Determination of Trace Metals Quality of Sources of Drinking Water in Some Selected Communities in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region, Ghana

The study was undertaken in three communities namely Adamrobe, Aburi and Pokrom-Nsaba, all located in the Akuapim South District of the Eastern Region. These communities depend on streams, wells, and springs for their drinking water requirements. The objective of the study was to assess the trace metals quality of the drinking water sources used by the communities. Water samples from these sources (streams, wells, and springs) were analyzed over a period of twelve months for various water quality parameters including the following trace metals: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), & arsenic (As), following standard methods designed in APHA, AWWA, and WEF. The results of the study revealed that, most of the mean levels of trace metals registered from the water samples were below the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) recommended critical limits for drinking water standards. The low level of trace metals recorded in the water samples was due to the absence of industrial and mining activities in these communities and their environs. The high level of lead registered in ABSP was as a result of the low pH discovered in the water sample for that station. It is therefore recommended that further study be conducted to track the long term health effects of the trace metals in the drinking water sources used by the study communities. Keywords: Trace Metals Quality, Sources of Drinking Water, Selected Communities, Akuapem South District, Eastern Region, Ghana

Return to Hanging Rock: Lost Children in a Gothic Landscape

Using the philosophical position of phenomenology this article examines the ways in which ideas of wildness combine with Australian Gothic tropes such as the white colonial lost child and the bush as a haunted locale to compose key features of an Australian Ecogothic. Joan Lindsay’s enigmatic novel Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) has prompted scholars such as Lesley Kathryn Hawkes to describe how in Australian literature for both adults and children ‘the environment is far more than a setting or backdrop against which the plot takes place’ (Hawkes, 2011,67). On St Valentine’s Day in 1900 three young Australian girls and their teacher disappear from a school picnic at the ancient site of Mount Macedon in Victoria. The analysis, which focuses on Lindsay’s posthumously published chapter eighteen (1987) examines how elements of the material, sensing world combine with the mythological or sacred to connect the human protagonists with the gothic landscape they inhabit. The resulting intersubjectivity problematizes colonial ideology and unsettles notions of national identity. Using the philosophical position of phenomenology this article examines the ways in which ideas of wildness combine with Australian Gothic tropes such as the white colonial lost child and the bush as a haunted locale to compose key features of an Australian Ecogothic. Joan Lindsay’s enigmatic novel Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) has prompted scholars such as Lesley Kathryn Hawkes to describe how in Australian literature for both adults and children ‘the environment is far more than a setting or backdrop against which the plot takes place’ (Hawkes, 2011,67). On St Valentine’s Day in 1900 three young Australian girls and their teacher disappear from a school picnic at the ancient site of Mount Macedon in Victoria. The analysis, which focuses on Lindsay’s posthumously published chapter eighteen (1987) examines how elements of the material, sensing world combine with the mythological or sacred to connect the human protagonists with the gothic landscape they inhabit. The resulting intersubjectivity problematizes colonial ideology and unsettles notions of national identity

Pragmatic economic evaluation of community-led delivery of HIV self-testing in Malawi.

INTRODUCTION: Community-based strategies can extend coverage of HIV testing and diagnose HIV at earlier stages of infection but can be costly to implement. We evaluated the costs and effects of community-led delivery of HIV self-testing (HIVST) in Mangochi District, Malawi. METHODS: This economic evaluation was based within a pragmatic cluster-randomised trial of 30 group village heads and their catchment areas comparing the community-led HIVST intervention in addition to the standard of care (SOC) versus the SOC alone. The intervention involved mobilising community health groups to lead 7-day HIVST campaigns including distribution of HIVST kits. The SOC included facility-based HIV testing services. Primary costings estimated economic costs of the intervention and SOC from the provider perspective, with costs annualised and measured in 2018 US$. A postintervention survey captured individual-level data on HIV testing events, which were combined with unit costs from primary costings, and outcomes. The incremental cost per person tested HIV-positive and associated uncertainty were estimated. RESULTS: Overall, the community-led HIVST intervention costed$138 624 or $5.70 per HIVST kit distributed, with test kits and personnel the main contributing costs. The SOC costed$263 400 or $4.57 per person tested. Individual-level provider costs were higher in the community-led HIVST arm than the SOC arm (adjusted mean difference$3.77, 95% CI $2.44 to$5.10; p<0.001), while the intervention effect on HIV positivity varied based on adjustment for previous diagnosis. The incremental cost per person tested HIV positive was $324 but increased to$1312 and $985 when adjusting for previously diagnosed self-testers or self-testers on treatment, respectively. Community-led HIVST demonstrated low probability of being cost-effective against plausible willingness-to-pay values, with HIV positivity a key determinant. CONCLUSION: Community-led HIVST can provide HIV testing at a low additional unit cost. However, adding community-led HIVST to the SOC was not likely to be cost-effective, especially in contexts with low prevalence of undiagnosed HIV. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03541382

Case study #4 : Strait of Sicily - Malta : Western Mediterreanean

The definition of spatial limits for the Strait of Sicily - Malta Case Study have been elaborated considering needs and priorities emerged from the Initial Assessment, as well as existing knowledge on: (i) maritime uses and economic domains; (ii) ecological features; (iii) legal jurisdictions and borders and (iv) transboundary issues. The definition of the case study area’s spatial limits constitute boundaries for the purpose to foster a proper analysis on human uses, ecological processes, synergies and conflicts, governance continuity, and define recommendations to establish appropriated strategies and plans. The boundaries have been drawn according to the scope of the project (e.g. to support the implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in EU Member States with a concrete cross-border initiative) and the activities to be developed therefore on one hand they are representative of local conditions and policies and, on the other, they take in account potential transboundary and cross-border issues of MSP. The SIMWESTMED case study for Malta is focused on the Malta-Sicily marine waters, bordering the south of Sicily and the north of the Maltese Islands and including part of the continental shelves of Italy and Malta.Grant Agreement: EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101peer-reviewe

Develop a basin scale analysis/initial assessment strongly MSP oriented for the Western Mediterranean

This Report has been created thanks to the collaboration of all the Member States involved in the SIMWESTMED project (Figure 1) that have been invited to complete the Country Fiche (CF), a document that has leaded to the development of shared knowledge regarding the marine area considered in the project. Thus, the aim of this Report is to entail a collection of information across the European countries of the Western Mediterranean region and the Strait of Sicily, including Malta waters. The Initial Assessment (IA), in fact, provides an initial overview of the area’s characteristics and this report is the harmonized output of all available information including the description of marine environment, maritime activities, key sectoral and socio-economic trends and emerging pressures, legal and transboundary issues, and governance aspects. The assessment uses existing information by organizing them in a comparable way in order to carry out a previous analysis on the main driver and issues that need to be considered for future MSP processes. The IA is based mainly on desk-based reviews, in order to build a shared synthetic view on the Western Mediterranean region, identifying key issues (main activities and priority conservation issues) and data gaps that are synthesized in the following report.peer-reviewe

Biological basis of dyslexia:a maturing perspective

Dyslexia is a common childhood learning disability. The occurrence of dyslexia ranges from 3 to 17.5 %. Etiology remains largely unknown, but substantial evidence from multidisciplinary research suggests that dyslexia is a disorder of genetic origin with a basis in the brain. Many genetic studies indicated that different loci are involved in genetic predisposition of dyslexia. The loci on 6p21.3, 15q15-21 and 18p11.2 have been identified as promising candidate gene regions. Since it is a complex disorder, identification of the specific genetic variants may bring a comprehensive explanation for the etiology of dyslexia. This review provides recent understanding in the field of neurobiology of dyslexia

Modes of genetic transmission of dyslexia in south Indian families

Background: Dyslexia is a major educational problem, but the studies on genetics of dyslexia are very limited in India. There is a great dearth of proper statistical data to show the incidence of dyslexia in Indian population. More over inheritance pattern of dyslexia is not well established in our population. Aims & Objective: To establish the inheritance pattern of dyslexia in 23 selected families. Materials and Methods: We have ascertained 23 dyslexic probands and their families from the state of Karnataka. Individuals with above 8 years of age, normal performance intelligence quotient (>85) and remarkable deviation in reading and writing skills compared to chronological age were considered for the study. Based on the genetic registry pedigrees of the families were constructed. Results: Based on the affectedness, the dyslexia phenotypes were classified into four types: severe reading spelling deficit, mild reading spelling deficit, severe spelling deficit and mild spelling deficit. Severe dyslexia phenotypes were more frequent than mild phenotypes. Mild spelling deficits were better compensated than the other types. It was found that autosomal dominant inheritance pattern of dyslexia was more prevalent than autosomal recessive and sporadic pattern in the present study. Conclusion: Family history of dyslexia is a consistent risk factor; therefore this knowledge can be applied to the prevention and remediation of dyslexia

Soil and Sand Mining: Causes, Consequences and Management

Abstract--Sand is not only a precious mineral but also protecting the environment, buffer against strong tidal waves and storm, habitat for crustacean species and marine organisms, used for making concrete, filling roads, building sites, brick-making, making glass, sandpapers, reclamations, and in our tourism industry in beach attractions. Sand mining is the process of removal of sand and gravel where this practice is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Topsoil is an essential component in abandoned mines for growth of vegetation and has to be preserved for post-mining land reclamation. Physico-chemical parameters and concentration of heavy metals Pb 2+ , Zn 2+ , Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , As 3+ , Cu 2+ , Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ and Sn 2+ were analyzed in mined soil areas and found that most parameters and metals concentration exceeds the permissible limit and that ex-mining catchment has a high pollution potential. Reclamation strategies of tree planting, amendments like tank silt, poultry litters and growing bio fuel crops are recognised for its ability to restore the soil fertility, build the eco-system and arrest soil erosion. Scientific mining operations accompanied by ecological restoration and regeneration of mined wastelands and judicious use of geological resources, with search for eco-friendly substitutes and alternatives must provide sensational revelation to the impact of mining on human ecosystem

INN-toxin, a highly lethal peptide from the venom of Indian cobra (Naja naja) venom-Isolation, characterization and pharmacological actions

10.1016/j.peptides.2008.07.020Peptides29111893-1900PEPT