ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
World Health Organization; GA(2) LEN; AllerGen. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2008 update (in collaboration with the World Health Organization, GA(2) LEN and AllerGen)

The main research focus of the Electron Microscopy and Histopathology Department in the past 20 years has been in the areas of enteric diarrhoeas with special emphasis on rotavirus. Through its diarrhoea surveillance studies, the Department has helped to firmly establish rotaviruses as a major cause of diarrhoea in children, and document the circulation of unusual rotavirus genotypes in Ghana. The Department has also recently expanded its diagnostic repertoire to include the identification and characterization of noroviruses, astroviruses, and other enteric viruses.

Source: UG
World Health Organization; GA(2)LEN; AllerGen. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2008 update (in collaboration with the World Health Organization, GA(2)LEN and AllerGen)

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
World Hepatitis day 2021 –screening and vaccination against Hepatitis B virus in Accra, Ghana

The Department of Immunology conducts research in the field of immunology of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The Department has the overall goal of contributing knowledge to better diagnosis, management, control and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Ghana and worldwide. This is consistent with the overall strategy of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and in line with the strategy of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana.

Source: UG
A world of lies

This article reports two worldwide studies of stereotypes about liars. These studies are carried out in 75 different countries and 43 different languages. In Study 1, participants respond to the open-ended question "How can you tell when people are lying?" In Study 2, participants complete a questionnaire about lying. These two studies reveal a dominant pan-cultural stereotype: that liars avert gaze. The authors identify other common beliefs and offer a social control interpretation. © 2006 Sage Publications.

Source: UG
World TB Day 2022: Revamping and Reshaping Global TB Control Programs by Advancing Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
World tuberculosis day 2023 – Reflections on the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis by travellers and reducing risk in forcibly displaced populations

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
“A Worldly View of Worldview Metaphysics.” In: Worldviews and Cultures

The mental realm remains obscure; the causes of reprehensible behaviour remain elusive despite the plethora of socio-psychological research and modelling of intentional group behaviour. When the construct called social or ethnic worldview is added to the narrative mix of beliefs, social norms, principles of action, peer pressures, religious mandates, traditions, and customs to explain someone’s inexplicable behaviour, we are only adding to the obscurity surrounding protracted self-destructive violence. It will be shown that talk of divergent atomized worldview deflects attention from the more pernicious features of our interdependent social reality which provoke some people into defensive postures of intractable distrust and protracted combat

Source: UG
Worldviews &amp; Identities: How Not to Explain Collective Human Behaviour

Worldviews and social identities of agents are attributed with causal powers critical to acts of group violence. But problems emerge when we consider the theoretical details of attributing one worldview and identity to each individual, or a shared worldview to a whole community. Where does one worldview, or type of identity, leave off and another begin? Comparable fuzziness surfaces when we inspect the notion of distinct worldviews as inherently incommensurable, or distinct social identities as inherently antagonistic. Three proposed explanations of sectarian conflict or ethnic violence are analysed, as proposed by Alex Honneth, Walker Connor, and Donald H. Horowitz. As will be shown, it is not facts about worldviews and identities as such, but historically specific facts and contingent circumstances that impinge upon agents’ welfare (as well as their beliefs and values) which need to be examined in order to explain group-motivated behaviour—be it violent, conciliatory, or otherwise.

Source: UG
Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Web Observatory Applying Lessons from the Web to Transform the Research Data Ecosystem

The ongoing growth in research data publication supports global intra-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research col- laboration but the current generation of archive-centric re- search data repositories do not address some of the key prac- tical obstacles to research data sharing and re-use, speciﬁ- cally: discovering relevant data on a global scale is time- consuming; sharing ‘live’ and streaming data is non-trivial; managing secure access to sensitive data is overly compli- cated; and, researchers are not guaranteed attribution for re-use of their own research data. These issues are keenly felt in an international network like the Worldwide Univer- sities Network (WUN) as it seeks to address major global challenges. In this paper we outline the WUN Web Obser- vatory project’s plan to overcome these obstacles and, given that these obstacles are not unique to WUN, we also pro- pose an ambitious, longer-term route to their solution at Web-scale by applying lessons from the Web itself.

Source: UG
Wound healing potential of methanol extract of spathodea campanulata stem bark formulated into a topical preparation

This study evaluated the wound healing potential of Spathodea campanulata stem bark in Sprague Dawley rats using the excision wound model. The methanol extract contained glycosides, flavonoids and tannins, and was relatively stable when stored at the room temperature for six (6) months. Solvent-free, semi-solid extract of S. campanulata was incorporated into an aqueous cream and applied (10% w/w and 20% w/w) on excision wounds of thirty two (32) rats. Cicatrin® cream was used as a standard wound healing agent. Prior to the remedial cream application, done later on twice daily, sixteen (16) rats had their wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus, while in the remaining sixteen the wounds were kept clean. The surface area of the excision wounds was monitored planimetrically every four (4) days until a complete wound closure or healing took place. Excision wounds treated with 20% w/w Spathodea cream and Cicatrin® cream showed a rapid and comparable decrease (p > 0.05) in wound size. In uninfected wounds, both 20% w/w Spathodea cream and Cicatrin® cream application resulted in ~ 95%- wound closure seen on Day 20, and a complete closure seen on Day 24. In infected wounds, both 20% w/w Spathodea cream and Cicatrin® cream administration led to ~ 91%-wound closure on Day 24 and a complete wound contraction on Day 28. The results of this study justify the folkloric use of S. campanulata stem bark to the effect of wound treatment.

Source: UG
Wound infection following biliary surgery. A prospective surgery.

Biliary surgery in general, with cholecystectomy in particular, is probably the commonest major elective abdominal operation worldwide. A prospective study has been completed on 141 biliary operations in which intra-operative bile swabs were taken, and other risk factors for wound infection sought. Patients' characteristics were: males 51, females 90 (1:1.8); mean age 42.4 +/- 16 years; mean Quetelet index for adults was 32 +/- 5. The operations were: emergencies 10, simple-cholecystectomies 112, and choledochotomies (including other concomitant procedures) 29. The observed wound infection rates were: overall 7.8%, simple cholecystectomy 3.6% and choledochotomies 24.1%, figures which agree closely with the national and international literature. The infected patients consumed, on average, 7 days more in hospital than the uninfected ones. We found three major risk factors for wound infection: patients aged 40 years or older (over 4-fold), choledochotomy (over 6-fold), and microbiologically proven wound co-ntamination (9-fold). We conclude that, given the consistently low (less than 4%), incidence of wound infection following simple cholecystectomy, routine antibiotic prophylaxis in this subset is probably unjustified.

Source: UG
Writings on libraries in Ghana, 1995-1997

This annotated bibliography of writings on libraries in Ghana published between 1995 and 1997 is a follow-up of four previous compilations covering the periods 1950-1969, 1970-1980, 1980-1990, and 1991-1994. The bibliography contains 45 entries, including five books, five dissertations, and 35 periodical articles. The entries are arranged chronologically by year, and within each year, alphabetically by author.

Source: UG
Writings on libraries in Ghana, 1998-2000

This annotated bibliography of writings on libraries in Ghana published between 1998 and 2000 is a follow-up of five previous compilations covering the periods 1950-1969, 1970-1980, 1980-1990, 1991-1994, and 1995-1997. The bibliography contains 37 entries, arranged chronologically by year, and within each year alphabetically by author.

Source: UG
WSN Protocols and Security Challenges for Environmental Monitoring Applications: A Survey

In recent years, communication technology has improved exponentially, partly owing to the locations and nature of the deployment of sensor nodes. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) comprise these sensor nodes and can provide real-time physical and environmental measurements. The sensor nodes have limited power, which reduces their lifespan, especially when placed in human-inaccessible locations. This paper reviews energy-efficient protocols for environmental monitoring applications and energy harvesting-wireless sensor networks. The dynamic deployment and communication challenges associated with environmental monitoring applications (EMAs) make this paper take into account the WSN protocol stack, focusing on the physical layer, network layer (routing), and medium access control (MAC). The paper will delve deeper into the security challenges of deploying sensor nodes for environmental monitoring applications (EMAs). The paper further describes scientific approaches that churn out innovative and engineering applications that must be followed to improve environmental monitoring applications.

Source: UG
Yam Nematodes as Production Constraints in Ghana: A Socio-Economic Perspective.

Abstract: Yam (Dioscorea spp.) has been a prominent food and cash crop for most farmers in the yam production areas of Ghana, with the sales of yam in both domestic and international markets contributing significantly to the economy of the country. However, yam production by smallholder farmers is constrained by several challenges, including postharvest loss resulting from yam nematodes. This study conducted field surveys across seven districts across Ghana to collect data from randomly selected 150 yam farmers to investigate the status of nematode infestation, management practices and other socio-economic factors contributing to yam production in the country. The most common farm size for yam production from 2019 to 2022 was between 0.4 and 0.8 hectares. The majority of the farmers (56%) have been farming for over 15 years, with 6–10 years of experience in yam production, and preferred to use their own planting materials every year. Although most farmers (97.99%) experienced pests and diseases, most of them (77.33%) had no knowledge about nematode infestations in their farm causing damage to the tubers. Although yam farmers experienced yield losses, farmers were unable to manage nematode infestations in their farms. Twelve (12) genera of nematodes were identified in soils of yam rhizosphere across the seven districts. Tylenchus spp. (35.5%) and Scutellonema spp. (92.8%) were the most abundant nematode in soil samples and tuber peels, respectively while the second highest nematode in tuber peels was Meloidogyne spp. (4.0%). The presence of these parasitic nematodes in yam farms across Ghana suggests serious threats to the growth and yield of yams, although their presence is either not known or is usually neglected. Our result also confirmed the correlation between farmer storage practices and the management of nematodes, suggesting some storage practices such as barns may be effective in controlling nematodes. On the other hand, we find no association between pest occurrence in the field and nematode management. The lack of an association could be an indication that pest management in the field and nematode management in storage are separate activities and this underlines the importance of providing tailored postharvest training for smallholder farmers in effectively managing nematodes. It was therefore necessary to undertake this study and establish knowledge on the species as well as their prevalence in the farms across Ghana, contributing towards enhanced farmers’ understanding on nematode management and effective storage of yams to prevent losses caused by nematode infestation.

Source: UG
The year 2013: Nutrition at the top of the global agenda

Nutrition has come a long way! Looking at the turn of events, no doubt the year 2013 will indeed be remembered as the Year of Nutrition. Going down memory lane, in 1933 nutrition hit the headlines of a major journal, The Lancet, as kwashiorkor, which was described in a small African country called Gold Coast, present-day Ghana(1). At the time the disease was thought to be associated with food, and in following years the provision of food and food aid became a major thrust of development agencies and governments, in an attempt to address malnutrition. With time, the situation began to unfold as we understood the complexities of the problem. Today we see nutrition with many faces: undernutrition, overnutrition, hidden hunger, open hunger, etc. Critically, during the formative years, in particular the first 1000 days (spanning conception to 24 months after birth), undernutrition can result in deep-rooted, irreversible damage to health, development, productivity and quality of life. Undernutrition affects a child’s cognitive development and subsequently school performance. Undernutrition impairs human development and undermines national economic growth and development. Despite the harmful effects of undernutrition, it was marginalized. For decades, funding for nutrition was poor as it competed unsuccessfully with programmes on HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious disease. The fortunes of nutrition began to change with the advent of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It did not take long to realize that undernutrition was the most important constraint to achieving the MDG(2), and indeed the mid-term evaluation of the MDG clearly showed that countries and regions with a high burden of undernutrition were much less likely to meet the MDG timeline of 2015. In 2008, nutrition hit the headlines again. The Lancet Nutrition series of 2008 clearly presented the pathetic state of nutrition: fragmented and nobody’s business(3). The series of Lancet papers whipped global leaders into action. The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement took up the challenge of coordinating efforts at the global level to support countries with high undernutrition burden to pay attention to this problem, and today thirty-five countries in this category have committed to address undernutrition. The last three years have seen some major shifts on the nutrition scene, especially at the global level. Many international organizations and governments have included nutrition strategies in their development plans.

Source: UG
Yeast populations associated with Ghanaian cocoa fermentations analysed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)

The yeast populations associated with the fermentation of Ghanaian cocoa were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Samples were collected at 12-24 h intervals from heap and tray fermentations, at three different fermentation sites and different periods during the season. Eukaryotic universal primers were used to amplify a fragment of the 26S rRNA gene. The DGGE profiles were relatively complex, underlining that the fermentation of cocoa is a complex microbial process. The identities of selected fragments in the denaturing gels were revealed by sequencing. Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Candida krusei and Pichia membranifaciens were detected from most fermentations, indicating their possible important role in the fermentation of Ghanaian cocoa. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida zemplinina were almost exclusively detected during tray fermentations. The developed DGGE protocol was compared with traditional culture-based isolations. The results were comparable but slightly different, as one yeast species (C. zemplinina) was only detected using DGGE. On the other hand, Trichosporon asahii yielded only faint bands in the denaturing gels, despite the fact that it was detected using culture-based methods. Analysis of pure cultures showed that the targeted region of the 26S rRNA gene was poorly amplified in T. asahii, whereas all other investigated isolates were amplified efficiently using the chosen PCR approach. Cluster analysis revealed that the DGGE profiles clustered according to fermentation method and fermentation site. Furthermore, clustering according to progress in the fermentation was observed. The DGGE technique therefore seems to offer a relatively fast and reliable method for studying yeast population dynamics during cocoa fermentations. The nucleotide sequences determined in this study have been assigned Genbank Accession Nos AY762330-AY762349. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UG
Yellow Fever In Ghana: Predicting Emergence And Ecology From Historical Outbreaks.

Understanding the epidemiology and ecology of yellow fever in endemic regions is critical for preventing future outbreaks. Ghana is a high-risk country for yellow fever. In this study we estimate the disease burden, ecological cycles, and areas at risk for yellow fever in Ghana based on historical outbreaks. We identified 2387 cases and 888 deaths (case fatality rate 37.7%) from yellow fever reported in Ghana from 1910 to 2022. During the approxi mately 30-year periods before and after the implementation of routine childhood vaccination in 1992, the reported mean annual number of cases decreased by 80%. The geographic distri bution of yellow fever cases has also changed over the past century. While there have been multiple large historical outbreaks of yellow fever in regions throughout Ghana, recent out breaks have originated in northern regions. Comparing the locations where yellow fever out breaks have emerged, we find patterns with seasons and different ecological transmission cycles. Using an ecological niche modelling framework, we predict areas in Ghana that are similar to where prior yellow fever outbreaks have originated based on temperature, precipi tation, vegetation, and human population density. We find that these predictions differ depending on the ecological cycles of outbreaks. Ultimately, these findings and methods could be used to inform further subnational risk assessments for yellow fever in Ghana and other high-risk countries.

Source: UG
“‘Yeyedi’ ‘Velinga’ ‘Agbe nyue nᴐnᴐ’ ‘Shihilԑ kpakpa’: In Search of Local Concepts of Well-Being in Akan, Dagbani, Ewe, and Ga”

Well-being is an important concept to psychologists, public health practitioners, religious leaders, national leaders, and policymakers. The third goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims at promoting well-being and healthy lives. Normative conceptions of well-being are often influenced by values and ideals associated with North American and some European worlds. Such conceptions of well-being tend to valorize self-acceptance, personal growth, and autonomy, which do not resonate with Ghanaian ways of being. Research and conversations on well-being in most West African settings often adopt languages and concepts that the ordinary people cannot readily relate to. Alternative understandings of well-being that exist within most West African settings remain unknown and make attempts of promotion difficult. It is important to capture local conceptions of well-being and incorporate them into existing health promotion interventions, as well as create new avenues for promotion. Given the importance of well-being to the Psy-disciplines and the global mental health agenda to promote health and well-being, this study adopted a social constructivist approach to investigate constructions of well-being among local cultural experts in Ghana. Participants identified and explained constructs that are related to the concept of well-being in four Ghanaian languages (Akan, Dagbani, Ewe, and Ga). In this presentation, I aim to stimulate discussions, which will further our understandings of well-being, that will resonate with the Ghanaian people.

Source: UG
Yield Gap-Based Poverty Gaps in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa.

Given Africa’s challenge of feeding a growing population, narrowing yield gaps is an efficient way of raising production under covariate constraints. Using household panel data from 21 regions in eight sub-Saharan African countries, this article unravels the determinants of yield gaps. It also tests the hypothesis that poverty gaps are increasing with yield gaps. The results suggest that yield gaps are increasing with cultivated area; that yield differences are reducing with fertilizer use, particularly when combined with improved seeds in low production potential regions; that poverty gaps are increasing with yield gaps, particularly in low production potential regions

Source: UG