Physical and Fuel Properties of Bambusa vulgaris of Different Age Groups and Their Effect on Producing Biofuel

Bamboo can be used to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels, as well as to generate heat and biofuels for transport and electricity. The main objective of this study was to investigate the physical and fuel properties of Bambusa vulgaris in three ecological zones for their utilization potential for the production of biofuels. Thirty-six samples of Bambusa vulgaris culms from 3 ecological zones in Ghana were milled to powder to assess the physical and fuel properties. The physical properties; moisture content, high heating values, bulk density, density, and ash content were investigated. The fuel properties were based on ultimate analysis, carbon, hydrogen nitrogen, and oxygen. The mean moisture content (MC) for the green bamboo ranged from 68.8% (dead culm) to 148% (mature culm) and 168% (juvenile culm). The MC for dried samples ranged from 9.09 to 13.06%. The results showed that the % MC of the samples increased with decreasing values of high heating and ash content. The mean density of the matured bamboo culms varied from 616.84 to 641.68 kg·m–3 and dead bamboo culms from 609.01 to 632.72 kg·m–3. Marginal reduction in density was observed in dead bamboo culms across the three ecological zones as compared to the mature bamboo culms. This implies that when B. vulgaris overgrows, its density decreases. High heating values ranged from 16.12 to 18.14 MJ·kg–1. Bulk density determines the transportation and storage of biomass; it ranged from 0.12 to 0.52 g·m–3. The ash contents were within the threshold (≥3%) of European standard. The mean values for the ultimate analysis of carbon (48.46 to 53.31%), hydrogen (5.60 to 6.56%), nitrogen (0.58 to 0.61%), and oxygen (39.73 to 41.35) were higher. Fuel properties of Bambusa vulgaris are comparable to some wood types, lower to denser wood types, but higher than most of the herbaceous energy crops and agricultural residues. This means that Bambusa vulgaris may be a good feedstock for the production of bioenergy in terms of heat, charcoal, biogas, bio-power, and transportation fuel

Factors associated with adverse obstetric events following induction of labour: a retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Ghana

Background: Induction of labour (IOL) remains an indispensable intervention in obstetric practice; however, it may be associated with significant untoward perinatal outcomes. This study determined the major adverse outcomes of IOL and the associated factors at a tertiary hospital in Ghana Methods: Retrospective study involving women with singleton gestations, conducted at the Korle Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with adverse outcomes of IOL. Findings: A total of 195 women who had IOL were analysed with 161 (82.6%) and 34 (17.4%) undergoing vaginal and caesarean deliveries respectively. The main IOL methods used included Misoprostol (91.3%), Oxytocin (5.1%) and Foley’s catheter (3.6%). Composite adverse perinatal outcomes occurred in 46 neonates (23.6%) comprising perinatal deaths (7.2%) and or NICU admission (21.0%). Caesarean delivery following IOL was significantly associated with nulliparity, gestational age <41 weeks, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and birth weight ≥3.5kg. Gestational age <41 weeks and birth weight <2.5kg weresignificantly associated with adverse perinatal outcome. Five women (2.6%) had uterine rupture all of which occurred in the misoprostol group. Conclusion: Induction of labour may result in significant perinatal complications which are related to both maternal (nulliparity and hypertension) and fetal (gestational age and birth weight) factors. Strict selection criteria and continuous fetal-maternal monitoring are strongly recommended to improve the birth outcomes of IOL. Keywords: Induction of labour; adverse outcomes; Ghana

The Craze of Fashion among Female students of Ghanaian Tertiary Institutions: Implication for Teaching and Learning

The essence of tertiary education is to groom the youth to take up middle level and managerial status in the world of work. These breeds of intellectuals are expected to demonstrate impeccable character, unsullied reputation and at best act as copybook for the younger generation. However, In recent times, the youth in Ghana, especially the females counterpart in tertiary institutions, have developed an awful taste for foreign fashion trends which have been described by some as inimical and amoral to the values and ethics of the society. A survey indicates that morality on our tertiary campuses has gotten to it breaking limits with regards to clothing. The adults have termed it as “indecent dressing. The female students, our future academicians, who ought to know better are regrettably and constantly championing and propagating this trend of fashion which they term as “wicked”. This has a lot of detrimental implications on the teaching and learning in the universities and other tertiary institutions. This trend in fashion has been affecting both lecturers and students, especially the male students hence the need for this paper. It examines the various definitions of fashion, takes a look at the current trends of fashion and analyse critically their implications on academic work - teaching and learning especially - and give suggestions as to how they could either be curbed or rectified. The study mainly based on observations, interviews and questionnaire revealed that female students who are younger, mostly between the ages of 17 and 25 patronize this kind of fashion. Also their “indecent dressings” have some ruinous effects on teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study concludes that while the young females want to free themselves from the ‘rigid and fading’ indigenous code of ethics in dressing, they should note that being fashionable does not imply being disrespectful to socio-cultural norms and values of the society that encourages the girl-child go to school. Keywords: Fashion craze, teaching and learning, culture, dressing to kill, style-lin

The effects of individual and community-level factors on maternal health outcomes in Ghana

The utilization of maternal health care services is imperative to reducing the number of perinatal deaths and postnatal complications amongst pregnant women. Data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey was used to conduct a quantitative study to understand the effects of individual and community-level factors on the uptake of maternal health care services. In addition, policy documents on maternal and child health care in Ghana with respect to antenatal, facility-based delivery, and postnatal care were reviewed to better understand government policies to improve maternal care. The quantitative study used a sample of 4,141 women nested within 427 clusters across Ghana. Multilevel logistic regression models were employed to examine the effects of individual and community-level factors on antenatal, facility-based delivery, and postnatal care. All the quantitative analyses were conducted with sample-weighted data. The quantitative analysis revealed both individual and community-level factors as significant predictors of maternal health outcomes in Ghana. For instance, wealthier women and those with higher education were significantly more likely to utilize antenatal and delivery services in both the rural and urban areas. Distance to health facilities was negatively associated with women’s use of maternal health services. The policy documents analyses indicated equity gaps in rural-urban health infrastructure and lack of financial resources to ensure equitable delivery of maternal health care services in Ghana. Policy makers must consider both individual and community-level factors, and women’s rights with regard to employment opportunities in addressing barriers to maternal health care in Ghana

The Impact of Management Accounting Practices on the Performance of Manufacturing Firms; An Empirical Evidence from Ghana

This study aimed at examining the impact of management accounting practices on performance of manufacturing firms in Ghana. The study use a quantitative research approach and data was collected from 200 manufacturing firm’s managers who were selected by means of the probability simple random sampling technique The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 18.0, was used to analyze data. Regression analysis was undertaken in order to check the association between management accounting practices and performance The study results shows that costing system, budgetary system, performance evaluation system, strategic management and information for decision making are the key management accounting practices mostly adopted by manufacturing firms in Ghana and these management account practices positively influences the performance of manufacturing firms in Ghana. The study then recommends that most of these management accounting practices has to be adhered to if managers want to increase performance. Keywords: Management Accounting Practices, Costing System, Budgeting System, Strategic analysis, Performance, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-17-13 Publication date:October 31st 202

High level dietary inclusion of monosodium glutamate lowers daily sperm production and efficiency in cocks

In a 16-week feeding trial, an investigation was carried out with 240 sexually matured cocks of twenty 24 weeks of age to assess the daily sperm production (DSP) and sperm production efficiency (SPE) of cocks fed dietary monosodium glutamate (MSG) at varied inclusion levels (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 g/kg diet designated diets A, B, C, D, E and F, respectively). The cocks were weighed (1888.33 ± 44.10 kg) and allotted to the 6 treatment diets. Each treatment was replicated 5 times with 8 cocks/ replicate in a completely randomized design. At the end of the feeding trial, 2 cocks per replicate (i.e. 4 cocks per treatment) were humanely sacrificed and their reproductive tracts dissected. The testes were carefully sampled, weighed and processed for estimation of DSP and SPE using both histological and homogenate methods of analyses. Results showed that the inclusion of MSG at 1.25 g/kg significantly reduced the DSP under the two estimation methods (P<0.05). The SPE was equally significantly lowered at 0.75 g MSG/kg diet and above when determined using the homogenate method. It was also observed that MSG at 1.00 g/kg diet and above lowered the DSP and SPE when determined histometrically. A high positive correlation was established between the DSP and the testicular volume of the cocks. However, the paired testicular sperm reserves were not significantly influenced (P≥0.05). Sperm reserves in both testicles of the cocks fed diets B and C were similar to the control. This study therefore, suggests that MSG has a potential to significantly reduce the reproductive potentials of cocks when administered in excess of 0.75 g/kg diet. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.396902

TEACHERS’ PROBLEMS OF TEACHING OF OXIDATION-REDUCTION REACTIONS IN HIGH SCHOOLS

The study explored how teachers taught redox reactions to senior high school students. Within a case-study research design, six chemistry teachers with a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 12 years teaching experiences from three schools were interviewed. The results revealed four themes; inhibition of instruction, weak instructional strategy, inability to teach concepts, and teachers’ professional development. It was found that teachers employed weak instructional strategies such as expository and out of class group assignments in teaching redox reactions. The study recommends that chemistry educators and researchers should design and develop subject-specific pedagogical content knowledge for teaching redox reactions.  Article visualizations

Assessing The Implementation Challenges of the Procurment Act of Ghana: The Newmont Ghana Experience

The Public Procurement Act of 2003 was initiated to address the weaknesses which were impregnated in the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PUFMARP). The goals of the Acts among others were to harmonise public procurement processes, practices, and secure judicious economic and efficient use of state funds and to possibly ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. The research therefore assessed the challenges influencing the implementation of the Public Procurement ACT 663 and its Amended Act 914 on procurement practitioners, where the main variables included strategic planning, regulation enforcement and organizational culture. Through a survey research design, the study targeted procurement officers’and contractor bodies working with Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd. Convenience sampling technique was used to select a sample of 50 respondents. Interviews and questionnaires were used in the data collection. Quantitative data collection was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel and presented through frequencies and percentages. The findings revealed that 75% of the respondent believed that Newmont’s strategic plan has the relevant performance pillars. The study showed that 47.5% said the impact of regulation enforcement on Newmont’s procurement activities is moderate. The findings also revealed that 47.5% of the respondent strongly agreed on the issue that Newmont’s culture favors good procurement procedures.In conclusion, the outcome suggested that, the Public Procurement Act can be carried out effectively if the strategic plan, regulation enforcement and organizational culture support the procurement systems in place. On recommendation, the researcher observed that Procurement process should uphold integrity and ensure that there are no malpractices and there is informed decision-making