Causal linkages among money growth, inflation and interest rates in Ghana

Abstract. This study instigates the causal linkages among money growth, inflation and interest rate in Ghana. The essence of ensuring price stability, a considerable increase in money growth that enhances economic growth and development and favorable rate of interest that encourage domestic business and foreign direct investment cannot be over emphasized. The data was extracted from two main sources. The main variable under study were money supply, interest rate and inflation rate. Other variables that affect inflation rate such as exchange rate, real gross domestic product were controlled for. Data on money supply, interest rate and exchange rate were extracted from world development indicator (WDI) whereas data on inflation and the GDP growth were extracted from annual report of the Central Bank. The data comprises of missed order of cointegration. That is I (0) and I(1). So bounds test of cointegration proposed by Pesaran, Shin & Smith (2001) was used. It was found out that money growth has both short run and long run relationship with inflation and all the other variables are insignificant in influencing inflation. The Granger causality test was conducted to help find the causality among the variables of interest. The null hypothesis that inflation rate does not does not Granger cause money growth was rejected at 5% which implies that there is a uni-directional causality between inflation and money growth. It was recommended that, in an attempt of reducing inflation both in the long run and short run, increase in money supply should be reasonable.Keywords. Money growth, Inflation, Interest rate.JEL. B26, D53, E44, G10, G34

The causal linkages among money growth, inflaion and interest rates in Ghana

This study instigates the causal linkages among money growth, inflation and interest rate in Ghana. The essence of ensuring price stability, a considerable increase in money growth that enhances economic growth and development and favorable rate of interest that encourage domestic business and foreign direct investment cannot be over emphasized. The data was extracted from two main sources. The main variable under study were money supply, interest rate and inflation rate. Other variables that affect inflation rate such as exchange rate, real gross domestic product were controlled for. Data on money supply, interest rate and exchange rate Twere extracted from world development indicator (WDI) whereas data on inflation and the GDP growth were extracted from annual report of the Central Bank. The data comprises of of missed order of cointegration. That is I (0) and I(1). So bounds test of cointegration proposed by Pesaran, Shin and Smith (2001) was used. It was found out that money growth has both short run and long run relationship with inflation and all the other variables are insignificant in influencing inflation. The Granger causality test was conducted to help find the causality among the variables of interest. The null hypothesis that inflation rate does not does not Granger cause money growth was rejected at 5% which implies that there is a uni-directional causality between inflation and money growth. It was recommended that, in an attempt of reducing inflation both in the long run and short run, increase in money supply should be reasonable

Pareto superior dimension of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) in Ghana: Evidence from Asunafo North Municipality of Ghana

Abstract. This study investigates characteristics of Rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) participants who join the association due to its Pareto superior allocation in Ghana. Some scholars like Dejene and Van den Brink have hypothesized that people join ROSCAs because of its Pareto superior allocation. The study employed primary data analysis in achieving its main objective.  Out of the 400 ROSCA participants sampled for the study from Asunafo North Municipality of Ghana, 71.75% joined the association because of its Pareto superior allocation. A Probit model was used to predict the probability of joining the association due to its superior allocation. The dependent variable took the value of one when respondents join the association due to its superior allocation and zero if otherwise. Married participants, participants with no or low level of education, participants who are unemployed and participants who save more of their income are more likely to join ROSCA due to its Pareto superior allocation. It was recommended that that ROSCA participants who have access (participants living in urban sectors) to formal financial institutions, participants who have accounts at formal financial institutions, participants who are rich and aged participants should be educated on how ROSCA constitutes its Pareto superior allocation.Keywords. Pareto Superiority, Rotating Savings and Credit Association.JEL. B26, D53, E44, G10, G34

Acceptability and implementation challenges of smartphone-based training of community health nurses for visual inspection with acetic acid in Ghana : mHealth and cervical cancer screening

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Objective To explore acceptability and feasibility of smartphone-based training of low-level to mid-level health professionals in cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA)/cervicography. Design In 2015, we applied a qualitative descriptive approach and conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups to assess the perceptions and experiences of community health nurses (CHNs) (n=15) who performed smartphone-based VIA, patients undergoing VIA/cryotherapy (n=21) and nurse supervisor and the expert reviewer (n=2). Setting Community health centres (CHCs) in Accra, Ghana. Results The 3-month smartphone-based training and mentorship was perceived as an important and essential complementary process to further develop diagnostic and management competencies. Cervical imaging provided peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and helped better communicate the procedure to and gain trust of patients, provide targeted education, improve adherence and implement quality control. None of the patients had prior screening; they overwhelmingly accepted smartphone-based VIA, expressing no significant privacy issues. Neither group cited significant barriers to performing or receiving VIA at CHCs, the incorporation of smartphone imaging and mentorship via text messaging. CHNs were able to leverage their existing community relationships to address a lack of knowledge and misperceptions. Patients largely expressed decision-making autonomy regarding screening. Negative views and stigma were present but not significantly limiting, and the majority felt that screening strategies were acceptable and effective. Conclusions Our findings suggest the overall acceptability of this approach from the perspectives of all stakeholders with important promises for smartphone-based VIA implementation. Larger-scale health services research could further provide important lessons for addressing this burden in low-income and middle-income countries

Common Genetic Variation In Cellular Transport Genes and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) Risk

Background Defective cellular transport processes can lead to aberrant accumulation of trace elements, iron, small molecules and hormones in the cell, which in turn may promote the formation of reactive oxygen species, promoting DNA damage and aberrant expression of key regulatory cancer genes. As DNA damage and uncontrolled proliferation are hallmarks of cancer, including epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), we hypothesized that inherited variation in the cellular transport genes contributes to EOC risk. Methods In total, DNA samples were obtained from 14,525 case subjects with invasive EOC and from 23,447 controls from 43 sites in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC). Two hundred seventy nine SNPs, representing 131 genes, were genotyped using an Illumina Infinium iSelect BeadChip as part of the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS). SNP analyses were conducted using unconditional logistic regression under a log-additive model, and the FDR q Results The most significant evidence of an association for all invasive cancers combined and for the serous subtype was observed for SNP rs17216603 in the iron transporter gene HEPH (invasive: OR = 0.85, P = 0.00026; serous: OR = 0.81, P = 0.00020); this SNP was also associated with the borderline/low malignant potential (LMP) tumors (P = 0.021). Other genes significantly associated with EOC histological subtypes (p Conclusion These results, generated on a large cohort of women, revealed associations between inherited cellular transport gene variants and risk of EOC histologic subtypes.Peer reviewe

Common Genetic Variation in Circadian Rhythm Genes and Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC)

Disruption in circadian gene expression, whether due to genetic variation or environmental factors (e.g., light at night, shiftwork), is associated with increased incidence of breast, prostate, gastrointestinal and hematologic cancers and gliomas. Circadian genes are highly expressed in the ovaries where they regulate ovulation; circadian disruption is associated with several ovarian cancer risk factors (e.g., endometriosis). However, no studies have examined variation in germline circadian genes as predictors of ovarian cancer risk and invasiveness. The goal of the current study was to examine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in circadian genes BMAL1, CRY2, CSNK1E, NPAS2, PER3, REV1 and TIMELESS and downstream transcription factors KLF10 and SENP3 as predictors of risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and histopathologic subtypes. The study included a test set of 3,761 EOC cases and 2,722 controls and a validation set of 44,308 samples including 18,174 (10,316 serous) cases and 26,134 controls from 43 studies participating in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC). Analysis of genotype data from 36 genotyped SNPs and 4600 imputed SNPs indicated that the most significant association was rs117104877 in BMAL1 (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.68–0.90, p = 5.59 × 10−4]. Functional analysis revealed a significant down regulation of BMAL1 expression following cMYC overexpression and increasing transformation in ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells as well as alternative splicing of BMAL1 exons in ovarian and granulosa cells. These results suggest that variation in circadian genes, and specifically BMAL1, may be associated with risk of ovarian cancer, likely through disruption of hormonal pathways

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) Gene Variants and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) Risk

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process whereby epithelial cells assume mesenchymal characteristics to facilitate cancer metastasis. However, EMT also contributes to the initiation and development of primary tumors. Prior studies that explored the hypothesis that EMT gene variants contribute to epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) risk have been based on small sample sizes and none have sought replication in an independent population. We screened 15,816 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 296 genes in a discovery phase using data from a genome-wide association study of EOC among women of European ancestry (1,947 cases and 2,009 controls) and identified 793 variants in 278 EMT-related genes that were nominally (P < 0.05) associated with invasive EOC. These SNPs were then genotyped in a larger study of 14,525 invasive-cancer patients and 23,447 controls. A P-value <0.05 and a false discovery rate (FDR) <0.2 were considered statistically significant. In the larger dataset, GPC6/GPC5 rs17702471 was associated with the endometrioid subtype among Caucasians (odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.07-1.25, P = 0.0003, FDR = 0.19), whereas F8 rs7053448 (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.27-2.24, P = 0.0003, FDR = 0.12), F8 rs7058826 (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.27-2.24, P = 0.0003, FDR = 0.12), and CAPN13 rs1983383 (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69-0.90, P = 0.0005, FDR = 0.12) were associated with combined invasive EOC among Asians. In silico functional analyses revealed that GPC6/GPC5 rs17702471 coincided with DNA regulatory elements. These results suggest that EMT gene variants do not appear to play a significant role in the susceptibility to EOC.Other Research Uni

MicroRNAs differentially expressed in prostate cancer of African-American and European-American men

African-American (AA) men have higher rates of prostate cancer incidence and mortality compared with European-American (EA) men. Although several socioeconomic and environmental factors may contribute to the disparity, recent studies suggest a biological component, including differential microRNA (miRNA) expression, to the disparity. miRNAs comprise a large family of about 22-nucleotide-long nonprotein coding RNAs that regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally and participate in the regulation of almost every known cellular process investigated to date. miRNAs have been associated with prostate cancer progression, and recent studies indicate that they are differentially expressed between AA and EA. They could therefore contribute, at least in part, to the disparity in prostate cancer between the two groups. In this review, existing evidence on differential miRNA expression between AA and EA prostate cancer patients or cell lines is summarized

Association between cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences and childhood obesity.

BackgroundExposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with many childhood diseases and poor health outcomes in adulthood. However, the association with childhood obesity is inconsistent. We investigated the association between reported cumulative ACE score and body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of patients at a single institution.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included children aged 2-20 years that were screened in a general pediatrics clinic for ACEs utilizing the Center for Youth Wellness ACEs questionnaire between July 2017 and July 2018. Overall ACE score was categorized as 'no exposure' (score = 0), 'low exposure' (score = 1), and 'high exposure' (score≥ 2). BMI was categorized as overweight/obese (BMI percentile ≥ 85) or non-obese (BMI percentile ResultsOf the 948 patients included in the study, 30% (n = 314) were overweight/obese and 53% (n = 504) had no ACE exposure, 19% (n = 179) had low ACE exposure, and 28% (n = 265) had high ACE exposure. High ACE exposure was associated with increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.07-2.03, p = 0.026). However, after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and birth weight, the association attenuated and was null (OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 0.70-1.46, p = 0.97).ConclusionThe study findings may suggest an association between ACE and childhood obesity. However, the association attenuated after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and birth weight. Larger prospective studies are warranted to better understand the association