Industrialization of cassava sector in Ghana: progress and the role of developing high starch cassava varieties

In Ghana, cassava is a marginalized crop in food policies due to low research attention given it. However, high starch in cassava root is an important characteristic that makes the crop a potential industrial cash crop. In light of this, the Government of Ghana in 2001 introduced the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) on Cassava, which aimed at industrializing the cassava sector for job creation and livelihood improvement through starch extraction. One of the import industrial products from cassava starch is ethanol. Ethanol is reported as the largest opportunity for cassava industrialization in Ghana followed by food-grade starch. However, the local ethanol consuming industry, Kasapreko, operates by importing over 25 million litres of ethanol every year due to inadequate supply of ethanol from local starch factories. This situation exists because of lack of cassava varieties that can yield more starch (75% or more) per total dry weight to feed the starch factories for sustainable production. Therefore, this review explores the relevance of developing high starch yielding cassava to the industrialization of the cassava sector in Ghana and lessons to learn from the success story of Thailand, the country with the world’s most industrialized cassava sector

CONSUMERS PREFERENCE AND ASSOCIATED PATHOLOGY OBSERVED IN CATTLE AND GOAT OFFALS IN KUMASI, GHANA

Background: The global population demands high quality meat and the preference for offal continue to be on the increase. This investigation evaluates consumers’ preference and associated pathological conditions observed in cattle and goat offal in Kumasi, Ghana. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional survey and structured questionnaires involving 200 adult respondents were adopted. 105 samples of cattle and goat offal from selected retailers or vendors were also evaluated for associated pathological conditions. Results: From the questionnaire, results showed that on the average, one (1) pound of offal was consumed by a household of seven (7) per meal twice a week. The most preferred offal was the fore-stomach (52.70%) followed by the liver (38.10%). However, 75% and 50% of the liver sampled had one or more lesions in the goat and cattle respectively with presence of abscesses, metazoan parasites and granuloma. Factors like availability, affordability, nutritional value, taste, customs and level of education influenced the consumer’s preference for edible offal. Conclusion: Presence of metazoan parasites, granuloma and microabbscesses further undermine the quality of the offal supply in Ghana and it calls for further investigation into causal agents of these pathological conditions; hence, strict inspection and assessment should be enforced and maintained for continual provision of edible and wholesome offal

Learning from Poverty: Why Business Schools Should Address Poverty, and How They Can Go About It.

In the past few years, business schools have begun to address poverty issues in their teaching, learning and curricula. While this is a positive development, the arguments for reconfiguring educational programs to address such matters remain undeveloped, with much of the impetus for such endeavors rooted in calls for social responsibility in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the Social Compact, the Principles for Responsible Management Education and benchmarks such as ISO 26000. This article seeks to clarify the pedagogical grounds for integrating poverty issues in management education by examining the intellectual and personal development benefits of doing so. By critically examining four modes of business involvement in poverty reduction, the article shows how such initiatives can be used as intellectual lenses through which to view the complex and often paradoxical interconnections between socioeconomic and environmental systems. It is thus concluded that a consideration of poverty issues is not a marginal matter, but is key to grasping the 21st century complexities of global business and management

Attenuation of Heavy Metals from Waste Oil-Based Drilling Mud using Locally Produced Coconut Shell-Based Activated Carbon

Most toxic Heavy Metals (HM) persist in oil-based mud and ecosystem for many decades after the application of mud for drilling oil and gas wells. This study assessed the attenuation of such heavy metals from waste oil-based mud using activated carbon produced locally. The oil-based mud analysed presented variable levels of Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Potassium (K), Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn) and Zinc (Zn). Adsorption is a highly effective means of separation to remove a wide range of pollutants in waste streams. Coconut shell activated carbon (CS-AC) was locally produced to remove heavy metals from the waste oil-based mud to encourage value addition to waste. The adsorption data was fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model using linear regression analysis. The data was more fitted to the Langmuir isotherm as indicated by the high goodness of fit values (R2). To reduce the heavy metal concentrations below threshold levels optimum CS-AC dosage required for Fe, Cu, Ni, K, As, Cr, Mn and Zn is 5 g/l of CS-AC for a contact time of 30 minutes. The characterization of the produced carbons shows good results comparable to other commercial activated carbons. CS-AC is a viable and economical product for the removal of toxic heavy metals from waste oil-based mud before disposal

Stop COVID Cohort: An Observational Study of 3480 Patients Admitted to the Sechenov University Hospital Network in Moscow City for Suspected Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection

Background: The epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Russian population are unknown. Information on the differences between laboratory-confirmed and clinically diagnosed COVID-19 in real-life settings is lacking. Methods: We extracted data from the medical records of adult patients who were consecutively admitted for suspected COVID-19 infection in Moscow between 8 April and 28 May 2020. Results: Of the 4261 patients hospitalized for suspected COVID-19, outcomes were available for 3480 patients (median age, 56 years; interquartile range, 45-66). The most common comorbidities were hypertension, obesity, chronic cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Half of the patients (n=1728) had a positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while 1748 had a negative RT-PCR but had clinical symptoms and characteristic computed tomography signs suggestive of COVID-19. No significant differences in frequency of symptoms, laboratory test results, and risk factors for in-hospital mortality were found between those exclusively clinically diagnosed or with positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RT-PCR. In a multivariable logistic regression model the following were associated with in-hospital mortality: older age (per 1-year increase; odds ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.06), male sex (1.71; 1.24-2.37), chronic kidney disease (2.99; 1.89-4.64), diabetes (2.1; 1.46-2.99), chronic cardiovascular disease (1.78; 1.24-2.57), and dementia (2.73; 1.34-5.47). Conclusions: Age, male sex, and chronic comorbidities were risk factors for in-hospital mortality. The combination of clinical features was sufficient to diagnose COVID-19 infection, indicating that laboratory testing is not critical in real-life clinical practice