ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Customers assessment of the products and services of Air Liquide Ghana limited

The study set out to investigate customers’ assessment of the products and services of Air Liquide Ghana Limited in the light of its present position in a competitive market. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from a sample of 200 customers out of the 1100 customers in the study area. The results from the study indicate that customers are generally satisfied with the product and service quality of Air Liquide Ghana Limited. Both the desire and expectation disconfirmation measures show that customers perceive the products and services of Air Liquide to be satisfactory. The overall satisfaction measure portrays that few customers belong to the zone of indifference where customers are merely “satisfied” and do not tend to be loyal customers with a high retention rate. The expected disconfirmation measures of product and service quality also suggest that, although the company has been performing well in both the service and product quality dimensions, it performs relatively better in the product quality dimensions than in the service quality dimension. The study recommends that although, customers are satisfied with the performance of Air Liquide Ghana Limited in general, reduction in prices, improvements in customer care which includes distribution of souvenirs and customer training as well as establishment of more depots could help improve customer satisfaction which could ultimately lead to customer loyalty.

Source: UCC
Customers' perception of food service quality: the case of Cape Coast

Providing quality food services has become one of the critical issues in the tourism industry and a lot of studies have focused on it. However, there seems to be paucity of data on service quality in Ghana's hospitality industry, making it difficult to fashion an appropriate management intervention. Also there has been very little attempt to relate customers’perception of service quality to their socio-demographic characteristics as well as the characteristics of organizations delivering the service. This study, therefore, analyzes customers' perception of service quality in the food service sector in Cape Coast Municipality, an important tourist destination in Ghana. A survey of 101 customers of food service facilities revealed that there was a negative service gap between customers' expectations and perception of service quality. The expectations of forty percent of the respondents were not met and this was attributed mainly to the attitude of employees and long waiting periods. The findings have serious managerial implications for training, marketing, motivation and provision of services and amenities. It also has implications for the grading of food service facilities by regulators of the industry.

Source: UCC
Customers’ Perception of Innovative Banking Products in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Competition and reforms in Ghana’s financial sector have brought about a lot of innovation into the Ghanaian banking industry. This study explores how innovative banking products are perceived by consumers. The study used purposive sampling technique to gather data from 288 students from a public university in Ghana. The study revealed that the critical features that influenced customers’ choice of banking products and their adoption were convenience, reliability, security, flexibility, time saving and ease of use. The most popular innovative products were Automated Teller Machines and E-zwich. Telephone banking and credit cards were not very popular. The mean preference for innovative banking products for female (15.0568) was slightly higher than that of male (14.7100). The mean usage of female (8.7955) was slightly higher than that of male (8.350). Due to the low usage of products such as the telephone and internet banking, it is recommended that banks in Ghana should embark on an educational campaign to highlight the benefits of these products to the populace.

Source: UCC
Customers’ Perception of Innovative Banking Products in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Competition and reforms in Ghana’s financial sector have brought about a lot of innovation into the Ghanaian banking industry. This study explores how innovative banking products are perceived by consumers. The study used purposive sampling technique to gather data from 288 students from a public university in Ghana. The study revealed that the critical features that influenced customers’ choice of banking products and their adoption were convenience, reliability, security, flexibility, time saving and ease of use. The most popular innovative products were Automated Teller Machines and E-zwich. Telephone banking and credit cards were not very popular. The mean preference for innovative banking products for female (15.0568) was slightly higher than that of male (14.7100). The mean usage of female (8.7955) was slightly higher than that of male (8.350). Due to the low usage of products such as the telephone and internet banking, it is recommended that banks in Ghana should embark on an educational campaign to highlight the benefits of these products to the populace

Source: UCC
Customers’ perception of service quality in hotels

The study examined guests’ expectations and perceptions of service quality in hotels in Accra and the differences between their expectations and perceptions of service quality (service quality gaps). The study used the survey method. A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was used to collect data from guests who had stayed in the sampled hotels for at least one night. The Paired sample t-test was used to test the significant differences between guests’ expectations and perceptions of service quality. And it was revealed that guests’ perceptions of service quality were far below their expectations and there was a significant difference between expectations and perceptions. It shows that service delivery falls short of guests’ expectations and this poses a serious problem for the hotel industry. There were also high association between guests’ perceptions of service quality and their profile variables. This paper has implication for critical attention from hotel managers in those areas of concern such as front office services and responsiveness dimensions

Source: UCC
Customers’ Satisfaction in the Banking Industry: A Case of Global Access Savings and Loans in Accra

The study was to investigate service satisfaction of customers of Global Access Savings and Loans Limited. The study used a descriptive survey design in the quantitative approach. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 240 customers of GASL in Accra of which questionnaires were administered to them. The data were analyzed with the help of Statistical Product for Service Solution by employing statistical techniques such as percentages and frequencies as well as independent t-test and ANOVA. This was presented by using tables and charts. The study found out that, respondents perceived; GASL responses to customer request are always encouraging; sales point terminals to be easy and the opening hours of GASL were sufficient and convenient; employees of GASL look professional and dress well and interior of GASL to be neat and convenient. Customers were much satisfied with reliability and empathy of the employees of GASL, but were not satisfied with responsibility, assurance and tangibility services of the GASL. Customer satisfaction was rated as moderate by the customers. There was statistically significant difference between household size, average monthly income, occupational status and customer satisfaction. However, there was no significant difference between sex, age group and education of the respondents and customer satisfaction. The study therefore, recommended that employees of GASL should improve upon the customer services rendered to customers especially, responsibility, assurance and tangibility services. Moreover, employees of GASL should give necessary and equal quality services to customers with different occupational and income status.

Source: UCC
CUTANEOUS INVOLVEMENT OF HODGKIN LYMPHOMA IN A CHILD – CASE REPORT

Specific cutaneous involvement in Hodgkin Lymphoma is rare and has not been reported in the younger paediatric age group. We report a case of a ten year old girl who presented with specific cutaneous involvement, confirmed using immunohistochemical stains. Treatment with combination chemotherapy resulted in rapid disappearance of the lesions and contrary to the generally poor prognosis associated with most other such reported cases in adults, she has clinically remained disease free two and a half years post treatment. Obtaining an accurate pathological diagnosis is essential to ensure appropriate treatment even in resource limited settings as illustrated by this case

Source: UCC
CUTANEOUS INVOLVEMENT OF HODGKIN LYMPHOMA IN A CHILD – CASE REPORT

Specific cutaneous involvement in Hodgkin Lymphoma is rare and has not been reported in the younger paediatric age group. We report a case of a ten year old girl who presented with specific cutaneous involvement, confirmed using immunohistochemical stains. Treatment with combination chemotherapy resulted in rapid disappearance of the lesions and contrary to the generally poor prognosis associated with most other such reported cases in adults, she has clinically remained disease free two and a half years post treatment. Obtaining an accurate pathological diagnosis is essential to ensure appropriate treatment even in resource limited settings as illustrated by this case.

Source: UCC
Cyclooxygenase (Cox) and Lipoxygenase (Lox) Gene Expression in Co-Morbidity of Pre-Eclampsia and Placental Malaria: A Case-Control Study in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Over the years there has been an increased incidence of maternal health problems including high maternal death. Though pregnancy-related complication such as sepsis, severe bleeding, unsafe abortions, and unskilled health personnel have been implicated to this high maternal mortality rate, also the effect of hypertensive diseases such as pre-eclampsia and infectious diseases like placental malaria are major complications of pregnancy. Studies have not specifically outlined the mechanisms of pre-eclampsia aetiology and therefore it remains poorly understood. However, a multifactorial aetiology has been proposed with several risk factors. Significant numbers of studies have established an association between pre-eclampsia and placental malaria in Africa. Also, the rise in pre-eclampsia is occurring against the background of malaria infection in malaria endemic regions though malaria prevalence has decreased in recent times. Expressions of cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) are reported to be involved in pregnancy-related pathology such as pre-eclampsia and placental malaria. This study sought to assess whether the association between pre-eclampsia and placental malaria is through induction of either COX-1, COX-2, or 15-LOX by malaria infection. Study participants were pregnant women reporting for routine antenatal care. Using RT-PCR, we quantified the expression levels of the mRNA genes of COX-1, COX-2, and 15-LOX from placental tissue of the participants. The study established that the odds of developing pre-eclampsia are 2.09 greater for women with placental malaria compared to women without exposure, confirming the association between placental malaria and pre-eclampsia development. The study also demonstrated a significant increase in mRNA levels for COX-2 in pre-eclampsia women with placental malaria. Placental malaria could play a role in pre-eclampsia by inducing production of COX-2 leading to inflammation and consequently pre-eclampsia.

Source: UCC
Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms and Parasite Drug Resistance Mutations Among Malaria Gametocyte Carriers and Non-carriers in Southern Ghana

Malaria is a disease caused by protozoan parasites of the Plasmodium spp. The transmission of the parasites is influenced by human and parasite factors that initiate specific immune response. IL10, IFN-γ, and nitric oxide have been suggested to play a role in parasite elimination within the host. Drug resistant parasites have been shown to prolong the longevity of parasites within the host and hence given parasites ample time for gametocyte formation and transmission. This study sought to investigate the human cytokine gene polymorphisms (IL10-592C/A, NOS2-1173C/T, and IFN γ+874T/A) and drug resistance mutations (Pfmdr1 N86Y, Pfdhfr N51I, and Pfdhfr S108N) among gametocyte carriers and non-carriers in southern Ghana. A total of 192 archived samples with gametocyte data from previous studies were genotyped for the various cytokine gene polymorphisms and parasite drug resistance mutations using PCR-RFLP technique. There were high frequencies of the IL10-592C/A (p= 0.001) and IFN-γ+874T/A (p< 0.001) SNPs compared to their respective normal genotypes with only 3 (1.92%) individuals showing the NOS2-1173C/T SNP. The Pfdhfr S108N mutation was dominant in the study population with significantly higher frequencies among gametocyte carriers (p= 0.001). These findings provide a basis for functional and further genetic studies of the two SNPs to ascertain their influence in malaria transmission.

Source: UCC
Cytokine profiles of Necator americanus and Plasmodium falciparum coinfected patients in rural Ghana

Background: Necator americanus (hookworm) and Plasmodium falciparum co-infections are common in endemic communities in rural Ghana. Human immune responses to P. falciparum and hookworm are complex, and the dynamics of cytokine levels and effector mediators are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the effect of hookworm and P. falciparum co-infection on parasite intensities and cytokine profiles in individuals before and after deworming drug treatment. Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted in the Kintampo North Municipality of Ghana blood and stool samples were analyzed from 984 participants (aged 4–88 years). Stool samples were collected at baseline from all participants and examined for the presence of hookworm using the Kato-Katz method. Blood and stool samples were analysed again two weeks after albendazole treatment of hookworm infected individuals. Malaria parasitaemia was estimated by light microscopy and P. falciparum-specific 18S rRNA gene PCR method used for species identification. Serum levels of circulating cytokines interleukins -5, -10 (IL-5, IL-10), tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, and eotaxin [CCL11] were determined using ELISA based methods. Results: Malaria parasitaemia was significantly reduced in hookworm and P. falciparum co-infected individuals (p = 0.0018) while hookworm intensity was similar between groups. IL-10 level was significantly higher in the co-infected individuals (39.9 ± 12.2 pg/ml) compared to the single infected or the uninfected group (10.7 ± 7.6 mg/ml). IL-5 level was higher in the hookworm only infected individual. TNF-α levels were higher in all infected groups compared to the uninfected controls. CCL11 levels were significantly higher in subjects infected with hookworm only or co-infected with hookworm and P. falciparum. There was a significantly negative correlation (rs = -0.39, p = 0.021) between hookworm eggs per gram of stool and CCL11 levels in the group mono-infected with hookworm which was not affected by treatment. Treatment with albendazole led to a significant reduction of TNF-α (p = 0.041), IL-5 (p = 0.01) and IL-10 (p = 0.001) levels. Conclusion: This study shows that in the absence of other helminths, co-infection of hookworm with P. falciparum may modulate blood parasitemia levels and cytokine responses. Data also show that deworming drug treatment alters these cytokine profiles in hookworm infected subjects. Future studies to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying these observations should include an assessment of parasite specific cellular responses.

Source: UCC
Cytokine profiles of Necator americanus and Plasmodium falciparum coinfected patients in rural Ghana

Necator americanus (hookworm) and Plasmodium falciparum co-infections are common in endemic communities in rural Ghana. Human immune responses to P. falciparum and hookworm are complex, and the dynamics of cytokine levels and effector mediators are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the effect of hookworm and P. falciparum co-infection on parasite intensities and cytokine profiles in individuals before and after deworming drug treatment. Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted in the Kintampo North Municipality of Ghana blood and stool samples were analyzed from 984 participants (aged 4–88 years). Stool samples were collected at baseline from all participants and examined for the presence of hookworm using the Kato-Katz method. Blood and stool samples were analysed again two weeks after albendazole treatment of hookworm infected individuals. Malaria parasitaemia was estimated by light microscopy and P. falciparum-specific 18S rRNA gene PCR method used for species identification. Serum levels of circulating cytokines interleukins -5, -10 (IL-5, IL-10), tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, and eotaxin [CCL11] were determined using ELISA based methods. Results: Malaria parasitaemia was significantly reduced in hookworm and P. falciparum co-infected individuals (p=0.0018) while hookworm intensity was similar between groups. IL-10 level was significantly higher in the co-infected individuals (39.9 ± 12.2 pg/ml) compared to the single infected or the uninfected group (10.7 ± 7.6 mg/ml). IL-5 level was higher in the hookworm only infected individual. TNF-α levels were higher in all infected groups compared to the uninfected controls. CCL11 levels were significantly higher in subjects infected with hookworm only or co-infected with hookworm and P. falciparum. There was a significantly negative correlation (rs=−0.39, p=0.021) between hookworm eggs per gram of stool and CCL11 levels in the group mono-infected with hookworm which was not affected by treatment. Treatment with albendazole led to a significant reduction of TNF-α (p=0.041), IL-5 (p=0.01) and IL-10 (p=0.001) levels. Conclusion: This study shows that in the absence of other helminths, co-infection of hookworm with P. falciparum may modulate blood parasitemia levels and cytokine responses. Data also show that deworming drug treatment alters these cytokine profiles in hookworm infected subjects. Future studies to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying these observations should include an assessment of parasite specific cellular responses.

Source: UCC
Cytokine proﬁles of Necator americanus and Plasmodium falciparum co- infected patients in rural Ghana

Background: Necator americanus (hookworm) and Plasmodium falciparum co-infections are common in endemic communities in rural Ghana. Human immune responses to P. falciparum and hookworm are complex, and the dynamics of cytokine levels and eﬀector mediators are poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the eﬀect of hookworm and P. falciparum co-infection on parasite intensities and cytokine proﬁles in individuals before and after deworming drug treatment. Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted in the Kintampo North Municipality of Ghana blood and stool samples were analyzed from 984 participants (aged 4–88 years). Stool samples were collected at baseline from all participants and examined for the presence of hookworm using the Kato-Katz method. Blood and stool samples were analysed again two weeks after albendazole treatment of hookworm infected individuals. Malaria parasitaemia was estimated by light microscopy and P. falciparum-speciﬁc 18S rRNA gene PCR method used for species identiﬁcation. Serum levels of circulating cytokines interleukins -5, -10 (IL-5, IL-10), tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, and eotaxin [CCL11] were determined using ELISA based methods. Results: Malaria parasitaemia was signiﬁcantly reduced in hookworm and P. falciparum co-infected individuals (p = 0.0018) while hookworm intensity was similar between groups. IL-10 level was signiﬁcantly higher in the co-infected individuals (39.9 ± 12.2 pg/ml) compared to the single infected or the uninfected group (10.7 ± 7.6 mg/ml). IL-5 level was higher in the hookworm only infected individual. TNF-α levels were higher in all infected groups compared to the uninfected controls. CCL11 levels were signiﬁcantly higher in subjects infected with hookworm only or co-infected with hookworm and P. falciparum. There was a signiﬁcantly ne- gative correlation (rs = −0.39, p = 0.021) between hookworm eggs per gram of stool and CCL11 levels in the group mono-infected with hookworm which was not aﬀected by treatment. Treatment with albendazole led to a signiﬁcant reduction of TNF-α (p = 0.041), IL-5 (p = 0.01) and IL-10 (p = 0.001) levels. Conclusion: This study shows that in the absence of other helminths, co-infection of hookworm with P. falci- parum may modulate blood parasitemia levels and cytokine responses. Data also show that deworming drug treatment alters these cytokine proﬁles in hookworm infected subjects. Future studies to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying these observations should include an assessment of parasite speciﬁc cellular responses.

Source: UCC
Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Effects of Antimalarial Herbal Mixtures

Many developing countries depend on herbal mixtures as the ﬁrst line and cost-eﬀective therapy for malaria. These mixtures with such curative tendencies may also be a source of toxicity to host cells. On the other hand, these mixtures may have anticancer potential activity characterized by cytotoxicity to cancer cells. The aim of the study was to determine the cytotoxic and antioxidant eﬀects of ﬁve diﬀerent antimalarial herbal mixtures. Five antimalarial herbal mixtures commonly used in Ghana (coded as STF, SMH, SMM, SGM, and STT) were purchased and freeze-dried. The dried samples were tested on human acute T-cell leukemia (Jurkat) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the tetrazolium-based colorimetric (MTT) assay while antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH free-radical scavenging assay. Among the mixtures, SMM and SGM exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity towards Jurkat cells (IC50 values 59.17 μg/ml and 49.57 μg/ml, respectively), whereas STTshowed the weakest cytotoxicity (IC50 � 244.94 μg/ml). Cytotoxic eﬀect of SMM was also strongest towards MCF-7 cells whilst the least cytotoxic sample was SGM (IC50 > 1000 μg/ml). SMM had the highest antioxidant percentage (EC50 � 1.05 mg/ml). The increasing order of antioxidant percentage among the ﬁve herbal mixtures is SMM > SMH > STT > STF > SGM. The herbal mixtures may be potential sources of toxic agents to host cells. Therefore, further toxicity studies must be performed to safeguard health of the public. Interestingly, cytotoxicities exhibited by SMM and SGM suggest the presence of anticancer constituents in them which warrant further studies.

Source: UCC
Cytotoxicity, antioxidant and glutathione S-transferase inhibitory activity of palladium(II) chloride complexes bearing nucleobase ligands

Palladium(II) chloride complexes bearing the nucleobases, adenine, cytosine and guanine, have been synthesized and characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometric methods, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity, elemental analysis, FTIR and 1H-NMR. The complexes were found to have the general composition PdCl2(NH3L) (where L = adenine, cytosine or guanine). Square-planar geometry is proposed for these Pd(II) complexes based on magnetic evidence and electronic spectra. The complexes as well as the free nucleobase ligands show varying degrees of cytotoxicity on human promyelocytic leukemia (HL60) and human histiocytic leukemia (U937) cell lines, with cis-[PdCl2(NH3)(Gua)] showing IC50 values of 48.03 ± 9.67 and 11.12 ± 3.42 lM against HL60 and U937, respectively. The complexes as well as the ligands did not show anti-proliferative activity against a normal human cell line (NB1RGB). The complexes also show signifcant antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl radical as well as glutathione S-transferase inhibitory activity

Source: UCC