Trace metal levels of the Odaw river sediments at the Agbogbloshie e-waste recycling site

The lack of appropriate infrastructure and legislation regarding the proper way of handling ewastes has encouraged informal recycling as in the case of the Agbogbloshie e-waste site. The burning and dumping of these wastes at the bank of the Odaw River eventually end up in the river. To ascertain the level of trace metal contamination in the Odaw River, 15 sediment samples collected from five different locations were analyzed for their trace metals. The locations were chosen to represent areas near to heavy e-waste activities and areas with no apparent ewaste activities, and analysis carried out using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The results indicated that mean concentrations of the trace metals (Cu, Cd, Pb, Fe, Cr and Ni) were highest at locations near burning and dumping sites (L1 and L2 respectively). This was attributed to the result of e-waste activities and the configuration of the river. With the exception of Cu and Cd at L1, the rest of the metals were below the recommended Canadian interim sediment quality guideline (ISQG) while none was above the Probable Effect Level (PEL), an indication that the levels of trace metal contamination were below the concentration at which frequent adverse effects are expected to occur. The results have confirmed that e-waste recycling activities along the banks of the Odaw River contribute to the contamination of the river.Keywords: E-waste, sediment, metal, contamination, recyclin

Postpartum maternal morbidity requiring hospital admission in Lusaka, Zambia – a descriptive study

BACKGROUND: Information on the extent of postpartum maternal morbidity in developing countries is extremely limited. In many settings, data from hospital-based studies is hard to interpret because of the small proportion of women that have access to medical care. However, in those areas with good uptake of health care, the measurement of the type and incidence of complications severe enough to require hospitalisation may provide useful baseline information on the acute and severe morbidity that women experience in the early weeks following childbirth. An analysis of health services data from Lusaka, Zambia, is presented. METHODS: Six-month retrospective review of hospital registers and 4-week cross-sectional study with prospective identification of postpartum admissions. RESULTS: Both parts of the study identified puerperal sepsis and malaria as, respectively, the leading direct and indirect causes of postpartum morbidity requiring hospital admission. Puerperal sepsis accounted for 34.8% of 365 postpartum admissions in the 6-month period. Malaria and pneumonia together accounted for one-fifth of all postpartum admissions (14.5% & 6% respectively). At least 1.7% of the postpartum population in Lusaka will require hospital-level care for a maternal morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: In developing country urban settings with high public health care usage, meticulous review of hospital registers can provide baseline information on the burden of moderate-to-severe postpartum morbidity

Factors associated with lack of postnatal care among Palestinian women: A cross-sectional study of three clinics in the West Bank

Dhaher E, Mikolajczyk RT, Maxwell AE, Krämer A. Factors associated with lack of postnatal care among Palestinian women: a cross-sectional study of three clinics in the West Bank. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2008;8(1): 26.Background: Only about one-third of women in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) obtain postpartum care. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess factors associated with lack of postnatal care, women's reasons for not obtaining postnatal care, and their attitudes towards its importance. Methods: In early 2006, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at three clinics run by the Ministry of Health providing Mother and Child Health Care in West Bank, Palestine. A total of 264 postpartum women attending the clinics were interviewed face-to-face, using a structured questionnaire. Results: Although the majority of women considered postnatal care necessary (66.1%), only 36.6% of women obtained postnatal care. The most frequent reason for not obtaining postnatal care was that women did not feel sick and therefore did not need postnatal care (85%), followed by not having been told by their doctor to come back for postnatal care (15.5%). Based on a multivariable analysis, use of postnatal care was higher among women who had experienced problems during their delivery, had a cesarean section, or had an instrumental vaginal delivery than among women who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery. Use of postnatal care was also higher among women who delivered in a private hospital as compared to those who delivered in a public hospital. In addition, we found regional differences. Conclusion: The higher use of postnatal care among high-risk women is appropriate, but some clinically dangerous conditions can also occur in low-risk women. Future efforts should therefore focus on providing postnatal care to a larger number of low-risk women

Carbon uptake by mature Amazon forests has mitigated Amazon nations' carbon emissions

BACKGROUND: Several independent lines of evidence suggest that Amazon forests have provided a significant carbon sink service, and also that the Amazon carbon sink in intact, mature forests may now be threatened as a result of different processes. There has however been no work done to quantify non-land-use-change forest carbon fluxes on a national basis within Amazonia, or to place these national fluxes and their possible changes in the context of the major anthropogenic carbon fluxes in the region. Here we present a first attempt to interpret results from ground-based monitoring of mature forest carbon fluxes in a biogeographically, politically, and temporally differentiated way. Specifically, using results from a large long-term network of forest plots, we estimate the Amazon biomass carbon balance over the last three decades for the different regions and nine nations of Amazonia, and evaluate the magnitude and trajectory of these differentiated balances in relation to major national anthropogenic carbon emissions. RESULTS: The sink of carbon into mature forests has been remarkably geographically ubiquitous across Amazonia, being substantial and persistent in each of the five biogeographic regions within Amazonia. Between 1980 and 2010, it has more than mitigated the fossil fuel emissions of every single national economy, except that of Venezuela. For most nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname) the sink has probably additionally mitigated all anthropogenic carbon emissions due to Amazon deforestation and other land use change. While the sink has weakened in some regions since 2000, our analysis suggests that Amazon nations which are able to conserve large areas of natural and semi-natural landscape still contribute globally-significant carbon sequestration. CONCLUSIONS: Mature forests across all of Amazonia have contributed significantly to mitigating climate change for decades. Yet Amazon nations have not directly benefited from providing this global scale ecosystem service. We suggest that better monitoring and reporting of the carbon fluxes within mature forests, and understanding the drivers of changes in their balance, must become national, as well as international, priorities

Leucocyte changes in normal pregnancy in maiduguri north eastern Nigeria

Medline search revealed paucity of data with respect to the leucocyte changes in normal pregnancy in Maiduguri. Objectives: to determine the normal range of leucocyte count in pregnancy and the effect of parity on leucocyte counts. Method a cross sectional study carried out at the university of Maiduguri teaching hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri between April –October 2005. The subjects were pregnant women at different gestation age recruited from the antenatal clinic at booking. The control groups were women from the family planning clinic who had weaned their babies and not on hormonal contraceptives, blood cell count and differential. Result: the mean count for the white blood cell (WBC) was higher in pregnancy. The values for total leucocyte count (TLC) were 7.9±2, 05, 8.33±1.74. 8.74±1.87 in the 1, 2 and 3 trimesters were neutrophils 2.98, 2.98 and 3.9 lymphocytes 2.95 3.66 and 3.86 cosinophils 0.72, 0.84 and 0.92 and monocytes 0.84 and monocytes 0.72, 0.84 and 0.92 and monocytes 0.72 0.84 and 0.92 and monocytes 0.72, 0.84 and 0.88 respective. The values for the non-payment controls were TLC 7.82±.11, neutrophils 1.95, lymphocytes 4.2, cosinophils 0.78 and monocytes 0.78. There were no statically differences between parity and TLC. Conclusion: there is a significant rise in total leucocyte count with increasing gestation age, but parity has no effect on leucocyte count

Identification and Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the FTO Gene with Indicators of Overweight and Obesity in a Young Mexican Population

(1) Background: obesity is a global public health problem; various factors have been associated with this disease, and genetic factors play a very important role. Previous studies in multiple populations have associated a gene with fat mass and obesity (FTO). Thus, the present work aims to identify and determine associations between genetic variants of FTO with indicators of overweight and obesity in the Mexican population. (2) Methods: a total of 638 subjects were evaluated to compile data on body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body fat (%BF), the waist circumference (WC), the serum levels of triglycerides (TG), and food consumption. A total of 175 genetic variants in the FTO gene were sampled by a microarray in the evaluated population, followed by association statistical analyses and comparisons of means. (3) Results: a total of 34 genetic variants were associated with any of the 6 indicators of overweight and obesity, but only 15 showed mean differences using the recessive model after the Bonferroni correction. The present study shows a wide evaluation of FTO genetic variants associated with a classic indicator of overweight and obesity, which highlights the importance of genetic analyses in the study of obesity