Prevalence of trachoma in a population of the upper Rio Negro basin and risk factors for active disease

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of trachoma in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira (SGC), the only urban community of the upper Rio Negro Basin of the Amazon state in Brazil, near the Colombian border, and to investigate the risk factors associated with the active forms of the disease. Methods: A total of 1702 people (440 children up to 9 years and 1069 adults aged 15 years and above) were examined. The sample was selected from a probabilistic household sampling procedure based on census data and a previous study of trachoma prevalence in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira. A two-stage probabilistic household cluster sample was drawn. Household units were randomly selected within each cluster. A variety of socioeconomic and hygiene variables were studied in order to determine the risk factors for active trachoma in a household. Results: The total prevalence of trachoma was 8.9%. Prevalence of active trachoma (TF and/or TI) in children aged 1-9 years was 11.1% and trachomatous trichiasis in adults aged 15 years and above was 0.19%. Trachomatous scarring reached a peak of 22.4% for subjects between 50 to 60 years of age. Corneal opacity occurred in subjects aged 50 years and older with a prevalence of 2.0%. No sex effect was found on the overall prevalence of trachoma in SGC. Risk factors associated with active trachoma were mainly related to poor socioeconomic indicators. Conclusions: Despite the ubiquitous presence of water, the analysis of the risk factors associated with the active forms of the disease supports the idea that a low personal standard of hygiene and not water availability per se, is the key factor associated with trachoma. Copyright © 2008 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Developed and studies on technical and economical viability of an environmental efficient urinal

This work introduces an innovative urinal for public convenience, that promotes at the same time water reuse and personal higiene, in a safe and economical way . Furthermore it demonstrates the latest technology and its technical and economical viabillity of utilization in new and already existing buildings facilities. This new model of personal higiene equipment offers as main benefits the improved economy with subsequent decrease in drinkable water consumption, sanitary safety, low cost and easy installation due to its simplicity and to the fact that it can be installed in already existing facilities. The proposal is constituted by a higienic, ecological and smart system for flushing of public urinals. It is a conjugated system of lavatory and urinal that reuses hands higienization water from the lavatory for flushing purpose. The proposed urinal can be operated manually or automatically by means of a presential sensor. The system promotes drinkable water economy by a rational utilization by avoiding the use of waste water from hand washing in place of clean water for flushing. The proposed equipment increases the economy of clean water in a simple and economical way and it can be installed in any type of public lavatory facilitie such as schools, public buildings, hospitals, commercial buildings, bus terminals, airports, stadiums, parking buildings and shopping centers. Additional benefits of the proposed system is the suggestion of hands washing before and after the use of the urinal without contamination risks from focet handling.and render more attractive the installation for a rational use of clean water in commercial and industrial buildings. Pay-back has shown to be very attractive for a number of internal return rates and also very attractive from the point of view of environmental protection.

Avaliação do processo de fluoretação nos sistemas de abastecimento de água da região de Araçatuba, São Paulo

This paper focuses on the drinking-water fluoridation process in Araçatuba region water supply systems by means of 5.157 fluoride concentration data from 2001 to 2005. These data were studied based on the water source, the administration and the structure of the water supply system, according to the population of the county and the type of management. Almost half of samples did not comply the fluoridation standard and the higher compliance was verified in the water supply systems operated by Sabesp (69%), followed by the group of Large counties (52%), statistically similar to the Medium ones (51.4%), and better than the Small ones (28%). The systems with surface intakes showed statistically higher performance in the compliance to the standard (60%) compared to the ones that use groundwater (42.9%). In this last group, those that explore the Guarani aquifer were superior (52.3%) than the others (46.6%).

Desenvolvimento vegetativo de quatro espécies de grama irrigadas com efluente doméstico

This research aimed to compare the development of four grasses species irrigated by dripping with an effluent from a domestic wastewater station treatment in a small rural community, and supply water from Sabesp. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the FCA/UNESP (Botucatu - SP) for 12 months in a completely randomized 4 × 3 factorial design, with four replications, totalizing 48 parcels. Grass species used in this experiment were: Santo Agostinho (Stenotaphrum secandatum (Walt.) Kuntze); Bermudas (Cynodum dactylon); Esmeralda (Zoysia japônica) and São Carlos (Axnopus sp). The treatments were: T1- Irrigation with re-use; T2- Irrigation with re-use + chemical fertilization and T3- Irrigation with supply water from Sabesp + chemical fertilization (control). Data were submitted to comparison of means by Tukey's test at 5 %. The results showed that nitrogen in the wastewater was enough for the good development of the grass species. However, its use caused higher potassium loss.

Irrigação de pastagens via pivô central, na bovinocultura de corte

The aims of this work were to show the pasture irrigation system by center pivot with Brazilian cattle and to discuss the economic feasibility of this technique in different regions of the country. Important parameters to dry matter production of tropical forage plants, as temperature, solar radiation, fertilization, and water requirement were shown Also, the system advantages and disadvantages and a discussion about economic feasibility of this technique were presented. It was concluded that pasture irrigation is a feasible and economical technique to some specific Brazilian regions, depending on appropriated parameters. This work also concludes that just water supply is not enough to assure forage production avoiding reduction in dry production in the winter.

Prevalence of enamel white spots and risk factors in children up to 36 months old

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enamel white spots and the quality of oral hygiene in children up to 36 months old, in municipalities with different fluoride levels in the water supply, analyzing the contribution of several variables. After approval of the Ethics Committee, the parents signed an informed consent form and were interviewed about their educational level, economic classification of the family, nursing habits, use of toothpaste, access to dental service and other information. The children were clinically examined using the same codes and criteria established by the WHO (World Health Organization) and ADA (American Dental Association). The data were processed and analyzed with the Epi-info software program, version 3.2, and Microsoft Excel. Fisher's exact test (p<0.05) was applied to assess the association among the variables. The enamel white spot prevalence was 30.8% and the age group, duration of the bedtime milk feeding habit, age of initial practice of oral hygiene and presence of caries lesions with cavitation were considered statistically significant with regard to enamel white spot prevalence (p < 0.05). No association was found between oral hygiene quality and the study variables. © 2009 Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica.

Expenditures, investment and financing for sustainable development in Brazil

Includes bibliography

Contabilidad regulatoria, sustentabilidad financiera y gestión mancomunada: temas relevantes en servicios de agua y saneamiento

Incluye Bibliografía

Fomento de la eficiencia de las empresas estatales de agua potable y saneamiento

Incluye Bibliografía

Contaminação microbiana das soluções de processamento radiográfico: Risco de infecção cruzada

Objective: To evaluate the microbial contamination in samples of radiographic developing and fixing solutions, radiographic processing water, dental unit waterlines and dental office's external water supply. Methods: Samples of 50 private dental offices and 20 dental offices of the School of Dentistry de Araçatuba-UNESP were collected. The samples were subjected to neutralization of the residual inhibitory agents followed by pre-enrichment in peptone water and EVA broth and were inoculated in selective and non-selective culture media. The DNA of the samples was extracted and the presence of superinfectant microorganisms was evaluated by PCR. The differences in the prevalence of the microorganisms in the samples of the solutions were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance for category data, while the Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney tests were used to evaluate the existence of associations between the total number of heterotrophic microorganisms and infection control protocols. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: Samples of radiographic fixing solution presented a remarkably less frequent contamination than radiographic developing solution and radiographic processing water. The latter exhibited microorganisms typically originated from the oral microbiota and human skin as well as microorganisms frequently found in dental unit waterlines. There was less contamination of radiographic processing water in the dental offices where the x-ray film packets were disinfected before processing or were covered by a plastic film. Additionally, all samples of dental office's external water supply were drinkable. Conclusion: Covering the x-ray film packets with a plastic film protection barrier was proven the best manner to reduce the contamination of the evaluated solutions.

Supressão de água em diferentes fases fenológicas do feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is widespread in the Brazilian social and economic scene. The hypothesis is that if the water supply is suppressed in just one of the five development stages of irrigated beans, it can result in yield reduction lower than 20%, allowing water economy. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of bean Carioca group IAC Alvorada yield components, with irrigation suppression in each of the five phenological phases (emergence, vegetative, flowering, grain filling and maturation) and no irrigation and irrigated in all stages. The study was conducted at Agronomical Sciences College, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. The statistical design was the randomized block with seven treatments and four replications. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and t test at 5% probability. A rainfall event (58 mm) after planting allowed the successful emergence of seedling beans in plots where water would not be applied. The yield components were higher affect when there was irrigation's suppression at Vegetative phase and at Flowering phase. The treatments where occurred irrigation suppression at Maturation and at Emergence showed yield reduction of less than 20%, proving the hypothesis.

Simulação da oferta e demanda de recursos hídricos nas bacias dos rios piracicaba, capivarí e jundiaí: Uma análise em dinâmica de sistemas

A dynamic systems water resources simulation model was developed as a tool to help to analyze water resources management alternatives for the Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Water Basins (BH-PCJ). Different politics policy were simulated for 40-year. The model estimates water supply and demand, as well as contamination load from several consumers. Six runs were performed using average precipitation value, changing water supply and demand, and different volumes diverted from BH-PCJ to BH-Alto Tietê For the Business as Usual, the Sustainability Index went from 0.41 in 2010 to 0.22 by 2050; the Water Use Index changed from 80.7% in 2010, to 125.5% by 2050; and the Falkenmark Index changed from 1,302 m 3 person -1 year -1 in 2010 to 774 m 3 P -1 year -1 by 2050. It was noticed that sanitation is one of the biggest concerns in the near future at PCJ River Basin.

Application of landsat images for quantifying the energy balance under conditions of land use changes in the semi-arid region of Brazil

In the Nilo Coelho irrigation scheme, Brazil, the natural vegetation has been replaced by irrigated agriculture, bringing importance for the quantification of the effects on the energy exchanges between the mixed vegetated surfaces and the lower atmosphere. Landsat satellite images and agro-meteorological stations from 1992 to 2011 were used together, for modelling these exchanges. Surface albedo (α0), NDVI and surface temperature (T0) were the basic remote sensing retrieving parameters necessary to calculate the latent heat flux (λE) and the surface resistance to evapotranspiration (rs) on a large scale. The daily net radiation (Rn) was obtained from α0, air temperature (Ta) and short-wave transmissivity (τsw) throughout the slob equation, allowing the quantification of the daily sensible heat flux (H) by residual in the energy balance equation. With a threshold value for rs, it was possible to separate the energy fluxes from crops and natural vegetation. The averaged fractions of Rn partitioned as H and λE, were in average 39 and 67%, respectively. It was observed an increase of the energy used for the evapotranspiration process inside irrigated areas from 51% in 1992 to 80% in 2011, with the ratio λE/Rn presenting an increase of 3 % per year. The tools and models applied in the current research, can subsidize the monitoring of the coupled climate and land use changes effects in irrigation perimeters, being valuable when aiming the sustainability of the irrigated agriculture in the future, avoiding conflicts among different water users. © 2012 SPIE.

Piscicultura e manejo da qualidade da água

Fish farms' water quality management is analyzed with regard to the management employed and the different trophic states are compared within the system during the dry and rainy seasons. Six sites were marked two in the water supply (P1 and P2), and four within the fish farm (P3 to P6). Whereas sites P1 and P2 (water supply) were characterized as oligotrophic, the others were mesotrophic and eutrotrophic sites. Environmental variables, mainly nutrients, conductivity, COD, BOD5 and TSS tended to increase as from P3 due to management and fertilization. Greater impact has been registered in the fish farm under analysis for variables COD, ammonia, total phosphorus and TSS during the discharge and pond emptying period. Frequent monitoring of water quality should be undertaken in fish breeding and plankton production ponds, especially in those close to P3 and P4. Removal of sediment in decantation lake or P5 is also recommended to decrease nutrient concentrations, especially phosphorus, accumulated on the bottom soil.

Desenvolvimento de interface amigável de rotina em linguagem c++ para o processamento aritmético e estatístico de dados censitários

A routine was developed in C++ for the processing of social and environmental census data acquired by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The routine employs a simple graphical environment. The data generated are presented in a tabular format, which facilitates a broad and objective view of the values, and provides a convenient means of querying the database. The source code used to develop the routine permits updates and changes, as required by the user. Statistical and mathematical analysis enables the generation of social and environmental indicators, together with quantitative and qualitative classification of the socio-environmental quality of the region analyzed. As an example, the routine was applied using census data for the city of Sorocaba (São Paulo State, Brazil), including conditions of household occupation, water supply, sanitation, level of education, income, and other factors. It is envisaged that the proposed analytical model will assist professionals from different fields of research and teaching to develop urban planning and management strategies.