ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Mutagenicity of edible palm oil on the ghanaian market before and after repeated heating

Red palm oil produced in Ghana largely by village folks has never been tested for its mutagenic potential. The study aimed at determining the mutagenicity of high-energy heated red palm oil (RRPO) and refined, bleached imported palm oil (PO) on the Ghanaian market. Samples of RRPO and PO were 1× and 5× heated for 10 min at 180 °C with a cooling period of 5 h in-between. Unheated, together with heated samples, were tested for mutagenicity using Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 tester stains. Unheated PO was negative for the Ames mutagenicity test with TA 98 strain. However, 1× and 5× heated PO were mutagenic (P = 0.05, each). Testing PO, using TA 100 strain was negative. RRPO was mutagenic with TA 98 strain for heated oils (P = 0.05, each). Assays with TA 100 strain showed highly significant mutations (P = 0.001, each) that increased with increasing heating frequency. PO 1× and 5× heated samples caused significant frameshift mutation in the S. typhimurium TA 98 strain. RRPO caused highly significant point and frameshift mutations in heated samples. Furthermore, unheated RRPO mutagenic potential has serious health implications. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Source: UG
Mutational analysis of antibiotic resistance genes in Helicobacter pylori from Ghanaian dyspepsia patients: Implications for treatment strategies

Background: Antibiotic resistance jeopardizes the effectiveness of conventional treatment regimens for Heli cobacter pylori infections, and this remains a major global health concern. H. pylori genes mutations negatively affect actions of most first line antibiotics. This study aimed to perform mutational analysis on H. pylori antibiotic resistance genes in Ghanaian patients diagnosed with dyspepsia. Materials and methods: Antrum gastric biopsies were taken from 169 study participants, minced in Brain Heart Infusion broth and cultured. Sensitivity to antibiotics of H. pylori isolates was determined by disc diffusion. Extracted DNA were amplified and antibiotic resistance genes gyrA, pbp1, and rdxA sequenced. Resistance genes were analysed for base and point mutations using online databases and Ugene 45.0 software. Results: Using rapid urease test, H. pylori infection prevalence was estimated to be 61%. Phenotypically, no sensitivity was recorded for metronidazole, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid against the tested isolates. Resistance to levofloxacin was found to be 40% while 20% was recorded for each of tetra cycline and ciprofloxacin. Mutations identified included G242 C/A, T254I, and S417T for pbp1 gene in amoxi cillin resistance; K2N, Q6H, Q50Stop, E75K, R90K, G98S, H99P, R131K, and A183V for rdxA gene; N87I/T, A97V, M191I, V199 M/A, H200Y, and G208E for gyrA gene in levofloxacin resistance. Conclusions: There is high H. pylori antibiotic resistance in the region with amoxicillin, metronidazole, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and clarithromycin showing no sensitivity to tested isolates. Tetracycline and cip rofloxacin may be more appropriate therapeutic regimen options against H. pylori. Observed resistance could be due to mutations in rdxA, pbp1, and gyrA genes.

Source: UG
Mutations in plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter and multidrug resistance genes, and treatment outcomes in Ghanaian children with uncomplicated malaria.

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
Muting the Whistleblower through Retaliation in Selected African Countries

The paper discusses whistleblowing in selected African countries as public service ethical issue with a view to identifying its attendant hazards. It was developed mainly from secondary sources of data. It relied on relevant reported cases of whistleblowing that received wide and credible coverage in the selected African countries and international news media as well as attracting the attention of local and international human rights activists and advocates. The paper attempts to stimulate discussions on the phenomenon of whistleblowing as a way of getting policy makers fashion out policies meant to promote whistleblowing. It asserts that legal provisions alone are not sufficient to protect the whistleblower from retaliation and intimidation and proposes a strong political will from the ruling elite and their collaborators to follow not only the letter, but also the spirit of the tenets of the law. It is only when people are truly confident that the protections guaranteed by the legislation and institutional set up are substantive in nature will they be motivated to expose wrongdoing.

Source: UG
My lecturer is my teacher

This presentation sources inspiration from the extremely shifting topoi of learning in the so-called universities of the 21st century, where knowledge production and consumption are fraught with slippages. It problematizes the categorization of the men responsible for imparting knowledge into ‘lecturer’ and ‘teacher’, even as it raises questions on the whole idea of the academy. The politics behind the discourse is to cast a fresh look at the essentials of teaching in contradistinction to the essentials of lecturing, and through that prevent the whole notion of lectureship in the university from — in the manner of the postmodern — being conclusive or teleological.

Source: UG
‘My Own House, Car, My Husband, and Children’: meanings of success among Ghanaians

The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which contemporary social, economic, and religious developments inform social constructions of success in Ghana. Participants, consisting of 21 females and 39 males, aged between 20 and 70, from different educational and occupational backgrounds were interviewed about what they consider as success. Participants belonged to either Traditionally Western Mission Churches or Charismatic Christian denominations and were selected from three regions of Ghana. Thematic analysis revealed four dimensions of success: (1) Social (including marriage, children, social recognition, and social contribution to society); (2) Material (comprising meeting basic needs; economic independence; material wealth); (3) Educational; and (4) Religious (e.g., God's work, relationship with God). Three pathways to success were also observed in the data: (a) Divine blessings; (b) Adaptability; and (c) Striving. Discussion focuses on social, policy, counselling, and research implications.

Source: UG
“My Story Bursts Forth…”: Re-visioning Female Subjecthood in Gendered Folktales in Northern Ghana

This paper examines contemporary retellings of Ghanaian (Kasem) folktales that engage critically with the social roles and cultural values in the tra-ditional corpus. While in traditional folktales supernatural forces are unleashed to punish females who pursue their own strivings, thus regulating gender iden-tity, in the retold tales female protagonists deploy nantandia, a local Kasem term which encompasses intelligence, initiative and courage, to thwart the power of the supernatural and assert their own subjecthood.

Source: UG
Mycetoma of the scalp: Report of a case

Mycetoma of the scalp in a 10-year-old boy is reported. This is the first report of this infection in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The causative agent, Actinomadura madurae, has already been described in the Kingdom and shown by other workers to affect other parts of the body. The probable pathogenesis is discussed and the need to increase clinical awareness of the condition stressed.

Source: UG
Mycobacterial species causing pulmonary tuberculosis at the Korle Bu teaching hospital, Accra, Ghana

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
Mycobactericidal Effects of Different Regimens Measured by Molecular Bacterial Load Assay among People Treated for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Tanzania

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
Mycobacterium africanum Is Associated with Patient Ethnicity in Ghana

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
Mycobacterium ulcerans causes minimal pathogenesis and colonization in medaka (Oryzias latipes): An experimental fish model of disease transmission

Mycobacterium ulcerans causes Buruli ulcer in humans, a progressive ulcerative epidermal lesion due to the mycolactone toxin produced by the bacterium. Molecular analysis of M. ulcerans reveals it is closely related to Mycobacterium marinum, a pathogen of both fish and man. Molecular evidence from diagnostic PCR assays for the insertion sequence IS2404 suggests an association of M. ulcerans with fish. However, fish infections by M. ulcerans have not been well documented and IS2404 has been found in other mycobacteria. We have thus, employed two experimental approaches to test for M. ulcerans in fish. We show here for the first time that M. ulcerans with or without the toxin does not mount acute or chronic infections in Japanese Medaka " Oryzias latipes" even at high doses. Moreover, M. ulcerans-infected medaka do not exhibit any visible signs of infection nor disease and the bacteria do not appear to replicate over time. In contrast, similar high doses of the wild-type M. marinum or a mycolactone-producing M. marinum " DL" strain are able to mount an acute disease with mortality in medaka. Although these results would suggest that M. ulcerans does not mount infections in fish we have evidence that CLC macrophages from goldfish are susceptible to mycolactones. © 2012 Institut Pasteur.

Source: UG
Mycobacterium ulcerans Fails to Infect through Skin Abrasions in a Guinea Pig Infection Model: Implications for Transmission

Transmission of M. ulcerans, the etiological agent of Buruli ulcer, from the environment to humans remains an enigma despite decades of research. Major transmission hypotheses propose 1) that M. ulcerans is acquired through an insect bite or 2) that bacteria enter an existing wound through exposure to a contaminated environment. In studies reported here, a guinea pig infection model was developed to determine whether Buruli ulcer could be produced through passive inoculation of M. ulcerans onto a superficial abrasion. The choice of an abrasion model was based on the fact that most bacterial pathogens infecting the skin are able to infect an open lesion, and that abrasions are extremely common in children. Our studies show that after a 90d infection period, an ulcer was present at intra-dermal injection sites of all seven animals infected, whereas topical application of M. ulcerans failed to establish an infection. Mycobacterium ulcerans was cultured from all injection sites whereas infected abrasion sites healed and were culture negative. A 14d experiment was conducted to determine how long organisms persisted after inoculation. Mycobacterium ulcerans was isolated from abrasions at one hour and 24 hours post infection, but cultures from later time points were negative. Abrasion sites were qPCR positive up to seven days post infection, but negative at later timepoints. In contrast, M. ulcerans DNA was detected at intra-dermal injection sites throughout the study. M. ulcerans was cultured from injection sites at each time point. These results suggest that injection of M. ulcerans into the skin greatly facilitates infection and lends support for the role of an invertebrate vector or other route of entry such as a puncture wound or deep laceration where bacteria would be contained within the lesion. Infection through passive inoculation into an existing abrasion appears a less likely route of entry. © 2014 Williamson et al.

Source: UG
Mycofloral profile and the radiation sensitivity (D10 values) of solar dried and gamma irradiated Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.Ex. Fr.) Kummer fruitbodies stored in two different packaging materials

The presence of fungi in our foods poses serious health risks as some genera of fungi may produce certain mycotoxins which have carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and immunosuppressive effect on humans and animals alike. Fruitbodies of Pleurotus ostreatus were solar dried at a moisture content of 12.5 ± 0.2% and stored in polythene and polypropylene packs, gamma irradiated at doses of 0 (control), 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 kGy at a dose rate of 1.7 kGy/hr from a Cobalt 60 source (SLL, 515, Hungary) and stored at room temperature 28–30°C for a period of 12 months. Mycological analyses were done at intervals of 0, 3, 6, and 12 months. A total of eleven (11) fungi belonging to eight fungal genera were isolated on both Cooke's and DRBC media; Aspergillus (A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. tamarii), Rhizopus (R. oligosporus), Mucor (M. racemosus), Fusarium (F. oxysporum), Penicillium (Penicillium sp.), Trichoderma (T. viride), and Rhodotorula sp. were recorded. There was a significant (p &lt;.05) reduction in initial mycofloral population by an average of 2.2 log cycles as well as in species numbers with increasing doses of radiation. Radiation sensitivity (D10 values) also ranged between 1.68–2.78 kGy. Gamma irradiation treatment is one way which can enhance food safety through the reduction in potential pathogens and has been recommended as part of a comprehensive program to enhance food safety. © 2017 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Source: UG
Mycolactone: A Broad Spectrum Multitarget Antiviral Active in the Picomolar Range for COVID-19 Prevention and Cure

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
Myiasis in Dogs in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Clinical Anatomy, Clinical Pathology, Medicine, Surgery, Theriogenology, Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Food (Meat and Milk Hygiene and Inspection, Zoonoses and Environmental Health, Obstetrics, Mastitis and Udder Management, Veterinary Economics and Business Management, Veterinary Ethics, Jurisprudence and Extension, Clinics and Student Project. Long Vacations

Source: UG
Myths, taboos and biodiversity conservation: The case of hunters in a rural community in Ghana

Reported in this paper are the results of interviews conducted with 35 hunters in the Akposo Tradionional Area in the Volta Region of Ghana on animal myths and taboos of the people of Akposo and the awareness of the hunters on Ghana Wildlife Regulations. The taboos and myths were analysed for their significance to biodiversity conservation in the area. Approximately 94.3% and 97.1% of the hunters respectively were not aware of the close season and license requirement for hunting, contrary to high levels of awareness and compliance with many of the myths and taboos. In spite of the popularity of the myths and taboos they appeared to have played minimal role in the protection and conservation of biodiversity in the area because they either misdirect attention from real conservation problems or have a ritual as a remedy for the violation which serve as an antidote against the intrigue and fascination associated with the beliefs. Rather than integration of the myths and taboos into biodiversity management, there is the need for resource managers in the area to focus on education of the hunters and enforcement of the Wildlife Conservation Regulation to achieve set targets for species protection and conservation

Source: UG
Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’, Death and the Afterlife

This study sets out to demonstrate how in classical and traditional Afrikan thought one’s afterlife on physical and spiritual planes is thought of as being commensurate with one’s adherence to Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ in terms of lived practice rather than simply as an abstract ideal. As such, we will interrogate textual examples from classical Kmt ‘The Black Nation/Land of the Blacks’ and attested lived examples from contemporary Afrika among the Kasena-Nankana with brief references to other cultural-linguistic groups. We demonstrate there is a shared understanding from the classical to the contemporary in terms of how one’s body is treated and how one’s experience in the afterlife is conceptualized. We find that conceptions of the afterlife have influenced how Afrikans engage Mꜣꜥt ‘Maat’ as praxis

Source: UG
N-(Isobutyl)-3,4-methylenedioxy Cinnamoyl Amide

Abstract: The plant Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Lam.) Zepern. & Timler is one of the most important medicinal species of the genus Zanthoxylum on the African continent. It is used in the treatment and management of parasitic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. These properties have inspired scientists to investigate species within the genus for bioactive compounds. However, a study, which details a spectroscopic, spectrometric and bioactivity guided extraction and isolation of antiparasitic compounds from the genus Zanthoxylum is currently non-existent. Tortozanthoxylamide (1), which is a derivative of the known compound armatamide was isolated from Z. zanthoxyloides and the full structure determined using UV, IR, 1D/2D-NMR and high-resolution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HRESI-LC-MS) data. When tested against Trypanosoma brucei subsp. brucei, the parasite responsible for animal African trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa, 1 (IC50 7.78 M) was just four times less active than the commercially available drug diminazene aceturate (IC50 1.88 M). Diminazene aceturate is a potent drug for the treatment of animal African trypanosomiasis. Tortozanthoxylamide (1) exhibits a significant antitrypanosomal activity through remarkable alteration of the cell cycle in T. brucei subsp. brucei, but it is selectively non-toxic to mouse macrophages RAW 264.7 cell lines. This suggests that 1 may be considered as a sca old for the further development of natural antitrypanosomal compounds.

Source: UG
n-3 long-chain PUFA promote antibacterial and inflammation-resolving effects in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected C3HeB/FeJ mice, dependent on fatty acid status

Non-resolving inflammation is characteristic of tuberculosis (TB). Given their inflammation-resolving properties, n-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) may support TB treatment. This research aimed to investigate the effects of n-3 LCPUFA on clinical and inflammatory outcomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected C3HeB/FeJ mice with either normal or low n-3 PUFA status before infection. Using a two-by-two design, uninfected mice were conditioned on either an n-3 PUFA-sufficient (n-3FAS) or -deficient (n-3FAD) diet for 6 weeks. One week post-infection, mice were randomised to either n-3 LCPUFA supplemented (n-3FAS/n-3þ and n-3FAD/n-3þ) or continued on n-3FAS or n-3FAD diets for 3 weeks. Mice were euthanised and fatty acid status, lung bacterial load and pathology, cytokine, lipid mediator and immune cell phenotype analysed. n-3 LCPUFA supplementation in n-3FAS mice lowered lung bacterial loads (P = 0·003), T cells (P = 0·019), CD4þ T cells (P = 0·014) and interferon (IFN)-γ (P < 0·001) and promoted a pro-resolving lung lipid mediator profile. Compared with n-3FAS mice, the n-3FAD group had lower bacterial loads (P = 0·037), significantly higher immune cell recruitment and a more pro-inflammatory lipid mediator profile, however, significantly lower lung IFN-γ, IL-1α, IL-1β and IL-17, and supplementation in the n-3FAD group provided no beneficial effect on lung bacterial load or inflammation. Our study provides the first evidence that n-3 LCPUFA supplementation has antibacterial and inflammation-resolving benefits in TB when provided 1 week after infection in the context of a sufficient n-3 PUFA status, whilst a low n-3 PUFA status may promote better bacterial control and lower lung inflammation not benefiting from n-3 LCPUFA supplementation.

Source: UG
N-Substituted Phenylhydrazones Kill the Ring Stage of Plasmodium falciparum

The Clinical Pathology Department conducts research that contributes to intervention strategies and safeguards of public health in Ghana. In view of this the Department carries out research into plant medicine development, drug interactions and regulation, bio-monitoring and prevention of poisoning from environmental toxicants (e.g. mycotoxins specifically aflatoxins and toxic heavy metals). The Department also provides specialized laboratory services in support of public health programmes.

Source: UG