ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Lung Function Abnormalities in Sickle Cell Anaemia

Background. Abnormalities in lung function tests have been shown to commonly occur in a majority of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) even at steady state. The prevalence and pattern of these lung function abnormalities have been described in other populations but this is unknown among our sickle cell cohort. There is generally little information available on risk factors associated with the lung function abnormalities and its relevance in patient care. Method. This was an analytical cross-sectional study involving 76 clinically stable, hydroxyurea-naive adult Hb-SS participants and 76 nonsickle cell disease (non-SCD) controls. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data and clinical history of the participants. Investigations performed included spirometry, pulse oximetry, tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity (TRV) measurements via echocardiogram, complete blood counts, free plasma haemoglobin, serum urea, and creatinine. Results. Weight, BMI, mean FVC, and FEV1% predicted values were comparatively lower among the Hb-SS patients (p < 0.001). Abnormal spirometry outcome occurred in 70.4% of Hb-SS patients, predominantly restrictive defects (p < 0.001), and showed no significant association with steady-state Hb, WBC count, free plasma haemoglobin, frequency of sickling crisis, chronic leg ulcers, and TRV measurements (p > 0.05). The mean oxygen saturation was comparatively lower among Hb-SS patients (p < 0.001). Conclusion. Measured lung volumes were significantly lower in Hb-SS patients when compared to non-SCD controls and this difference was not influenced by anthropometric variance. Lung function abnormalities, particularly restrictive defects, are prevalent in Hb-SS patients but showed no significant association with recognized markers of disease severity.

Source: UG
Lupus anticoagulant and leg ulcers in sickle cell anemia

Background: The cause of chronic leg ulcer (CLU) in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) is unknown; it has been attributed to hypercoagulability associated with the disease. Recently, it has been suggested that a subset of SCA patients may be prone to developing CLU and that hemolysis may be an underlying factor in the development of CLU. The lupus anticoagulant (LA) is an antiphospholipid antibody (aPLa), these antibodies have been described in patients with SCA. Aims: This study was designed to determine the frequency of LA in SCA patients with CLU compared with those without CLU. Materials and Methods: Study design is a descriptive, cross-sectional one. Thirty-three SCA patients with CLU and 33 patients without CLU were screened for the presence of LA using the Kaolin clotting time (KCT), which is an important assay, and Kaolin clotting time index was calculated. Means were compared using the students' t test, proportions were compared using the chi-square test, level of significance was set at 0.05, odds ratio was calculated. Results: About 18.18% of patients with CLU had LA, compared with 6.06% among controls ( P < 0.05); odds ratio was 3.44 (95% CI 0.64 - 18.51). Conclusions: We conclude that SCA patients with CLU may be more likely to develop LA, and this may be related to the degree of hemolysis. Further studies are required to find out if CLU and LA are a result of hemolysis or if LA is responsible for the higher incidence of hemolysis and CLU found among these patients

Source: UG
Lupus anticoagulant in human immunodeficiency virus -infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is a heterogeneous group of antibodies that causes a variety of clinical and laboratory effects; has been described in infections such as human immunodeficiency virus. LA has not been previously described in Nigerians with human immunodeficiency virus infection on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Aim: To determine the frequency of LA in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus on HAART. Methods: Cross sectional study of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection undergoing HAART at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Screening for LA was done using the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and kaolin clotting time (KCT). Mixing experiments were conducted on samples with prolonged clotting time. KCT ratio was calculated. A positive result was taken as KCT ratio greater than or equal to 1.2. Fisher's exact test was used to test the association between LA and sex. Association between aPTT and KCT was tested according to Pearson. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fifty-eight patients aged 18- 60 years were studied, comprising of 28 males (mean age 40.50 plus/minus 8.8 years) and 30 females (mean age 35.4 plus/minus 9.02). Frequency of LA among human immunodeficiency infected patients was 5.2%, (frequency in males and females were 3.6 and 6.7 % respectively). This was lower than 46% reported in patients not on HAART. There was no statistically significant difference in LA prevalence between males and females P greater than0.05. A positive correlation was observed between the clotting tests aPTT and KCT (r is equal to 0.9406, p less than 0.0001). Conclusion: HAART may prevent development of LA in HIV-infected patients

Source: UG
Lupus anticoagulant in human immunodeficiency virus -infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

BACKGROUND: Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is a heterogeneous group of antibodies that causes a variety of clinical and laboratory effects; has been described in infections such as human immunodeficiency virus. LA has not been previously described in Nigerians with human immunodeficiency virus infection on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). AIM: To determine the frequency of LA in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus on HAART. METHODS: Cross sectional study of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection undergoing HAART at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Screening for LA was done using the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and kaolin clotting time (KCT). Mixing experiments were conducted on samples with prolonged clotting time. KCT ratio was calculated. A positive result was taken as KCT ratio greater than or equal to 1.2. Fisher's exact test was used to test the association between LA and sex. Association between aPTT and KCT was tested according to Pearson. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients aged 18- 60 years were studied, comprising of 28 males (mean age 40.50 plus/minus 8.8 years) and 30 females (mean age 35.4 plus/minus 9.02). Frequency of LA among human immunodeficiency infected patients was 5.2%, (frequency in males and females were 3.6 and 6.7 % respectively). This was lower than 46% reported in patients not on HAART. There was no statistically significant difference in LA prevalence between males and females P greater than0.05. A positive correlation was observed between the clotting tests aPTT and KCT (r is equal to 0.9406, p less than 0.0001). CONCLUSION: HAART may prevent development of LA in HIV-infected patients.

Source: UG
Lupus anticoagulant in human immunodeficiency virus–infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy

Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is a heterogeneous group of antibodies that causes a variety of clinical and laboratory effects; has been described in infections such as human immunodeficiency virus. LA has not been previously described in Nigerians with human immunodeficiency virus infection on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Source: UG
Lupus anticoagulant in Nigerian children with homozygous sickle cell disease

Background: Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is an antiphospholipid antibody (APLA), which recognise combinations of phospholipids or phospholipid -binding proteins or both and interfere with coagulation reactions dependent on protein phospholipid complexes in vitro. LA has paradoxically been associated with thrombosis and a myriad of clinical conditions such as cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). APLA have been described in adult homozygous sickle cell disease (SCD) patients and adults with β- thalassaemia. Our objective was to determine the presence or otherwise of LA in children with homozygous SCD and to see if they were more prone to developing LA compared to normal HbAA controls. Method: A total of 57 children with homozygous SCD between the ages 1-15 years were prospectively screened for the presence of LA using the kaolin clotting time (KCT), while 52 healthy HbAA children served as controls. KCT was performed in duplicates on all 109 subjects. Kaolin clotting time ratio was calculated to determine the presence of LA. A ratio greater than or equal to 1.2 was taken to signify the presence of LA. Results: One (1.8%) child with homozygous SCD had prolonged KCT, and this was not corrected by normal plasma, the KCT ratio was greater than 1.2, signifying the presence of LA. None of the control subjects had LA (p >0.05). Conclusion: One (1.8%) child in this study had LA; this value was not statistically significant when compared with HbAA controls. In spite of the fact that secondary LA is more common in females, the only patient with LA in our study was male and had no prior history of CVA or thrombosis

Source: UG
Lurking as a mode of listening in social media: motivations-based typologies

Purpose – In this study, the authors aim to probe the relationship between listening and lurking and discuss types of lurking that occur on social media sites based on the motivations driving them. Although listening is a significant practice of online attention, intimacy, connection, obligation and participation as much as voice is, it is yet to receive the kind of attention voice is given in the context of social media. In the rather limited studies on online attention, the concept that has gained consideration is “lurking”, and this practice has often been treated as a derogatory non-activity or as passivity. The interest to study lurking is based on the premise that lurking is a significant ground on which listening occurs in social media and through which voice can be given attention. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a phenomenological approach to understand motivations for lurking in online spaces. Phenomenological research involves data gathering through inductive, qualitative methods with the aim of explaining specific phenomena from the perspective of research participants. In this research, the lived experience studied was lurking and what drives lurking. A total of 12 members of the Licence to Talk project, a research project based at the School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa, took part in the study. They shared their personal experiences of online lurking through a critical reflective writing. Based on the experiences shared, the authors identified and categorised the various types of lurking based on the varied motivations driving them. Findings – Through the phenomenological approach, the study has theorised a more useful understanding of lurking as a form of online listening by identifying and categorising seven lurking behaviours that are nested within the lurking activity. This study, thus, provides a tentative framework for studying online lurking by bringing to bear listening theory and by reasoning that lurking is a needs-based activity that has purpose imbedded within it. Research limitations/implications – The authors recognise that this study is limited by its small number of participants. Nevertheless, as researchers with a strong grounding in listening theory, the authors thought it valuable to interrogate their own practices on social media and to develop a more useful understanding of what lurking might entail and, on the lurking-listening relationship. A larger study would provide stronger evidence to test the hypothesis about lurking as a very interesting form of listening with a relationship to complex behaviours and needs. Originality/value – It is expected that by conceptualising the various forms of lurking based on the motivations that drive online lurking (listening), it will provide an empirical and theoretical/conceptual basis for further investigations into this pervasive mode of online attention

Source: UG
Lymphatic filariasis in Ghana: Entomological investigation of transmission dynamics and intensity in communities served by irrigation systems in the Upper East Region of Ghana

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
Lymphatic filariasis in Ghana: Establishing the potential for an urban cycle of transmission

Lymphatic filariasis is a significant public health and economic problem in many tropical and subtropical regions. Unplanned urbanization leading to a lack of proper sanitary conditions has resulted in an increase in the urban-based transmission of a number of vector-borne diseases, including lymphatic filariasis. It has been well established that lymphatic filariasis is endemic in rural areas of Ghana. The goal of this study was to determine if there is a potential of establishing urban transmission cycles in Ghana's major cities. We clinically and immunologically assessed 625 individuals from the three major urban areas (Bawku, Bolgatanga and Secondi/Takoradi), finding that the prevalence of infection with Wuchereria bancrofti ranged from 0 to 12.5%. The results of a polymerase chain reaction based analysis of mosquitoes collected from these areas suggested that there is a low but detectable prevalence of mosquitoes infected with W. bancrofti. We conclude that there may be a potential for an established urban transmission of lymphatic filariasis in Ghana. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Source: UG
Lymphatic filariasis on the coast of Ghana.

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
Lymphatic filariasis related perceptions and practices on the coast of Ghana: Implications for prevention and control.

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
Lymphedema in a 7-year-old boy infected with Wuchereria bancrofti in Sierra Leone: A case report

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
Maat and the Rebirth of Kmt 'Land of Black People': An Examination of Beatty's Djehuty Project

Review books or articles provide a critical and constructive analysis of existing published literature in a field, through summary, analysis, and comparison, often identifying specific gaps or problems and providing recommendations for future research. These are considered as secondary literature since they generally do not present new data from the author's experimental work. Review articles can be of three types, broadly speaking: literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. It also the researcher to stay abreast of new literature in the field.

Source: UG
Macro- and Microelemental Composition and Toxicity of Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Unsweetened natural cocoa powder (UNCP) is a pulverized high-grade powder of compressed solid blocks which remains after extraction. Little scientific data is available concerning its safety despite the presence of potential toxic elements. Elemental composition in UNCP was analyzed with ED-XRF spectroscopy. Single oral high dose toxicity study was conducted on adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (150 g) by the limit test method. One group received water and the test group 2000 mg/kg UNCP. All animals were observed for 14 days and then euthanized for haematological, biochemical, and histopathological examinations. Thirty-eight (38) elements were found in UNCP. There was an increase in HDL cholesterol (p < 0.05), reduction in LDL cholesterol (p > 0.05), alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.05), and creatinine levels, and slight increase in urea levels (p > 0.05). Haematological changes were not significant. Histopathological analysis showed no toxic effect on the heart, liver, kidney, lungs, testis, and spleen. Intestinal erosion was observed in the test group. UNCP appears to be relatively safe when taken as a single oral high dose of 2000 mg/kg b.w.t. in rats. Caution should however be exercised at high doses due to the high elemental content of copper and high possibility of intestinal lining erosion. ï¿½ 2016 Isaac Julius Asiedu-Gyekye et al.

Source: UG
A macro- and micronutrient-fortified complementary food supplement reduced acute infection, improved haemoglobin and showed a dose–response effect in improving linear growth: a 12-month cluster randomised trial

Inadequate protein quality may be a risk factor for poor growth. To examine the effect of a macronutrient–micronutrient supplement KOKO Plus (KP), provided to infants from 6 to 18 months of age, on linear growth, a single-blind cluster-randomised study was implemented in Ghana. A total of thirtyeight communities were randomly allocated to receive KP (fourteen communities, n 322), a micronutrient powder (MN, thirteen communities, n 329) and nutrition education (NE, eleven communities, n 319). A comparison group was followed cross-sectionally (n 303). Supplement delivery and morbidity were measured weekly and anthropometry monthly. NE education was provided monthly. Baseline, midline and endline measurements at 6, 12 and 18 months included venous blood draws, diet, anthropometry, morbidity, food security and socio-economics. Length-for-age Z-score (LAZ) was the primary outcome. Analyses were intent-to-treat using mixed-effects regressions adjusted for clustering, sex, age and baseline. No differences existed in mean LAZ scores at endline (−1·219 (SD 0·06) KP, −1·211 (SD 0·03) MN, −1·266 (SD 0·03) NE). Acute infection prevalence was lower in the KP than NE group (P = 0·043). Mean serum Hb was higher in KP infants free from acute infection (114·02 (SD 1·87) g/l) than MN (107·8 (SD 2·5) g/l; P = 0·047) and NE (108·8 (SD 0·99) g/l; P = 0·051). Compliance was 84·9 % (KP) and 87·2 % (MN) but delivery 60 %. Adjusting for delivery and compliance, LAZ score at endline was significantly higher in the KP v. MN group (+0·2 LAZ; P = 0·026). A macro- and micronutrient-fortified supplement KP reduced acute infection, improved Hb and demonstrated a dose–response effect on LAZ adjusting consumption for delivery.

Source: UG
Macro-determinants of short-term foreign debt in Ghana

This study tests the validity of the hypothesis that the regulatory and macroeconomic environments and the disparity between domestic and international interest rates are important determinants of short-term foreign debt stock in a developing economy like Ghana. This study employs a time series econometric analysis of annual secondary data covering the period 1970 to 2012. More specifically, the bounds testing approach is used to estimate the impact of potential determinants—identified in the theoretical and empirical literature—on the real stock of short-term foreign debt in Ghana. The study finds that a reduction in regulatory restrictions on external borrowing, a widening of the disparity between domestic and international interest rates, economic growth performance and domestic financial deepening lead to increases in the shortterm foreign debt stock in both the long and short run, respectively. The short-term foreign debt stock reduces in response to an increase in trade openness in the short run, and to international debt relief initiatives by multilateral development institutions in the long run.

Source: UG
Macro-level mental health system indicators and cross-national suicide rates

Background: The relationship between macro-level mental health system indicators and population suicide rates is an area of contention in the literature, necessitating an analysis of current cross-national data to document any new trend in the relationship. Objective: This study investigated whether mental health system indicators are associated with national suicide rates. Method: Using an ecological study design and multivariate non-parametric robust regression models, data on suicide rates and mental health system indicators of 191 countries retrieved from WHOs 2017 Mental Health Atlas were compared. Results: Findings revealed that the average suicide mortality rate was significantly higher in high- income countries, relative to low-income countries. High-income countries are significantly more likely to have high number of mental health professionals, mental health policies and legislation, independent mental health authority and suicide prevention programs. These mental health system indicators demonstrated significant and positive association with suicide, suggesting that countries scoring high on these factors have higher odds of being categorized as high suicide risk countries. Conclusion: The findings have several implications for policy and practice, including the need to make existing mental health systems very responsive to suicide prevention.

Source: UG