both leaf growth and L were additionally reduced (by 49% and 43%, respectively) within minutes of adding HgCl2 to roots of water-stressed seedlings. Water stress therefore appeared to increase the transport of water via Hg-sensitive water channels. Other mechanisms were apparently involved in inhibiting overall L and leaf growth.
We investigated the effects of hepatic vagotomy on the suppression of water intake induced by hepatic portal infusion of water by 24-h water-deprived rats. In sham-operated rats, water intake of the portal infusion group was significantly less than that of the jugular infusion group during and after the infusion of deionized water for 3.5 h at a rate of 52 microliters/min. This result reconfirmed our previous findings. On the other hand, in hepatic-vagotomized rats, the suppression during the portal infusion of water was not observed, but the suppression after portal infusion was observed. It is concluded that the suppression, at least during the portal infusion of water, was mediated by hepatoportal osmo-receptive (or sodium-receptive) afferent signals contained in the hepatic branch of the vagus nerve.
This paper illustrates a new thermodynamic and kinetic model that describes the relationship between the water self-diffusion coefficient, D*(w/g), in hydrogel contact lenses, in terms of water matric potential (psi(M)) and equilibrium water content (EWC). Experimental measurements on commercial contact lenses yield water thermodynamic activity values ranging between 0.996 and 0.999. The corresponding psi(M) matric potential is, respectively, between -8 and -2J/mol at temperature 35 degrees C. Comparison between water self-diffusion coefficients derived in this paper and those suggested by other authors shows that our values are greater (25%-50%) than the previous ones. The impact of this model on the nature of the oxygen permeability, pi, in the lenses has been evaluated and the changes of pi with psi(M) and EWC are predicted and compared with direct experimental measurements. For the contact lenses investigated, the oxygen permeability turns out to be only a quadratic function of equilibrium water content, despite the fact that the fraction of the "free" water molecules can be as high as 50%.
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 331 determines perchlorate in drinking water using non-suppressed ion chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. This study reports the results of calibration and recovery studies in reagent water, as well as of a recovery study in simulated drinking water (i.e., total dissolved solids are 500 mg/mL each of chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate). The perchlorate concentrations in the study ranged from 0.05 to 64 ng/mL. At 95% confidence, the Hubaux-Vos detection limit (H-V DL) was 0.04 ng/mL for the calibration study and the simulated-drinking-water recovery study, and 0.03 ng/mL for the reagent-water recovery study. The lowest concentration minimum reporting level was 0.03 ng/mL for reagent water and 0.0 7 ng/mL for simulated drinking water, again at 95% confidence.
The facultative deposit-feeding clam Macoma balthica is used as a bioindicator organism for assessing coastal metal contamination. Previous work has evaluated the assimilation of metals from different possible food sources for this clam, but no studies have measured the uptake rates of metals from different dissolved sources. This study specifically compares three different dissolved sources: overlying water (SW), oxic pore water (OPW) from a depth of <1 cm (entrained during surface deposit feeding), and burrow water (BW) (a mixture of anoxic pore water and overlying water). Uptake rates of dissolved Ag, Cd, and Co in M. balthica were measured in short-term laboratory experiments using radiotracers. Clams were exposed to metals in water only for SW and surface OPW treatments. In the BW treatment, metal uptake was compared in clams placed in radiolabeled organic-poor or organic-rich sediment under conditions in which feeding was inhibited. Uptake rate constantsfrom SW for Ag, Cd, and Co were 0.35, 0.033, and 0.035 L g(-1) day(-1), respectively. Lower uptake of dissolved metals from OPW was noted but was only significant for Co. Metal uptake from BW and SW were also comparable; however, the trend showed lower Ag and higher Co uptake from BW. Metal distributions and concentrations in the two radiolabeled sediments were affected by active irrigation of SW into the burrows; dissolved metal concentrations in BW were approximately 30% lower than that in the bulk pore water concentrations. In the organic-rich sediment, Cd and Ag partitioned more in the dissolved phase (<0.2 microm) and Co more in the particulate phase as compared with the organic-poor sediment. A sensitivity analysis using measured rate constants for uptake and a range of metal concentrations from field studies suggested that, under most conditions, uptake of dissolved Ag is primarily from OPW, Co is mostly from BW, and Cd uptake varies depending on its concentration in each compartment. Little Co or Ag is likely to be taken up from SW, whereas 20-50% of Cd may be accumulated from this source. Thus, SW, OPW, and BW are all potential sources of metals for M. balthica, and the relative importance of these sources differs among metals and is dependent on the dissolved metal concentrations in each compartment.
The use of tritiated water (TOH) to estimate total body water (TBW) and total water turnover rate was validated in chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) and sand partridges (Ammoperdix heyi). For six chukar partridges weighing between 315 to 475 g, TOH equilibration with body fluids was less than 45 min after intramuscular or intravenous injections. Mean TOH space in eight chukar partridges was 99.8% of the mean TBW measured by desiccation with individuals ranging between 97.9 and 103.2%. TOH space best approximated TBW when TBW was calculated by using the mean body mass for a bird weighed at TOH injection and at TOH equilibration. Total water intake as estimated by TOH ranged between 90.7 and 113.3% of measured water intake in three sand and three chukar partridges, birds ranging in mass from 145 to 446 g. We conclude that the TOH method provides accurate estimations of TBW and water turnover rates in birds. For birds of up to 500-g body mass, we recommend 45 min for TOH equilibration with body fluids, and intramuscular injections of 0.05 muCi TOH/g body mass for TBW estimations and 0.1 muCi TOH/g body mass for water turnover estimations.
Redox properties of the low mineralized unsaturated and saturated natural spring water determined with the aid of hydrogen ion exponent (rH). There was marked: redox potential, hydrogen ion activity (pH), electrical conductivity, and also consument oxygen (ChZT) for the bottled water in the glass or plastic containers of various sizes during preservation of the water, taking into consideration the utility limits as well as after the limited utility period. The sort of packing, it size and the water preservation period in the packing essentially influence the values of the hydrogen index in the examined water. Statistically important changes of pH values and Eh appeared in most of examined samples. The essential changes were confirmed in unsaturated especially in the PET type containers. The conclusion was: the determination of hydrogen ion exponent (rH) of the water may be applied to the water quality control during the preservation in a single packing.
This communication reports our study of the NMR relaxation times, T1 and T2 of water protons in aqueous solutions of bovine serum albumin, gelatin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(ethylene oxide), and polyvinylmethylether over a wide concentration range. In contrast to solutions of gelatin and bovine serum albumin, the T1/T2 ratio of the three synthetic polymers are close to unity over the entire range studied. When combined with earlier-reported data of water made "non-solvent" to Na salts, the present data provided the basis for calculating the T1 and T2 as well as the rotational correlation time tau c of the "non-solvent" water. It was shown that only a modest increase by a factor of about 3 of tau c is enough to produce water that is "non-solvent" for Na citrate and sulfate. The new data reconciles NMR data of living cells with the theory of the cell water given in the association-induction hypothesis. The variability of tau c of "non-solvent" water also offers explanations of apparently conflicting conclusions on the physical state of cell water from dielectric measurements.
Seven small-scale drinking water purification devices were evaluated for their capacity to eliminate botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) type B from drinking water. Influent water inoculated with toxic Clostridium botulinum cultures and effluent purified water samples were tested for the presence of BoNT by using a standard mouse bioassay and two commercial rapid enzyme immunoassays (EIAs). The water purification devices based on filtration through ceramic or membrane filters with a pore size of 0.2 to 0.4 microm or irradiation from a low-pressure UV-lamp (254 nm) failed to remove BoNT from raw water (reduction of < 0.1 log10 units). A single device based on reverse osmosis was capable of removing the BoNT to a level below the detection limit of the mouse bioassay (reduction of > 2.3 log10 units). The rapid EIAs intended for the detection of BoNT from various types of samples failed to detect BoNT from aqueous samples containing an estimated concentration of BoNT of 396,000 ng/liter.
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