Identification of a novel cytochrome P450 cDNA in rat oesophagus: Relevance to carcinogenic N-nitrosamine metabolism

Oesophageal cancer is an invariably fatal form of cancer with about 7000 deaths per annum in the UK alone. Evidence from the epidemiology and the mutation spectrum in the p53 gene suggests that the more common form of this cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, is caused by exposure to carcinogens. The N-nitrosamines are candidate carcinogens for this cancer in man. N-nitrosamines are metabolically activated by cytochromes P450 (P450s) and their organotropism is largely dependent on the distribution in the body of the particular nitrosamine and the P450s capable of metabolising it. The rat oesophagus is particularly susceptible to methylation and tumour formation by asymmetric N-nitrosamines, many of which selectively induce oesophageal tumours. This suggests that the oesophagus may contain a P450 that is absent or rare in other organs. The nature of this nitrosamine-metabolising P450 was investigated. A combination of Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Rapid Amplification of Cohesive Ends-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RACE-PCR) and oesophageal cDNA library screening showed the expression in the rat oesophagus of a novel P450 of the 2B subfamily. The deduced amino acid sequence of this P450 shows 84%, 83% and 77% identity to those of CYP2B1, CYP2B2 and CYP2B12 respectively. The catalytic activity of this new P450 is not yet known but metabolism and methylation studies in vivo using rats treated with phenobarbital, a CYP2B1/2B2 inducer, confirmed that these members of the 2B subfamily can metabolise the oesophagus selective nitrosamine, N-nitrosomethyl-n-butylamine, and that a major part of this metabolism was activating hydroxylation of the a-carbon of the butyl group. This supports the view that the novel P450 identified in rat oesophagus may be responsible for the metabolic activation and carcinogenicity of nitrosamines in the oesophagus. Further in vivo metabolic studies of N-nitrosomethyl-n-butylamine using untreated rats showed that it is metabolised in rat liver by CYP2E1. However, in this case 75% of the metabolism is detoxifying. An increase in methylation of oesophageal DNA by the nitrosamine after ethanol administration showed that CYP2E1 is not involved in the oesophageal metabolism of this nitrosamine

Theorising pornogrammar in the Akan folktale tradition: The trickster’s rhetorical indirection and sexual indiscretion

In the oral and written folktale tradition of the Akan people of Ghana, Kweku Ananse is the archetypal trickster. Simultaneously, he is divinity and mortal, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic, mind and matter, culture hero and comical villain. Though the phenomenon of Ananse has been widely studied, the question of Ananse’s sexually-oriented verbal traps has received very little or no attention. The present essay attempts to contribute towards filling this gap by raising fundamental questions about Ananse’s language. What linguistic stratagem informs the apparent ease with which he appropriates other people’s wives? We find that as the quintessential linguist, Ananse’s mastery of rhetorical indirection is fundamental to his success as a libertine. The essay examines the forms of rhetorical indirection and linguistic stratagem by which Ananse negotiates sex, whether he is taking advantage of a friend’s wife, seducing the king’s daughter or appropriating Nana Nyakopon the Supreme God’s spouse

Accuracy Checks in the Production of Orthophotos

Orthophotos have been used extensively in many applications today. In an attempt to map the earth’s surface in a shortest possible time and provide information for monitoring and planning, Orthophotos have proved reliable as far as these are concerned. Orthophotos are one of the most important base layers of data for GIS systems. The use of Orthophotos in a GIS often implies seamless image data. The major advantage of Orthophotos is their ability to be produced in a short time to provide up-to-date information for urgent planning. They are also produced at a less expensive production price than line or vector maps. The need therefore for quick and reliable data for many rising applications has led to the development in this technology and hence finding ways to make it better in terms of its appearance (radiometric enhancements) and geometric accuracy.This paper looks at the creation of an Orthophoto and enumerates the factors that ensure the geometric accuracy of the Orthophoto. Users of Orthophotos must understand that to make measurements on an Orthophoto, oneneeds to know the quality of the underlying surface description since this affects the geometric accuracy of the Orthophoto. In this paperthe geometric accuracy  with which an orthophoto is produced is analysed.Accuracies during theorientation of the input image and scanning resolution of the scanned image and accuracy at DTMsstage are considered in this paper. Keywords: Orthophoto, geometric accuracy, orientation and DTM

Crime Mapping and Analysis in the Dansoman Police Subdivision, Accra, Ghana - A Geographic Information Systems Approach

This work used Geographic Information Systems to create crime maps and analyze crime distribution within the Dansoman Police Subdivision in Accra, Ghana. It was done on a pilot basis and is intended to enable senior officers have a visual framework for prescribing action. Spatial data of 142 crime incidents namely Assault, Causing Damage, Defilement, Fraud, Rape, Robbery, Stealing and Unlawful Entry was analyzed using ArcGis®v10 software. A summary of the attribute table showed that Assault, Causing Damage and Unlawful Entry had the highest counts of 22 each while Rape and Stealing had the least counts of 12 each. Pin maps produced gave a graphical representation of crime locations against a backdrop of roads, existing police stations and district boundaries. Kernel density estimation maps showed the Mamprobi district had a high density of crime even though it was the smallest district. An average nearest neighbor spatial statistics analysis revealed that all incidents exhibited a random nature apart from Rape and Stealing which were statistically dispersed. None of the 8 crime types was found to be statistically clustered. The mean centers of the crimes were plotted and found to be within a 1 km radius.It is recommended that crime spatial data is collected over longer periods instead of a few months and should also include attribute data such as time, date and personal information of the perpetrators. The results of this analysis could be used as a predictive and tactical tool by the Ghana Police Service. Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Spatial data, Shapefile, Kernel Density Estimation, Spatial Statistics.

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Cadastral Mapping in Ghana-Assessing the Effect of Varying Sensor Types, Flying Height, Image Overlap and Ground Control Point Density

ABSTRACT  Context and background In Ghana the predominant method for performing cadastral surveys is through the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) static surveys and to a lesser extent Total Stations. This work investigates the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for performing cadastral surveys and investigate the effects of varying sensor types, flying height, image overlap and number of ground control points in the acquisition of imagery for producing acceptable cadastral maps for use in Ghana.Goal and Objectives:The main aim of this study is therefore to assess some defining parameters for the use of UAV surveys for cadastral mapping and hence suggest some guidelines for the geomatic community in Ghana. The objectives of this work are as follows:        i.          To determine in generic terms UAV types that are appropriate for cadastral mapping in Ghana      ii.          To identify some threshold flight parameters necessary for obtaining desirable accuracies for cadastral mapping from UAV data     iii.          To investigate the optimal number of ground control points necessary for accurate cadastral mapping work.Methodology:A quantitative method was adopted where two sources of primary data were used. The control dataset was obtained by using static GNSS methods to obtain the boundary coordinates of the 20-acre study area. This control data was compared to 20 different data sets of boundary coordinates obtained from UAV imagery resulting from a permutation of different UAV types, varying flight heights, forward/side overlap and number of GCP’s used for georefencing.Results:Optimal results were achieved when georeferenced with 8 Ground Control Points (GCP's) with average Root Mean Square Error (RMSEX)and RMSEY values of 1.383 ft and 1.034 ft respectively. There was no marked improvement in increasing GCP's to 12 thus a minimum of 1 GCP per 2.5 acres is suggested for georeferencing to achieve the ± 3 feet required tolerance stipulated by Surveying and Mapping Division of Ghana. The results suggest that UAV’s with sensor resolutions of 12 mega-pixels (MP) or greater are suitable and that a minimum forward lap of 70% is adequate for obtaining imagery suitable for cadastral mapping.

The Chemical Composition of the River Aire and Anthropogenic Impacts on the River from its Source to Leeds.

Water samples were collected from the Aire River (flowed from its source at Malham towards Leeds)  and its tributaries (Earby Beck, Glusburn, and Eller Beck), in the summer of 2013.  Chemical analysis was carried out on the samples to assess the natural and anthropogenic control and impact on the river’s composition. The major cations were analysed by ICP-AES and anions by IC and HCl titration. The chemistry of the water for all samples were dominated by calcium and bicarbonate. The results indicated that calcium ions accounted for 89% of the total cation charge budget of the Aire at its source at Malham, but decreased whilst the contribution  of  sodium, potassium and magnesium ions to the cation budget increased as the flow of the river approached  Leeds from source . Sodium ion recorded the highest cation concentration of 61 mgL-1 at Calverly Lane Bridge and 39% contribution to the  cation charge budget. The anions were dominated by alkalinity for all the samples, however alkalinity decreased in anion charge budget component  of 92% from Malham to 37% at Calverly Lane Bridge. The anion budget had increased percentages for chloride, nitrates and sulphate ions as the river approached Leeds. Contributing to 34%, 7% and 22% respectively to the anion budget. The increased concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride, nitrate and sulphate changed the chemical composition of the river considerably. The reason for the chemical change was attributed to the effects of heavy point source discharges of communal sewage, industrial effluent and agricultural fertilizers input on the improved grasslands of the catchment into the river. The conclusion was that, anthropogenic activity has a considerable effect on the River Aire as it flowed through the urban areas of Bradford and   Leeds. Keywords: Concentration, charge budget, anthropogenic, effluent, fertilisers, point source discharge, River Air

Water Source and Water Demand Needs Assessments for Bonwire

This work assessed the water supply source and water demand of Bonwire, a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The work was done to solve an identified water threat in Bonwire. The assessment was done via the identification and discharge quantification of water sources; the physicochemical and biological assessments of the source(s); estimation of water needs and a comparison of the supply and demand in Bonwire, and to recommend this assessment to the local government and Donor Agencies. The methodology for the work was site reconnaissance and desk studies, water discharge measurement via area-velocity method, field sampling and laboratory testing. The ions were analysed by ICP-AES and IC. The current water demand was estimated as 274 m3d-1.The  two sources of water identified for Bonwire were four (4) rivers and groundwater from two (2) boreholes. The discharge measurements and borehole yields indicated that the total discharge for Bonwire is 14,239 m3d-1 of which rivers contribute about 99%.  Inspite of the large river discharges, the physicochemical properties finger the river waters as unpotable, because the rivers are contaminated with contaminants (nitrates, sulphates, coliform) and hardness. The groundwater source which is the only potable source has a daily discharge of 86 m3d-1, which is in a deficit of 188 m3d-1 for the current water demand. It was concluded that there was a water threat in Bonwire. It was therefore recommended that contamination of the rivers should be controlled; a hydrogeological assessment for additional borehole drilling should be conducted, and  the possibility of treating the rivers for supplying water to Bonwire and the Municipality should be considered. Keywords: Water Supply, Water Demand, Water Threat, Contaminants, Coliform, Water Hardness, Hydrogeological Assessment

Human rights advances in women's reproductive health in Africa

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently adopted General Comment No 2 to interpret provisions of Article 14 of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights Women. The provisions relate to women’s rights to fertility control, contraception, family planning, information and education, and abortion. The present article highlights the General Comment’s potential to promote women’s sexual and reproductive rights in multiple ways. The General Comment’s human rights value goes beyond providing stateswith guidance for framing their domestic laws, practices, and policies to complywith treaty obligations. General Comment No 2 is invaluable in educating all stakeholders—including healthcare providers, lawyers, policymakers, and judicial officers at the domestic level—about pertinent jurisprudence. Civil society and human rights advocates can use the General Comment to render the state accountable for failure to implement its treaty obligations.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijgo2016-05-31hb201

Developing a Workflow for the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Cadastral Mapping in Ghana

This paper proposes a generic workflow for using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to produce acceptable cadastral plans in Ghana. This was done by firstly verifying in the field UAV restricted zones specified by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and subsequently analyzing ground and aerial survey data from two sites within the Tema Municipality. The data analyzed consisted of one set of boundary coordinate data of the sites obtained from a static Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey and another set from on-screen digitization of site boundaries from aerials obtained from a Mavic Air UAV weighing 430 g with a camera resolution of 12 megapixels flying at altitudes of 40 and 60 m. A comparison of the two sets of boundary coordinates data showed differences under the limit of +/-3 ft specified by the Survey and Mapping Division (SMD) of the Lands Commission of Ghana. The paper thus outlines a generic workflow as follows: (1) Determining if selected site is within a flight restricted zone (2) Undertaking field reconnaissance to determine appropriate flight parameters and ground control point locations (3) Processing UAV imagery to obtain orthomosaics (4) Performing on-screen digitizing of site boundaries from orthomosaics and (5) Obtaining accurate boundary turning point coordinates from digitized boundary. The paper concludes that this approach if accepted may be used in obtaining multiple cadastral plans within built up areas from a single UAV flight and recommends that UAV and ground control data be submitted in Geotiff and Rinex formats respectively to facilitate checks by the Examinations Unit of the SMD. Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles, cadastral plans, ground control points, global navigation satellite system, orthomosaic DOI: 10.7176/JEES/11-2-04 Publication date: February 28th 202