ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the quality of groundwater from the major aquifers in Ghana

In Ghana, groundwater plays a very crucial role in the overall water delivery system, especially in the rural areas. This resource is being assessed for possible exploitation for irrigation projects since the over reliance on rain-fed agriculture does not auger well for national development in the face of dwindling and equally erratic rainfall patterns in the country. In this study, Q-mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and R-mode factor analysis were used jointly with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine the spatial groundwater quality types in Ghana, and the spatial variation of the major sources of variation in the hydrochemistry of groundwater in the country. In addition to assisting in the understanding of the different groundwater types in the country, the study demonstrates the applicability of multivariate statistical methods in groundwater quality classification in Ghana. This study finds that two major groundwater types exist in the country: the Na-Cl groundwater types which dominate the coastal aquifers where groundwater salinity is high and attributed partly to seawater intrusion and Na-K-HCO3 groundwater types which dominate aquifers farther inland. It has also been determined that the effects of seawater intrusion on groundwater quality in Ghana is significant along the coast where over extraction of the resource has led to seawater up-coning. Farther inland, groundwater hydrochemistry is controlled principally be mineral weathering processes, among which silicate mineral weathering has been noted to be the predominant. The effects of chemical fertilizers, organic manure, and domestic sewage are significant in areas where the aquifers are relatively unconfined and shallow or where the well head is poorly protected and where agricultural activities are high. High nitrate concentrations have been noted in groundwater sample from the northern parts of the country, some parts of the forested areas and the Keta strip of the Volta region of Ghana. The oxidation of organic carbon is a minor factor because its effects are relatively insignificant when compared to mineral weathering and anthropogenic contamination. Interpolation maps have been generated to highlight the intensity of each of the major processes in the country. Groundwater quality for irrigation purposes is discussed in relation to the major hydrogeological basins in the country. © 2011 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Characterization of the reniform nematode genome by shotgun sequencing

The reniform nematode (RN), a major agricultural pest particularly on cotton in the United States, is among the major plant-parasitic nematodes for which limited genomic information exists. In this study, over 380 Mb of sequence data were generated from pooled DNA of four adult female RNs and assembled into 67 317 contigs, including 25 904 (38.5%) predicted coding contigs and 41 413 (61.5%) noncoding contigs. Most of the characterized repeats were of low complexity (88.9%), and 0.9% of the contigs matched with 53.2% of GenBank ESTs. The most frequent Gene Ontology (GO) terms for molecular function and biological process were protein binding (32%) and embryonic development (20%). Further analysis showed that 741 (1.1%), 94 (0.1%), and 169 (0.25%) RN genomic contigs matched with 1328 (13.9%), 1480 (5.4%), and 1330 (7.4%) supercontigs of Meloidogyne incognita, Brugia malayi, and Pristionchus pacificus, respectively. Chromosome 5 of Caenorhabditis elegans had the highest number of hits to the RN contigs. Seven putative detoxification genes and three carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) involved in cell wall degradation were studied in more detail. Additionally, kinases, G protein-coupled receptors, and neuropeptides functioning in physiological, developmental, and regulatory processes were identified in the RN genome. © 2014 Published by NRC Research Press.

Source: UG
Characterization of Two New Multidrug-Resistant Strains of Mycobacterium smegmatis: Tools for Routine In Vitro Screening of Novel Anti-Mycobacterial Agents

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogen of global public health concern. This threat is exacerbated by the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extremely-drug-resistant strains of the pathogen. We have obtained two distinct clones of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium smegmatis after gradual exposure of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc² 155 to increasing concentrations of erythromycin. The resulting resistant strains of Mycobacterium smegmatis exhibited robust viability in the presence of high concentrations of erythromycin and were found to be resistant to a wide range of other antimicrobials. They also displayed a unique growth phenotype in comparison to the parental drug-susceptible Mycobacterium smegmatis mc² 155, and a distinct colony morphology in the presence of cholesterol. We propose that these two multidrug-resistant clones of Mycobacterium smegmatis could be used as model organisms at the inceptive phase of routine in vitro screening of novel antimicrobial agents targeted against multidrug-resistant Mycobacterial tuberculosis.

Source: UG
Characterization of water chemistry in some communities of the Lower Tano river basin, Ghana, West Africa

The chemistry of surface water and groundwater in some communities of the Lower Tano river basin, which is a coastal region of Ghana, has been characterized. Based on the obtained analytical results, 80% of the surface water (rivers), 100% of the hand dug wells and 96% of the boreholes in the study area are generally fresh and soft. Silicate weathering is the main hydrogeochemical processes contributing to the Na⁺ ions and HCO3⁻ ions in the groundwater of the basin. Gibbs diagram used to identify the mechanisms controlling the water chemistry of the basin reveals that rock weathering resulting from silicate and carbonate minerals controls majority of the surface water and groundwater chemistry in the basin. Piper trilinear plots and Chadha’s diagram, used in this study, indicate that ion exchange processes, reverse ion exchange and rock weathering are the main hydrogeochemical processes controlling the groundwater resources in the basin. Stable isotopic (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) composition measurements obtained from the study indicate that 30% of the surface water (rivers and lagoon) are less depleted and subjected to evaporation, while the remaining 70% is highly depleted with negligible to no evaporation. Also, the groundwater in the basin is likely recharged by direct infiltration of rainfall from the local rains of the basin together with other sources.

Source: UG
Characterization of WRF Simulated Low-Level Jets over Southern West Africa

Low-level jets are mainly nocturnal phenomena with relatively strong horizontal winds in the lower section of the troposphere. The development and evolution of deep convection are linked to the low-level jets, which are vital for both horizontal and vertical fluxes of temperature and moisture. The focus of this study is to characterize low-level jets simulated with the WRF model in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over southern West Africa. The simulation's forcing data were Global Forecast System datasets (GFS) and boundary conditions were specified in the WRF runs at 3-hourly temporal resolution. The performance of the simulation was tested with observational datasets from the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). The study examined low-level jet characteristics such as frequency, intensity, height of occurrence, and direction of propagation. Three bioclimatic regions namely West Sudanian Savanna, Guinean, and Guineo-Congolian that can be found in southern West Africa were used as the basis for the analysis. The study employed a relative and absolute detection criteria for low-level jets which requires that the lowest maximum of a vertical wind speed profile in the lowest 1800 m of the atmosphere is at least 2 m/s and 25% stronger than the next minimum above. It was found that low-level jets are more frequent in the Guineo-Congolian than, West Sudanian Savanna and Guinean regions and about 90% occurring between the hours of 000 UTC and 060 UTC with south-westerlies dominating. The maximum average intensities of low-level jets in the Guineo-Congolian, West Sudanian Savanna and Guinean regions are 8.1 m/s, 12.9 m/s and 8.9 m/s respectively. Low-level jets observed do frequently occur between the height of 700 – 750 m above ground level, an average of 725 m. The study recommends more observational and modeling case study on low-level jets over southern West Africa to emphasize conclusions made in the study.

Source: UG
Characterizing Air Pollution in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of urban population growth in the world, with a large number of urban residents living in low-income “slum” neighborhoods. We conducted a study for an initial assessment of the levels and spatial and/or temporal patterns of multiple pollutants in the ambient air in two low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Over a 3-week period we measured (i) 24-hour integrated PM10 and PM2.5 mass at four roof-top fixed sites, also used for particle speciation; (ii) continuous PM10 and PM2.5 at one fixed site; and (iii) 96-hour integrated concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 30 fixed sites. We also conducted seven consecutive days of mobile monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 mass and submicron particle count. PM10 ranged from 57.9 to 93.6 μg/m3 at the four sites, with a weighted average of 71.8 μg/m3 and PM2.5 from 22.3 to 40.2 μg/m3, with an average of 27.4 μg/m3. PM2.5/PM10 ratio at the four fixed sites ranged from 0.33 to 0.43. Elemental carbon (EC) was 10–11% of PM2.5 mass at all four measurement sites; organic matter (OM) formed slightly less than 50% of PM2.5 mass. Cl, K, and S had the largest elemental contributions to PM2.5 mass, and Cl, Si, Ca, Fe, and Al to coarse particles. SO2 and NO2 concentrations were almost universally lower than the US-EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with virtually no variation across sites. There is evidence for the contributions from biomass and traffic sources, and from geological and marine non-combustion sources to particle pollution. The implications of the results for future urban air pollution monitoring and measurement in developing countries are discussed.

Source: UG
Characterizing land disturbance in Atewa Range Forest Reserve and Buffer Zone

Changes in land cover of protected areas and their buffers have serious implications on the conservation of biodiversity within such biomes because land use has been recognized as one of the major drivers of biodiversity change. Atewa Range Forest Reserve is one of Ghana's Upper Guinea Forests declared as a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA). But the reserve is under threat from several human disturbances which could impact on the land cover of the reserve.This study examined the spatial and temporal changes in land cover of Atewa Range Forest Reserve and it's buffer between 1986 and 2013 using remote sensing. Land use and land cover (LULC) classification and change detections were undertaken using one Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) image of 1986 and Landsat ETM+ images of 2003 and 2013.The study also investigated the driving forces of LULC and the effectiveness of the Forest and Wildlife Policy of 1994 in the management of the reserve. Results of image classification showed that much of the peripheral closed and open vegetative covers have been converted to farms and bushes with little disturbance within the interior of the reserve. The study revealed that, the conservation management policies were yielding very little results due to a number of policy deficiencies including low staff strength, lack of logistics and low remuneration. Enforcement of legal instruments against illegal logging, small scale mining and farming activities within the reserve, improvement in the staff strength and their condition of service, intensification of public education on the value of forest and the need to protect it are some of the major recommendations that could curb encroachment on the reserve.

Source: UG
Characterizing local-scale heterogeneity of malaria risk: a case study in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo district in northern Ghana

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
Characterizing market crop waste as feedstock for composting to reduce environmental pollution in developing countries

Abstract Purpose Market crop waste (MCW) contributes significantly to the quantity of municipal solid waste generated in sub-Saharan Africa. These wastes, however, contain high levels of plant nutrients which can be harnessed through composting to improve soil organic matter and nutrient status of impoverished tropical soils. Method In this work, annual MCWs from two urban markets in Accra, Ghana were characterized by quantifying their seasonal availabilities, primary nutrients, heavy metals concentrations and level of microbial contamination to ascertain their suitability or otherwise for composting. Results Waste generated in the rainy seasons was higher than in the dry seasons. Primary nutrients sequestered in the MCW collected were 211.1 kg N, 1.84 kg P and 89.66 kg K for both markets. Feedstock quality analysis showed heavy metal levels in the MCW were far below the contaminant levels. Moisture content of vegetable and fruit waste was 74.34 - 90.46% and far above the desired level of aerobic composting. Pathogen levels of 5.92 CFU/g E. coli and 5.41 CFU/g Salmonella in cocoyam leaves; 6.27 CFU/g total coliform and 4.74 CFU/g Enterococcus in cabbage were detected and found to be above the maximum contaminant level as per USEPA standard. Conclusion Use of cassava, plantain peduncle and corn husk as bulking agents with vegetable and fruit waste as N, P and K sources should serve as feedstock for good quality compost production.

Source: UG
Characterizing Repeats in Two Whole-Genome Amplification Methods in the Reniform Nematode Genome

One of the major problems in the U.S. and global cotton production is the damage caused by the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis. Amplification of DNA from single nematodes for further molecular analysis can be challenging sometimes. In this research, two whole-genome amplification (WGA) methods were evaluated for their efficiencies in DNA amplification from a single reniform nematode. The WGA was carried out using both REPLI-g Mini and Midi kits, and the GenomePlex single cell whole-genome amplification kit. Sequence analysis produced 4 Mb and 12 Mb of genomic sequences for the reniform nematode using REPLI-g and SIGMA libraries. These sequences were assembled into 28,784 and 24,508 contigs, respectively, for REPLI-g and SIGMA libraries. The highest repeats in both libraries were of low complexity, and the lowest for the REPLI-g library were for satellites and for the SIGMA library, RTE/BOV-B. The same kind of repeats were observed for both libraries; however, the SIGMA library had four other repeat elements (Penelope (long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE)), RTE/BOV-B (LINE), PiggyBac, and Mirage/P-element/Transib), which were not seen in the REPLI-g library. DNA transposons were also found in both libraries. Both reniform nematode 18S rRNA variants (RN_VAR1 and RN_VAR2) could easily be identified in both libraries. This research has therefore demonstrated the ability of using both WGA methods, in amplification of gDNA isolated from single reniform nematodes.

Source: UG
Characterizing Teline Monspessulana as a Green Sustainable Source of Biofibers

Invasive Teline monspessulana can be an important source of biomass to supply fibers for the rising demand of cellulose bioproducts, especially for the development of advanced materials. Its fibers can be extracted via a thermo-alkaline process at 170 °C with 40 g/L of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and characterized by crystallographic, thermo-analytical, and mechanical techniques. The cellulose proportion in the wood of this species is approximately 47.6 wt.% ± 1.05 wt.%. However, its fibers are relatively small, and they have a wide range of aspect ratios from 25 to 287, with an average diameter of 9.3 μm ± 2.5 μm. These characteristics and mechanical properties make the fibers unattractive for the textile and paper industries. Meanwhile, crystalline cellulose was prevalent in the monoclinic phase, with a crystalline index and crystalline portion of 78 and 41%, respectively, observing crystal domains of c.a. 3.2 nm. Nanoindentation tests revealed favorable values of elastic modulus and hardness of c.a. 16 GPa and 0.28 GPa, respectively. Thus, this bioresource is expected to see promising applications in materials engineering, such as reinforcement in material composites, in drug delivery carrier, and electronic devices, among other biomultifunctional components.

Source: UG
Characterizing trachoma elimination using serology

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
Charismatic and corrective leadership dimensions as antecedents of employee safety behaviours: A structural model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate idealised influence under transformational leadership and active management-by-exception (MBE-A) under transactional leadership as the predictors of employee safety behaviours among engineers and technicians in the Ghanaian power transmission subsector. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a cross-sectional survey design and a quantitative approach to gather data from 278 respondents through the use of a structured questionnaire. Covariance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses with 264 usable responses. Findings The analysis revealed that idealised influence had positive significant effects on both safety compliance and safety participation of employees. Surprisingly, MBE-A had a positive influence on safety participation but not on safety compliance. Practical implications The findings of this study present useful practical implications for leaders and policy makers in organisations in engendering good safety behaviours of employees and improving overall organisational safety performance. Originality/value The variables used in the study together with the study’s Ghanaian bureaucratic context present interesting and fresh insights into the interplay between leadership and employee safety, thereby contributing to the discourse on the safety leadership construct.

Source: UG
Charting sustainable waters: Governance challenges and opportunities for fisheries and coastal beach resources in a West African country

Marine fisheries and beaches (i.e., backshore, foreshore and shoreface) are essential for providing ecosystem services globally, with coastal states being at the forefront of this benefit. Consequently, several policies, legislations, and governance processes must be formulated to ensure their sustainable use due to the impact of anthropogenic and natural pressures. This study aims to analyse the legal and institutional frameworks for the management of marine fisheries and beach resources (such as flora (coconut), fauna (ghost crabs), dunes, and rocky components) under key international laws and conventions, using Ghana as a case study. The study identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) within resource management, as well as their impact on the country’s progress in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa Union Agenda 2063. Data was collected through interviews with fishers, coastal residents, and other relevant stakeholders, as well as a review of secondary data. The results unveil a distinctive contrast in the regulatory landscape between fisheries and beach resources. While numerous policies have been formulated to ensure the sustainable management of fisheries, the same level of attention and commitment has not been extended to beach resources. The SWOT analysis revealed that some of the strengths in the governance of marine fisheries and beach resources rest on the availability of institutions and laws. The weakness lies in inadequate enforcement and data gathering and analyses to inform decision making. This study provides as an illuminating exploration into the legal and institutional underpinnings of marine fisheries and beach resource management in Ghana, shedding light on the critical junctures where improvements are needed.

Source: UG
Charting Sustainable Waters: Governance Challenges And Opportunities For Fisheries And Coastal Beach Resources In A West African Country.

Marine fisheries and beaches (i.e., backshore, foreshore and shoreface) are essential for providing ecosystem services globally, with coastal states being at the forefront of this benefit. Consequently, several policies, leg islations, and governance processes must be formulated to ensure their sustainable use due to the impact of anthropogenic and natural pressures. This study aims to analyse the legal and institutional frameworks for the management of marine fisheries and beach resources (such as flora (coconut), fauna (ghost crabs), dunes, and rocky components) under key international laws and conventions, using Ghana as a case study. The study identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) within resource management, as well as their impact on the country’s progress in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa Union Agenda 2063. Data was collected through interviews with fishers, coastal residents, and other relevant stakeholders, as well as a review of secondary data. The results unveil a distinctive contrast in the regulatory landscape between fisheries and beach resources. While numerous policies have been formulated to ensure the sustainable management of fisheries, the same level of attention and commitment has not been extended to beach resources. The SWOT analysis revealed that some of the strengths in the governance of marine fisheries and beach resources rest on the availability of institutions and laws. The weakness lies in inadequate enforcement and data gathering and analyses to inform decision making. This study provides as an illuminating exploration into the legal and institutional underpinnings of marine fisheries and beach resource management in Ghana, shedding light on the critical junctures where improvements are needed.

Source: UG