ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Laboratory Evaluation of Ghanaian Women Attending Fertility Clinic at Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre, Accra-Ghana

Over 70 million couples suffer from infertility worldwide and the majority of these couples can be found in developing countries. In comparison to the Western world the negative consequences of childlessness are experienced to a greater degree in developing countries. Sexually transmitted diseases and hormonal imbalances are the most common cause of infertility in developing countries, and this can be treated with assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The unavailability or the expensiveness of new reproductive technologies in developing countries is a problem. This study aims to determine if there is any significant difference in the haematological and hormonal profiles of infertile and fertile women and also the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, toxoplasmosis and rubella immunity in infertile women. Three hundred and forty coagulated and non coagulated blood and high vaginal swab samples were collected from women within the age range of 24yrs to 58yrs attending infertility (300) and post natal (40) clinics at Lister Hospital and Fertility centre, Accra in Ghana. The enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA) method was used in analyzing the fertility hormones using the NoviWell™ assay kits (HySkill Diagnostics, Bahlingen, Germany) and the serological tests using the Orgenics® assay kits (Inverness Medical Innovations Group, Yavne, Israel).The haematological parameters were done using the QBC® Autoread Plus haematological analyzer (QBC Diagnostic Incorporated, Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, USA) and the gonorrhoea infection test using the Gram’s staining technique in Medical Laboratory Manual for Tropical Countries (Tropical Health Technology, Doddington, United Kingdom). The hormonal profile in the infertile women were higher: testosterone (1.86 ± 0.24) , follicle stimulating hormone (11.51 ± 0.84) and prolactin (22.36 ± 0.67) than the fertile subjects: testosterone (0.48 ± 0.04) , follicle stimulating hormone (6.99 ± 0.27) and prolactin (12.05 ± 0.62). From this study, the prevalence of toxoplasma gondii infection was similar in both fertile (27.5%) and infertile (20.0%) women and this increased with age. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of non-immunity to rubella among infertile (26%) and fertile (30%) subjects in this study. Though the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in the infertile women was higher, it did not reach statistically significant level. The hormonal profile and the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in infertile women were higher comparatively to their fertile counterpart.

Source: KNUST
Laboratory studies to develop cassava bait to control insect infestation of cocoa beans using coffee bean weevil, araecerus fasciculatus (de geer) (coleoptera; anthribidae), as model species

An experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of the Horticulture Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology between January and March, 2012 within temperature and humidity ranges of 18 – 32 °C and 63 – 85 %, respectively. The purpose of the investigation was to develop an effective insecticidal cassava bait to control insect pests of cocoa in storage using Araecerus fasciculatus (De Geer) as model species. The experiment was conducted in a five-roomed glass cage of 60 cm x 60 cm x 200 cm with the backside made of a net to improve aeration in the cage. It was observed that A. fasciculatus preferred sun-dried chips to fresh chips, fermented dough, flour and cocoa beans and that soaking of sun-dried chips in brown sugar solution of 500 g per litre of water further enhanced the preference. Deltamost emerged superior to Fastrack and Confidor insecticides by registering 4 – 6 minutes of lethal time, 21 – 30 days persistence and attract-and-kill potential of 76.7 – 86.7 % of infested bagged cocoa beans. However, cassava bait at 25 % of Deltamost insecticide was at equal strength (p < 0.05) with the 50 and 75 % of the label dosage and should be the obvious choice for the insecticidal cassava bait preparation.

Source: KNUST
Laboratory based experiment to decontaminate arsenic and lead laden water using palm kernel and shea nut cakes

The adsorption efficiencies of Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) and Shea Nut Cake (SNC) in adsorbing arsenic and lead laden water were studied in the laboratory (KNUST and Anglo Gold Ashanti). Sorption capacities of PKC and SNC were tested at varying concentrations of As and Pb and also, at varying masses of the adsorbents. Results of the study show that sorption efficiencies of PKC and SNC depended on the mass of the adsorbent material and as well on the concentration of the metal ions (As and Pb) in solution. With fixed mass of adsorbents, maximum sorption efficiencies of 55.20% and 71.40% were obtained with PKC and SNC respectively at varying concentrations of arsenic solution wherein efficiencies increased with increasing concentration of the ion. However, sorption efficiencies decreased with increasing concentsrations of lead in the contaminated water. Maximum efficiencies of 88.8% and 98% were achieved by PKC and SNC respectively. With varying masses of adsorbents in 100 mg/l solu-tion of arsenic, maximum sorption efficiencies of 62.7% and 74% were achieved with PKC and SNC respectively. Sorption efficiency increased with mass of SNC whereas it decreased with that of PKC. However, sorption efficiency increased with masses of both PKC and SNC when 100 mg/l solution of Pb was prepared. At varying concen-trations of lead solution, only PKC fitted the Lagmuir model (R2= 0.92). Whereas, only SNC fitted the model when its masses were varied for adsorption of As and Pb (R2= 0.91 and R2 = 0.99 respectively). For Freundlich’s isotherm, the following fitted the model. Adsorption by PKC at varying concentrations of As solution (R2 = 0.99), SNC at varying concentration of Pb solution (R2 = 0.92), adsorption of As at varying masses of SNC (R2 = 0.98) and adsorption of Pb at varying masses of SNC (R2 = 0.98). Analysis of variance and percentages were computed using Graphpad prism software. Generally, it can be concluded that both Shea Nut Cake and Palm Kernel Cake are good adsorbents and can be used to effectively clean-up arsenic and lead contaminated water.

Source: KNUST
The Labour Act (651) 2003, and Unionised Strikes: A Case Study: National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT)

Recent sporadic industrial unrest in the labour front of Ghana has been a major concern for both government and employers associations of Ghana owing to the revenue loss and productivity time lost during periods of industrial unrest. It was against this background that the research was conducted with the main objective of critically analyzing some sections of the Labour Act, 2003, (651), with regards to unionized strikes in the present political environment of the country with specific reference to the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT.) To achieve the objective of the research an exploratory and descriptive design was adopted which aim at exploring into the factors that have given rise to the numerous strikes of the association. A sample of both the union leaders and other members were administered with questionnaires for data collection in addition to other literature on the subject area. The study revealed that the respondents who were union leader(s), had very low knowledge in the Labour Act, as majority stated that they had not read the Act before and, therefore could not understand the principles of industrial relations within their respective zones. Recommendation was therefore made to that effect; for basic orientation to be given to all union leader(s) and members, for them to be able to educate the members of their various zones for them to understand the principles and, the various laws governing industrial relations.

Source: KNUST
The Labour Act 2003, Act 651 and Organized Labour Strikes: Case Study of Ghana Medical Association

The purpose of the study was to assess GMA’s understanding of the Labour Act and determine the challenges they face with regards to the right to strike. The study also analyzed the various procedures GMA adopts before proceeding on strikes and drew attention to the need to review certain aspects of the Labour Act 2003 (651) on strikes. Convenience sampling and purposive sampling techniques were adopted for the study. Both primary and secondary sources of data were employed. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data for the study. The collected data was presented and analyzed using tables and graphs through the help of Microsoft Excel. Based on the research conducted, it was revealed that both the executives and members of GMA do not have adequate understanding of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651). It was also revealed that the two main causes of industrial disputes between GMA and its employers are demand for allowance and demand for increase in wages. The study also showed that GMA goes through the processes of negotiation and arbitration before embarking on strike actions. The study also showed that GMA wants to be given the right to strike like other unions and that certain parts of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) should be reviewed. It was therefore recommended that a voluntary or compulsory orientation should be given to all union members; especially the leaders of GMA, in the Labour Act 2003, (Act 651) to help them understand and appreciate the laws governing their employment. It was also recommended that the Labour Act 2003, (Act 651) should be reviewed to specify clearly the consequences of strike actions by GMA in order to control the regular strike actions by the health sector.

Source: KNUST
Labour turnover within public Technical Universities a case of Ho Technical University.

In recent times, one could easily see employees leaving the Public Technical Universities complaining about their efforts not been realized. Thus they are not motivated according to how they performed their duties. This causes a lot of financial lost to organisations for recruitment and selection. The current economic trend has called for effective and efficient management of resources; both human and financial if any Public Technical University is to thrive well and compute favorably well with others. In view of this, the present researcher wishes to investigate labour turnover within the Public Technical Universities. The research was conducted considering the following methods; study area, research design, population of study, sample size determination, sampling techniques, data collection instrument, data collection procedure, and data analysis. After the analysis the present researcher found that labour turnover has negative effect on the Public Technical Universities and many employees retired at age sixty which the organisation cannot control. We recommend that organisations should recruit the young ones to understudy the old ones. Employees should be given further education by management as most of them are privately furthering their education, employees dependents should be sponsored in terms of education at the first cycle level and adequate steps should be taken to ensure that the salaries and incentives are sufficient to attract, retain and encourage both existing and new workforce.

Source: KNUST
Lambda cyhalothrin residue in oranges (Citrus sinensis) from Boamadumasi in Ejisu - Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

Residues resulting from the use of pesticides on fruits are a major concern in many countries. However, the hazards to the health of humans can be minimized to a great extent if these residues are kept below their prescribed safety level. Thirty (30) orange farmers were interviewed on the types of insecticides they use. Five insecticides were found to be commonly used on oranges by the respondent farmers with Lambda cyhalothrin being the most commonly used followed by Dimethoate. In this study, levels of Lambda cyhalothrin insecticide residue in oranges from farms at Boamadumasi were investigated to establish the safety of the fruits for consumption based on the WHO maximum residue limit of 0.2 mg/kg for citrus fruits. The insecticide residues in samples were extracted and cleaned up from the blended epicarps and mesocarps with ethyl acetate and florisil respectively. The extracts were cleaned up (purified) by using florisil. 60% of acetonitrile, 20% methanol and 20% water mixture was used as the mobile phase for the HPLC analysis. A flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with UV detection set at 254 nm was employed at room temperature. Levels of Lambda cyhalothrin were declined considerably from day 0 (1hr) to day 21 after the insecticide application. Out of 24 samples of oranges analysed, 16 representing 66.67 % had some levels of lambda cyhalothrin although below W.H.O Maximum Residue Limit of 0.2 mg/kg. The residue levels detected in the oranges ranged from 0.005 mg/kg to 0.191 mg/kg.

Source: KNUST
The lace of art in art education

The research sought to find out how art programmes are organized in teacher education for the promotion of culture. The research is carried out against the background that for art as a discipline in the educational curriculum to promote culture, it must start from the quality of education that goes into preparing the art teacher. In the educational curriculum art is the one subject that is most integrated with culture. Logically art education should cater for aspect of “cultural education” that is relevant to art. With this strong conviction the research sought to examine the intensity of the art programme at the teacher education level for the task of promoting culture. The descriptive survey and the analytical methods were the methodologies used in this study. Analyses of the results were made and these were interpreted. The scope of the research was limited to the institutions involved in the art programme for teachers education of which there are only two in the entire country presently, namely the S.D.A. Teacher Training Collage, Asokore Koforidua which is involved in the post-secondary art programme; and the school of Art of the S.T.C., Winneba which is on the diploma Art Teachers’ pprogramme. The main findings indicate that Ghanaian art is closely integrated with culture. There are aspects of Ghanaian culture that can be described as artistic. The art programme at the post-Secondary and Diploma Teachers levels are deficient in Ghanaian culture. The thesis propose additional themes that can be used to enrich the cultural of the art program.

Source: KNUST
Land compensation and community expectation in mining context: A case study of Ahafo Gold Mine

The increasing industrial surface mining operations in Ghana and the consequent land takes have raised major issues regarding the nation’s compulsorily takings statutes in mining context. The seeming unfulfilled land compensation expectation in the mining communities has served as recipe for conflict between the mining companies and their host communities. Ahafo Gold mine project located in Brong Ahafo like any other mining project has suffered from such community concerns on compensation. Using mainly qualitative methodological approach, the thrust of the research, was to explore the legal provisions and principles in land acquisition and compensation system in mining context, in relation to community expectations in Ahafo – Ghana. This was executed with the view to identifying strategies that are likely to enhance the practices and principles in land taking and compensation for sustainable mining communities. The analysis of the results indicated that there exist limitations and gaps in the nation’s statutes on land compensation if benchmarked against other international standards. Other issues were lack of mutual understanding on scope and method of assets assessment as well as the incompetence of indigenous people in compensation negotiation. Generally the communities regarded their compensation expectations as normal based on perceived loss to the mine and quest for sustainability, while the company considered them as unrealistic and arbitrarily based. And the major sources of conflicts identified were unfulfilled compensation expectations, speculative developments and development constraints perceived imposed by the mining statutes. Based upon the analysis, it is reasonable to assert that is imperative to review and streamline the land compensation statutes and practices to facilitate sustainable mining. Also the situation requires strategies that will enhance assessment and negotiation of compensation as well as cause government to perform facilitative and reconciliatory role in the mining land taking process. And commit the three major actors in mining – the government, the community and mining company to land take management, and also implement payment of .a solatium or premium to compensate for the compulsory nature of the acquisitions.z

Source: KNUST
Land management at Owabi catchment area: a case study

Land management at catchment areas has been so poor that water, which is a life-sustaining resource and being impounded by the dams for the use of the public, has been adversely affected. Recently, there has been an increasing importance of catchment land management issues in the world in general. This is even more so in Ghana due to the shortage of water during the dry season. This problem is largely attributed to poor land management practices on the part of land and environmental quality control agencies, Ghana Water Company, traditional authorities, chiefs, etc. and the lack of enforcement of rules and regulation governing the acquisition and development of land dispositions and general indiscipline in the land market culminating in encroachment The effect of this has assumed an environmental and socio-economic dimension, impeded the development of and progress of the nation as a whole. The study reveals a significant poor land management practice, as well as identifying the causes and nature of this and its effect on the reservoir, the environment and the socio economic lives of the populace There has been a serious encroachment on the Owabi reserve, which has resulted in the contamination of the water from the dam, siltation, and reduction of water in the reservoir. The causes of this encroachment may be attributed to factors like inadequate compensation, undefined boundaries for the reserve, lack of logistics for the supervisory bodies, etc. These factors have been further compounded by an apparently unsuccessful legal action taken by the Ghana Water Company Limited on the encroachers. Recommendations to protect the catchment include the payment of adequate compensation and effective environmental education.

Source: KNUST
Land grabbing and rural livelihood sustainability: experiences from the Bui dam construction in Ghana

This study investigated the effects of the large scale agricultural land grabbed for the Bui Dam project on the livelihoods of the affected people. The methods used to carry out this study were the interviewer administered questionnaire and unstructured interview as well as observation. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the use of interviewer questionnaire administration, interview guide, focus group discussions and observations. A total of 142 household heads were interviewed, while some key informants such as chiefs and community development officers of the district assemblies were also interviewed. The descriptive statistical tools and the t-test of the Statistical Package for the Social Scientist (SPSS) and excel software were employed to analyse the quantitative data whilst content analysis was applied to qualitative data with the result presented in the form of direct quotations. The study revealed that local food crop production and the quantity of fish catch have declined after the land grabs. Equally, it was found that income annual levels of the local people have fallen after the Bui Dam project. It was also found that the land grabbing incident in the study communities as a result of the Bui Dam construction has brought about improvements in the physical assets of the affected people. On the contrary, the local people’s access to the natural capital, especially the land for agricultural activities has been worsened. In addition, it was found that the land grabbing situation resulted in conflict between some communities and the Bui Power Authority. Finally, it was revealed that the most popular coping strategy for women after the Bui dam project was petty trading whilst that of the men was casual work, popularly called ‘by-day’ in the Ghanaian society. The study recommends the introduction of a comprehensive livelihood enhancement programme such as skill training for the youth and the landless group of people in the study communities by the Bui Power Authority and the district assemblies. This would enable them to promote their livelihood sustainability.

Source: KNUST
Land Preparation Methods and Weeding Frequency Effects on Soil Properties and Maize Performance

A field experiment was conducted on a Ferric Acrisol soils under rainfed conditions during the 2010 minor and 2011 major cropping seasons in Kumasi, Ghana, to determine the effect of land preparation method and weeding frequency on soil properties, Akposoe maize (Zea mays .L) variety performance and weed dry matter. A factorial design with two factors namely land preparation and weeding frequency was used. The land preparation treatments were no tillage, and ploughing followed by harrowing while the weeding frequency treatments consisted of hand hoeing at 2, 5 and 7 weeks after planting (WAP). The fourth weeding frequency treatment was no weed control (0-Hoeing). Over the course of the study, the ploughing followed by harrowing treatment gave more favourable soil conditions including lower soil penetration resistance, lower dry bulk density, higher soil moisture content and higher total porosity in comparison with the no tillage treatment. In general, the no weed control treatment produced the worst soil conditions for Akposoe maize plant growth. Ploughing followed by harrowing resulted in higher seedling emergence compared with that of the no tillage treatment. At 10 WAP, the ploughing followed by harrowing treatment produced better growth and yield parameters in terms of plant height, stem girth, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, root length, dry matter yield, yield components and yield compared with the no tillage treatment. Similarly, at 10 WAP, hand hoeing at 2 WAP presented the best growth and yield parameters in comparison with the other weeding frequency treatments. Therefore, considering soil and weather conditions, ploughing followed by harrowing with two hoeings at 2 and 5 WAP is the best alternative for the production of the Akposoe maize variety.

Source: KNUST