ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Four Botanicals and Two Chemical Fungicides In The Control of Crown Rot Disease of Banana (Musa Spp AAAA) Cv. Medium Cavendish

Botryodiplodia theobromae was isolated and identified as the main causative agent or pathogen involved in crown rot disease of bananas collected from Fremponso and Volta River Estate Limited of the Atiwa and Asuogyaman districts in the Eastern region of Ghana. Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus were isolated and identified as part of the crown rot organisms from infected crowns of bananas and these were nonpathogenic when inoculated into healthy matured crowns of green bananas. Different concentrations of botanical and chemical fungicides were prepared and tested for their effectiveness on Medium Cavendish banana inoculated with Botryodiplodia theobromae to find out which treatment best controls crown rot disease. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the effectiveness of these treatments in controlling the crown rot pathogen. The rot pathogen, Botryodiplodia theobromae when inoculated into healthy hands of Medium Cavendish banana and treated with botanical and chemical fungicides had effect on postharvest quality parameters such as total soluble solids and total titratable acidity. Pulp to peel ratio, pH and percentage weight loss were not affected by these treatments. Medium Cavendish banana inoculated and treated with Moringa oleifera (leaf extract), Azadirachta indica (seed extract) and Cassia alata (leaf extract) developed the disease in day 3. Medium Cavendish banana treated with Zingiber officinale (rhizome extract), ShavitF71.5WP and Mancozeb developed crown rot in days 5, 6 and 8 respectively. ShavitF71.5WP at a concentration of 2.0g/l and Mancozeb at a concentration of 7.0g/l offered good protection against crown rot disease of banana. Zingiber officinale (rhizome extract) at a concentration of 66.67% w/v was the most effective of the botanicals tested against crown rot disease. ShavitF71.5WP was superior to Mancozeb.

Source: KNUST
Efficacy of Selected Crop Residues and Rock Phosphate in Improving the Quality of Cattle Manure

Cattle manure (CM) is noted for its poor nutrient quality especially in Ghana where most cattle are fed on a free range. There is therefore a need to improve its quality since it is a vital nutrient resource for smallholder farmers. An experiment was thus carried out by composting cocoa pod husk (CPH), palm kernel cake (PKC) and rock phosphate (RP) to investigate their effec tiveness for use as nutrient sources for improving the fertilizer value of cattle manure (CM). Four compost ratios (CM + PKC (3:1), CM + CPH (3:1), CM + RP (3:1) and CM + PKC + CPH + RP (3:1:1:1)) were formulated and replicated three times in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The findings showed that, addition of CPH, PKC and RP to CM improved the fertilizer value of cattle manure. The CM + PKC + CPH + RP (3:1:1:1) compost increased the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents of cattle manure by 73%, 145% and 50%, respectively and was therefore considered the most effective in enhancing the nutrient value of cattle manure. This compost was thus evaluated through field application to maize. The study also revealed that increasing the application rate of compost increased maize grain yields. Hence, cocoa pod husk, palm kernel cake and rock phosphate can be exploited for use as important resources for improving the fertilizer value of cattle manure.

Source: KNUST
The efficacy of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) products as seed protectant and their effects on the viability and vigour of seedmaize (Zea mays)

Two experiments were set up to determine whether neem extracts and products bad fungicidal and insecticidal properties on storage pests and to investigate their effects on the quality of seed thus treated. Foundation seedmaize (Var. Abeleehi) was obtained from Crop Research Institute, Kumasi and the commercial seeds raised at the Department of Horticulture, U.S.T., Kumasi, using the recommendations of the maize guide (Anon., 1990). Pre-surface disinfected samples of the seeds were treated with neem seed powder, neem leaf powder and neem oil at 0.5% and 1.0% concentration each. Some of the seeds were also treated with Dithane-M45 while others were left untreated (controls). The seeds were stored for nine months in presterilized sealed black polythene bag. After that period, the seeds were incubated using the blotter technique. The fungi found growing on the seeds after seven days were then isolated and identified using the habit characters. Samples of seedmaize were first kept in a deepfreezer for two weeks to kill any hidden infestation of maize weevils. The seeds were then treated with the neem products and Actellic 25EC (for comparison), and compared with an untreated control. Two hundred (200) seeds of each treatment were then put into individual conical flasks after which five pairs of newly emerged adult maize weevils were introduced. The flasks were then covered with a piece of muslin cloth. The experimental set ups were kept for six months, after which the efficacy of the chemicals was determined by counting live

Source: KNUST
Efficacy of some anti sapstain chemicals in protecting the woods of triplochiton Scleroxylon and Pter Ygota Macrocarpa

Two commercial species of wood native to Ghana, Wawa (Trilochiton scieroxylon) and Koto (Pteiygota macrocarpa) have been used to study the performance and efficacy of the anti-sapstain chemicals BUMPER 25E, ANTIBLU 3737, and PROTECTA AB under field conditions using NaPCP as baseline and water as a control. Treatment conditions have been varied for optimisation. Among the five concentration levels tested for each chemical, the recommended concentrations have been found to be most suitable. The optimum conditions are three weeks treatment time, use of the dipping method in preference to brushing or spraying when applying the chemical, thirty seconds dipping time and storage during treatment by the use of stickers between the samples to allow free ventilation. Increase in the starch and moisture content of the wood increased its susceptibility to fungi attack. The best chemical was PROTECTA AB and the least efficient was ANTIBLU.

Source: KNUST
Efficacy of some traditional drugs on candida albicans

The Fungus Candida albicans is a major cause of vulvovaginitis, a worrisome condition in most women irrespective of social status, age or race. Each of six plants namely Eugenia caryophyllus- Clove (CLV), Pimpinella anisum-Anise (ANS), Zingiber officinale-Ginger (GIN), Aframomum melegueta-Grains of Paradise (GOP), Piper guineense-West African Pepper (WAP) and Xylopia aetheopica-African Pepper (AFP) was investigated for its antimicrobial activity alone or in their varying combinations against C. albicans and other microorganisms. Methanolic extracts of samples proved to be more active against C. albicans than aqueous/methanolic extracts, and aqueous extracts the least active. While some of the drug extracts acted in varying degrees against the Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria and the fungus C. albicans, others proved inactive. Clove (CLV) proved to be the most active against all the organisms tested. Extracts of Clove maintained their activity over a specified storage period with less loss, (18.3% for aqueous and 8.8% for methanolic) compared to the other samples like Grains of Paradise (GOP) and West African Pepper(WAP) which had lost all activity by the third day. Combinations of samples in various proportions also showed that Clove was better used alone. The interaction among the oils of Clove, Anise, Ginger and Nystatin were mainly indifferent with no potentiation; however interaction between Anise and Ginger seemed antagonistic. Whereas Clove oil was fungicidal, Anise, and Ginger oils were fungistatic under the conditions of the experiment.

Source: KNUST
Efficacy of the Combination Rifampin-Streptomycin in Preventing Growth of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Early Lesions of Buruli Ulcer in Humans

Mycobacterium ulcerans disease is common in some humid tropical areas, particularly in parts of West Africa, and current management is by surgical excision of skin lesions ranging from early nodules to extensive ulcers (Buruli ulcer). Antibiotic therapy would be more accessible to patients in areas of Buruli ulcer endemicity. We report a study of the efficacy of antibiotics in converting early lesions (nodules and plaques) from culture positive to culture negative. Lesions were excised either immediately or after treatment with rifampin orally at 10 mg/kg of body weight and streptomycin intramuscularly at 15 mg/kg of body weight daily for 2, 4, 8, or 12 weeks and examined by quantitative bacterial culture, PCR, and histopathology for M. ulcerans. Lesions were measured during treatment. Five lesions excised without antibiotic treatment and five lesions treated with antibiotics for 2 weeks were culture positive, whereas three lesions treated for 4 weeks, five treated for 8 weeks, and three treated for 12 weeks were culture negative. No lesions became enlarged during antibiotic treatment, and most became smaller. Treatment with rifampin and streptomycin for 4 weeks or more inhibited growth of M. ulcerans in human tissue, and it provides a basis for proceeding to a trial of antibiotic therapy as an alternative to surgery for early M. ulcerans disease.

Source: KNUST
Efficiency of water treatment by Ghana Water Company Limited in Daboase at Wassa East District

Water is one of the most important resources man needs. The study was conducted to determine the efficiency of water treatment at Daboase headworks of Ghana Water Company Limited in the Mpohor Wassa East of the Western region. To achieve higher treatment efficiency of contaminants, the GWCL plant uses procedures which include flocculation/coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. Physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality analyses were conducted on eighty (80) samples for both the raw and treated water from January 2012 to May, 2012. The results indicated that the raw water contain high mean values of 1364.77 ± 326.99 Hu, 1107.05 ± 103.70 NTU, 14.38 ± 3.4 MPN/100ml and 1.91 ± 1.76 CFU/100ml for colour, turbidity, total coliforms and E. coli respectively which exceeded the WHO standard limits making it unsafe for drinking. The treated water samples had mean values of 6.92 ± 0.11, 5.59 Hu, 2.70 ± 0.30 NTU, 76.05 ± 4.26mg/L, 0.76 ± 0.26 mg/L, 49.41 ± 3.67 mg/L, 0.10 ± 0.03 mg/L, 0.85 ± 0.12 mg/L, 0.0 MPN/100ml and 0.0 CFU/100ml for pH, colour, turbidity, total hardness, nitrate, sulphate, total irons, residual chlorine, total coliforms and E. coli respectively which were within the limits set by the WHO guidelines for drinking water. The results also indicated efficiency of 99.5%, 99.7%, 95.6%, 99.2%, 100% and 100% for colour, turbidity, nitrate, total iron, total coliforms and E. coli respectively. The overall efficiency of the treatment plant was 99.0% which makes the GWCL water treatment plant generally satisfactory during the period of this study.

Source: KNUST
Efficiency of Solid Waste Collection Services: Case Study of Kumasi Metropolis

Indiscriminate dumping, irregular collection of waste generated and inadequate resources are the key problems facing solid waste management in the Kumasi Metropolis. This study was carried out in order to determine the efficiency of three out of seven solid waste collection companies (A, B, C) in the Kumasi Metropolis through the assessment of their scope of operations, operational efficiency regarding time spent and trips made and operational cost as it related to customers’ satisfaction. Survey tools used for this study included questionnaires, key informant interviews and mapping of operational zones. The study identified the various pickup points, distances between pickup points, haul distances, haul times, quantity of waste collected, operational cost and customers’ satisfaction for both communal and house to house collection services. Major conclusions drawn from the study were distribution of both communal skips and house to house bins influenced resources, hence the efficiency of collection; the three companies were 73.42% (58 tonnnes) efficient of total solid waste (79 tonnes) previously collected and deposited at the landfill per day based on records obtained from the landfill; the communal collection minimum and maximum pickup up times (mins) per skip were determined to be 8 and 18 respectively while the minimum and maximum house to house collection pickup times (mins) per household bin picked were calculated to be 1.26 and 1.29 as well as 100 and 207 per trip respectively; companies which collected higher number of household bins and communal skips at low pickup time were efficient; Companies which served higher number of customers were found to operate at the minimum cost, thus efficient; cost of collection for house to house service was determined to be higher than that of communal service; more customers were satisfied with services of companies which operated at minimum cost. It is hereby recommended that further study should be carried out in other operational zones of the selected solid waste companies to find out if the collection and cost efficiency will be the same as determined by this study; KMA to conduct periodic checks for both solid waste collection companies and communal caretakers to ensure that they operate according to standards; customers of both communal and house to house services should be educated on domestic management of solid waste; the weighbridge to be repaired or replaced for measurement accuracy of solid waste at the landfill; the solid waste collection companies should be encouraged to increase the quantity of solid waste to be collected; and the project for the construction of sheds with concrete floors at the various communal skip sites should continue so as to prevent leachate from seeping into soils during rains.

Source: KNUST
Efficiency measurement of basic schools using data envelopment analysis. Case study: the Eastern Region, Ghana.

Universally, education encompasses the transfer of knowledge, consciously or unconsciously from one generation to another in either formal or informal settings. In recent times, whenever the efficiency of Junior High School education is called into question, individuals use only the results of the BECE examinations to judge the schools without considering any other factors. The purpose of this study was to assess how efficient the junior high schools are in the Eastern region of Ghana considering both the performance of students and other factors in play. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, which is a linear programming approach, is employed to address the problem of efficiency measurement for decision making units with several inputs and outputs. A case study based on the Eastern Region of Ghana was used with primary data sourced from 26 schools. The major findings revealed that out of the technical efficiencies of the 26 schools for the 2017/2018 academic year that were examined, eighteen schools in the region had less than one, indicating that the schools are producing below the production frontier and are therefore technically inefficient according to CCR model. This shows that in most of the schools, the resources available are being underutilised. For the BCC model, the technical efficiency of twelve out of the twenty six schools in the region were inefficient, this means more than half of the schools were efficient and were using their resources efficiently. It is recommended that, to improve academic performance of students, government and policy makers should pay more attention on how to lower the teacher-students ratio and the classroom students ratio in the various schools

Source: KNUST
Efficiency of the school bus transportation service: a case study of the system at Woodbridge School Complex, Takoradi

This research work presents a case study of the School Bus Routing Problem (SBRP). The main objective involves optimizing the total transportation cost by reducing the total lengths of tour made by all buses at the Woodbridge School Complex. The problem is formulated as an Integer Programming Model and solution is presented via the Ant Colony Based Meta-heuristic for the Travelling Salesman Problem. Data on distances were collected from potential picking points and with a Matlab implementation codes, results are obtained. In comparison with the existing routing system at Woodbridge School Complex, the results evince the outperformance of the Ant Colony algorithm in terms of efficiency. In fact, the Ant Colony results reveal a tremendous improvement in the total route length by approximately 33%.

Source: KNUST
Efficient Utilization of Timber for Formwork and Scaffold Construction: a Case Study of Construction Firms within Kumasi Metropolis

This dissertation investigated how timber used for formwork and scaffold on construction sites within the Kumasi metropolis has been identified with waste. It also identifies strategies necessary to be adopted to minimise the waste. The study reflects on previous observations and research on various appropriate strategies and other relevant issues of timber formwork and scaffold construction. Samples of construction firms: D1, D2, D3 and D4 were surveyed through site visits, observation, interviews and questionnaires to identify the factors associated with the waste. Experiments were conducted on samples of some timber species to determine their strength properties and durability in the service life, and viability of such species. Development of prototype of prefabricated timber formwork and scaffold provides a possible solution to enhance economic use of timber. The main findings of the study reflected on timber usage, supply schedule of timber to the sample sites, the different construction methods being used and the subsequent destruction occurring demonstrated the seriousness of timber wastage through formwork and scaffold construction on sites. Timber consumption in this regard, constitutes a notable depletion rate of Ghana's forest resources. The study concludes that, the prototype of prefabricated timber formwork and scaffold developed and the recommendations are appropriate strategies devised to promote efficient utilization of timber in the building industry in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Electoral violence and democratic consolidation in the fourth republic of Ghana, 1993-2016.

The study seeks to explain the growing development of electoral violence and democratic consolidation in the Fourth Republic of Ghana: 1993-2016.What are the motivating factors which generate electoral violence when the democratic process is expected to be consolidating in Ghana? What is the trend of electoral violence in a democratic process which demonstrates dynamics of stability and continuity? How does electoral violence militate against the ability of democratization in Ghana’s Fourth Republic and what could be done to mitigate electoral violence in the countries democratic processes when the political elites appear to use this violence instrumentally to win political power? The study used mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) as a research design. The study collected data from multiple sources and SPSS (verssion 20) and MS Excel (2010) were used to analyze the responses collected. The study therefore makes contribution to existing knowledge on democratic processes in Ghana by emphasizing the link between electoral violence and democratic consolidation.

Source: KNUST
Electricity consumption and health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Inspite of efforts to accelerate increase in access to electricity in SSA, more than half of the populations do not have access to electricity and many more are connected to unreliable sources. Therefore, consumption of electricity by some sections of the population in SSA is accompanied by the use of other unclean fuels like biomass for lighting and cooking among others not considering their health implications. Using the fixed effect model, the results imply that electricity consumption contributes significantly to the reduction in under-five mortality rates, infant mortality rates, and improvement in life expectancy at birth. In addition, the study finds that access to electricity leads to a significant fall in both infant and under-five mortality rates, and increase in life expectancy at birth. The study also found bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and access. Given these results, the study recommends that electricity consumption and access levels should be increased through increased investment into the electricity sector as a requirement to increase the total amount of energy that power stations are able to produce. This increase in investment will as well improve performance within the generation, transmission and distribution chain and increase consumption at the end. Also, measures such as mini grids and renewables should be put in place to strengthen policies directed at increasing electricity access for all in order to help SSA contribute its quota towards the achievement of sustainable Development Goals 3 and 7.

Source: KNUST
Eggshell Powder as a Viable Sculpture Material: The Case of W.B.M Zion Senior High School

Materials used in sculpture play an important role since the artiste’s creative ideas comes into accomplishment by working with viable materials in casting sculptural figures. Therefore, there is the need for experimenting with unconventional materials that can equally be used as an alternative to the conventional materials frequently used in the sculptor’s studio. The use of conventional materials for practical works in teaching casting increases the cost burden on students as well as students exposed to inhalation of chemicals in some conventional materials that can gradually affect their health system. Therefore, the researcher identified eggshells which is a nontoxic material and experimented with it by converting it into a powdery material and the use of binders, to be used as an alternative material for casting and modeling instead of the frequent use of conventional materials. The society perceived eggshells as waste and therefore, the researcher seeks to prevent the problems that waste causes to the environment. This research employed qualitative and quantitative approaches of which Quasi-experiment, Descriptive and Action research methods were used. Focus group interview and personal observation of how eggshell powder was used as data gathering instruments. Three research questions guided the study, these were: how can eggshells be experimented with in art education? What processes are involved in converting eggshells into a powder for casting? What is the outcome of using eggshell powder in modeling and casting? The population studied were made up of Students and Teacher at W.B.M Zion Senior High School in the Visual Art Department. Purposive sampling was used to select thirty-six (36) sculpture students from both form one and form two class and one sculpture teacher. They were selected based on their modeling skills. The study introduces the outcome of the experimental work to selected art teachers in the Abuakwa North District in the Eastern region of Ghana, in order to equip sculpture students to use eggshell powder in their studios as a viable medium in art. The preliminary results of the research indicate that the use of eggshell powder with binders was successful in casting and modeling sculptural figures. The researcher therefore recommends that disposable eggshells must be preserved and processed into a powdery material to be used by art Students for their project works. Further research must be carried out to identify waste materials that can be adopted for experimentations.

Source: KNUST