Dvifaktorinė dispersinė analizė pajamų surinkimo skirtumams tirti

The Ghanaian informal sector is characterized by underemployment, bad working conditions, uncertain workrelationships and low earnings. This sector employs 80% of the workforce. Consequently, establishing an efficient tax systemthat can raise sufficient revenue to finance essential expenditures without recourse to government borrowing has been achallenge. Using time series data extracted from a revenue mobilization unit in Ghana, this paper examines the inequalities infour revenue mobilization instruments, namely self-employed tax, company tax, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax andmiscellaneous taxes. The study uses the theory of two-way ANOVA as the main approach for exploring the differences. Weassessed the adequacy of our theoretical approach using numerical methods. Revenues generated from the mobilizationinstruments differed significantly with exception of self-employed tax and company tax. Generally, revenue from company,self-employed and miscellaneous taxes were low, compared to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax. This study draws attention tothe importance of enhancing the informal sector in order to improve revenue from self-employed tax.Ganos neformalusis sektorius pasižymi nepakankamu užimtumu, blogomis darbo sąlygomis, neužtikrintais darbo santykiais ir mažu uždarbiu. Šiame sektoriuje užimta apie 80 % darbo jėgos. Todėl efektyvios mokesčių sistemos sukūrimas, kuri galėtų surinkti pakankamai biudžeto pajamų pagrindinėms išlaidoms finansuoti išvengiant valstybės skolinimosi, yra didelis iššūkis. Naudojant Ganos biudžeto įplaukų surinkimo laiko eilutės duomenis, šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjami keturių mokesčių surinkimo instrumentų skirtumai, būtent sau dirbančiųjų mokesčiai, įmonių mokesčiai, pajamų mokesčiai ir kiti mokesčiai. Straipsnyje taikoma dvifaktorinė dispersinė analizė kaip pagrindinis metodas mokesčių skirtumams tirti. Teorinio modelio tinkamumas tiriamas skaitiniais metodais. Skirtingų surinkimo instrumentų surinktos įplaukos labai skiriasi, išskyrus sau dirbančiųjų mokesčius ir įmonių mokesčius. Įmonių, sau dirbančių ir kiti mokesčiai buvo maži, palyginti su pajamų mokesčiais. Šiuo tyrimu atkreipiamas dėmesys į poreikį stiprinti neformalųjį sektorių, siekiant pagerinti sau dirbančiųjų mokesčių surinkimą

Performance evaluation of Africa CORDEX regional climate models: case of Kpong irrigation scheme, Ghana

This study examined four Regional Climate Models (RCMs) from Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment-Africa which are widely used in Africa researches, to select the best performing model against gridded observational dataset over the Kpong Irrigation Scheme area with data from 1964 to 2005. Statistical tools such as correlation coefficient (r), RMSE, and standardized deviations (σ), and Mann–Kendall trend analysis were used to determine model performance. The capability of the models to reproduce measured yearly cycles and inter-annual variability for both precipitation and temperature were also assessed. The average precipitation and temperature biases for all the models are located in the ± 0.8 mm range with temporal correlations below 0.3. The Mann–Kendall trend analysis revealed the existence of predominant decreasing trends. On the other hand, all the models were able to reproduce the inter-annual variability, but were unable to capture the long and short rainfall range and deviations accurately. In general, the RCA4-CanESM2 of the four RCMs reproduces the precipitation and temperature climatology with reasonable skill and suggested as the most efficient for climate impact assessment researches over the study area. Overall, our results provide a systematic diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of the four models over a wide range of temporal scale

Enablers and barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health services among visually impaired women in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana

The need to improve the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights of women with disabilities is increasingly acknowledged. Unfortunately, women with disabilities in low- and middle-income settings, including Ghana, face several barriers (including structural, financial, physical, social and attitudinal) to accessing SRH services and care. This paper explores the enablers and barriers to accessing SRH services and care among visually impaired women in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were collected from 21 visually impaired women, selected through purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Thematic analysis was used to develop codes, and data were further grouped into emerging themes. The barriers to accessing SRH services and care were financial difficulties and lack of preferential treatment. The enablers which facilitated access to SRH services and care were the support provided by caregivers and friendly relationships with health providers. To address these challenges and promote access, SRH related policies, services and programmes should be inclusive of the needs of visually impaired women, and measures to remove financial challenges to service utilisation and foster positive relationships with health workers, church and community members should be adopted

Serotonin induced hepatic steatosis is associated with modulation of autophagy and notch signaling pathway

Abstract Background Besides its neurotransmitter and vasoconstriction functions, serotonin is an important mediator of numerous biological processes in peripheral tissues including cell proliferation, steatosis, and fibrogenesis. Recent reports indicate that serotonin may promote tumor growth in liver cancer, however, the molecular mechanisms remain elusive. n this study, we investigated the role and molecular signaling mechanisms mediated by serotonin in liver cancer cell survival, drug resistance, and steatosis. Methods Effect of serotonin on modulation of cell survival/proliferation was determined by MTT/WST1 assay. Effect of serotonin on the regulation of autophagy biomarkers and lipid/fatty acid proteins expression, AKT/mTOR and Notch signaling was evaluated by immunoblotting. The role of serotonin in normal human hepatocytes and liver cancer cell steatosis was analyzed by Oil Red O staining. The mRNA expression levels of lipid/fatty acid proteins and serotonin receptors were validated by qRT-PCR. The important roles of autophagy, Notch signaling, serotonin receptors and serotonin re-uptake proteins on serotonin-mediated cell steatosis were investigated by using selective inhibitors or antagonists. The association of peripheral serotonin, autophagy, and hepatic steatosis was also investigated using chronic EtOH fed mouse model. Results Exposure of liver cancer cells to serotonin induced Notch signaling and autophagy, independent of AKT/mTOR pathway. Also, serotonin enhanced cancer cell proliferation/survival and drug resistance. Furthermore, serotonin treatment up-regulated the expression of lipogenic proteins and increased steatosis in liver cancer cells. Inhibition of autophagy or Notch signaling reduced serotonin-mediated cell steatosis. Treatment with serotonin receptor antagonists 5-HTr1B and 5-HTr2B reduced serotonin-mediated cell steatosis; in contrast, treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increased steatosis. In addition, mice fed with chronic EtOH resulted in increased serum serotonin levels which were associated with the induction of hepatic steatosis and autophagy. Conclusions Serotonin regulates liver cancer cell steatosis, cells survival, and may promote liver carcinogenesis by activation of Notch signaling and autophagy

Reporting in the abstracts presented at the 5th AfriNEAD (African Network for Evidence-to-Action in Disability) Conference in Ghana

Abstract Introduction The abstracts of a conference are important for informing the participants about the results that are communicated. However, there is poor reporting in conference abstracts in disability research. This paper aims to assess the reporting in the abstracts presented at the 5th African Network for Evidence-to-Action in Disability (AfriNEAD) Conference in Ghana. Methods This descriptive study extracted information from the abstracts presented at the 5th AfriNEAD Conference. Three reviewers independently reviewed all the included abstracts using a predefined data extraction form. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the extracted information, using Stata version 15. Results Of the 76 abstracts assessed, 54 met the inclusion criteria, while 22 were excluded. More than half of all the included abstracts (32/54; 59.26%) were studies conducted in Ghana. Some of the included abstracts did not report on the study design (37/54; 68.5%), the type of analysis performed (30/54; 55.56%), the sampling (27/54; 50%), and the sample size (18/54; 33.33%). Almost all the included abstracts did not report the age distribution and the gender of the participants. Conclusion The study findings confirm that there is poor reporting of methods and findings in conference abstracts. Future conference organizers should critically examine abstracts to ensure that these issues are adequately addressed, so that findings are effectively communicated to participants