Effect of road transport accessibility on agricultural produce marketing and livelihoods of farmers in the Kasena-Nankana West District of Ghana

For developing counties like Ghana, tackling existing internal economic and social disparities demands long term strategic solutions to mitigate the severity of poverty among some specific vulnerable groups within the society. By enabling the effective exchange of goods and services, the road sector makes a tremendous contribution to the economic development of rural societies and the eradication of existing rural-urban disparities. In many developing countries, however, rural road transport networks are generally of a low quality owing to little priority accorded to them. This paper, therefore, assessed the effects of poor road transport accessibility on the marketing of agricultural produce in the Kasena-Nankana West District of Ghana. The paper draws on the experiences of 150 respondents; farmers and transport operators from three communities (Babile, Chiana and Naania) and officials from the Feeder Roads Department of the District Assembly on the challenges of marketing agricultural produce in the District. Data collection was based on primary sources using questionnaires and interview guides. The analyzed data was presented in descriptive statistics such as percentages using tables and graphs. The condition of the road has engendered the practice of drivers overloading their vehicles. Utmost among the challenges confronting produce marketing is the issue of increased transport fares. The major impact of poor road transport network on the marketing of agriculture produce, identified by the study was the high incidence of post-harvest losses. Also, the increased cost of transportation compels farmers to sell their produce at farm gates at lower prices. The study, therefore, recommends that the District Assembly and Department of Feeder Roads improve the road networks within the area while storage facilities should be built and strategically sited in the communities to store farm produce. 

Graduate Recital: Gary Morgan, Trombone and Baritone; Al Fricke, Piano; May 4, 1975

Hayden AuditoriumSunday AfternoonMay 4, 19754:00 p.m

Density profile of a strictly two-dimensional Bose gas at finite temperature

We study a Bose-condensed gas at finite temperature, in which the particles of the condensate and of the thermal cloud are constrained to move in a plane under radial harmonic confinement and interact via strictly two-dimensional collisions. The coupling parameters are obtained from a calculation of the many-body T-matrix and decreases as temperature increases through a dependence on the chemical potential and on the occupancy of excited states. We discuss the consequences on the condensate fraction and on the density profiles of the condensed and thermal components as functions of temperature, within a simplified form of the two-fluid model.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

O-HI-O : O-My!-O!

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Patterns of parental warmth, attachment, and narcissism in young women in United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom

Few studies have looked at the relationship between parenting styles and narcissistic traits across cultures. We investigated parental influences and attachment in the development of narcissistic traits in two female student samples from the United Kingdom (n = 78) and the United Arab Emirates (n = 70). The UAE students scored significantly higher than the UK students on all of the three Narcissistic Personality Inventory subscales. Higher scores on the Entitlement/Exploitativeness facet was best explained by culture and low paternal care. Culture was a significant moderator between Grandiose Exhibitionism and preoccupied attachment, and Leadership Authority and secure attachment. Our results highlight the importance of investigating cross-cultural parenting influences in narcissism, as narcissism is likely to be affected by cultural differences in parenting practices © 2013 Individual Differences Association, Inc

Using Remote Sensing Data to Evaluate Habitat Loss in the Mobile, Galveston, and Tampa Bay Watersheds

The Gulf of Mexico has experienced dramatic wetland habitat area losses over the last two centuries. These losses not only damage species diversity, but contribute to water quality, flood control, and aspects of the Gulf coast economy. Overall wetland losses since the 1950s were examined using land cover/land use (LCLU) change analysis in three Gulf coast watershed regions: Mobile Bay, Galveston Bay, and Tampa Bay. Two primary causes of this loss, LCLU change and climate change, were then assessed using LCLU maps, U.S. census population data, and available current and historical climate data from NOAA. Sea level rise, precipitation, and temperature effects were addressed, with emphasis on analysis of the effects of sea level rise on salt marsh degradation. Ecological impacts of wetland loss, including fishery depletion, eutrophication, and hypoxia were addressed using existing literature and data available from NOAA. These ecological consequences in turn have had an affect on the Gulf coast economy, which was analyzed using fishery data and addressing public health impacts of changes in the environment caused by wetland habitat loss. While recent federal and state efforts to reduce wetland habitat loss have been relatively successful, this study implies a need for more aggressive action in the Gulf coast area, as the effects of wetland loss reach far beyond individual wetland systems themselves to the Gulf of Mexico as a whole

Innovative flexural strengthening of RC beams using self-anchored prestressed CFRP plates: Experimental and numerical investigations

This paper presents an innovative method of prestressing carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates used as externally bonded reinforcement for flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The proposed method aims to achieve self-anchorage of the prestressed CFRP plate and thus eliminate the need for conventional mechanical anchorage at its ends. Experimental tests of RC beams in four-point bending were conducted to investigate the strengthening efficiency of the self-anchored prestressed CFRP plate. The experimental results showed that using the self-anchored prestressed CFRP significantly improved the flexural performance of the strengthened beam in terms of bending stiffness, crack widths, and load-carrying capacity. The utilisation ratio of the prestressed CFRP plate reached 81% at its debonding. Numerical analyses using nonlinear finite element (FE) method were conducted to model the tested specimens. Based on the reliable simulation of flexural cracks and crack-induced CFRP debonding, parametric studies were conducted using FE analyses, in order to investigate the effect of prestressing levels and the CFRP plate\u27s stiffness on the flexural behaviour. Recommendations were then made for selecting a proper prestressing level and the mechanical properties of CFRP plates

Maternal and infant morbidity following birth before 27 weeks of gestation: a single centre study

Delivery at extreme preterm gestational ages (GA) [Formula: see text] weeks is challenging with limited evidence often focused only on neonatal outcomes. We reviewed management and short term maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes of births for 132 women (22 + 0 to 26 + 6 weeks' GA) with a live fetus at admission to hospital and in labour or at planned emergency Caesarean section: 103 singleton and 29 (53 live fetuses) twin gestations. Thirty women (23%) had pre-existing medical problems, 110 (83%) had antenatal complications; only 17 (13%) women experienced neither. Major maternal labour and delivery complications affected 35 women (27%). 151 fetuses (97%) were exposed to antenatal steroids, 24 (15%) to tocolysis and 70 (45%) to magnesium sulphate. Delivery complications affected 11 fetuses, with 12 labour or delivery room deaths; survival to discharge was 75% (117/156), increasing with GA: 25% (1/4), 75% (18/24), 69% (29/42), 73% (33/45) and 88% (36/41) at 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 weeks GA respectively (p = 0.024). No statistically important impact was seen from twin status, maternal illness or obstetric management. Even in a specialist perinatal unit antenatal and postnatal maternal complications are common in extreme preterm births, emphasising the need to include maternal as well as neonatal outcomes