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Due to negligent use and disposal of lead containing sources including acid and alkali batteries with lead conductor, vehicle accumulators in last years, environment has been polluted greatly and it becomes the cause of animal poisoning. Heavy metals are dangerous because of their persistence and toxicity. Soil behaves as a sink of heavy metals by aerial deposition of particles emitted by human activities. The aims of this work were to identify the levels of lead in accumulator processing plant and city areas and animals. A total of 60 blood samples were collected in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar and measured lead concentrations using equipment LeadCare II. Detection limit of LeadCare II for blood lead concentration ranges between 3.3 and 65 μg/dl. Measurements were made in three replicates using the samples, which were diluted by 10 to 100 fold and about 180 units of analysis was carried out. According to our study lead concentration in blood from livestock populations in the vicinity of Khonkhor lake, Nalaikh district is greater up to 52.9 ppm and the concentration in the soil around the factories is 30 fold higher. High lead content were found in soil and livestock animal blood samples of accumulator processing plant, which have correlated positively between them. But lead concentration in the blood sample from animals, which in areas might be free from lead pollution, was higher than acceptable level. In further studies on contamination resources are required.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite distributed worldwide. It is excreted in the feces of infected humans or animals and is the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis, whose symptoms include watery diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. While Cryptosporidium parvum and C. hominis are the primary species known to infect humans, recent studies suggest that C. cervine , C. felis , and C. meleagridis may also cause diarrhea in humans (Carey et al. 2004). The oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. are shed in the feces and may then enter sewage treatment facilities via wastewater or persist in the environment. A previous study has demonstrated that some sewage treatments are not efficient enough to eliminate all the oocysts prior to water discharge (Bonadonna et al. 2002), which can lead to outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis. The largest outbreak of watery diarrhea was recorded in Milwaukee, WI, USA, in 1993 and was caused by Cryptosporidium oocysts that were not removed by the filtration system of one of the city's water treatment plants. Over 400,000 residents in the Milwaukee area presented watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting symptoms (Mac Kenzie et al. 1994). Cryptosporidium oocysts present a robust wall resistant to several environmental factors as well as to many of the processes and substances normally used for water disinfection. The robust nature of the oocyst wall requires more stringent treatments for disruption (Carey et al. 2004). Thus, early detection of oocysts in untreated water sources is essential to ensure efficient quality control for drinking water. Cryptosporidium oocysts in water and fecal samples have been generally purified with antibody magnetic beads or sucrose density-gradient centrifugation for Cryptosporidium testing (Simmons et al. 2001; Wohlsen et al. 2004). Then, the purified oocysts are identified by microscopy with fluorescent staining or genetic testing. Recently, the performance of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) …

It has been widely predicted that Southeast Asia is among the regions facing the most severe climate change impacts. Despite this forecast, little research has been published on the potential impacts of climate change on soil erosion in this region. This study focused on the impact of climate change on spatial and temporal patterns of soil erosion in the Laos–Vietnam transnational Upper Ca River Watershed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) coupled with downscaled global climate models (GCMs) was employed for simulation. Soil erosion in the watershed was mostly found as “hill-slope erosion”, which occurred seriously in the upstream area where topography is dominated by numerous steep hills with sparse vegetation cover. However, under the impact of climate change, it is very likely that soil erosion rate in the downstream area will increase at a higher rate than in its upstream area due to a greater increase in precipitation. Seasonally, soil erosion is predicted to increase significantly in the warmer and wetter climate of the wet season, when higher erosive power of an increased amount and intensity of rainfall is accompanied by higher sediment transport capacity. The results of this study provide useful information for decision makers to plan where and when soil conservation practice should be focused.