Water quality associated public health risk in Bo, Sierra Leone

Human health depends on reliable access to safe drinking water, but in many developing countries only a limited number of wells and boreholes are available. Many of these water resources are contaminated with biological or chemical pollutants. The goal of this study was to examine water access and quality in urban Bo, Sierra Leone. A health census and community mapping project in one neighborhood in Bo identified the 36 water sources used by the community. A water sample was taken from each water source and tested for a variety of microbiological and physicochemical substances. Only 38.9% of the water sources met World Health Organization (WHO) microbial safety requirements based on fecal coliform levels. Physiochemical analysis indicated that the majority (91.7%) of the water sources met the requirements set by the WHO. In combination, 25% of these water resources met safe drinking water criteria. No variables associated with wells were statistically significant predictors of contamination. This study indicated that fecal contamination is the greatest health risk associated with drinking water. There is a need to raise hygiene awareness and implement inexpensive methods to reduce fecal contamination and improve drinking water safety in Bo, Sierra Leone.     

Chemische Reaktionen von Chlorvinylarsinverbindungen (Lewisite)

2-Chlorovinylarsine dichloride (Lewisite I) react by room temperature quickly with alcohols in an equilibrium reaction to yield 2-Chlorovinylarsine chloride ether and 2-Chlorovinylarsine bisether. The reactions are not quantitative. The ethyl- and propylether are not stable. The ether were identified with mass spectrometry.     

The effect of ambient ozone pollution and acidic rain on the growth and chlorophyll content of green and white ash

Two- and three-year old green ash (Fraxinus americana L.) and white ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) seedlings were exposed to combinations of ambient ozone and acidic ambient rainfall in New Brunswick, New Jersey. During the 3-year study the potted seedlings did not develop typical foliar ozone toxicity symptoms, despite the occurrence of as many as 78 h in exceedance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 0.12 ppm. Although the pH of the rainfall was as low as 3.6 and averaged 4.1, no symptoms were observed resulting from the ambient precipitation. The rate of shoot growth in terms of height and diameter was generally not affected by either of the pollutants during the growing season. Although the chlorophyll content of white ash foliage was low following frequent rainfall in the early summer of 1984, there was no statistically significant evidence that acid raid or ambient ozone decreased chlorophyll in ash seedlings during the 3-year study.     

Sonographic demonstration of fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma

Six cases of sonographically diagnosed fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) are presented and illustrate the variable features of fetal SCT. The sonographic findings assisted the parents and perinatal team in making decisions, and in two of the cases the children survived after elective Cesarean section and prompt neonatal resection of the tumors. None of the patients showed signs of malignant degeneration of the teratoma or metastases. Fetal SCT no longer should be considered a uniformly fatal condition. The literature on sacrococcygeal teratoma detected after birth indicates that the mortality rate is correlated with the degree of extension of the tumor. Therefore, the classification of sonographically diagnosed fetal SCT according to its size and position is important for decisions regarding pregnancy management.