ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Transportation and Marketing Practices on Welfare Of Cattle at the Kumasi Livestock Market, and Effects of Stunning Prior to Slaughter, on Meat Purchasing Decisions.

ABSTRACT Poor handling of livestock during transport and at slaughter have associated adverse effects on animal welfare and, meat quality; it also causes economic losses in terms of reduced profit margin to farmers and processors. This study was aimed at assessing the current animal handling practices by livestock vendors and butchers on welfare, and meat purchasing intentions of consumers in selected locations in Ghana. Abattoirs from Cape Coast, Kumasi and Tamale which were selected, received training in humane slaughter, and supplied with captive bolt stunners were interviewed. The study population consisted of 50 livestock transporters, 40 livestock owners, and 6 butchers. The study also involved 170 meat consumers and 19 Islamic scholars from selected communities in the Ashanti Region - Kumasi. Descriptive statistics tool and Probit Regression Model in SPSS (version 25, 2017) were used to analyse the data, findings were presented in tables, in the form of frequencies and percentages. It was observed that majority (94.4%) of the meat consumers had no idea about what pre-slaughter stunning of livestock entails. Vehicles used to transport livestock were generally in bad condition and needed immediate improvement. Mortalities recorded in this study were 2.5% (23 dead animals out of 922 transported) and 1.3% (8 dead out of 633 transported) cattle sourced from neighbouring countries and from within Ghana respectively, over a period of 4weeks. The captive bolt stunners previously donated to the selected butchers were either non-functional or in poor working condition. Further studies should be conducted to assess the effect of the handling practices on carcass quality and other economic losses experienced in cattle transported over long-distance for slaughter in Ghana.

Source: UCC
Transvaginal Echography in Assessing Cyclic Changes in Endocervix in Women of Reproductive Age

Objective: To study the echographic semiotics of endocervix in women of reproductive age in different periods of the menstrual cycle in a transvaginal way. Materials and methods: The study included 124 gynecologically healthy women aged 19-45 years. Among the surveyed 14 (11.3 ± 2.8%) had in the history only abortions (group I), 54 (43.6 ± 4.5%) parturition (group II) and in 56 (45.1 ± 4.5 %) of women was not pregnant (group III). 8 (6.4 ± 2.2%) women of I group were aged under of 25 years, 6 (4.8 ± 1.9%)-at the age of 26-35 years. 10 (8.1 ± 2.4%) women of II group were aged under of 25 years, 26 (21.0 ± 3.7%)-at 26-35 years, 18 (14.5 ± 3.2% )-at 36-45 years respectively. 34 (27.4 ± 4.0%) women of III group were aged under of 25 years, 16 (12.9 ± 3.0%)-at 26-35 years and 6 (4.8 ± 1.9% )-at 36-45 years respectively. Results: The thickness of endocervix in women with a lack of pregnancy was 8.9 ± 1.0 mm, which is significantly (p <0.05) more than in other women. Reduced echogenicity of endocervix on the 8-10th days of the menstrual cycle was noted in 73.2 ± 5.9% of women who did not have a pregnancy, in 66.2 ± 5.7% of those who had a history of delivery. The average echogenicity was much more often observed on days 12-14 - in 69,6 ± 6,1% and 72,1 ± 5,4% of women, isoehogenicity on 21-23 days - 76,8 ± 5,6% and In 67.3 ± 5.7%, respectively. Conclusions: The greatest thickness of endocervix is observed on 12-14 days of the cycle in women with the impossibility of pregnancy. On the 8th-10th days of the cycle, the echogenicity of the endocervix is often reduced, on the 12-14 days of the middle, on the 21-23th days - isoechoic.

Source: UCC
Traumatic Shoulder Girdle Injury: Relation to the Mechanism of Trauma, and the Age and Sex of Patients

Fractures and dislocations are common manifestations of shoulder girdle injuries (SGI) and are routinely diagnosed using radiography. SGI were investigated in relation to age and sex, and trauma. Furthermore, the number of diagnostic errors arising from evaluating SGI without the use of imaging tools was investigated. Two consultant radiologists retrospectively analyzed 572 shoulder radiographs from 293 patients for evidence of fractures and dislocations. The age and sex of patients, radiographic indications, etiology, clinical diagnoses, and cadres of the requesting physicians and the reporting radiologist were also recorded. Eighty-seven shoulder fractures were diagnosed and 44.4% were accounted for by road traffic injuries (RTI). Scapular fractures occurred predominantly in males aged 20-39 years (P = 0.031) after high-energy trauma, and the majority were associated with other shoulder girdle and extra-shoulder fractures. Falls and RTI accounted for 50% and 61.5% of fractures in patients less than 20 years of age and aged between 20-39 years, respectively (P=0.001). Clinical evaluation of SGI without using imaging tools resulted in 52 of 72 patients (72.2%) being diagnosed incorrectly. Falls are a common cause of SGI in females aged less than 10 years, and scapular fractures are more common than previously thought. This study demonstrates that radiography is invaluable for the evaluation and diagnosis of SGI

Source: UCC
Travel Motivations, Satisfaction Levels and Loyalty Intentions of International Tourists in Ghana

To be successful in today’s competitive tourism marketplace, tourism marketers and hospitality managers need a deeper understanding of tourists’ behaviour. This study seeks to establish how more foreign tourists can be attracted to Ghana. This thesis investigated travel motivations, satisfaction levels and loyalty intentions of visitors to Ghana between 1st October 2009 and 1st May 2010. The mixed method research approach was adopted for the study. Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast were chosen as the study areas. Accordingly, questionnaires were used to collect data from 405 tourists and in-depth interviews were granted to 100 tourists and 10 tourism marketers/managers. Factor analysis, Chi-square and the Pearson’s correlation techniques were used to analyse the data. Summations, tables, pictures and diagrams were used to present the results. The study found that visitors’ main push motives (intrinsic desires) were the drive to escape, relaxation and the quest for knowledge while the pull motives (destination attractiveness) were the natural attractions, rich culture of the people, and cleanliness of the destination. A majority of the tourists were highly satisfied with their experiences and were prepared to revisit and recommend Ghana to others. However, the respondents disclosed a few concerns based on which innovative marketing strategies to adopt were suggested. Finally, based on the push-pull framework (Crompton, 1979), a modified behavioural model (the Travel Motivation, Satisfaction and Loyalty Model) was proposed to better explain tourists’ decision-making process and contribute to existing knowledge and practice on tourists’ behaviour.

Source: UCC
Treatment efficacy of laser photothermal therapy using gold nanorods

In vivo experiments are performed to induce temperature elevations in implanted prostatic tumours in mice using 0.1 ml commercially available gold nanorod solution injected into the tumour. Tumour shrinkage studies and histological analyses of tumour cell death are conducted, and the equivalent minutes at 43C (EM43) for inducing tissue thermal damage are estimated based on temperature elevations during the treatment. It has been shown that the laser heating of 15 minutes in the tumour tissue containing gold nanorods is effective to cause irreversible thermal damage to the tumours, with a low laser irradiance on the tumour surface (1.6 W/cm2 ). The effectiveness of the heating protocol is demonstrated by tumour shrinkage to 7% of its original volume on the 25th day after the laser treatment and tumour necrosis events observed by histological analyses. The results are consistent with the EM43 distribution estimated by possible temperature elevations during the treatment

Source: UCC
Trend analysis of diseases reported at outpatient departments: A case study of the Greater Accra region

This study is about diseases reported at the outpatient departments (OPO) in the Greater Accra Region. The objectives of this study was to find the trend of the various diseases reported at the Outpatient Departments, forecast 2007 reported diseases and finally, to identify the most reported disease(s) within the period. Data was obtained from the Adabraka Polyclinic which is the coordinating center for the region's health statistics. The data covered the period 1996 to 2006. Trend analysis was the main statistical technique used in the study. It was found that malaria constituted half of all cases reported at OPD each year. Malaria, upper respiratory tract infection and skin disease formed an overwhelming majority (about 52.4%) of diseases reported at the OPD each year. It was also found that all top ten diseases exhibited upward trends. Trend analysis of these diseases yielded various forecasted values for 2007.

Source: UCC
Trend of fire outbreaks in Ghana and ways to prevent these incidents

Background:In Ghana,fre incidents have become a regular occurrence, with thousands of lives and millions of dollars lost every year. Hardly a day passes without news of a fre outbreak in some part of Ghana, causing fear and panic among the people. This generates much discussion centering on rumors relating to politics, sabotage, misfortune, religious differences, etc. This article seeks to discuss the trend of fire incidents occurring in Ghana from 2000 to 2013 and the different ways to prevent these incidents. Methods: The pattern of fire incidence in Ghana as a whole as well as in each region is discussed. The study took into consideration the causes, mechanisms, as well as preventive measures against the fre menace. Data were obtained from the head office of Ghana’s national fire service. Results: It was noticed that in general the rate of fire incidence increased each year. This increase was attributed to several factors: rate of population growth and industrialization, unstable electricity, urbanization, negligence, illegal electrical connection, etc. The cause of fire was categorized into domestic, industrial, vehicular, institutional, electrical, commercial, bush, and others. Among these causes, domestic fire accounted for 41% of the total number of fire incidents in the country. Conclusion: Finally, this study presents several recommendations to help prevent and mitigate fire incidents in Ghana

Source: UCC
Trends and Perspectives on Translation, Language and Literary Studies (Special Edition in Honour of Prof. Isaiah Bariki)

A native of the Niger Delta, where he grew up in the riverine area, he had his primary education in the Western Region of Nigeria before proceeding to Ghana for his secondary education. Professor Isaiah Bariki received his first degree in French from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1981 and later proceeded to University of Ibadan where he was awarded a mastersř degree in French again. In 1999, he became the first holder of doctoral degree from the department of French, University of Ilorin under the supervision of Professor Tunde Ajiboye. He became a Professor in 2014 and delivered his inaugural lecture on Power Dynamics and Allied Issues in 2021. Professor Isaiah Bariki is a highly committed scholar with an impressive array of publication in local and international journals. His primary area of research interest is Translation Theory and Practice but he has also published articles on Sociolinguistics, methodology, pragmatics, orthography and French grammar. Professor Bariki has taught in seven Universities. In five of these Universities, he also supervised undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has also been an external examiner / assessor to many Universities including University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast Ghana, Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey in Niger Republic and Durban, South Africa. While in South Africa, he supervised students and carried out collaborative research on aspects of isiZulu, one of the South Africařs national languages. He was a one-time Acting Director of the Centre of Foreign languages and Translation in Kwara State University, Malete. His penchant for intellectual discourse has led him to co-edit eight books. He is still working on more. He has been on advisory committee of several journals and he is the current Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Translation Studies in Nigeria. He has on various occasions been a resource person to JAMB, WAEC, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and National Universities Commission (NUC) where he has either headed or been a member of an accreditation team to various Universities. His years in the University of Ilorin were invaluable moments as we all enjoyed his valuable insight, academic leadership, administrative ingenuity, friendship and encouragement. He has a collaborative spirit that is evident in his work with fellow lecturers, where he contributed to developing and implementing innovative researches and expanding their collective knowledge base. Professor Bariki has not only endeared himself to his immediate colleagues, but to the University community at large. He is a humble man with pleasant disposition. Professor Isaiah displayed his administrative skills as a team player, builder and change agent in his capacity as Head of Department of French on a number of occasions prior to his retirement in 2022. The editorial team and his entire disciples wish him many more prosperous years ahead.

Source: UCC
Trends and Predictors of Single Motherhood in Ghana: 1993 – 2014

Single motherhood is an important demographic change because it potentially has an adverse effect on many aspects of women’s lives as well as that of their children. Using the Beckerian economic model and the social ecological system theory, the study sought to examine the trends and predictors of single motherhood in Ghana from 1993 to 2014. The last five rounds of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey with a total sample of 18,065 women aged 15-49 years who had at least a child (less than 18 years) were used. Single motherhood and 13 explanatory variables were used for the study. Five binary logistic regression models were built to examine the predictors of single motherhood, and the connection between kinship affiliations and single motherhood. The proportion of single motherhood has been increasing over the period from 14.1% to 19.5%. The results showed a changing trend in the major pathways to single motherhood, with premarital birth, being the major pathway to single motherhood as of 2014. The results revealed a highly significant association between socio-economic and demographic variables on the one hand and single motherhood on the other hand. Among others, women with lower economic status were more likely to be single mothers compared to those with higher economic status. Women with matrilineal ties were more likely to be single mothers than women with patrilineal ties. I argue that it is important to consider the cultural influences that shape women’s decisions around marriage and motherhood to address the menace of single motherhood and its associated effects.

Source: UCC
Trends in Performance of WASSCE Candidates in the Science and Mathematics in Ghana: Perceived Contributing Factors and the Way Forward

The trends in students’ performance in science and mathematics at secondary school level were examined within a decade-long interval in Ghana. Using West African Examinations Council (WAEC) data from approximately 20% of schools countrywide, it was observed that the results did not provide a definitive pattern. Factors such as teachers’ inability to complete between 50% and 75% of the curricula, insufficient-time to enact and complete the curriculum, lack of enough qualified teachers, and use of poor teaching approaches accounted for the trends. This study in Ghana has implications in teacher recruitment deployment in general as well as duration of secondary education globally to examine their efficacy.

Source: UCC
Trends in the performance of science students in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in Kumasi High School

This research was conducted to determine the trend in the performance of science students in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Elective Mathematics in the SSSCE from 1996-2001. The population for the study was all science students admitted to Kumasi High School for the senior secondary school programme from 1996-2001, totaling five hundred and thirty-five (535). The document analyses instrument was administered to collect data for the research from the West African Examination Council's results sheets sent to schools, students' BECE and SSSCE result slips. The basic school attended by each student, that is, basic public or private was also collected from students' personal record forms. A descriptive survey research design was used to answer the research questions formulated and subsequently tested statistically at the 0.05 level of significance. Statistical procedures used to analyse data collected for this study included the mean, Kendall's tau and a t-test. Line graphs and frequency tables were also used. The t-test conducted on the school type (public and private) and performance in SSSCE from 1996 to 2001 in Kumasi High school revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the performance of students from the basic public and private schools in the SSSCE. On the relationship between students' performance in the BECE and the SSSCE, the results showed that the correlation was low. The trend in performance of science students in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Elective Mathematics in the SSSCE revealed a downward trend indicating a low performance over the years under review. The results depicted that a greater percentage of students had between grades E to F in their elective subjects. On the performance of year groups in the science electives, the study showed that the 1999 year group performed better followed by the 1996,2001,2000, 1998 and the 1997 year groupS respectively. The results of the study implied that government and school authorities must take steps to improve the quality of science education in Kmnasi High school such as the provision of physical and material resources, adequate financing of edocation, teaching, training and development, improvement of the conditions of service of teachers and supervision of instruction.

Source: UCC
Trichoderma harzianum in combination with sheep manure amendment enhances soil suppressiveness of Fusarium wilt of tomato

The effect that the biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum (isolate Jn14) in combination with an amendment of sheep manure has on the soil suppressiveness of Fusarium wilt of tomato was investigated over a 28-month period. A combination of T. harzianum and organic amendment at concentrations (w:w) of 6 and 10% reduced tomato wilt by 21–36 % and 29–36% respectively, after 0–28 months of soil incubation. When the amendment was added at concentration of 2%, the wilt was suppressed only after 18–28 months. A combination of T. harzianum and the amendment at 6% also increased tomato plant fresh weights by 52% after 28 months, and the 10% amendment increased fresh weights by 56, 40, and 63%, after 18, 24, and 28 months respectively, compared to the experimental controls. Organic amendment at the higher concentrations further stimulated T. harzianum populations, enhanced microbial activity against Fusarium oxysporum in the soil and reduced pathogen populations. Without T. harzianum, the organic amendment at a concentration of 10% reduced disease by only 22, 24, and 23% and only after 18, 24 and 28 months of soil incubation respectively, compared with the controls. However, tomato wilt was not reduced at a 2% manure concentration in less than 12 months of incubation. Organic amendment alone at 6 and 10% reduced the pathogen population by 25% and 37% respectively after 28 months of soil incubation compared with the control. T. harzianum produced fungitoxic metabolites that reduced mycelial growth of Fusarium by 37% and conidium germination by 55% when the pathogen was grown on potato dextrose agar amended with a T. harzianum culture filtrate

Source: UCC
The trickster as a semiotic figure for construing postcolonial experience: Kwakye’s “The Clothes of Nakedness”

This essay examines an instance of the use of folklore by writers in postcolonial African societies to problematize postcolonial systems in fiction. The essay discusses how Benjamin Kwakye exploits the trickster character as a semiotic figure to construe the themes of survival and social and economic insecurity in The Clothes of Nakedness. The features of the trickster deployed include the spider imagery and his webbing across geographical margins, the use of trickery and manipulation as survival and power-building strategies, and the role of the trickster as a “heros camp” and villain. Towards the end of the narrative, the trickster is removed from focalization, and villainous events he engineers are construed as happening in spite of him. He remerges at the end as the ubiquitous spider in whom all mysteries make sense. These strategies are related to postcolonial issues of corruption, socioeconomic marginalization, and international aid

Source: UCC
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Ghanaian Women: The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Experience

Breast cancers that have negative or extremely low expression of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor and non-amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)/neu are termed triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The majority of TNBC tumors belong to the biologically aggressive basal subtype, and they cannot be managed with targeted endocrine or anti-HER2/neu agents. In western, high resource environments, risk factors for TNBC include younger age at diagnosis and hereditary susceptibility. Women of African ancestry in the United States and in continental Africa have higher frequencies of TNBC, prompting speculation that this risk may have an inherited basis and may at least partially explain breast cancer survival disparities related to racial/ethnic identity. Efforts to document and confirm the breast cancer burden of continental Africa have been hampered by the limited availability of registry and immunohistochemistry resources. Our goal was to evaluate the breast cancers diagnosed in one of the largest health care facilities in western Africa, and to compare the frequencies as well as risk factors for TNBC versus non-TNBC in this large referral tertiary hospital. The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is affiliated with the University of Ghana and is located in Accra, the capital of Ghana. We conducted an institutional, Department of Pathology-based review of the breast cancer cases seen at this facility for the 2010 calendar year, and for which histopathologic specimens were available. The overall study population of 223 breast cancer cases had a median age of 52.4 years, and most had palpable tumors larger than 5 cm in diameter. More than half were TNBC (130; 58.3%). We observed similar age-specific frequencies, distribution of stage at diagnosis and tumor grade among cases of TNBC compared to cases of non-TNBC. Ghanaian breast cancer patients tend to have an advanced stage distribution and relatively younger age at diagnosis compared to Caucasian Americans and African Americans. The triple-negative molecular marker pattern was the most common subtype of breast cancer seen among this sample of Ghanaian women, regardless of age, tumor grade, or stage of diagnosis. Research into the molecular pathogenesis of TNBC may help elucidate the reasons for its increased prevalence among women with African ancestry.

Source: UCC