Spatial distribution of solutes and water in sucrose solution dehydrated apples

Half-fresh apples were immersed in sucrose solution (50% w/w, 27 degrees C) during different times of exposition (2, 4, and 8 h). Then each fruit was sliced from the transversal exposed surface. Density, water, and sugar content were determined for each slice. A mathematical model was fitted to experimental data of water and sucrose content considering the global flux and the tissue shrinkage. By numerical analysis, the binary effective diffusion coefficients as a function of concentration were calculated, using material coordinates and integrating simultaneously two differential equations (for water and sucrose). The coefficients obtained are one or even two orders of magnitude lower than the ones for pure solutions and present an unusual concentration dependence. This comparison shows the influence of the tissue resistance to the diffusion.

Diurnal and seasonal variations of CWSI and non-water-stressed baseline with nectarine trees

The work described was part of the programme, Innovative biological indicators to improve the efficiency of water and nitrogen use and the fruit quality in tree crops Project, a partnership between ISA and INRA. Field studies were conducted in Portugal on different irrigated plots of nectarine trees; a fully irrigated (unstressed plot) and a plot that was not irrigated for some days (stressed plot). The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of plant water stress on canopy temperature, to determine the nonwater-stressed baseline and to observe diurnal and seasonal variations of Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI). Canopy temperature, psychrometric and wind speed data were taken each half-hour, between 9:30 and 15:30 h. Results showed that canopy temperature was higher during the daytime, for both unstressed and stressed plots. A linear regression of canopy-air temperature differential and the vapor pressure deficit (non-water-stress baseline) showed a r2= 0.65. During the stress period, the average canopy temperature of the stressed plot was up to 5.4°C higher than the unstressed plot. Diurnal and seasonal average of CWSI values showed differences between unstressed and stressed plots, during the stress period.

GERMINATION OF EUCALYPTUS SEEDS UNDER WATER AND SALT STRESS

The knowledge of the physiology of Eucalyptus spp. germination may contribute significantly to the development of management and choice of suitability of the deployment areas. The aim was to evaluate the effects of water and salt stress on seed germination of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. citriodora, E. grandis, E. robusta and E. urophylla. The seeding was done with four replicates of 0.05 g of seeds in paper moistened with solutions at potentials of 0.0, -0.2, -0.4, and -0.8 MPa, induced with polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and NaCl. The germination test was in 25 degrees C in the presence of light. Were evaluated the first test score seven days after sowing, and weekly germination (normal seedlings) until 28 days. Were also calculated the germination speed index. Water stress causes a greater reduction in the rate of germination and accumulated germination of E. camaldulensis and E. citriodora seeds than salt stress, and the seeds of E. robusta are more adapted to germinate under salt stress moderate, between -0.2 and -0.4 MPa. Regardless of the substance used to induce stress, the threshold for germination was -0.8 MPa. The E. camaldulensis is the most sensitive specie to water stress and E. urophylla most sensitive to salt stress.

Effects of Water-Based and Callisthenic Exercise on Freezing of Gait, Postural Control, and Functional Independence in Patients With Mild to Moderate Parkinson Disease

Objective: This study aimed to analyze and compare the role of a water-based exercise program versus a combination of water and callisthenic exercises on postural control, functional independence, and freezing of gait (FOG) in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson disease.Methods: Twenty-five community-dwelling participants with idiopathic Parkinson disease were recruited. Of these, 9 participants took part in a water-based program of physical exercises and the other 16 participants took part in a combined program that consisted of callisthenic exercises plus an aquatic exercise session. Both programs were 16 weeks in duration. The clinical evaluation assessed the festination by means of the FOG score test; postural control was verified by means of the balance test of the short physical performance battery, and the Spanish validated version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part 2 was used to assess functional independence. Participants were evaluated before and after 16 weeks of both proposed programs.Results: The results showed improvement in FOG for both groups, although a significant main effect was observed only in the patients who performed the callisthenic exercise plus an aquatic exercise program. Postural control did not show significant improvements after both proposed physical exercise programs as soon as functional autonomy. Our preliminary results suggest that training sessions with the combination of water plus callisthenic exercises may be a useful physical rehabilitation strategy for individuals with mild to moderate Parkinson disease who have FOG.

Microbiological quality assessment of sand and water from three selected beaches of South Coast, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

This study aimed to assess the sanitary quality of water, and wet and dry sand from three beaches located in the South Coast region of Sao Paulo State, Brazil, selected taking into account the frequency of tourists and the water quality (good, fair and poor). Thirty-six water samples each of wet and dry sand and seawater were collected monthly over a period of one year and analyzed for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: thermotolerant coliforms, Escherichia coli, and enterococci), presumptive Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and dermatophytes. The results revealed FIB concentrations more elevated in dry sand followed by wet sand and water. P. aeruginosa and presumptive S. aureus were detected with a similar frequency in water and sand samples, but maximum concentrations and geometric means were higher in dry sand. C. albicans was detected only in water samples whereas the dermatophyte Microsporum sp. was isolated exclusively from dry and wet sand samples. This evaluation showed also that the environment had a significant influence on P. aeruginosa but not on presumptive S. aureus concentrations. According to threshold values proposed in the literature for E. coli and enterococci dry sand densities, none of the beaches would be considered of sufficient quality for recreational activities.

Emerging contaminants in agricultural ecosystems: impact of selected pharmaceutical on water and soil ecology and pratical implications

Pharmaceuticals are useful tools to prevent and treat human and animal diseases. Following administration, a significant fraction of pharmaceuticals is excreted unaltered into faeces and urine and may enter the aquatic ecosystem and agricultural soil through irrigation with recycled water, constituting a significant source of emerging contaminants into the environment. Understanding major factors influencing their environmental fate is consequently needed to value the risk, reduce contamination, and set up bioremediation technologies. The antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir carboxylate, OC) has received recent attention due to the potential use as a first line defence against H5N1 and H1N1 influenza viruses. Research has shown that OC is not removed during conventional wastewater treatments, thus having the potential to enter surface water bodies. A series of laboratory experiments investigated the fate and the removal of OC in surface water systems in Italy and Japan and in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. A preliminary laboratory study investigated the persistence of the active antiviral drug in water samples from an irrigation canal in northern Italy (Canale Emiliano Romagnolo). After an initial rapid decrease, OC concentration slowly decreased during the remaining incubation period. Approximately 65% of the initial OC amount remained in water at the end of the 36-day incubation period. A negligible amount of OC was lost both from sterilized water and from sterilized water/sediment samples, suggesting a significant role of microbial degradation. Stimulating microbial processes by the addition of sediments resulted in reduced OC persistence. Presence of OC (1.5 μg mL-1) did not significantly affect the metabolic potential of the water microbial population, that was estimated by glyphosate and metolachlor mineralization. In contrast, OC caused an initial transient decrease in the size of the indigenous microbial population of water samples. A second laboratory study focused on basic processes governing the environmental fate of OC in surface water from two contrasting aquatic ecosystems of northern Italy, the River Po and the Venice Lagoon. Results of this study confirmed the potential of OC to persist in surface water. However, the addition of 5% of sediments resulted in rapid OC degradation. The estimated half-life of OC in water/sediment of the River Po was 15 days. After three weeks of incubation at 20 °C, more than 8% of 14C-OC evolved as 14CO2 from water/sediment samples of the River Po and Venice Lagoon. OC was moderately retained onto coarse sediments from the two sites. In water/sediment samples of the River Po and Venice Lagoon treated with 14C-OC, more than 30% of the 14C-residues remained water-extractable after three weeks of incubation. The low affinity of OC to sediments suggests that the presence of sediments would not reduce its bioavailability to microbial degradation. Another series of laboratory experiments investigated the fate and the removal of OC in two surface water ecosystems of Japan and in the municipal wastewater treatment plant of the city of Bologna, in Northern Italy. The persistence of OC in surface water ranged from non-detectable degradation to a half-life of 53 days. After 40 days, less than 3% of radiolabeled OC evolved as 14CO2. The presence of sediments (5%) led to a significant increase of OC degradation and of mineralization rates. A more intense mineralization was observed in samples of the wastewater treatment plant when applying a long incubation period (40 days). More precisely, 76% and 37% of the initial radioactivity applied as 14C-OC was recovered as 14CO2 from samples of the biological tank and effluent water, respectively. Two bacterial strains growing on OC as sole carbon source were isolated and used for its removal from synthetic medium and environmental samples, including surface water and wastewater. Inoculation of water and wastewater samples with the two OC-degrading strains showed that mineralization of OC was significantly higher in both inoculated water and wastewater, than in uninoculated controls. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative PCR analysis showed that OC would not affect the microbial population of surface water and wastewater. The capacity of the ligninolytic fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium to degrade a wide variety of environmentally persistent xenobiotics has been largely reported in literature. In a series of laboratory experiments, the efficiency of a formulation using P. chrysosporium was evaluated for the removal of selected pharmaceuticals from wastewater samples. Addition of the fungus to samples of the wastewater treatment plant of Bologna significantly increased (P < 0.05) the removal of OC and three antibiotics, erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin. Similar effects were also observed in effluent water. OC was the most persistent of the four pharmaceuticals. After 30 days of incubation, approximately two times more OC was removed in bioremediated samples than in controls. The highest removal efficiency of the formulation was observed with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The studies included environmental aspects of soil contamination with two emerging veterinary contaminants, such as doramectin and oxibendazole, wich are common parasitic treatments in cattle farms.

Transport of Hydraulic Fracturing Water and Wastes in the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania

The development of the Marcellus Shale gas play in Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States has resulted in significant amounts of water and wastes transported by truck over roadways. This study used geographic information systems (GIS) to quantify truck travel distances via both the preferred routes (minimum distance while also favoring higher-order roads) as well as, where available, the likely actual distances for freshwater and waste transport between pertinent locations (e. g., gas wells, treatment facilities, freshwater sources). Results show that truck travel distances in the Susquehanna River Basin are greater than those used in prior life-cycle assessments of tight shale gas. When compared to likely actual transport distances, if policies were instituted to constrain truck travel to the closest destination and higher-order roads, transport mileage reductions of 40-80% could be realized. Using reasonable assumptions of current practices, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with water and waste hauling were calculated to be 70-157 MT CO2 eq per gas well. Furthermore, empty so-called backhaul trips, such as to freshwater withdrawal sites or returning from deep well injection sites, were found to increase emissions by an additional 30%, underscoring the importance of including return trips in the analysis. The results should inform future life-cycle assessments of tight shale gases in managed watersheds and help local and regional governments plan for impacts of transportation on local infrastructure. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Water and sanitation accessibility and the health of rural Ugandans

The lack of access to sufficient water and sanitation facilities is one of the largest hindrances towards the sustainable development of the poorest 2.2 billion people in the world. Rural Uganda is one of the areas where such inaccessibility is seriously hampering their efforts at development. Many rural Ugandans must travel several kilometers to fetch adequate water and many still do not have adequate sanitation facilities. Such poor access to clean water forces Ugandans to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy collecting water - time and energy that could be used for more useful endeavors. Furthermore, the difficulty in getting water means that people use less water than they need to for optimal health and well-being. Access to other sanitation facilities can also have a large impact, particularly on the health of young children and the elderly whose immune systems are less than optimal. Hand-washing, presence of a sanitary latrine, general household cleanliness, maintenance of the safe water chain and the households’ knowledge about and adherence to sound sanitation practices may be as important as access to clean water sources. This report investigates these problems using the results from two different studies. It first looks into how access to water affects peoples’ use of it. In particular it investigates how much water households use as a function of perceived effort to fetch it. Operationally, this was accomplished by surveying nearly 1,500 residents in three different districts around Uganda about their water usage and the time and distance they must travel to fetch it. The study found that there is no statistically significant correlation between a family’s water usage and the perceived effort they must put forth to have to fetch it. On average, people use around 15 liters per person per day. Rural Ugandan residents apparently require a certain amount of water and will travel as far or as long as necessary to collect it. Secondly, a study entitled “What Works Best in Diarrheal Disease Prevention?” was carried out to study the effectiveness of five different water and sanitation facilities in reducing diarrheal disease incidences amongst children under five. It did this by surveying five different communities before and after the implementation of improvements to find changes in diarrheal disease incidences amongst children under five years of age. It found that household water treatment devices provide the best means of preventing diarrheal diseases. This is likely because water often becomes contaminated before it is consumed even if it was collected from a protected source.

Influence of catchment quality and altitude on the water and sediment composition of 68 small lakes in Central Europe

68 lakes (63 Swiss, 2 French and 3 Italian) located in an altitudinal range between 334 and 2339m spanning a wide range of land-use have been investigated. The aim of the study was to discuss influences of geographic location, vegetation and land-use in the catchment area on the water and sediment chemistry of small lakes. Detailed quantitative description of land-use, vegetation, and climate in the watershed of all lakes was established. Surface and bottom water samples collected from each lake were analyzed for major ions and nutrients. Correlations were interpreted using linear regression analysis. Chemical parameters of water and sediment reflect the characteristics of the catchment areas. All lakes were alkaline since they were situated on calcareous bedrock. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus strongly increase with increasing agricultural land-use. Na and K, however, are positively correlated with the amount of urbanization within the catchment area. These elements as well as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Mg, Ca, and alkalinity, increase when the catchment is urbanized or used for agriculture. Total nitrogen and organic carbon in the sediments decrease distinctly if large parts of the catchment consist of bare land. No correlations between sediment composition and maximum water depth or altitude of the lakes were found.¶Striking differences in the water compositions of lakes above and below approximately 700 m of altitude were observed. Concentrations of total nitrogen and nitrate, total phosphorus, DOC, Na, K, Mg, Ca, and alkalinity are distinctly higher in most lakes below 700 m than above, and the pH of the bottom waters of these lakes is generally lower. Estimates of total nitrogen concentrations, even in remote areas, indicate that precipitation is responsible for increased background concentrations. At lower altitudes nitrogen concentrations in lakes is explained by the nitrogen loaded rain from urban areas deposited on the catchment, and with high percentages of agricultural land-use in the watershed.

History of legislation and policy information of the Central Valley Project /

"March 1946"

Statewide alpha listing of water service agencies.

Cover title.

Water supply conditions in southern California during 1956-57.

Mode of access: Internet.

Annual report of the Health Dept. of the City of Pasadena, California.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report.

Report for 1914/15 includes abridged report for 1913/14.

Emissions of beryllium and mercury in Illinois /

"May 1982."