ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Effect of traditional processing of hausa koko (millet porridge) and ekoegbeme (cooked dehulled maize grits) on aflatoxins.

Aflatoxin is produced as secondary metabolites by fungi Aspergillus flavus, A.parasiticus and A. nominusmoulds. These fungi grow on various crop such as nuts, maize, millet and other grains. Chronic dietary ingestion of low dose of aflatoxin is a risk factor for liver cancer, however ingestion of high doses of aflatoxin contaminated food can result in aflatoxicosis with symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pains and jaundice. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of traditional processes of Hausa koko (millet porridge) and “ekoegbeme" (cooked dehulled maize grit) on aflatoxin. The level of aflatoxin G1, G2, B1, B2 and total aflatoxins were measured at the end of the various processing stages of each food product by HPLC method. The processing stage that produced significant reduction was identified by using ANOVA. Overall, processing of “ekoegbeme” resulted in more aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxin reduction than the processes involved in preparing Hausa koko. Fermentation of millet during Hausa koko processing resulted in 13.97 % and 4.82 % reduction in aflatoxin B2 and B1 respectively with total aflatoxin reduction of 4.9% while cooking of the fermented filtrate to Hausa koko resulted in 0.70 % and 1.85 % reduction in aflatoxin B2 and B1 respectively as well as 1.49 % reduction in total aflatoxin. However the steeping of the millet caused an increase of 11.88% and 7.67% in the aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxin respectively. The dehulling of the maize during preparation of ekoegbeme resulted in 100% reduction in aflatoxins while cooking of the maize resulted in 11.52 % reduction in total aflatoxin as well as 5.95 %, 3.97 %, 41.53 % reduction in aflatoxin B1, B2 and G1 respectively. There was no aflatoxin G2 detected in the maize and millet samples used for the investigations.

Source: KNUST
Effects of dopants on the conductivity of polyaniline Synthesized by chemical oxidation and electrochemical methods

Polyaniline salts (PANI-ES) were synthesized by chemical and electrochemical oxidation using primary dopants such as HCL, HNO3, H2SO4 and CH3COOH and the aniline as the monomer. All the synthesized PANI have resulted in emeraldine salts form as indicated by dark green colour of the salts. Various characterization techniques employed were UV-Visible spectroscopy, FT-IR and Cyclic voltammetery studies. All these techniques confirm the various properties of PANI. The characteristic bands in UV-Visible spectra of the samples indicate that effective doping has occurred in the synthesized polymer. Quinoid and benzenoid peaks at 1553-1596 cm- 1 and 1437 – 1496 cm-1 respectively were observed in all the samples. The band gaps for all the samples, both bulk and thin film, were obtained using the absorption spectra and Stern relation. PANI-H2SO4 had the least band gap for both bulk and thin film samples whereas PANI CH3COOH had the highest band gap. The voltammogram showed the various oxidation states during the electrochemical deposition at potential of 0.8 V. Four probe method was used to study the conductivity of both thin and bulk samples. The conductivity values for PANI-H2SO4 were found to be highest i.e. 1.183 S.cm−1 and 3.424 S.cm−1 for bulk and thin film respectively

Source: KNUST
Effects of probability sampling techniques on Gaussian naive bayes classification

We investigate the effect of probability sampling techniques on Gaussian Naive Bayes algorithm for predicting neonatal survival using three methods of error estimation. The study considered two hundred and sixty (260) data sets for both neonatal mortality and survival from January 1st to December 31st 2015 at Maternity and Babies Unity. Simple Random, Stratified and Repeated Systematic sampling techniques were applied to select three replicates with sample size of two hundred and eighty (204 neonatal survival and 76 neonatal mortality). The Age of a baby in days, Maternal age in years and number of Parity were the three predictors in the analysis. Gaussian Naive Bayes algorithm was used in the analysis and a confusion matrix based on a 5 fold cross validation , Leaveone- out cross-validation and Re-substitution procedures were used in the study to provide the basis for measuring the effect of probability sampling on Gaussian Naive Bayes algorithm. It was observed that in terms of accuracy, Stratified sampling technique had better performance under Leave-one-out cross-validation while simple random technique was better under 5-Fold cross-validation. In terms of precision or how close the predicted values are to each other, stratified sampling technique performed better under Leave-one-out cross-validation, simple random sampling was well performed under 5-fold-Cross-validation and systematic sampling under re-substitution. Moreover, in terms of sensitivity (proportion of correctly predicted positive neonatal survival given that the neonate come from neonatal survival class, stratified sampling techniques recorded maximum performance under 5-fold cross-Validation and leave-one-out cross-validation while Simple random sampling had better performance under Re-substitution. Moreover, in terms of specificity, stratified sampling technique had better performance under Leave-one-out cross-validation, simple random sampling was better under 5-fold-cross-validation and systematic sampling technique under re-substitution

Source: KNUST
Electronic Procurement Assimilation, Procurement Process and Value for Money in the Public Sector: Investigating the Role of Influence Mechanisms and Absorptive Capacity

The concept of value for money has become very critical in developing countries where states struggle to raise the needed revenue in-house and must augment with funds from international sources to finance public projects. Given the limited resources available to government, ensuring value for money in procurement is key to attain the optimum utilization of scarce budgetary resources. To realize the objective of value for money in public procurement, several interventions have been employed by developing nations including instilling professionalism in procurement actors, enacting procurement laws and implementing sustainable initiatives. One initiative is the use of electronic procurement systems in the public procurement process. These systems afford public sector organisations to respond rapidly to changes and to pursue technologically innovative strategies. The ability of public institutions to recognize the value of a new information, assimilate and apply it largely depends on the institutions’ prior knowledge, institutional pressures emanating from regulations that govern the practice of procurement in the public sector and government policies and initiatives. However, the relationships among institutional pressures, absorptive capacity, e-procurement assimilation and value for money have not been studied. The study first develops a survey instrument to measure value for money and examines how absorptive capacity and institutional pressures influence e-procurement assimilation and the tendering process to achieve value for money in public procurement. A total of 306 public entities were surveyed and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the empirical data. Theoretical implications of the study include: 1) institutional pressures and absorptive capacity are key drivers of an efficient and effective tendering process, 2) institutional pressure have direct effect on institutional absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of institutional pressures on e-procurement assimilation is mediated by absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of e-procurement assimilation on value for money is mediated by an efficient tendering process and 4) industry type has marginal statistical significance on the influence of institutional pressures and absorptive capacity on e-procurement assimilation leading to value for money in public procurement. Practical implication of this study include: 1) a legal framework for e-procurement would compel actors to comply and use the application, 2) provision of tools needed to scan, identify and assimilate new information necessary for e-procurement application use would enhance efficient procurement process and 3) the instrument developed could be used to conduct value for money audit prior to the selection of appropriate service providers in public sector tendering.

Source: KNUST
Energy Drink Consumption: Pattern and Effect on Commercial Drivers in Kumasi

For decades, the consumption of caffeinated beverages intended to “energize” has increased significantly. In Ghana, commercial drivers in major cities are rather at risk of daytime fatigue because of the many trips these drivers make to earn more money due to lack of regulation on the number of trips one makes in a day. Field observation shows that many commercial drivers rely heavily on energy drinks, however not much on this has been investigated. To address this, a cross sectional study was conducted on 210 commercial drivers across five taxi/bus stations in the Kumasi Metropolis. A structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and other information on the drivers’ pattern of energy drinks consumption. Five brands of energy drinks were sampled and analysed for presence of psychoactive agents such as benzodiazepines, cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, tetrahydrocanobinoids and tramadol using the dip 6 test kit. HPLC was used to detect and quantify caffeine in the energy drinks and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for detection of heavy metal contamination. The study showed the absence of the psychoactive agents’ benzodiazepines, cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, tetrahydrocanobinoids and tramadol in the energy drinks. However, varying amounts of caffeine were detected in the energy drinks. The study also showed significant association between the number of trips and the number of bottles of energy drinks consumed (r = 0.631. p-value < 0.05). Hence, an increase in the number of bottles will cause an increase in the number of trips taken. The R square value 0.398 (~0.4) shows a 40% probability that consumption of energy drinks makes drivers make more trips. This result is desirable enough to lead drivers on to consume more energy drinks, thereby making them only go on long hours of drive while reducing their efficiency (by causing restlessness, insomnmia and confusion) as drivers on the road due to the cognitive changes of the psychoactive substance. Heavy metal iron was detected in all of the energy drinks tested, and copper in one of them, all below the allowed concentrations. In conclusion, this study showed a high consumption of energy drinks among the drivers with no regard to safety on our roads.

Source: KNUST
Establishing inherent patterns in the score matrix of global sequence alignment

Global sequence alignment is one of the most basic pairwise sequence alignment procedures used in molecular biology to understand the similarity that arises among the structure, function or evolutionary relationship between two nucleotide sequences. The general algorithm associated with global sequence alignment is the dynamic programming algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch. This study exploits the inherent patterns that are found to be resident within the Score matrix of the Needleman Wunsch algorithm. With the help of some examples, the general patterns realized are formulated as new a-priori propositions and corollaries that are established for both equal and unequal length comparisons of any two arbitrary sequences. The suggestion of the patterns and establishment of the propositions aim at contributing to the optimal economy of the global sequence alignment procedure. Finally, it could serve for use as a predictive indicator in the scoring matrix of the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm in implementations.

Source: KNUST
Etude thematique et esthetique de quelques contes dagara : entre continuite et prolongement des recits traditionnels

Since the beginning of civilisation, folktales have been a rich treasure trove from which most societies derive their moral codes and values. To the Dagaaba people of Ghana and some of their neighboring countries, the narrating and listening processes based on both the physical and the socio-cultural environment of their communities, offer them the opportunity to discern the outcome of their actions in order to promote societal values. Quite apart from promoting their special interest in stereotypes and the different aspects of human behaviour, folktales are rapidly responding to their changing environment as evidenced by recent publications on folklore and their contemporary usage in songs, digital games, urban legend, the film industry and fantasy novels. In the wake of current globalization and its spill-over effects, however, what the young generation of Dagaaba and indeed other cultures need, is not just formal education stricto sensu but also, cultural literacy that grounds and portrays them in their own identity and tradition. As Folktales have continued to be an important genre of folklore that sustains and promotes our cultural heritage, what ought to be done to encourage the young Ghanaian to show interest in them? Having explored the importance of folktales all over the world and in Africa in particular, this study focuses on dagara folktales with the view to bringing to the fore their literary and aesthetic values, as well as juxtaposing them with contemporary and functional values of folktales in general. As the youth explore their own folktales from a pragmatic and pedagogical point of view, they will acquire a broader perspective of their people as well as their environment.

Source: KNUST
Evaluation of occupational health and safety hazards in cocoa marketing company (cmc) at kumasi inland port

Introduction: Ghana depends more on cocoa as a basic supporter of its economy. Nonetheless, management of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has been a source of concern to stakeholders in the cocoa industry. The study evaluated Occupational Health and Safety Hazards in Cocoa Marketing Company at Kumasi Inland Port. The study was carried out at Kaase, Kumasi. The current study is descriptive, and explanatory in nature. Methodology: A simple random sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. The study results were collected from 175 respondents using questionnaire. Quantitative approach was used in the analysis of the data. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to present the results. Results: The study found that respondents agreed that cocoa bags falling from height, slips, trips and falls, vehicle related hazards and fire related hazards were common OHSH in CMC. Majority of the employees (mean= 4.63) at CMC were aware that the company had health and safety representative and they follow safety procedures (mean= 4.35) when working. Also, stacking hazards (fall from heights) was the most frequent health and safety hazard with cocoa bags falling from height being the highest ranked hazard (mean= 4.65). Fire related hazard was not common and severe in the CMC. The key health and safety management practices adopted by CMC at Kumasi inland port to control the risks of hazards on site were that the supervisor took health and safety of employees very seriously in the company, and that risk assessment is carried out on a regular basis, employees are encouraged to adhere to the OHSA, safety concerns at CMC of employees are listened to by management, and that there was formal health and safety reporting mechanism at CMC. Conclusion: It was concluded that, workers in the company are aware of the presence of health and safety representatives as well as the roles they play. However, workers do not take the time to report to them during cases of incident despite the fact that, supervisors take the health of their subordinates seriously. Recommendations: CMC should provide more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all employees to help prevent risk and to reduce employees exposure to hazards. There should be regular monitoring on safety and health standards at all times to ensure that all employees complied with safety policies in the company.

Source: KNUST
Evaluation of occupational health and safety hazards in Cocoa marketing company (Cmc) at Kumasi inland port.

Introduction: Ghana depends more on cocoa as a basic supporter of its economy. Nonetheless, management of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has been a source of concern to stakeholders in the cocoa industry. The study evaluated Occupational Health and Safety Hazards in Cocoa Marketing Company at Kumasi Inland Port. The study was carried out at Kaase, Kumasi. The current study is descriptive, and explanatory in nature. Methodology: A simple random sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. The study results were collected from 175 respondents using questionnaire. Quantitative approach was used in the analysis of the data. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to present the results. Results: The study found that respondents agreed that cocoa bags falling from height, slips, trips and falls, vehicle related hazards and fire related hazards were common OHSH in CMC. Majority of the employees (mean= 4.63) at CMC were aware that the company had health and safety representative and they follow safety procedures (mean= 4.35) when working. Also, stacking hazards (fall from heights) was the most frequent health and safety hazard with cocoa bags falling from height being the highest ranked hazard (mean= 4.65). Fire related hazard was not common and severe in the CMC. The key health and safety management practices adopted by CMC at Kumasi inland port to control the risks of hazards on site were that the supervisor took health and safety of employees very seriously in the company, and that risk assessment is carried out on a regular basis, employees are encouraged to adhere to the OHSA, safety concerns at CMC of employees are listened to by management, and that there was formal health and safety reporting mechanism at CMC. Conclusion: It was concluded that, workers in the company are aware of the presence of health and safety representatives as well as the roles they play. However, workers do not take the time to report to them during cases of incident despite the fact that, supervisors take the health of their subordinates seriously. Recommendations: CMC should provide more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all employees to help prevent risk and to reduce employees exposure to hazards. There should be regular monitoring on safety and health standards at all times to ensure that all employees complied with safety policies in the company.

Source: KNUST
Evaluation of Physics Parameterization Scheme Combinations of the WRF Model in Reproducing Extreme Precipitation Events Over Ghana

In ascertaining the ability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in reproducing extreme rainfall events over Ghana, the WRF model is utilized to downscale dynamically the large scale forcing data, ERA-Interim, to identify and evaluate wet and dry periods over Ghana. This work aims to acquire an appro priate combination of physics schemes of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for extreme rainfall simulation over Ghana. The spatiotemporal performance of three precipitation-based indices: Very Wet, Extremely Wet and Consecutive Dry Days were analyzed. The analysis was carried out from April - November for two separate years, a dry (2001) and a wet (2008). These three indices were quantified from seven WRF combination schemes and compared with those considered from observational, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and from ERA-Interim data sets. All the various scheme combinations overestimated the observed spatiotemporal conduct of very wet and extremely wets days over the Southern half of the country especially along the Coastal zone for both years. The Northern sector was however underestimated by a number of the scheme combinations in the wet year. There was underestimation of the observed spatiotemporal conduct of the consecutive dry days by most scheme combinations. In general, the scheme combination of WRF Single Moment 5- Class microphysics scheme, Betts-Miller-Janjic cumulus scheme and the Asym metric Convective Model (ACM2) reproduced best the observed spatiotemporal ivwith least bias over Ghana. These scheme combinations are therefore suggested for evaluation of extreme rainfall events over Ghana. On the other hand, combi nation of WSM6, BMJ and ACM2 schemes is not appropriate for simulating of extreme rainfall events over Ghana due to their poor performance.

Source: KNUST
Evaluation of user perception of biometric system A case study of Acacia Medical Centre

Biometric systems involves security assurance to make our systems very secured and robust. Nowadays biometric technology has been fixed into new systems with the main aim of enforcing strong privacy and security. There have been a lot of innovative systems being introduce and majority have biometric installed to protect military bases, banking machines and other sophisticated systems such as on-line tracking systems and sensitive data protection. This has allow businesses to focus on their core mandate of doing business and have confidence in the data security aspect. Even though biometrics may serve many purposes and improve security, they have vulnerabilities as well. This work attempts to overcome the skepticism by proposing an improved countermeasures techniques to prevent attacks on biometric system. The proposed framework or model involves investigating the biometric vulnerabilities and countermeasures to safeguard against present and future attacks.

Source: KNUST
Exploring the antifertility potential of carica papaya seed extract in male albino rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Carica papaya seed on fertility of male albino rats. In all, twenty four (24) adult male albino rats and forty (40) adult female albino rats whose weights ranged between 160-180g and 160-170g respectively, were used for the research. Male albino rats were grouped randomly into four (4) with each group consisting of six (6) animals while a fifth group consisting of forty (40) females designated as C5, was created. The male groups were designated as C1, C2, C3 and C4. C1 animals served as the control and were administered only distilled water orally, whilst C2, C3 and C4 were given papaya seed extract of 1000mg/kg, 700mg/kg and 500mg/kg respectively each day for 45days. The animals from each group (C1, C2, C3 and C4) were paired with healthy adult female albino rats for mating. Semen samples were then collected for sperm analysis, after which they were then sacrificed, where their testes, liver and kidneys were obtained for pathological analysis. From the results, normal pregnancy was observed in females that were paired with C1 group, while females paired with C2 and C3 animals recorded zero pregnancy. Only one of the females paired with C4 animals got pregnant, but was naturally terminated along the way. Histopathological analysis revealed, disruption of the seminiferous tubules of the testes and sinusoidal congestion of the liver in C2 and C3 animals. The seminiferous tubules of the testes of C1 and C4 animals were however observed to be normal. Results from the sperm analysis showed a low percentage of motile and viable spermatozoa, and low sperm count in C1 and C3 animals, compared to the control. From the study, it can therefore be concluded that Carica papaya seed extract, when administered at a dose of 1000mg/kg and 700mg/kg induces contraception in male albino rats.

Source: KNUST