ICT Development at University of Mines and Technology (UMaT)

The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) has adopted IT and later ICT to enhance, teaching, learning and research for sometime now and in this paper the authors who were part of the team that introduced ICT at UMaT describe this adoption of ICT. The concept of ICT preparedness index is introduced and used to assess the advancement of UMaT in the areas that are most critical to the adoption of ICT in a university and to identify areas of strength and weakness in ICT at UMaT

Field evaluation of neem seed extract for the control of major pests of cowpea in northern Ghana

Field studies were conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Nyankpala, northern Ghana, during the 2006 cropping season to evaluate the effect of aqueous neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) seed extract at 5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent on Aphis craccivora Koch., Megalurothrips sjostedti Tryb., Maruca vitrata Fab., and a complex of pod and seed-sucking bugs of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walpers), as well as their effect on the grain and fodder yields of the crop. The results showed that the incidence and abundance of all the target insect pests were significantly affected by the neem extract treatments. Cowpea grain yield was significantly higher in all the neem-treated plots than in the control. The 15 per cent neem seed extract treatment proved as effective as that of the 20 per cent in increasing the grain yield of the cowpea crop. However, none of the neem treatments was as effective as the synthetic insecticide (Karate) in cowpea grain yield. However, grain quality for the 15 and 20 per cent treatments was similar to that for the Karate treatment. Cowpea fodder yield was found to decrease with increasing concentration of the neem extract. Benefit-cost analysis for the grain and fodder yields showed that the 15 and 5 per cent neem extract treatments, respectively, had the best benefit-cost ratios. Therefore, the 15 per cent neem seed extract is recommended for use in controlling the major field insect pests of cowpea for maximum grain yield in the Guinea savanna agroecological zone of Ghana. However, for situations in which the grower is strapped for cash or neem seeds are inadequate, the 5 or 10 per cent extract may be used. The 5 per cent neem seed extract is recommended for dual-purpose cowpea cultivars for maximum returns on grain and fodder yield

Farmers\' knowledge and perceptions of insect pests of yam (Dioscorea spp.) and their indigenous control practices in northern Ghana

Farmers\' knowledge and perceptions of insect pests of yam were studied between July 2000 and October 2001 in the Northern Region of Ghana using structured interview (questionnaire) and diagnostic surveys. A survey of 130 farmers randomly selected from 10 yam-growing districts of the Northern Region showed a wide range of ages (20- 86 years, average 50.3 years). Over 80 per cent of the farmers were above 40 years of age with an average of 25.6 years of farming experience. Land holdings for these farmers were small, averaging 2.8 acres (range 0.5- 12 acres). Most farmers were illiterate, because 88 per cent had not received formal education. Farmers identified yam pests as one of the major production constraints. Pests mentioned by farmers as causing the most serious damage in the field and storage, and confirmed by diagnostic surveys, included scale insect, Aspidiella hartii Ckll; termite, Amitermes guineensis Sands; tuber beetle, Heteroligus meles Billb; mealybug, Planococcus spp.; leaf beetle, Crioceris livida Dalm; and millipede, Habrodesmus sp. Despite the high level of pest awareness, most farmers (97%) did not practice any type of pest control because they lacked appropriate control methods. Only 3 per cent of them reported that they had used traditional methods of control such as wood ash, cow dung and aqueous extract of dawadawa, Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) Benth, pod or fruit. It is important to improve farmers\' pest management abilities by providing them with field diagnostic tools and educational materials through farmer field school. This will help them to acquire basic knowledge of pest identification and key concepts of pest control to enable them to become independent decision-makers.Des études étaient entreprises entre le Juillet 2000 et l\'Octobre 2001 sur la connaissance et les perspicacités d\'agriculteurs d\'insectes ravageurs d\'igname dans la région du nord du Ghana adoptant les interrogations structurées (le questionnaire) et les enquêtes diagnostiques. Une enquête de 130 agriculteurs choisis au hasard de dix districts producteurs d\'igname de la région du nord révélait de grande envergure des âges (20-86 ans, moyen 50.3 ans). Plus de 80% d\'agriculteurs avaient de plus de 40 ans d\'âge ayant une moyenne de 25.6 ans d\'expérience agricole. Les possessions de terrain pour ces agriculteurs sont petites, atteignant la moyenne de 2.8 acres (variation 0.5 - 12 acres). La plupart d\'agriculteurs sont analphabètes, comme 88% n\'ont pas suivi de cours formels. Les agriculteurs identifiaient les ravageurs d\'igname comme l\'un de contraintes principales de production. Les ravageurs mentionnés par les agriculteurs comme causant les dégâts les plus sérieux aux cultures aux champs et en stockage et confirmé par l\'enquête diagnostique comprennent: le coccidé, Aspidiella hartii Ckll; le termite, Amitermes guineensis Sands; le coléoptère, Heteroligus meles Billb; l\'aleurode, Planococcus spp.; le coléoptère de feuilles, Crioceris livida Dalm; et le mille-pattes, Habrodesmus sp. Malgré la prise de conscience élevée de ravageurs, la majorité d\'agriculteur (97%) ne pratiquent pas aucun type de maîtrise de ravageur parce qu\'ils manquent les méthodes de maîtrise appropriées. Seulement 3% d\'entre eux signalaient l\'application de méthodes traditionnelles de maîtrise telles que la cendre de bois, le fumier de vache, et l\'extrait aqueux de la cosse, ou du fruit de dawadawa Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) Benth. Il est important d\'améliorer la capacité de l\'agriculteur de lutter contre les ravageurs par la fourniture des outils de diagnostic sur le terrain, et les matériels de vulgarisation à travers l\'école d\'agriculteur sur le terrain. Ceci peut les aider à acquérir la connaissance de base d\'identification de ravageur, les notions fondamentales de la lutte contre les ravageurs, pour leur permettre de devenir des décideurs originaux. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 40 (2) 2008: pp. 185-19

Susceptibility of Some Kersting’s Groundnut Landrace Cultivars to Infestation by Callosobruchus Maculatus (Fab.) [Coleoptera: Bruchidae]

Seeds of five different landrace cultivars of Kersting’s groundnut, Macrotyloma geocarpum (Harms) Marechal and Baudet, obtained from northern Ghana, were evaluated for their susceptibility to infestation and damage by the pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. The completely randomized design was used to obtain data on the oviposition, developmental period, progeny emergence, weight loss in seeds and susceptibility index. The results showed that the Nakpanduri-white, Heng-mottle and Damongo-cream landrace cultivars proved to be the highly preferred hosts to C. maculatus, recording the highest egg load and progeny emergence, as well as the shortest egg-adult developmental period, and highest seed weight loss. The Najung-black landrace cultivar was the least preferred, followed by the Nakori-brown cultivars. Results from susceptibility indices further indicated that the Najung-black and Nakori-brown were the least susceptible to C. maculatus, while Nakpanduri-white was the most susceptible. Overall, the Najung-black and Nakori-brown landrace cultivars consistently demonstrated high tolerance to the pest and therefore, should be promoted or incorporated into breeding programmes to help minimize the high losses incurred by farmers during storage

Phenotypic and seed protein analysis in 31 Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) accessions in Ghana

Phenotypic and seed protein analyses were performed on 31 accessions of Lima bean assembled in Ghana. Data on 16 phenotypic characters consisting of eight quantitative and eight qualitative were analysed. There were significant differences among the accessions based on the eight quantitative characters. Seed protein analysis showed 17 bands with relative mobility of bands, which ranged from 0.01 to 0.86. An ordinal logistic regression analysis showed significant evidence for seed coat, pod beak shape and seed size association. Cluster analysis based on both phenotypic and protein data provided evidence for differences among the accessions. Quantitative characters were associated with some specific clusters

Compensatory and susceptive responses of cowpea genotypes to infestation by aphis Craccivora koch.

The aim of the study was to estimate yield loss to10 selected genotypes of cowpea as a result of Aphis craccivora infestation during the vegetative phase of the crop. There were two trials with four replications. The first trial serving as the control was sprayed at the seedling, flowering andpodding stages against insect pests with lambda cyhalothrin (PAWA®). The other trial was sprayed only at flowering and podding stages. The cowpea seedlings of the second trial were infested with five four-day-old aphids per seedling two weeks after planting. The aphids were allowed to form colonies and fed on the seedlings until symptoms of damage were observed. When the susceptible seedlings became stunted with distorted leaves and yellowing of leaves at two weeks after infestation (28 days after planting), aphids were controlled. The results showed that aphids’ infestation delayed flowering and maturity of genotypes of cowpea. With the exception of early flowering genotypes all the medium to late flowering genotypes produced higher dry grain yield in infested plots than the control plots. The trend was not different from the production of dry biomass. The results of the present study implies that control of aphids infestation inearly maturing cowpea genotypes should not be delayed up to two weeks after infestation or 28 days after planting. Aphid’s infestation period for studies in susceptive response in medium to late maturing genotypes should go beyond 28 days after planting probably up to 35 days afterplanting

Adolescent Problem Gambling in Rural Ghana: Prevalence and Gender Differentiation

Abstract Problem gambling among young people is now a public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the behaviour remains understudied, particularly, among rural-dwelling young people in countries within the subregion. We aimed to estimate the 12 months prevalence of problem gambling and to describe the overall and gender differences and commonalities in personal factors and social adversities associated with problem gambling among adolescents in rural Ghana. We conducted a cross-sectional survey involving a random sample of 1101 in-school adolescents aged 10–19 years in a rural district in Eastern Ghana; we used the DSM-IV-Multiple Response-Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) questionnaire to assess problem gambling during the previous 12 months. Personal lifestyle and psychosocial variables were assessed using adopted items from the 2012 WHO–Global School-based Student Health Survey. Overall, three in 10 adolescents (3 in 10 females; 4 in 10 males) in rural Ghana reported problem gambling in the previous 12 months. Female adolescents who experienced problem gambling were more likely to report family-related social adversities, while adolescent male problem gambling was associated with school-related factors and interpersonal factors outside the family context. Regardless of gender, sexual abuse victimisation was associated with three times increase in the odds of experiencing problem gambling. Relative to the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in urban contexts in other countries within sub-Saharan Africa, the estimates of problem gambling among in-school rural adolescents in Ghana are higher. Although further studies are needed to understand the nuances of the behaviour, the evidence of this study underscores the need for general and targeted health promotion, intervention and prevention efforts to mitigate the family, school, and interpersonal social adversities associated with adolescent problem gambling in rural Ghana.</jats:p

Self-reported use of anti-malarial drugs and health facility management of malaria in Ghana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To assess the appropriateness of self-reported use of anti-malarial drugs prior to health facility attendance, and the management of malaria in two health facilities in Ghana.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 500 respondents who were diagnosed clinically and/or parasitologically for malaria at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital and Suntreso Polyclinic, both in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Collected information included previous use of anti-malarial drugs prior to attending the health facilities, types of drugs used, how the drugs were used, and the sources of the drugs. In addition, the anti-malarial therapy given and outcomes at the two health facilities were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 500 patients interviewed, 17% had severe malaria, 8% had moderate to severe malaria and 75% had uncomplicated malaria. Forty three percent of the respondents had taken anti-malarial drugs within two weeks prior to hospital attendance. The most commonly used anti-malarials were chloroquine (76%), sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (9%), herbal preparations (9%) and amodiaquine (6%). The sources of these medicines were licensed chemical sellers (50%), pharmacies (21%), neighbouring clinics (9%) or "other" sources (20%) including left-over medicines at home. One hundred and sixty three (77%) of the 213 patients who had used anti-malarial drugs prior to attending the health facilities, used the drugs inappropriately. At the health facilities, the anti-malarials were prescribed and used according to the national standard treatment guidelines with good outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Prevalence of inappropriate use of anti-malarials in the community in Ghana is high. There is need for enhanced public health education on home-based management of malaria and training for workers in medicine supply outlets to ensure effective use of anti-malaria drugs in the country.</p

Genetic Diversity and Protective Efficacy of the RTS,S/AS01 Malaria Vaccine.

BACKGROUND: The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine targets the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum and has partial protective efficacy against clinical and severe malaria disease in infants and children. We investigated whether the vaccine efficacy was specific to certain parasite genotypes at the circumsporozoite protein locus. METHODS: We used polymerase chain reaction-based next-generation sequencing of DNA extracted from samples from 4985 participants to survey circumsporozoite protein polymorphisms. We evaluated the effect that polymorphic positions and haplotypic regions within the circumsporozoite protein had on vaccine efficacy against first episodes of clinical malaria within 1 year after vaccination. RESULTS: In the per-protocol group of 4577 RTS,S/AS01-vaccinated participants and 2335 control-vaccinated participants who were 5 to 17 months of age, the 1-year cumulative vaccine efficacy was 50.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.6 to 62.3) against clinical malaria in which parasites matched the vaccine in the entire circumsporozoite protein C-terminal (139 infections), as compared with 33.4% (95% CI, 29.3 to 37.2) against mismatched malaria (1951 infections) (P=0.04 for differential vaccine efficacy). The vaccine efficacy based on the hazard ratio was 62.7% (95% CI, 51.6 to 71.3) against matched infections versus 54.2% (95% CI, 49.9 to 58.1) against mismatched infections (P=0.06). In the group of infants 6 to 12 weeks of age, there was no evidence of differential allele-specific vaccine efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that among children 5 to 17 months of age, the RTS,S vaccine has greater activity against malaria parasites with the matched circumsporozoite protein allele than against mismatched malaria. The overall vaccine efficacy in this age category will depend on the proportion of matched alleles in the local parasite population; in this trial, less than 10% of parasites had matched alleles. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.)