Kocuria Strains from Unique Radon Spring Water from Jachymov Spa

Members of the genus Kocuria are often found in soils contaminated with toxic metals or exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation. The use of classical cultivation technics often leads to the isolation of Kocuria sp. from underground spring waters. These bacterial isolates have to adapt their metabolism to survive in such extreme environments. Four bacterial isolates of the genus Kocuria (Kocuria sp. 101, 208, 301, and 401) were obtained from radon spring water (Jachymov, Czech Republic). These isolates were tested for their ability to withstand stress and extreme conditions. Growth was observed at a temperature range of 10–45 °C with optimal growth temperature between 20 and 30 °C. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in all four isolates was proved to be temperature-dependent. The strain Kocuria sp. 301 showed high resistance to all studied extreme conditions (UV radiation, desiccation, and free radicals in medium). The results suggest that isolates from radioactive springs might have developed mechanisms that help them survive under several extreme conditions and could be used in biotechnological production.

Perception and lived experience on health effects of natural hot spring water bath

Background: Natural hot spring bath has enormous health benefits. The water found in natural hot springs contains a variety of different minerals which shows positive benefits on rheumatism, skin diseases, gastritis, sinusitis, cardiac diseases, joint pain and many more. The healing effect is mostly from mineral composition.Methods: Phenomenological study was conducted on twenty-one participants who were taking natural hot spring water bath in Singha tatopani, Myagdi. Each participant was randomly selected. Eight In-depth interview and two focus group discussion were used for collecting information. People who have immediate bath experience were included in the study and those who were ill and not able to response the question due to illness were excluded from the study. Informed consent was taken from each participant before participation. Afterwards transcripts were transcribe and translated in English and analyzed using thematic analysis was done with the means of Ms. Excel.Results: Participants perceived natural hot spring water bath has positive effects on health and experience large sweating and excretion of urine while bathing. It helps to run their digestive system smoothly, improve blood circulation, and prevent skin problem, relief uric acid, sinusitis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, nose allergy, chest allergy, bronchitis and insomnia. Hot spring foment their pain organ and promote health of accidental victims, physically handicapped people, minimized uterine problem of women, eye itching and epiphora (watery eye).Conclusions: Common diseases Gastritis, rheumatism, skin disease, uric acid can be relieved by taking natural hot spring water bath as well as it help to promote and improve their health status. That’s why natural hot spring water bath can be a beneficial for improvement of public health.

Survey and first report of Acanthamoeba T4 genotype in natural spring water resources in the Black Sea, Turkey

Infection with Acanthamoeba spp. may result in granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and Acanthamoeba keratitis. Water is an important habitat where Acanthamoeba species thrive. Therefore, studying the occurrence of this free-living amoeba in water sources will help understand the infection dynamics. The aim of the study was to survey and report on the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in water resources from the Ordu and Giresun provinces in Black Sea. Acanthamoeba spp. was found in 1/17 natural spring water samples from Ordu and in 2/18 from Giresun. Acanthamoeba species were not detected in any of the investigated tap water samples. Sequencing of the (SSU) rDNA gene resulted in the identification of haplotype I (Acanthamoeba genotype: KJ094684). T4 (8.6%) was the only isolated genotype in both Ordu and Giresun provinces. This is the first report of Acanthamoeba T4 genotype in natural spring water resources in the Black Sea. The occurrence of Acanthamoeba species in natural spring water sources should be considered as a potential risk for human infection, especially to high-risk populations.

Community managed Drinking water in Lapalang village: A challenge from Coliform Contamination

The present communication is the result of the analysis of drinking water of Lapalang village in Pynursla Block, East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya performed in order to rule out the unscientific claims by villagers that the village drinking water is likely to have high concentration of lime. Water samples collected from the source (spring), storage tank and tap are analyzed in State food testing laboratory, Directorate of Health Services, Government of Meghalaya. The study shows that spring water is fit for consumption, however the same water supply collected from storage tank and tap is highly contaminated with coliform bacteria.

Characteristics of and Influencing Factors of Hydrochemistry and Carbon/Nitrogen Variation in the Huangzhouhe River Basin, a World Natural Heritage Site

In karst areas, the characteristics of water chemistry and carbon and nitrogen are of great significance to basic research. The contents of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, HCO3−, SO42−, NO3−, Cl−, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and total nitrogen (TN) in water samples from 18 rivers and 14 springs in the Huangzhouhe River Basin were determined. The results showed that the water chemistry type in the Huangzhouhe River Basin is HCO3-Ca-Mg. The chemical composition is mainly affected by dolomite weathering and also by ion exchange and other human activities. The river and spring DIC remain at the same level in the upper and middle reaches and decrease in the lower reaches. The NO3-N and TN of river water and TN of spring water increase in the middle reaches, while NO3-N of spring water decreases in the lower reaches. The DOC in the basin increases with the increase of SO42− and Cl−, mainly due to the human influence of agricultural and domestic sewage. In the basin, the NO3-N and TN in spring water are larger, and the DOC in river water is larger, mainly because there are more phytoplankton and human activities in the river water. The carbon and nitrogen in the Huangzhouhe River Basin are mainly HCO3− and NO3− ions. The evaluation of pH, Cl−, NO3-N, SO42−, and TDS shows that the water quality is good and the ecological environment is good.

Physicochemical investigation of some primitive water sources in district Champawat for potability and preservation of historical aesthetics, Uttarakhand, India

The present study deals with the assessment of physicochemical properties of spring water samples collected from the surroundings of Champawat city, Uttarakhand, India. The total of twenty-three parameters were analysed for the study including pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) (mg/L), electrical conductance (EC) (µS/cm), temperature (T) (°C), dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg/L), chloride (Cl- ) (mg/L), and uranium (U) (µg/L). The seasonal variation was also observed in these samples. In the hills, spring water has been the common source of public water supply from ancient times, therefore this study includes the springs that have survived from the distant past and were being used for drinking purpose at earlier time. However, with time, the quality of these water sources has depleted due to both natural and anthropogenic reasons to such an extent that two of these sources are not in use any more. The analysis has shown that pH of these samples ranged from 6.74 - 7.77, the highest values of TDS and nitrate (NO3 - ) were observed to be 500 mg/L and 39.1 mg/L respectively. This study can help determine the present state of these ancient water sources, which can be used as alternative water sources in the time of water supply crisis, and maintaining these historical water sources can be an example of sustainable development and preservation of historical aesthetics.