ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Comparing the efficiencies of the removal of cadmium from industrial wastewater using zeolites

The presence of heavy metals in industrial wastewater needed to be removed in other to control pollution which has been caused as a result of human and industrial activities. Several adsorbents have been used for the remediation process but with this particular research work, Zeolites were used. They were synthesized hydrothermally from various locally available raw materials namely rice husk, corn stalk, corn husk, and kaolin. They were characterized using their FTIR to determine the functional groups on the material synthesized and also their adsorptive activities were compared with industrially synthesized Zeolite X. A very strong peak at 1052 cm -1 is as a result of the asymmetric vibrations of the internal T-O tetrahedron with a weak symmetric T-O stretching vibration recorded at 797 cm -1. Another strong peak was observed at 445 cm-1 as a result of the OT-O bending vibration which confirms the presence of a five-membered structure. The adsorptive properties of the synthesized Zeolites were evaluated by using them to remove Cadmium ions from solution and their percentage removals were determined. Similarly, their adsorption kinetics were also determined and was observed the R 2 values to be 0.9093 and 0.9454 for Corn husk and Cornstalk for the first order and the second order with R 2 values of 1 for rice husk, kaolin and corn stalk

Source: UCC
Comparison between microscopic and rapid test assay in the detection of malaria parasite infection in patient attending some hospitals in Sokoto Nigeria

Malaria is a serious public health problem, this study was aimed at comparing Microscopy and Rapid Diagnostics test in malaria parasite detection in patients in some hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria. Blood Samples were collected by venipuncture and dispensed into EDTA bottle. Thick blood films were made by adding few drops of anticoagulated blood on a clean glass slides and emulsifying to coin size using a spreader and allowed to air-dry and stained with 10% Geimsa stain for 10 minutes, allowed to air-dry and examined using ×100 objective to confirm the presence of malaria parasites. Of the 100 patients screened, 37% and 24% were positive for malaria using Carestart and SD-Bioline, while 53% were malaria positive by microscopy. Prevalence of malaria parasite by sex was 53.6% and 52.3% in females and males. Malaria prevalence by age was highest among patients aged 11-20, while the lowest prevalence was observed in patients aged 51-60 years. Based on occupation, the prevalence of malaria was highest among unemployed patients 58.5%, followed by 22.6% prevalence of malaria among business men and women. No significant difference was observed in malaria infection by sex, age and occupations P<0.05. The sensitivity and specificity of Carestart and SD-Bioline screening kits were 54.7% and 82.6%, 34.6 and 87.2%. The predictive positive value of Carestart was 78.4% while its negative predictive value was 61.3% in contrast to SD-Bioline with 75% and 54.7% as the positive predictive value and negative predictive value. Rapid diagnostic test are suitable alternatives to microscopy particularly in resources limited rural areas

Source: UCC
Comparison of academic performance of athletes and non-athletes of students in mfantsipim senior high school in the central region of ghana

The causal comparative design was used to compare the performance of athletes to non-athletes in Mfantsipim Senior High School. The stratified sampling technique was used in selecting 50 continuing students who responded to items on the questionnaire where as the lottery sampling method was employed in selecting 100 past students whose results at the West African Certificate Examination were used in the analysis. The instrument had reliability co-efficient of 0.72. Data gathered were converted into frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. The independent t-test was also calculated on the mean scores of the students. The findings revealed that students have good reasons for playing sports and do not see playing sports to be affecting their academic performance. However, students who play sports for the school were sometimes disadvantaged because they at times get too tired or miss class playing sports for the school. There was statistically significant difference in the mean scores of athletes as compared to non-athletes in Social Studies and English but no statistically significant difference existed in the mean scores of athletes and non-athletes in Mathematics and Integrated Science. It was recommended that school authorities and parents should encourage students to actively take part in sporting activities and also train students to manage and balance their time for sports and academic activities

Source: UCC
Comparison of akaike information criterion (aic) and bayesian information criterion (bic) in selection of an asymmetric price relationship

Information criteria provide an attractive basis for model selection. However, little is understood about their relative performance in asymmetric price transmission modelling framework. To explore this issue, this research evaluated the performance of the two commonly used model selection criteria, Akaike information criteria (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC) in discriminating between asymmetric price transmission models under various conditions. Monte Carlo experimentation indicated that the performance of the different model selection criteria are affected by the size of the data, the level of asymmetry and the amount of noise in the model used in the application. The Bayesian information criterion is consistent and outperforms AIC in selecting the suitable asymmetric price relationship in large samples

Source: UCC
A comparison of bootstrap and monte carlo approaches to testing for symmetry in the granger and lee error correction model

In this paper, I investigate the power of the Granger and Lee model of asymmetry via bootstrap and Monte Carlo techniques. The simulation results indicate that sample size, level of asymmetry and the amount of noise in the data generating process are important determinants of the power of the test for asymmetry based on bootstrap and Monte Carlo techniques. Additionally, the simulation results suggest that both bootstrap and Monte Carlo methods are successful in rejecting the false null hypothesis of symmetric adjustment in large samples with small error size and strong levels of asymmetry. In large samples, with small error size and strong levels of asymmetry, the results suggest that asymmetry test based on Monte Carlo methods achieve greater power gains when compared with the test for asymmetry based on bootstrap. However, in small samples, with large error size and subtle levels of asymmetry, the results suggest that asymmetry test based on bootstrap is more powerful than those based on the Monte Carlo methods. I conclude that both bootstrap and Monte Carlo algorithms provide valuable tools for investigating the power of the test of asymmetry

Source: UCC
Comparison of Cytotoxic activity and Interferon-g secretion by Natural Killer Cells in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected individuals

Background The role of NK cells in slowing disease progression in HIV-2 infected individuals compare to HIV-1 infected individuals. Methods In this study peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 30 HIV-1 and 30 HIV-2 infected subjects from each of 3 categories of CD4 T-cell counts (>500, 200-500 and <200 cells/ul) together with 50 HIV uninfected control subjects. Lytic activity and IFN-g secretion by NK cells from HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected subjects were measured by chromium-release and ELISPOT assays respectively following incubation of PBMC with the NK-sensitive K562 cells. Viral load was also measured from the plasma samples of the subjects. Results The cytotoxic response by NK cells was significantly higher in HIV-2 than in HIV-1 infection in subjects with CD4-T cell count >500 cell/ul (p < 0.05) and was similar to that of the healthy controls. There was a significant correlation between the magnitude of the NK population and cytolytic activity in HIV-2 individuals (r = 0.27, p = 0.01). There was also an inverse relationship between the cytolytic activity and plasma viral load in HIV-2 infected subjects (r = -0.27, p = 0.009). Interferon-g secretion by NK cells in ELISPOT assays was similar in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections at all categories of CD4+T cell counts.

Source: UCC
Comparison of diagrams and models used for teaching atomic orbitals in the senior secondary school

This thesis is a report on a comparative study of diagrams and models used as teaching aids in teaching atomic orbitals in senior secondary schools (SSS). An orbial represents a three-dimensional volume of space around an atomic nucleus, where electrons are found. Diagrams of orbitals in textbooks and on teachers' chalkboards appear in two dimensions, making visualization difficult for students. Three second-year elective chemistry classes in different schools in the Cape Coast Municipality were pretested on atomic orbitals. They were then taught the concept of atomic orbital, using diagrams only, models only, and a combination of diagrams and models respectively as teaching aids. Finally, they were posttested on the concept. Analysis of covariance (ANCQY A) on the posttest scores of the students, using their pretest scores as covariate, ranked the teaching aids in the order: "models only", "diagrams and models" and "diagrams only". A McNemar chi- square test on changes in students' misconceptions from the pretest to the posttest showed that the "models only" class had the highest signi ficant proportional decrease in misconceptions, whilst the "diagrams only" class had the least. It is therefore concluded that the use of models only as teaching aids is more effective than the use of diagrams only in enhancing SSS students' visualization of atomic orbitals. Moreover, combination of diagrams and models confuses students and hampers their visualization Suggestions have therefore been made in the thesis for appropriate bodies to emphasize the use of' models in teaching atomic orbitals to SSS students.

Source: UCC
Comparison of different weed control methods in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under rainfed conditions

The experiment was carried out at Adaptive Research Farm Bhaun Chakwal during Kharif 2014, 2015 and 2016 successive hseasons to evaluate the most appropriate method of weed control in groundnut. Three weed control measures were evaluated i.e., pre-emergence application of Ipiflour (trifluralin), Stomp (pendimethaline) and hoeing. A weedy check (Control) was also included in the experiment for comparison purpose. The results showed that both chemicals gave significant better yield than hoeing. Stomp as pre-emergence weedicides gave significant yield (710.6 kg/ha) during all tested periods and gave maximum net return of Rs. 17919/- with CBR 5.66 followed by ipiflour with net return of Rs.8773.2/- and CBR 3.77. It is concluded from the experiment that the hand hoeing gave reasonable groundnut yield (680kg/ha) but it was uneconomical due to high labour wages. So it is concluded that weedicides application is most appropriate and economical method of weed control in groundnut

Source: UCC
Comparison of five different methods in estimating reference evapotranspiration in Cape Coast, Ghana

A number of methods have been developed to estimate reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo), but most of the reliable methods are complex and parameter rich models and therefore difficult to apply in data scarce regions. This study was conducted to determine suitable simple ETo methods in Cape Coast by comparing estimated ETo values of three indirect-measurement methods: Hamon, Hargreaves, Blaney Criddle; and two direct-measurement methods: Class A pan and Piche evaporimeter with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Penman-Monteith equation (FAO56-PM) estimated ETo values. All the methods underestimated ETo values obtained by the FAO56-PM method. However, the estimated ETo values by the Hamon, Hargreaves, and Blaney-Criddle are strongly correlated (R = 0.89, 0.87 and 0.81 respectively), while the Class A pan and Piche evaporimeter methods are weakly correlated (R= 0.37 and 0.31, respectively) with the FAO56-PM method. All but the Piche evaporimeter methods appeared suitable for estimating ETo in the study area. The Class A pan, though weakly correlated with the FAO56-PM method, was also suitable because it had the least mean absolute error (MAE; 0.26 mm day-1) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE; 6.5%) among the other methods and its ETo curve was closer to the FAO56-PM’s

Source: UCC
Comparison of flora of small-scale mined and unmined-sites in Dunkwa-East Municipality, Ghana

The impacts of small-scale mining on the vegetal cover as well the livelihoods of communities in mined areas in developing countries such as Ghana are far-reaching. This study assessed the impacts of small-scale mining on flora of conservation and economic significance through quantification of species richness, and species diversity. Mined and unmined sites were chosen in the Dunkwa East Municipality of Ghana. Five belt transects each (200m × 200m) were constructed in both sites. Each belt transect was divided into 100 quadrats (20m × 20m) and plant species in each of the quadrat were identified in the field and or the herbarium of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast. One hundred and fifty seven species distributed in 140 genera and 54 families were identified in the mined area whilst the 209 species identified in the unmined area were in 185 genera and 73 families. Plant families Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae and Asteraceae were more diverse whilst Asteraceae, Poaceae and Euphorbiaceae were dominant in the unmined area. In the mined area, however, Poaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Asteraceae were more diverse. Pteridium aquilinum, Tridax procumbens and Waltheria indica in the unmined area and Chromolaena odorata, Sporobolus pyramidalis and Euphorbia hirta in the mined area were the dominant species. Small-scale miming activities have caused reduction in species diversity, richness and economic and commercial values in the area. Higher disturbance of the flora has resulted in more secondary species in the mined area. Restoration is required in the study area

Source: UCC
Comparison of health -related physical fitness levels of junior officers in rural and urban fire stations in Ghana

The deteriorating health status of the modern day Ghanaian has brought in the concept of health-related physical fit-ness. This concept of health-related physical fitness has been a core component in the training of security services among which is the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS). The focus of this study was to find out whether there would be any significant difference in the health-related physical fitness levels of the rural and urban based junior firemen in Ghana. One hundred (100) junior firemen, fifty (50) each from the urban and rural fire stations were sampled for the study. The Prudential Fitnessgram (2002) battery of tests was used to test the five components of health-related physical fitness of each subject for the study. The scores were analysed and compared using the independent samples t-test of the SPSS windows 12.0 programme, and the HFZ (Health Fitness Zone). The results and findings of the study revealed that, the urban based firemen were fitter in cardio-vascular endurance than the rural group, when sub-hypo- thesis I was tested. There was no significant difference in the muscular endurance levels of the sampled rural and urban firemen, but the urban group were again found to be fitter in muscular strength than the rural based junior firemen when sub-hypothesis 2 and 3 were tested, respectively. For sub-hypotheses 4 and 5, no significant differences were revealed when flexibility and body composition were tested. As a summary, the major hypothesis revealed that the urban based firemen were slightly healthier than their rural counterparts. A lot could be done to im- prove the health-related fitness levels of firemen in the country as a whole.

Source: UCC
Comparison of health-related physical fitness levels of girls in day and boarding senior high schools in Cape Coast

Despite the good intentions of why the boarding school system was introduced into the Ghanaian Education system, present day parents and even students think that boarding facilities and services are not adequate and are of poor quality and therefore, will affect the health of students. The purpose of the study was to find out any differences in the health-related physical fitness levels of day and boarding girls in the SHS in Cape Coast, Ghana. One hundred and sixty SHS girls from Aggrey Memorial Senior High School and Ghana National College were used for the study. The Prudential Fitnessgram (2002) battery of tests was used to test the five components of health-related physical fitness of each subject for the study. The scores were processed and analyzed using the independent samples t-test and the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ). From the HFZ values and the t-test statistics results, there is an indication that the boarding girls were at higher risk in respect to the health related physical fitness components tested. The day girls were fitter in all the five health-related physical fitness components tested. This may be due to the fact that the nature and intensity levels of physical activities differ between the two groups. The comparatively poor health-related physical fitness condition of the girls in the boarding house is not good at all and needs an urgent, practical and comprehensive approach to deal with it, such as designing physical education, sporting and recreational activities to be interesting and attractive for students to participate.

Source: UCC
Comparison of key demographic determinants of absolute and relative poverty: an empirical analysis

Poverty comparison is the most important reason for measuring poverty; especially when two or more situations such as different poverty thresholds are likely to have different impacts on poverty measurements and outcomes. The main objective of this study is to estimate and compare the effects of key demographic determinants of absolute and relative poverty. The logit equations show gender, race, place of residence, and marital status to explain individual socioeconomic status, after adjusting for the various factors. Comparing the varying impacts of the key demographic factors when absolute and relative poverty thresholds are employed, each of the demographic factors has shown the same effect. However, each of the key demographic factors has a variable effect in explaining poverty when an absolute or relative poverty threshold was applied. Because the same demographic factors explain the likelihood of individuals living in absolute or relative poverty, it is important to consider the implication of the two different types of poverty when developing poverty reduction interventions.

Source: UCC
Comparison of land cover image classification methods

In remote sensing, many methods have been developed for image classification. In this study, three of the methods namely Maximum Likelihood classification (MLC), Backpropagation Neural Network classification (BPNN), and Sub Pixel classification (SP) are used to classify a Landsat ETM+ image of the Ejisu-Juabeng district of Ghana into seven land cover classes and the results are compared. The seven classes identified were forest, forested wetland, open woodland, water, non-forested wetland, grassland and urban. In the comparison, the top 20 (80%-100% composition) per land cover class from the SP is used against the MLC and BPNN classification. The results show that of the two hard classifications (MLC & BPNN), BPNN gave a better result with an overall accuracy of 92.5 % compared with that of MLC with an accuracy of 78.95%. The SPclassification however, gavemixed results although forland cover classessuch asforest and forested wetland that are homogeneousin nature,the representationsweregood.Over alltheBPNNclassificationgave thebestrepresentationofthe landcover classesinthe studyarea

Source: UCC
Comparison of learning cycle and traditional teaching approaches on students' understanding of selected concepts in electricity

This study was purported to compare the learning cycle approach which is based on the constructivist theory to the traditional approach on senior secondary school students’ understanding of selected concepts in direct current electricity. Two intact science classes from two of the six senior secondary schools offering physics as elective in the New Juaben Municipality were randomly sampled using the computer generated random numbers to participate in the study. In all 101 students participated in the study. The experimental group consisted of 59 students and the control group had 42 students. The main instruments used for data collection were Current Electricity Concept Achievement Test (CECAT) which comprised 30 items and students’ learning cycle activity sheets. The t-test for independent and dependent samples, regression, percentages and thematic content analysis were used to analyze data. The results of the study showed that the experimental group which was instructed using the learning cycle approach performed better on the posttest compared to the control group who were instructed using the traditional approach. The results also revealed that the learning cycle approach was more effective in teaching most of the interrelated concepts and a number of different aspects of the selected concepts in direct current electricity than the traditional approach. It also revealed that the learning cycle activities were effective in identifying students’ preconceptions about concepts in direct current electricity. As a result of these findings, it was suggested that in teaching concepts in direct current electricity, the learning cycle approach should be adopted.

Source: UCC
Comparison of Learning Cycle and Traditional Teaching Approaches on Students’ Understanding of Selected Concepts in Electricity

Concept development has been the subject of ongoing debate among educators, academics and policy makers over the years. There have been many studies that sought to investigate the effectiveness of teaching methods in helping students develop and understand concepts in different subjects. The purpose of this study was to compare the learning cycle approach which is based on the constructivist theory to the traditional approach on senior secondary school students’ understanding of selected concepts in direct current electricity. Two intact science classes from two of the six senior secondary schools offering General Science in the New Juaben Municipality were randomly sampled using the computer generated random numbers to participate in the study. In all 101 students participated in the study. The experimental group consisted of 59 students and the control group had 42 students. The main instrument used for data collection was Current Electricity Concept Achievement Test (CECAT) which comprised of 30 multiple choice items. The t-test for independent and dependent samples and linear regression were used to analyze data. The results of the study showed that the experimental group which was instructed using the learning cycle approach performed better on the posttest compared to the control group who were instructed using the traditional approach. The results also revealed that the learning cycle approach was more effective for teaching most of the interrelated concepts and a number of different aspects of the selected concepts in direct current electricity than the traditional approach.

Source: UCC