ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Plurilingualism and the learning of French as a foreign language in Ghana

ABSTRACT The current article studies the competencies of plurilingual students and how these competencies are exploited in the learning of French as a Foreign Language. Adopting a translanguaging theoretical approach, we argue that learners of foreign languages who already speak at least one other language have some linguistic competencies which manifest during their learning of the French language. Through observation of learners of French at the University of Ghana Business School and analysis of their written production, we confirm that some of these plurilingual competencies in students are demonstrated in the nature of the errors identified. The paper therefore recommends that learners’ existing competencies be taken into account and built upon when developing lessons for the foreign language classroom and during classroom delivery.

Source: UG
Pneumatosis Cystoids Intestinalis In A Patient With Small Bowel Obstruction: A Case Report

Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is a rare and usually benign condition in which multiple thin-walled cysts develop in the submucosa or subserosa of the gastrointestinal tract. While usually asymptomatic, severe cases can result in pneumoperitoneum, which can be managed surgically or medically, depending on the circumstances. A 35-year-old male patient presented with signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction. Then the patient was diagnosed with pneumatosis, cystoides, and intestinalis. The patient underwent surgery. and antibiotic treatment, and was discharged and improved with no incident. Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is a surgical condition that resembles other life-threatening top surgical emergencies and affects clinicians’ decisions on diagnosis and treatment plans substantially,mainly in low-income countries. So, surgeons have to consider such conditions and avoid the costs and morbidities associated with unnecessary bowel resection or surgery.

Source: UG
Pneumococcal carriage among children under five in Accra, Ghana, five years after the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Background: The study objective was to determine the carriage and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children in Accra, Ghana, five years after the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) in 2012. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from 410 children below 5 years of age in Accra, Ghana, from September to December, 2016. Pneumococcal isolates were identified by optochin sensitivity and bile solubility. Serotyping was performed using the latex agglutination kit and Quellung reaction. The isolates were furthermore tested for antimicrobial susceptibility for different antimicrobials, including penicillin (PEN). Twelve isolates including seven non-typeable (NT) isolates were characterized using whole-genome sequencing analysis (WGS). Results: The overall carriage prevalence was found to be 54% (95% CI, 49–59%), and 20% (95% CI, 49–59%) of the children were carrying PCV-13 included serotypes, while 37% (95% CI, 33–42%) of the children were carrying non- PCV-13 serotypes. Based on the serotype distribution, 33% of all observed serotypes were included in PCV-13 while 66% were non-PCV-13 serotypes. The dominating non-PCV-13 serotypes were 23B, 16F, and 11A followed by PCV- 13 serotypes 23F and 19F. The PCV-13 covers the majority of resistant isolates in Accra. A proportion of 22.3% of the isolates showed intermediate resistance to penicillin G, while only one isolate showed full resistance. Forty-five isolates (20.5%) were defined as multidrug-resistant (MDR) as they were intermediate/resistant to three or more classes of antimicrobials. Of the seven NT isolates characterized by WGS, four showed highest match to genotype 38, while the remaining three showed highest match to genotype 14. Four MDR serotype 19A isolates were found to be MLST 320. Conclusion: PCV-13 introduced in Ghana did not eliminate PCV-13 covered serotypes, and the carriage rate of 54% in this study is similar to carriage studies from pre PCV-13 period. However, the penicillin non-susceptible isolates have been reduced from 45% of carriage isolates before PCV-13 introduction to 22.3% of the isolates in this study. Continuous monitoring of serotype distribution is important, and in addition, an evaluation of an alternative vaccination schedule from 3 + 0 to 2 + 1 will be important to consider

Source: UG
Pneumococcal carriage among HIV infected children in Accra, Ghana

Background: Pneumococcal carriage is the precursor for development of pneumococcal disease, and is also responsible for transmission of the organism from person-to-person. In Africa, little is known about the pneumococcus in relation to people with HIV infection. The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage among HIV infected children visiting a tertiary hospital in Ghana, including the carriage prevalence, risk factors and serotype distribution. Method: This was a cross sectional study carried out from February to May, 2015 at the HIV Paediatric Clinic of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. One hundred and eighteen HIV infected children were recruited and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected from them. Epidemiological data on demographic, household and clinical features of the study participants were also collected. The NP specimens were cultured for Streptococcus pneumoniae and the isolates were serotyped by latex agglutination. The data of the study was analysed using STATA 11 (Strata Corp, College Station, TX, USA). Results: Prevalence of pneumococcal carriage among the HIV infected children was 27.1% (95% CI: 19.1 to 35.1) and the only factor significantly associated with pneumococcal carriage was the presence of respiratory symptoms (OR, 2.63; CI, 1.06-6.53; p = 0.034). The most prevalent pneumococcal serotype among the study participants was serotype 19F (24.4%), followed by 16F (22%). Serotype coverage of the 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in this study was 41.5%. Multiple carriage of pneumococcal serotypes among the positive carriage cases was 34.3%. Conclusion: Pneumococcal carriage occurred in more than a quarter of the study population and was characterized by predominance of non-vaccine serotypes as well as a high prevalence of multiple carriage. Presence of respiratory symptoms appears to be a major determinant of pneumococcal carriage among the study population.

Source: UG
Pneumococcal carriage among sickle cell disease patients in Accra, Ghana: Risk factors, serotypes and antibiotic resistance

Background Pneumococcal carriage is the precursor for development of pneumococcal disease, and is also responsible for transmission of the organism from person-to-person. Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) are more likely to develop invasive disease with S. pneumoniae compared to their healthy counterparts and the presentation of disease in the former is usually abrupt and severe. In Africa, little is known about the pneumococcus in relation to people with SCD Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage among SCD patients including the carriage prevalence, risk factors, serotypes and antibiotic resistance. Method This was a cross sectional study involving 402 SCD patients recruited from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Princess Marie Louis Hospital in Accra from October 2016 to March 2017. The study subjects included 202 children of the age groups: ≤5 years (94), >5–9 years (75), ≥10–13 years (33) and 200 adults of the age groups: 14–20 years (46), 21–40 years (112), 41–60 years (25), ≤ 61 years (17). Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected from the study participants as well as epidemiological data on demographic, household and clinical features. The NP specimens were cultured for S. pneumoniae and the isolates were serotyped by latex agglutination. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests of the isolates were done by the disc diffusion test and E-test. Results Prevalence of S. pneumoniae carriage among children and adult SCD patients enrolled in the study were 79/202 (39.1%; 95% CI: 32.3 to 46.2) and 20/200 (10.0%; 95% CI: 6.2 to 15.0) respectively. Risk factors associated with pneumococcal carriage were age (OR = 1.137; 95% CI: 1.036–1.248; p = 0.007) and runny nose (OR = 5.371; 95% CI: 1.760–16.390; p = 0.003). Overall, twenty-six pneumococcal serotypes were isolated from the study participants and the predominant serotype was 6B (10.6%), followed by 23B (8.2%). Among the children, serotype coverage of the 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, which is currently used in Ghana was 32.4%. Prevalence of penicillin resistance among the pneumococcal isolates was 37.4% (37/99) and all the penicillin-resistant isolates exhibited intermediate penicillin resistance with the exception of one isolate that showed full resistance and was susceptible to ceftriaxone. Prevalence of resistance to the other antibiotics ranged from 2.5% (levofloxacin) to 85% (cotrimoxazole). Multidrug resistance occurred among 34.3% (34/99) of the pneumococcal isolates. Conclusion Pneumococcal carriage was four-fold higher in SCD children than adults and was characterized by predominance of non-vaccine serotypes and considerable level of multidrug resistance, though penicillin, cefotaxime and levofloxacin resistance appeared to be very low.

Source: UG
PoAD:AScalable and Energy-Efficient Consensus Algorithm for Smart Contract Execution in Decentralized Systems

Smart contracts, integral to decentralized applications (dApps), depend heavily on the efficiency and scalability of underlying consensus mechanisms. This study evaluated the runtime scalability of two dominant protocols—Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS). It proposes a novel hybrid consensus algorithm, Proof-of-Activity-and-Delegation (PoAD), to address per formance and fairness limitations. PoAD combines validator activity scores, delegated stakes, and verifiable randomness into a composite eligibility function, with block finalization conducted via a PBFT-style mechanism. Experimental simulations were conductedacrossvaryingnetworksizes(10–60nodes),wherePoADdemonstratedsignificantlyimprovedperformance:execution time of 2.6s at 50 nodes compared to5.7s for PoWand4.3sforPoS;transaction throughput reaching 125tx/s; and finality latency reducedto1.3s,comparedto4.7sinPoW.PoADalsomaintainedhighproposerfairness(>0.95),lowerenergyconsumption(̃45% less thanPoW),andloweralgorithmiccomplexity𝑂(nlogn).TheseresultswereobtainedusingPython-basedsimulationswithcon trolled validator pools and standardized workloads. The findings suggest that PoAD offers a viable, scalable, and energy-efficient alternative to existing protocols, especially in latency-sensitive and resource-constrained environments such as IoT and decentral ized finance. Although promising, the effectiveness of PoAD under adversarial conditions and real-world deployments remains to be validated. Future studies should explore resilience under Byzantine faults, adaptive parameter tuning, and integration with asynchronous BFT frameworks to enhance their trustworthiness and applicability.

Source: UG
Pod storage with roasting: A tool to diversifying the flavor profiles of dark chocolates produced from ‘bulk’ cocoa beans? (part I: aroma profiling of chocolates)

The impact of pod storage (PS) and roasting temperature (RT) on the aroma profiles of dark chocolates were evaluated. Cocoa liquor samples comprised of ten different combinations of PS and RT, whilst keeping the roasting time fixed at 35 min. Additionally, commercial cocoa liquors from renowned origins (Ecuador, Madagascar, Venezuela, Vietnam, Ivory Coast and Ghana) were acquired for comparison. From these, 70% dark chocolates were produced under the same conditions after which they were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS) analysis. Although both PS and RT were found to influence the aroma volatile concentrations, the impact of RT over PS seemed to be greater. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) of all chocolates on the basis of their aroma profiles revealed a similar impact as earlier observed, where major clustering of the chocolates was in accordance with the intensity of the roasting process applied. However, within each group, the dissimilarities owing to PS among the chocolates was clearly depicted. Comparatively, chocolates with low (100–120 °C), instead of moderate to high (135–160 °C) RT's, rather showed a low dissimilarity with those from the commercial cocoa liquors of the different origins. Although from the same beans, the diversity of aroma profiles of these chocolates as well as the similitude of some treatments to some chocolates from commercial grade cocoa liquors, unequivocally underscores the possibility for steering diverse distinct flavors from ‘bulk’ cocoa through PS and roasting, with beneficial implications, both from an application and an economic point of view.

Source: UG
Pod storage with roasting: A tool to diversifying the flavor profiles of dark chocolates produced from ‘bulk’ cocoa beans? (Part II: Quality and sensory profiling of chocolates)

The impact of pod storage (PS) and roasting temperature (RT) on the quality parameters and the sensory profiles of dark chocolates were evaluated. Dark chocolates (70%) from ten liquors of different PS and RT combinations as well as six liquors of different origins (Ecuador, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Venezuela and Vietnam) with variable genetic groups were produced under identical conditions and compared. To a greater extent, the range of chocolate quality attributes underscored the generally minimal effects of PS, RT and origin of liquor on the processing conditions. Although with a few exceptions, generally, chocolate acidity (pH and TA) decreased with increasing PS and vice versa in the case of RT. Furthermore, results from a balanced incomplete block design (BIBD) involving a 16-member expert panel also revealed the impact of the applied treatments (PS and RT) on the final flavor profiles of the chocolates irrespective of the origin or genetic groups of the cocoa beans. The same was confirmed when instrumental aroma results were correlated with the sensory data using partial least squares (PLS) regression models. Thus, this study demonstrates the possibility of creating diverse flavor profiles (even towards ‘fine’ flavor) from ‘bulk’ cocoa beans through an optimized combination of PS and RT. The findings are therefore expected to challenge the status-quo, especially in the way ‘bulk’ cocoa is currently processed and consequently priced, thereby, possibly fostering a win-win situation between cocoa producers and industries.

Source: UG
Poetic Explorations in Bill F. Ndi’s Worth Their Weight in Thorns: (De)Constructing Hegemonic National Integr National Integration and Debating F ation and Debating Francophonecentric National Go ancophonecentric National Governance. ernance.

This paper explores “hegemonic national integration” and “Francophonecentric national governance” in The Cameroons (TC) poetic scape. The former refers to La République du Cameroun (LRC)-British Southern Cameroons (BSC) or Southern Cameroons (SC) interconnectedness dominated by Francophones. The latter is governance that promotes a Francophone cultural superiority that refuses to see the Cameroonian world through Southern Cameroonians’ eyes. Cameroonians live in a time of enormous fragmenting “Francophonizing” and “Anglophonizing” processes. To flesh this argument out, this paper borrows critical perspectives from Benhabib’s “democratic iterations” and “deliberative democracy” and Rosenau’s “six-governance typology’ as requisites for good governance. It contends that “hegemonic national integration” and “Francophonecentric national governance” are pervasive features of Bill Ndi’s poetry. Indeed, SC literature of the anti-Francophoncentrism kind such as Nkengasong’s Across the Mongolo, Besong’s Disgrace, Nyamnjoh’s Souls Forgotten, etc., has not been recognized. For demonstrative purposes, focus will be on Ndi’s Worth their Weight in Thorns, a glaring example of such works. TC in which the poems are set is ruled by a power-drunk elite and characterized by socioeconomic and politico-cultural marginalization which is symptomatic of “hegemonic national (dis)integration” and “Francophonecentric national governance”. In TC, national integration and governance have become a kind of postcolonial re-racialization because the disparities between the wealthy/powerful Francophones and the poor/powerless Southern Cameroonians possess something akin to the racial character being witnessed in the USA. Consequently, reading Ndi’s collection from this perspective reveals the ongoing rivalry between the dominant LRC and the dominated SC as a stellar representation of a master-servant relationship

Source: UG
Point and period prevalences of eczema in rural and urban schoolchildren in Ghana, Gabon and Rwanda

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
Point of Care Diagnosis of Multiple Schistosome Parasites: Species-Specific DNA Detection in Urine by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
Point of View: Mitigating the impact of conference and travel cancellations on researchers’ futures

The need to protect public health during the current COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated conference cancellations on an unprecedented scale. As the scientific community adapts to new working conditions, it is important to recognize that some of our actions may disproportionately affect early-career researchers and scientists from countries with limited research funding. We encourage all conference organizers, funders and institutions who are able to do so to consider how they can mitigate the unintended consequences of conference and travel cancellations and we provide seven recommendations for how this could be achieved. The proposed solutions may also offer long-term benefits for those who normally cannot attend conferences, and thus lead to a more equitable future for generations of researchers.

Source: UG
Police Views of Suicidal Persons and the Law Criminalizing Attempted Suicide in Ghana: A Qualitative Study With Policy Implications

The penal code of Ghana condemns suicide attempt. The present study sought to explore the views of the police on persons who attempt suicide and the law criminalizing the act. Qualitative in-depth interviews were used to explore the views of 18 officers of the Ghana Police Service. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis technique. Findings showed that the police officers profiled suicide attempters as needy, enigmatic, ignorant, and blameworthy. Majority (n = 14) of them disagreed with the law and suggested a repeal, whereas only four of them agreed with the law. Regardless of their positions on criminalization, they showed an inclination to help, rather than arrest, when confronted with such persons in line of their duty. Educating the police on suicidal behavior may help to deepen their understanding and help improve the way they handle suicidal persons. This may also strengthen police suicide prevention gatekeeping obligations. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.

Source: UG
Policy and institutional perspectives on local economic development in Africa: The Ghanaian perspective

Local economic development involves identifying and using primarily local resources, ideas and skills to stimulate economic growth and development, with the aim of creating employment opportunities, reducing poverty, and redistributing resources and opportunities to the benefit of local residents. Growth and development cannot take place in an institutional and legal vacuum. Local development and growth require an institutional and legal framework that allows development to take place in an orderly manner and in which agents know that the decisions they take and the contracts they make will be protected by law, and enforced. This paper examines the policy and institutional frameworks on local economic development in Ghana. The paper relies on desk research and secondary documents by critically examining and reviewing them. The findings show that over the years several institutions and policies have been put in place to help improve development at the local level. It is therefore important to build the local capacities and strengthen these institutions to be able to exploit local resources and to stimulate economic development at the local level.

Source: UG
The Policy and Practice of Local Economic Development in Ghana

Local economic development (LED) has gained prominence as a feasible option to top–down development approaches that have generally been unsuccessful in generating significant and sustainable development at the local level. While LED has proven to be an attractive local development strategy, very little attention has been devoted to the policy and practice of LED in Ghana. This article fills this gap and contributes to the discussion and evidence of LED in sub-Saharan Africa. The article is the output of an examination of documentary sources on LED policies, practices and case studies in Ghana. We argue that while LED policy and practice in Ghana has been in existence for several years, local areas are still building their impetus for the initiative of their own economic development and find practical solutions that make sense in their milieu. It is crucial for local governments to develop LED actions plans, ensure effective participation of stakeholders, build in value chain and reduce politicisation. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V.

Source: UG
Policy arena: Moving forward research agendas on international NGOs: Theory, agency and context

This paper sets out an argument for moving forward research on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within developnment studies. The body of research on NGOs that emerged from the late 1980s onwards focused primarily on NGO roles as development actors and their organisational attributes, but paid less attention to theory and context. While such research had many positive strengths, it was also criticised for its normative focus, and for its vulnerability to changing development fashions and donor preoccupations. Today, attitudes to NGOs have grown more complex and ambiguous, and the institutional landscape in which NGOs are embedded is undergoing rapid change. A new wave of NGO-related research is underway which gives particular emphasis to theory, agency, method and context. Such approaches have the potential to consolidate the field of NGO research within development studies as a more stable and theoretically-grounded subject area. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UG