Membrane water recovery in swimming pools: effectiveness, challenges and development perspectives

In this cohort of elite swimmers, cumulative exposure to chlorinated swimming pools was not associated with allergic diseases or objective markers of airway inflammation. However, given the cross-sectional design, these findings should be interpreted with caution. The observed association between longer swimming duration and atopy appears to be exploratory. Overall, chlorinated pool exposure alone may be unlikely to be a major determinant of allergic disease in this population. • Chlorinated pool exposure has been proposed to contribute to asthma and allergic diseases through airway epithelial injury; however, findings in pediatric populations are inconsistent, and many studies rely primarily on questionnaire-based data without objective airway assessments. • In this cohort of elite swimmers, cumulative pool exposure was not associated with allergic diseases or objective markers of airway inflammation and epithelial integrity. However, longer swimming duration was associated with increased atopy, and subgroup analyses suggested that early-life exposure in combination with tobacco smoke may influence airway inflammation.

BackgroundDrowning causes more than 4500 deaths annually and is the leading cause of death among children aged 1–4 years old in the USA. Isolation pool fencing (ie, four-sided fencing to limit access from all adjoining areas including residences and yards) and use of US Coast Guard-approved life jackets while boating can prevent drowning, but preventable deaths still occur. This study aimed to estimate the annual health and economic burden of drowning likely attributable to inadequate pool fencing and not wearing life jackets while boating to highlight the unrealised value of these known prevention strategies.MethodsA simple mathematical model used the most recent annual number of drowning deaths by decedent age in combination with previous study data to estimate the number of drowning deaths that might have been prevented through: (1) adequate isolation fencing for swimming pools among children aged <5 years old and (2) use of life jackets while boating for people of all ages. Prevention effectiveness estimates of pool fencing and life jackets were based on previous studies. Unit costs for drowning-related medical spending and avoidable mortality using the value of statistical life were from existing sources.ResultsProper use of swimming pool isolation fencing and always wearing a life jacket while boating could prevent an estimated 348 US drowning deaths and an economic cost of US$4.5 billion per year.ConclusionsHighlighting the effectiveness of drowning prevention strategies can help inform public attention to this issue and support cost-effective public health decision-making.

Swimming pools and similar aquatic environments may harbour a range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses and protozoa capable of causing human disease. We conducted an updated literature review to characterise reported infectious disease outbreaks associated with swimming pools from 2020 onwards, with the aim of describing occurrence patterns and underlying causes across microbial groups. A systematic literature search covering the period 2020-2025 identified 872 publications, of which 23 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria for detailed analysis. Reported outbreaks remain frequent and are predominantly associated with operational and maintenance failures, particularly inadequate disinfection. Cryptosporidium and Legionella were the most frequently reported pathogens. These findings indicate that swimming pool-associated outbreaks continue to pose a public health concern. Strengthening operational management and integrating pathogen-specific control measures into comprehensive risk-based management frameworks may contribute to safer swimming pool environments.

Amoebic infections of the brain can cause brain abscesses and meningoencephalitis. Brain abscess is a rare form of extraintestinal amoebiasis caused by hematogenous spread from intestinal infection with Entamoeba histolytica, which occurs through oral intake of contaminated water and food or fecal-oral transmission. It is mostly associated with amoebic liver abscesses and can be effectively treated with metronidazole. Meningoencephalitis caused by pathogenic free-living amoebae is extremely rare. Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by Naegleria fowleri infection of the olfactory epithelium with direct intracranial spread via the fila olfactoriae, primarily affects healthy young individuals through exposure to freshwater or brackish water in swimming pools, rivers, ponds, lakes, and estuaries. Granulomatous amoebic meningoencephalitis (GAM) results from the hematogenous spread of extracranial infectious foci caused by Acanthamoeba species or Balamuthia mandrillaris. Acanthamoeba-related GAM is more common in immunocompromised individuals, and waterborne transmission is relatively frequent. Balamuthia mandrillaris-related GAM can affect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals, often affecting people in their 50s to 70s with underlying conditions, such as malignancies, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, with soil-borne transmission being more common. Both PAM and GAM have high mortality rates, and effective treatments are yet to be established.

One of the most pressing challenges for contemporary local governments is how to provide public services of sufficient quality when resources are scarce. This is particularly acute in peripheral or rural areas facing depopulation, where downsizing or closing public service units is often the only viable option. While much research has focused on the citizens negatively affected by such cuts, this study examines the perspective of decision-makers tasked with these difficult choices. Through an in-depth study of three Swedish municipalities and their handling of public indoor swimming pools, we explore how political representatives and public officials reason and navigate these dilemmas. The analysis identifies two overarching courses of action: “preserve,” which focuses on upholding service provision through strategies such as creative cost-cutting and quiet prioritizations, and “adapt,” characterized by efforts to centralize services, engage in post-decision dialogue, and offer compensatory measures. By shedding light on these approaches, the article contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of local democracy under pressure and offers insights into how decision-makers balance economic, symbolic, and political considerations in contentious public service decisions. • Public decision-makers navigate public service location dilemmas through two main courses of action: preserve or adapt. • Preserve include treading water , quiet prioritization , and quiet quitting. • Quiet practices capture previously underexplored ways of handling service decline without making explicit decisions. • Adapt include inducing realistic expectations, selling change as a fresh new start, and offering compensation. • The article highlights democratic implications of quiet practices in local service provision under pressure.

Association between swimming pool attendance and allergic diseases: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

VO₂max represents a central indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness and a primary determinant of endurance performance in competitive swimming. Adequate oxygen transport and utilization capacity are strongly influenced by physiological adaptations, body composition, and energy availability. However, suboptimal nutritional intake and inadequate hydration practices remain common among adolescent athletes and may compromise aerobic capacity and training adaptation. Empirical evidence examining the combined influence of nutritional status and hydration on VO₂max in regional swimming populations, particularly in South Sulawesi, remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between nutritional status, hydration status, and VO₂max among swimming athletes in South Sulawesi. A quantitative cross-sectional design was applied involving 20 adolescent swimmers selected through purposive sampling at the Mattoanging Stadium Swimming Pool, Makassar. Nutritional status was assessed using BMI-for-age (WHO standards), hydration status was evaluated through a urine color chart, and VO₂max was estimated using the multistage fitness (beep) test. Data were analyzed using Kendall’s Tau correlation test. The findings revealed a significant relationship between nutritional status and VO₂max (p = 0.002), indicating that athletes with more optimal body mass profiles demonstrated superior aerobic capacity. Conversely, hydration status was not significantly associated with VO₂max (p = 0.140), suggesting that mild hydration variations may not directly affect maximal oxygen uptake under the study conditions. These results emphasize the critical role of optimal nutritional management in supporting cardiorespiratory endurance and swimming performance.

Suitability Analysis of Groundwater Quality for A Standard Swimming Pool in University of Uyo

The indoor dynamic thermal comfort of swimming pools in severe cold areas was studied, and the first-class swimming pool in Hohhot was selected as the research object. By the method of subjective questionnaire survey and field measurement, the subjective feeling and physiological parameters of swimmers before and after swimming in different areas were explored, and the indoor and outdoor environmental parameters were measured, and the neutral temperature and thermal comfort zones of different areas were obtained. The results show that the maximum temperature difference between the swimming pool and the outdoors is 40 °C, and the thermal sensation of swimmers changes dramatically during swimming. Before swimming, the average voting value of thermal sensation from outside the natatorium to the swimming pool changed from –1.1 to 0.11; After swimming, the average voting value of thermal sensation from the swimming pool to the outside of the natatorium changed from –0.87 to −0.58, and the voting values all increased first and then decreased. When people feel comfortable or hot, their heart rate is higher than when they feel cold. Swimmers are not sensitive to humidity, and the linear relationship between the hot feeling at the front desk and the operating temperature is not obvious. In order to meet the thermal comfort of human body in different behavior states, the intersection of thermal comfort temperature ranges of two different behavior states is taken, and the thermal comfort temperature ranges of different areas are 18.65–23.21 °C (foreground), 25.02–26.24 °C (changing room), 25.85–30.96 °C (shower cubicle), 29.71–30.82 °C (corridor) and 24.57–26.87 °C (swimming pool). The study creates a reliable database for the thermal environment design and operation management of swimming pools in severe cold areas, and provides a suitable artificial environment for swimmers.

This study employed a quantitative descriptive research design utilizing Multidimensional Analysis to determine the indicators of local housing attractiveness of first-time homebuyers. A total of 377 respondents were chosen using a stratified sampling technique. Results were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) was used to identify the latent dimensions underlying homebuyer preferences. Based on the findings, first-time homebuyers of local housing in Davao City found it highly essential to choose housing in safe areas, such as flood-free locations, landslide-free zones, and structurally resilient housing built from durable materials with earthquake-resistant structures. Meanwhile, the homeowner found it low or sometimes essential for local housing to be compliant with superstitions and have swimming pools. The Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) analysis yielded a stress value of 1,459,618.78, indicating a high level of distortion in the two-dimensional representation. This suggests that while the model provides a general visualization of the data structure, it may not fully capture the true relationships among the variables.The data revealed two principal latent domains: Essential Livability and Sustainable Opportunity. The findings provide a basis for local real estate to adapt to current housing trends and improve project planning. Keywords: Real Estate, Local Housing Attractiveness, Essential Livability, Sustainable Opportunity, Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Analysi

Aquatic sports are among the disciplines contested in both national and international championships. The design of the Aquatic Center in South Tangerang City aims to serve as a central facility for physical activity and personal development for both aquatic athletes and non-athletes, supporting the improvement of performance and specialized training in swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic diving. This Aquatic Arena provides a training space equipped with internationally standardized facilities, including a 50-meter competition pool, a diving pool, a warm-up pool, and other supporting amenities, making it suitable for hosting competitions at both national and international levels. Located on Jl. Graha Raya Bintaro with a site area of approximately 3.5 hectares, the project also aims to complement the competition facilities of the GBK Aquatic Stadium and contribute to the development of human resources through aquatic sports. As a distinctive architectural identity, the design adopts a High-Tech Architecture approach to realize a wide-span structure that emphasizes the form and façade of the building. The visual character of the facility will be dominated by materials such as metal, aluminum, steel, and glass, ensuring not only an attractive form but also environmental sustainability, safety, and user comfort.

Public concerns have increased regarding disinfection byproducts and respiratory health effects associated with chlorination in circulating recreational water environments such as swimming pools and hot tubs. Locally enhanced electric field treatment combined with copper (LEEFT-Cu) has emerged as a promising chlorine-free disinfection technology. However, its performance in circulating systems remains largely unexplored. In this study, a 10 L circulating system incorporating a LEEFT-Cu device was developed to evaluate its in-line disinfection performance. The effects of current and flow rate on microbial inactivation and copper accumulation were systematically investigated. The results revealed that current influenced both copper accumulation and bacterial inactivation in the reservoir, whereas flow rate primarily affected bacterial inactivation. Under the optimal condition (i.e., 80 mL/min, 2 mA), the LEEFT-Cu system achieved a 4.5-log reduction in bacterial concentration within 4 h, which is over 3 logs higher than CuSO4 dosing at an equivalent copper concentration. The system operated at an ultralow power of approximately 2.5 × 10-3 W and demonstrated effective performance with real water samples. These findings highlight the strong potential of LEEFT-Cu as an energy-efficient, chlorine-free disinfection strategy for circulating recreational water systems.

ABSTRACT This paper re-examines Guru Dutt’s Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955) as a cinematic site where the anxieties of postcolonial modernity, gender reform, and Hindu patriarchy intersect. Challenging the dominant view of 1950s Hindi cinema as an extension of Nehruvian modernist discourse, the paper argues that the film resists the homogenizing modernist project by reviving and reinforcing patriarchal cultural codes. The female protagonist, Anita (Madhubala), is interpreted as a reincarnation of the colonial memsahib, embodying a Westernized femininity that threatens the sanctity of Hindu domesticity and traditional gender roles. Through a close reading of narrative tropes, visual motifs, and spatial politics—especially the “other” spaces of tennis courts, swimming pools, and elite clubs—the paper shows how the film constructs the modern woman as a dystopic figure of postcolonial excess requiring moral and domestic containment. The satire of women’s emancipation and the film’s implicit repudiation of Hindu Code Bill reforms reveal cinema’s role in stabilizing patriarchal authority within a modernizing nation-state. The paper concludes that the memsahib archetype functions as a recurring cultural motif that reinscribes the ideal Hindu woman as domesticated, chaste, and spiritually superior.

Hypochlorous acid (HClO) detection is crucial for public health surveillance and the early diagnosis of related diseases. Currently, carbon dot (CD)-based fluorescent probes for HClO detection face issues such as insufficient green synthesis, a short fluorescence wavelength, and a lack of in-depth mechanistic studies. To address the above challenges, in this work, the biomass lotus leaf was used as the carbon source, and red fluorescent lotus leaf CDs (L-CDs) were green-synthesized. The probe exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity for HClO, with a detection limit of 0.44 μM. This method was successfully applied to detecting HClO in real water samples and the fluorescence imaging of endogenous and exogenous HClO in living cells. Through the combination of density functional theory calculations and experiments, the structure of L-CDs was speculated, and the oxidation and chlorination reactions with HClO were revealed from the perspectives of molecular structure and electron orbitals. This study introduced a new method for the sensitive detection of HClO, offering further insight into the mechanism of HClO detection by CDs.

This paper deals with the characterization of outdoor swimming pool waters to study the occurrence of trihalomethanes (THMs) and to assess the health risk of THMs exposure for three population groups (male, female, and children). The concentration of total THMs and individual species (chloroform, bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), and bromoform) were monitored during the seven months of 2022 in outdoor swimming pools in the coastal area of Montenegro. A total of 73 water samples from outdoor swimming pools were collected and tested for the content of THMs using an Agilent 7890 A GC. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of total THMs and each species were assessed through lifetime cancer risk (CR) and hazard index (HI), respectively. Health risk assessment was assessed through the oral and dermal exposure pathways. The concentration of total THMs in investigated water samples ranged between 0.19 and 237.18 μg/L when 26% of tested water samples had values above the maximal permitted value (100 μg/L) established by Montenegrin legislation. Chloroform concentration was in a range of 1.13-217.16 μg/L, while contents of BDCM and DBCM were in a range of 1.01-29.43 μg/L and 0.18-16.19 μg/L, respectively. Calculated values of dermal CR were higher than 10-6, thus CR values of total THMs exposure were higher than 10-6 for all population groups. On the other hand, CR via ingestion values were meagre, HI values of total THMs exposure for three population groups were calculated to be below 1. There is no non-carcinogenic risk for the children population while male and female populations were faced with non-carcinogenic health risk of total THMs exposure. On the other hand, all investigated population groups were faced with unacceptable cancer health risks and dermal contact was recognized as the main exposure route for all investigated populations.

The molecular mechanisms by which the human CDC25B activates the CDK1/cyclin B complex in the cell cycle, as well as how it can be inhibited by synthetic inhibitors at the atomic level, are still under investigation. Valuable insights have been gained from the molecular structure here‐described, which captures for the first time the interaction between the C‐terminal domain of the inactive mutant CDC25B C473S (CDC25B‐S) and the commonly used synthetic substrate 3‐O‐methylfluorescein phosphate (3‐OMFP). Crystallographic studies reveal that 3‐OMFP engages multiple residues within the active site and the adjacent “swimming pool” of CDC25B‐S, establishing specific interactions and prompting local adjustments in this region. These structural features explain the increased resistance to thermal denaturation of CDC25B‐S observed through circular dichroism measurements upon substrate binding. The structural changes induced by 3‐OMFP lead to a conformation comparable to that of CDC25A bound to its substrate, the CDK2/cyclin A complex. These findings qualify 3‐OMFP as a promising starting model for the rational design of selective competitive inhibitors of CDC25B having reduced off‐target effects.

This study presents and validates two simplified methods to estimate the frontal area of swimmers during active motion, based on video recordings from frontal and lateral views. The aim is to provide low-complexity and practical tools suitable for use in some everyday sport training environments, such as swimming pools. The frontal view enables a direct measurement of the true projected area, but is affected by factors such as the water transparency and the variable swimmer-camera distance. Although providing only a 2D projection, the lateral view benefits from a short working distance and good stability, improving the analysis of posture-related features such as body alignment and angle of incidence. By tracking and analyzing the evolution of the frontal area over the stroke cycle, the proposed methods allow the separation of propulsive and resistive contributions, revealing stroke-specific technical patterns. The results show that this approach can detect changes in technique, posture, and performance across different swimming styles and for the same athlete under varying conditions. Despite limitations in absolute accuracy due to simplified calibration and environmental variability, the system demonstrates sufficient repeatability and sensitivity for comparative analysis. The methods support biomechanical evaluation and feedback, contributing to technique refinement and improved swimmer performance.

Growing water scarcity across the European Union (EU) increases the need for improved water-use efficiency in water-intensive sectors such as recreational facilities. This study evaluates the feasibility of integrating alternative water sources—including rainwater, graywater, and filter backwash water—into swimming pool operations through a comparative analysis of EU legislation and selected national regulatory frameworks. The study is based on a structured desk review of scientific literature, legal documents, and technical standards published between 2010 and 2025, complemented by a qualitative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Previous studies indicate that public swimming pool facilities may consume approximately 20–50 m3 of water per day, highlighting the potential benefits of alternative water supply strategies. However, regulatory fragmentation and the absence of harmonized EU-level quality standards for recreational water reuse remain the main barriers to wider implementation. While Regulation (EU) 2020/741 establishes minimum requirements for reclaimed water reuse in agricultural irrigation, no dedicated framework exists for swimming pool facilities. Among the analyzed options, rainwater harvesting and graywater reuse appear to be the most feasible solutions. Clearer regulatory guidance and risk-management procedures could support the safe adoption of alternative water sources and contribute to improving water-use efficiency in the recreational sector.

We report the complete genome sequence of three Pseudomonas aeruginosa clone C strains-8277 (urinary tract), PT31M (drinking water), and SG50M (swimming pool). These genomes broaden available reference strains beyond cystic fibrosis isolates, enabling studies on the ecological adaptability, pathogenic diversity, and global success of clone C.