The presence and seasonal variability of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in surface water (raw water) and treated water samples from two drinking water facilities in Southern Ontario was investigated. Water samples were collected at monthly intervals for one year to characterize the seasonal variability of these contaminants. The presence of these compounds in raw water samples collected from groundwater wells, which were potentially under the influence of surface water, was also examined. All samples were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The compounds detected represented different therapeutic classes, including antibiotics, lipid regulating agents and anti-inflammatory drugs. The concentrations detected for most compounds were in the low ng/L range, with one compound being detected close to 1 μg/L. In general, human pharmaceuticals (i.e. gemfibrozil, ibuprofen and carbamazepine) were detected in raw and treated water samples, while the antibiotics were not detected after treatment. Seasonal variability was observed in the concentrations and compounds detected, which could be partially explained by changes in surface water hydrology and sources of contamination. The results demonstrate that the application of conventional treatment technologies were not very effective in reducing some of these compounds from a drinking water facility. In contrast, a second drinking water facility using additional treatment technologies, including ozonation and granular activated carbon (GAC) filters, could reduce the concentrations of these contaminants. Although, the presence of these contaminants in surface water represents a potential risk, the results suggest that appropriate treatment can minimize exposure to at least some of these emerging contaminants.

The presence and seasonal variability of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in surface water (raw water) and treated water samples from two drinking water facilities in Southern Ontario was investigated. Water samples were collected at monthly intervals for one year to characterize the seasonal variability of these contaminants. The presence of these compounds in raw water samples collected from groundwater wells, which were potentially under the influence of surface water, was also examined. All samples were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The compounds detected represented different therapeutic classes, including antibiotics, lipid regulating agents and anti-inflammatory drugs. The concentrations detected for most compounds were in the low ng/L range, with one compound being detected close to 1 μg/L. In general, human pharmaceuticals (i.e. gemfibrozil, ibuprofen and carbamazepine) were detected in raw and treated water samples, while the antibiotics were not detected after treatment. Seasonal variability was observed in the concentrations and compounds detected, which could be partially explained by changes in surface water hydrology and sources of contamination. The results demonstrate that the application of conventional treatment technologies were not very effective in reducing some of these compounds from a drinking water facility. In contrast, a second drinking water facility using additional treatment technologies, including ozonation and granular activated carbon (GAC) filters, could reduce the concentrations of these contaminants. Although, the presence of these contaminants in surface water represents a potential risk, the results suggest that appropriate treatment can minimize exposure to at least some of these emerging contaminants.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is present in the troposphere as a product of fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning and the oxidation of volatile hydrocarbons. It is the principal sink of the hydroxyl radical (OH), thereby affecting the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as CH4 and O3. Consequently, CO has an atmospheric lifetime of 1-3 months, making it a good tracer for studying the long range transport of pollution. Satellite observations present a valuable tool to investigate tropospheric CO. The Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS), onboard the Aqua satellite, is sensitive to tropospheric CO in ~50 of its 2378 channels. This sensitivity to CO, combined with the daily global coverage provided by AIRS, makes AIRS a potentially useful instrument for observing CO sources and transport. An optimal estimation retrieval scheme has been developed for AIRS, to provide CO profiles from near-surface altitudes to 150 hPa. Through a validation study, using CO profiles from in-situ aircraft measurements, this retrieval scheme has been shown to provide CO observations with strong correlations to in situ measurements. Compared to the operational AIRS v4 CO product this retrieval scheme is shown to provide total column CO retrievals with a reduced bias relative to the in situ measurements (~ -10% to ~ -1%). In addition, the optimal estimation retrieval is shown to provide improved estimation and characterization of the retrieval errors. Further validation work has been carried out through comparison with the established CO observations from the MOPITT instrument, onboard the Terra satellite. Good agreement (correlation coefficient > 0.9, and bias < 1.0 ppbv) between the instruments is observed in the mid-troposphere. At this level, the optimal estimation scheme is shown to remove a positive bias of ~10 ppbv, relative to MOPITT, that is present in the AIRS v4 CO product. The AIRS instrument is also shown to be less sensitive to CO in the lower troposphere than MOPITT. AIRS is also demonstrated to provide fewer pieces of independent information about the vertical structure of CO at tropical latitudes, where higher thermal contrast increases the sensitivity of MOPITT. Through time series analysis, the capability of AIRS to detect seasonal trends in CO is demonstrated. The potential of AIRS to be used to track, both horizontal and vertical, CO transport is explored. AIRS is shown to be capable of tracking horizontal transport, and to have potential to track vertical transport when combined with another satellite sensor.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: The factors that underlie teenage pregnancies are complex and multifactorial. The prevailing perception is that teenage pregnancies are increasing in South Africa. However, the empirical extent and trends in teenage births in the Western Cape Province are not well understood. A systematic analysis of routine health information for the data element.Delivery in facility to women under 18 years for the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2012 is presented in order to contribute to documenting and understanding how this problem manifests in the Western Cape Province.Objectives:The objectives of the study were to describe the trends in the number of deliveries for women under the age of 18 years in the Western Cape Province for the period 1 April 2000 until 31 March 2012, and to compare the trends within and between districts. A secondary aim was to explore the quality and usefulness of Routine Health Information in the Western Cape Province focusing on the dataset for deliveries for women under the age of 18 years.Methods:The data for the Province extracted from the Sinjani system (the data repository for health information management in the Western Cape Department of Health) was subjected to a trend analysis at the Provincial, District and Sub-District level. The absolute numbers of all deliveries, and deliveries for women under the age of 18 years as well as proportions of deliveries for women under the age of 18 years were compared across districts, years and seasons. Results were discussed with senior managers in the Department of Health as compared to performance indicators presented in workshop settings to triangulate and help interpret findings.Findings The key finding is that both the absolute number of deliveries for women under the age of 18 years and the deliveries for women under the age of 18 years relative to all deliveries have declined steadily since 2007, while 8 absolute numbers of deliveries in 2012 were only slightly higher than in 2000-2001, despite an increase of 19.4% in the total population of the Province between 2002 and 2011. Despite the decline in the number of deliveries for women under the age of 18 years, the number of deliveries remains high. Seasonal increases in numbers of deliveries coincide with school holidays in most districts. The data analysis also revealed challenges with the quality of the data, and that it is not possible to determine the age distribution of deliveries across women under 18 years from the provincial data set. Routinely collected data do not permit analysis or comparison of births at the ward level where significant socio-economic variations are likely to influence fertility.Conclusions and Recommendations:The data did not support widespread perceptions of rapidly increasing teen births. The declining birth rates and relatively stable proportion of under 18 births relative to all births suggest that adding new indicators throughout the entire routine information system is not justified on public health or economic grounds. However, more detailed and disaggregated evidence is needed to inform locally tailored interventions and could be obtained from alternate sources of information such as point prevalence surveys, annual surveys, or data collection at sentinel sites. While teenage birth rates are not increasing, they remain high. It is recommended that additional service delivery models be explored to ensure that sexual reproductive health services are strengthened and delivered in a manner that would be acceptable to young people. Further, it is recommended that programmatic interventions that target the sexual reproductive health choices made by young people be scaled up in partnership with intersectoral partners and communities in order to mitigate against seasonal increases in the number of deliveries for women under 18 years of age.

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula). / October 2007

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

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