Optimum Production Planning Problem (A Case Study of Aspect Water Company Limited Intechiman Municipality)

All production firms aim at maximizing profit after sales of their products but due to lack of technological and scientific approach in the production setting, many cannot achieve the stated objectives. This study showed the trend of production of sachet water at AWCL which gave the quantity of sachet water produced in each month for the year, 2011. The major objective of this study is to minimize the total cost of production at AWCL using Linear Programming model. The optimal solution to the production planning problem was generated by LP Solver and the demand and supply at each month were determined. The AWCL incurs cost of GH¢1.2355 when producing a bag of sachet water but with the use of linear Programming model, the cost of producing a bag of water was reduced to GH¢0.831519. The analysis also showed that, increasing the wages of regular workers and reducing that of overtime help the company to produce more with minimum cost of production. AWCL should employ more overtime labour when it is necessary to meet the urgent demands from the customers. Instead of employing more manual labour force, the company could have used machinery that can do assembling and packaging of the sachet water.  Computer – based planning (scheduling) help the manufacturers to attend to orders from their respective customers easily and to enhance on – time delivery of products. The computerized   planning performs better and faster than manual scheduling tools. The analysis showed that the production planning can facilitate the production processes in a way that help the company to streamline the activities that go on during acquisition of raw materials for production and the demands from the customers could be met when the wages of regular labour force are increased. Keywords: Linear Programming Model, Optimum Production of Sachet water,  LP Transportation Model DOI: 10.7176/JIEA/9-4-01 Publication date:June 30th 201

The Value of the Tax Certificate

Tax certificates are an example of successful incentive regulation. Prior to its repeal in 1995, section 1071 of the Internal Revenue Code permitted the tax-free sale or exchange of media properties to effectuate policies of the Federal Communications Commission. Enacted by Congress in 1943, this provision was originally used to soften the hardship created by involuntary sales of broadcast properties made necessary to reduce ownership concentration in the radio industry. In 1978, the tax certificate was used to promote goals to increase minority ownership of a variety of communications properties. This Article discusses the value of tax certificates as a public policy tool and measures that tool’s efficacy in promoting the particular goal of increased minority ownership. It also discusses the importance of tax certificates in an environment of increased ownership concentration in the radio industry. Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media Ownership, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia University

Enhancing the Properties of Soil Bricks by Stabilizing with Corn Husk Ash

A study was conducted to investigate the potential of corn husk ash as an enhancer for the production of soil blocks for low cost housing. Five different levels of stabilisation (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) using corn husk ash were adopted for this study. Fifteen blocks were moulded for each stabilisation level. In all a total of 75 blocks were moulded and subjected to the compressive strength, abrasion resistance and water absorption by capillarity tests after curing for 28 days and compared with the relevant standards of compressive earth blocks. In general, there was a significant improvement in the compressive strength characteristics of the stabilized soil blocks. From the compressive strength test results, compressive strengths of 4.177MPa, 4.380MPa and 4.053MPa were obtained for blocks admixed with 0%, 5% and 10% corn husk ash respectively. Soil blocks mixed with 20% corn husk ash had the highest compressive strength of 5.311MPa followed by blocks which had 15% corn husk ash addition also with a compressive strength of 4.917MPa. The water exclusion and the abrasion resistance properties also showed significant improvement as the quantity of corn husk ash increases. There was a significantly strong negative correlation of 0.754 existed between the abrasion coefficients and the water absorption coefficients of the soil blocks. Stabilizing of soil with corn husk ash can improve the properties of soil  and soil blocks making the suitable for use as a building material for the construction of load bearing walls. Keywords: Corn husk ash, Soil stabilised brick, Abrasion resistance, Water absorption by capillarity, Compressive strengt

Autorefraction, Retinoscopy, Javal’s Rule, and Grosvenor’s Modified Javal’s Rule: The Best Predictor of Refractive Astigmatism

The aim of the study was to determine the level of agreement between Javal’s rule, autorefraction, retinoscopy, and refractive astigmatism and to determine which technique is the most suitable substitute when subjective refraction is not applicable using a clinical sample. A total of 36 subjects, 14 males and 22 females, were involved in this study. The intraclass correlation coefficients between subjective refraction, autorefraction, and retinoscopy were 0.895 and 0.989, respectively, for the spherical equivalent. The Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement between subjective refraction and autorefraction; subjective refraction and retinoscopy; and autorefraction and retinoscopy were −2.84 to 3.58, −0.88 to 1.12, and −3.01 to 3.53, respectively, for the spherical equivalent. The intraclass correlation coefficients between spectacle total astigmatism and the following techniques were as follows: retinoscopy (0.85); autorefraction (0.92); Javal’s rule (0.82); and Grosvenor et al. version (0.85). The Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement between subjective refraction and autorefraction; subjective refraction and retinoscopy; subjective refraction and Javal’s rule; and subjective refraction and Grosvenor et al. version were −0.87 to 1.25, −1.49 to 1.99, −0.73 to 1.93, and −0.89 to 1.7, respectively, for the total astigmatism. The study showed that autorefraction and Javal’s rule may provide a starting point for subjective refraction cylinder power determination but only retinoscopy may satisfactorily replace subjective refraction total astigmatism when subjective refraction is not applicable

Effects of Bauxite Tailings as Partial Replacement for Sand in Sandcrete Bricks Production

This study was carried out on sand-cement bricks with bauxite tailings, a mining by-product partially replacing the sand varying percentage levels. The bauxite tailings varied from 0% to 50% against the sand at intervals of 10%. Using bricks with dimensions: 210mm × 105mm × 75mm, a total of 120 bricks were produced and tested for their compressive strength, abrasion loss and water absorption after 28-days curing age. Results from the study showed that composite bricks with the bauxite tailings replacing up to 20% of the sand content recorded the highest compressive strength, lowest abrasion loss with the least water permeability. Even though, there was a general decline in the properties of the composite bricks with bauxite tailings replacement beyond 20%, bricks produced satisfied the minimum requirements for bricks suitable for walling. A strong correlation exited between bricks produced from the different replacement levels and the properties of the bricks studied. The bricks performed satisfactorily as masonry units where bauxite tailings content did not exceed 20%. Keywords: Bauxite tailings, sand, composite bricks, abrasion los

Buffer Stock Operations and Well-Being:The Case of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

This study investigates the possible causal relationship between buffer stock operations in Ghanaian agriculture and the well-being of smallholder farmers in a developing world setting. We analyze the differences in the objective and subjective well-being of smallholder farmers who do or do not participate in a buffer stock price stabilization policy initiative, using self-reported assessments of 507 farmers. We adopt a two-stage least square instrumental variable estimation to account for possible endogeneity. Our results provide evidence that participation in buffer stock operations improves the objective and subjective well-being of smallholder farmers by 20% and 15%, respectively. Also, with estimated coefficient of 1.033, we find a significant and robust relationship between objective well-being and subjective well-being among smallholder farmers. This relationship implies that improving objective well-being enhances the subjective well-being of the farmers. We also find that the activities of intermediaries decrease both the objective and subjective well-being of farmers. This study demonstrates that economic, social, and environmental aspects of agricultural life could constitute priorities for public policy in improving well-being, given their strong correlation with the well-being of farmers. Based on the results of this study, we provide a better understanding, which may aid policy-makers, that public buffer stockholding operations policy is a viable tool for improving the well-being of smallholder farmers in a developing country

Geospatial clustering of meningitis: an early warning system (hotspot) for potential meningitis outbreak in upper east region of Ghana

Objective: We mapped and generated hot spots for potential meningitis outbreak from existing data in Upper East region, Ghana.Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017Data Source: Meningitis data in the Upper East Region from January 2007, to December 2016.Main outcome measure: We used spatial tools in Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) and Geoda to draw choropleth map of meningitis incidence, case fatality and hotspot for potential meningitis outbreak Results: A total of 2312 meningitis cases (suspected and confirmed) were recorded from 2016-2017 with median incidence of 15.0cases/100,000 population (min 6.3, max 47.8). Median age of cases was 15 years (IQR: 6-31 years). Most (44.2%) of those affected were 10 years and below. Females (51.2%) constituted the highest proportion. Median incidence from 2007-2011 was 20cases/100,000 population (Min 11.3, Max 39.9) whilst from 2012-2016 was 11.1cases/100,000 populations (Min 6.3, Max 47.8). A total of 28 significant hotspot sub-districts clusters (p=0.024) were identified with 7 High-high risk areas as potential meningitis outbreak spots.Conclusion: The occurrence of meningitis is not random, spatial cluster with high –high-risk exist in some sub-districts. Overall meningitis incidence and fatality rate have declined in the region with district variations. Districts with high meningitis incidence and fatality rates should be targeted for intervention.Keywords: meningitis outbreak, geospatial clustering, Upper East Region, meningitis incidence, GhanaFunding: Author EA was supported by the West Africa Health Organization (Ref.: Prog/A17IEpidemSurveillN°57212014/mcrt)

Comparison of the Outcomes of Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) and Phacoemulsification (PHACO) in Ghana

Background: The growing middle-class population of Ghana has seen more people being employed in visually demanding occupations  and hence there is an increased desire for quality post-cataract surgical visual outcomes. This study aimed at comparing the outcomes of manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) and phacoemulsification (PHACO) among Ghanaians. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study in which records of patients who underwent MSCIS or phacoemulsification by the same surgeon were reviewed. Results: Medical records of 248 eyes were reviewed, out of which 132 underwent PHACO and 116 had MSICS. A significant number of the  PHACO group had good (6/6–6/18) uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) compared to the MSICS group at 1–2 weeks follow-up (p = 0.003) and 4–6 weeks follow-up (p = 0.002). MSICS resulted in a higher total astigmatic change compared to PHACO (p < 0.001). The PHACO grouphad a higher number of postoperative complications compared with the MSICS group (p <0.001). Postoperative borderline and poor  uncorrected visual acuity were associated with age, total astigmatic change, and postoperative complications. Conclusion: The postoperative UCVA outcomes at 4–6 weeks’ follow-up indicates that PHACO resulted in noticeably less spectacle dependency when compared to MSICS

Onset and duration of cycloplegic action of 1% cyclopentolate – 1% tropicamide combination

Purpose: To study the time course (onset, time and duration of maximal cycloplegia, and the full duration) of cycloplegic action of 1% Cyclopentolate – 1% Tropicamide.Methods: Seventy-seven students, aged 15-24 years were purposively sampled from the University of Cape Coast and Cape Coast Technical Institute. Subjective near addition (ADD) determination and pupil diameter measurement before and after a drop of the test agent (1% Cyclopentolate – 1% Tropicamide combination in the right eye) and the control (1% Cyclopentolate in the left eye) were performed. Measurements of subjective near ADD and pupil diameter were made after the initial reading at 5 minutes interval for the first hour and every 30 minutes for the next 7 hours for each participant. Time of onset, time of peak cycloplegia, duration of peak cycloplegia and duration of total cycloplegic effect was indirectly determined.Results: 1% Cyclopentolate – 1% Tropicamide combination had rapid onset of cycloplegia (5-10 minutes), shorter time of maximal cycloplegia (55 versus 90 minutes), and recovery (7 versus ≥ 8hours) in the majority (79.2%) of subjects.Conclusion: Cyclopentolate –Tropicamide combination was comparable to Cyclopentolate in depth of cycloplegia produced, and clinically superior to 1% Cyclopentolate in rapidity of cycloplegic onset, time of maximal cycloplegia and recovery from cycloplegia.Keywords: Cycloplegia, time course, accommodation, recovery tim