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or no access. For the long term, we recommend that the government should implement measures and policies that facilitate citizens' economic independence and their attainment of higher formal education.

This study identified key socioeconomic and demographic correlates of a household's access to hand hygiene resources in Ghana. In the interim, the government and development partners can provide hand hygiene resources to households with limited or no access. For the long term, we recommend that the government should implement measures and policies that facilitate citizens' economic independence and their attainment of higher formal education.The surface tension and viscosity of Cu-Fe-Si ternary alloys were computed at different temperatures using thermodynamic approaches. The thermodynamic data of the alloy were optimized in the framework of the Redlich-Kister (R-K) polynomials and exponential temperature dependent coefficients of the R-K polynomial were obtained. These coefficients were used to compute the excess Gibbs free energy of mixing of the alloy and the partial excess free energy of the components. The partial excess free energy so obtained was used to compute the surface tension of the ternary Cu-Fe-Si alloy system and its binary sub-systems. The enthalpy of mixing was also optimized and it was used to compute the viscosity of the sub-binary and ternary alloys.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is considered a major public health concern for Sierra Leone. Although medical students are at increased occupational risk for HBV infection, little is known about the burden of HBV infection amongst medical students in Sierra Leone.

As part of a screening and vaccination campaign, a cross-sectional study on prevalence of HBV among medical students in Freetown was conducted in December 2019. Antigen point of care test was used for HBV screening and data on students' risk history and demographics were collected. Additionally, for students diagnosed positive with HBV, linkage to care and initial assessment data after diagnosis was collected from the HBV clinic they were linked to.

One hundred and fifty-seven medical students (77.3%) from year three to six were screened for HBV infection. Almost all students (98.1%) had never been vaccinated against HBV and more than half (56.7%) reported a history of needle stick injuries. The prevalence of HBV infection (Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity) was 10.2% (n = 16). Among HBsAg positive students, 75% (n = 12) were successfully enrolled at chronic HBV clinic within three months of diagnosis. Only one student had evidence of liver cirrhosis and was started on treatment with Tenofovir diproxil fumarate.

The prevalence of HBV infection is high among medical students in Sierra Leone. Despite the high prevalence, most of the students linked to care had no evidence of severe liver disease.

The prevalence of HBV infection is high among medical students in Sierra Leone. Despite the high prevalence, most of the students linked to care had no evidence of severe liver disease.Trace elemental analysis on a surface of material has been recently imperative to be carried out especially in material industries. In this study, sophisticated setup of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy has been arranged and demonstrated by employing vaporization technique for the trace elemental analysis on a surface of material without ablating the material itself. Experimentally, a pulse transversely excited atmospheric CO2 laser was directed and defocused at +5 mm on a Si surface at inclining degree of approximately 25o to vaporize the trace metal element from the Si surface to the Pt mesh combined with Cu plate. The vaporized trace metal element then attached and deposited on the mesh surface. The trace metal attached-Pt mesh was then bombarded by focused laser beam to induce a luminous plasma and finally the trace element was identified. Results certified that sensitive trace elemental analysis of Cr deposited on the Si surface has been successfully carried out without any ablation of Si surface. Good linear calibration curve of Cr with an intercept zero was produced, which results in limit of detection of Cr of approximately 100 ppb.Association of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) and biochar (BC) to assist phytoremediation of Sb contaminated soil was investigated in this study. Seedlings of Sorghum bicolor were exposed to different regimes of TiO2 NPs (0, 100, 250 and 500 mg kg-1) and BC (0, 2.5% and 5%), separately and in combination, to investigate the effects on plant growth, Sb absorption and accumulation and physiological response of the plant in Sb contaminated soil. Co-application of TiO2 NPs and BC had positive effects on plant establishment and growth in contaminated soil. Greater accumulation of Sb in the shoots compared to the roots of S. GS-4224 bicolor was observed in all treatments. Application of BC increased immobilization of Sb in the soil. Using TiO2 NPs significantly increased accumulation capacity of S. bicolor for Sb with the greatest accumulation capacity of 1624.1 μg per pot achieved in "250 mg kg-1 TiO2 NPs+2.5% BC" treatment (P less then 0.05). Association of TiO2 NPs and BC significantly increased chlorophyll a (Chl a) and chlorophyll b (Chl b) contents of S. bicolor compared to the TiO2 NPs-amended treatments. Results of this study presented a promising novel technique by combined application of TiO2 NPs and BC in phytoremediation of Sb contaminated soils. Co-application of TiO2 NPs and BC could reduce the required amounts of TiO2 NPs for successful phytoremediation of heavy metal polluted soils. Intelligent uses of plants in accompany with biochar and nanomaterials have great application prospects in dealing with soil remediation.The composition changes in the close to surface of the austenitic stainless steel DIN 1.4981 irradiated at high doses. Theoretical simulations using the SRIM-2013 program show that the damage due to Nickel cation [Ni2+] ions irradiation of 3.66 MeV extends to up 2 μm deep in the steel under study. Then the applications of Grazing incidence X-ray Diffraction (GXRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Gallium cation [Ga3+] ions sputtering assisted, were necessary to detect respectively, any compositional changes with the depth. GXRD differences were recorded in the intensity and it's Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM), of the austenite (111) diffraction peak, at different depths in the Irradiate Zone (IZ). Through XPS was found that Nickel [Ni], Niobium [Nb], and Manganese [Mn] were depleted it is important to highlight Chromium [Cr], and Molybdenum [Mo] were improved at the irradiated surface; such behavior was contrary to the element migration under irradiation reported for austenitic stainless steels irradiated at low doses.