ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
TRANSNATIONAL PARADIGM WITHIN IMMIGRANT POLITICAL INTEGRATION DISCOURSE

This study examines the interplay between transnational political practice and political integration of immigrants. The paper further poses two key questions: does transnational politics affect the political integration of immigrants? And does transnational political practice compete with or complement political integration in the host country? This paper presents a fieldwork on Ghanaian political party branches in the Netherlands and how their members live the multi-stranded political life of both host and home countries between March 2014 and October 2014. The study shows however that in spite of the political participation of Ghanaian immigrants in Amsterdam, political representation in both home and host countries is barely present in both host and home countries. The study also confirms previous studies that transnational politics does not compete rather with but rather complements political integration in the host country.

Source: UG
Transparency and accountability in the management of oil revenues in Ghana [Transparenz und Rechenschaftspflicht bei der Verwaltung der ghanaischen Erdöleinnahmen]

This paper undertakes a five-year review of the management of oil revenues in Ghana since the commencement of oil production in 2010. Using reports from the Petroleum Transparency and Accountability Index, official records from key state agencies, and interviews with core individuals within the petroleum sector, the paper assesses the quality of transparency and accountability in the management of Ghana’s oil revenue. It argues that even though some progress has been made in the transparent and accountable use of oil revenues, more can be achieved if certain critical bills are passed and proactive interventions pursued without further delay on the part of government and policymakers within Ghana’s petroleum sector. These would help prevent both potential social conflict that may result from a lack of information on how oil revenues are utilised and the corrupt use of oil funds by politicians and people in authority within the oil industry. © 2016, GIGA German Institute for Global and Area Studies. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Transport of 14C-deferiprone in normal, thalassaemic and sickle red blood cells

The transport of deferiprone (L1) in normal (N), sickle (S) and thalassaemic (T) red blood cells (RBC) was determined by incubation with 14C-L1 at 37 degrees C. Following incubation with 0.5 mM 14C-L1 for 4 h, the intracellular concentration of L1 in T RBC was 3 times higher than was found extracellularly. In contrast, no concentration gradient across N and S RBC membranes was detected. Efflux studies showed that T RBC released only 17 +/- 2% of 14C-L1 into the extracellular space. We hypothesize that L1 accumulation in T RBC results from their high content of chelatable iron and formation of large, hydrophilic L1-Fe(III) complexes trapped within the cytosol.

Source: UG
Transsexuals within the prison system: An international survey of correctional services policies.

This survey examined policies of correctional facilities as they relate to transsexual inmates in the European Community as well as Australia, Canada and the United States. Where formal policies were reported, we inquired into whether these policies addressed the following issues: is hormonal therapy provided and if so under what conditions; are transsexual inmates at greater risk of physical or sexual assault; is surgery ever available to those in the prison system; and are placement decisions of corrections departments influenced by surgical status. We found that only 40% of correctional services departments had either formal or informal policies which addressed issues such as hormone treatment. While more than half of correctional services departments would not initiate hormone therapy, almost half would maintain previously prescribed hormone treatment. Genital status was the overwhelming factor in determining placement in a men's or women's prison. There was no consensus on the risk of either physical or sexual assault of transsexual inmates. The 60% of respondents without formal or informal policies were largely consistent in asserting that policy is developed and implemented on a case management basis in the best interests of the institution and the inmate.

Source: UG
Trapping Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Moths in Different Crop Habitats in Togo and Ghana

The economic impact of the invasion of Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) into Africa has so far been limited to maize agriculture but could potentially impact many other crops. Trapping based on pheromone lures provides a cost-effective method for detecting this important pest (commonly known as fall armyworm) and will be essential for large-scale monitoring of populations to determine its geographical distribution and migration behavior as the species equilibrates to its new environment. However, the effective use of pheromone trapping requires optimization for a given location. An earlier report demonstrated that two commercial lures (one 3-component and the other 4-component) that were effective for trapping S. frugiperda in maize fields in Togo, Africa. The current study extends these findings to agricultural areas that differ in plant host composition (maize, pasture grasses, rice, and sorghum) in multiple locations in Ghana and Togo. In two seasons, significantly higher numbers of moths were found in maize, and in one season, higher numbers were found in rice than in sorghum and pasture grass systems. The results confirm the effectiveness of pheromone trapping and identify pheromone lures and trapping methods best suited for the different agroecosystems common to West Africa and that are at risk of infestation by S. frugiperda.

Source: UG
Travel behaviour prediction amid covid-19 underlaying situational awareness theory and health belief model

Travel and tourism have been hard-hit by COVID-19, and people have been forced to cancel travel plans due to governments being forced to implement travel bans to curb infection dissemination. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of situational awareness for adopting health protective behaviours such as postponed travel plans. We used the theory of situational awareness (SAT) coupled with the health belief model (HBM) to analyze health-related behaviors. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 705 Pakistani and international adults were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling, during the peak of the COVID-19. The results confirmed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 cause influences perceived severity, understanding of contracting COVID-19 influences perceived susceptibility, and perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention influences both perceived barriers and perceived benefits. The results further showed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention is a strong predictor of self-efficacy, which ultimately influences health-protective behaviour. In addition, the sentiment analysis revealed that as COVID-19 continues to rise, people are becoming more sentimental and avoiding travel, even during festivals. The outcome of this study demonstrates that situational awareness has an effect on the postulates of health protective measures and plays a key role in the implementation of protective measures such as canceling travel plans to ensure protection

Source: UG
Travelling through Memory Lane: Theological Education in the World Council of Churches1

The paper highlights crucial stages in the development of the programme on Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) in the World Council of Churches which in its earlier incarnations goes back to the Accra Conference of the International Missionary Council and the emergence of the Theological Education Fund (TEF). In referring to the Oslo world conference on theological education 1996 some key areas of the mandate of ETE and of its future perspectives are developed, including its relation to the WOCATI network and its strategic importance for the WCC. © 2009 World Council of Churches.

Source: UG
Travels and Discoveries North and Central Africa: being A Journal of an Expedition

The death of Mr, Overweg, happening at a period when the prospects of the mission just began to brighten, induced me to relinquish my original plan of once more trying my fortune in Ranem and on the N.E. shores of the Tsad, as an undertaking too dangerous for me in my isolated position, and the results of which could not reasonably be expected to be great, even with the protection of a small force, in a disturbed country, in comparison with the dangers that accompanied it, Besides, such was the character of the horde of the Welad Sliman and their mode of warfare, that after having received the sanction of the British Government for my proceedings, and being authorised by them to carry out the objects of the mission as at first projected, I could scarcely venture to associate myself again with such a lawless set of people

Source: UG
Travels in West Africa

IT, was in 1893 that, for the first time in my life, I found myself in possession of five or six months which were not heavily forestalled, and feeling like a boy with a new halfcrown, I lay about in my mind, as Mr. Bunyan would say, as to what to do with them. "Go and learn your tropics," said Science. Where on earth am I to go, I wondered, for tropics are tropics wherever found, so I got down an atlas and saw that either South America or " lest Africa must be my destination, for the Malayan region was too far off and too expensive. Then [got Wallace's Geograpltica! Distribution and after reading that master's article on the Ethiopian region I hardened my heart and closed with West Africa. I did this the more readily because while I knew nothing of the practical condition of it, I knew a good deal both by tradition and report of South East America, am\ remembered that Yellow Jack was endemic, and that a certain naturalist, my superior physically and mentally, had come very near getting starved to death in the depressing society of an expedition slowly 'perishing of want and miscellaneous fevers up the Parana.

Source: UG
Travels through the Interior of Africa in Cape of Good Hope to Morocco

The avidity with which travels into Africa have been read by the public, promises to secure to this work a favourable reception. The travels hitherto published may be said to give merely a glimpse into the interior of that vast continent, and a thousand 'miles in a straight line from the coast, has been the extremity of every former excursion, while our present author has explored an extent of ten thousand miles through the very heart of the, country. VAILLANT, PARKE, BRUCE, BROWNE, and SONNINI added but little to our knowledge, and after all their efforts, the map of Africa remained still disfigured by a blank space entitled “Parts wholly unknown to Europeans."

Source: UG
Treating burkitt's lymphoma in Malawi, Cameroon, and Ghana.

The Special Report: International published in the April issue of The Lancet Oncology, raised valid concerns about the issue of treating childhood Burkitt's lymphoma in Kenya and Uganda.1 These same concerns were voiced by delegates from 13 African countries at the first African Continental Conference of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 1994. At the end of this conference, a decision was made to develop effective and affordable treatment for African children with endemic Burkitt's lymphoma. At that time, over 90% event-free survival was being achieved in French children with sporadic Burkitt's lymphoma by use of short, but intensive, multidrug chemotherapeutic regimens adapted to initial tumour burden and response to chemotherapy.2 However, these Lymphome Malins de Burkitt (LMB) regimens included high doses of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and methotrexate and needed a high level of supportive care. Thus, these regimens were clearly not feasible for the treatment of malnourished children with comorbidities in Africa. Hence, SIOP supported a study in Malawi, in which an overall 52% 1-year event-free survival was achieved for patients with St Jude stage I, II, or III endemic Burkitt's lymphoma, by use of a simplified LMB-like protocol. However, the cost of this treatment was too high and there were many toxic effects.3

Source: UG
Treating fever in children under 5 years of age: Caregiver perceptions of community health worker services in Dangme West district, Ghana

Background: Integrated community case management of childhood illnesses is a key strategy to help reduce mortality in children under 5 years; particularly those with difficult access to treatment. However, the success of such strategies depends on community utilization of services. This study assessed community utilization, perceptions and related factors of community health worker services. Methods: Data were gathered from a cross-sectional survey among 562 caregivers and focus group discussions among 84 caregivers. Factors related to utilization of community health workers (CHWs) for management of childhood fevers were analyzed using logistic regression and focus group discussions to explore caregiver perceptions of CHW activities. Results: Utilization of CHWs for management of fever in under-5s was 59.4%. Caregivers who were exposed to the communication intervention were about four times more likely to use the services of the CHWs compared to those who were not exposed (OR 3.79; 95% CI 2.62-5.49; p<0.001). Farmers were 84% more likely to use CHW services for children sick with fever compared to those who were unemployed (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.00-3.39; p=0.05). Caregiver perceptions of the program were generally positive; most caregivers expressed satisfaction with the CHW services, citing prompt treatment, friendliness and free medicines. Male involvement in the CHW program was comparatively low. Conclusions: Dissemination of information among priority groups can enhance utilization of CHW services. Exploring the perspective of both men and women to gain in-depth understanding on their views on male involvement will be useful for planning appropriate strategies to get more males involved in community-based child health programs. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
A Treatise upon the Trade from Great – Britain to Africa.

Whoever is thoroughly acquainted with the true interest of Great Britain, must know, that to her foreign commerce she is indebted for her present greatness, its support and preservation. The very land of England depends upon the sea; to commerce we owe the increase of our national treasure, the breed and excellency and plentiful supply of seamen; the security of our public credit; the regular payment of the funded interest, and in short, every advantage which can excite a spirit of industry to acquire the comfort of life.

Source: UG
Treatment choices for fevers in children under-five years in a rural Ghanaian district

Abstract Background Health care demand studies help to examine the behaviour of individuals and households during illnesses. Few of existing health care demand studies examine the choice of treatment services for childhood illnesses. Besides, in their analyses, many of the existing studies compare alternative treatment options to a single option, usually self-medication. This study aims at examining the factors that influence the choices that caregivers of children under-five years make regarding treatment of fevers due to malaria and pneumonia in a rural setting. The study also examines how the choice of alternative treatment options compare with each other. Methods The study uses data from a 2006 household socio-economic survey and health and demographic surveillance covering caregivers of 529 children under-five years of age in the Dangme West District and applies a multinomial probit technique to model the choice of treatment services for fevers in under-fives in rural Ghana. Four health care options are considered: self-medication, over-the-counter providers, public providers and private providers. Results The findings indicate that longer travel, waiting and treatment times encourage people to use self-medication and over-the-counter providers compared to public and private providers. Caregivers with health insurance coverage also use care from public providers compared to over-the-counter or private providers. Caregivers with higher incomes use public and private providers over self-medication while higher treatment charges and longer times at public facilities encourage caregivers to resort to private providers. Besides, caregivers of female under-fives use self-care while caregivers of male under-fives use public providers instead of self-care, implying gender disparity in the choice of treatment. Conclusions The results of this study imply that efforts at curbing under-five mortality due to malaria and pneumonia need to take into account care-seeking behaviour of caregivers of under-fives as well as implementation of strategies.

Source: UG
Treatment choices for fevers in children under-five years in a rural Ghanaian district.

Background: Health care demand studies help to examine the behaviour of individuals and households during illnesses. Few of existing health care demand studies examine the choice of treatment services for childhood illnesses. Besides, in their analyses, many of the existing studies compare alternative treatment options to a single option, usually self-medication. This study aims at examining the factors that influence the choices that caregivers of children underfive years make regarding treatment of fevers due to malaria and pneumonia in a rural setting. The study also examines how the choice of alternative treatment options compare with each other. Methods: The study uses data from a 2006 household socio-economic survey and health and demographic surveillance covering caregivers of 529 children under-five years of age in the Dangme West District and applies a multinomial probit technique to model the choice of treatment services for fevers in under-fives in rural Ghana. Four health care options are considered: self-medication, over-the-counter providers, public providers and private providers. Results: The findings indicate that longer travel, waiting and treatment times encourage people to use self-medication and over-the-counter providers compared to public and private providers. Caregivers with health insurance coverage also use care from public providers compared to over-the-counter or private providers. Caregivers with higher incomes use public and private providers over self-medication while higher treatment charges and longer times at public facilities encourage caregivers to resort to private providers. Besides, caregivers of female under-fives use self-care while caregivers of male under-fives use public providers instead of self-care, implying gender disparity in the choice of treatment. Conclusions: The results of this study imply that efforts at curbing under-five mortality due to malaria and pneumonia need to take into account care-seeking behaviour of caregivers of under-fives as well as implementation of strategies

Source: UG
Treatment of ameloblastoma of the jaws in children

To report the surgical experience on the treatment of ameloblastoma of the jaws in children. This is a prospective study of six children below the age of 16 years with ameloblastoma of the jaws seen at the Maxillofacial Unit of the Department of Surgery, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital over a fifteen year period. The clinico-pathological data and management of these children is presented here. The initial surgical technique used in their treatment consisted of one mandibular resection three enucleations with preservation of the surrounding dentition, and two marginal mandibular resections, preserving the lingual cortical plate in one, and the lower cortical border in the other. Though the end result of treatment in all the six children was satisfactory, all the three cases of enucleation showed signs of recurrence soon after and needed repeated surgery. In terms of long term cure for this tumour, enucleation has limited benefits. In children however, especially in those afflicted with the unilocular type, enucleation may be used as an interim procedure for the mandible to achieve further growth before carrying out a more appropriate definitive surgery.

Source: UG
Treatment of Burkitt's lymphoma: The African experience.

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
Treatment of COVID-19 with Chloroquine: Implication for Malaria Chemotherapy Using ACTs in Disease Endemic Countries

Based on reports of parasite resistance and on World Health Organization recommendation, chloroquine was replaced with the artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) as the first choice of drugs for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. Disuse of chloroquine led to restoration of drug-sensitive para site to some extent in certain countries. Ever since chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine were touted as potential treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there has been a dramatic surge in de mand for the drugs. Even in areas where chloroquine is proscribed, there has been an unexpected in crease in demand and supply of the drug. This situation is quite worrying as the indiscriminate use of chloroquine may produce drug-resistant parasites which may impact negatively on the efficacy of amo diaquine due to cross-resistance. Amodiaquine is a partner drug in one of the ACTs and in some of the drugs used for intermittent preventive treatment. We herein discuss the consequences of the escalated use of chloroquine in the management of COVID-19 on chemotherapy or chemoprevention of malaria and offer an advice. We speculate that parasite strains resistant to chloroquine will escalate due to the increased and indiscriminate use of the drug and consequently lead to cross-resistance with amodiaquine which is present in some drug schemes aforementioned. Under the circumstance, the anticipated hope of reverting to the use of the ‘resurrected chloroquine’ to manage malaria in future is likely to diminish. The use of chloroquine and its derivatives for the management of COVID-19 should be controlled.

Source: UG
Treatment of falciparum malaria with a tea-bag formulation of cryptolepis sanguinolenta root

The Clinical Pathology Department conducts research that contributes to intervention strategies and safeguards of public health in Ghana. In view of this the Department carries out research into plant medicine development, drug interactions and regulation, bio-monitoring and prevention of poisoning from environmental toxicants (e.g. mycotoxins specifically aflatoxins and toxic heavy metals). The Department also provides specialized laboratory services in support of public health programmes.

Source: UG