Organisations’ Contributions to the 2018 Review of the Mental Health Act: Social Processes, Racial Disparities and the Role of Stakeholders

Aims: The aim of the present research was to study stakeholders’ experiences of the written and verbal consultations during the 2018 review of the Mental Health Act, in particular how issues of race were explored. Background: There are longstanding racial inequalities within the mental health system. One of the most concerning areas of inequality is the disproportionate use of the Mental Health Act. There have been several policies and legislative attempts to address racial inequities in society and the mental health system, however many have failed to change the material condition for people from ethnic minority backgrounds within mental health services. The 2018 review of the Mental Health Act aimed to address the disproportionate detention rates for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The Government appointed an independent advisory panel to conduct consultations with key stakeholders to advise on recommendations for review. Rationale: Due to previous policy failures to adequately reduce racial inequality within mental health services and in the application of the Mental Health Act, the study aimed to explore stakeholders’ experience of the Mental Health Act review process, with particular attention to how race was addressed within consultations. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight key stakeholders based in the UK. A critical realist thematic analysis was used to analyse participants’ experiences. Results: Three main themes were identified, “It’s a charade”: power and influence in the review process; “This is how the political system works”: power enacted in the design of the review and Elements in an ideal consultation. Conclusion: Stakeholders highlighted how power operated within the review process. This impacted their ability to consult, how issues of race were subsumed and ignored and how organisational and structural changes were needed to improve the stakeholder consultations. The study identifies key implications for future policy development, professional training and further research

Participation in Selected USDA Programs by Socially Disadvantaged Farmers in Selected Black Belt Counties in Georgia

This study examines the characteristics of African American Farmers (AAFs), a significant subgroup of socially disadvantaged farmers (SDFs) in the U.S. South, and their overall awareness of USDA programs. Specifically, these programs include the Farm Ownership Loan (FOL) and Operating Loan (OL) programs, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), and the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. It also investigates the main reasons for participation and non-participation in these programs, assesses the relationship between program application and the rate of approval, and examines the relationship between USDA program outreach to SDFs and program implementation. Using convenience sampling, data collected from respondents in southwest Georgia were analyzed and presented descriptively in tables and graphs. Results indicate that awareness was high with the FOL/OL programs but applications and approvals were low for FOL. Equally, awareness was high for EQIP but not the VAPG program, while participation was low for both. Reasons for non-participation were AAFs thinking they did not qualify for all programs, lack of collateral, complicated reporting requirements, and incomplete applications

Production of Iron Nuggets from the Akpafu-Todzi Iron Ore and Artisanal Ferrous Slag using Post Consumer Thermosets (Waste Electrical Sockets) as Reductants

AbstractPost-consumer thermosets are difficult to recycle because, unlike thermoplastics, they cannot be remoulded to create other items as a result of the extensive cross-linkages in their structure. The increased production of thermoset blends and composites in recent years has greatly increased the amount of waste materials. However, higher levels of carbon and hydrogen present in thermosets make them a potential reductant in the iron extractive industries. In this research work, postconsumer thermoset was transformed into carbon resource through a charring process. The resulting carbonaceous material from the thermoset was used as reductant in the production of metallic iron from the Akpafu-Todzi iron ore and artisanal slag using the microwave technology through the composite pellet approach at varying firing times. Analyses by XRF, XRD and SEM/EDS showed that the Akpafu Todzi iron ore is comprised of the iron oxides hematite (Fe2O3) and wustite (Fe0.942O), while the artisanal slag was predominantly fayalite (Fe2SiO4). Complete reduction of the ore was attained after 120 min reduction but the maximum extent of reduction was 78.84% for the slag, demonstrating the potential of postconsumer thermosets to function effectively as a reductant in the iron extractive industry. Keywords: Reduction; Akpafu-Todzi Iron Ore; Post Consumer Thermosets; Waste Electrical Socket

High-resolution patterns and inequalities in ambient fine particle mass (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) in the Greater Accra Metropolis, Ghana.

Growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) experience high levels of ambient air pollution. However, sparse long-term city-wide air pollution exposure data limits policy mitigation efforts and assessment of the health and climate effects in growing cities. In the first study of its kind in West Africa, we developed high resolution spatiotemporal land use regression (LUR) models to map fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) concentrations in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), one of the fastest sprawling metropolises in SSA. We conducted a one-year measurement campaign covering 146 sites and combined these data with geospatial and meteorological predictors to develop separate Harmattan and non-Harmattan season PM2.5 and BC models at 100 m resolution. The final models were selected with a forward stepwise procedure and performance was evaluated with 10-fold cross-validation. Model predictions were overlayed with the most recent census data to estimate the population distribution of exposure and socioeconomic inequalities in exposure at the census enumeration area level. The fixed effects components of the models explained 48-69 % and 63-71 % of the variance in PM2.5 and BC concentrations, respectively. Spatial variables related to road traffic and vegetation variables explained the most variability in the non-Harmattan models, while temporal variables were dominant in the Harmattan models. The entire GAMA population is exposed to PM2.5 levels above the World Health Organization guideline, including even the Interim Target 3 (15 μg/m3), with the highest exposures in poorer neighborhoods. The models can be used to support air pollution mitigation policies, health, and climate impact assessments. The measurement and modelling approach used in this study can be adapted to other African cities to bridge the air pollution data gap in the region

Spatial-temporal patterns of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) pollution in Accra

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rapidly urbanizing, and ambient air pollution has emerged as a major environmental health concern in SSA cities. Yet, effective air quality management is hindered by limited data. We deployed robust, low-cost and low-power devices in a large-scale measurement campaign and characterized within-city variations in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) pollution in Accra, Ghana. Methods: Between April 2019 and June 2020, we measured weekly gravimetric (filter-based) and minute-by-minute PM2.5 concentrations at 146 unique locations, comprising of 10 fixed (~1-year) and 136 rotating (7-day) sites covering a range of land-use and source influences. Filters were weighed for mass, and light absorbance (10−5m−1) of the filters was used as proxy for BC concentration. Year-long data at four fixed sites that were monitored in a previous study (2006-2007) were compared to assess change in PM2.5 concentrations. Results: The mean annual PM2.5 across the fixed sites ranged from 26 μg/m3 at a peri-urban site to 40 μg/m3 at commercial, business, and industrial (CBI) areas. CBI areas had the highest PM2.5 levels (mean: 37 μg/m3), followed by high-density residential neighborhoods (mean: 36 μg/m3), while peri-urban areas recorded the lowest (mean: 26 μg/m3). Both PM2.5 and BC levels were highest during the dry dusty Harmattan period (mean PM2.5: 89 μg/m3) compared to non-Harmattan season (mean PM2.5: 23 μg/m3). PM2.5 at all sites peaked at dawn and dusk, coinciding with morning and evening heavy traffic. We found about a ~50% reduction (71 vs 37 μg/m3) in mean annual PM2.5 concentrations when compared to measurements in 2006-2007 in Accra. Conclusion: Ambient PM2.5 concentrations in Accra may have plateaued at levels lower than those seen in large Asian megacities. However, levels are still 2- to 4-fold higher than the WHO guideline. Effective and equitable policies are needed to reduce pollution levels and protect public health

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) Is Required for Normal Development of Skin and Thymus

The tumor suppressor gene Apc (adenomatous polyposis coli) is a member of the Wnt signaling pathway that is involved in development and tumorigenesis. Heterozygous knockout mice for Apc have a tumor predisposition phenotype and homozygosity leads to embryonic lethality. To understand the role of Apc in development we generated a floxed allele. These mice were mated with a strain carrying Cre recombinase under the control of the human Keratin 14 (K14) promoter, which is active in basal cells of epidermis and other stratified epithelia. Mice homozygous for the floxed allele that also carry the K14-cre transgene were viable but had stunted growth and died before weaning. Histological and immunochemical examinations revealed that K14-cre–mediated Apc loss resulted in aberrant growth in many ectodermally derived squamous epithelia, including hair follicles, teeth, and oral and corneal epithelia. In addition, squamous metaplasia was observed in various epithelial-derived tissues, including the thymus. The aberrant growth of hair follicles and other appendages as well as the thymic abnormalities in K14-cre; Apc(CKO/CKO) mice suggest the Apc gene is crucial in embryonic cells to specify epithelial cell fates in organs that require epithelial–mesenchymal interactions for their development

Characterisation of urban environment and activity across space and time using street images and deep learning in Accra

The urban environment influences human health, safety and wellbeing. Cities in Africa are growing faster than other regions but have limited data to guide urban planning and policies. Our aim was to use smart sensing and analytics to characterise the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of features of the urban environment relevant for health, liveability, safety and sustainability. We collected a novel dataset of 2.1 million time-lapsed day and night images at 145 representative locations throughout the Metropolis of Accra, Ghana. We manually labelled a subset of 1,250 images for 20 contextually relevant objects and used transfer learning with data augmentation to retrain a convolutional neural network to detect them in the remaining images. We identified 23.5 million instances of these objects including 9.66 million instances of persons (41% of all objects), followed by cars (4.19 million, 18%), umbrellas (3.00 million, 13%), and informally operated minibuses known as tro tros (2.94 million, 13%). People, large vehicles and market-related objects were most common in the commercial core and densely populated informal neighbourhoods, while refuse and animals were most observed in the peripheries. The daily variability of objects was smallest in densely populated settlements and largest in the commercial centre. Our novel data and methodology shows that smart sensing and analytics can inform planning and policy decisions for making cities more liveable, equitable, sustainable and healthy