Paolo Zuppi

Field application of the Micro Biological Survey method for the assessment of the microbiological safety of different water sources in Horn of Africa and the evaluation of the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera in drinking water purification

Water monitoring requires expensive instrumentations and skilled technicians. In developing Countries as Africa, the severe economic restrictions and lack of technology make water safety monitoring approaches applied in developed Countries, still not sustainable. The need to develop new methods that are suitable, affordable, and sustainable in the African context is urgent. The simple, economic and rapid Micro Biological Survey (MBS) method does not require an equipped laboratory nor special instruments and skilled technicians, but it can be very useful for routine water analysis. The aim of this work was the application of the MBS method to evaluate the microbiological safety of different water sources and the effectiveness of different drinking water treatments in the Horn of Africa. The obtained results have proved that this method could be very helpful to monitor water safety before and after various purification treatments, with the aim to control waterborne diseases especially in developing Countries, whose population is the most exposed to these diseases. In addition, it has been proved that Moringa oleifera water treatment is ineffective in decreasing bacterial load of Eritrea water samples.

Progesterone Effects on FSH Secretion in Estrogen-Treated Normal Men

The phenomenon of positive feedback between estrogens and luteinizing hormone (LH), originally thought to be exclusive to females on the basis of experimental studies in rodents (1, 2), has been shown to be present in male primates, including humans (3–6). The interactions between steroids and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) have been less thoroughly investigated. In vivo studies have only been concerned with the regulation of FSH in pre- or post-menopausal women (7–9).