Petrography and Geochemistry of some Granitoids associated with Gold Mineralisation at Mpohor area in southeastern Ashanti Belt of the Birimian, Ghana

Mpohor area in Western Region of Ghana is located within the Birimian at the southeastern corridor of Ashanti belt. Diamond drilling in the area which encloses Father Brown concession intersected steeply dipping igneous rocks on which petrographic and whole rock XRF analyses were conducted to describe the rock types according to mineralogy, texture, alteration and mode of mineralisation. The study showed that gabbro and diorite are weakly deformed, partially altered and of greenschist facies metamorphism. These rocks intruded into belt granitoids which accompanied metavolcanic rocks (well exposed at a coastal region to the southeast). Subsequent tonalite and granodiorite intrusives into sheared areas of gabbro are deformed with foliation being parallel to the major foliation in the host rock. This ductile deformation was accompanied by brittle deformation and infiltrated by hydrothermal fluids leading to silicification, carbonatisation, sericitisation, pyritisation of second and third generations and gold mineralisation. On the contrary, chloritisation with fine chalcopyrite together with pyrite of first generation characterise host gabbro and diorite. Hence deformed pyrite porphyroblast of second generation is found in tonalite and partly in contact with magnetite and also associated with gold. The ore zone (Au grade between 1.78 to 48.80 g/t) in tonalite is characterised with lower TiO2 content (<0.73 wt %) in addition to Fe/Mg ratio above 2.4 and Zr values less than 100 ppm which may suggest that mineralised fluid was depleted of Ti and Zr and Mg/Fe ratio above 2.4. These probably show that hydrothermal fluid which has the potential for high sulphide-Au mineralisation accompanied more mafic host rocks. Keywords: Petrography, Geochemistry, Granitoids, Gold Mineralisation, Southeastern Ashanti bel

Evaluating inland valley agro-ecosystems in Ghana using a multi-scale characterization approach

As part of measures for improving the productive capacities of inland valley systems for rice-based cropping systems, a published multi-scale characterization approach was used in Ghana to assess the constraints and variables which must be understood before agronomic interventions are made. Macro, reconnaissance, semidetailed and detailed levels of characterization at their respective scales were used. Between 1996 and 1999, Geographical Information System (GIS) and transect studies were carried out, after which the extent of variability in the biotic and abiotic characteristics of two agro-ecologies were identified. Ten agro-ecological units were identified for Ghana based on map overlays and cluster analysis. The method allowed for the selection of Mankran and Jolo-Kwaha watersheds representing the equatorial and savanna agro-ecologies, respectively. Socio-economic parameters (markets, population density and suchlike) were recognized as the essential variables, which should be considered alongside lithology, climate, hydrology and others, for the choice of valleys for development interventions for crop production. At the detailed level of characterization, hydrological and soil characteristics underscored the need to properly understand the watershed-level and valleyspecific constraints before meaningful rice-based research and cropping systems are developed.En tant que partie de mesures pour améliorer les capacités productives de systémes de vallée de l\'intérieur pour les systèmes de culture basés sur le riz, une approche de caractérisation multiéchelle publiée était employée au Ghana en vue d\'estimer les contraintes et les variables qu\'il faut comprendre avant que les interventions agronomiques soient faites. Les niveaux macro, reconnaissance, semi-détaillé et détaillé de caractérisation à leurs échelles respectives étaient utilisés. Entre 1996 et 1999, l\'étude transversale et du Système Informationnel Géographique (SIG) étaient faites à la suite de quelle l\'étendue de variabilité de caractéristiques biotiques et abiotiques de deux agro-écologies étaient identifiées. Dix unités agro-écologiques étaient identifiées pour le Ghana basé sur l\'analyse de revêtements et de rassemblement sur la carte. La méthode permettait la sélection de lignes de partage des eaux de Mankran et de Jolo-Kwaha représentant respectivement les agroécologies équatoriales et savanes. Les paramètres socioéconomiques (les marchés, la densité de population, etc.) étaient reconnus comme les variables essentielles, qui devraient être considéré à côté de la lithologie, le climat, la hydrologie, etc.; pour le choix de vallées pour les interventions de développement pour la production des cultures. Au niveau détaillé de caractérisation, les caractéristiques de hydrologie et de sol soulignent la nécessité de comprendre vraiment les contraintes de niveaux de lignes de partage des eaux et les contraintes spécifiques à certaines vallées avant que la recherche et les systèmes de culture utiles basés sur le riz soient développés. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 40 (2) 2008: pp. 141-15

Board Ethics and Auditor Choice – International Evidence

2 Board Ethics and Auditor Choice – International Evidence ABSTRACT This study examines whether firms‟ auditor choice relates reflects the strength of board ethics. Using a large sample of firms 132,853 firm year observations from forty-six countries around the globe. and controlling for a number of firm- and country-level factors, we find that firms in countries where “high board ethical values” prevail are more likely to hire a Big 4 auditor. We also find that the relation between board ethical values and auditor choice is mitigated by the firm‟s board size. These results establish an indirect link between board ethics and financial reporting quality through the firm‟s choice of auditor

Tapping customers: a spatially-explicit, open-source platform for crowdsourcing water service data in Ghana

Municipal water rationing has become increasingly common in developing urban centres, leading to substantial variation in service levels among residential customers. This paper introduces an open-source tool called Improving Quality of Urban Water Service by Engaging SMS Technology (IQUEST), a geographic decision support system that harnesses crowdsourced water data to enable Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to monitor residential water service quality in Accra, Ghana. This paper presents the conceptual model, general architecture, and user interface, and highlights the potential for other municipal water managers to implement a decision support tool in a resource-constrained setting

Consumer confidence indices and stock markets’ meltdowns

Consumer confidence indices (CCIs) are a closely monitored barometer of countries’ economic health and an informative forecasting tool. Using European and US data, we provide a case study of the two recent stock market meltdowns (the post-dotcom bubble correction of 2000–2002 and the 2007–2009 decline at the beginning of the financial crisis) to contribute to the discussion on their appropriateness as proxies for stock markets’ investor sentiment. Investor sentiment should positively covary with stock market movements (DeLong, Shleifer, Summers, and Waldmann 1990); however, we find that the CCI–stock market relationship is not universally positive.We also do not find support for the information effect documented in the previous literature, but identify a more subtle relationship between consumer expectations about future household finances and stock market fluctuations

What's normal? Oligosaccharide concentrations and profiles in milk produced by healthy women vary geographically.

Background: Human milk is a complex fluid comprised of myriad substances, with one of the most abundant substances being a group of complex carbohydrates referred to as human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). There has been some evidence that HMO profiles differ in populations, but few studies have rigorously explored this variability.Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that HMO profiles differ in diverse populations of healthy women. Next, we examined relations between HMO and maternal anthropometric and reproductive indexes and indirectly examined whether differences were likely related to genetic or environmental variations.Design: In this cross-sectional, observational study, milk was collected from a total of 410 healthy, breastfeeding women in 11 international cohorts and analyzed for HMOs by using high-performance liquid chromatography.Results: There was an effect of the cohort (P 4 times higher in milk collected in Sweden than in milk collected in rural Gambia (mean ± SEM: 473 ± 55 compared with 103 ± 16 nmol/mL, respectively; P < 0.05), and disialyllacto-N-tetraose (DSLNT) concentrations ranged from 216 ± 14 nmol/mL (in Sweden) to 870 ± 68 nmol/mL (in rural Gambia) (P < 0.05). Maternal age, time postpartum, weight, and body mass index were all correlated with several HMOs, and multiple differences in HMOs [e.g., lacto-N-neotetrose and DSLNT] were shown between ethnically similar (and likely genetically similar) populations who were living in different locations, which suggests that the environment may play a role in regulating the synthesis of HMOs.Conclusions: The results of this study support our hypothesis that normal HMO concentrations and profiles vary geographically, even in healthy women. Targeted genomic analyses are required to determine whether these differences are due at least in part to genetic variation. A careful examination of sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental factors is needed to determine their roles in this regard. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02670278

Updated consensus guidelines on the management of Phelan–McDermid syndrome

Phelan–McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a genetic condition caused by SHANK3 haploinsufficiency and characterized by a wide range of neurodevelopmental and systemic manifestations. The first practice parameters for assessment and monitoring in individuals with PMS were published in 2014; recently, knowledge about PMS has grown significantly based on data from longitudinal phenotyping studies and large-scale genotype–phenotype investigations. The objective of these updated clinical management guidelines was to: (1) reflect the latest in knowledge in PMS and (2) provide guidance for clinicians, researchers, and the general community. A taskforce was established with clinical experts in PMS and representatives from the parent community. Experts joined subgroups based on their areas of specialty, including genetics, neurology, neurodevelopment, gastroenterology, primary care, physiatry, nephrology, endocrinology, cardiology, gynecology, and dentistry. Taskforce members convened regularly between 2021 and 2022 and produced specialty-specific guidelines based on iterative feedback and discussion. Taskforce leaders then established consensus within their respective specialty group and harmonized the guidelines. The knowledge gained over the past decade allows for improved guidelines to assess and monitor individuals with PMS. Since there is limited evidence specific to PMS, intervention mostly follows general guidelines for treating individuals with developmental disorders. Significant evidence has been amassed to guide the management of comorbid neuropsychiatric conditions in PMS, albeit mainly from caregiver report and the experience of clinical experts. These updated consensus guidelines on the management of PMS represent an advance for the field and will improve care in the community. Several areas for future research are also highlighted and will contribute to subsequent updates with more refined and specific recommendations as new knowledge accumulates

Finding regions of interest on toroidal meshes

Fusion promises to provide clean and safe energy, and a considerable amount of research effort is underway to turn this aspiration intoreality. This work focuses on a building block for analyzing data produced from the simulation of microturbulence in magnetic confinementfusion devices: the task of efficiently extracting regions of interest. Like many other simulations where a large amount of data are produced,the careful study of ``interesting'' parts of the data is critical to gain understanding. In this paper, we present an efficient approach forfinding these regions of interest. Our approach takes full advantage of the underlying mesh structure in magnetic coordinates to produce acompact representation of the mesh points inside the regions and an efficient connected component labeling algorithm for constructingregions from points. This approach scales linearly with the surface area of the regions of interest instead of the volume as shown with bothcomputational complexity analysis and experimental measurements. Furthermore, this new approach is 100s of times faster than a recentlypublished method based on Cartesian coordinates

Constraints to exclusive breastfeeding practice among breastfeeding mothers in Southwest Nigeria: implications for scaling up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The practice of exclusive breastfeeding is still low despite the associated benefits. Improving the uptake and appropriating the benefits will require an understanding of breastfeeding as an embodied experience within a social context. This study investigates breastfeeding practices and experiences of nursing mothers and the roles of grandmothers, as well as the work-related constraints affecting nurses in providing quality support for breastfeeding mothers in Southwest Nigeria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a concurrent mixed method approach, a structured questionnaire was administered to 200 breastfeeding mothers. In-depth interviews were also held with breastfeeding mothers (11), nurses (10) and a focus group discussion session with grandmothers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Breastfeeding was perceived as essential to baby's health. It strengthens the physical and spiritual bond between mothers and their children. Exclusive breastfeeding was considered essential but demanding. Only a small proportion (19%) of the nursing mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding. The survey showed the major constraints to exclusive breastfeeding to be: the perception that babies continued to be hungry after breastfeeding (29%); maternal health problems (26%); fear of babies becoming addicted to breast milk (26%); pressure from mother-in-law (25%); pains in the breast (25%); and the need to return to work (24%). In addition, the qualitative findings showed that significant others played dual roles with consequences on breastfeeding practices. The desire to practice exclusive breastfeeding was often compromised shortly after child delivery. Poor feeding, inadequate support from husband and conflicting positions from the significant others were dominant constraints. The nurses decried the effects of their workload on providing quality supports for nursing mothers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Breastfeeding mothers are faced with multiple challenges as they strive to practice exclusive breastfeeding. Thus, scaling up of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers requires concerted efforts at the macro, meso and micro levels of the Nigerian society.</p