background : the population of mosquitoes is mainly influenced by the biotic and abiotic factors. although aedes aegypti was reported until 1960’s in the punjab, pakistan, the population has increased dramatically since 2009 and caused severe epidemics in 2011 due to heavy floods and rains. thus, this study was carried out to know the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on the population of ae...

BACKGROUND The role of relative humidity in the aerosol transmission of influenza was examined in a simulated examination room containing coughing and breathing manikins. METHODS Nebulized influenza was coughed into the examination room and Bioaerosol samplers collected size-fractionated aerosols (<1 µM, 1-4 µM, and >4 µM aerodynamic diameters) adjacent to the breathing manikin's mouth and al...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the different climatic factors in urban and rural areas that may affect the incidence of urolithiasis. Nationwide data on urolithiasis were acquired from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service between 2009 and 2013. Information on age, gender, date of diagnosis, geographic region and daily weather data from all weather stations was collected. The data were groupe...

Biodeterioration of poultry feed by fungal load due to improper storage is a major concern. The present investigation was carried out to determine the effect of relative humidity (RH) on biodeterioration of poultry feed, biochemical changes and ochratoxin A (OTA) production by Penicillium species examined during September 2009 to July 2010. All the relative humidities studied were supported 16 ...

Great uncertainty exists around indoor biomass burning exposure-disease relationships due to lack of detailed exposure data in large health outcome studies. Passive nephelometers can be used to estimate high particulate matter (PM) concentrations during cooking in low resource environments. Since passive nephelometers do not have a collection filter they are not subject to sampler overload. Nep...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of exposure to a low relative humidity (RH) environment on tear film physiology. METHOD A controlled environment chamber was used to create 2 different environmental conditions. Ambient temperature was constant in both conditions (21°C) while the RH was set at 40% at the normal condition and at 5% in the desiccating environment. Tear evaporation, noninvasive ...

Fingernails are a characteristic anatomical feature of primates and their function is dictated by the environment in which they are utilised. The present study examined the mechanical properties of human fingernails as a function of relative humidity (RH) and the subsequent moisture content of the nail material. Nail clippings were stored at a range of RH values and then weighed in order to det...