Consumption of Electricity and Industrial Growth in the Case of Ghana

We examine the causative relationship amongst electricity consumption and industrial growth in Ghana for the period of 1971 to 2014. The results of the ARDL bounds test showed that long-run relationship exists among the variables. The error correction term was also significant and negatively signed providing further evidence of long-run relationship. Contrary to the widespread belief that electricity consumption spurs productivity, the study reveals that electricity consumption has a negative impact on manufacturing sector output in Ghana. This occurrence could be explained by the fact that whiles the average growth in electricity consumption in Ghana is positive, the share of industrial sector's electricity consumption continues to decline on the average. The Toda-Yamamoto test shows a unidirectional causality running from electricity consumption to industrial growth in Ghana, supporting the growth hypothesis in the extant literature

A Practical Review of Mechanism Design: How Implementable is it Within the Nigerian Context? Investigating the Role of PPP on Social Outcomes in Nigeria

According to statistics of the Federal Ministry of Works Nigeria (2012), total road network in Nigeria currently stands at approximately 195,000 Kilometers, with the Federal, State and Local Governments responsible for 22, 21 and 51 percent of this network respectively. In another report, The Central Bank of Nigeria (2011) also states that Nigeria needs to invest at least 100 billion dollars on roads in the next ten years. This study explores how social needs are realized within the public private participation (PPP) scheme in Nigeria. The study also situates public private partnership, in the Nigerian procurement and project operation context. The study’s objectives are achieved by revisiting the mechanism design paradigm (through reviewing the historical evolution of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Nigeria) and its impact on social goals as developed by Tirole and Maskin (2008), within the Nigerian context. Data on credit provided to the private sector as a percentage of GDP were used as proxies for PPP involvement from 1960 to 2010 although some years of data were missing. The method of estimation used included ordinary least squares, linear mixed effects models and seemingly unrelated regression estimation methods, which all allow for the investigation of relationships between a set of unrelated weakly exogenous variables, with the mixed effect method particularly suitable for iterative optimization processes. The findings show that cost implication concerns and the choice of the social function has an effect on PPP. It was also found that the electoral process which determines the social function mattered in the project selection stage and had significant effect on the PPP formation process

Evidence for conservation in antigen gene sequences combined with extensive polymorphism at VNTR loci

Theileria parva is a tick‐transmitted apicomplexan protozoan parasite that infects lymphocytes of cattle and African Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), causing a frequently fatal disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern Africa. A live vaccination procedure, known as infection and treatment method (ITM), the most frequently used version of which comprises the Muguga, Serengeti‐transformed and Kiambu 5 stocks of T. parva, delivered as a trivalent cocktail, is generally effective. However, it does not always induce 100% protection against heterologous parasite challenge. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of T. parva in target cattle populations is therefore important prior to extensive vaccine deployment. This study investigated the extent of genetic diversity within T. parva field isolates derived from Ankole (Bos taurus) cattle in south‐western Uganda using 14 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) satellite loci and the sequences of two antigen‐encoding genes that are targets of CD8+T‐cell responses induced by ITM, designated Tp1 and Tp2. The findings revealed a T. parva prevalence of 51% confirming endemicity of the parasite in south‐western Uganda. Cattle‐derived T. parva VNTR genotypes revealed a high degree of polymorphism. However, all of the T. parva Tp1 and Tp2 alleles identified in this study have been reported previously, indicating that they are widespread geographically in East Africa and highly conserved

Video-Based Instruction as a Remediation in Teaching Thermodynamics among Prospective Science Teachers

This study examined the effectiveness of video-based instruction (VBI) as a learning remediation strategy in teaching Laws of Thermodynamics among Prospective Science Teachers at Bulacan State University. The researchers employed – a one-group pretest–posttest design to assess the 35 prospective science teachers who were purposively selected. More so, data was gathered through researcher-made pretest-posttest achievement tests and an adapted Likert survey questionnaire. The data was treated descriptively and inferentially. The findings showed that VBI as a learning remediation strategy positively affected the preservice teachers’ achievement. In addition, data shows a significant difference between the pretest and posttest in teaching the laws of thermodynamics. The ease of use of VBI as learning remediation in teaching laws of thermodynamics in terms of pedagogical content, individual learning focus, ability to work at pace, and increased engagement was very effective. The learning achievement of the prospective science teachers was significantly related to the ease of use of VBI as a learning remediation. However, it was observed to have a high positive association. Future use of VBI can enhance the prospective science teacher’s competence in using VBI in teaching science subjects

In search of the authentic nation: landscape and national identity in Canada and Switzerland

While the study of nationalism and national identity has flourished in the last decade, little attention has been devoted to the conditions under which natural environments acquire significance in definitions of nationhood. This article examines the identity-forming role of landscape depictions in two polyethnic nation-states: Canada and Switzerland. Two types of geographical national identity are identified. The first – what we call the ‘nationalisation of nature’– portrays zarticular landscapes as expressions of national authenticity. The second pattern – what we refer to as the ‘naturalisation of the nation’– rests upon a notion of geographical determinism that depicts specific landscapes as forces capable of determining national identity. The authors offer two reasons why the second pattern came to prevail in the cases under consideration: (1) the affinity between wild landscape and the Romantic ideal of pure, rugged nature, and (2) a divergence between the nationalist ideal of ethnic homogeneity and the polyethnic composition of the two societies under consideration

Genital self-sampling compared with cervicovaginal lavage for the diagnosis of female genital schistosomiasis in Zambian women: The BILHIV study

Background: Given the potentially causal association of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) with HIV-1 infection, improved diagnostics are urgently needed to scale-up FGS surveillance. The BILHIV (bilharzia and HIV) study assessed the performance of home-based self-collection methods (cervical and vaginal swabs) compared to cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) for the detection of Schistosoma DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods: Between January and August 2018, a consecutive series of female participants from the Population-Cohort of the previous HIV prevention trial HPTN 071 (PopART), resident in Livingstone, Zambia were invited to take part in BILHIV if they were 18–31 years old, non-pregnant and sexually active. Genital self-collected swabs and a urine specimen were obtained and a questionnaire completed at home visits. CVL was obtained at clinic follow-up. Results: 603 women self-collected genital swabs. Of these, 527 women had CVL performed by a mid-wife during clinic follow-up. Schistosoma DNA was more frequently detected in genital self-collected specimens (24/603, 4.0%) compared to CVL (14/527, 2.7%). Overall, 5.0% (30/603) women had female genital schistosomiasis, defined as a positive PCR by any genital sampling method (cervical swab PCR, vaginal swab PCR, or CVL PCR) and 95% (573/603) did not have a positive genital PCR. The sensitivity of any positive genital self-collected swab against CVL was 57.1% (95% CI 28.9–82.3%), specificity 97.3% (95.5–98.5%). In a subset of participants with active schistosome infection, determined by detectable urine Circulating Anodic Antigen (CAA) (15.1%, 91/601), positive PCR (4.3%, 26/601), or positive microscopy (5.5%, 33/603), the sensitivity of any positive self-collected specimen against CVL was 88.9% (51.8–99.7%). Conclusions: Genital self-sampling increased the overall number of PCR-based FGS diagnoses in a field setting, compared with CVL. Home-based sampling may represent a scalable alternative method for FGS community-based diagnosis in endemic resource limited settings

Molecular evolution of a central region containing B cell epitopes in the gene encoding the p67 sporozoite antigen within a field population of Theileria parva

Protective immunity induced by the infective sporozoite stage of Theileria parva indicates a potential role for antibodies directed against conserved serologically reactive regions of the major sporozoite surface antigen p67 in vaccination to control the parasite. We have examined the allelic variation and determined the extent of B cell epitope polymorphism of the gene encoding p67 among field isolates originating from cattle exposed to infected ticks in the Marula area of the rift valley in central Kenya where the African cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and cattle co-graze. In the first of two closely juxtaposed epitope sequences in the central region of the p67 protein, an in-frame deletion of a seven-amino acid segment results in a truncation that was observed in parasites derived from cattle that co-grazed with buffalo. In contrast, the variation in the second epitope was primarily due to nonsynonymous substitutions, resulting in relatively low overall amino acid conservation in this segment of the protein. We also observed polymorphism in the region of the protein adjacent to the two defined epitopes, but this was not sufficient to provide statistically significant evidence for positive selection. The data indicates that B cell epitopes previously identified within the p67 gene are polymorphic within the Marula field isolates. Given the complete sequence identity of the p67gene in all previously characterized T. parva isolates that are transmissible between cattle by ticks, the diversity observed in p67 from the Marula isolates in combination with the clinical reaction of the infected cattle is consistent with them originating from ticks that had acquired T. parva from buffalo

Devotions for Lent 2023 Hymns of Lent

This Lent, we will continue reflecting on hymns of faith, namely, some of our most beloved Lenten hymns. 10 such hymns have been chosen to fill the 40(+) days of Lent. Therefore, this devotional, different from previous editions, does not proceed on a weekly basis, but merely flows from one hymn to the next. Also different from previous editions, the devotional reflections are specifically based on the stanzas of the selected hymns. Therefore, each day’s reflection features the text of the hymn stanza, a devotion based on that stanza, a prayer, and then a Scripture passage or passages for further meditation. I pray these reflections may be of edification for you during this Lenten season.https://scholar.csl.edu/osp/1022/thumbnail.jp

Visual diagnosis of female genital schistosomiasis in Zambian women from hand-held colposcopy: agreement of expert image review

Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) can occur in S. haematobium infection and is caused by parasite egg deposition in the genital tract. Confirming a diagnosis of FGS is challenging due to the lack of a diagnostic reference standard. A 2010 expert-led consensus meeting proposed visual inspection of the cervicovaginal mucosa as an adequate reference standard for FGS diagnosis. The agreement of expert human reviewers for visual-FGS has not been previously described. Methods: In two Zambian communities, non-menstruating, non-pregnant, sexually-active women aged 18-31 years participating in the HPTN 071 (PopART) Population-Cohort were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Self-collected genital swabs and a urine specimen were collected at a home visit; trained midwives performed CVL and hand-held colposcopy at a clinic visit. S. haematobium eggs and circulating anodic antigen (CAA) were detected from urine. Two expert reviewers independently diagnosed visual-FGS as the presence of sandy patches, rubbery papules or abnormal blood vessels in digital cervicovaginal images obtained by hand-held colposcopy. PCR-FGS was defined as Schistosoma DNA detected by real-time PCR in any genital specimen (CVL or genital swab). Results: Of 527 women with cervicovaginal colposcopic images, 468/527 (88.8%) were deemed interpretable by Reviewer 1 and 417/527 (79.1%) by Reviewer 2. Visual-FGS was detected in 35.3% (165/468) of participants by expert review of colposcopic images by Reviewer 1 and in 63.6% (265/417) by Reviewer 2. Cohen's kappa statistic for agreement between the two expert reviewers was 0.16, corresponding to "slight" agreement. The reviewers made concordant diagnoses in 38.7% (204/527) participants (100 negative, 104 positive) and discordant diagnoses in 31.8% (168/527) participants. Conclusions: The unexpectedly low level of correlation between expert reviewers highlights the imperfect nature of visual diagnosis for FGS based on cervicovaginal images obtained with a hand-held colposcope. This finding is a call to action for improved point-of-care diagnostics for female genital schistosomiasis