This paper reviews the technology and biotechnology to remove heavy metals (such as copper, arsenic, lead and zinc) and cyanide from contaminated wastewater. The paper places special emphasis on gold ...mine wastewater and the use of low cost materials as sorbent. Various biological as well as physicochemical treatment processes are discussed and compared on the basis of costs, energy requirement, removal efficiency, limitations and advantages. Sorption using natural plant materials, industrial and agricultural waste has been demonstrated to have the potential to replace conventional methods for the removal of heavy metals because of its cost effectiveness, efficiency and the local availability of these materials as biosorbent. The parameters affecting sorption, such as initial ion concentration, pH, sorbent dosage, particle size and temperature, are discussed. The overall treatment cost of metal and cyanide contaminated wastewater depends on the process employed and the local conditions. In general, technical applicability, cost-effectiveness and plant simplicity are the key factors in selecting the most suitable treatment method. Copyright
Stroke is an emerging public health challenge in Ghana requiring urgent attention for its control. Because some of the risk factors for stroke are modifiable, characterisation of these risk factors ...in the Ghanaian population as well as outcomes of stroke are urgently needed to guide policy for non-communicable diseases. We therefore conducted this study to evaluate the frequencies of the traditional risk factors and outcomes of stroke at the main tertiary referral centre in the middle belt of Ghana in a prospective observational study.
Patients with a clinical diagnosis of stroke were consecutively recruited and vascular risk factors were assessed as well as markers of severity of stroke and in-patient treatment outcomes. 265 patients were recruited, 56.6% were females and mean ± SD age of 64.6 ± 14.54 years. 85%, 73% and 58% of patients had systemic arterial hypertension, physical inactivity and obesity respectively as common risk factors. We identified that patients with stroke had a median of 3 traditional risk factors, were unaware of the presence of these risk factors or were poorly controlled if known. Stroke was associated with a high in-patient case fatality rate of 43% principally among patients with haemorrhagic stroke.
Our findings indicate that urgent concerted efforts are required to improve public awareness and management of the prevailing risk factors of stroke in Ghana.
Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa.
To determine the factors affecting the delay from the onset of symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis until the ...initiation of treatment.
A retrospective questionnaire survey of 100 adults with newly diagnosed smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis.
The median total delay in diagnosis was 4 months (mean = 7.7), and total delay exceeded 6 months in 44% of patients. Total delay was strongly associated with rural residence (P = 0.001). The median doctor delay from the first consultation until diagnosis was double the median patient delay in initial presentation (8 weeks versus 4 weeks). Doctor delay was significantly increased in females, rural patients, and among those needing hospital admission. Increased doctor delay was strongly correlated with rates of failure to perform sputum microscopy (r = 0.99), low rates of diagnosis, and was seen particularly among private practitioners and rural government institutions.
Delays in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis are prolonged in Kumasi, Ghana, with a frequently lengthy doctor delay. The new National Tuberculosis Programme is decentralising the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, with the introduction of widely available sputum microscopy and rigorous training of health personnel. This should help to reduce doctor delay and thereby improve tuberculosis control.
Background and Objectives
West Africa is a highly endemic area for viral infections. The prevalence of five viral markers was determined in Ghanaian blood donors.
Materials and Methods
Replacement ...and volunteer blood donors were screened using enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), human immunodeficiency virus antibodies (anti‐HIV), HIV p24 antigen, human T‐cell lymphocytotrophic virus‐I and ‐II antibodies (anti‐HTLV‐I/II) and hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti‐HCV).
Results
HBsAg was present at an equally high frequency (15%) in young volunteer (median age 18 years) and older replacement (median age 33 years) blood donors. In contrast, the prevalence of anti‐HIV and anti‐HCV was significantly higher in replacement blood donors (2·4 and 0·3%, respectively, P < 0·001). HCV RNA was detected in 74 or 55% of seropositive donors, depending on the confirmatory criteria used. No p24 antigen‐positive/anti‐HIV‐negative donations were found. The prevalence of HTLV‐I/II was generally low (0·5%).
Conclusion
All blood donations should be screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV), HIV and HCV markers.
The development and management of groundwater resources require an ability to understand and identify the recharge source to the groundwater system. Stable and radioactive isotope data have been used ...to investigate the source of recharge and the age of the shallow groundwater system within the southern Voltaian Sedimentary Basin (SVSB) of Ghana as part of an on going groundwater development project. The tritium concentrations in the groundwater samples are very low and range from less than 1-7.2 T.U., while measured super(14)C content ranges from 43 to 108% modern carbon. The tritium concentration of rainfall ranges from less than 1-4 T.U. The delta super(18)O values of groundwater samples range from -4.2 to -2.6ppt while the delta D values range from -21 to -10ppt. Stable isotopic data of the groundwater samples lie either on or close to the global meteoric water line (GMWL) on the delta D- delta super(18)O plot and indicate that the shallow groundwater in the area is derived from meteoric water that has undergone no significant degree of kinetic evaporation during recharge. No indication of paleo recharge can be inferred from the super(18)O and super(2)H composition of the groundwater. Current tritium concentration in the groundwater is generally low, however, it proved useful in the qualitative identification of modem recharge. Radiocarbon-deduced ages range from about 3200 plus or minus 350 years B.P. to modem and indicate young recharge to the shallow groundwater system.
Adsorption kinetic studies are of great significance in evaluating the performance of a given adsorbent and gaining insight into the underlying mechanism. This work investigated the sorption kinetics ...of Cu(II) on to coconut shell and Moringa oleifera seeds using batch techniques. To understand the mechanisms of the biosorption process and the potential rate-controlling steps, kinetic models were used to fit the experimental data. The results indicate that kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second-order model with correlation coefficients (R²) of 0.9974 and 0.9958 for the coconut shell and Moringa oleifera seeds, respectively. The initial sorption rates obtained for coconut shell and Moringa oleifera seeds were 9.6395×10⁻³ and 8.3292×10⁻² mg g⁻¹ min⁻¹, respectively. The values of the mass transfer coefficients obtained for coconut shell (1.2106×10⁻³ cm s⁻¹) and Moringa oleifera seeds (8.965×10⁻⁴ cm s⁻¹) indicate that the transport of Cu(II) from the bulk liquid to the solid phase was quite fast for both materials investigated. The results indicate that intraparticle diffusion controls the rate of sorption in this study; however, film diffusion cannot be neglected, especially at the initial stage of sorption.
Skin diseases in Ghana and the UK Doe, Prosper T.; Asiedu, Alex; Acheampong, J. W. ...
International journal of dermatology,
20/May , Letnik:
40, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Background Although diseases of the skin have been studied in some African countries, the provision of dermatology services is as yet a relatively underdeveloped aspect of medicine in sub‐Saharan ...Africa.
Objective To determine the pattern of skin diseases seen in a sub‐Saharan community and to compare it with that seen in a European community.
Methods The diagnoses of the principal presenting complaint of 2254 consecutive new patients seen at the dermatology clinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana, are presented and compared with those of 3383 consecutive new patients seen at the dermatology clinic of The William Harvey Hospital (WHH), Ashford, Kent, UK.
Results The most common conditions in Ghana were infections (46.3%; UK, 12%). In the UK, the most common conditions were malignant and premalignant diseases of the skin (22.2%; Ghana, 0.5%) and benign tumors (16.8%; Ghana, 0.5%). Dermatitis was common in both countries (Ghana, 18.4%; UK, 16.0%). Psoriasis was more common in the UK (6.2%) than in Ghana (0.4%). In Ghana, fixed drug eruption, mainly due to cotrimoxazole (Septrin), was not rare (27 cases), and complications from cosmetic skin lightening creams were a frequent problem among women (86 cases). No cases of rosacea were found in Ghana, but it was not uncommon in the UK (1.6%).
Conclusions The patterns of skin diseases are different in the two countries. It is hoped that this study may help to catalyze the further development of dermatology services in Ghana.
To determine the impact of treatment of tuberculosis on plasma HIV-1 load in African subjects and to correlate viral load with response to treatment and changes in immune activation.
Clinical and ...microbiological responses, immune activation parameters and plasma HIV-1 load were determined in 20 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and HIV-1 coinfection in Ghana, West Africa during the first 3 months of anti-tuberculosis treatment.
Plasma HIV-1 load and markers of immune activation were determined by commercially available assays. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR incorporation into the HIV-1 envelope was measured by using an immunomagnetic capture technique.
Treatment of tuberculosis resulted in significant improvements in weight and haemoglobin, a high sputum smear conversion rate and marked reductions in mean plasma tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-1, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein. Furthermore, incorporation of host HLA-DR into the HIV-1 envelope decreased; this also suggested a reduction in immune activation of the cells supporting viral replication. However, of importance with regard to AIDS pathogenesis, neither mean plasma TNF-alpha nor HIV-1 load decreased significantly.
The failure of HIV-1 plasma load to decline significantly during the initial months of anti-tuberculosis treatment is associated with high, sustained systemic levels of TNF-alpha. The dissociation between the sustained levels of plasma TNF-alpha and the major reductions in other, diverse immune activation parameters may represent dysregulation of cytokine production in these African patients.
The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa.
To evaluate simple and commonly used parameters of the acute-phase response as correlates of successful resolution of smear-positive ...pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) during drug treatment.
Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), body weight, and blood haemoglobin were measured in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative Ghanaian patients with PTB (n = 15) and in age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 15). These parameters were subsequently measured in patients after 1, 2 and 3 months of antituberculosis treatment. Serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-2-receptor-alpha (sCD25) were also measured as a comparative index of resolution of the systemic inflammatory process.
Anti-tuberculosis treatment resulted in sputum smear conversion in all 15 patients. After one month of treatment, reductions in serum CRP concentration (>20%) and increases in haemoglobin concentration (>0.4 g/dl) occurred in the majority of patients and correlated with steep reductions in serum levels of sCD25. In contrast, weight loss and elevated ESR were slower to resolve, and were insensitive early markers of response to treatment.
A fall in serum CRP and a rise in blood haemoglobin are correlates of the initial response to drug treatment of PTB. These parameters may assist in the evaluation of empiric trials of treatment in microbiologically unconfirmed cases of suspected PTB.
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