A cross-regional comparative study was conducted to survey the drinking behaviors of university students, in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau. In particular, I tested students’ preference for bottled water over filtered tap water, in a context where the latter option is widely accessible, free of charge, and meets drinking standards. It was found that Singapore has a relatively low rate of bottl...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's information collection rule requires the use of 1MDS electropositive filters for concentrating enteric viruses from water, but unfortunately, these filters are not cost-effective for routine viral monitoring. In this study, an inexpensive electropositive cartridge filter, the NanoCeram filter, was evaluated for its ability to concentrate enteroviruses ...

This study investigated the impact of purchase location on the stable isotope ratios of beverages by measuring the delta(2)H and delta(18)O values of bottled water, soda, beer, and tap water collected across the contiguous United States. Measured beverage delta(2)H and delta(18)O values generally fit the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), suggesting region-of-origin information is recorded in b...

BACKGROUND Various solutions have been recommended for cleansing wounds, however normal saline is favoured as it is an isotonic solution and does not interfere with the normal healing process. Tap water is commonly used in the community for cleansing wounds because it is easily accessible, efficient and cost effective, however, there is an unresolved debate about its use. OBJECTIVES The objec...

The effect of the discharge pressure on the performance of the trans-critical CO2 heat pump with a low gas-cooler outlet temperature is experimentally investigated on a test rig of water source heat-pump water heater. The optimal discharge pressure of the trans-critical CO2 heat pump is investigated under different external operation conditions. When the tap-water temperature is low, the charac...

To determine the comparative efficacy of tap water iontophoresis to iontophoresis with the anticholinergic glycopyrrolate, we undertook a single-blinded right-left comparison study in 20 patients with palmoplantar hyperhidrosis. Most patients had their palms treated and one patient had the soles treated. We compared the duration of symptom relief following iontophoresis with glycopyrrolate unil...

Opportunistic fungal pathogens are a concern because of the increasing number of immunocompromised patients. The goal of this research was to test a simple extraction method and rapid quantitative PCR (QPCR) measurement of the occurrence of potential pathogens, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terreus and A. niger, in home tap water and a hospital water supply. Water samples were taken from...

The prevalence of water disinfection byproducts in drinking water supplies has raised concerns about possible health effects from chronic exposure to these compounds. To support studies exploring the relation between exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) and health effects, we have developed an automated analytical method using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with capillary gas chrom...