ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Patronage of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Free Banking in Ghana: the Case of Standard Chartered Bank- Harper Road Adum Branch, Kumasi

In Ghana, developments in information and communication technology are radically changing the way business is done. These developments in technology have resulted in new delivery channels for banking products and services such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Telephone Banking, PC-Banking, and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPoS). Most retail banking research has explored Automated* Teller Machine (ATM) usage entirely from the viewpoint of customers' demographics. This study evaluates the perceptions of banking customers regarding the effect of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) innovations on banking services in Ghana. « The study also seeks to examine ATM usage patterns on the basis of customers' perceptions of the patronage of this innovation. Besides, it seeks to determine the association between customer ATM usage patterns and their perceptions of ATM attributes by identifying those variables which distinguish users like convenience, reliability, and suitability. The study focused on customers with banks that have at least one form of technological innovation. Furthermore, it indicates that most users perceive ATMs as mere cash dispensers. The results of the study generally indicate that, technological innovation or electronic delivery channels have contributed positively to the provision of banking services and the growth of the Ghanaian banking industry. Successful marketing strategies must be adopted to focus on the most important attributes of ATMs as well as identify different user groups and develop strategies to maximize their patronage. In fact, information about banking industry in Ghana cannot be traced easily, but the researcher managed to get information from other reliable sources. This study employed the following data collection techniques: document, questionnaire and interviews. The type of data collected was quantitative and qualitative. The secondary data sources were mostly textual, data gathered from business periodicals and reports, professional periodicals, annual reports and' financial statements of Standard Chartered Bank and the library materials such as, textbooks, articles, with relevant materials on the topic as well as reports and publications from other local and international newspapers, journals and magazines were consulted; the aim is to find development of automation system of banking under discussion. The documents used for the study were written and edited by experienced and renowned authors and institutions.

Source: KNUST
Pattern of antibacterial use: a case study of the surgical and medical emergency unit of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

The use of antimicrobials has contributed to the dramatic fall in morbidity from communicable and infectious diseases over the last 50 years globally, as to increasingly high levels of expenditure on and consumption of antimicrobials. A substantial proportion of the total drug budget in many countries is dedicated to antibiotics and they are often the largest single group of drugs purchased in developing countries. In developing countries like Ghana, relatively high levels of availability and consumption have led to disproportionately higher incidence of inappropriate use and greater levels of resistance compared to developed countries. This study tends to look at the pattern of antibacterial use in Surgical and Medical Emergency Unit of the Korlebu Teaching Hospital to serve as a baseline for further work. The unit where the work is taking place is the last referred point for the southern part of Ghana for most non-trauma emergencies. The work was to determine whether antibiotics are used in response to microbiological tests and also whether prescriptions conform to acceptable standards. A prospective study of patients admitted at the three wards of the Surgical and Medical Emergency Unit was undertaken from 14th January 2009 to 14th March 2009. Data Collection Sheets were used to collect data from patients’ medical records while on admission over the period. Patients’ records were reviewed once daily for 5 days until they were transferred to other units, discharged or died. The main findings are: 1. Only 39 (39%) Prescribers requested for Culture and Sensitivity test during the period. 2. Of the number that requested Culture and Sensitivity test, only 2 (5.1 %) had their results before antibacterial therapy was initiated. 3. 62.4% (63) of the patients received more than one antibacterial drug during the period. 4. The highest frequently used antibacterial was ciprofloxacin 48 (23.3%) followed closely by metronidazole 46 (22.3%) and then by Co-Amoksiclav 40 (19.4%). 5. 83.7% (164) of the used drugs were generic with 16.3% (32) branded. 6. 54.4% of drugs were administered through the parenteral route, 45% through the oral route and 0.6% by the topical route. Ciprofloxacin was the highest used drug and many of its prescriptions were for ‘blind’ therapy. Culture and sensitivity test results were hardly used in the selection of antibacterial therapies. The study therefore concluded that antibacterials were mostly used without basis for their choices.

Source: KNUST
Patterns of common wood defects in some Ghanaian timber species

Studies were conducted to assess defect status of some Ghanaian timber species in different forest zones and tree locations to establish wood defect patterns in the high forest zone of Ghana. Data were collected from the field records located in the archives of Timber Industry Development Division (T.I.D.D.) of the Forestry Commission of Ghana. Eighteen defects classified into shape, structural and deterioration were assessed for 40 species from off-reserve areas and 30 forest reserves for 5524 logs captured on the Log Measurement Conveyance Certificate (LAMCC) for the period of 1998 through 2001. Data were pooled for intraspecific comparison using various statistical procedures. Association among defects and log sizes were determined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient while differences among proportions of incidence of defects in different forest zones and tree locations, and association between defects and species were determined using chi-square test of proportion and independence. The study showed that every species exhibited at least a defect. Both low and high density, as well as durable and non-durable species of wood exhibited blemishes, which were dominated by natural defects; accordingly, there were no clean logs. The most prevalent defect was shakes, which constituted about 26% of total defects in the logs and were significant. The other common defects were identified to be irregular bole, buttresses, stain, heart-off- centre, bumps, splits, knots, decay heart and worm holes. Other defects which were relative/y rare ranged between 0.02 to 1.7%. A significant association was established between some species and defects, also incidences of defects in some species were influenced by the forest zone and tree location. The study established correlation between log size and incidence of defects in some species thus giving a partial credence to the size-associated defects assertion of the timber industry. In addition, natural defect category was associated with forest zones but not tree locations. Logs from the wet forest zone of Ghana were noted to be more susceptible to heart defects, buttresses, fluting, knots and stains among others. It was observed that timber species which are high/y priced were harvested irrespective of their forms and the high severity of shape defects reflected the state of the resources in the forest. The high incidence of preventable post harvest defects and fissures, pointed to a poor level of quality control measures in logging practices, which affect utility determination. There is therefore the need to manage factors influencing wood quality to conserve resources and to ensure quality products and efficiency to sustain employment levels and benefits accruing to the nation from timber.

Source: KNUST
Pattern of Childhood Cancers Presenting to the Paediatric Cancer Unit of a Tertiary Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana

Introduction: Childhood cancers are increasing in incidence worldwide with geographic differences having an impact on the types of cancers seen. The main aim of this study was to assess the trends in yearly proportions and number of cases seen, to determine age and gender proportions of the types of cancers and types of childhood cancers diagnosed at the cancer unit from 2012 through 2014. The purpose of this study is to set the baseline framework for future research to improve knowledge, clinical care and advocacy programmes for the newly established paediatric cancer unit in KATH in Kumasi, Ghana. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to review secondary data from the paediatric cancer registry of all patients aged 0-15 years diagnosed with cancer by fine needle aspiration cytology and tissue biopsy at the paediatric cancer unit from 2012-2014. Demographic, anthropometric and clinical data stored in excel was exported to Stata and analysed. Simple descriptive statistics was used and presented in tables. Results: Out of 309 cases, 187(60.5%, 95%CI: 54.8-66.0) were males. Burkitt’s lymphoma (126, 40.8%) was the most common cancer seen followed by Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (31, 10%), Wilm’s Tumour (28, 9.1%), other NonHodgkin’s Lymphoma (28, 9.1%), and retinoblastoma (22, 7.1%). Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was the commonest cancer in the age group 10-15 years, Burkitt ’s lymphoma in the 5-10 year age group and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in the under 5 years group. Conclusion and Recommendations: There is an observable trend in the progressive increment in the number of cancer cases presenting to the unit over the three years period. Except for the lymphomas, CNS cancers and osteosarcomas which were commoner in the 5-9 years age group, most of the other childhood cancers; leukaemias, renal cancers, soft tissue sarcomas and neuroblatomas were predominant in the 0-4 year age group. Except for a few rare cancers, majority of the common cancers affected more males than females in the paediatric population studied. The Male: Female ratio of all the cases was 1.5:1. The lymphomas were the commonest cancers diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma being the highest among the 5-9 years group. The acute lymphoblastic leukaemias were next to the lymphomas in KATH. Based on these findings, further studies need to be conducted into the specific clinical patterns particularly, the lymphomas and leukaemias for better case management.

Source: KNUST
Patterns of illness among children with sickle cell disease accessing care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana.

Children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) suffer from several forms of complications. Some chronic, others acute which result in their frequent visits to the hospital. SCD is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is very common. Reports from focused studies carried out in Ghana, indicate a carrier rate ranging from 10% to 30% in the population whereas 2% of all new-borns have SCD, with the common genotypes being HbSS and HbSC. Reliable data on the common presentations and accompanying complications presented are lacking. This study was therefore carried out to identify the patterns of Illness presented by children with SCD to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). This was a cross-sectional study that involved the use of secondary data from the Sickle Cell Clinic at KATH for a period of three years (2012- 2014). Data from children aged ≤ 14 years with SCD accessing care at the hospital were extracted and analysed on the basis of demographic details, haemoglobin genotype, types of crises, associated infections, diagnosis and number of visits within the period. Stata software version 11 was used to test for associations between demographic factors and development of crises. Altogether 234 children were recruited within the study period. The common crises presented were vaso-occlusive (44%) followed by haemolytic crises (35%). The most common associated infection was malaria (20.8%). The study revealed significant association of age, gender and co-morbidity to the development of SCD crises. Being in the age group 10-14, [AOR= 4.8, 95% CI, 2.16- 10.99: p-value <0.001] and having malaria as an infection, [AOR=4.7, 95% CI, (1.60- 13.86): p-value=0.005], had a statistically significant association with developing pain episode. Male gender was associated with developing haemolytic crisis [AOR=2.3, 95% CI, 1.09 – 4.91: p-value=0.027]. Sickle Cell Disease presents with several complications that may be associated with age, gender and current associated infections. Knowledge of one’s state and prevention of intercurrent illnesses could result in a reduction in complications.

Source: KNUST
Patterns and determinants of fresh fruit and vegetable intake among pupils of basic schools in the Amansie West District of The Ashanti Region

The benefits of fruits and vegetable consumption have been numerously documented. However, large proportions of children both in and out of school do not fulfill the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Therefore a study was conducted to determine the patterns and determinants of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among basic school students in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti region. The study sought to determine the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables to students, evaluate the frequency of consumption and quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, to assess the effect of the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables on the health of students and to evaluate the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among students. Questionnaires were administered to about 314 students in Basic schools of the Amansie West District and analysed using SPSS. Laboratory analysis conducted on fruits and vegetables from both the farm and market was analyzed using the student T-test. From the results, students (56.1%) consumed fruits while 74.2% consumed vegetables. Fruits and vegetables, respectively were found to be readily available to students from their parent farm (53.82; 71.97%), market (19.75%; 4.78%) and garden (12.74%; 2.23%).Majority of students (66.6%) consumed fruits once a day while few (29.6 %) consumed vegetables once a day. The major determinants for both fruit and vegetable consumption among the pupils was familiarity with the fruit and vegetables (94.6%) whereas Taste (61.8%) and food safety (40.4%) were the major quality determinants for fruits and vegetables, respectively. Logistic regression also showed that students were 0.7 times less likely to fall sick for every vegetable eaten and 2 times less likely for every fruit eaten when all other factors were controlled. From the health record of the Amansie West District hospital of the age range of respondents and their eating habit of fruits and vegetables including the treatment given to the fruits and vegetables before consumption could be contributory factors to the high reports of diarrhoea in the District. However, from the laboratory analysis the microbial load levels of Total Plate Count, Total Mould Count, Total Coliform and E. coli present on fruit and vegetable samples from the laboratory analysis were within the acceptable range for human consumption (less than 3log10cfu/g). It can therefore be concluded that student in the district consumed more fruits than vegetables due to their familiarity with fruits. Educating them and making more fruits and vegetables available to them may improve consumption and thereby their health

Source: KNUST
“Paul Sagoe” Commercial Precinct, Adum, Kumasi

A design is proposed for a multi-functional centre as part of a redevelopment scheme for the Kumasi Central Business District (C. B. D.) It is to provide essential services to its immediate environs though it is envisaged that as a C. B. D. development, It will perform on a regional and national scale. The scheme is designed to utilize advanced technology and should be realizable by the year 2010.

Source: KNUST
Patterns of Woody Plant Species Richness, Diversity and Structure along a Disturbance Gradient in the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve, Eastern Region, Ghana

ABSTRACT The Atiwa Range Forest Reserve is one of the biodiversity hotspots in Ghana, but no comprehensive study has been carried out to assess the role of human disturbance on plant biodiversity in the area. The study was therefore, carried out to determine the effects of human disturbance on the patterns of woody plant species richness, diversity and structure in the forest. The study was carried out in three forest stands with varying human disturbance (Non-disturbed, moderately disturbed and heavily disturbed forests), within thirty 50 m × 50 m plots (10 plots in each forest stand). A total of 142 woody species belonging to 114 genera and 51 families were identified in three forest stands in the forest reserve. Trees constituted the most dominant woody plant species identified in the forest with Cedrela odorata, Allamblakia floribunda and Albizia zygia being the overall dominant species identified. In all the life forms, species richness decreased from the non-disturbed forest through moderately disturbed forest to the heavily disturbed forest. Tree diversity declined significantly with increasing disturbance. Liana diversity also differed significantly between the non-disturbed forest and heavily disturbed forest, and the moderately disturbed forest and heavily disturbed forest. For shrubs, the non-disturbed forest was significantly more diverse than the heavily disturbed forest while diversity between the other forest pairs did not vary significantly. The mean basal area of trees in the non-disturbed forest was higher than those of the other forest blocks. The mean liana basal area decreased with increasing disturbance. Plant densities also differed significantly among the forest stands. The pattern of plant density for both trees and lianas was similar to that of basal area of trees. The diameter distribution pattern for trees was irregular in all the forest types and that for lianas in the non-disturbed and moderately disturbed forests followed the inverted J shape. Canopy cover of trees was high in the non-disturbed forest than in disturbed forests. The disparity in the forest areas under studied is due to frequent human disturbances going on in the forest, thus compromising the ‘health’ of the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve,2011

Source: KNUST
Pearl millet instant beverage powder enriched with baobab pulp to improve iron and anaemia status of adolescent girls in rural Ghana: a study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Iron (Fe) deficiency anaemia is a public health concern among adolescent girls worldwide. Food-to-food fortification may be a sustainable and effective solution to Fe deficiency anaemia. However, the effect of food-to-food fortification on Fe deficiency anaemia reduction is understudied particularly in Ghana. This study seeks to investigate the efficacy of baobab pulp-fortified pearl millet beverage powder in improving the Fe and anaemia status of adolescent girls in Ghana. A three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial design, which will involve 258 anaemic adolescent girls (86/arm) selected through multi-stage cluster sampling in Kumbungu District of Ghana, will be used. Participants in arm 1 will receive 350 ml of baobab pulp-fortified pearl millet beverage, containing 13 mgFe (96 % of average RDA), 18·8 mg vitamin C (30·4 % of average RDA) and 222·1 mg citric acid, while participants in arm 2 will receive similar volume of unfortified pearl millet beverage, once a day, five times a week, for six months. Participants in arm 3 will receive the routine weekly Fe (60 mg)-folate (400 μg) supplementation for six months. Serum ferritin, C-reactive protein and haemoglobin (Hb) of participants will be assessed at baseline and end-line. The primary outcomes will be serum ferritin and Hb concentrations. Secondary outcomes will be prevalence of Fe deficiency, Fe deficiency anaemia and BMI-for-age. One-way ANOVA and paired t test will be used to compare means of serum ferritin and Hb levels among and within groups, respectively. This study will provide novel concrete evidence on the efficacy of pearl millet-baobab pulp beverage powder in improving Fe and anaemia status of adolescents

Source: KNUST
PCR assay for direct specific detection of Bradyrhizobium elite strain BR 3262 in root nodule extracts of soil-grown cowpea

Aims Successful inoculation of legume crops with rhizobia depends on dominating nodule occupancy with highly efficient strains. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and reliable conventional PCR method ology to specifically detect an elite Bradyrhizobium strain in root nodule extracts from soil-grown cowpea plants. Methods The draft genome sequence of Bradyrhizobium pachyrhizi BR 3262 was compared to the closely related strain PAC 48T .BR 3262-specific regions were selected to design specific primer pairs, which were tested with respect to PCR amplification specificity and efficiency on extracted DNA, bacterial cells and root nodules from cowpea plants grown under gnotobiotic conditions and in soil. Results Eleven designed primer pairs were specific for BR 3262 amplification and two of them (pairs 2645 and 2736) were highly sensitive and selected for further analyses. Experiments with gnotobiotic and soil-grown plants showed that both primer pairs were suitable to reliably determine nodule occupancy and confirmed the competitiveness of strain BR 3262 in natural soil. Conclusions Primer pairs 2645 and 2736 are novel tools to accompany the fate of strain BR 3262 in inoculation experiments of cowpea in soil. This strategy should be applicable to other rhizobium/legume symbioses in the field.

Source: KNUST
Pectin isolation and characterization from six okra genotypes

Pectin was isolated by aqueous extraction at pH 6.0 from the pods of six different okra genotypes (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). Genetic diversity was determined using fragment length analysis (FLA) of ten simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Physical and chemical evaluation of pectin was performed by means of FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy, sugar composition analysis (GC-MS), size exclusion chromatography coupled to multi-angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS), dilute solution viscometry and steady shear rheology assisted by principal component analysis (PCA). Each of the SSR markers detected on average 4.1 alleles and revealed unique genotypes for each sample. Extraction yield was between 11 and 14% resulting in pectin with galacturonic acid content between 43 and 63%, low degree of methylesterification (17e25%) and high degree of acetylation (20e40%). All samples were of high weightaverage molar mass (Mw) (700e1700 103 g mol1 ) and sugar composition analysis revealed the structural diversity of samples with HG/RG-I ratios ranging between 1.3 and 3.1. The present work shows that individual okra genotypes provide pectin with different structural properties that could potentially provide a new source of functional pectin for the food or pharmaceutical industries.

Source: KNUST