The identification of markers for Geoforensic HPLC profiling at close proximity sites

Soil is a highly transferable source of trace physical material that is both persistent in the environment and varied in composition. This inherent variability can provide useful information to determine the geographical origin of a questioned sample or when comparing and excluding samples, since the composition of soil is dependent on geographical factors such as climate, bedrock geology and land use. Previous studies have limited forensic relevance due to the requirement for large sample amounts and unrealistic differences between the land use and geographical location of the sample sites. In addition the philosophical differences between the disciplines of earth sciences, for which most analytical techniques have been designed, and forensic sciences, particularly with regard to sample preparation and data interpretation have not been fully considered. This study presents an enhanced technique for the analysis of organic components of geoforensic samples by improving the sample preparation and data analysis strategies used in previous research into the analysis of soil samples by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This study provides two alternative sets of marker peaks to generate HPLC profiles which allow both easy visual comparison of samples and the correct assignment of 100% of the samples to their location of origin when discriminating between locations of interest in multivariate statistical analyses. This technique thereby offers an independent form of analysis that is complementary to inorganic geoforensic techniques and offers an easily accessible method for discriminating between close proximity forensically relevant locations

The discrimination of geoforensic trace material from close proximity locations by organic profiling using HPLC and plant wax marker analysis by GC

There is a need to develop a wider empirical research base to expand the scope for utilising the organic fraction of soil in forensic geoscience, and to demonstrate the capability of the analytical techniques used in forensic geoscience to discriminate samples at close proximity locations. The determination of wax markers from soil samples by GC analysis has been used extensively in court and is known to be effective in discriminating samples from different land use types. A new HPLC method for the analysis of the organic fraction of forensic sediment samples has also been shown recently to add value in conjunction with existing inorganic techniques for the discrimination of samples derived from close proximity locations. This study compares the ability of these two organic techniques to discriminate samples derived from close proximity locations and finds the GC technique to provide good discrimination at this scale, providing quantification of known compounds, whilst the HPLC technique offered a shorter and simpler sample preparation method and provided very good discrimination between groups of samples of different provenance in most cases. The use of both data sets together gave further improved accuracy rates in some cases, suggesting that a combined organic approach can provide added benefits in certain case scenarios and crime reconstruction contexts

Downgrading Financial Service Delivery and Institutional Sustainability: A Case Study of Akwapim Rural Bank, Ghana

Rural financial markets in the developing world are faced with the problem of information asymmetry and are monopolistically competitive. Based on this, one policy option to enhance rural clients’ access is for formal financial institutions to mimic products and services of informal intermediaries. Empirical evidence on impact of mimicry on institutional sustainability can help improve policy choices, yet there is a dearth of studies on this. Using time series data to analyse trends in selected financial ratios and means this study examines the impact that the mimicking of an informal financial product by a formal financial institution (Rural Bank) has on the outreach and sustainability. The time series data was collected from the bank’s financial statements and returns to the central bank between 1996 and 2005. It was found that adoption of informal financial product enhanced outreach and sustainability of the bank. This study, demonstrates that the mimicry policy option if adopted by formal financial institutions can enhance availability of financial services to the productive poor and also lead to long-term sustainability of financial institutions.Key Words: Downgrading, Rural Finance, Informal Financial Products, Institutional Sustainability, Financial Products and Service

Audit of documentation accompanying referred maternity cases to a referral hospital in northern Ghana: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Effective referral of maternity cases, which cannot be managed at the primary healthcare level, with detailed referral forms is important for reducing possible delays in the provision of higher-level healthcare. This is the first study to audit documentation or referral forms that accompany referred maternity cases to a referral hospital in the northern region of Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, starting with a quantitative review of referral forms that accompanied all patients referred to four units (antenatal, antenatal emergency, labour and neonatal intensive care) of a referral hospital in northern Ghana. In-depth interviews were held with the heads of the four units afterwards. Descriptive statistics were computed for the quantitative data. The qualitative data was subjected to content analysis. Integration of the data occurred at the data interpretation/discussion level. RESULTS: A total of 217 referral forms were analysed. Nearly half of the cases were referred from the Tamale Metropolis (46.5%) and 83.9% were referred for advanced care, whilst 8.3% were referred due to a lack of medical logistics and equipment such as oxygen and skilled personnel (6%). Completion rates of the referral forms were as follows: < 50% completion (n = 81; 37.3%), 50-75% completion (n = 112; 51.6%) above 75% completion (n = 24; 11.1%). Some of the handwriting were not legible and were quite difficult to read. The key informants stated that incomplete forms sometimes delay treatment. The head of the antenatal care unit at the referral hospital suggested professional development sessions as a strategy for supporting clinicians to fill the forms as expected. CONCLUSION: The Ghana Health Service should conduct regular audits, develop job aides and provide incentives for health professionals who accurately complete referral forms. Completing forms and digitizing health records can help ensure further efficiencies in the health information system and sustain good maternity referral documentation practices

The association between dog ownership or dog walking and fitness or weight status in childhood

Health benefits of dog walking are established in adults: dog owners are on average more physically active and those walking their dogs regularly have lower weight status than those who do not. However, there has been little research on children. A survey of pet ownership and involvement in dog walking was combined with fitness and weight status measurements of 1021 9-10 yrs old children, in the Liverpool SportsLinx study. We found little evidence to support that children who live with, or walk with, dogs, are any fitter or less likely to be obese than those who do not. This is an important finding as it suggests that the activity that children currently do with dogs is not sufficient enough to impact weight status or fitness

VEGFA rs2010963 GG genotype is associated with superior adaptations to resistance versus endurance training in the same group of healthy, young men

Purpose: We used a within-subject, cross-over study to determine the relationship between the intra-individual adaptations to four weeks’ resistance (RT) versus four weeks’ endurance (END) training, and we investigated whether three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with these adaptations. Methods: Thirty untrained, healthy, young men completed a cycling test to exhaustion to determine peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak), and a knee extension (KE) maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of the right leg before and after four weeks’ supervised RT (four sets of 10 repetitions at 80% single repetition maximum unilateral KE exercise, three times weekly) and four weeks’ supervised END (30 min combined continuous/interval cycling, three times weekly), separated by a three-week washout phase. Participants were genotyped for the ACTN3 rs1815739, NOS3 rs2070744 and VEGFA rs2010963 SNPs. Results: The intra-individual adaptations regarding percentage changes in MVIC force and V̇O2peak following RT and END, respectively, were unrelated (r2=0.003; P=0.79). However, a VEGFA genotypetraining modality interaction (P=0.007) demonstrated that VEGFA GG homozygotes increased their MVIC force after RT (+20.9±13.2%) more than they increased their V̇O2peak after END (+8.4±9.1%, P=0.005), and more than VEGFA C-allele carriers increased their MVIC force after RT (+12.2±8.1%, P=0.04). There were no genotypetraining modality interactions for the ACTN3 or NOS3 SNPs. Conclusions: High/low responders to RT were not consequently high/low responders to END or vice versa. However, preferential adaptation of VEGFA rs2010963 GG homozygotes to RT over END, and their greater adaptation to RT compared to VEGFA C-allele carriers, indicate a novel genetic predisposition for superior RT adaptation

Exercise Modality, But Not Exercise Training, Alters The Acute Effect Of Exercise On Endothelial Function.

PURPOSE: We used a within-subject cross-over design to examine the impact of exercise modality, i.e. resistance (RT) and endurance (END), on the acute impact of exercise on endothelial function. Secondly, we examined whether 4-week exercise training altered the exercise-induced change in endothelial function in healthy individuals. METHODS: Forty young healthy men (21±2 years) reported to our laboratory to complete assessment of endothelial function (using the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation test [FMD]) before and immediately after a single bout of RT (leg-extension) or END (cycling). Subsequently, participants completed a 4-week period of training (12 sessions), followed by evaluation of the FMD before and after a single bout of exercise. Following a 3-week washout, participants repeated these experiments with the different exercise modality (in a balanced cross-over design). RESULTS: An Exercise*Modality-interaction effect was found (P=0.003), with post-hoc analysis revealing a decrease in FMD after END (P=0.03 and P<0.001, pre and post training respectively), but no change in FMD after RT (P=0.06 and P=0.39, before and after the training intervention respectively). Four weeks of exercise training did not alter the acute effect of exercise on FMD (Acute*Training*Modality effect: P=0.63), an effect independent of the modality of exercise (Acute*Training interaction: P=0.46 and P=0.11 in RT and END respectively). CONCLUSION: We found that exercise modality, but not exercise training, alters the effect of acute exercise on endothelial function in healthy subjects. Specifically, endurance exercise, but not resistance exercise, causes a decrease in brachial artery endothelial function, which was unaffected by 4 weeks of training