Effects of Motifs and Patterns in Decorated Fabrics on Figure Types

Motifs and patterns are the significant part of every culture from the ancient days.  Embroidery, appliqué, tie dye/batik, prints, smocking and shirring display a rich variety of dynamic patterns and motifs in a garment. Fashion designers in Ghana appear not to take the fabric decorations into consideration when selecting and producing garments for their clients/customers. This results in the poor selection and placement of patterns and motifs in the production of garments for the various figure types. This study aimed at examining the effects of selected fabric decorations on the female figure types. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the twenty (20) fashion designers in Kumasi Metropolis. Structure interview was used in gather information from the fashion designers. The study discovered that that motifs and pattern decoration have effects on figure types.  The effect of fabric decorations (embroidery, appliqué, tie and dye and printing, smocking and shirring) on the female figure types (Apple shape, Straight/rectangular shape, Pear shape and Hourglass shape.) helps end users to know the effects of fabric decorations on their figure type and more or less enables the designers to select and design clothes for a particular figure type in terms of choice of fabric decoration. It was recommended that fashion designers should take figure types into consideration when selecting and producing garments for their clients or end users. Keywords: fabric, fashion designers, Apple shape, Straight/rectangular shape, Pear shape and Hourglass shape DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-8-02 Publication date: April 30th 201

COLOUR IN FASHION: EFFECTS ON PERSONALITY

Colours have much impact on users – either positively or negatively – when they are used for fashion objects. This paper is purposed to identify major ways in which fashion designers in tertiary institutions within Kumasi metropolis use colours for their fashion objects and the effects of the colours on their clients. Qualitative research approach was employed for this research. Specifically, the descriptive research method was adopted for the study. One hundred and fifty (150) respondents with fashion design and textiles background from three public tertiary institutions offering fashion design and textiles as programme of study in the Kumasi metropolis of Ashanti region, were purposively sampled for the study. Identification, beautification and communication, constituting 92.0%, 84.7% and 84.7% respectively of the 150 respondents, ranked as the top three purposes for which people use colours in fashion goods. Interior decoration, communication, designing textiles and enhancement of the aesthetic appeal of clothes, representing 100%, 92.7%, 92.7% and 92.7% respectively were found to be the highest positive impact of colour in fashion. In the study, 85.3% of the respondents stated that some colours cause people to have low self-esteem while 62.0% of them said some colours cause people to feel lazy. It is recommended that people should select colours wisely to enhance their images.  Article visualizations

Pilot study outcomes from a resource‐limited setting for a low‐cost training program for laparoscopic surgical skills

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135455/1/ijgo186.pd

Controlled transmission of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) by Bemisia tabaci from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) to seedlings of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.)

Jatropha curcas, a plant with great biodiesel potential is also used to reduce the population of whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci on cassava fields when planted as a hedge. We therefore, investigated the transmission of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) by the whitefly vector from cassava to seedlings of 10 accessions of J. curcas as part of a wider investigation on the possible role of J. curcas as an alternative host of ACMV. Transmission tests were conducted in insect-proof cages using adult B. tabaci collected from ACMV-infected cassava in the field, at a rate of three adult whiteflies per J. curcas seedling and a transmission feeding period of four days. Twenty one (21) days after the infestation, leaf samples from individual plants of the 10 J. curcas accessions were tested for the presence of ACMV by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), using the monoclonal antibodies SCRI 33. DAS-ELISA detected ACMV in five out of the ten J. curcas accessions while PCR detected it in eight of the 10 accessions. Furthermore, 18 out of the 35 Nicotiana benthamiana indicator plants mechanically inoculated with sap from symptomatic J. curcas seedlings produced symptoms typical of ACMV infection. This indicates that J. curcas is a likely host of ACMV and it may in turn, be able to infect cassava, and presumably other ACMV-susceptible hosts, in the presence of the vector.Keywords: Jatropha curcas accessions, controlled transmission, mechanical inoculation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV)-susceptible hosts.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(28), pp. 4465-447

CHALLENGES FACING THE MARKETING OF FASHION PRODUCTS IN GHANA: CASE STUDY OF FASHION BUSINESSES IN HO MUNICIPALITY

The study assessed challenges facing the marketing of fashion products in the Ho Municipality of Ghana. A total sample size of two hundred (200) respondents was used in the conduct of this study. Quota sampling technique was adopted in the selection of staff and management of the selected fashion businesses. A total of 215 questionnaires were administered to respondents and 200 were received from them. The results indicated that there are several challenges facing the marketing of fashion products in Ho. These are lack of capital and credit facilities, high income tax, high utility bills and rent, lack of market, low and irregular income, competition of cheap imported clothes, lack of knowledge and skills in the use of clothing production techniques. It was found that challenges hindering the marketing of fashion products could be addressed through financial support, formal training, the ban of importation of fashion goods into the country and the regular conduct of fashion trade fairs. The study recommended that fashion enterprises should be supported by government and financial institutions in the prestart-up phase, the start-up phase and the growing phase in order to reduce the burden on them. Fashion firms should also be creative and innovative to survive the challenges facing the industry, particularly in terms of marketing, textile designs and fashion product designing. Fashion businesses should also embrace social media opportunities to promote their products. There is also the need for infrastructural developments that will help reduce production cost but improve quality.  Article visualizations

Health Seeking Behaviour and Utilization of Health Facilities for Schistosomiasis-Related Symptoms in Ghana

The World Health Organization recommends that long-term benefit of schistosomiasis control should include treatment in local health facilities. This means that patients should visit a hospital or clinic with their complaints. However, little is known about whether they do so. We conducted a study in three regions of Ghana and interviewed two thousand people about whether they recently had schistosomiasis-related symptoms such as blood in urine or blood in faeces, and what they had done about it. We included fever (mostly caused by malaria) for comparison. We found that 40% of patients with urinary symptoms sought care compared to 70% of those with intestinal symptoms and 90% with fever. Overall, only 20% of all schistosomiasis-related symptoms were reported to a hospital or clinic, compared to 30% for fever. Self-medication with allopathic (i.e., orthodox) medicines was the main alternative. Our study showed that the most important determinant for seeking health care or visiting a health facility is perceived severity of the symptom. Factors such as age, sex, socio-economic status and geographic region showed no impact or a clear pattern. We conclude that many schistosomiasis patients do not visit a health facility, the only place with effective drugs, necessitating additional control measures

Secondary bacterial infections of buruli ulcer lesions before and after chemotherapy with streptomycin and rifampicin

Buruli ulcer (BU), caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans is a chronic necrotizing skin disease. It usually starts with a subcutaneous nodule or plaque containing large clusters of extracellular acid-fast bacilli. Surrounding tissue is destroyed by the cytotoxic macrolide toxin mycolactone produced by microcolonies of M. ulcerans. Skin covering the destroyed subcutaneous fat and soft tissue may eventually break down leading to the formation of large ulcers that progress, if untreated, over months and years. Here we have analyzed the bacterial flora of BU lesions of three different groups of patients before, during and after daily treatment with streptomycin and rifampicin for eight weeks (SR8) and determined drug resistance of the bacteria isolated from the lesions. Before SR8 treatment, more than 60% of the examined BU lesions were infected with other bacteria, with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa being the most prominent ones. During treatment, 65% of all lesions were still infected, mainly with P. aeruginosa. After completion of SR8 treatment, still more than 75% of lesions clinically suspected to be infected were microbiologically confirmed as infected, mainly with P. aeruginosa or Proteus miriabilis. Drug susceptibility tests revealed especially for S. aureus a high frequency of resistance to the first line drugs used in Ghana. Our results show that secondary infection of BU lesions is common. This could lead to delayed healing and should therefore be further investigated

Accuracy of point-of-care testing for circulatory cathodic antigen in the detection of schistosome infection : Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To assess the accuracy of point-of-care testing for circulatory cathodic antigen in the diagnosis of schistosome infection. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and other bibliographic databases for studies published until 30 September 2015 that described circulatory cathodic antigen testing compared against one to three Kato–Katz tests per subject – for Schistosoma mansoni – or the filtration of one 10-ml urine sample per subject – for S. haematobium. We extracted the numbers of true positives, false positives, true negatives and false negatives for the antigen testing and performed meta-analyses using a bivariate hierarchical regression model. Findings Twenty-six studies published between 1994 and 2014 met the inclusion criteria. In the detection of S. mansoni, a single antigen test gave a pooled sensitivity of 0.90 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.84–0.94) and a pooled specificity of 0.56 (95% CI: 0.39–0.71; n = 7) when compared against a single Kato–Katz test. The corresponding values from comparisons with two to three Kato–Katz tests per subject were 0.85 (95% CI: 0.80–0.88) and 0.66 (95% CI: 0.53–0.76; n = 14), respectively. There appeared to be no advantage in using three antigen tests per subject instead of one. When compared against the results of urine filtration, antigen testing for S. haematobium showed poor sensitivity and poor specificity. The performance of antigen testing was better in areas of high endemicity than in settings with low endemicity. Conclusion Antigen testing may represent an effective tool for monitoring programmes for the control of S. mansoni

Access to housing and its impact on the adaptation process: the case of African immigrants in Calgary

Bibliography: p. 243-265