Modelling Age at First Marriage among Ghanaians in Urban Southern Ghana

The paper obtains models for determining age at first marriage (AFM) among Ghanaians in urban southern Ghana. Logistic regression models are developed for determining marriage under various circumstances and socio-economic changes that are necessitated by marriage. It also determines distributions that fit AFM and intended age of marriage (IAM) among various sub-populations in the study area. Generally, the distribution fit of AFM for males and females are Frechet and Cauchy, respectively, with corresponding expected ages of 30.8 and 28.0. Distributions have also been determined for IAM for males and females. It is found that both sexes have almost the same average IAM of about 27.5 years but with different distributions. Thus, respondents generally experience delayed marriages. The results show that in all models, one’s religion is an overriding predictor of marrying under various circumstances. Other variables that are influential regarding issues of marriage are gender, level of extended responsibility, and level of education. One may therefore be guided in these variables in order to achieve the desired AFM. Keywords: Age at First Marriage, Intended Age of Marriag

Assessing a Practical Classroom of Takoradi Technical University – An End-User Perspective

This study evaluated the newly refurbished building used as a kitchen for practical lessons at the Hospitality Management Department of Takoradi Technical University, Ghana. It aimed at identifying the challenges faced by users and assessing their satisfsction with the facility. A questionnaire survey approach and covert observations were adopted to gather data. Questionnaires were self-administered to 150 randomly sampled Higher National Diploma students of the department. Data were analysed and presented in tables as frequencies, percentages and mean scores. The study identified lack of changing rooms, lack of storage facilities, congestion and inadequate natural ventilation as some of the challenges faced by users of the kitchen. The overall mean satisfaction score was 2.46 which is an indication that users are dissatisfied with the facility. This study would help inform design decisions to improve upon the performance of future students’ practical rooms to be constructed in the institution. Key words: Challenges, Kitchen, Practical’s, Post Occupancy Evaluation, User Satisfaction

Performance evaluation of three different grasses for use as willows in greywater treatment in semi-arid Ghana

The focus of this experimental study was to identify appropriate grass for use as willows for greywater treatment in constructed wetlands. Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass), Pennisetum purpureum (elephant grass) and Andropogon gerardi (giant bluestem) were planted separately and watered with greywater for a period of fifteen weeks. Growth measurements were recorded weekly and the quality of the effluents from each of these grasses assessed using standard methods to determine their treatment efficiency. Elephant grass recorded the highest plant height of 88.9mm and the highest number of new leaves of 49, while lemon grass recorded the largest surface area of 5502mm2. With regards to treatment performance, lemon grass recorded the highest efficiency with reductions of 80% in TDS, 81% in NO3-N, 30% in PO4-P and 82% in BOD. Except for BOD that was missed by elephant grass and giant bluestem, all the other effluent parameters met the WHO guidelines. A scaling up of the experiment for continuous greywater feed and over a longer period is recommended in order to ascertain the performance over time.Keywords: Greywater treatment, willows efficiency, growth measurement

Prevalence of red blood cell antibodies among transfused patients at Komfo Anokye teaching (Kath) hospital, Ghana

Red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunisation is a common problem in transfused patients because of the possibility of haemolytic reaction and limited availability of compatible blood. In highincome countries, pre-transfusion antibody screening is performed routinely. In Ghana, patients are transfused with ABO Rh ‘D’ compatible blood without screening for immune antibodies. We therefore studied the prevalence and specificities of RBC antibodies in transfused patients at Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital, Ghana. The study was cross-sectional, involving previously transfused patients who required another transfusion. Participants’ basic data on demography and transfusion history were recorded. Blood samples were screened and subsequently typed for RBC antibodies using a column gel agglutination test. A total of 106 transfused patients, 52 male and 54 females were enrolled. The patients had previously received a median of 4 RBC units (range 1-14). Of these, ten patients (9.4%) had 11 RBC alloantibodies, whose specificities were 2 anti-K; 2 anti-C; one each of anti-D, -E, -M, and -S; and 3 were pan-reactive. The number of transfusion episodes was significantly associated with the rate of alloimmunisation (p=0.000). In conclusion the overall alloimmunisation rate in the study was 9.4% and this was significantly associated with increasing number of transfusion episodes. Antibodies were mainly directed against antigens in the Rhesus system and K antigen. We recommend that antibody screening be incorporated into routine pre-transfusion testing procedures in Ghana. Keywords: Alloimmunisation, multi transfusion, Alloantibod

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of coagulase negative Staphylococci isolated from pigs and in-contact humans in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

The nasal carriage and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of coagulase negative  staphylococci (CoNS) isolates from healthy pigs and in-contact humans were  investigated in 300 pigs and 101 in-contact humans from pig farms and abattoir. The results indicate that 13.2% (53/401) of the isolates were CoNS species based on confirmatory test with Microgen biochemical kit and were further subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. Nine CoNS species were identified; S. haemolyticus (n = 10), S. simulans (n =5), S. chromogen (n = 9), S. warneri (n =5), S. xylosus (12), S. epidermidis (n = 5), S. schleiferi (n = 5) and S. hominis (n = 2). Overall, resistance to beta-lactams was the most observed; 79.2% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin while 11.3% and 7.5% were respectively resistant to oxacillin and cefoxitin, respectively.  Resistance to 2 or more antimicrobial agents was observed in 39.6% (21/53) of the CoNS isolates. All the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent except for gentamicin. Multidrug resistant CoNS are common colonizers of apparently healthy pigs and in-contact humans in the study area with S. xylosus and S. haemolyticus being the major species detected.Key words: Antibiotics, CoNS, pigs, humans

Fluorogenic Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization in Aqueous Media as a Strategy for Detection

The development of novel approaches to signal amplification in aqueous media could enable new diagnostic platforms for the detection of water-soluble analytes, including biomolecules. This paper describes a fluorogenic polymerization approach to amplify initiator signal by the detection of visible fluorescence upon polymerization in real-time. Fluorogenic monomers were synthesized and co-polymerized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in water to reveal increasing polymer fluorescence as a function of both reaction time and initiator concentration. Optimization of the fluorogenic ATRP reaction conditions allowed for the quantitative detection of a small-molecule initiator as a model analyte over a broad linear concentration range (pM to mM). Raising the reaction temperature from 30 C to 60 C facilitated sensitive initiator detection at sub-picomolar concentrations in as little as 1 h of polymerization. This method was then applied to the detection of streptavidin as a model biological analyte by fluorogenic polymerization from a designed biotinylated ATRP initiator. Taken together, these studies represent the first example of a fluorogenic ATRP reaction and establish fluorogenic polymerization as a promising approach for the direct detection of aqueous analytes and biomolecular recognition events

Hematološke i biokemijske promjene u serumu nazimica pokusno invadiranih protozoonom Trypanosoma brucei

The aim of this experiment was to study the hematological and serum biochemical changes in domestic cross breed female gilts infected with Trypanosoma brucei parasites. Twelve gilts were purchased from piggeries in Zaria Nigeria and housed in clean, fl y proof pens in two groups of six infected and six controls. The gilts in the infected group were inoculated with approximately 1.8 × 106 Trypanosoma brucei parasites. All the inoculated gilts developed clinical trypanosomosis after a prepatent period of three (3) days. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in the mean values of Packed Cell Volume (PCV), total white blood cells and differential leukocytes count, serum proteins, aspartate amino transferase, creatine kinase, potassium, inorganic phosphates and calcium between the infected gilts and the controls. The implication of these findings in the pathology of trypanosomosis in this species is discussed.Cilj je bio istražiti hematološke i biokemijske promjene u serumu križanih nazimica invadiranih nametnikom Trypanosoma brucei. U istraživanje je bilo uključeno 12 nazimica nabavljenih na svinjogojstvima u Zariji u Nigeriji. Nazimice su bile podijeljene u pokusnu i kontrolnu skupinu te smještene u nastambe potpuno zaštićene od krilatih kukaca. U pokusnoj skupini bile su invadirane s približno 1,8 ×106 parazita Trypanosoma brucei. U svih invadiranih nazimica očitovali su se klinički znakovi tripanosomoze nakon prepatentnog perioda od tri dana. Značajne razlike (P<0,05) bile su primijećene u srednjim vrijednostima hematokrita, leukocita, diferencijalne krvne slike, serumskih proteina, aspartat aminotransferaze, kreatin kinaze, kalija, anorganskih fosfata i kalcija. U radu je raspravljeno značenje tih nalaza u patologiji tripanosomoze u svinja

Author correction to: Structure and distribution of an unrecognized interstitium in human tissues

© 2018 The Author(s). The Supplementary Figure file that accompanies this Article contains an error in Supplementary Figure S1, where the Small Intestine CD34 panel was duplicated from the Gallbladder CD34 panel. The correct Figure S1 appears below as Figure 1. (Figure Presented)

The African Political Business Cycle: Varieties of Experience

We seek to understand both the incidence and the impact of the African political business cycle in the light of a literature which has argued that, with major extensions of democracy since the 1990s, the cycle has both become more intense and has made African political systems more fragile. With the help of country-case studies, we argue, first, that the African political business cycle is not homogeneous, and occurs relatively infrequently in so-called ‘dominant-party systems’ where a pre-election stimulus confers little political advantage. Secondly, we show that, in those countries where a political cycle does occur, it does not necessarily cause institutional damage. Whether it does or not depends not so much on whether there is an electoral cycle as on whether this cycle calms or exacerbates fears of an unjust allocation of resources. In other words, the composition of the pre-election stimulus, in terms of its allocation between different categories of voter, is as important as its size