ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Spectrum and Clinical Characteristics of Renal Diseases in Ghanaian Adults: A 13-Year Retrospective Study

Background. Renal diseases over the years have become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this study, we assessed the spectrum and clinical characteristics of Ghanaians with renal diseases at the nephrology unit of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi. Methods. .is was a retrospective hospital-based study conducted at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) from the years 2005 to 2017. A non-randomized sampling approach was used to include 1426 participants who were diagnosed with AKI, CKD, ESRD, and nephrotic syndrome at the nephrology unit of KATH during the years under review. All the 1426 patients were eligible for the study. Demographic characteristics as well as clinical data such as the kind of renal disease presentation, causes of the renal disease, and the treatment options were also obtained from their records. Results. Overall, 1009 of the total participants had CKD (70.76%), 295 participants had ESRD (20.69%), 72 participants had AKI (5.05%), and 50 participants had nephrotic syndrome (3.51%). Furthermore, 69 (23.4%) participants with ESRD were on dialysis whiles 6 (8.3) and 17 (1.7) participants with only AKI and CKD superimposed AKI, respectively, were on dialysis. 226 (76.6%) participants with ESRD were on conservative therapy. Hypertension emerged as the major cause of renal disease presentation (53.93%) with bilateral leg edema (13.46%) being the major complaint. .ere was a significant association between CKD and age (p ≤ 0.001). Nephrotic syndrome also showed a significant association with age (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion. .is study revealed that patients at the nephrology unit of KATH, Ghana, are mainly adults between ages 46–55. .e clinical pattern of renal diseases is dominated by CKD and ESRD. We conclude that hypertension, chronic glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and sepsis are the most common causes of renal diseases. .e commonest clinical presentations are bilateral leg edema, palpitations, headache, breathlessness, dizziness, and vomiting. Early diagnosis and management of these conditions may prevent or delay the progress to end-stage renal disease

Source: UG
Speech signal analysis as an alternative to spirometry in asthma diagnosis: investigating the linear and polynomial correlation coefficient

Speech production involves the vibration of the vocal cords. Voice changes will occur in respiratory diseases such as asthma due to the inflamed lung airways, which is part of the vocal tract. Spirometry is a well-known technique employed in diagnosis of asthma to give information on patient pulmonary function. The purpose of this research was to investigate the correlation between Forced Expiratory Volume to Forced Vital Capacity (FEV1/FVC) ratio obtained from spirometry and Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio (HNR) obtained from human speech, in order to determine whether speech analysis could be an alternative to spirometry in diagnosing asthma. Spirometry data was obtained from 150 subjects, who were asthmatic patients attending the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Speech data consisting of the vowel sounds /a:/,/e:/, /ɛ:/, /i:/,/o:/, /ɔ:/,/u:/ and phrase “She sells”, was also recorded from the subjects. 33 samples were selected and analyzed to generate speech parameters with Praat software. Correlation was established between HNR from the speech signals and spirometry data FEV1/FVC. The highest correlation coefficient was observed between HNR and vowel sound /ɛ:/ (42.08%). In conclusion, among the other speech vowels and phonemes, HNR of /ɛ:/ sound showed the most promise to being a suitable marker in using speech as an alternative to spirometry in asthma diagnosis

Source: UG
Speech Surrogates of Africa: A Case of Fante Mmensoun

Various forms of communication based on sounds produced by instruments are common in many African Societies. Among these, the slit drum gong and drums are the most popular and the most widely used as speech surrogates in Africa (Nketia, 1971:700). With the introduction of participant-observation research orientation to African Scholarship, new information is being discovered and structured to fill existing gaps in knowledge. The ‘mmen esoun’ (also spelt ‘mmensoun) (meaning Seven Horns) is a speech surrogate used among the Fante of Ghana. Mmensoun has a dual capability of imitating the speaking voice and, simultaneously, serving as a musical instrument in a performance. As a speech surrogate, it functions as an effective and powerful instrument for communication. This paper introduces the communicative sounds of the mmensoun within the cultural system of the Fante, and offers a framework within which the instrument could be further investigated.

Source: UG
Speech-Language Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Development and Sustainability of Services for Persons with Communication Disability

Abstract Background: Speech–language therapy (SLT) is an emerging profession in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Recent developments in SLT training in several countries including Uganda, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Ghana will gradually improve the regional availability of speech–language therapists (SLTs). However, for this relatively small number of therapists to effectively develop and influence services for persons with communication disability, consideration needs to be given to how the profession can develop in ways relevant to African contexts. This chapter raises issues surrounding the development and sustainability of the SLT profession in SSA and considers the potential contributions of the profession to the rehabilitation services for persons with communication disability. Methodology: An in-depth mixed methods survey combining both open- and closed-ended questions regarding the SLT workforce in SSA was employed between April 2012 and March 2013. A review and synthesis of the relevant literature including workforce development and rehabilitation models in the region is also included. Results: Thirty-three respondents provided information regarding availability, accessibility, acceptability, and challenges for the development and sustainability of rehabilitation services for persons with communication disability, such as job insecurity and opportunities for professional support. Discussion: The discussion integrates the implications for an emerging SLT scope of practice in SSA, issues influencing this workforce sustainability in the region, and original research from an SLT workforce survey in SSA, as well as the challenges to the development and sustainability of rehabilitation services for persons with communication disability. Recommendations are made for SLT development in countries in SSA, such as job creation in equitable service sectors.

Source: UG
Speed Monitoring And Controlling Systems For Road Vehicle Safety: A Systematic Review

Overspeeding continues to be one of the major causes of road fatalities, and accordingly, several interventions have been designed to combat it. In more recent times, several studies have proposed intelligent methods for detecting, monitoring and controlling over speeding effectively. This study investigated advancements, challenges and future research direction of the use of intelligent speed monitoring and control systems. using a systematic review approach, 47 studies were identified and reviewed. the review covered studies published from 2015 to 2019. the findings from the review indicated that road vehicle speed monitoring and control systems have witnessed commendable advancements over the past years. Four main types of speed measurement technologies dominate speed monitoring and control systems. out of the four, sensor based technologies are the most used, yet they are characterized by low speed measurement accuracy. also, studies in the domain use diverging evaluation methods and this makes it a challenge to compare system performance across the various studies. also, there seems to be a lack of interest in the usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for speed measurement. the study proposes increased attention to the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to promote effective speed monitoring and control systems

Source: UG
Sphingomyelinase treatment on human erythrocytes: influence on Membrane lipid rafts and malaria parasite invasion

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
Spirit and Lessons of International Co-productions and the Making of The Destiny of Lesser Animals (Ghana, 2011)

This paper seeks to draw attention to and address certain generally held suppositions about international co-productions, using The Destiny of Lesser Animals (2011) as a working example. The paper examines what The Destiny of Lesser Animals (2011) stands for as a film resulting from an international co-production with minimal budget but high production values and a crossover genre story set in a context that builds in a certain audience termed “international.”

Source: UG
The Spirit-Filled Goes to School: Theological Education in African Pentecostalism

The emergence of Christianity, during virtually all the epochs of the history of Christianity, have been characterized by a corresponding development in theological education. This development could be explained by the realization, from time immemorial, that academic and spiritual dimensions of the Christian ministry were needed to complement each other in order that the church could be effective in its endeavours. Over the past century, the centre of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably Southward, particularly, Africa. A major characteristic feature of the growth of Christianity in Africa is the fact that, although growth is experienced in all traditions/denomination, the Pentecostal churches are generally making more gains that the older traditions. The stupendous growth and prominence of African Pentecostal movement has deep implications for theology and Pentecostal theological education on the continent. If, indeed, African Christianity has a major role in determining the future of world Christianity, then the rest of the Christian world ought to be interested in the kind of theology that is taught and practiced in African churches and institutions. This article discusses general trends in Pentecostal theological education in Africa, with most of the cases cited from Ghana and Nigeria. It concludes by asserting that an innovative African Pentecostal theological education that seeks to meet the needs of the African Pentecostal movement is crucial in empowering the African Church to play its rightful role in World Christianity.

Source: UG
Spiritual and religious beliefs: do they matter in the medication adherence behaviour of hypertensive patients?

Abstract Background Medication non-adherence is often a predominant problem in the management of hypertension and other chronic conditions. In explaining health behaviours, social determinants like spirituality and religiosity are increasingly identified to impact health and treatment. Although a number of researchers have found spirituality and religiosity to be primary resources among persons dealing with chronic disability and illness, studies relating this specifically to medication adherence have been limited. Methods Our study sought to examine the interrelationship between spirituality/ religiosity and medication adherence among 400 hypertensive patients 18&#160;years old and above. Spiritual Perspective Scale, Duke Religion Index, and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale were used to determine spirituality, religiosity and medication adherence respectively. Results The majority (93.25%) of patients poorly adhered to their medications. While high spiritual and religious beliefs formed core components of the lifestyles of patients, spirituality (p&#8201;=&#8201;0.018) and not religiosity (p&#8201;=&#8201;0.474) related directly with medication non-adherence. Likewise, after controlling for demography and other medical co-morbidities, patients with high spirituality were 2.68 times more likely to be poorly adherent than patients who place lower emphasis on the association between spirituality and health. Conclusion Our study suggests that while spirituality/ religiosity was dominant among hypertensive patients, these spiritual attachments of patients with a supreme being potentially increased their trust in the expectation of divine healing instead of adhering adequately with their anti-hypertensive medications.

Source: UG
Spiritual and religious beliefs: Do they matter in the medication adherence behaviour of hypertensive patients?

Background: Medication non-adherence is often a predominant problem in the management of hypertension and other chronic conditions. In explaining health behaviours, social determinants like spirituality and religiosity are increasingly identified to impact health and treatment. Although a number of researchers have found spirituality and religiosity to be primary resources among persons dealing with chronic disability and illness, studies relating this specifically to medication adherence have been limited.Methods: Our study sought to examine the interrelationship between spirituality/ religiosity and medication adherence among 400 hypertensive patients 18 years old and above. Spiritual Perspective Scale, Duke Religion Index, and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale were used to determine spirituality, religiosity and medication adherence respectively.Results: The majority (93.25%) of patients poorly adhered to their medications. While high spiritual and religious beliefs formed core components of the lifestyles of patients, spirituality (p = 0.018) and not religiosity (p = 0.474) related directly with medication non-adherence. Likewise, after controlling for demography and other medical co-morbidities, patients with high spirituality were 2.68 times more likely to be poorly adherent than patients who place lower emphasis on the association between spirituality and health.Conclusion: Our study suggests that while spirituality/ religiosity was dominant among hypertensive patients, these spiritual attachments of patients with a supreme being potentially increased their trust in the expectation of divine healing instead of adhering adequately with their anti-hypertensive medications. © 2013 Kretchy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Source: UG
Spirituality and subjective well-being of Ghanaian parents of children with special needs: The mediating role of resilience

The study explored the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being of 107 Ghanaian biological parents raising children with special needs. Results from mediational analyses revealed that spirituality indirectly influenced life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect through resilience. Specifically, greater levels of spirituality predicted greater resilience, which successively led to greater life satisfaction, greater positive affect and reduced negative affect. These findings emphasize the necessity of targeting parents’ well-being through resilience to help them deal with the burden of providing care for their children with special needs.

Source: UG
Spirituality and subjective well-being among Ghanaian older adults: optimism and meaning in life as mediators

Objective: This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), and whether this relationship is mediated by optimism and meaning in life. Method: Participants were 235 older adults ( 60 years) conveniently sampled from Ghanaian communities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the direct and indirect relationships. Sobel test was also used to test specific mediating effects of optimism and meaning in life. Results: Spirituality was positively related with positive affect and life satisfaction, but negatively related with negative affect. The SEM results revealed that the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being was indirect. Sobel test showed that the mediating effect of optimism was only statistically significant for negative affect but not positive affect and life satisfaction. In contrast, the mediating effect of meaning in life was statistically significant for the three components of subjective well-being. Conclusion: The study has demonstrated that spirituality indirectly influences subjective well-being through optimism and meaning in life. It also showed the relative importance of meaning in life over optimism as a mediator. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings have been discussed.

Source: UG
Splicing Factor 3B Subunit 1 Interacts with HIV Tat and Plays a Role in Viral Transcription and Reactivation from Latency

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
Spodoptera frugiperda in Togo 5 years on: early impact of the invasion and future developments

The infestation of the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Africa since 2016 has been a major threat to maize production. Previous studies in Togo and Ghana from 2016 to 2018 did not correlate FAW infestation to yield losses. Thus, the aim of this study which assesses the impact of FAW infestation by inspecting 150 maize farms throughout the five Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) of Togo for FAW plant damage, and third instar larvae were used to infest 10-day-old maize plants in netted plots under controlled conditions at an experiment station (Station d’Expérimentations Agronomiques de Lomé) in 2019 and 2020. As control plots at the experiment station, plots were both netted and treated with emamectin benzoate, simply netted, or open to natural infestation. The number of larvae, egg masses, percent damaged plants, and damage proportions of leaves and ears were scored until harvest. Infestations and damages on maize plant throughout Togo were similar between the two years but were higher in the southern part of the county (AEZ5). At the experiment station, the yield losses were significantly considerable and increased from 25% infestation. The losses were 0.37 t ha−1 for 25% infestation, 0.34 t ha−1 for 30%, 0.59 t ha−1 for the open plots, 0.70 t ha−1 for simple netted and 50% infestation, 1.03 t ha−1 for 75%, and 1.27 t ha−1 for 100% infestation. This current study suggested thorough inspection on maize farms to set off management practices from 25% of infestation.

Source: UG
Spoken Reminiscences of Political Agents in Northern Nigeria I

The spoken reminiscences on political agents involved oral interviews on the role of indigenous service assistants in the establishment of British colonial rule in northern Nigeria. Conducting oral interviews was informed by the need to seek African perspective in historical inquiry. For a topic dealing with indigenous participants in the colonial establishment, historical enquiry would be enriched with the African opinion, which is largely contained in the oral traditions of the people. Such perspective would address issues such as the African mentality, which is hardly revealing in the written literature. Hence, the significance of the interviews in colonial historiography.

Source: UG
Spoken Reminiscences of Political Agents in Northern Nigeria II

The spoken reminiscences on political agents involved oral interviews on the role of indigenous service assistants in the establishment of British colonial rule in northern Nigeria. Conducting oral interviews was informed by the need to seek African perspective in historical inquiry. For a topic dealing with indigenous participants in the colonial establishment, historical enquiry would be enriched with the African opinion, which is largely contained in the oral traditions of the people. Such perspective would address issues such as the African mentality, which is hardly revealing in the written literature. Hence, the significance of the interviews in colonial historiography.

Source: UG
Spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting in Rural Districts of Mozambique

BACKGROUND: The roll out of various public health programmes involving mass administration of medicines calls for the deployment of responsive pharmacovigilance systems to permit identification of signals of rare or even common adverse reactions. In developing countries in Africa, these systems are mostly absent and their performance under any circumstance is difficult to predict given the known shortage of human, financial and technical resources. Nevertheless, the importance of such systems in all countries is not in doubt, and research to identify problems, with the aim of offering pragmatic solutions, is urgently needed. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of training and monitoring of healthcare workers, making supervisory visits and the availability of telecommunication and transport facilities on the implementation of a pharmacovigilance system in Mozambique. METHODS: This was a descriptive study enumerating the lessons learnt and challenges faced in implementing a spontaneous reporting system in two rural districts of Mozambique - Namaacha and Matutuíne - where remote location, poor telecommunication services and a low level of education of health professionals are ongoing challenges. A 'yellow card' system for spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was instituted following training of health workers in the selected districts. Thirty-five health professionals (3 medical doctors, 2 technicians, 24 nurses, 4 basic healthcare agents and 2 pharmacy agents) in these districts were trained to diagnose, treat and report ADRs to all medicines using a standardized yellow card system. There were routine site visits to identify and clarify any problems in filling in and sending the forms. One focal person was identified in each district to facilitate communication between the health professionals and the National Pharmacovigilance Unit (NPU). The report form was assessed for quality and causality. The availability of telecommunications and transport was assessed. RESULTS: Fourteen months after the first training, 67 ADR reports involving 74 adverse events were received by the NPU involving 25 separate drugs, 16 of which were causally (certainly, probably or possibly) linked to the reaction. Most reported ADRs were dermatological reactions (83.1%). Antimalarial drugs (chloroquine, amodiaquine, quinine, artesunate and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine) were mentioned in 33 (50.8%) of the reports. There were 14 reactions classified as serious and no fatal reactions were reported. There were differences in telecommunications and transport facilities between the districts that might have contributed to the different number of reports. CONCLUSION: Health professionals of all levels of education (including basic training) from rural areas could contribute to ADR spontaneous reporting systems. Training, quality-assurance visits and the ongoing presence of focal persons can promote reporting and improve the quality of reports submitted

Source: UG