ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Viscoelastic Characteristics of Kpejigaou: A Griddled Cowpea Food

The viscoelastic properties of kpejigaou were evaluated, with the goal of standardizing the process. A factorial design with temperature (130, 200 and 270C) and time (5, 7.5 and 10 min) was followed to process kpejigaou. Griddled samples were subjected to compression–relaxation tests using a TA-XT2 Texture Analyzer. Kpejigaou exhibited the properties of viscoelastic solid material at all griddling conditions. The generalized Maxwell and Peleg–Normand models showed the most satisfactory fit (R2 > 98%) to stress data. Products made at higher griddling temperatures for longer times experienced higher moisture loss, were more rigid and dissipated energy at a faster rate. The stress–relaxation time was inversely correlated with moisture loss (r = -0.91, P < 0.05) and viscosity (r = -0.85, P < 0.01). The viscoelastic behaviour of kpejigaou could be related to the spongy and porous structure of kpejigaou, starch gelatinization and the rate of moisture loss during griddling. Griddling temperature of 170C for 6 min could be recommended for the production of firm and spongy kpejigaou acceptable to the consumers.

Source: UG
Viscoelastic properties and changes in pasting characteristics of trifoliate yam (Dioscorea dumetorum) starch after harvest

Studies were conducted on the viscoelastic properties, as well as the changes in pasting characteristics, of trifoliate yam, Dioscorea dumetorum, starch during post-harvest hardening of the tubers. A 3×4 factorial experiment with blanching treatment time (0, 15 and 30 s) and storage time (0, 12, 24 and 36 h) as the respective variables was performed. The samples were evaluated for pasting temperature, viscosity at 95 °C, viscosity at 95 °C-Hold, viscosity at 50 °C and viscosity at 50 °C-Hold, as well as their changes during storage of the tubers, to determine the starch behaviour of the D. dumetorum tubers during the hardening phenomenon and how blanching affects the process during storage. No significant differences (P≤0.05) in the viscoelastic properties were observed between the means obtained for pasting temperature, viscosity at 95 °C, viscosity at 95 °C-Hold, viscosity at 50 °C and viscosity at 50 °C-Hold in the white and yellow cultivars studied. Storage caused decreases in all the Brabender Viscoamylograph indices measured. Pasting temperature decreased from 80.4 to 66.6 °C whilst peak viscosity decreased from 30 to 18 BU during the storage period. Viscosities at 95 °C and 95 °C-Hold also declined, respectively, from 30 to 20 BU and 450 to 330 BU within 36 h after harvest. Similarly, viscosities at 50 °C and 50 °C-Hold decreased, respectively, from 450 to 265 BU and 480 to 300 BU during storage of the tubers. Blanching, however, increased the pasting characteristics of the stored tubers. The viscoelastic properties of the two cultivars of D. dumetorum tubers studied were similar. However, the hardening phenomenon causes slight decreases in the pasting characteristics of the tubers after harvest. © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Source: UG
Viscoelastic properties and pasting characteristics of fermented maize: influence of the addition of malted cereals

Investigations were conducted on the viscoelastic properties and pasting characteristics of fermented maize with malted cereals and their suitability for infant feeding. A 3 x 3 x 2 factorial experimental design with malting time, cereal malt concentration and cereal type was used. Maize, millet, and sorghum malts were added to fermented maize to reducing its bulk density. Samples were analysed for their viscoelastic properties and pasting characteristics using Brabender Viscoamylograph. Sorghum malt in comparison to millet and maize malts was not effective in terms of lowering the hot and cold paste viscosities of the fermented maize. Maize and millet malts liquefied the dough considerably during both the hot and cold paste viscosities. The effect of 4-day malted millet was most pronounced whilst the highest activity of maize malt was observed with the 3-day malted flours. The addition of maize and millet malts to fermented maize were most effective in lowering the viscoelastic properties of the resulting porridges.

Source: UG
Visibilization of Hidden Characteristics of Firefighting Tasks and Factors Predictive of Firefighters’ Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Based on the notion that the Fire-service profession is a strenuous and hazardous occupation, this study explored and identified the hidden characteristics of firefighting tasks, and factors predictive of firefighters’ work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the Ghana Fire Service. Quantitative data was collected from three hundred and six firefighters and analyzed using both factor and correlation analysis. It was found that the firefighters experience several traumas characterized by exposure to human entrapment and loss in fires accidents, and personal terrible sensory experiences, the enormity of which increase with increasing years of firefighting-task performance. The firefighters are also exposed to several WMSDs whose enormity is felt irrespective of years of task performance. It is concluded that the identified hidden aspects of the firefighting-task characteristics provide insights into the enormity of trauma and WMSD associated with the task performance, which could be used to optimize the future design and management of the firefighting-task. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019.

Source: UG
Vision Transformer- Enhanced Multi- Descriptor Approach for Robust Age- Invariant Face Recognition

This study presents a robust age- invariant face recognition framework, addressing challenges posed by age- related facial var iations. Evaluated on the FGNet and Morph II datasets, the system integrates Viola- Jones for face detection, SIFT and LBP for feature extraction, and Vision Transformers (ViTs) for global feature representation. Feature fusion and dimensionality reduc tion (KPCA, IPCA, UMAP) enhance efficiency while retaining key discriminative information. Using Random Forest, KNN, and XGBoost classifiers, the model achieves 96% accuracy, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining traditional and deep learning techniques in advancing age- invariant face recognition.

Source: UG
Visit to Gold Coast to 14th November, 1953

As the result of certain discussions Dr. J. F. V. Phillips, Professor of Agriculture at the University College of the Gold Coast, had with Imperial Chemical Industries, Limited and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer in London early in 1952, and subsequent information supplied to African EXplosives and Chemical Industries, Limited, our Board decided in December, 1952 to make a grant of £1,500 for two years for the appointment of an officer, whom Professor Phillips says would be at Senior Lecturer level and would be titled, "Research Fellow in Ecological Land Utilization and Planning". He also stated in his memorandum of 5th May, 1952 that existing and prospective arrangements do not specifically provide for a senior appointment by the College in this subject and pointed out in considerable detail how necessary and important such an appointment was. Furthermore, "The setting up of a small subdepartment for research and for the training of men in this kind of survey and planning would probably have important bearing on the course of agricultural development in the Gold Coast, and, it is expected elsewhere in British West Africa." There is apparently considerable demand for men trained along these lines not only in Africa but on a world-wide basis.

Source: UG
Visual defect among professional drivers in Accra

This study aims at determining the visual status of professional drivers, and whether routine eye screening for such drivers applying for professional driving license should be mandatory. The result of eye screening performed on professional drivers in Accra were analysed. A total of seven hundred and ninety eight drivers between the ages of 20 and 70 were examined. Of these 91 (11 .4%) had impaired vision. Of those with poor vision, the commonest cause of impaired vision was cataract (36.3%). Glaucoma accounted for 7.7% and macular disease 15.3%. There was a high rate of uncorrected refractive errors. There is an urgent need to routinely screen all drivers applying for professional license at least by simple visual acuity testing.

Source: UG
Visual loss in urban and rural chronic glaucoma patients in Ghana

The visual acuity of newly diagnosed glaucoma patients in a rural and an urban area were compared in a hospital-based cross-sectional study in Ghana. Age at presentation was strikingly higher in the rural group due to local factors which result in a difference-in-age structure of the rural and urban population. The crude relative frequency of bilateral blindness was significantly higher for rural than urban. However, with age adjusted relative frequencies for bilateral blindness there was no significant difference between rural and urban patients. There was significant difference between them for those aged 51–71 when blindness in one or both eyes were considered together. There was more consistent blindness in the rural community: the difference was attributed to local factors such as better access to eye care in the urban group. © 2002, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Visual Outcome of Patients with Pituitary Adenomas Following Surgery and Its Contributory Factors at a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana

Background Craniotomy and transphenoidal microsurgery are surgical options for treatment of pituitary adenoma at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH). Despite major advances and reported success rates of transphenoidal resection globally, paucity of local data regarding visual outcome of either procedure exists. We evaluated the visual outcome of patient with pituitary adenoma following surgery in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Methods This is a prospective study of 18 of 45 consecutive new patients with pituitary adenoma seen from November 2010 to July 2013 at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH), Accra, Ghana. Sixteen (88.9%) of the 18 had surgery by transphenoidal route and 2(11.1%) by craniotomy. All patients had macroadenoma (tumour size >1cm) and histological confirmation of diagnosis. Pre-operative and post-operative visual acuity and its relationship to tumour size and duration of symptoms before diagnosis were evaluated. Results Data on 18 patients aged 33–60 years, mean (SD) 45.9±8.5, was analysed. Eleven (61.1%) were females. Visual blur, 15(83.3%), and headache,13(72.2%), were predominant presenting complaints. Common neuro-ophthalmic signs included unilateral or bilateral optic atrophy, 17(94.4%), Relative Afferent Pupillary Defect (RAPD) in 8(44.4%) and impaired colour vision in 32 of 36(88.9%) eyes. Preoperatively, 8(22.2%) and 13(36.1%) of 36 eyes were visually impaired or blind respectively. Postoperatively, 6(16.7%) eyes were visually impaired and 17(47.2%) eyes blind. Blindness was associated with late presentation (p<0.005) and larger tumour width (p<0.036). Conclusions More than a third of eyes of patients with pituitary adenoma were blind before and after surgery. Blindness was associated with late presentation and larger tumours. Transphenoidal surgery may be beneficial following early diagnosis to avoid irreversible blindness/visual impairment.

Source: UG
Visualisation techniques for modelling environmental influences in viticulture

The quality of wine is in its making but significantly also depends on the grape ripening conditions, such as environmental, weather and growing factors, as well as grape varietal characteristics. Some centuries-old Mediterranean grape growing tradition has helped the winemaking industry pool resources in an effort to gain further understanding of the interrelationships between genetic (or "cultivars") and environmental factors, such as climate and soil ( or "terrior"), The industry seems to be successful in using historic, in some cases, years old data to improve cultivation practices or "vintages" with an ultimate aim of producing finer wine. This paper outlines past research on enhancing data depiction methodologies generally used to represent environmental influence factors in viticulture along with some recent approaches, with special emphasis on data clustering techniques applied to analysing multivariate data sets using standard pixel representations and also some dependency relationship visualisation methodologies based on self-organising map (SOM) techniques. Literature reviewed reveals the limited research in the visualisation of environmental data in viticulture. The paper then elaborates upon a system design with some approaches being investigated for the implementation of novel visualisation techniques that could facilitate knowledge extraction from data on environmental influence factors in viticulture. The two main sets of approaches being referred to as neural net (NN) and non NN. The NN approach encompasses various visualisation techniques that utilises computational neural networks, such as SOM. Those in the non NN category are novel ways that are in complimentary to those in the NN with capabilities to overcome the limitations of the former, by creating a synergetic effect. An example of a possible non NN visualisation could be MIR-max and other algorithmic techniques. The system proposed herein attempts to integrate the two broad techniques into one system to enhance the visualization of environmental influence factors in viticulture especially for use in assessing any environmental impact with novel data visualisation techniques for decision making and in determining "what makes a good year for wine". The system would facilitate visualisation techniques over a distributed system, such as the Internet, and provide functions with user interface useful to both experts and novices in viticulture.

Source: UG
Vitamin A supplementation and childhood malaria in northern Ghana

Two companion, randomized, placebo-controlled trials of prophylactic vitamin A supplementation provided the opportunity to assess the impact of supplementation on malaria parasitemia, morbidity, and mortality in young children in northern Ghana. In the mortality study, 21 906 children were visited every 4 mo over 2 y, and in the morbidity study 1455 children were visited weekly for 1 y. There was no difference between children supplemented with vitamin A and those given placebo in malaria mortality rates (rate ratio = 1.03; 95% CI 0.74, 1.43) or fever incidence based on reported symptoms. Malaria parasitemia rates, parasite densities in children with a positive blood smear, and rates of probable malaria illness also did not differ between treatment groups. There was no correlation between serum retinol at the beginning of the trial and subsequent malaria parasitemia in children who received placebo (r = 0.01). It is concluded that vitamin A supplementation had no impact on malaria in this population.

Source: UG
Vitamin A supplementation enhances infants' immune responses to hepatitis B vaccine but does not affect responses to Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

Most research activities involve the use of molecular methods such as regular PCR (PCR), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), genomic sequence and analysis using different software, genetic engineering, probe hybridization techniques, biological and molecular cloning, evaluation of immune markers for laboratory diagnosis of infections, serological assays involving the use of rapid tests, ELISA-based evaluations and immunofluorescent assay techniques.

Source: UG
Vitamin A supplementation, morbidity, and serum acute-phase proteins in young Ghanaian children

The association of vitamin A supplementation with concentrations of positive acute-phase proteins in the serum was investigated in the Child Health Study of the Ghana Vitamin A Supplementation Trials, a randomized, controlled trial of the effect of vitamin A on morbidity in children aged < 5 y. Mean serum concentrations of α 1-acid glycoprotein, serum amyloid A, and C-reactive protein did not differ overall between the vitamin A-supplemented and placebo-treated groups. Treatment groups were then subdivided according to what symptoms children had experienced in the week before blood sampling. Acute-phase-protein responses to fever and cough were not affected by vitamin A supplementation. There was a tendency for vitamin A-supplemented children, but not placebo children, to have elevated acute-phase proteins in association with reported vomiting or severe diarrhea. The failure of unsupplemented children to mount an acute-phase response may have contributed to their increased morbidity from gastrointestinal symptoms.

Source: UG
Vitamin Analysis, Trace Elements Content, and Their Extractabilities in Tetrapleura tetraptera

Tetrapleura tetraptera is widely cherished in African traditional homes because of its alleged therapeutic and nutritional properties. +is present study aimed at determining the levels of vitamin A, C, E, and beta-carotene and trace element (Fe, Cu, Mn, Co, Se, and Zn) concentrations and their extractabilities in the pulp, seeds, and whole fruit (mixture of pulp and seeds) of T. tetraptera. +e total trace element concentration of Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn and their extractabilities (%) were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS), whereas UV-VIS spectrophotometer was used to determine selenium concentration. +e trace element content (mg/kg) based on dry weight in the pulp, seeds, and whole fruit was Fe (162.00 ± 7.14, 115.00 ± 12.00, and 154.00 ± 25.20, respectively), Zn (31.60 ± 4.77, 43.40 ± 5.29, and 41.50 ± 8.97, respectively), Cu (16.10 ± 4.98, 11.90 ± 8.40, and 17.20 ± 14.50, respectively), Mn (55.30 ± 2.41, 156.00 ± 10.20, and 122.00 ± 5.29, respectively), Co (38.10 ± 6.40, 21.10 ± 7.15, and 44.00 ± 14.90, respectively), and Se (1.49 ± 0.17, 2.43 ± 0.28, and 2.97 ± 0.27 μg/g, respectively). +e mineral extractabilities (%) in the pulp, seeds, and whole fruit of T. tetraptera were established to be in the order Co > Zn > Fe > Cu > Se > Mn. Also, the chromatographic method (HPLC) was used to evaluate vitamin E concentration, and vitamin C and concentration of beta-carotene were calculated from the obtained concentration of vitamin A using a conversion factor by the titrimetric method. From the results of vitamin analysis, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed among the pulp, seeds, and whole fruit for vitamin C and E. However, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was perceived among these plant parts for vitamin A and beta-carotene. +is study has therefore revealed that the pulp, seeds, and whole fruit of T. tetraptera contain varying concentrations of vitamins and trace elements and has given many vital insights on which part of T. tetraptera to consume, as concentrations of these nutrients differ in the discrete parts of the fruit

Source: UG
Vitellogenesis, oocyte maturation pattern, spawning rhythm and spawning frequency in Otolithes rubber (Schneider, 1801) (Seiaenidae) in the Kuwaiti waters of the Arabian Gulf

Vitellogenesis, occyte maturation pattern, spawning rhythm, spawning frequency, batch focundity and oocyte diameter-frequency distribution of the tigertooth croaker, Otolithes rubber (Shneider, 1801) in Kuwaiti waters investigated from Mrch, 1999 to February, 2000 and from January to May, 2005, using histological andmorphological methods. Oogenesis is described in four phases: vitellogenic, mature, spent and regressed. Vitellogenesis, in turn is described in three classes; early vitellogenic, mid-vitelloenicandlate vitellogenic. Development of the yolky oocyte is an asynchronous process resulting, by the time of oocyte maturation, in clear differentiation between a ready batch of oocytes (ready for spawning) and a reserve pool. Consequently, O. rubber is capable of a spawning multiple times during the reproductive seasons. Spawning frequency estimates, based on the final oocyte maturation (FOM) method indicated that the species spawns once every 2.8 days, while the estimates based on the post-ovulatory follicle (POF) method indicated a spawning every 2.2days, during a 5-month spawning seasons lasting from January to May. Batch fecundity (BF) was significantly positively correlation with both ovary-free body weight (OFBW) P < 0/05) and standard length (SL) (P < 0.05), but SL was a better predictor of BF (r2 = 33%) than as OFBW (r2 = 19.9%). Batch fecundity was also significantly different between March and April (P < 0.05) and March and May (P < 0.05), but not between April and May (P < 0.05). Relative batch fecundity was 716 eggs/g OFBW; thus, estimates for potential annual relative batch fecundity were 10024 eggs/g OFBW using the FOM method for spawning frequency estimation, and 7876 eggs/g OFBW using the POF method. The oocyte diameter-frequency distribution analysis revealed a multimodal distribution, confirming the evidence of multiple spawning.

Source: UG
VNTR analysis differentiates Mycobacterium ulcerans and IS2404 positive mycobacteria

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
The Voice of Africa

The investigation of ancient civilizations and the existence of an ancient cultured nation on the West Coast of Africa occupied the first portion of this work. We will now proceed to the actual Interior and it will be my endeavour to supply material for properly judging the so-called Soudan and the state of its culture. The Arabs gave this country the name of "the Soudan." It means and is the land of the blacks, and thus these first words demonstrate the influence of the people who brought the religion of the Prophet into the Continent, a religion which, as many believe, introduced the higher civilization to "poor negroes" and gave them the opportunity of higher development! The Arab, who first pronounced the word «Soudan," i.e., the black's country, must have come from the North.

Source: UG
The voice of Africa Being an account of the travels of the German inner African exploration expedition in the years 1910-1912

The fact remains that have so far not succeeded in making the unusually valuable African race adopt our instinctive feeling for civilization on a sound basis, a race which amply justice its own existence both by its inherent vitality and essential characteristics. This much however is perfectly certain, namely that if an unhealthy and dangerous condition of things prevails in America and the west coast of Africa there can be only one way of studying its originating cause, overcoming this and replacing it by a new condition of things: only one way, which I must always insist upon pointing out to the powers of Europe and particular to the governing circles in America, and this is the most natural way in the world.

Source: UG