BACKGROUND Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic pathogen that can infect a range of animals and humans. Ingestion of T. gondii oocysts in soil is a significant transmission route for humans and animals acquiring toxoplasmosis. In the present study, we developed a new semi-nested PCR method to determine T. gondii oocysts distribution in soils in northwestern China. RESULTS The one tube semi-nested ...

The influence of soil pH was evaluated on the abundance and generic diversity of cyanobacteria in soil samples collected from diverse rice soil ecologies of India. Qualitative and quantitative studies of the 52 soil samples collected from nine agroecologies was carried out using enrichment, MPN (Most Probable Number) techniques and diversity indices were measured. A total of 166 forms, includin...

Oil-pollution due to accidental during transportation or leakage from storage not only brings large damage to the environments, but it also affects the geotechnical properties of soil. Hence, an extensive laboratory testing program was carried out to investigate the geotechnical properties on palm biodiesel contaminated weathered granite soil and mining sand. A series of laboratory experiments ...

Established soil sampling methods for asbestos are inadequate to support risk assessment and risk-based decision making at Superfund sites due to difficulties in detecting asbestos at low concentrations and difficulty in extrapolating soil concentrations to air concentrations. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) currently recommends the rigorou...

The behavior of As in paddy fields is of great interest considering high As contents of groundwater in several Asian countries where rice is the main staple. We determined the concentrations of Fe, Mn, and As in soil, soil water, and groundwater samples collected at different depths down to 2 m in an experimental paddy field in Japan during the cycle of flooded and non-flooded periods. In addit...

Paired vegetable/soil samples from New York City and Buffalo, NY, gardens were analyzed for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and barium (Ba). Vegetable aluminum (Al) was measured to assess soil adherence. Soil and vegetable metal concentrations did not correlate; vegetable concentrations varied by crop type. Pb was below health-based guidance values (EU standards) in virtually all fruits. 47% of root cr...