scholarly journals Lead, Mercury and Cadmium in Fish and Shellfish from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea (African Countries): Public Health Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isidro José Tamele ◽  
Patricia Vázquez Loureiro
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
And Control ◽  
Fish And Shellfish

The main aim of this review was to assess the incidence of Pb, Hg and Cd in seafood from African countries on the Indian and the Red Sea coasts and the level of their monitoring and control, where the direct consumption of seafood without quality control are frequently due to the poverty in many African countries. Some seafood from African Indian and the Red Sea coasts such as mollusks and fishes have presented Cd, Pb and Hg concentrations higher than permitted limit by FAOUN/EU regulations, indicating a possible threat to public health. Thus, the operationalization of the heavy metals (HM) monitoring and control is strongly recommended since these countries have laboratories with minimal conditions for HM analysis.

scholarly journals The Incidence of Marine Toxins and the Associated Seafood Poisoning Episodes in the African Countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea

Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isidro Tamele ◽  
Marisa Silva ◽  
Vitor Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Marine Toxins ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Shellfish Toxins ◽  
The Indian Ocean

The occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and bacteria can be one of the great threats to public health due to their ability to produce marine toxins (MTs). The most reported MTs include paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), amnesic shellfish toxins (ASTs), diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSTs), cyclic imines (CIs), ciguatoxins (CTXs), azaspiracids (AZTs), palytoxin (PlTXs), tetrodotoxins (TTXs) and their analogs, some of them leading to fatal outcomes. MTs have been reported in several marine organisms causing human poisoning incidents since these organisms constitute the food basis of coastal human populations. In African countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, to date, only South Africa has a specific monitoring program for MTs and some other countries count only with respect to centers of seafood poisoning control. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the occurrence of MTs and associated poisoning episodes as a contribution to public health and monitoring programs as an MT risk assessment tool for this geographic region.

scholarly journals Nanoparticles and Public Health

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-72
Author(s):  
Graham Cliff
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Graduate Student ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Analytical Electron ◽  
Analytical Electron Microscope ◽  
And Control

I write this as a materials scientist concerned about the inadequacy of regulation, monitoring, and control of what are known as nanoparticles (NPs). This is not because present particulate legislation is “inadequate” but because it is inadequately policed and does NOT extend to small enough particulates. I have analyzed these very small particles in the analytical electron microscope (AEM) for over thirty-seven years. A graduate student, with whom I worked over thirty years ago, described in her thesis the conclusion that these particles would have “long-range environmental impact.” We did not then have the benefit of hindsight.

The Ebola Threat: China’s Response to the West African Epidemic and National Development of Prevention and Control Policies and Infrastructure

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao-Jun Fan ◽  
Hong-Wei Gao ◽  
Hui Ding ◽  
Bi-Ke Zhang ◽  
Shi-Ke Hou
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
National Development ◽  
Hemorrhagic Fever ◽  
West African ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus ◽  
International Response ◽  
And Control

AbstractThere is growing concern in West Africa about the spread of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus. With the increasing global public health risk, a coordinated international response is necessary. The Chinese government is prepared to work in collaboration with West African countries to assist in the containment and control of the epidemic through the contribution of medical expertise and mobile laboratory testing teams. Nationally, China is implementing prevention programs in major cities and provinces, the distribution of Ebola test kits, and the deployment of a new national Ebola research laboratory. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;0:1-2)

scholarly journals Detection of cadmium in soils using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with spatial confinement and resin enrichment

RSC Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (69) ◽  
pp. 39635-39640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinglan Fu ◽  
Guanglin Li ◽  
Hongwu Tian ◽  
Daming Dong
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Spatial Confinement ◽  
Breakdown Spectroscopy ◽  
Laser Induced Breakdown ◽  
And Control ◽  
Heavy Metals In Soils

The determination of heavy metals in soils is of great significance for the monitoring and control of environmental pollution.

scholarly journals Pesticides Use Practice by Market Gardeners in Lome (Togo)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Aboudoulatif Diallo ◽  
Komi Zotchi ◽  
Povi Lawson-evi ◽  
Batomayena Bakoma ◽  
Essotolom Badjabaissi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Health It ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Study Population ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Impact Of Pesticides

Pesticides are more and more used in African countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk and the impact of pesticides on gardener’s health. It is a transversal descriptive study, which referred to vegetable growers, held in Lomé on the period from May 20 to June 5, 2017. Forty-eight (48) growers participated in the study. Men accounted for 70.8% of the study population against 29.2% of women. The level of education was primary (47.9%) in the majority of cases. Married people or couples represented 77.1% of cases. Most gardeners (72.9%) has no training in the use of pesticides. Pesticides were consistently applied (100%), including insecticides (72.7%), herbicides (9.1%), and fungicides (18.2%). Of 20 pesticides collected, 9 (45%) were approved by our authorities. Only 43.8% of growers were supplied with pesticides from authorized structures of agricultural products. Branches of plants (79.2%) were the spray means of most of the pesticides. Most gardeners (79, 2%) did not use personal protective equipment because of lack of resources for 81.6% of them. Water and environment contamination risk by pesticides was known by only 6.3% of gardeners. Among the adverse effects reported, pruritus was the majority in 85.4% of cases followed by headache (70.8%), cough (68.8%), and muscle pain (64.6%). The training of gardeners, monitoring and control of this informal sector, and the monitoring of unregistered pesticides will help to reduce the risk of poisoning of gardeners and consumers of vegetables as well as environmental pollution.

scholarly journals The niche of One Health approaches in Lassa fever surveillance and control

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liã Bárbara Arruda ◽  
Najmul Haider ◽  
Ayodeji Olayemi ◽  
David Simons ◽  
Deborah Ehichioya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
One Health ◽  
Population Expansion ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
West African ◽  
Lassa Virus ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Rodent Host ◽  
Public Health Burden ◽  
And Control

AbstractLassa fever (LF), a zoonotic illness, represents a public health burden in West African countries where the Lassa virus (LASV) circulates among rodents. Human exposure hinges significantly on LASV ecology, which is in turn shaped by various parameters such as weather seasonality and even virus and rodent-host genetics. Furthermore, human behaviour, despite playing a key role in the zoonotic nature of the disease, critically affects either the spread or control of human-to-human transmission. Previous estimations on LF burden date from the 80s and it is unclear how the population expansion and the improvement on diagnostics and surveillance methods have affected such predictions. Although recent data have contributed to the awareness of epidemics, the real impact of LF in West African communities will only be possible with the intensification of interdisciplinary efforts in research and public health approaches. This review discusses the causes and consequences of LF from a One Health perspective, and how the application of this concept can improve the surveillance and control of this disease in West Africa.

scholarly journals African countries established COVID-19 testing in one month: Here’s how they did it

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Amukele ◽  
Ryland N. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Success Story ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Health Organization

Background: As a novel and deadly acute respiratory syndrome, which later became known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), spread beyond China in late January 2020, there were no laboratories in Africa that could test for the disease. However, in early March, just over a month later, 42 African countries had developed the expertise and resources to perform COVID-19 testing. Our goal was to document this public health success story, learn from it, and use it to inform future public health action.Intervention: Three groups were primarily responsible for establishing COVID-19 testing capacity in Africa. The first group comprised early test manufacturers who reacted with incredible speed and ingenuity early in the pandemic, such as the German company TIB MolBiol that developed a molecular test for COVID-19 before the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence was available. The second group included private and public donors such as the Jack Ma Foundation, and the last were the coordinators of the rollout, such as the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Lessons learnt: The first lesson was that speed is critical, especially during a crisis. It was also demonstrated that being a predictable and transparent trusted institution opens doors and improves effectiveness. Africa CDC, which was only three years old, was able to secure significant resources from external partners and rapidly build substantial testing capacity within Africa because it is a trusted institution.Recommendations: Low- and middle-income countries must build local trusted institutions to better prepare for public health challenges.

Risk Monitoring and Control in Audit Firms: A Research Synthesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean C. Bedard ◽  
Donald R. Deis ◽  
Mary B. Curtis ◽  
J. Gregory Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Decision Aids ◽  
Auditor Independence ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Risk Monitoring ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
And Control

This paper summarizes the research literature related to audit firm quality control, with a dual purpose: (1) to provide information on the current state of knowledge with regard to the ways in which audit firms monitor and control firm-level risk; and (2) to identify specific areas in which there is currently insufficient research. We review literature on a number of specific topics under the overall heading of firm-level risk monitoring and control, including: client acceptance/continuance procedures, auditor independence (partner and firm rotation, employing former auditors, nonaudit services, partner compensation), electronic decision aids, consultation units, procedures for communicating weaknesses and taking corrective action, and review of engagement activities (including engagement quality reviews, peer reviews, and regulatory inspections). We conclude with a discussion of research relevant to the issue of whether smaller audit firms should be subject to the same level of quality control regulation as larger firms.

Image-Guided Variant Geometry Analysis of Layerwise Build Quality in Additive Manufacturing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Imani ◽  
Ruimin Chen ◽  
Evan Diewald ◽  
Edward Reutzel ◽  
Hui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Process Monitoring ◽  
Flaw Detection ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Image Guided ◽  
Process Monitoring And Control ◽  
And Control ◽  
Geometry Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) is a new paradigm in design-driven build of customized products. Nonetheless, mass customization and low volume production make the AM quality assurance extremely challenging. Advanced imaging provides an unprecedented opportunity to increase information visibility, cope with the product complexity, and enable on-the-fly quality control in AM. However, in-situ images of a customized AM build show a high level of layer-to-layer geometry variation, which hampers the use of powerful image-based learning methods such as deep neural networks (DNNs) for flaw detection. Few, if any, previous works investigated how to tackle the impact of AM customization on image-guided process monitoring and control. The proposed research is aimed at filling this gap by developing a novel real-time and multi-scale process monitoring methodology for quality control of customized AM builds. Specifically, we leverage the computer-aided design (CAD) file to perform shape-to-image registration and delineate the regions of interests in lay-erwise images. Next, a hierarchical dyadic partitioning methodology is developed to split layer-to-layer regions of interest into subregions with the same number of pixels to provide freeform geometry analysis. Then, we propose a semiparametric model to characterize the complex spatial patterns in each customized subregion and boost the computational speed. Finally, a DNN model is designed to learn and detect fine-grained information of flaws. Experimental results show that the proposed process monitoring and control methodology detects flaws in each layer with an accuracy of 92.50±1.03%. This provides an opportunity to reduce inter-layer variation in AM prior to completion of the build. The proposed methodology can also be generally applicable in a variety of engineering and medical domains that entail image-based process monitoring and control with customized designs.

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