ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Granulomatous inflammatory response in a case of typhoid fever

Objective: To present a case of culture-proven typhoid fever in which granulomas were demonstrated histologically in the ileum and mesenteric lymph nodes. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: A 47-year-old Pakistani man underwent emergency hemicolectomy for severe bleeding per rectum associated with diarrhea. Two large ulcers in the ileum, near the ileocolic junction, as well as mesenteric lymph nodes showed both necrotizing and non-necrotizing granulomas in addition to mixed inflammatory infiltrate on histology. Conclusion: Typhoid fever may be considered as one of the causes of the differential diagnoses of granulomatous inflammation of the small intestine.

Source: UG
Graphene nanoplatelet-based sensor for the detection of dopamine and N-acetyl-p-aminophenol in urine

This paper reports the development and application of a disposable sensor for the individual and simultaneous voltammetric determination of dopamine (DA) and N-acetyl-p-aminophenol (APAP). The sensor was fabricated by drop-coating graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs)-Nafion (Naf) nanocomposite onto the working area of a screen-printed electrode (SPE). The sensor, designated as GNPs-Naf/SPE, was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used to simultaneously analyze DA and APAP in their binary mixtures. It showed excellent selectivity and sensitivity toward both compounds with limit of detection of 0.13 µM and 0.25 µM (S/N = 3) for DA and APAP, respectively. The performance of the sensor was evaluated by analyzing the compounds in human urine samples, and the recoveries were found to be well over 97.0%.

Source: UG
Graphene-maleic anhydride-grafted-carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene-rubber nanocomposites

Ethylene-propylene grafted-maleic anhydride (EPR-g-MA) and a pure maleic anhydride (MA) were separately used to compound carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene-rubber (XNBR) together with reduced graphene oxide (G) to form nanocomposites, by using melt compounding technique. The G-sheets in the presence of MA (GA samples) or EPR-g-MA (GB samples) generally increased the physico-mechanical properties including; crosslinking density, tensile strength and thermal degradation resistance etc., when compared with sample without MA or EPR-g-MA (GAO) and the virgin matrix. For the thermal degradation resistance measured by the char residue (%), by using thermal gravimetric analysis technique; GA1 (0.1 ph G and 0.5 ph MA) was 106.4% > XNBR and 58% > GAO (0.1 ph G) while that of GB1 (0.1 ph G and 0.5 ph EPR-g-MA) was 60% > XNBR and 22.2% > GAO respectively. Although, homogeneous dispersions of the Gsheets assisted by MA or EPR-g-MA was a factor, but the strong bonding (covalent, hydrogen and physical entanglements) occurring in GA and GB was observed to be the main contributing factor for these property enhancements. Thus, these nanostructured materials have exhibited multifunctional capabilities and could be used for advanced applications including high temperature (heat sinks), flame retardants, and structural applications.

Source: UG
Graphene: Synthesis, transfer, and characterization for dye-sensitized solar cells applications

Large area graphene films with varying growth time thicknesses were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper foil and transferred to other substrates for characterization and photovoltaic applications. Scanning tunneling microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and imaging show films with high crystallinity, low defect density, I2D/IG ratio of 0.52-2.26, and the presence of continuous graphene sheets with optical transparency of 75.7%-96.8%. The use of CVD graphene sheets as counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells was explored. The short circuit current density (Jsc), the open circuit current (Voc), the fill factor (FF), and the overall conversion efficiency under AM 1.5, 100 mW cm-2 illumination are 12.7 mA/cm2, 544.8 mV, 57.5% and 3.8%, respectively. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Source: UG
Gravitating towards emission reduction targets in the G7 and E7 economies: the financial development and sustainable energy perspectives

Governments throughout the globe are confronted with climate change issues. In the wake of the climate change conference COP26—the Glasgow consensus, the criticality of attaining emission reduction targets to restrain global average temperature to 1.5 degrees has been reemphasized. Hence, we assessed these laudable climate action targets from the financial devel opment and sustainable energy perspectives within the E7 and G7 econo mies. In lieu of this, the application of Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Quantile regression techniques on annual frequency data from both blocs between 1990 and 2019 provide useful insights into the cruciality of financial development and renewable energy in CO2 mitigation toward attaining the 1.5°C vis-à-vis the net-zero emission goals. The empirical outcome shows that renewables create paths to emissions reduction targets in both blocs. Furthermore, financial development corroborates renewables’ emission reduction roles specifically in the E7. Additionally, renewables’ interactive roles with the expanding economic growth trajectory of both blocs also induce emission-mitigating effects. Finally, an inverted U-Shaped EKC phe nomenon was validated. Hence, green growth policies corroborated by financial expansion strategies are recommended and deemed apt for attain ing net-zero emission targets in these strategic economic blocs.

Source: UG
Grazing Capacity Estimation: why include biomass estimates from arable lands

Forage for ruminants in the dry season were assessed and matched with feed requirements in three villages in Zimbabwe, namely; Chiweshe, Makande and Mudzimu. Stocking rates were compared with grazing capacity to determine grazing intensities. Grazing capacities were estimated with or without crop residues to assess the importance of crop residues in livestock feeding during the dry season. 333,742, 5,320 tonnes of forage DM were estimated from crop yield in arable lands from Chiweshe, Makande and Mudzimu, representing 19.2, 31.8 and 81.3% respectively of total available forage DM produced in the villages. Including crop residues in the estimation of grazing capacity, all three villages were understocked. However, without the contribution of crop residues, the grazing intensities changed. Grazing capacities for Chiweshe, Makande and Mudzimu declined from 2.8 to 4.9, 1.5 to 2.8 and 1.1 to 8.2 ha/LU representing a reduction of 44, 46 and 87% respectively, making all three villages overstocked. Results obtained revealed that in areas with intensive crop production, crop residues assume great importance in decreasing the level of feed deficit in the dry season. When the contribution of crop residues is taken into account in grazing capacity estimates, the level of grazing intensity is not as high as is normally depicted.

Source: UG
Greater Accra’s new urban extension at Ningo-Prampram: urban promise or urban peril?

New private property investments in Africa’s cities are on the rise, often manifested as comprehensively planned urban extensions. Greater Accra has several competing city projects under development, potentially launching new city-making trajectories and competitive struggles among rival projects. This article assesses the rationale and early evolution of Ghana’s largest, most ambitious project the Ningo- Prampram Urban Extension, aiming to accommodate 1.5 million people. Supported by UN-Habitat, international consultants, government, and local Chiefs, the constellation of actors supports a public-private partnership to engage in urban entrepreneurialism, underpinned by sustainable development features and promising increased global connectivity. However, this project raises socio-spatial contradictions with regard to how affordable housing, an airport city and other developments can augment Accra’s development. Global economy articulation as well as intra-city connectivity is promised but at its peril it amplifies sprawl so that the Accra City Region evolves into a string of beads along the Trans-West African Highway.

Source: UG
Green Care as Alternative Therapy: The Situation in Ghana

Green care, an alternative healthcare system that involves the use of nature, is proven to be useful in the management of organic and psychological disorders worldwide. There are various forms of Green care including Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), a type where animals play pivotal roles in the healing process and is widely used in many developed countries. We assessed the level of awareness and attitude towards Green care among medical students of Ghana. Using a cross-sectional study design and a semistructured questionnaire designed on Google Forms, data were collected from randomly selected 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-year medical students of the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. )e data submitted by 206 of the students were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 25, and the results were presented as frequencies, percentages, and charts. )e association between sociodemographic characteristics of respondents and awareness about Animal-Assisted )erapy (AAT) was considered significant at p < 0.05. )e study found that only 7 (3.4%) of the medical students had ever heard of Green care while a higher number of 36 (17.5%) were aware of AATmostly through movies and television. However, the majority, 122 (59.3%), had a positive attitude towards the introduction of AAT, into their medical training curriculum. Up to 146 (70.9%) of the respondents suggested lectures and practical sessions as their preferred way of acquiring knowledge and skills on AAT. Only the sex of the respondents was significantly associated with awareness of AAT, with females having a better awareness of AAT (28.6% vs. 11.0%, p = 0.003). We conclude that awareness of Green care practices among medical students in Ghana was highly inadequate, but the desire of the majority of them to acquire knowledge and skills in this proven alternative therapy makes its future use in Ghana promising.

Source: UG
The Green Climate Fund in Africa: what should be different?

There are several climate funds already in operation before the establishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This paper draws on the analysis of climate funds relevant for climate change activities in Africa to improve stakeholders understanding of what should be different with the GCF in Africa. The analysis indicates that projects financed by climate funds are predominantly small-scale with high transaction costs. The mean amount of total approved projects in Africa is US$7.21 (28.41) million. Over 95% of these projects is funded with grants. The mean disbursement ratio for the projects is 34.9% (45.4) and the mean initial disbursement lag is 1.9 years (1.2). To enhance scalability of projects and predictability of funds, African countries will have to work with the GCF to diversify financial instruments away from grants to loans and private capital to finance medium- and large-scale projects. The analysis also indicates that African countries should rally behind a position for ‘additionality’ of financial flows from the GCF that is realistic. Outsourcing fund management (including risks analysis and due diligence) activities of national funding entities to domestic financial institutions (FIs) will help reduce the expense ratio and enhance mainstreaming of climate finance in FIs in Africa. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Source: UG
Green marketing mix and repurchase intention: the role of green knowledge

Purpose – This study investigated the effect of green marketing mix on consumer repurchase intention in Ghana. The study focusses on the interaction effect of green knowledge on green marketing mix and consumer repurchase in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach to research was employed. In all, 371 participants were chosen using the purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software. Findings – The findings showed that green price, green place and green promotion had a positive significant effect on repurchase intention. However, green product insignificantly influenced repurchase intention. The findings further showed that green knowledge moderated the relationship between green price and green place, on repurchase intention. Green knowledge was not found to moderate the relationship between green product, green promotion and repurchase intention. Originality/value – The study advances our knowledge on green marketing mix, green knowledge and repurchase intention within the beverage sector. It reveals the positive implication of green marketing mix on a firm’s customers using the marketing mix theory. Keywords Green marketing, Green marketing mix, Repurchase intention, Green knowledge Paper type Research paper

Source: UG
Green Packaging, Environmental Awareness, Willingness to Pay and Consumers’ Purchase Decisions

This study examined green packaging, environmental awareness, and willingness to pay for green products in consumers’ purchase decisions. A cross-sectional survey was employed in collecting data from 218 respondents in Ghana. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents for the study. The data were analyzed using SPSS software for descriptive statistics and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test our hypotheses. The study found that consumers’ environmental awareness had a positive and significant impact on green purchasing decisions. However, the impact of green packaging was not found to be significant on consumers’ purchase decisions in Ghana. The study further revealed that consumers’ willingness to pay for green products positively and significantly predicted consumer purchase decisions. Some recommendations are suggested for theoretical and managerial considerations.

Source: UG
Green Pyrolysis of Used Printed Wiring Board Powders

Rapid technological innovation has propelled the use of electronic equipment leading to the generation of more and more waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE). Printed wiring board (PWB) is a component made of one or more layers of insulating material with electrical conductors. To investigate an environmentally friendly process to recycle PWBs, PWB samples with and without additives were pyrolyzed. Liquid, gas and solid products were achieved with different conversion fraction. Analysis of the exhaust gases from the experiments using GC-MS and MS showed that without CaCO3 additives poisonous gases such as C6H6 and HBr were produced which were adequately controlled if CaCO3 was added.

Source: UG
The groaning earth and the greening of neo-pentecostalism in twenty-first-century Ghana

From the angle of theology of mission it is imperative for the Christian faith to respond to the complex environmental challenges facing Africa. In this article, I explore the attitudes and responses of Ghana's Charismatic churches, as a case study of neo-Pentecostal responses to Ghana's environmental challenges. I further explore some theological and ethical imperatives that require neo-Pentecostals to integrate environmental protection into their missions agenda in today's Ghana, in order to become environmentally friendly, as their "mission of reconciliation" requires of them. I argue that, as required by their theology of mission, Ghana's neo-Pentecostals must reconcile with the earth and "be of the earth" through a re-interpretation of their "mission of reconciliation". Source data for this work are both secondary and primary, utilizing both participant observation and analysis of interviews with selected neo-Pentecostal members and leaders in Ghana.

Source: UG
Gross and Histo-Pathologic Findings in Goats with Plastic bags in the Rumen

The objective of this study was to investigate the gross and histo-pathological changes caused by the presence of plastic bags in the rumen of goats. Sixteen castrated one-year old small East African goats were used for the study. The animals were divided into 4 groups, of 4 goats (n=4). Three groups were implanted with 129g, 258g and 387g of plastic bags, respectively, introduced into the rumen through rumenotomy, while the fourth group without implants served as control. All goats with or without plastic bags were observed daily for 6 weeks following implantation. Dead and surviving goats euthanized after the 6-week period were subjected to postmortem and histopathological examination. Gross pathological lesions observed were atrophy of the muscle and body fat, and atrophy and fibrosis of the spleen, liver, kidneys and hydropericardium. Lesions on the rumen epithelium included stunting, atrophy, thinning and loss of ruminal papillae, erosion, ulcerations and nodular formations on the ruminal mucosa. The histopathological examination revealed atrophy, erosion, ulceration, and disruptions of the stratified epithelial layer of the papillae. Other changes included parakeratosis, hyperkeratosis, prominent rete pegs, oedema and severe hydrophic degeneration of different parts of the mucosal layer. There were areas of increased mononuclear cell infiltration, increase in the number of lymphatic vessels and lymphangiectasis in the submucosa, and oedema in the muscularis and serosal layers. The pathological changes observed may interfere with the digestion and absorption of nutrients, resulting in poor animal condition, overall productivity and production.

Source: UG
Ground state energy of a polaron in a superlattice

The ground state energy of a polaron in a superlattice was calculated using the double-time Green functions. The effective mass of the polaron along the planes perpendicular to the superlattice axis was also calculated. The dependence of the ground state energy and the effective mass along the planes perpendicular to the superlattice axis on the electron-phonon coupling constant α and on the superlattice parameters (i.e. the superlattice period d and the bandwidth Δ) were studied. It was observed that if an infinite square-well potential is assumed, the ground state energy of the polaron decreases (i.e. becomes more negative) with increasing α and d, but increases with increasing Δ. For small values of α, the polaron ground state energy varies slowly with Δ, becoming approximately constant for large Δ. The effective mass along the planes perpendicular to the superlattice axis was found to be approximately equal to the mass of an electron for all typical values of α, d and Δ.

Source: UG
Grounding agricultural research in resource-poor farmers' needs: A comparative analysis of diagnostic studies in Ghana and Benin

Eight researchers from Ghana and Benin, with different backgrounds but all co-operating within the Convergence of Sciences project, conducted diagnostic studies as a first step of their research aimed at developing technologies together with resource-poor farmers. The purpose of including diagnostic studies was to increase the likelihood that the resulting technologies would be grounded in the needs and opportunities of these farmers. To better understand the potential of diagnostic studies for improving the contribution of agricultural research to farmers' livelihoods, a comparative study was conducted of the diagnostic studies carried out by the eight researchers. This research on agricultural research was participatory in that its results were arrived at in consultation with the eight researchers. The comparison revealed that diagnostic studies identified and established forums of stakeholders, especially of farmers, who were to play key roles in the co-construction of knowledge during the field experimental phase that followed the diagnostic studies. The diagnostic studies gave farmers a say in the design and conduct of the experimental phase which allowed them to influence the research process in the direction of developing and testing technologies that work in their circumstances and that satisfy their needs and priorities. In addition, the diagnostic studies have led to transparent choices with respect to the selection of sites, farmers and experiments. Furthermore, the conditions for negotiation were created. Finally, the diagnostic studies played a crucial role in making the partners within the Convergence of Sciences project aware of the importance of contextual framework conditions in determining the relevance of the project.

Source: UG
Grounding Twenty-first-Century Public Relations Praxis in Aristotelian Ethos

By grounding public relations praxis in Aristotelian ethos, practitioners can function as liaison officers with balanced perspectives, capable of co creating meaning with both client organizations and their publics between whom experts are hired to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships. This approach locates persuasion at the nexus of speaker ethos in the public relations process. It allows practitioners to balance their commitment to the ethics of their profession with loyalty to clients, while empowering audi ences (organizations and their publics) to function as the final arbiters of any courses of action proposed to them. Moreover, because the approach enables practitioners, based on their credible ethos, to participate in orga nizational decision-making, it has the potential to transfer their ethical worldview to client organizations. Ultimately, the central theoretical con tribution of this essay is an alternative approach to public relations praxis founded on an analysis of Aristotle’s notion of phronesis, arête, and eunoia.

Source: UG
Grounding Twenty-first-Century Public Relations Praxis in Aristotelian Ethos

By grounding public relations praxis in Aristotelian ethos, practitioners can function as liaison officers with balanced perspectives, capable of cocreating meaning with both client organizations and their publics between whom experts are hired to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships. This approach locates persuasion at the nexus of speaker ethos in the public relations process. It allows practitioners to balance their commitment to the ethics of their profession with loyalty to clients, while empowering audiences (organizations and their publics) to function as the final arbiters of any courses of action proposed to them. Moreover, because the approach enables practitioners, based on their credible ethos, to participate in organizational decision-making, it has the potential to transfer their ethical worldview to client organizations. Ultimately, the central theoretical contribution of this essay is an alternative approach to public relations praxis founded on an analysis of Aristotle’s notion of phronesis, arête, and eunoia

Source: UG