The objective is to identify the spatial and temporal variability of the hydrochemical quality of the water column in a subtropical coastal system, Daya Bay, China. Water samples were collected in four seasons at 12 monitoring sites. The Southeast Asian monsoons, northeasterly from October to the next April and southwesterly from May to September have also an important influence on water qualit...

We consider the problem of creating very large software systems by composing existing software. As components of this process we consider software library elements, software parts and problem solving systems. These items are briefly defined and their principal characteristics given. We discuss the relationship of these items to objects in object oriented programming. The mechanics of the compos...

The dracunculiasis (Guinea worm) eradication campaign has specific implications for efforts to control other emerging infectious diseases. Guinea worm, a painful disfiguring disease, affects primarily adults, who often become ill in very large numbers (usually 30% or more of a village’s population) during the planting or harvest season. The disease used to be transmitted in parts of Asia and in...

BACKGROUND Over the last decade, capacity for influenza surveillance and research in West Africa has strengthened. Data from these surveillance systems showed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 circulated in West Africa later than in other regions of the continent. METHODS We contacted 11 West African countries to collect information about their influenza surveillance systems (number of sites, type of su...

A seroprevalence study for anti-West Nile virus-specific antibodies was carried out in healthy blood donors resident in the metropolitan area of Milan in two different years, 2009 and 2011. In 2009 no positive sera were found, whereas 5 positive sera were found in 2011, revealing viral circulation in this naive area. The seroprevalence rate identified in 2011 was 0.57%, suggesting that the area...

The ketogenic diet has been in use for the last 90 years, and its role in the treatment of epilepsy in the pediatric population has been gaining recognition. It can be helpful in many types of epilepsies, even the more severe ones, and has a beneficial effect on the child's alertness and cognition, which can be impaired by both the condition and the medications needed for controlling it. Parent...

To determine circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) during nonepidemic times, we serosurveyed wild birds of Morocco in 2008. We found antibodies against WNV in 12 (3.5%) birds, against Usutu virus in 1 (0.3%), and against both in 2 (0.6%). High WNV prevalence among juvenile birds suggests local virus circulation among resident birds.

The spectacular marine-like diversity of the endemic fauna of Lake Tanganyika, the oldest of the African Great Lakes, led early researchers to suggest that the lake must have once been connected to the ocean. Recent geophysical reconstructions clearly indicate that Lake Tanganyika formed by rifting in the African subcontinent and was never directly linked to the sea. Although the Lake has a hig...

BACKGROUND In West Africa, hypertension, once rare, has now emerged as a critical health concern and the trajectory is upward and factors are complex. The true magnitude of hypertension in some West African countries, including in-depth knowledge of underlying risk factors is not completely understood. There is also a paucity of research on adequate systems-level approaches designed to mitigate...

We sequenced West Nile viruses (WNVs) from Turkey and found close relationships to WNV lineage 1 strain ArB310/67 from the Central African Republic, distinct from other WNVs circulating in the Mediterranean Basin, eastern Europe, and the Middle East. These findings suggest independent introductions of WNV strains from Africa to the Middle East.