ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Acute Gastric Necrosis in a Teenager

Gastric infarction is a rare condition often associated with high mortality due to a delay in diagnosis. The stomach which has a rich supply of blood is a rare site for such a condition. Gastric infarction has a long list of etiological factors. We report a case of a patient who was managed successfully following gastric infarction from gastric dilatation. An 18-year-old female student presented with a three-day history of abdominal pain associated with abdominal distension of two days. The abdomen was distended with generalized tenderness, rebound tenderness, and guarding. Bowel sounds were absent. Digital rectal examination was unremarkable, and a pregnancy test was negative. Biochemical tests were all normal. Intraoperatively, two litres of serosanguinous fluid was suctioned from the abdomen. About 300 mL of pus was suctioned from the pelvis. The gangrenous portion was resected, and repair was done in two layers using Conell and Lambert suture techniques. Acute gastric necrosis is a rare surgical condition that requires a high index of suspicion and prompts aggressive resuscitation and surgical intervention to obviate the high mortality rate associated with the condition.

Source: KNUST
Adaptation as a Means to an End: Conceptual Underpinnings and Empirical Affirmations

Rooted in the concept of adaptation are change, action, stimulus, means and end. Whilst these elements are fundamental in clarifying the complex actor relationships surrounding adaptation, literature has tended to concentrate on the end (adaptation practice). Inherent in the provisions of interventions aimed at minimizing the specific impacts of climate change is the notion that adaptation will be automatically triggered. This article, which focuses on concepts and theories, argues that adaptation is more than mere action or what is usually described as the end. Using the Theory of Action (ToA) and the Framework for Analyzing Climate Change Adaptation as Actions (FACCAA), this article attempts to clarify the relationships between the key terminologies and contributes to knowledge on the adaptation discourse. Using empirical shreds of evidence from the Talensi District, the article underscores the proposition that water interventions are not necessarily adaptation practices neither are they automatic activators of adaptation. They are rather means expected to propel action for adaptation. The article concludes that elements, such as change, action, and means, are of equal importance as the popularly documented adaptation practice (end). All the elements deserve equal attention to unravel the complexities underpinning the concept of adaptation.

Source: KNUST
Adaptation of the Broadloom for Pile Weaving

The production of pile fabrics has been limited to the big textile establishments which make use of power and sophisticated looms that are capable of producing complex or intricate designs. This situation has been in existence since the development of the dobby and jacquard looms which scope has gone beyond the simple plain, twill and satin / sateen weaves to the production of complex or intricate designs. An adapted broadloom has been designed and constructed to increase the scope of the local industry. This project is therefore an attempt to adapt the broadloom such that it can be used for pile fabric production, thereby increasing the scope of the local textile industry and reducing the unemployment situation in the country. A sample has been produced, after the adaptation, as proof that the adapted loom is capable of producing such type of fabric. The whole process and mode of production of the sample have been explained and illustrated in the text. Pictures of the sample weave and the adapted loom have been provided in the report to substantiate the fact that, the broadloom can easily be adapted to suit that purpose.

Source: KNUST
Acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease: clinical presentation and pharmacological management

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a common cause of hospitalization and mortality in sickle cell patients across the globe. There appears to be paucity of data concerning ACS and its pharmacological management in Ghana and Africa as a whole. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence and clinical presentation of ACS, and its pharmacotherapy in children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. Method: The designs of the study was retrospective, in which medical records of the children 14 years and below with SCD and at least an episode of ACS were retrieved and assessed at the Sickle Cell Clinic of KATH. One hundred and seven cases among 1336 children with sickle cell disease met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The ages of the patients ranged from 8 months to 14 years with a mean of 5.7 ± 3.5 years. The prevalence of ACS was 8%, with a 2.2 episodes/ month rate of occurrence. Forty percent of the patients were between the ages of 5 to 9 years. Seventy five percent (n=80) presented with fever and 65% (n=70) presented with cough. Other symptoms like rhinorrhoea and irritability were common in younger patients (< 5 years), p = 0.012 and 0.001 respectively. Abdominal pain and chest pain occurred mostly in the older patients (≥ 5 years), p = 0.024 and < 0.001 respectively. Bacteria isolates were found in 12 of 79 cases (15.2%) that had blood culture information. Eighty four patients (80.7%) received cefuroxime and gentamicin dual therapy for empiric treatment of infection in ACS. The dose range of gentamicin used in the hospital was 3 to 9 mg/kg body weight as opposed to the recommended 5 to 7 mg/kg, as a single daily dose. The empiric antibiotic therapy for infections in ACS patients did not cover for atypical bacteria as recommended in standard guidelines. Forty seven patients received paracetamol alone for pain management and 47 received paracetamol and ibuprofen. Morphine was the preferred opioid prescribed, which is in line with recommendation by WHO guidelines for pain management in SCD patients. The prevalence of ACS was 8%. The majority of patients were between the ages 2 to 9 years. Fever and cough were among the common clinical symptoms presented. Other clinical features like rhinorrhoea, irritability, chest pain and abdominal pain varied with age. Treatment regimen for ACS in the hospital included pharmacotherapy for infections, pain management, hydration with IV fluids and blood transfusion in patients with severe anaemia. All of these were in conformity with standard guidelines and literature.

Source: KNUST
Adaptation and effects of social media in teaching and learning at the second cycle institution level in Ghana

The proliferation of social media platforms freely accessible online using cell mobile devices, PCs and the immense interest of this generation of students in such platforms to the detriment of their studies has cause for concern. As it is almost impossible to block students from engaging on these platforms, it therefore becomes imperative to find a way to make them use the social media for useful purposes. The primary reason for this study is to determine the feasibility of adapting the use of social media in teaching and learning; and to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of these media for instructional engagement by instructors and learners at the second cycle institution level in Ghana. In the course of the study, Facebook© and WhatsApp© were used to supplement traditional classroom instruction and the impacts on students' motivation, learning experience and performance were assessed. Qualitative Case Study research method was used for this study. Interviews conducted were transcribed and composed into three phases of sorting out subjective information as suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The results of the study demonstrate positive results in the use of the social media (Facebook and WhatsApp) to augment classroom teaching and learning with respect to students’ motivation, learning experience and performance suggesting effectiveness and efficiency of the instructional blend. Implication of the results is that the findings can be utilized as a reference for educators and curriculum designers to find meaningful use of social media for teaching and learning in second cycle institutions in Ghana. The study however reveals some challenges such as affordance, access to mobiles devices and irregular power supply that need to be addressed in order not exacerbate the problem of digital divide.

Source: KNUST
Adaptation opportunities and maladaptive outcomes in climate vulnerability hotspots of northern Ghana

How climate change adaptation practices can constrain development and deliver maladaptive outcomes in vulnerability hotspots is yet to be explored in-depth using case study analyses. This paper explores the effects of climate change coping and adaptation responses in three case study villages across the Central Gonja district of northern Ghana. The study addresses the following research questions: i) What are the key climatic and non-climatic stressors confronting households in northern Ghanaian communities? ii) How are households adapting to climatic and nonclimatic stressors? and iii) What are the outcomes of these coping and adaptation responses on development? The study employs a mixed-method approach including key informant interviews, focus group discussions and household questionnaire surveys. Data identified socioeconomic stressors including a lack of access to (and high cost of) farm inputs, labour shortages and population growth. Climatic stressors include erratic rainfall, high temperature, droughts and floods. Climatic and non-climatic stressors interact to affect agricultural practices and related livelihoods. The study identified various adaptation measures including extensification and intensification of agriculture, temporary migration, planting of drought resistant varieties, irrigation, and livelihood diversification. We show that many coping measures (e.g. livelihood diversifications activities such as selling of firewood and charcoal production) and adaptation responses (including intensification, extensification and irrigation) currently deliver maladaptive outcomes, resulting in lock-ins that could exacerbate future climate vulnerabilities. The paper contributes to the growing literature on adaptation and climate risk management by providing empirical evidence showing how coping and adaptations measures can deliver maladaptive outcomes in vulnerable communities.

Source: KNUST
Adding value to agricultural waste: production and quality assessment of coconut coir as soilless media for plant production

Coconut husks from two major sources (coastal and inland areas) were used in the study. Coir dust (CD) produced were grouped into five treatments and labeled CD- 1 to CD- 5. The study was to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of the five media and the growth response of Salvia splendeus seeds. Five media mixes based on mixture of coir dust and sawdust with coir dust in increment of volume from 0 to 100% coir dust and KNUST soil mix as control substrate. The 50% coir and 50% sawdust blend had the best percentage germination (90%) with KNUST mix the lowest of 65%. There was no difference in percentage germination of 100% coir and 100% sawdust media. However, it was realized that various media had significant effect on growth rate after 4thi week of germination. The various sources of husks also had significant effect (p< 0.05) on Electrical conductivity, potassium, Nitrogen, Manganese, Moisture, Bulk Density, pH, Calcium, Iron, Sodium and Chloride contents but there were no significant difference (p> 0.05) in Phosphorus and Magnesium contents. Although significant differences were observed among sources of coconut coir with respect to physical and chemical properties, most mineral elements were within ranges reported for coir and sphagnum peats (Handreck, 1993) and considered acceptable substrates to be used in most horticultural applications. Due to the variability of minerals that exist among coir produced from various sources, coir products must be evaluated and amended before use. It should be noted that coconut coir dusts does not support and sustain plant growth for a lifetime unless otherwise supplied with continuous fertilizer regimes or are prepared in combination with other media.

Source: KNUST
Addressing domestic violence against women: a case study of Navio traditional council in Kasena-Nankan West District of the Upper East Region, Ghana.

Background:Domestic violence against women has been recognized both globally and locally(Ghana) as a major violation of a woman’s human rights.Despite the enactment of Domestic Violence Act(Act 732) and establishment of Domestic Violence and Victims Supports Unit (DOVVSU), the problem still lingers. To adequately address the problem, calls are made to consider other alternatives systems of disputes resolution such as the traditional authorities. The study assesses the effectiveness of traditional authorities’ intervention in addressing domestic violence against women in the Navio traditional area. Methods:A cross sectional research design wasadopted for the study.Simple random sampling technique was used for the selection of the study sample.The study participants were interviewed using a pre-tested structured close and open-ended questionnaire.The data wasthen analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequency, mean, standard deviation and presented on tables and graphs. Results:The study reveals that domestic violence occasionally occurs in the community (74.7%) and remains largely unreported (60.9%). The study further found that respondents preferred the traditional authorities in resolving domestic violence cases to the police and victims felt safe under the interventions put in place by the traditional head. Conclusion: The study concludes that victims of domestic violence are aware of interventions put in place and prefer the traditional leaders over the police in dealing with reported cases.

Source: KNUST
Addressing environmental sustainability in Ghana through public procurement

Sustainability concepts encompass all functions and examine how societies interact and live. The means of trying to sustain life of humankind is the ability to work, live and play in ways that do not hinder the inherent nature is described as sustainability. Realizing our vision to maximize economic growth and ability to deal with the deficit, protecting our environment and stimulating the wellbeing makes sustainable development decision necessary now for future generations not to negatively impact the environment. The aim of the study is to address environmental sustainability in Ghana through public procurement and the following are the specific objectives to achieve the aim; to identify the various procurement procedures, to identify the benefits of incorporating environmental sustainability in public procurement in Ghana and to identify the specific measures adopted by procurement entities to achieve environmental sustainability. Questionnaires were used as tool for data collection. The study population includes management professionals involved in procurement in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ejisu Municipal Assembly and Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly such as Procurement Officers, Engineers, Planning Officers, Finance Officers, Store Managers and Management. Relative importance index (RII) was used in analysing the data collected. The study identified the following as the significant benefits of incorporating environmental sustainability in public procurement; promotion of efficient use of public resources, increased competition, and reduced environmental impact. The study revealed the measures to achieve environmental sustainability as: capacity building, government legislation, and involvement of top management. The study recommended that management should ensure that capacity building exercises such as training of Procurement staff on environmental sustainability are implemented

Source: KNUST
Addressing gaps on energy access in rural and urban areas in Ghana: a case study on selected communities in the Ashanti Region

There are several contemporary surveys which are essential for the energy planning purposes in Ghana, there are still energy access gaps that ought to be addressed. Subsequently, the survey “Addressing Gaps on Energy Access in Rural and Urban Areas in Ghana” is designed to bridge the identified gaps and validate the available data with new set of data gathered from rural, small/medium towns and large towns of selected communities in the Ashanti region. The project is expected to provide data that can be used for the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) modelling exercise. The survey is being undertaken to provide data to address the following issues: the per capita quantities of different energy types used in Ghana by various income decile groups; the numbers of Households in each income decile group using the different energy types found in the country; the per capita expenditures on different types of energy used in Ghana by each of the income decile groups; the price per Mega Joule (MJ) of the different types of energy used in Ghana and the number of Households using different cooking stove types and their cooking location. However, based on the objectives of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. The survey results indicate that about 81% of the households had access to grid-connected electricity in their dwellings. A key finding from the survey was that households paid an average of GH¢121.22 for the consumption of an average of 196.052 KWh of electricity per month. The quantity of electricity households consumed increased with increasing income levels. In addition, the majority (20.41%) of the households within the 10th income decile (GH¢15,601+) consume the largest quantities of LPG of varying sizes. The least (4.08%) proportion of households that use LPG were within the 1st income deciles (0 – GH¢505). Again, the survey results revealed that households consumed an average of 235.15kg of charcoal per annum. Quantities of charcoal consumed by households varied from locality to locality and income deciles. The mean quantity of charcoal in the small-medium towns was 254.2kg per annum; which was 6.2% and 18.8% higher than the mean quantities consumed by households in the large towns (238.4kg) and rural town (206.38kg), respectively. The survey results also indicated all the households that used wood fuel converted with the traditional three-stoned stove. Households in the rural communities were mostly using the traditional coal pots and the traditional three-stoned stove simply because of its affordability, availability and accessibility to the energy source particularly charcoal and fuel wood. Based on the key findings from the survey, the study recommended that institutions such as the Ministry of Energy, The Energy Center and the private sector must be engaged to develop more efficient and affordable energy conversion equipment which increases productivity while minimising fuel consumption.

Source: KNUST
Addressing health system barriers to access to and use of skilled delivery services: perspectives from Ghana

Poor access to and use of skilled delivery services have been identified as a major contributory factor to poor maternal and newborn health in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana. However, many previous studies that examine norms of childbirth and care-seeking behaviours have focused on identifying the norms of non-use of services, rather than factors, that can promote service use. Based on primary qualitative research with a total of 185 expec tant and lactating mothers, and 20 healthcare providers in six communities in Ghana, this paper reports on strategies that can be used to overcome health system barriers to the use of skilled delivery services. The strategies identified include expansion and redistribution of existing maternal health resources and infrastructure, training of more skilled maternity care givers, instituting special programmes to target women most in need, improving the quality of maternity care services provided, improving doctor–patient relationships in maternity wards, promotion of choice, protecting privacy and patient dignity in maternity wards and building partnerships with traditional birth attendants and other non-state actors. The findings suggest the need for structural changes to maternity clinics and routine nursing practices, including an emphasis on those doctor–patient relational practices that positively influence women’s healthcare-seeking behaviours .

Source: KNUST
Adaptive control of alumina concentration in the hall-heroult cell using neural network

Aluminium smelting the world over has had two major constraints in recent years: environmental protection and energy costs. Since the method and efficiency of alumina feed in the smelting process impacts environmental pollution and production efficiency greatly, much of the industry’s investment money has been spent in researching into better feed control systems - feed delivery systems and feed strategies. The subject matter of this thesis dwells on the latter, and continues the search for an efficient adaptive alumina feed strategy in the Hall-Héroult cell for the reduction of aluminium. Neurocomputing, one of the fastest growing control system theories in contemporary electrical engineering, is applied to the problem of on-line estimation of alumina mass balance in the electrolytic cell. A contribution is proposed to alumina feed control strategies by developing a neural network-based adaptive feed control algorithm, robust against cell resistance variations, and implementable on retrofit state-of-the-art aluminium reduction cell microcomputers. Electrolytic resistance/alumina concentration data from a simulated l4OkA Center-Break cell was used as input vectors to train a single-layer feed forward loop-back NEURAL NETWORK1 constructed with six constraint equations and six degrees of freedom. The identified prediction algorithm was successfully tested on both simulated and real cell resistance data and results presented. The algorithm was also compared with the extended Kalman filter using the same test bed and shown to be a better solution to the problem under research. Finally a NEURAL network-based feed control strategy (NetFeed) is developed and presented in this thesis.

Source: KNUST
Adenta Shopping Complex, Accra

The Adenta Shopping Complex is a sub-urban complex which is meant to play a meaningful role in the lives of residents in the catchment area. In order to establish a comprehensive analysis and design, the historical background and development of shopping complexes worldwide have been discussed. Furthermore, the report discusses commercial developments in Accra and the future trends of such developments. The thesis report discusses the findings of the market research conducted in the anticipated trade area. The market research involved studies of the demographic structure, income levels, daily expenditure and needs of the target group. It also includes studies on existing shopping facilities, rental values and future trends of commercial activities in the trade area. The report further deals with the selection of an appropriate site for the project. Studies of other shopping complexes abroad and at home were considered. The rest of the report deals with the design philosophy, design concepts, and design considerations aimed at establishing a good planning and design proposals. Finally the building services, structure/materials and a planning phasing programme for the project have been discussed. The project should be seen as an intervention to the problem of congestion in the city centre. It emphasises the need to create satellite commercial centres in suburb and districts.

Source: KNUST