The Public Procurement Act 663 (2003) Of Ghana: Compliance level in Selected Education District Offices

The Procurement of Act 663 (2003) of Ghana was promulgated to sanitize the procurement management process with the ultimate aim of ensuring value for money. Since its introduction in 2003, various evaluation reports have come up with a number of strategies to ensure full compliance in public organizations. The aim of the study was to establish the extent to which district education offices adhere to Act 663; to identify the weakness associated with the practice and to propose recommendations for high level of compliance. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research approaches in data collection involving five selected districts in Ashanti region namely Ashanti Akim Central, Asante Akim South, Bosome-Freho, Ejisu-Juaben and Sekyere East. Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to analyze data collected. The study revealed low compliance level of 42.42 percent implying a huge compliance deficit of 57.58 percent. The study further identified contract management, lack of procurement units, lack of proper procurements plans, inadequate use of standard tender documents and high propensity to use sole sourcing method without recourse to Section 40 of Act 663 were identified as weaknesses areas. These weaknesses have negative implications in procurement management practices. It is therefore recommended that procurement units should be established in all the district education offices in Ghana, more importantly, these units should be provided someone with technical expertise in procurement. Similarly, under the auspices the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), refresher courses in procurement management should be organized for district education officers involved in procurement duties. The on-going review of the Act 663 should conspicuously spell out the composition of the Tender Committee at the district education offices. It is anticipated that if these suggestions are enforced, the current level of compliance of the Act 663(2003) would be improved in the district education offices

Hunting for answers: Linking lectures with the real world using a mobile treasure hunt app

Plants underpin our society providing food, fuel, medicines, clean air and water, positive mental health, and are central to biodiversity conservation. Despite this importance and an increasing need for people with plant-identification skills, many societies are becoming increasingly ignorant to the species with which they interact. To benefit both our undergraduates and the society they will enter, we applied mobile technology to improve plant identification and appreciation , while providing opportunities to practice transferable team work and verbal communication skills. Encouraging 'plant vision' will improve conservation efforts while increasing personal connections with green spaces, leading to mental health improvements for society. Summary • Despite the importance of plants to human civilization, many societies are becoming increasingly ignorant to the plants that inhabit their surrounding environment. A phenomenon known as 'plant blindness'. To address plant blindness in undergraduate students we designed an outdoor activity using a mobile phone app. Our aims were to identify the level of 'plant blindness' in our students; investigate engagement with the app and activity ; determine if we can raise awareness of links between lecture content and real world scenarios; and assess the student experience as a result of the activity in large classes. • The app chosen was ActionBound. Students were asked to find and photograph local examples of four plant families, along with identifying physiological benefits of features covered in lectures. Two different first year classes were exposed to this activity-Plant Science and Life on Earth. • The Plant Science students (60% success rate for three families; 55 students) were less plant blind than Life on Earth students (less than 44% success rate in any of the four families; 200 students). Students engaged well with the activity with all groups submitting sensible attempts at the responses. Most students reported that the activity increased links to lecture material and all but one student reported positive experiences. • Our students found the treasure hunt learning environment is a fun way to engage with the plant topics covered in lectures. In future iterations, we will more explicitly explain the links to potential careers and will address some of the logistical challenges faced in this first cohort. K E Y W O R D S collaborative learning, fun learning, inclusivity, large classes, mobile learning, plant blindness, situational learning, treasure hun

Antimycobacterial and cytotoxic activity of selected medicinal plant extracts

AbstractEthnopharmacological relevanceTuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains an ongoing threat to human health. Several medicinal plants are used traditionally to treat tuberculosis in Ghana. The current study was designed to investigate the antimycobacterial activity and cytotoxicity of crude extracts from five selected medicinal plants.Material and methodsThe microplate alamar blue assay (MABA) was used for antimycobacterial studies while the CellTiter 96® AQueous Assay, which is composed of solutions of a novel tetrazolium compound [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt; MTS] and an electron coupling reagent (phenazine methosulfate) PMS, was used for cytotoxic studies. Correlation coefficients were used to compare the activity of crude extracts against nonpathogenic strains and the pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp.tuberculosis.ResultsResults of the MIC determinations indicated that all the crude extracts were active on all the three tested mycobacterial strains. Minimum inhibitory concentration values as low as 156.3µg/mL against M. tuberculosis; Strain H37Ra (ATCC® 25,177™) were recorded from the leaves of Solanum torvum Sw. (Solanaceae). Cytotoxicity of the extracts varied, and the leaves from S. torvum had the most promising selectivity index. Activity against M. tuberculosis; Strain H37Ra was the best predictor of activity against pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp.tuberculosis (correlation coefficient=0.8).ConclusionThe overall results of the present study provide supportive data on the use of some medicinal plants for tuberculosis treatment. The leaves of Solanum torvum are a potential source of anti-TB natural products and deserve further investigations to develop novel anti-TB agents against sensitive and drug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis

The significance of the amorphous potential energy landscape for dictating glassy dynamics and driving solid-state crystallisation

Contains fulltext : 180674.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Rabies in Endangered Ethiopian Wolves

With rabies emerging as a particular threat to wild canids, we report on a rabies outbreak in a subpopulation of endangered Ethiopian wolves in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, in 2003 and 2004. Parenteral vaccination of wolves was used to manage the outbreak

Rabies Diagnosis for Developing Countries

A new diagnostic test for rabies in animals was evaluated in N'Djaména, capital of Chad. The test is based on a direct immuno-histochemical detection of rabies virus in brain tissue (dRIT) visible by normal light microscopy. Rabies detection by dRIT light microscopy is 10 times less expensive than fluorescence microscopy required for the current gold standard of rabies diagnosis. The test showed ideal results in fresh samples with 100% agreement with the gold standard and confirms the results of a first study in Tanzania. Thus, it has a significant potential for diagnosing rabies in low-income countries, and under field conditions where rabies diagnosis is unavailable for the moment. This new test opens up a great potential to train technical staff and to establish rabies diagnosis without delay in low-income countries with urban rabies

In Vitro and In Vivo Isolation and Characterization of Duvenhage Virus

A fatal human case of Duvenhage virus (DUVV) infection in a Dutch traveller who had returned from Kenya was reported in 2007. She exhibited classical symptoms of rabies encephalitis with distinct pathological findings. In the present study we describe the isolation and characterization of DUVV in vitro and its passage in BALB/c mice. The virus proved to be neuroinvasive in both juvenile and adult mice, resulting in about 50% lethality upon peripheral infection. Clinical signs in infected mice were those of classical rabies. However, the distribution of viral antigen expression in the brain differed from that of classical rabies virus infection and neither inclusion bodies nor neuronal necrosis were observed. This is the first study to describe the in vitro and in vivo isolation and characterization of DUVV

The Study of Rule-Governed Behavior and Derived Stimulus Relations: Bridging the Gap

The concept of rule-governed behavior or instructional control has been widely recognized for many decades within the behavior-analytic literature. It has also been argued that the human capacity to formulate and follow increasingly complex rules may undermine sensitivity to direct contingencies of reinforcement, and that excessive reliance upon rules may be an important variable in human psychological suffering. Although the concept of rules would appear to have been relatively useful within behavior analysis, it seems wise from time to time to reflect upon the utility of even well-established concepts within a scientific discipline. Doing so may be particularly important if it begins to emerge that the existing concept does not readily orient researchers toward potentially important variables associated with that very concept. The primary purpose of this article is to engage in this reflection. In particular, we will focus on the link that has been made between rule-governed behavior and derived relational responding, and consider the extent to which it might be useful to supplement talk of rules or instructions with terms that refer to the dynamics of derived relational responding

Genomic Diversity and Evolution of the Lyssaviruses

Lyssaviruses are RNA viruses with single-strand, negative-sense genomes responsible for rabies-like diseases in mammals. To date, genomic and evolutionary studies have most often utilized partial genome sequences, particularly of the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes, with little consideration of genome-scale evolution. Herein, we report the first genomic and evolutionary analysis using complete genome sequences of all recognised lyssavirus genotypes, including 14 new complete genomes of field isolates from 6 genotypes and one genotype that is completely sequenced for the first time. In doing so we significantly increase the extent of genome sequence data available for these important viruses. Our analysis of these genome sequence data reveals that all lyssaviruses have the same genomic organization. A phylogenetic analysis reveals strong geographical structuring, with the greatest genetic diversity in Africa, and an independent origin for the two known genotypes that infect European bats. We also suggest that multiple genotypes may exist within the diversity of viruses currently classified as ‘Lagos Bat’. In sum, we show that rigorous phylogenetic techniques based on full length genome sequence provide the best discriminatory power for genotype classification within the lyssaviruses