Potentially toxic metals in irrigation water, soil, and vegetables and their health risks using Monte Carlo models.

Food safety has become a serious global concern because of the accumulation of potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in crops cultivated on contaminated agricultural soils. Amongst these toxic elements, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) receive worldwide attention because of their ability to cause deleterious health effects. Thus, an assessment of these toxic metals in the soils, irrigation waters, and the most widely consumed vegetables in Nigeria; Spinach (Amaranthushybridus), and Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The mean concentration (measured in mg kg-1) of the PTMs in the soils was in the sequence Cr (81.77) > Pb(19.91) > As(13.23) > Cd(3.25), exceeding the WHO recommended values in all cases. This contamination was corroborated by the pollution evaluation indices. The concentrations (measured in mg l-1) of the PTMs in the irrigation water followed a similar pattern i.e. Cr(1.87) > Pb(1.65) > As(0.85) > Cd(0.20). All the PTMs being studied, were found in the vegetables with Cr (5.37 and 5.88) having the highest concentration, followed by Pb (3.57 and 4.33), and As (1.09 and 1.67), while Cd (0.48 and 1.04) had the lowest concentration (all measured in mg kg-1) for cabbage and spinach, respectively. The concentration of the toxic metals was higher in spinach than in cabbage, which may be due to the redistribution of the greater proportion of the metals above the ground tissue, caused by the bioavailability of metals in the aqueous phase. Expectedly, the hazard index (HI),and carcinogenic risk values of spinach were higher than that of cabbage. This implies that spinach poses potentially higher health risks. Similarly, the Monte Carlo simulation results reveal that the 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and 50th percentile of the cumulative probability of cancer risks due to the consumption of these vegetables exceeds the acceptable range of 1.00E-6 and 1.00E-4. Thus, the probable risk of a cancerous effect is high, and necessary remedial actions are recommended.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of radon risk exposure from drinking water resources in Nigeria.

Elevated radon concentrations in drinking water pose an increased risk of cancer among nonsmokers. A Monte-Carlo Simulation was employed to assess the effective dose and cancer risk associated with radon exposure in humans, utilizing a systematic review and meta-analysis of related studies. These studies were sourced from databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar, focusing on drinking water from Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. The random effects models revealed a 222Rn concentration in drinking water of Nigeria at 25.01, with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 7.62 and 82.09, indicating significant heterogeneity of (I2 = 100%; p < 0.001). The probabilistic risk of effective dose revealed a best-scenario (P 5%) at Kundiga and Magiro that exceeded the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended effective dose limit of 200 µSv/y. Conversely, the worst-case scenario (P 95%) indicated concentrations surpassing the recommended limit at Kundiga, Edbe, Magiro, Ekiti, and Abeokuta. Excess Life Cancer Risk for infants, children, and adults attributed to the ingestion and inhalation of radon from various drinking water sources exceeded the recommended values of 0.2 x 10-3 established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). It underscores the necessity for treating radon-polluted water, employing methos such as aeration and granular activated carbon (GAC) processes.

Understanding rural women's preferences for telephone call engagement with primary health care providers in Nigeria: a discrete choice experiment.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of mobile phones to provide primary health care services and maintain continuity of care. This study aims to understand rural women's preferences for telephone call engagement with primary health care providers in Nigeria. METHODS: A discrete choice experiment was conducted alongside an action research project that empowered primary health care workers to develop and implement a telephone call intervention to assess and enhance experiences with facility childbirth care. Between January and March 2022, 30 providers from 10 primary health care facilities implemented the choice experiment among rural women who had institutional childbirth to elicit service user preferences for telephone call engagement. The women were asked to express their preferred scenario for telephone call engagement with their primary health care providers. Generalised linear mixed models were used to estimate women's preferences. RESULTS: Data for 460 women were available for the discrete choice experiment. The study showed that rural women have preferences for telephone call engagement with primary health care providers. Specifically, women preferred engaging with female to male callers (ß=1.665 (95% CI 1.41, 1.93), SE=0.13, p<0.001), preferred call duration under 15 min (ß=1.287 (95% CI 0.61, 1.96), SE=0.34, p<0.001) and preferred being notified before the telephone engagement (warm calling) (ß=1.828 (95% CI 1.10, 2.56), SE=0.37, p<0.001). Phone credit incentive was also a statistically significant predictor of women's preferences for engagement. However, neither the availability of scheduling options, the period of the day or the day of the week predicts women's preferences. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the importance of understanding rural women's preferences for telephone call engagement with healthcare providers in low-income and middle-income countries. These findings can inform the development of mobile phone-based interventions and improve acceptability and broader adoption.

Groundwater pollutants characterization by geochemometric technique and geochemical modeling in tropical savanna watershed.

Multiple interactions of geogenic and anthropogenic activities can trigger groundwater pollution in the tropical savanna watershed. These interactions and resultant contamination have been studied using applied geochemical modeling, conventional hydrochemical plots, and multivariate geochemometric methods, and the results are presented in this paper. The high alkalinity values recorded for the studied groundwater samples might emanate from the leaching of carbonate soil derived from limestone coupled with low rainfall and high temperature in the area. The principal component analysis (PCA) unveils three components with an eigenvalue > 1 and a total dataset variance of 67.37%; this implies that the temporary hardness of the groundwater and water-rock interaction with evaporite minerals (gypsum, halite, calcite, and trona) is the dominant factor affecting groundwater geochemistry. Likewise, the PCA revealed anthropogenic contamination by discharging [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] from agricultural activities and probable sewage leakages. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) also revealed three clusters; cluster I reflects the dissolution of gypsum and halite with a high elevated load of [Formula: see text] released by anthropogenic activities. However, cluster II exhibited high [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] loading in the groundwater from weathering of bicarbonate and sylvite minerals. Sulfate ([Formula: see text]) dominated cluster III mineralogy resulting from weathering of anhydrite. The three clusters in the Maiganga watershed indicated anhydrite, gypsum, and halite undersaturation. These results suggest that combined anthropogenic and natural processes in the study area are linked with saturation indexes that regulate the modification of groundwater quality.

Behavioural Risk for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C Infections among a Population of Drug Users and Injectors across Four Regions in Ghana.

Background: Blood borne infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B (HBV), and Hepatitis C (HCV) are of great importance to governments and their implementing partners, especially among people who use drugs (PWUD) and people who inject drugs (PWID). Prevalence and determinants of HIV, HBV, and HCV among PWUD and PWID in Ghana are not well established, the significance of this study. Method: This assessment was a cross-sectional study implemented via the respondent driven sampling approach. A team of community advisory boards that comprised former users, current users, and civil society organizations were constituted to help in the implementation of the study. The study was conducted in four regions in Ghana. The assessment was based on a representation of populations of PWID and PWUD from the four regions. Efforts were made by the team to ensure adequate representation of women where feasible. A quantitative questionnaire was developed and used to obtain information on the respondents' sociodemographics, sexual behavior, substance use, and biological characteristics. The prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV among PWID and PWUD was determined using blood samples. First response and oral quick test for confirmation of HIV positivity were carried out, while SD bioline was used to test for the presence of HBV and HBC. Data were analyzed using the Bayesian generalized linear model via the binomial family of distributions under the logit link function with weak Cauchy and Normal distribution as prior. Results: A total of 323 PWUD and PWID participants were interviewed across four regions of Ghana. The overall median age of the respondents was 36 (28, 43) years. The prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV infection in the study was 2.5%, 4.6%, and 5.9%, respectively. The prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV among drug users was 2.5% (95% CI: 0.7%-4.2%), 4.1% (95% CI: 1.8%-6.2%), and 6.7% (95% CI: 3.9%-9.4%), respectively. Most drug injectors and users started using and injecting drugs at ages less than 20 years and between 20 and 29 years, respectively. Drug users who identified themselves as part of the general population were 66% less likely to be tested HIV positive (POR = 0.34, CrI: 0.12-0.81) compared to sex workers. Part time employment respondents had fivefold odds (POR = 5.50, CrI: 1.20-16.16) of being HBV positive as against full-time employment. Conclusion: Most of the injectors and users started drugs at an early age. Drug users and injectors are at higher risk of these infections because of associated risky sexual behaviors and risky injection practices. Harm reduction programs to help addicts who are willing to quit the practice are recommended.

Mouthpart deformities in Chironomidae (Diptera) as bioindicators of heavy metals pollution in Shiroro Lake, Niger State, Nigeria.

In this study, mouthpart deformities in Chironomid larvae (Diptera) were investigated in relation to sediment contamination in the Shiroro Lake in Nigeria. Metals and chironomids were sampled monthly at three stations (A-C) between August 2013 and January 2014. Across the stations, zinc ranged (3.9-75mg/g), manganese (1.29-1.65mg/g), lead (0.00-0.10mg/g), iron (101-168mg/g) and copper (0.13-0.17mg/g). The metal ions did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) between the sampling stations. However, zinc and iron ions were significantly different between the sampling seasons (P < 0.05). Thirteen chironomid species were recorded, with Chironomus sp., Polypedilum sp. and Ablabesmyia sp. dominating the assemblage structure. Mouthpart deformities were significantly higher at Station A compared with Station C, and seasonally significantly higher during dry season compared with wet season. Elevated incidences of deformity were recorded in Chironomus spp larvae as compared to other genera therefore for further studies in this region assessments should be based solely on Chironomus species and ignoring the rest. Strategies need to be developed to reduce the contaminations and the biological effects.

Pattern of Breast Cancer Distribution in Ghana: A Survey to Enhance Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Background. Nearly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ghana are in advanced stages of the disease due especially to low awareness, resulting in limited treatment success and high death rate. With limited epidemiological studies on breast cancer in Ghana, the aim of this study is to assess and understand the pattern of breast cancer distribution for enhancing early detection and treatment. Methods. We randomly selected and screened 3000 women for clinical palpable breast lumps and used univariate and bivariate analysis for description and exploration of variables, respectively, in relation to incidence of breast cancer. Results. We diagnosed 23 (0.76%) breast cancer cases out of 194 (6.46%) participants with clinically palpable breast lumps. Seventeen out of these 23 (0.56%) were premenopausal (<46.6 years) with 7 (0.23%) being below 35 years. With an overall breast cancer incidence of 0.76% in this study, our observation that about 30% of these cancer cases were below 35 years may indicate a relative possible shift of cancer burden to women in their early thirties in Ghana, compared to Western countries. Conclusion. These results suggest an age adjustment for breast cancer screening to early twenties for Ghanaian women and the need for a nationwide breast cancer screening to understand completely the pattern of breast cancer distribution in Ghana.