ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Preparation of some compound semiconductor thin films and determination of their band gap energies

Thin films of some metal sulphides, (ZnS, CdS, Bi2S3 and MoS2) and selenides (ZnSe, CdSe, Sb2Se3, Bi2Se3 and MoSe2) have been prepared on glass (microscope) slides using chemical deposition techniques. The rate of deposition of the films was found to depend on both the pH and temperature of the chemical bath solution and the thickness of the films obtained by the method of weighing were of the order of 0.5 tm to 1.3 urn. Band gap energies were determined by both optical methods and resistance measurements. The optical bandgap energies were in the range of 0.99eV for Bi2Se3 to 3.43eV for ZnS; whilst the resistance bandgap energies ranged from 0.61eV for Bi2Se3 to 1.18eV for ZnSe. The resistivity of the films obtained from the chemical deposition technique was high and of the order of 1-6xl07Ωcrn which compare favourably with literature values for similar films.

Source: KNUST
Prerequisite Programs for Food Safety among Selected Hotels in the Ga- West Municipality

This study aimed at examining prerequisite programs of food safety among hotels in Accra, using hotels in the Ga-West municipality as well as the effects of gender and educational background on food safety in ten selected hotels. Prerequisite program is defined as essential practices and conditions for food safety required before and during the implementation of a HACCP program. Food safety is the assurance that food will not endanger the health of consumers when it is prepared and / or eaten according to its intended use. It is therefore necessary for people to understand how their behaviors and practices contribute to the safety of food, and how they can decrease the risk of foodborne illness. The research used cross-sectional descriptive survey design and considered 150 hotel staff as respondents using questionnaire survey to collect primary data. The sampled data was quantitatively analyzed using SPSS software on demographics, knowledge and practices of food safety/hygiene as well as environmental sanitation. The study results show that generally, attitudes and behaviors of hotel food-handlers in Ghana were satisfactory in the areas of food safety knowledge, personal hygiene, and cleaning and sanitation procedures, but unsatisfactory in areas of food handling and serving as well as food supply and storage. The men (54 %) dominated in the hotel food preparation in this study. There were no obvious differences between men and women with regards to their food safety knowledge, behaviors and attitudes. However, respondents with higher educational background were more knowledgeable on issues of food safety and hygiene than those with lower educational background. Food safety education and training for food-handlers, targeting specifically those with lower levels of education, should be strengthened to complement other interventions that pursue the enhancement of food safety systems in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Prescription patterns of licensed chemical sellers shops in the management of uncomplicated malaria one year after the implementation of the national anti-malaria drug policy.

Introduction: Malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and children particularly in tropical Africa. Effective medicines and preventive measures are available. Globally, malaria control programme are threatened by the growing resistance of plasmodium falciparum to the conventional mono-therapy such as chloroquine, amodiaquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. However, these effective and relatively inexpensive medicines like Chloroquine have been rendered ineffective to the plasmodium falciparum parasite due to prescribers prescribing practices and other causes. This led to a policy change in the management of malaria. In 2005 the new anti-malaria policy was launched in the country with Artemisinin Combination Therapy for treatment of malaria. Aim: The aim of this study was to ascertain the knowledge level of Licensed Chemical Sellers (LCS) shops on the new anti-malaria drug policy on the management of malaria in Northern Ghana (Northern Region, Upper East and Upper West), one year after the introduction of the policy. Method: This research was a cross-sectional survey of Licensed Chemical Sellers (LCS) in the three northern regions of Ghana. Questionnaires were administered to a randomly selected Licensed Chemical Sellers in all the districts in the three northern regions (N/R, UE & UW). Result: The study revealed that although majority of LCS (76%) were aware of the new policy, a large majority (98%) of LCS shops were not knowledgeable about dosage, frequency of administration and duration of the new anti-malaria drug. For the reason for the change in policy 66% said Chloroquine was no longer effective and 34% were not sure of the reason. For prophylactic drug in pregnant women 51% will give Chloroquie as against 30% SP and 19% Daraprim. Conclusion: The treatment guidelines of Ghana Health Service (GHS) on malaria should be made available to all Licensed Chemical Sellers (LCS) to allow Pharmacy Council to monitor the implementation of the new anti-malaria drug policy at the facility level. KEY WORDS: Anti-malaria drug policy, Licensed Chemical Sellers, Artesunate combination-based therapy.

Source: KNUST
A Presentation Of Post-Independence Political Disillusionment In Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born And Kojo B. Laing’s Search Sweet Country.

This project evaluates political disillusionment in Ghana as presented in Ayi Kwei Armah and Kojo Laing’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and Search Sweet Country, respectively. Armah and Laing embark on a form of artistic awareness creation to help in the process of reconstruction. The Beautyful Ones and Search Sweet Country are used in this project because firstly, both of them present political disillusionment. These texts validate the reality that disillusionment is in direct opposition to the exuberance and expectations of independence. In depicting the issues that plague post-independence Ghana, the authors express their disappointment with activities of political leaders that eventually stifle development. Also, the two texts put political disillusionment in a historical context: while Armah’s text represents the period immediately after independence, Laing’s portrays Ghana in the mid-1970s. Essentially, The Beautyful Ones depicts civilian dictatorship under Kwame Nkrumah while Search Sweet Country gives a picture of the military regime under Colonel Ignatius Acheampong. Consequently, the project traces the beginning and depth of disillusionment immediately after independence to the Ghana of today. The project comes to the conclusion that Ghana is grappling with socio-political issues decades after independence. This project probes the depth of the “Ghanaian situation”, and hence creates the awareness of the possibility of social fragmentation.

Source: KNUST
The present status of and prospects for meat processing in Ghana

A survey was conducted to determine the extent to which modern technology and machinery are being utilized in the processing of the meat of farm animals throughout Ghana. Specifically, the survey covered the following: the scale of production of processed meat and meat products, the type and quality of products being produced, the species of animals used, the problems of acquisition of equipment and raw materials, marketing strategies and marketing problems. A total of twenty-three meat processing firms/institutions and four others yet to commence operation were located. However data were obtained from only twenty-two operating firms. Small- scale, labour-intensive enterprises were predominant accounting for 81.8% of the total number of firms. The greatest number of firms (54.6%) was located in the Greater Accra Region. Pigs and cattle which are obtained from sources such as the processor’s own farm, the local livestock markets and commercial farms are the main species being processed. About forty-fire different processed products are being manufactured and marketed readily. Chemical analysis of some of the sausages gave values that are comparable to international standards. Major bottlenecks in the industry include scarcity of skilled labour, high cost and irregular supply of animals. Lack of capital for the acquisition of modern equipment is another bottleneck, hence, about 80% of the firms are partially or poorly equipped. The future of the industry is very bright. However, it requires a multi-disciplinary approach to make it a reality.

Source: KNUST
Presbyterianism in ghana from 1978 to 2013: responding to the existential needs in the Kwahu Presbytery.

This thesis examines the various strategies adopted by the Kwahu Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) to contextualize the gospel message to meet the spiritual and social needs of people. The study was conducted in four Church Districts using a sample size of 140 respondents, personal interviews with the clergy, church leaders and administrators as well as chiefs and community leaders. Secondary sources in the form of written text were also employed. The simple random and the purposive sampling techniques were employed to select respondents and interviewees respectively. Since the research was a qualitative one the descriptive survey design was used. The thesis revealed that Presbyterians in the Kwahu Presbytery perceived the provision of their spiritual and social needs as the main task of the Church. This is because the gospel message entails an enhancement of both the spiritual and physical wellness of people. The presentation of the gospel message was therefore closely connected with the people’s anxiety of familiar oppression, witchcraft and hope for a better future encountered in their way of life. The lively and vital nature of the church’s worship style and prayer pattern empowered them to fulfil their spiritual emptiness rooted in their cultural settings identified during the period 1978-2013. Provisions were made to cater for their health, education, and socio-economic activities. The study showed that there is a direct linkage between the strategies adopted by the church and its numerical growth in addition to human and community development. These were made possible because of the mutual co-operation that exist between the communities and the Kwahu Presbytery. Emphasizing its liturgy to be Christ-centred but African in nature, participatory and modern was recommended to enable the PCG fulfil its mandate in the study area.

Source: KNUST
The presentation of women in the novels of Cyprian Ekwensi: a study of Jagua Nana, Iska and Jagua Nana’s Daughter.

Many literary artists have written about the position of women in real life and their role in literary works. Some of these writers both male and female have argued about the less desirable roles assigned women over the years in literature. However, the roles assigned women in literary works have changed and are continuously changing especially from the 1960’s onwards. This research analyses the presentation of women in three novels from Cyprian Ekwensi, a male author, taking into consideration the changing roles of the women in the novels. The project uses the literary theory of Virginia Woolf to show that women can be empowered by being given their privacy and financial independence. The project studies women who initially use what they have – their bodies – to gain what they want – financial independence. Progressively however, the women add professionalism to their sexual exploits. The study concludes by making recommendations that women should pursue education to free themselves from the economic domination of men. Also, the study suggests that women should be willing to rebel against oppressive societal norms and expectations such as patriarchy and team up as and when necessary in order to achieve much in life.

Source: KNUST
Preservation of our Cultural Heritage: The case of Museums as educational and economic centres.

This research is about evaluating the rising decline of interest in African history, arts and architecture amongst Africans, and offer solutions through a physical edifice. It is imperative for the African to be adequately equipped with this knowledge of his / her history, arts and architecture which can go a long way to enhance the total development of the continent. Africa must also have a physical platform of documenting, preserving, and presenting life-giving cultural heritage for the benefit of its own people and the international body. This research did not seek to admonish a return to the negative, somewhat backward practices of the African. It rather investigated the benefits of cultural knowledge acquisition to any group of people, and the physical design intervention that can facilitate the former. This research employed techniques of analyzing information that border on African cultural issues and their impacts on their economies. Also, past efforts of keeping and disseminating cultural information in all parts of the world were reviewed. Ultimately, there was a proposal or recommendation of an architectural edifice that will house, preserve and present life-giving cultural knowledge of Africa. Its location and design was conceptualized to fuse with everyday activities of commerce and residence to promote active user-participation all the time.

Source: KNUST
Preservation of cut pineapples and juices from two varieties using natamycin

Fresh-cut fruit and juice are increasingly becoming popular with consumers because of its convenience. A major challenge faced by this industry is the appropriate method of preservation to maintain the quality of fresh -cut fruits and juices so that the shelf-life is long enough to ensure efficient marketing. This study was done to evaluate the effects of natamycin on the physiochemical, sensory properties and microbial stability of cut pineapple and juices from MD-2 and Sugar loaf during thirty six days of storage. Natamycin concentration of 10 and 20ppm were used for juices. Optimization of condition for the preservation of cut pineapple was with the help of response surface methodology. The central composite design with 24 experimental combinations was used to optimize the factors and responses. The optimum factors were 1cm thickness of cut pineapple, a time of 2 minutes, natamycin concentration of 30 ppm and a volume of 100 ml. The actual natamycin concentration of 10 ppm which diffused into the cut pineapple after soaking in 30 ppm for 2 minutes was used for the treatment of bulk storage of cut pineapple under refrigeration and ambient conditions. Sensory analysis, determination of pH, titratable acidity, Vitamin C, Brix as well as the enumeration of total moulds and yeasts were carried out on both treated and control samples. The cut pineapple and juices were analysed at 3-day interval of the 36 days storage period. There were significant difference (p≤0.05) in the pH, tittratable acidity, Brix and vitamin C of natamycin treated cut pineapples and juices and their respective controls. However, there were no significant difference in the physiochemical properties of the juices treated with 10 and 20ppm. The natamycin treated cut pineapple and juices were preferred during sensory evaluation, while yeasts and moulds were not detected throughout the storage period. On the other hand, control samples of cut pineapples and juices from the 9th day till storage period were unacceptable by the panellist as they were also highly contaminated with yeast and moulds. Natamycin proved to be suitable and effective antifungal preservative which increases the shelf-life of cut pineapple and juices without changing the characteristics of the product. Comparative analyses showed that there were significant differences (p≤ 0.05) in vitamin C, total soluble sugars and pH of MD2 and sugar loaf varieties of the pineapple whiles differences in the titratable acidity, yeasts and moulds growth of MD-2 and sugar loaf varieties were not significant (p ≥ 0.05).

Source: KNUST
Prevalence & Causes of Antiretroviral Treatment Failure Among Adults Receiving Therapy at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) program at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital began in February 2004 with Six (6) patients. As at April 2009, a little over four thousand two hundred (4,200) people had been offered antiretroviral drugs cumulatively. Whereas a significant number of the patients are responding very well to treatment, others have experienced treatment failure on first line regimen and subsequently been switched to second line regimen. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of antiretroviral treatment failure among adults at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Method: The study was retrospective, organized in two phases. The first phase was designed to examine patients’ folders and to collect data relevant to the topic under study. The second phase involved personal interviews of patients who satisfied the requirements of participating in the study. For the purpose of the first phase a data collection tool (appendix 1) was designed and used. Results: The prevalence of antiretroviral treatment failure among adult patients attending clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital was found to be approximately 3.7%. More than 50% of the study population experienced failure by the end of their tenth month after treatment initiation. Some 14% of the study participants demonstrated no positive immunological response to initiation/continuation therapy. Conclusion: Poor adherence to treatment was found to be a possible factor contributing to treatment failure. Underpinning this were financial and resource constraints. Previous exposure to antiretroviral medicines was not found to be a direct cause of treatment failure in this study but the result is suggestive.

Source: KNUST
Prevalance of Malaria as a Co - Infection among Hiv Sero-Positive Individuals: A Case Study Of Individuals Attending Anti-Retroviral Treatment (Art) Clinic at Holy Family Hospital-Techiman in Ghana

Malaria and HIV are two of the most common infections in sub-Saharan Africa and, to a lesser extent, in other developing countries. The determination of malaria and HIV co-infection rate is important because there are hypotheses and even study reports on the possible association between the two infections. This study was therefore carried out at Holy Family Hospital – Techiman between November 2011 and January 2012 with the main objective of determine the prevalence of malaria among HIV sero-positive patients attending anti-retroviral treatment clinic of the hospital. The study design was cross sectional, restricted to randomly selected HIV sero-positive patients attending anti-retroviral treatment clinic of the hospital. All participants were sampled using participant leaflet and consent forms. A total of 400 HIV sero-positive patients between aged1year 8months and 73 years were included in the study. Of these 292 (73%) were females and the rest 108 (27%) were males. A questionnaire was administered and 2mls of venous blood sample was drown for detection of malaria parasite, estimation of CD4 count and haemoglobin level. The study revealed that 47 (11.75%) patients were slide positive for malaria parasite. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence rate for females (12.1%) and males (10.2%), P = 0.6047. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) definition for anemia as hemoglobin levels less than 13.0g/dl in adult men and hemoglobin levels less than 12.0g/dl in adult women, an overall prevalence of 67% (268 out of 400) anemia was observed in this study. The prevalence of anemia among the study participants who had malaria was 93.6% (44 out of 47). All patients studied had a CD4 cell count ranging from 3 – 1604 Cells/µl. The mean CD4 cell count of the patients was 386.2 (±274.3) Cells/µl. All patients with malaria infection had CD4 cell count ranging from 3 Cells/µl to 512 Cells/µl with mean CD4 cell count of 186.33 (±133.49) Cells/µl. Out of the study participants, 377 (participants above15years) were interviewed on knowledge on malaria transmission and prevention in which 328 (87.0%) out of 377 of the participants claimed they had knowledge about malaria infection. Only 32 (8.5%) of the interviewed 377 of the participants interviewed used bed net for the prevention of malaria. Due to high mortality rates associated with malaria infection in an endemic area, it may be necessary that routine malaria screening be adopted as part of the management policy to check HIV and malaria co-infection since only tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis B virus are presently screen for.

Source: KNUST
Prevalence and determinants of childhood obesity among school-age children in the Sunyani

Background Childhood obesity is one of the persisting problems of our generation. There is a growing burden of overweight and obesity among children in Ghana. It poss several health problems to the individual later in life. In Ghana, the studies done on obesity focused on adult obesity with fewer on childhood obesity as compared to other countries where interventions are being implemented even at the school level. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children in the Sunyani Municipality. Methods The study was a cross-sectional design involving school children between the ages of 6 and 18years. A total of 423 participants were enrolled in the study. Anthropometric measurement of children‘s height and weight. The age-specific and sex-specific distribution of the body mass index using specific international classification body mass index standards. Questionnaires were administered individually to a school child that met the inclusion criteria and self-administered questionnaire to key informants in the selected schools. Results The finding of the study revealed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is 9.7% and 6.4% respectively. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity 16.1%. The results indicated that children attending private schools are about three times more likely to be overweight (3.84; 95% CI: .1.94 - 7.6; p 0.001) and obese (4.43; 95% CI: .1.92 - 10.24; p 0.001) compared to children in public schools. (4.43; 95% CI: .1.92 - 10.24; p 0.001) It also revealed that females have 1.9 times at risk rate ofvi overweight but are 20% less likely to be obese than their male counterpart. Increase in age was associated with reduced risk of being overweight (, 0.4, 95% CI:0.17-0.946; p<0.037). Sex (p=0.004), age (p=0.014), mother‘s education (p= 0.011), number of times of eating breakfast in a week (p=0.032), consumption of snack per day(p=0.029), time spent playing digital games(p=0.021) and watching TV (p=0.01) were significantly associated with the overweight and obesity. Conclusion Childhood overweight and obesity is prevalent in the Sunyani Municipality predominantly among private school children (10.4%). Age sex maternal education, high socioeconomic status, times of eating breakfast in a week, time spent playing digital games and watching TV are direct predictors of childhood overweight and obesity. All schools had a policy relating to food but not all of those schools had a policy on physical education. A greater number of them constituting about two-thirds of them had

Source: KNUST