Determination of Shallow Groundwater Aquifer Geometry using Geo-Electrical Techniques in the Atankwidi Sub-Basin of the White Volta Basin, Ghana

This paper presents the research findings on the delineation of shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin. The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale dry season irrigation is a key issue for irrigation development in the arid zone of Ghana. Farmers within the Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin are increasingly adopting groundwater as a source of irrigation water due to the unavailability of surface water during the dry season. There is therefore the need to determine the shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in order to ensure sustainability in the application and possible expansion of groundwater irrigation in the area. The geometry of aquifer system in the Atankwidi sub-basin has therefore been delineated using geophysical (VES and EM) techniques. The depth to water table in the sub-basin ranged from 0.4 - 7.8 m with a mean of 1.7 m whiles the depth to bedrock varied from 2 - 38.3 m with a mean depth of 8.4 m. The mean saturation thickness of the aquifer system is 6.3 m with a minimum and maximum thickness of 0.1 m and 35.0 m respectively. The estimated potential volume of groundwater storage of the aquifer system in the sub-basin is 370,777,191.2 m3. Keywords: Shallow Groundwater Irrigation; Aquifer geometry; Shallow wel

Assessment of the Quality of Shallow Groundwater for Irrigation in the Atankwidi Sub-Basin of the White Volta Basin, Ghana

The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale dry season irrigation is a key issue for irrigation development in the arid zone of Ghana. Farmers within the Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin are increasingly adopting groundwater as a source of irrigation water due to the unavailability of surface water during the dry season. However the quality of the groundwater and its suitability for irrigation is not known, hence the need to assess the quality and its suitability in order to ensure sustainability in the application and possible expansion of groundwater irrigation in the area. Two main water types (Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Na-Mg-Ca-HCO3) have been determined using the Piper diagram. The relative abundance of cations in the groundwater was found to be in the decreasing order of Na+ > Ca2+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Fe2+. Similarly, that of anions was found to have a decreasing order of HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > PO42- > NO3- > F-. Groundwater in the area had low SAR and low to medium salinity hazard. However, magnesium hazard and alkalinity problems are likely to limit its use for irrigation. Keywords: Shallow Groundwater, Hydrochemical facies, Irrigation Water Quality

Fasting salivary glucose levels is not a better measure for identifying diabetes mellitus than serum or capillary blood glucose levels: comparison in a Ghanaian population

Aims/introduction: We compared the diagnostic performance and correlation between salivary, serum and capillary blood glucose of diabetes and non-diabetes patients. Early detection of diabetes mellitus (DM) contributes to the prevention of complications and management. Materials and methods: This case-control study was conducted among a total of 138 participants comprising 79 newly diagnosed diabetes patients (cases) and 59 non-diabetes patients (controls). Fasting salivary glucose (FSLG), fasting serum glucose (FSEG) levels and fasting capillary whole blood glucose (FCWBG) level were assayed for each participant. Results: The mean FSLG, FSEG and FCWBG levels were significantly higher among the cases compared to controls (p \u3c 0.0001). There was a significant mean difference between the levels of FSLG vs. FSEG (p \u3c 0.0001) and FSLG vs. FCWBG (p \u3c 0.0001) but not levels of FSEG vs. FCWBG (p \u3e 0.05) in both cases and controls. A positive correlation was observed between FSLG and FSEG (r = 0.89; p \u3c 0.0001) and FCWBG (r = 0.87; p \u3c 0.0001). At the cut-off value \u3e6.8 mmol/l for FSEG, a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 100.0% and area under the curve (AUC) of 98.8% was observed for predicting DM while a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 95% and AUC of 91.0% was observed for FSLG at a cut-off value \u3e0.5 mmol/l. At the cut-off value \u3e6.9 mmol/l for FCWBG, a sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 100.0% and AUC of 100.0% was observed for predicting DM. Conclusion: Fasting salivary glucose (FSLG) levels increased with increasing blood glucose levels. However, it does not generate enough diagnostic and predictive accuracy compared to capillary whole blood glucose which less invasive. © 201

In Situ Pumping–Injection Remediation of Strong Acid–High Salt Groundwater: Displacement–Neutralization Mechanism and Influence of Pore Blocking

Acid-polluted groundwater may cause many environmental problems due to its corrosivity. Pumping and injection technology is a commonly used remediation technology, and its main principles are displacement and neutralization. However, due to the high salinity in groundwater, blockage easily occurs and reduces the efficiency. The mechanism of pumping and remediation of strong acid–high salinity groundwater is unclear, and the mechanism and effect of pore blocking are unknown. In this paper, based on an actual polluted site, a field pumping test was carried out. Through groundwater monitoring and drilling core sampling, the process and mechanism of acid groundwater pumping–injection remediation were clarified, and the principle and impact of pore blockage are revealed. The results showed that increasing the injection pressure can effectively improve the repairing efficiency. When the pressure increased from 0.2 MPa to 0.3 MPa, the water injection efficiency per unit time was increased by more than 20%. The principle of pumping–injection remediation of acidic groundwater was mainly displacement, accounting for more than 93%, while neutralization only contributed less than 0.1%. Although the neutralization contribution was small, the neutralization interface of injected alkaline water and acidic groundwater was the main place for precipitation. The precipitation was mainly formed around the injection well, the amount of which decreases greatly with the increase in displacement distance. This was because the formation of precipitation required both an appropriate concentration of Fe and high pH (5.63). Affected by neutralization and dispersion, the pH of the acid–base water interface decreased and the necessary conditions for the formation of precipitation were not met. Therefore, in the actual pumping–injection restoration project, optimization can be carried out from two perspectives of appropriately increasing the injected water pressure and reducing the injected water pH. This study has important reference value for the control and remediation of such acid-polluted groundwater

In Situ Pumping–Injection Remediation of Strong Acid–High Salt Groundwater: Displacement–Neutralization Mechanism and Influence of Pore Blocking

Acid-polluted groundwater may cause many environmental problems due to its corrosivity. Pumping and injection technology is a commonly used remediation technology, and its main principles are displacement and neutralization. However, due to the high salinity in groundwater, blockage easily occurs and reduces the efficiency. The mechanism of pumping and remediation of strong acid–high salinity groundwater is unclear, and the mechanism and effect of pore blocking are unknown. In this paper, based on an actual polluted site, a field pumping test was carried out. Through groundwater monitoring and drilling core sampling, the process and mechanism of acid groundwater pumping–injection remediation were clarified, and the principle and impact of pore blockage are revealed. The results showed that increasing the injection pressure can effectively improve the repairing efficiency. When the pressure increased from 0.2 MPa to 0.3 MPa, the water injection efficiency per unit time was increased by more than 20%. The principle of pumping–injection remediation of acidic groundwater was mainly displacement, accounting for more than 93%, while neutralization only contributed less than 0.1%. Although the neutralization contribution was small, the neutralization interface of injected alkaline water and acidic groundwater was the main place for precipitation. The precipitation was mainly formed around the injection well, the amount of which decreases greatly with the increase in displacement distance. This was because the formation of precipitation required both an appropriate concentration of Fe and high pH (5.63). Affected by neutralization and dispersion, the pH of the acid–base water interface decreased and the necessary conditions for the formation of precipitation were not met. Therefore, in the actual pumping–injection restoration project, optimization can be carried out from two perspectives of appropriately increasing the injected water pressure and reducing the injected water pH. This study has important reference value for the control and remediation of such acid-polluted groundwater

Ghanaian BSW Students' Perceptions of Poverty and Social Welfare Policies in Ghana

In August 2010, data for this exploratory study were drawn from a sample of 185 undergraduate social work students from a public university in Ghana. Ordinal logistic regressions were run to analyze the relationship between social work students’ demographic variables and their perceptions toward poverty and social welfare policies in Ghana. The results of this study found that social work students’ age, gender, marital status, number of children, socioeconomic status, and area of concentration affected their perception toward poverty and social welfare policies in Ghana. The findings of this study point to several areas for consideration when developing or revising social work education curricula in Ghana

Institutional Involvement and Collaboration in Disseminating Biogas Technology in Ghana

Globally, biogas technology has been touted by academics, international organizations, United Nations, and pressure groups, among others, as an effective tool for protecting the planet against degradation. As such, stakeholders in the biogas technology sector have made some policy recommendations toward that goal. These include a global campaign in support of energy for sustainable development, climate financing by the international community, all countries adopting appropriate national strategies, innovative financial mechanisms, and encouraging private-sector participation in achieving the goal. Clearly, for countries to promote accessibility and create favorable perceptions on the adoption of biogas technology requires institutional involvement and collaboration. That is, institutions need to participate and contribute in terms of ideas and expertise as well as work together to ensure the dissemination and uptake of biogas technology in Ghana. This study is aimed at assessing the level of institutional involvement and collaboration and barriers to biogas technology dissemination in Ghana. A qualitative method was employed, and data were collected from 101 respondents through interviewing. The results indicated that the involvement of government and financial institutions in disseminating biogas technology was low, while biogas service providers showed moderate involvement. With regard to collaboration, it was revealed that institutions moderately collaborate in awareness creation but had low collaborations for promotion, monitoring, and evaluation. Furthermore, the lack of a national biogas policy, low government commitment towards biogas technology, and low financial support were key barriers to effective institutional involvement and collaboration in disseminating biogas technology in Ghana. It is recommended that the government shows a high commitment by providing the needed resources for dissemination activities and task the Ghana Energy Commission to formulate a national biogas policy to facilitate dissemination and adoption. Finally, a national biogas steering committee composed of all relevant stakeholders, including the Finance Minister or a representative from the Finance Ministry would create a good platform to help champion the dissemination of biogas technology in Ghana

Near-surface magma flow instability drives cyclic lava fountaining at Fagradalsfjall, Iceland

Acknowledgements: We thank the Icelandic Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate (Umhverfis-, orku- og loftslagsráðuneytið; URN) for funding the volcano monitoring efforts at Fagradalsfjall, and Prof. Evgenia Ilyinskaya (University of Leeds) for acquiring the FTIR spectrometer used in this study. We thank Sveinbjörn Steinþórsson for providing help with the eruption monitoring efforts at the University of Iceland and the Department of Civil Protection (Almannavarnir) for providing help and access to the eruption site. S.W.S. thanks Prof. Eva Eibl (University of Potsdam) for stimulating discussions and insight into the physical mechanisms driving intermittent lava fountaining at Fagradalsfjall.AbstractLava fountains are a common manifestation of basaltic volcanism. While magma degassing plays a clear key role in their generation, the controls on their duration and intermittency are only partially understood, not least due to the challenges of measuring the most abundant gases, H2O and CO2. The 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption in Iceland included a six-week episode of uncommonly periodic lava fountaining, featuring ~ 100–400 m high fountains lasting a few minutes followed by repose intervals of comparable duration. Exceptional conditions on 5 May 2021 permitted close-range (~300 m), highly time-resolved (every ~ 2 s) spectroscopic measurement of emitted gases during 16 fountain-repose cycles. The observed proportions of major and minor gas molecular species (including H2O, CO2, SO2, HCl, HF and CO) reveal a stage of CO2 degassing in the upper crust during magma ascent, followed by further gas-liquid separation at very shallow depths (~100 m). We explain the pulsatory lava fountaining as the result of pressure cycles within a shallow magma-filled cavity. The degassing at Fagradalsfjall and our explanatory model throw light on the wide spectrum of terrestrial lava fountaining and the subsurface cavities associated with basaltic vents.</jats:p

Fasting salivary glucose levels is not a better measure for identifying diabetes mellitus than serum or capillary blood glucose levels: comparison in a Ghanaian population

Aims/introduction: We compared the diagnostic performance and correlation between salivary, serum and capillary blood glucose of diabetes and non-diabetes patients. Early detection of diabetes mellitus (DM) contributes to the prevention of complications and management. Materials and methods: This case-control study was conducted among a total of 138 participants comprising 79 newly diagnosed diabetes patients (cases) and 59 non-diabetes patients (controls). Fasting salivary glucose (FSLG), fasting serum glucose (FSEG) levels and fasting capillary whole blood glucose (FCWBG) level were assayed for each participant. Results: The mean FSLG, FSEG and FCWBG levels were significantly higher among the cases compared to controls (p 0.05) in both cases and controls. A positive correlation was observed between FSLG and FSEG (r = 0.89; p 6.8 mmol/l for FSEG, a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 100.0% and area under the curve (AUC) of 98.8% was observed for predicting DM while a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 95% and AUC of 91.0% was observed for FSLG at a cut-off value >0.5 mmol/l. At the cut-off value >6.9 mmol/l for FCWBG, a sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 100.0% and AUC of 100.0% was observed for predicting DM. Conclusion: Fasting salivary glucose (FSLG) levels increased with increasing blood glucose levels. However, it does not generate enough diagnostic and predictive accuracy compared to capillary whole blood glucose which less invasive

Risk factors for longitudinal resting heart rate and its associations with cardiovascular outcomes in the DCCT/EDIC study

OBJECTIVE Individuals with diabetes have higher resting heart rate compared with those without, which may be predictive of long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Using data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and ComplicationsDCCT/EDIC)(study, we evaluated whether the beneficial effect ofintensive versus conventional diabetestherapy on heart rate persisted, the factors mediating the differences in heart rate between treatment groups, and the effects of heart rate on future CVD risk. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Longitudinal changes in heart rate, from annual electrocardiograms over 22 years of EDIC follow-up, were evaluated in 1,402 participants with type 1 diabetes. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of DCCT treatment group on mean heart rate over time, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the effect of heart rate on CVD risk during DCCT/EDIC. RESULTS At DCCT closeout, 52% of participants were male and mean 6 SD age was 33 6 7 years, diabetes duration 12 6 5 years, and HbA1c 7.4 6 1.2% (intensive) and 9.1 6 1.6% (conventional). Through EDIC, participants in the intensive group had significantly lower heart rate in comparison with the conventional group. While significant group differences in heart rate were fully attenuated by DCCT/EDIC mean HbA1c, higher heart rate predicted CVD and major adverse cardiovascular events independent of other risk factors. CONCLUSIONS After 22 years of follow-up, former intensive versus conventional therapy remained significantly associated with lower heart rate, consistent with the long-term beneficial effects of intensive therapy on CVD. DCCT treatment group effects on heart rate were explained by differences in DCCT/EDIC mean HbA1c