Dry January Research Articles

Seasonal subsurface water quality variation of physiochemical and bacteriological characteristics in Kamutwa-Kigali, Rwanda

Abstract The study was conducted to assess subsurface water quality on a seasonal basis in dry (January–February and June–August) and rainy (March and October–December) seasons. Samples were collected in the rainy and dry seasons of the year 2022. The results of this study were compared with global drinking water guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) to understand its status in terms of threshold levels of pollution and protect public health. Total hardness (TH), pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrate, sulfate, heavy metals (Zn, Mn, and Fe), fecal, and total coliforms were examined, and the water quality index (WQI) was calculated to assess the level of water contamination. The results indicated that during the rainy season, all physiochemical parameters gradually increased and the values were well within the permissible limit as prescribed by the WHO. The bacteriological test showed that there were no fecal coliform (FC) and total coliform (TC) in all trials performed, and the calculated WQI showed excellent water quality characteristics, thus proving fit for human consumption.

In Case You Haven't Heard

Everyone is writing a story about “dry January,” so who are we to be silent? With many writers saying it's okay if it's not total abstinence, that even cutting back will improve health, we say finally! As ADAW wrote in this space in October, there is no better place for information than the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Go to https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/ and you will find worksheets and more. There are quizzes to help you and your patients make choices. The merits of reduced drinking, as well as the appeal of the concept for people who don't want to stop drinking entirely, have been documented by researchers like Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D. over years of study. She also found that abstinence‐only approaches discourage drinkers from even trying. You can drink less per day, skip drinking days altogether, whatever works for you. As they say, “better is better.” And if you want help, there are groups. Witkiewitz is quoted in the “NIAAA Spectrum” online article titled “Incorporating Harm Reduction Into Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery,” (see https://www.spectrum.niaaa.nih.gov/fall2023feature). If you can't be “dry,” you can at least improve the quality of your life — and your liver — by consuming less. If you want to be dry, for January, and maybe into the beyond, more power to you. If you already are, cheers!

Sober Curiosity and Participation in Temporary Alcohol Abstinence Challenges in a Cohort of U.S. Emerging Adults.

Thus far, behavioral health research in the United States has not explored the prevalence or correlates of sober curiosity (SC; exploratory or experimental abstinence or moderation) or temporary alcohol abstinence challenges (TAACs; e.g., "Dry January"), despite significant attention in media and popular discourse. We explored these activities in a sample of U.S. emerging adults (e.g., ages 18-29), a population with higher-risk drinking behavior yet some of the lowest rates of treatment engagement for alcohol use problems. Survey data were collected in 2021-2022 among participants (n = 1,659; M age = 24.7 years). We assessed SC awareness/engagement and past-year TAAC participation, and differences across demographics and behavioral characteristics. Overall, 9% of emerging adults were familiar with SC and 7% had participated in a TAAC in the past year. Half of TAAC participants reported drinking less after the TAAC, and 15% remained abstinent after the TAAC ended. SC familiarity and TAAC were both associated with past-month heavy drinking, cannabis use, higher Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, more past-year alcohol and cannabis consequences, past-year substance use treatment, and greater readiness to quit alcohol. Both SC and TAACs may have potential to engage young people with a desire to moderate or eliminate their alcohol consumption. This may occur directly through use of these strategies or by helping them connect to additional services. Future research can help the field understand the uptake of SC and TAACs, gauge efficacy, and identify avenues to link young people to resources and interventions.

Characterizing Twitter chatter about temporary alcohol abstinence during "Dry January".

With roots as a public health campaign in the United Kingdom, "Dry January" is a temporary alcohol abstinence initiative encouraging participants to abstain from alcohol use during the month of January. Dry January has become a cultural phenomenon, gaining increasing news media attention and social media engagement. Given the utility of capturing naturalistic discussions around health topics on social media, we examined Twitter chatter about Dry January and associated temporary abstinence experiences. Public tweets were collected containing the search terms "dry january" or "dryjanuary" posted between 15 December and 15 February across 3years (2020-2). A random subsample stratified by year (n = 3145) was pulled for manual content analysis by trained coders. Final codebook accounted for user sentiment toward Dry January, user account type, and themes related to Dry January participation. Engagement metadata (e.g. likes) were also collected. Though user sentiment was mixed, most tweets expressed positive or neutral sentiment toward Dry January (74.7%). Common themes included encouragement and support for Dry January participation (14.1%), experimentation with and promotion of nonalcoholic drinks (14.0%), and benefits derived from Dry January participation (10.4%). While there is promise in the movement to promote positive alcohol-related behavior change, increased efforts to deliver the campaign within a public health context are needed. Health communication campaigns designed to inform participants about evidence-based treatment and recovery support services proven to help people quit or cut down on their drinking are likely to maximize benefits.

Habitat scale and seasonality influence macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups in a tropical Kenyan montane stream

Habitat quality and diversity strongly influence the composition of macroinvertebrate communities in lotic ecosystems. We evaluated the functional organization of macroinvertebrates in response to changes in habitat type and seasonality in the Afromontane Moiben River in western Kenya. In-stream substrate characteristics were evaluated at the reach, channel unit/habitat and microhabitat scales at nine sites in different land-use areas. Water and habitat quality were assessed during the dry (January–March) and wet (April–June) seasons. A total of 81 macroinvertebrate samples were collected every month from three channel units (pools, riffles and runs) defined by different substrate types and classified into five functional feeding groups (FFGs): collector-filterers, collector-gatherers, predators, scrapers and shredders. Numerical abundance differed significantly between FFGs, with gatherers > filterers > predators > scrapers > shredders. Coarse substrate (bedrock, boulders and cobbles) in riffles had the highest richness and abundance of filterers and scrapers while sand, mud and detritus in pools recorded the lowest richness and abundance. Shredders and scrapers occurred predominantly in upstream sites with minimal human disturbance, while gatherers were most abundant at disturbed sites. The greatest variability in FFGs was at the smallest microhabitat scale, and not at the reach scale. This study shows that attention should be given to both reach-scale and in-stream disturbances when assessing the ecological condition of streams and rivers.

Nutritive value and herbage mass of Pueraria phaseoloides (tropical kudzu) in un-utilized open grasslands in north-eastern and central Trinidad and Tobago

Pueraria phaseoloides is an important forage for ruminants in the tropics. However, its nutritive value and availability in areas easily accessed by ruminants and ruminant farmers in Trinidad and Tobago is unknown. This study, therefore, evaluated the effects of harvest date and location on the nutritive value, herbage mass and crude protein yield of P. phaseoloides in un-utilized open grasslands in three locations with high livestock density in Trinidad. Pueraria phaseoloides herbage (whole fraction and leaf) trailing on the upper canopy of open un-utilized grasslands were harvested in the late wet season of 2019 (October - November), early dry (January - February) and early wet (July - August) seasons of 2020 following a stratified random sampling scheme. The crude protein (CP) concentrations of P. phaseoloides leaves (235 g/kg DM) and whole fraction (217 g/kg DM) were highest in Wallerfield during the early wet season. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and lignin were lowest in the early dry season (P < 0.01). Crude protein yield (376–478 kg CP ha−1) and herbage mass (1,742–2,654 kg DM ha−1) were highest during the late wet and early dry season, respectively. In vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) of P. phaseoloides leaf (548–598 g/kg) and whole fraction (549 –580 g/kg) were highest in the late wet season. It was, therefore concluded that open un-utilized grasslands in Trinidad and Tobago produced significant amount of P. phaseoloides herbage year-round to support ruminant livestock production. However, the nutritive value, herbage mass and CP yield of P. phaseoloides herbage were highest during the late wet and early dry seasons.

Towards a New Definition of the Typical Day in the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption

Introduction: The standard screening instrument for alcohol problems in the current primary care, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C), contains a question about alcohol consumption “on a typical day.” Since this is a term that leaves room for multiple interpretations and the differences between alcohol consumption on weekends and weekdays are not taken into account, this study examines whether the latter distinction improves the prediction validity of the screening instrument. Methods: A subgroup of 852 participants of the Dutch version of Dry January (“NoThanks”) 2022 got the annual “NoThanks” survey, including questions about their alcohol consumption on weekends and weekdays, and the original ten AUDIT questions. The full AUDIT was used as golden standard. Sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for the original and different versions of the AUDIT-C. Results: Of all participants, 67 percent were hazardous drinkers (AUDIT ≥8) and 27 percent were harmful drinkers (AUDIT ≥16). For the original AUDIT-C, the cut-off score with the most balanced combination of sensitivity and specificity for hazardous drinking in men was 7 and in women was 6. For harmful drinking, this was 8 and 7, respectively. Certain versions performed equally well as the original. For harmful drinkers, the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.814 and 0.866 for the original AUDIT-C, for men and women, respectively. Only for hazardous drinking men, the AUDIT-C with weekend day (AUROC = 0.887) performed slightly better than the original. Conclusion: Distinguishing weekend- and weekday alcohol consumption in the AUDIT-C does not lead to better predictions of problematic alcohol use. However, the distinction between weekends and weekdays provides more detailed information for healthcare professionals and can be used without having to compromise too much on validity.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

You have of course heard of “dry January.” Like the guilt‐triggered stampede to the gym after the holidays, leaving alcohol for a month sounds like a good idea to many. In fact, some people who try it go on to have a dry 11 months afterwards, and some just reduce their drinking. Whichever it is, remember these two phrases: “Better is better” and “any positive change.” This is harm reduction's answer to alcohol, and it has been around for years. If you need help, it's there. Ask your doctor. Or if you prefer, go to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) “treatment navigator” (see https://alcoholtreatment.niaaa.nih.gov), or just go online for tips from NIAAA or many other agencies. It's not easy, but it pays off if you overindulged over the holidays – or anytime.

Relationship of the Seasonal Vegetation Indices against the NDVI and LST in the Region of Kamuku Game Reserve and Kwiambana National Park, Nigeria

While it is anticipated that there would be some similarities amongst spectral Vegetation Indices (VIs) because the majority of the indices use the red and NIR bands, it is also expected that there would be some variances. The NDVI, derived earlier by Rouse (1973), and is the commonly used VI, there have meagre understanding of the relationship between the NDVI and another VIs. Similarly, investigations on the correlation between LST and other VIs (other than NDVI) in both dry and raining seasons have not been adequately explored. This motivated the study to determine the seasonal correlation of some spectral VIs against the NDVI and LST over the forest reserve area. The study investigated two categories of VIs: slope-based and distance-based. It derived spectral VIs from Landsat 8 images for dry (January) and raining (August) seasons; and estimated LST from MODIS. The findings showed that the ARVI, GNDVI and TVI not only showed resemblance in appearance with the NDVI in both seasons, but also had a high coefficient of correlation: ARVI = 0.973, 0.964; GNDVI = 0.919, 0.879; TVI = 0.779, 0.716. Based on this finding, the ARVI, GNDVI and TVI can be used to supplant the NDVI for biomass related studies in the study area. The study further revealed that the LST-VIs relationship was negative for both dry and rainy seasons, except for the distance-based VIs (DVI, SAVI, MSAVI) that specifically had a positive correlation with the LST. The LST was strongly correlated with the GNDVI, TVI, NDVI, ARVI (0.664 ? r ? 0.598). However, the strength of the correlation for the LST-VIs in the raining season was very weak (0.003 ? r ? 0.245). The study concluded that the correlation of the LST versus the ARVI, GNDVI, NDVI, and TVI can be used for climate related studies.

Effect of precipitation on abundance and molecular diversity of potential vectors for Rift Valley fever virus in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonotic disease that causes significant economic and public health impacts in Kenya. Currently, there is inadequate information on rainfall patterns and mosquito diversity, including the dominant species in Nyandarua. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the rainfall patterns, relative abundance, and diversity of mosquito species that can transmit the RVF virus (RVFV) in Nyandarua. Mosquitoes were purposively collected from all the homesteads with suspect RVF cases in 10 villages using the CDC light trap during the dry (January 2021), long (July 2020), and short (November 2021) rainy seasons. Rainfall data was derived from the Climate-SERV satellite database. The mosquitoes were identified morphologically using a dissecting microscope and their identities, as well as genetic diversity, were determined using sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the CO1 gene. A total of 97, 328, and 366 mosquitoes were trapped during the dry, long and short rainy seasons, respectively. There was variation in the average daily rainfall between 2015 and 2021 during the three seasons. Of the mosquitoes trapped, 71 (9%) were males while 720 (91%) were females with 26 (4%) mosquitoes being blood-fed. During the three seasons, various species of mosquitoes including Culex pipiens (58%), Culex theileri (16%), Culex vansomereni (3%), Culex rima (2%), and Culex perexiguus (3%) were identified (Simpson index = 0.4). Culex pipiens was the most dominant species in this ecosystem (Shannon index = 1.2). We conclude that the anomalous variations in rainfall patterns may be correlated with the emergence of diverse species of mosquitoes that have the potential to transmit RVFV to animals in Nyandarua.

Using Natural Language Processing to Explore "Dry January" Posts on Twitter: Longitudinal Infodemiology Study.

Dry January, a temporary alcohol abstinence campaign, encourages individuals to reflect on their relationship with alcohol by temporarily abstaining from consumption during the month of January. Though Dry January has become a global phenomenon, there has been limited investigation into Dry January participants' experiences. One means through which to gain insights into individuals' Dry January-related experiences is by leveraging large-scale social media data (eg, Twitter chatter) to explore and characterize public discourse concerning Dry January. We sought to answer the following questions: (1) What themes are present within a corpus of tweets about Dry January, and is there consistency in the language used to discuss Dry January across multiple years of tweets (2020-2022)? (2) Do unique themes or patterns emerge in Dry January 2021 tweets after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic? and (3) What is the association with tweet composition (ie, sentiment and human-authored vs bot-authored) and engagement with Dry January tweets? We applied natural language processing techniques to a large sample of tweets (n=222,917) containing the term "dry january" or "dryjanuary" posted from December 15 to February 15 across three separate years of participation (2020-2022). Term frequency inverse document frequency, k-means clustering, and principal component analysis were used for data visualization to identify the optimal number of clusters per year. Once data were visualized, we ran interpretation models to afford within-year (or within-cluster) comparisons. Latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling was used to examine content within each cluster per given year. Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner sentiment analysis was used to examine affect per cluster per year. The Botometer automated account check was used to determine average bot score per cluster per year. Last, to assess user engagement with Dry January content, we took the average number of likes and retweets per cluster and ran correlations with other outcome variables of interest. We observed several similar topics per year (eg, Dry January resources, Dry January health benefits, updates related to Dry January progress), suggesting relative consistency in Dry January content over time. Although there was overlap in themes across multiple years of tweets, unique themes related to individuals' experiences with alcohol during the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic were detected in the corpus of tweets from 2021. Also, tweet composition was associated with engagement, including number of likes, retweets, and quote-tweets per post. Bot-dominant clusters had fewer likes, retweets, or quote tweets compared with human-authored clusters. The findings underscore the utility for using large-scale social media, such as discussions on Twitter, to study drinking reduction attempts and to monitor the ongoing dynamic needs of persons contemplating, preparing for, or actively pursuing attempts to quit or cut down on their drinking.

Exploring changes in temporary abstinence in increasing and higher risk drinkers in England and Dry January participation in users of the Try Dry app in the UK between 2020 and 2021.

BackgroundWe looked at changes in the prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence and changes in prevalence of use of the official app accompanying Dry January between 2020 vs 2021, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explored potential shifts in the sociodemographic composition of both groups. MethodsWe analysed data from: i) 1863 increasing and higher risk drinkers (defined as ≥ 8 on the AUDIT) responding to a nationally representative survey of adults in England in January and February 2020 and 2021, and ii) 104,598 users of the ‘Try Dry’ app, the official aid to those participating in Dry January 2020 and 2021 in the UK. We used logistic regression to examine shifts in the prevalence of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence and explored whether there were shifts in the characteristics of this group in terms of AUDIT score, number of last year reduction attempts, smoking status, living alone, living with children, reducing alcohol consumption due to future health motives, age, sex, and occupational social grade between 2020 and 2021. We used t-tests and chi-squared tests to compare the prevalence of users of the ‘Try Dry’ app in 2020 and 2021 and examine whether the two groups differed in terms of age and sex.ResultsThe proportion of increasing and higher risk drinkers reporting a reduction attempt motivated by temporary abstinence increased from 4% in 2020 to 8% in 2021 (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.38–3.11, p < .001) with no changes detected in sociodemographic composition. The number of Try Dry app users in 2021 increased by 34.8% relative to 2020. App users in 2021 were two years older on average [p < .001, d = .02], with a 2% increase in the proportion of female app users [p < .001, vs. < .01].ConclusionsHigher participation in Dry January 2021 relative to 2020 indicates increased engagement with a period of temporary abstinence following the COVID-19 related lockdowns in England and the UK, which is positive in the wider context of increasing alcohol consumption throughout the pandemic.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14188-4.

Distribution, Sources, and Biogeochemistry of Carbon Pools (DIC, DOC, and POC) in the Mangrove-Fringed Zhangjiang Estuary, China

The lateral carbon export related to mangroves is of great scientific significance and ecological value in the global carbon cycle. The dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and stable isotopes (δ13CPOC) of water samples were quantified in the flood (September 2020) and dry (January 2021) seasons in Zhangjiang Estuary. The results revealed that the carbon compositions in the tidal channel of the Zhangjiang Estuary are as follows: DIC &amp;gt; DOC &amp;gt; POC in both seasons. Except for the POC in the site near the sluice, the contents of all carbon compositions were significantly larger in the flood season than those in the dry season (p&amp;lt; 0.05). In the flood season, the POC and DOC exhibited similar spatial characteristics that all sites from the lower sites to the mouth were significantly larger than the site near the sluice. The DIC had an increasing trend from the upper site to the mouth. In the dry season, DIC and DOC displayed patchy distribution under the influence of mariculture and the sluice, while the POC had a decreasing trend from the upper site to the mouth. The MixSIAR model indicates that the source of the POC is overwhelmingly the mariculture, averagely accounting for 42.7% in the flood season and 52.6% in the dry season, mainly in the form of microalgae. The average contribution of mangrove to POC was 33.1% in the flood season and 39.3% in the dry season. The DIC-δ13CPOC and DOC-POC relationships represent the biogeochemical process of microbial photosynthesis and the physical process of adsorption-desorption of organic carbon by redundancy analysis, respectively. This initial dataset for this region should be included in other studies to improve the mangrove outwelling estimate.

Seasonal carryover of water and effects on carbon dynamics in a dryland ecosystem

AbstractNet primary productivity in arid and semiarid regions is controlled by water availability for which rainfall has been a commonly used proxy at annual scales. However, the hydrological partitioning occurring through the water balance can also shape both seasonal and annual net ecosystem productivity. In this study, we used 10 years of water and carbon flux measurements in a mixed shrubland watershed of the Chihuahuan Desert to investigate the seasonal variability and controls on net ecosystem production. Over this period, the site exhibited a bimodal rainfall regime with an average of 211 and 67 mm for the wet (July–December) and dry (January–June) periods of the year, respectively. During the wet season, soil infiltration and channel transmission losses led to an average of 35.8 mm of water stored in the subsurface for subsequent dry periods. By contrast, dry seasons consumed 30.3 mm of stored subsurface water to fulfill the ecosystem water demand, particularly during the springtime. In response, gross primary productivity occurred in equal amounts for both seasons, while ecosystem respiration was substantially higher during the wet season. This resulted in the mixed shrubland acting as an annual net sink of carbon (average of 153.2 g C m−2 year−1) of which 65% occurred during the dry season. We determined that the wet season provided water in excess of vegetation demands in that season, a portion of which was stored in the watershed subsurface for subsequent use, leading to a legacy effect. Gross primary productivity during the dry season was dependent on carryover soil moisture accessed by deep‐rooted shrubs. Our coordinated observations of water–carbon dynamics revealed that water availability during the wet season can sustain the annual ecosystem productivity by impacting the subsequent dry season carbon uptake.

Interpreting the salinization and hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in Dongshan Island, China

The groundwater salinization is a global problem that degrades water quality and endangers sustainable use of water resources, particularly in coastal areas. In this paper, 24 water samples were collected from 12 monitoring wells during the dry (January) and wet (June) seasons for analyzing the salinization and hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater in Dongshan Island of China through combined hydrogeochemical and multivariate statistical approaches. Results showed that groundwater in the study area is primarily Cl–Na and followed by Cl–Ca·Mg type in the dry season, Cl–Na and followed by Cl–Ca·Mg and HOC3·Cl–Na type in the wet season. The groundwater chemistry is predominantly controlled by carbonate, gypsum, and silicate dissolution. However, some areas are strongly influenced by seawater intrusion, sewage infiltration and reverse ion exchange process. Around 40% of water samples from the dry season and 50% from the wet season are at injuriously, highly and severely saline levels while other samples at slightly and moderately saline levels, suggesting that groundwater in the area is partially recharged by seawater. Furthermore, the NO3−/Cl− versus Cl− diagram and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated nitrate pollution in groundwater that is subjected to anthropogenic activities such as domestic sewage, agricultural and industrial practices, which lead to degradation of groundwater quality in the area. The findings of this study provide helpful insights for understanding the genesis and hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in those coastal areas.

Application of a hydrological method for determining monthly environmental flow in Code River, Indonesia

The declining groundwater in Yogyakarta could potentially affect the Code River baseflow, thus lowering the river streamflow. Consequently, the riverine ecosystem would suffer from a low quantity of streamflow. The quantity standard of streamflow can be determined by calculating the environmental flow. In this study, the environmental flow requirement (EFR) for the Code River is determined by applying an enhanced version of the most-used hydrological method, namely the Modified Tennant Method based on Multilevel Habitat Conditions III (MTMMHC-III). The EFR in the Code River could be calculated successfully by the MTMMHC-III with a satisfactory temporal variability. The EFRs are the lowest during July to October in the normal years, July to September in the wet years, and July to December in the dry years. The EFRs are highest during January to April in the normal and dry years and January to May in the wet years. However, the EFR might become too low in the dry years, especially from the beginning of the dry season (May) until the early wet season (December), with only 4-11% of the average annual flow. Ultimately, the MTMMHC-III method is a better hydrological method than the original Tennant Method and Q95 method.

An integrated dual process simulation model of alcohol use behaviours in individuals, with application to US population-level consumption, 1984–2012

IntroductionThe Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) describes how attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control guide health behaviour, including alcohol consumption. Dual Process Theories (DPT) suggest that alongside these reasoned pathways, behaviour is influenced by automatic processes that are determined by the frequency of engagement in the health behaviour in the past. We present a computational model integrating TPB and DPT to determine drinking decisions for simulated individuals. We explore whether this model can reproduce historical patterns in US population alcohol use and simulate a hypothetical scenario, “Dry January”, to demonstrate the utility of the model for appraising the impact of policy interventions on population alcohol use. MethodConstructs from the TPB pathway were computed using equations from an existing individual-level dynamic simulation model of alcohol use. The DPT pathway was initialised by simulating individuals’ past drinking using data from a large US survey. Individuals in the model were from a US population microsimulation that accounts for births, deaths and migration (1984–2015). On each modelled day, for each individual, we calculated standard drinks consumed using the TPB or DPT pathway. In each year we computed total population alcohol use prevalence, frequency and quantity. The model was calibrated to alcohol use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1984–2004). ResultsThe model was a good fit to prevalence and frequency but a poorer fit to quantity of alcohol consumption, particularly in males. Simulating Dry January in each year led to a small to moderate reduction in annual population drinking. ConclusionThis study provides further evidence, at the whole population level, that a combination of reasoned and implicit processes are important for alcohol use. Alcohol misuse interventions should target both processes. The integrated TPB-DPT simulation model is a useful tool for estimating changes in alcohol consumption following hypothetical population interventions.

Has the increased participation in the national campaign ‘Dry January’ been associated with cutting down alcohol consumption in England?

AimsDry January is a national multimedia campaign in the UK that encourages people to abstain from drinking alcohol during the month of January. The population-level campaign makes extensive use of email and social media to support participants and has reported a substantial increase in participation since 2015. This study aimed to assess whether the increase in participation in Dry January between 2015 and 2018 was associated with reduced alcohol consumption in England. DesignRepeat cross-sectional design. SettingEngland, March 2014 to January 2018. ParticipantsA total of 37,142 respondents to the Alcohol Toolkit Study, a monthly in-home survey of alcohol consumption among representative cross-sectional samples of people aged 16+ years in England. MeasuresOutcomes included i) percentage of adults reporting drinking monthly or less frequently in the last 6 months and ii) mean weekly alcohol consumption among drinkers derived from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test questions on typical frequency and quantity in the last 6 months. AnalysesFor each outcome, regression models were fitted for month: January (2015 and 2018) vs March-December (2014 and 2017) and for year: 2014/15 vs 2017/18. Interaction terms were included in the models to examine whether the difference between January and the preceding months on each outcome measure depended upon the year (2014/15 vs 2017/18). For non-significant interactions, Bayes factors were calculated to assess the relative strength of evidence for large effects (OR = 1.80 on monthly drinking and β=-1.0 on mean consumption) compared with the null. ResultsDifferences between January and other months were similar in 2014/15 and 2017/18 for adults reporting drinking monthly or less frequently and the mean consumption among drinkers (OR = 0.91, 95 %CI 0.79–1.05, BF = 0.05; β = 0.55, 95 %CI=-0.14 to 1.25, BF = 0.13 respectively). ConclusionsThe increase in participation in Dry January between 2015 and 2018 was not associated with large corresponding changes in people drinking monthly or less frequently over the last 6 months, or in mean weekly consumption among drinkers.

Determination of perfluorooctane sulphonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in seafood and water from Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate area, Thailand

ABSTRACT This initial study aimed to determine the concentrations of perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in seafood, bottled drinking water, and surface and tap water collected from Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province, Thailand. Samples were collected during dry (January) and wet (June) seasons, 2019. The perfluorinated compounds were cleaned up by solid phase extraction and analysed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry with stable isotopic labelled internal standards (13C8–PFOS and 13C8–PFOA). This study reports concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in seafood at levels between 29–6724 and <48–421 ng/kg wet weight, respectively. Surface water samples from rivers and the coastal sea had PFOS and PFOA between 0.60–465.65 and <0.25–59.29 ng/L, respectively. Contamination of PFOS and PFOA in bottled drinking water (<0.125–0.454 and <0.25–0.621 ng/L, respectively) did not exceed the USEPA standard of 70 ng/L. Concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in seafood and water samples between seasons did not show any definite trend. Seafood dietary assessments of PFOS exposure in the seafood eater population raised a health concern, as the exposure exceeded the latest EFSA tolerable weekly intake value for PFAS mixtures (4.4 ng/kg body weight/week). Therefore, environmental and food samples from Map Ta Phut area should be closely monitored to ensure the safety of people living in and around this area.

Response of benthic invertebrate assemblages to seasonal and habitat condition in the Wewe River, Ashanti region (Ghana).

Aquatic macro-invertebrates play a vital role in the food chain of river ecosystem at several trophic guilds and consumer levels, and are used as biomonitoring tools for aquatic ecosystem health. However, hydrologic conditions of these ecosystems have been severely altered because of the increase in urban development and agricultural expansion. This study examined benthic invertebrate response to processes that structure their community in the Wewe River, segmented into intact, medium, and severe condition zones. We sampled in 100 stations in a period of 4 months in the wet (June–September, 2019) and 3 months in the dry (January–March, 2020) seasons. Geometric series, rarefaction, and Hill numbers models were used to quantify invertebrate assemblages, while ordination technique, canonical correspondence analysis, was used to evaluate the influence of predictive factors on their assemblages. A total of 2,075 individuals belonging to 20 family taxa were registered. There was no significant difference in benthic assemblages between the dry and wet seasons. Predictive factors accounted for 47.04 and 50.84% variances, respectively. Taxa distribution patterns differed significantly only in the severely disturbed zone during the wet season. Neptidae, Libellulidae, and Chironomidae were the most abundant taxa, indicating their broad range habitat preference and their ability to adapt to seasonal changes. Asellidae and Perlidae were the least detected, suggesting their sensitivity to elevated levels of some water quality parameters. The findings highlight the threats to the benthic community and overall functional state of the Wewe River, with the need to consider the proposed conservation interventions indicated in this study.