ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Differences in Alcohol Consumption and Drinking Patterns in Ghanaians in Europe and Africa: The RODAM Study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about alcohol consumption among Africans living in rural and urban Africa compared to African migrants in Europe. We compared the patterns of alcohol consumption in a group of Ghanaians living in different locations in Ghana and in Europe and examined the factors associated with drinking alcohol. METHODS: Data were from a cross-sectional study (RODAM) of Ghanaians aged 25-70 years living in rural and urban Ghana and in Amsterdam, Berlin and London. Information on how often participants consumed at least one standard alcoholic drink in the preceding 12 months, the type of alcoholic beverage and the average serving size was obtained using a food propensity questionnaire. The associations between drinking alcohol and socio-demographic variables, and frequency of attending religious services were investigated using logistic regression models stratified by site and sex. For Ghanaians living in Europe, the number of years since migration and acculturation were also included in the model as covariates. RESULTS: 4280 participants (62.2% women) were included in the analyses. In both men and women, the prevalence of drinking and amount of alcohol consumed per day was highest in Berlin (prevalence of drinking 71.0% and 61.7%) and lowest in urban Ghana (41.4% and 26.8%). After adjustment for age and education in both men and women in Europe, those attending religious services less frequently reported higher levels of drinking alcohol than non-attendants (never attend/no religion compared to attending service at least once a week men OR 4.60 95% CI 2.85, 7.44; women OR 1.80 95% CI 1.12, 2.90) p-trend with frequency <0.001 in men; 0.002 in women); this association was seen also in men in rural Ghana (p-trend = 0.001) and women in urban Ghana (p-trend = 0.02). The prevalence of drinking was positively associated with years since migration in both men and women in Europe ((OR per years increase in time lived in Europe 1.25 (95% CI 1.02,1.53) test for trend p = 0.03 in women; OR 1.29 (95% CI 1.03, 1.62 p = 0.03 in men) but no association was found with self-reported measures of acculturation (ethnic identity, cultural orientation or social networks). CONCLUSION: There are marked differences in alcohol consumption between Ghanaians living in Europe and in Ghana suggesting migration has an important influence of drinking patterns and also suggesting the possibility of requiring different strategies in alcohol reduction campaigns among Ghanaians in different locations.

Source: UG
Differences in bank profit persistence in Sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in determinants of bank profit persistence among Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Design/methodology/approach Using system generalized method of moments and data from four SSA countries during the period 2006–2012, this study considers differences in determinants of bank profit persistence across countries. Findings Efficiency in cost management is a major determinant of profit persistence in all the countries. However, concentration is found to be insignificant in all the estimations, suggesting that efficiency may be a more important determinant of profit persistence than concentration. Economic freedom associates negatively with profit persistence in Ghana, but its effect is insignificant in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa. Lending specialization translates into less profit persistence in South Africa, but greater persistence in Tanzania. Higher levels of financial development result in lower profit persistence in Kenya and Ghana, but does not matter in Tanzania and South Africa. Practical implications The level of profit persistence gives an indication of the effectiveness of competition policies, and the differences observed in their determinants in this study suggest the need for tailor-made policy responses in the different countries. Originality/value This study improves the understanding of why some banking market competition policies have not achieved the desired outcomes in some countries. It is evident that blanket rules or wholesale importation of policies from other countries may not work in different contexts.

Source: UG
Differences in human antibody reactivity to Plasmodium falciparum variant surface antigens are dependent on age and malaria transmission intensity in northeastern Tanzania

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
Differences in innate cytokine responses between European and African children

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
Differences in intelligence test scores among urban children in Ghana: Examining test characteristics and socio-economic factors

Performance on standardized cognitive tests among children in low income or less developed countries have consistently been low. The difference in test scores usually range between 1 to 2 standard deviations lower than published norms. Explanations for this difference have been attributed partly to IQ differences between different races which has been a subject of debate in scientific and academic research since the inception of IQ testing in the early 20th century. The debate about race differences in intelligence concerns the interpretation of research findings that Caucasian test takers tend on average to score higher than individuals of African descent. This was followed subsequently with the finding that test takers of East Asian background tend to score higher than Caucasians. Part of the explanation for racial differences in IQ or test scores is the issue of test bias, that is, test items tend to favor individuals for whom the test was initially developed. Although tests are standardized on local populations to address this challenge, significant differences are still found between groups separated by socioeconomic factors, even on measures that are supposed to be culture-fair. It therefore appears that differences in test scores may be explained by other factors apart from cultural differences. In the current study, we examined performance on three tests with varying degrees of cultural bias. We examined the effects of different socioeconomic factors on test performance and found expected superior performance for children in high socioeconomic groups on all tests. The difference in scores however diminished on tests that had low cultural bias. The findings from this study are discussed in the light of differences in wealth, parents' influence, and quality of school and teaching.

Source: UG
Differences in the determinants of health insurance enrolment among working-age adults in two regions in Ghana

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
A Different Approach in Developing a Sexual Self-Concept Scale for Adolescents in Accra, Ghana

dolescents residing in urban poor Accra face sexual and reproductive health challenges. Interventions to address them have not been entirely effective; thus, researching adolescents’ sexual self-concept (SSC) could strengthen our understanding of precursors to their sexual activity. For this study, a culturally appropriate scale is developed to measure the SSC of adolescents in urban poor Accra. Focus group discussions and content analysis generated items in the scale. Factor analyses techniques were used to develop sub-scales measuring different SSC dimensions. Three sub-scales, ‘sexual enthusiasm’, ‘sexual intrepidness’ and ‘sexual readiness’ were reliable SSC measures. Validity assessments found that sexually ready and enthusiastic youth were more likely to have engaged in coital, pre-coital and risky sexual behaviors. Also, as their sexual intrepidness and enthusiasm increased, adolescents had significantly worse mental health. These scales may provide an important step in understanding adolescent sexual behavior in the urban poor context and thus need further investigation.

Source: UG
Different pathways of social protection reforms: An analysis of long-term institutional change in Kenya

The potential of social protection to contribute to inclusive growth has been increasingly recognized throughout the last two decades. Social protection reforms involve comprehensive processes of long-term institutional change. Dynamics differ not only across but also within countries across social protection pillars reflecting multiple institutional trajectories and equilibria ranging from rapid and com prehensive shifts over processes of gradual change to situations of blocked reforms or reform reversals. This paper seeks to understand why reforms aiming at extending social protection coverage to the poor might differ across different pillars of social protection within the same country. Being embedded within comparative institutional analysis the paper aims at providing a systematic framework for defining and explaining variations in reform dynamics highlighting the role of uncertainty. The framework is applied to the Kenyan case. The empirical methodology employs a process tracing approach including primary and secondary data covering the time period between 2001 and 2017. The case of Kenya is one example for multiple institutional trajectories within a country: Whereas cash transfer reforms follow a pattern of cumulative incremental change, social health protection reforms reflect patterns of non-cumulative change including blocked reforms and reform reversals. The results suggest that those differences are partly explained by differences in preferences among agents or the institutional legacies within each domain. In addition, behavioral responses to uncertainty matter: Stronger information asymmetries within the cash transfer and fee waiver reform domains opened space for discretionary decision making. Interpretations of the concept of social protection and complexity of ’insurance’ facilitated pro cesses related to cash transfers whereas providing impediments to social health insurance. Lastly, the international and socio-economic context provided focal points facilitating coordination on targeted or vertical interventions such as cash transfers or fee waivers.

Source: UG
Differential Association Theory and Juvenile Delinquency in Ghana’s Capital City - Accra: The Case of Ghana Borstal Institute

Current sociological theories argue that, delinquency results from economic and family relational problems. Unable to have their parents meet their material needs, children turn to all sorts of activities, many of which eventually lead to delinquent acts. Other theories focus on the role of peer relationships in determining deviancy. Using Edwin Sutherland’s differential association theory, this study explores the notion that, delinquency in inmates of the Ghana Borstal Institute is a reflection of the peer groups/friendship relations they hanged out with. Data for the study were collected from the Ghana Borstal Institute, a correctional institution for reforming juvenile offenders with structured questionnaire. The findings point to the presence of Differential Association at the onset of inmate’s delinquent behaviours though circumspection is recommended in the attempts to validate differential association as the study was carried out on institutionalized, verified group of delinquent juveniles. The close relationship between differential association and delinquency may not be present in non-institutionalized juvenile offenders.

Source: UG
Differential associations between psychosocial stress and obesity among Ghanaians in Europe and in Ghana: findings from the RODAM study

Purpose Psychosocial stress is associated with obesity in some populations, but it is unclear whether the association is related to migration. This study explored associations between psychosocial stress and obesity among Ghanaian migrants in Europe and non-migrant Ghanaians in Ghana. Methods Cross-sectional data from the RODAM study were used, including 5898 Ghanaians residing in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, rural Ghana, and urban Ghana. Perceived discrimination, negative life events and stress at work or at home were examined in relation to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Linear regression analyses were performed separately for migrants and non-migrants stratified by sex. Results Perceived discrimination was not associated with BMI and WC in both migrants and non-migrants. However, negative life events were positively associated with BMI (β = 0.78, 95% CI 0.34–1.22) and WC (β = 1.96, 95% CI 0.79–3.12) among male Ghanaian migrants. Similarly, stress at work or at home was positively associated with BMI (β = 0.28, 95% CI 0.00–0.56) and WC (β = 0.84, 95% CI 0.05–1.63) among male Ghanaian migrants. Among non-migrant Ghanaians, in contrast, stress at work or at home was inversely associated with BMI and WC in both males (β = − 0.66, 95% CI − 1.03 to − 0.28; β = − 1.71 95% CI − 2.69 to − 0.73, respectively) and females (β = − 0.81, 95% CI − 1.20 to − 0.42; β = − 1.46, 95% CI − 2.30 to − 0.61, respectively). Conclusions Negative life events and stress at work or at home are associated with increased body weight among male Ghanaians in European settings, whereas stress at work or at home is associated with reduced body weight among Ghanaians in Ghana. More work is needed to understand the underlying factors driving these differential associations to assist prevention efforts.

Source: UG
Differential constituents in roots, stems and leaves of Newbouldia laevis Thunb. screened by LC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS

Newbouldia laevis (P. Beauv.) Seem. or “Boundary Tree” is a medium sized angiosperm in the Bignoniaceae family. It is native to tropical Africa, especially used in West Africa to mark property boundaries in rural areas. Despite its intensive use in folk medicine, the plant chemical composition is under investigated. The study is aimed at identifying the chemical constituents of N. laevis crude plant extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on line with an untargeted high-resolution mass spectrometry. The used HPLC method showed to be suitable for the determination of withasomnine, newbouldine, and lapachol derivatives together with other known bioactive compounds like phytosterols and triterpenoids. The importance of these chemical constituents is discussed with respect to the role of N. laevis in West African ethnomedicine. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Source: UG
Differential effects of weather, plant phenology and predators on the seasonal variation of aphids on cabbage

The aphids Lipaphis erysimi pseudobrassicae (Davis) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) pose serious threats to the production of cruciferous crops in the tropics. Understanding their population dynamics is important for developing integrated pest management programmes to minimize their damage to crops. This study investigated the effects of climatic factors, natural enemies and plant age on the population dynamics of these pests. The population density of aphids and their natural enemies in 20 cabbage plants, and weather conditions were monitored for five cropping seasons from 2019 to 2021 in two agroecological zones of Ghana (Coastal Savannah and Deciduous Forest zones). The highest population density of L. e pseudobrassicae was recorded in January (dry season) in both agroecological zones, while the highest population density for M. persicae occurred in September (minor rainy season) and August (dry spell) in the Coastal Savannah and Deciduous Forest zones, respectively. The highest aphid densities were noted to occur during periods with low relative humidity and low rain fall. The population density of L. e. pseudobrassicae was significantly negatively related to plant age, air temperature and relative humidity, and positively related to syrphids (Paragus borbonicus) and spiders in the Coastal Savannah zone, while in the Deciduous Forest zone, it was significantly positively related to coccinellids. On the other hand, M. persicae population density was significantly positively related to syrphids and coccinellids in the Deciduous Forest zone. Rainfall negatively affected syrphids in the Coastal Savannah zone, while air temperature positively affected syrphids and negatively affected spiders in the Deciduous Forest zone. Coccinellids had a significant positive relationship with relative humidity in the Deciduous Forest zone. This study provides important insights into the key factors that regulate aphid population densities on cabbage and will support development of timely interventions to manage these pests.

Source: UG
Differential household vulnerability to climatic and non-climatic stressors in semi arid areas of Mali, West Afric

Semi-Arid Regions (SARs) of West Africa are considered climate change “hotspots” where strong ecological, economic and social impacts converge to make socio-ecological systems particularly vulnerable. While both climatic and non-climatic drivers interact across scales to influence vulnerability, traditionally, this inter-connectedness has received little attention in vulnerability assessments in the region. This study adopted the vulnerability patterns framework, operationalized using the Multidimensional Livelihood Vulnerability approach to include both climatic and non climatic stressors to analyze differential household vulnerability in SARs of Mali. Findings showed that while drought was the most mentioned climate-related stressor, households were also exposed to a diversity of environmental and socio-economic stressors, including food scarcity, livestock disease, labour unavailability, crop damage, and erratic rainfall patterns. The typology revealed three vulnerability archetypes differentiated by adaptive capacity and sensitivity. Availability of productive household members, household resource endowments, livelihood diversification and social networks were the main discriminant factors of household adaptive capacity, while challenges relating to food and water security make households more sensitive to stressors. The analysis highlighted the heterogeneity in household vulnerability patterns within and across communities. Failing to account for this heterogeneity in adaptation planning might result in a mismatch between adaptation needs and interventions, and potentially in maladaptation.

Source: UG
Differential Impact of Land Use Types on Soil Productivity Components in Two Agro-ecological Zones of Southern Ghana

The maintenance of soil productivity is important for sustained crop yield in low-input systems in the tropics. This study investigated the impact of four different land use types, namely, maize and cassava cropping, woodlot/plantations, and natural forests on soil productivity components, especially soil carbon accretion, at six sites within two agro-ecological zones of southern Ghana. Soil properties were significantly different between sites and ecological zones. The coastal savanna zone, which is a low rainfall zone had relatively lower soil carbon storage than the high rainfall forest-savanna transition zone. Soil productivity conditions in the latter zone were much more favorable for cropping than the former. Land use types significantly affected the soil carbon (SOC) storage within the two ecological zones. In the low rainfall zone, soil carbon accretion by maize cropping, cassava cropping, and plantations was 48%, 54%, and 60%, respectively, of the forest carbon stock (47,617 kg/ha). In the transition zone, the soil carbon accretion was over 90% of the forest value (48,216 kg/ha) for all land use types. In effect, the use of land use types in maintaining soil productivity must consider the conditions in a given ecological zone.

Source: UG
Differential Impacts of Cropland Expansion on Soil Biological Indicators in Two Ecological Zones

Agricultural expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by different farm ages in smallholder communities. This study investigated changes in microbial indices broadly (i) at the reconnaissance survey level in four agro-ecological zones and (ii) in different farms at the forest (Dompem) and forest–savanna transition (Adansam) zones, as influenced by the duration of cultivation. Soils from one-year (first cultivation of cleared forest/fallow), three-year, five-year, and ten-year farms were analyzed for basic soil properties, active or labile carbon (POXC), basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass (Cmic) using permanganate oxidizable C, alkali trap, and chloroform fumigation incubation. In both study levels, POXC content was <1% of soil organic carbon (SOC) in all zones, higher in the wet agro-ecological zones, and positively correlated with SOC (r = 0.70, 0.81; p < 0.01, p < 0.001). Dompem SOC and BR declined by 1–23% and 6–25% (p < 0.001), respectively, in the first three years; Cmic (p = 0.002) and %Cmic/SOC (p = 0.610) decreased from three-year farms onwards. Conversely, the Adansam SOC, BR, Cmic, and %Cmic/SOC rather had irregular trends. The microbial indices were influenced by exchangeable acidity, the sum of exchangeable bases, and effective cation exchangeable capacity negatively or positively, followed by SOC, pedogenic compounds, particularly dithionite-citrate iron (Fed), oxalate iron (Feox), and lastly, soil pH. Therefore, understanding the degree, direction, and changing aspects of these drivers of soil ecosystem services is necessary for sustainable soil management practices in different agro-ecological zones.

Source: UG
Differential non-responsiveness in humans of candidate plasmodium falciparum vaccine antigens

Synthetic subunit vaccines to sporozoites, merozoites, and gametes are being developed for malaria. The vaccine strategy assumes that the population to be immunized will respond favorably to these vaccine antigens. Using sera of 35 adults and 50 children from the The Gambia, West Africa, where Plasmodium falciparum is highly endemic, we examined the humoral immune response to candidate malaria vaccine antigens from sporozoites, merozoites, and gametes. We observed widespread restricted immunogenicity to defined parasite antigens in children and adults. HLA typing of adult lymphocytes demonstrated a marked diversity in HLA haplotypes in this population. Our results and those from our studies in mice suggest that genetic factors may partly explain the immunological non-responsiveness. This may necessitate re-evaluation of the malaria vaccine strategy.

Source: UG