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>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Despite the wide success of antimicrobial agents against waterborne pathogens, waterborne disease continues to pose a threat to both mankind and animals. A major concern is that certain bacteria have developed resistance to antimicrobial agents, as a result of their overuse. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are widely used for antibacterial purposes such as medical dressings. However, they are highly toxic to human cells. Hence, there is a great interest in developing next generation antibacterial nanoparticles that are as effective as Ag nanoparticles for antibacterial functions, while having less toxicity to human cells. Several methods can be used to generate these antimicrobial nanoparticles, one of which is green nanotechnology. Green nanotechnology uses natural plants such as tea to synthesise nanoparticles rather than chemicals, thus reduce human and animal harm and improve sustainability of antibacterial agents. Silver-titanium nano-composites (Ag-TiO2 NCs) were synthesised with the hydrothermal method using a tea extract from Aspalathus linearis (Rooibos, RB), and distilled water in the presence of nitrogen. The resulting structures were characterised with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The antibacterial characteristics of these new NCs were evaluated against 3 bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Cupriavidus metallidurans, and Escherichia coli. The optimum processing conditions to produce 6-nm spherical NPs included maintaining the temperature at 90 °C, the pH at 4.35, and using RB extract at a concentration of 2 mg/mL. The size of silver NPs was reduced in acidic conditions, agglomerated in neutral conditions, and highly reduced in alkaline conditions. Increasing the pH decreased the particle size and narrowed the particle size distribution. Gram-positive B. cereus showed slight resistance or tolerance to the Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite compared to the gram-negative bacteria E. coli and C. metallidurans. The treatment concentration required for total inhibition of E. coli and C. metallidurans growth was 100 mg/mL. Supported silver nanoparticles has shown to be a suitable way to obtain highly dispersed silver over higher surface area. This approach allowed Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite to be an efficient bactericide, with less silver amount employed.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Water is essential for life, yet access to safe drinking water is still a major concern worldwide due to waterborne diseases. The current study proposes silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as an antibacterial agent. Silver nanoparticles were synthesised using different reductants and stabilisers, and the resulting structures were characterised with Ultra-violet visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The antibacterial properties of the AgNPs were tested against a panel of 5 indicator organisms: Cupriavidus metallidurans, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Bacillus cereus and a multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli 1699. Spherical AgNPs that absorbed at around 400 nm, with diameters ranging between 18.8-26.4 nm or 5.4-13.1 nm were prepared by ascorbic acid or sodium borohydride respectively. The optimum processing conditions that produced 6±1.8 nm spherical nanoparticles included maintaining the temperature at 0 ⁰C, the pH at 9.78 and the NaBH4/Ag/PVP ratio at 16:1:10. Exposing AgNPs to light for 6 hours did not alter the particle size rather it changed the particles shape from spherical to icosahedral. Stirring caused particles to agglomerate, however, no agitation resulted in the formation of irregular structures of different sizes. Sensitivity to the AgNPs ranged between 25 % and 100 % reduced bacterial growth depending on the strains used and the concentration of the AgNPs. The Gram negative bacteria were more sensitive to AgNPs than Gram positive bacteria. However silver ions were more toxic than AgNPs for all but one of the strains tested, B. cereus was completely resistant to both Ag+ and AgNPs. C. metallidurans and E.coli (1699) showed a dose dependent sensitivity to AgNPs and the minimum inhibitory concentrations were established at 50 and 20 mg/L AgNPs respectively. C. metallidurans and E.coli (1699) were also eradicated by 10 mg/L Ag+. The E. coli TEM images showed accumulation of AgNPs within the cells, cell shrinking and leakage of cellular components. This suggests that AgNPs have a similar toxicity effect on bacterial cells as Ag+.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of (extra-) tropical cyclones including hurricanes and winter storms worldwide. Waterborne diseases, resulting from flood-related impacts, affect public health and are of major concern for society. Previous research studies have highlighted a statistically significant linear correlation between waterborne diseases and climate variables, especially precipitation and temperature. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have explored nonlinear models (e.g., machine learning) to predict waterborne disease outbreaks in the aftermath of hurricanes and winter storms. Here, we aim at predicting waterborne disease counts as well as disease outbreaks using historic climate demographic, and public health data of Florida, U.S. that date back to 1992. For this, we first predicted diseases in aggregated coastal counties using multiple linear (MLR) and random forest regression (RFR) models. Then, we developed a binary random forest classifier (RFC) model to predict waterborne disease outbreaks (e.g., 0: no outbreak and 1: outbreak). Results of this study showed that the highest coefficient of determination (R2) for the MLR model was 0.65 for two aggregated county groups, namely St. Johns-Duval-Nassau and Sarasota-Charlotte-Lee. The RFR model showed the highest R2 of 0.69 for the county group Sarasota-Charlotte-Lee. The highest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was found for the county group Miami Dade-Broward- Palm Beach with a value of 15 and 16 people for both the MLR and RFR models. St. Johns-Duval-Nassau and Sarasota-Charlotte-Lee groups achieved the highest Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) of 0.76 for the MLR model. Sarasota-Charlotte-Lee also performed the best in terms of KGE for the RFR model with a score of 0.69. On the other hand, the binary RFC model for Pinellas-Hillsborough-Manatee achieved a model's accuracy of 0.93 and f1-score of 0.48. We anticipate that the models' performance can substantially be improved with access to higher spatial resolution climate data as well as longer demographic and public health records. Nevertheless, we here provide a solid methodology that can inform local authorities about imminent public health impacts and mitigate negative effects on society, economy, and environment. / Master of Science / Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, which include hurricanes and winter storms worldwide. Extreme weather events have been shown to increase the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks (i.e. diseases that are transmitted by water), especially due to increased flooding. Previous studies showed a correlation between climate factors, such as precipitation and temperature, and waterborne diseases, but no concrete models have been developed to predict these outbreaks. Advanced prediction models can help predict where disease outbreaks are most likely to occur and can help in preparing for and mitigating the severity of these outbreaks to help save lives, protect the environment, and reduce the damage done to infrastructure. Our research focused on developing a model framework using climate and demographic data from coastal Florida counties dating back to 1992 to predict Salmonellosis, a common waterborne bacterial infection, after a hurricane event. We created two regression models, one a multiple linear regression (MLR) and the other a random forest regression (RFR) to predict the number of Salmonellosis cases. Additionally, we created a random forest classifier model (RFC) to predict whether an outbreak would occur. After running analyses for these three models on groups of three counties, we found that the MLR and RFR showed similar accuracies at predicting cases, with the MLR performing slightly better for most counties. For the Sarasota-Charlotte-Lee county group, the RFR performed the best. The RFC model performed the best with the highest accuracy of 93% for Pinellas-Hillsborough-Manatee. Future improvements can help make these models more reliable, such as using better and more data, along with adding more variables.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:15:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Veloso de Melo.pdf: 11528174 bytes, checksum: af1410179b57da5cd87d5d37825318e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-27 / This study aims to analyze the conditions of water resources; sanitation and occurrence of waterborne diseases in districts of Águas Negras and Paracuri in Belém do Pará. As part of this study, the literature survey was conducted to benchmark theoretical, the Geography of Health, the importance of water resources for humans, sanitation of waterborne and location of the study area diseases. For the preparation of statistical data relating to sanitation and waterborne diseases in Brazil, in the state of Pará in Belém and information from official bodies such as the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Ministry of Health and were collected Department of Public Health (SESPA). The application of fifty questionnaires found that the socio economic, sanitation and waterborne diseases conditions, with residents was also conducted. It is concluded that the basic sanitation in Brazil is still very poor, especially in the North and Northeast; it directly influences the number of notifications of waterborne diseases in the country. In the neighborhoods of Paracuri and blackwater, by analyzing the interviews that there is a lack of sewage collection and treatment, regular water connections incidence of waterborne diseases causing large number of hospitalizations / de veiculação hídrica e da localização da área de estudo. Foram também analisados os dados estatísticos referentes ao saneamento básico e das doenças de veiculação hídrica no Brasil, no Estado do Pará e em Belém, cujas informações foram coletadas de órgãos oficiais, como o Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), Ministério da Saúde e da Secretaria de Saúde Pública do Pará (SESPA). Foi realizada ainda a aplicação de cinquenta questionários, visando analisar as condições sócio econômicas, de saneamento e das doenças de veiculação hídrica, junto dos moradores. Conclui-se que o saneamento básico no Brasil ainda é muito deficiente, principalmente nas Regiões Norte e Nordeste, com isso influenciando diretamente, o grande número de notificações de doenças de veiculação hídrica no país. Nos bairros dos Paracurí e de Águas Negras, a partir da análise das entrevistas, observa-se que há falta de coleta e tratamento de esgoto, de ligações regulares de água, com a incidência de doenças de veiculação hídrica ocasionando grande número de internações

A contaminação de água subterrânea por coliformes fecais em propriedades rurais está diretamente relacionada com o saneamento básico rural oferecido, assim como as doenças de veiculação hídrica contraídas por essas populações. Esta pesquisa analisa a contaminação da água de consumo humano proveniente de poços, considerando os índices de potabilidade descritos na Portaria do Ministério da Saúde nº 2.914 e na Resolução CONAMA nº 398. Tem-se como estudo de caso uma área rural no município de Caxias do Sul, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, inserida na da bacia hidrográfica do arroio Marrecas. Foram realizados estudos por meio de informações contidas em relatórios técnicos, normatizações federais e bibliografias especializadas, para contextualização, conceituação e teorização de saneamento básico rural, qualidade e contaminação da água subterrânea, doenças de veiculação hídrica e poços. Mediante o uso do estimador de densidade Kernel, levantou-se o número de residências a serem entrevistadas. Durante o processo de entrevistas, averiguou-se a existência de saneamento básico rural nas propriedades, porém a maioria dos poços não estavam protegidos do acesso e/ou de serem contaminados por animais. Isto justificou a necessidade de realização de análise da qualidade da água subterrânea consumida por meio de poços particulares. Os resultados das entrevistas diagnosticaram uma população ambientalmente consciente sobre a preservação do meio e sobre a qualidade da água consumida. Contudo, os resultados das análises indicaram que a água ingerida estava contaminada por coliformes, assim como também houve relatos de doenças de veiculação hídrica, confirmando o saneamento deficiente em algumas propriedades rurais. / The contamination of groundwater by fecal coliforms in rural properties is directly related to the available basic rural sanitation, as well as to water-borne diseases contracted by these populations. This research analyzes the contamination of potable well water, applying the potability indicators described in the Ministry of Health Directive Nº. 2914 and the Brazilian Environment Council (CONAMA) Resolution No. 398. A rural area in the city of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, located within the hydrographic basin of the Marrecas stream, was used as the case study. Studies were conducted by using information contained in technical reports, federal guidelines, and specialized bibliographies, for the context, concepts and of basic rural sanitation, quality and contamination of groundwater, waterborne diseases and wells. The number of households to be interviewed was determined by using the Kernel density estimator. During the interview process, the existence of basic rural sanitation was verified in the properties, however, a majority of the wells were not protected from the access and/or from being contaminated by animals. This justified the need for conducting the analysis of the quality of groundwater consumed by way of individual wells. The interviews resulted in the diagnostic of an environmentally conscious population, aware of preserving the environment and of the quality of water consumed. However, the results of the analyses indicated that the drinking water was contaminated by coliforms, and there were also reports of waterborne diseases, confirming the poor sanitation in some rural properties.

A contaminação de água subterrânea por coliformes fecais em propriedades rurais está diretamente relacionada com o saneamento básico rural oferecido, assim como as doenças de veiculação hídrica contraídas por essas populações. Esta pesquisa analisa a contaminação da água de consumo humano proveniente de poços, considerando os índices de potabilidade descritos na Portaria do Ministério da Saúde nº 2.914 e na Resolução CONAMA nº 398. Tem-se como estudo de caso uma área rural no município de Caxias do Sul, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, inserida na da bacia hidrográfica do arroio Marrecas. Foram realizados estudos por meio de informações contidas em relatórios técnicos, normatizações federais e bibliografias especializadas, para contextualização, conceituação e teorização de saneamento básico rural, qualidade e contaminação da água subterrânea, doenças de veiculação hídrica e poços. Mediante o uso do estimador de densidade Kernel, levantou-se o número de residências a serem entrevistadas. Durante o processo de entrevistas, averiguou-se a existência de saneamento básico rural nas propriedades, porém a maioria dos poços não estavam protegidos do acesso e/ou de serem contaminados por animais. Isto justificou a necessidade de realização de análise da qualidade da água subterrânea consumida por meio de poços particulares. Os resultados das entrevistas diagnosticaram uma população ambientalmente consciente sobre a preservação do meio e sobre a qualidade da água consumida. Contudo, os resultados das análises indicaram que a água ingerida estava contaminada por coliformes, assim como também houve relatos de doenças de veiculação hídrica, confirmando o saneamento deficiente em algumas propriedades rurais. / The contamination of groundwater by fecal coliforms in rural properties is directly related to the available basic rural sanitation, as well as to water-borne diseases contracted by these populations. This research analyzes the contamination of potable well water, applying the potability indicators described in the Ministry of Health Directive Nº. 2914 and the Brazilian Environment Council (CONAMA) Resolution No. 398. A rural area in the city of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, located within the hydrographic basin of the Marrecas stream, was used as the case study. Studies were conducted by using information contained in technical reports, federal guidelines, and specialized bibliographies, for the context, concepts and of basic rural sanitation, quality and contamination of groundwater, waterborne diseases and wells. The number of households to be interviewed was determined by using the Kernel density estimator. During the interview process, the existence of basic rural sanitation was verified in the properties, however, a majority of the wells were not protected from the access and/or from being contaminated by animals. This justified the need for conducting the analysis of the quality of groundwater consumed by way of individual wells. The interviews resulted in the diagnostic of an environmentally conscious population, aware of preserving the environment and of the quality of water consumed. However, the results of the analyses indicated that the drinking water was contaminated by coliforms, and there were also reports of waterborne diseases, confirming the poor sanitation in some rural properties.

A contaminação de água subterrânea por coliformes fecais em propriedades rurais está diretamente relacionada com o saneamento básico rural oferecido, assim como as doenças de veiculação hídrica contraídas por essas populações. Esta pesquisa analisa a contaminação da água de consumo humano proveniente de poços, considerando os índices de potabilidade descritos na Portaria do Ministério da Saúde nº 2.914 e na Resolução CONAMA nº 398. Tem-se como estudo de caso uma área rural no município de Caxias do Sul, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, inserida na da bacia hidrográfica do arroio Marrecas. Foram realizados estudos por meio de informações contidas em relatórios técnicos, normatizações federais e bibliografias especializadas, para contextualização, conceituação e teorização de saneamento básico rural, qualidade e contaminação da água subterrânea, doenças de veiculação hídrica e poços. Mediante o uso do estimador de densidade Kernel, levantou-se o número de residências a serem entrevistadas. Durante o processo de entrevistas, averiguou-se a existência de saneamento básico rural nas propriedades, porém a maioria dos poços não estavam protegidos do acesso e/ou de serem contaminados por animais. Isto justificou a necessidade de realização de análise da qualidade da água subterrânea consumida por meio de poços particulares. Os resultados das entrevistas diagnosticaram uma população ambientalmente consciente sobre a preservação do meio e sobre a qualidade da água consumida. Contudo, os resultados das análises indicaram que a água ingerida estava contaminada por coliformes, assim como também houve relatos de doenças de veiculação hídrica, confirmando o saneamento deficiente em algumas propriedades rurais. / The contamination of groundwater by fecal coliforms in rural properties is directly related to the available basic rural sanitation, as well as to water-borne diseases contracted by these populations. This research analyzes the contamination of potable well water, applying the potability indicators described in the Ministry of Health Directive Nº. 2914 and the Brazilian Environment Council (CONAMA) Resolution No. 398. A rural area in the city of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, located within the hydrographic basin of the Marrecas stream, was used as the case study. Studies were conducted by using information contained in technical reports, federal guidelines, and specialized bibliographies, for the context, concepts and of basic rural sanitation, quality and contamination of groundwater, waterborne diseases and wells. The number of households to be interviewed was determined by using the Kernel density estimator. During the interview process, the existence of basic rural sanitation was verified in the properties, however, a majority of the wells were not protected from the access and/or from being contaminated by animals. This justified the need for conducting the analysis of the quality of groundwater consumed by way of individual wells. The interviews resulted in the diagnostic of an environmentally conscious population, aware of preserving the environment and of the quality of water consumed. However, the results of the analyses indicated that the drinking water was contaminated by coliforms, and there were also reports of waterborne diseases, confirming the poor sanitation in some rural properties.

Poor sanitation, unhygienic practices and close living associations between people and animals in rural communities increase the risk of zoonoses and add to faecal contamination of stored drinking water. Point-of-use interventions can improve the microbiological quality of household drinking water and a combination of microbial and chemical indicator tests could identify the origin of faecal pollution. The improvement of the microbiological quality of drinking water in rural households by the implementation of intervention strategies which included the use of traditional storage containers as well as an improved safe storage container (CDC, USA), with or without the addition of a sodium hypochlorite solution were determined. The origin of faecal contamination in the water sources and household stored water were determined using male specific F-RNA subgroup genotyping. This study attempted to assess the survival of indicator microorganisms and selected bacterial pathogens and viruses in the improved safe storage container in borehole and river water samples. An intervention study was conducted in two rural villages utilising different source water. Results indicated that the improved safe storage container without the addition of a stabilized sodium hypochlorite solution did not improve the microbiological quality of the stored drinking water and had counts of indicator microorganisms similar to that found in the traditional storage containers. However, the households using the 1% and the 3.5% sodium hypochlorite solutions have shown an effective reduction in the counts of indicator microorganisms in both the traditional and the improved safe storage containers. The compliance with the use of the sodium hypochlorite interventions ranged between 60% and 100%, which was in agreement with similar studies carried out in other developing countries. One village complied with the intervention while the other village did not. Reasons for this included financial factors, an unsupportive infrastructures and lack of education and knowledge on health risks by the households. Male specific F-RNA bacteriophage genotyping showed that faecal contamination in the water source samples and both the traditional and improved safe storage containers at the point-of-use were primarily of animal origin (Subgroup I). Households using river water had subgroup II F-RNA bacteriophages present in the stored household water, which was associated with human faecal pollution. However, subgroup II F-RNA bacteriophages has been isolated from faeces of cattle and poultry, which indicated that F-RNA subgroup typing might not be a specific tool to determine the origin of faecal pollution in water sources. Laboratory seeding experiments indicated that 1% sodium hypochlorite solution were less effective in reducing heterotrophic bacteria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Clostridium perfringens, F-RNA bacteriophages and coxsackie B1 virus counts in the improved safe storage containers filled with river water with a high turbidity. However, the 1% sodium hypochlorite solution did reduce the indicator and seeded microorganisms within 60 min in containers filled with borehole water with a low turbidity. The 3.5% sodium hypochlorite solution effectively decreased the numbers of microorganisms to undetectable limits within 60 min in both the borehole and river filled storage containers irrespective of the turbidity values. This study has showed that a combination of intervention strategies can provide rural communities with microbiologically safe drinking water. / Thesis (PhD (Medical Virology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Medical Virology / PhD / unrestricted

Clean drinking and recreational water is essential for human survival and contaminated water cause 1.4 million deaths worldwide every year. Both developing and developed countries suffer as a consequence of unsafe water that cause waterborne diseases. The Great Lakes region, located in the United States is no exception. Climate change is predicted to cause an increase in waterborne disease outbreaks, worldwide, in the future. To adapt to this public health threat, vulnerability assessments are necessary. This literature study includes a vulnerability assessment that describes the main factors that affect the spreading of waterborne diseases in the Great Lakes region. Future climate scenarios in the region, and previous outbreaks are also described. The study also includes a statistical analysis where mean temperature and precipitation is plotted against waterborne disease cases. The main conclusion drawn is that the Great Lakes region is at risk of becoming more vulnerable to waterborne diseases in the future, if it does not adapt to climate change.