Hydrogeological and geophysical investigations for groundwater in the Arumeru District (Northern Tanzania)

Due to water shortage, in the wards of Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu (Arumeru District, Northern Tanzania), the per capita daily water consumption is 8 liters as.average, The avaleability goes down to 3-4 liters in the dry seasons when most of the population cannot resort to seasonal ponds or streams and so it is compelled to concentrate around the few perennial water points. This datum is quite far from the Millennium Goal objectives that foresee a quantity of at least 20 l/d/p (litres per day per person) for the Development Countries population, within 2015. Problems are also related to water quality, in particular, the high concentration of fluoride that characterises the waters in East Africa Rift System

Geophysical approach to the environmental study of a coastal plain

In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geological aspects, such as structural features, depth to basement, stratigraphy of sedimentary cover, relationships between the phreatic aquifer and underlying aquifers, and the latter's structure, is basic to gaining an adequate understanding of both the causes and possible evolution of salination. In this framework, geophysical techniques can play a very important role.To improve the available geophysical information about the Muravera coastal plain, Sardinia, Italy, which is affected by severe soil and water salination, previously acquired electrical resistivity, reflection seismic and gravity data have been reprocessed, and a new seismic reflection survey has been conducted. Moreover, in order to give better support to the geological and hydrogeological interpretation of geophysical data, three boreholes were drilled. Reprocessed electrical data indicate the presence of a wide, electrically homogeneous low-resistivity zone associated with salination phenomena. Reprocessed reflection data provide useful information on the near-surface stratigraphy. The combined interpretation of resistivity and seismic results, supported by one calibration borehole, elucidates the relationships between the phreatic aquifer and the underlying confined aquifer. A new seismic reflection survey gives information on the depth to, and structure of, the Paleozoic basement, as well as on stratigraphic conditions of Pleistocene-Holocene sediments. Finally, the combined interpretation of seismic, gravity, and well data results in a geological section containing most of the information considered essential, such as the interface between Holocene alluvium and Pleistocene alluvium, the thickness of the latter, and the structure and composition of the Paleozoic basement.The work as a whole shows how the combined application of geophysical techniques can in this specific situation provide wide-ranging and high-quality information that is essential for the realistic mathematical modeling of aquifer contamination, and can enable the rational planning of exploratory drilling

Differences in telomere length between patients with bipolar disorder and controls are influenced by lithium treatment

Aim: To assess the role of lithium treatment in the relationship between bipolar disorder (BD) and leukocyte telomere length (LTL). Materials & methods: We compared LTL between 131 patients with BD, with or without a history of lithium treatment, and 336 controls. We tested the association between genetically determined LTL and BD in two large genome-wide association datasets. Results: Patients with BD with a history lithium treatment showed longer LTL compared with never-treated patients (p = 0.015), and similar LTL compared with controls. Patients never treated with lithium showed shorter LTL compared with controls (p = 0.029). Mendelian randomization analysis showed no association between BD and genetically determined LTL. Conclusion: Our data support previous findings showing that long-term lithium treatment might protect against telomere shortening