The Wildlife Trade In Ghana: A Threat To Biodiversity Conservation

The rich biodiversity of Ghana is currently under threat from anthropogenic influences, including local and international trade in wildlife. Thes study investigated the effect of this trade on biodiversity conservation initiatives in Ghana. The study involved the use of interviews and structured questionnaires administered in four towns in the Eastern and Greater-Accra regions of Ghana. The results indicated that the level of awareness of wildlife laws was high among the exclusively male dealers in the trade. Trapping was the most widely used hunting method, and involved some brutality to the captured animals before they were finally killed. Export permit fees charged by the Wildlife Division were found to be very low and, based on uncertain international market prices, pose potential threats to the national economy and wildlife heritage. It is recommended that a policy framework should be developed to regulate the production and use of killer traps in hunting of wildlife. Export permit fees and penalties for non-adherence to wildlife laws also need to be increased to high levels to serve as a deterrent to the over-harvesting and exportation of wildlife.La biodiversité riche du Ghana est actuellement menacé de l\'influence d\'anthropogénie y compris le commerce local et international d\'animaux sauvages. Cette étude enquêtait l\'effet de ce commerce sur les initiatives de la conservation de biodiversité au Ghana. La methodologie entraînait les interviews et les questionnaires structurés appliqués en quatre villes dans les régions de Eastern et de Greater-Accra du Ghana. Les résultats indiquent que le niveau de sensibilisation de lois d\'animaux sauvages était élevé parmi les négociants exclusivement mâles du commerce. La prise au piège était la méthode de chasse la plus généralement employée, mais ceci entrainait beaucoup de violence pour les animaux capturés avant d\'être finalement tués. Le droit de permis d\'exportation facturé par le département de la faune et la flore est considéré d\'être trop bas et basé sur les prix incertains du marché international, posant une menace potentielle à l\'économie nationale et à l\'héritage de la faune et la flore. Il est recommandé qu\'un cadre de principe soit développé pour régler la construction et l\'utilisation des pièges tueuses pour la chasse d\'animaux sauvages. Les droits de permis d\'exportation et les pénalités pour la non-adhésion aux lois d\'animaux sauvage exigent également d\'être augmentés aux niveaux élevés pour avoir un effet dissuasif à la chasse excessive et l\'exportation d\'animaux sauvage. Ghana Journal of Science Vol. 47 2007: pp. 101-10

Carpal tunnel release surgery- a systematic review of open and endoscopic approaches

Context: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most frequent peripheral compression-induced neuropathy observed in patients worldwide. Surgery is necessary when conservative treatments fail and severe symptoms persist. Traditional Open carpal tunnel release (OCTR) with visualization of carpal tunnel is considered the gold standard for decompression. However, Endoscopic carpal tunnel release (ECTR), a less invasive technique than OCTR is emerging as a standard of care in recent years. Evidence Acquisition: Criteria for this systematic review were derived from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Two review authors searched PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Database in May 2018 using the following MeSH terms from 1993-2016: �carpal tunnel syndrome,' �median nerve neuropathy,' �endoscopic carpal tunnel release,' �endoscopic surgery,' �open carpal tunnel release,' �open surgery,' and �carpal tunnel surgery.' Additional sources, including Google Scholar, were added. Also, based on bibliographies and consultation with experts, appropriate publications were identified. The primary outcome measure was pain relief. Results: For this analysis, 27 studies met inclusion criteria. Results indicate that ECTR produced superior post-operative pain outcomes during short-term follow-up. Of the studies meeting inclusion criteria for this analysis, 17 studies evaluated pain as a primary or secondary outcome, and 15 studies evaluated pain, pillar tenderness, or incision tenderness at short-term follow-up. Most studies employed a VAS for assessment, and the majority reported superior short-term pain outcomes following ECTR at intervals ranging from one hour up to 12 weeks. Several additional studies reported equivalent pain outcomes at short-term follow-up as early as one week. No study reported inferior short-term pain outcomes following ECTR. Conclusions: ECTR and OCTR produce satisfactory results in pain relief, symptom resolution, patient satisfaction, time to return to work, and adverse events. There is a growing body of evidence favoring the endoscopic technique for pain relief, functional outcomes, and satisfaction, at least in the early post-operative period, even if this difference disappears over time. Several studies have demonstrated a quicker return to work and activities of daily living with the endoscopic technique. © 2020, Author(s)

Impact of Point-of-Care Rapid Diagnostic Tests on Antibiotic Prescription Among Patients Aged <18 Years in Primary Healthcare Settings in 2 Peri-Urban Districts in Ghana: Randomized Controlled Trial Results.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions are a known driver of antimicrobial resistance in settings with limited diagnostic capacity. This study aimed to assess the impact of diagnostic algorithms incorporating rapid diagnostic tests on clinical outcomes and antibiotic prescriptions compared with standard-of-care practices, of acute febrile illness cases at outpatient clinics in Shai-Osudoku and Prampram districts in Ghana. METHODS: This was an open-label, centrally randomized controlled trial in 4 health facilities. Participants aged 6 months to <18 years of both sexes with acute febrile illness were randomized to receive a package of interventions to guide antibiotic prescriptions or standard care. Clinical outcomes were assessed on day 7. RESULTS: In total, 1512 patients were randomized to either the intervention (n = 761) or control (n = 751) group. Majority were children aged <5 years (1154 of 1512, 76.3%) and male (809 of 1512, 53.5%). There was 11% relative risk reduction of antibiotic prescription in intervention group (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, .79 to 1.01); 14% in children aged <5 years (RR, 0.86; 95% CI, .75 to .98), 15% in nonmalaria patients (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, .75 to .96), and 16% in patients with respiratory symptoms (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, .73 to .96). Almost all participants had favorable outcomes (759 of 761, 99.7% vs 747 of 751, 99.4%). CONCLUSIONS: In low- and middle-income countries, the combination of point-of-care diagnostics, diagnostic algorithms, and communication training can be used at the primary healthcare level to reduce antibiotic prescriptions among children with acute febrile illness, patients with nonmalarial fevers, and respiratory symptoms. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT04081051

Trace metals quality of some herbal medicines sold in Accra, Ghana

Abstract Ten brands of herbal medicines were selected on the market for the analysis of trace metals quality using the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The results were reported as the mean concentration of three representative samples for each of the ten brands. The respective percentage incidence of the trace metals analyzed were; Fe (20%), Zn (80%), Cu (20%), Cd (40%); Al (100%) and Pb (100%). The range of the mean concentrations measured for all the brands were; Fe (&lt;0.006-3.298 mg/L), Zn (&lt;0.001-0.091 mg/L), Cu (&lt;0.003-0.009 mg/L), Cd (&lt;0.002-0.003), Al (0.278-0.533 mg/L) and Pb (0.0056-0.085 mg/L). The mean concentrations of the trace metals measured were generally low and below stipulated national limits as per WHO (2007). A hierarchical cluster analysis indicated two clusters; cluster 1 (CA1) loading Zn, Al and Fe whilst Cluster 2 (CA2) loaded Cd and Pb. The presence of these trace metals may be the result of accidental contamination during manufacture, for instance, from grinding weights or lead-releasing containers or other manufacturing utensils and contamination from polluted soils on which the herbs were harvested. Some brands of the herbal medicines sampled do not have the code in Food and Drugs Board of Ghana. Hence a routine analysis of these herbal medicines must be carried out to ensure the safety of the consuming populace

Multifunctional thio-stabilized gold nanoparticles for near-infrared fluorescence detection and imaging of activated caspase-3

BACKGROUND: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are commonly used in nanomedicine because of their unique spectral properties, chemical and biological stability, and ability to quench the fluorescence of organic dyes attached to their surfaces. However, the utility of spherical AuNPs for activatable fluorescence sensing of molecular processes have been confined to resonance-matched fluorophores in the 500 nm to 600 nm spectral range to maximize dye fluorescence quenching efficiency. Expanding the repertoire of fluorophore systems into the NIR fluorescence regimen with emission >800 nm will facilitate the analysis of multiple biological events with high detection sensitivity. OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this study is to determine if spherical AuNP-induced radiative rate suppression of non-resonant near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes can serve as a versatile nanoconstruct for highly sensitive detection and imaging of activated caspase-3 in aqueous media and cancer cells. This required the development of activatable NIR fluorescence sensors of caspase-3 designed to overcome the nonspecific degradation and release of the surface coatings in aqueous media. METHOD: We harnessed the fluorescence-quenching properties and multivalency of spherical AuNPs to develop AuNP-templated activatable NIR fluorescent probes to detect activated caspase-3, an intracellular reporter of early cell death. Freshly AuNPs were coated with a multifunctional NIR fluorescent dye-labeled peptide (LS422) consisting of an RGD peptide sequence that targets α(v)β(3)-integrin protein (α(v)β(3)) on the surface of cancer cells to mediate the uptake and internalization of the sensors in tumor cells; a DEVD peptide sequence for reporting the induction of cell death through caspase-3 mediated NIR fluorescence enhancement; and a multidentate hexacysteine sequence for enhancing self-assembly and stabilizing the multifunctional construct on AuNPs. The integrin binding affinity of LS422 and caspase-3 kinetics were determined by a radioligand competitive binding and fluorogenic peptide assays, respectively. Detection of intracellular caspase-3, cell viability, and the internalization of LS422 in cancer cells were determined by confocal NIR fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy. RESULTS: Narrow size AuNPs (13 nm) were prepared and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. When assembled on the AuNPs, the binding constant of LS422 for α(v)β(3) improved 11-fold from 13.2 nM to 1.2 nM. Whereas the catalytic turnover of caspase-3 by LS422-AuNPs was similar to the reference fluorogenic peptide, the binding affinity for the enzyme increased by a factor of 2. Unlike the α(v)β(3) positive, but caspase-3 negative breast cancer MCF-7 cells, treatment of the α(v)β(3) and caspase-3 positive lung cancer A549 cells with Paclitaxel showed significant fluorescence enhancement within 30 minutes, which correlated with caspase-3 specific activation of LS422-AuNPs fluorescence. Incorporation of a 3.5 mW NIR laser source into our spectrofluorometer increased the detection sensitivity by an order of magnitude (limit of detection ~0.1 nM of cypate) and significantly decreased the signal noise relative to a xenon lamp. This gain in sensitivity enabled the detection of substrate hydrolysis at a broad range of inhibitor concentrations without photobleaching the cypate dye. CONCLUSION: The multifunctional AuNPs demonstrate the use of a non-resonant quenching strategy to design activatable NIR fluorescence molecular probes. The nanoconstruct offers a selective reporting method for detecting activated caspase-3, imaging of cell viability, identifying dying cells, and visualizing the functional status of intracellular enzymes. Performing these tasks with NIR fluorescent probes creates an opportunity to translate the in vitro and cellular analysis of enzymes into in vivo interrogation of their functional status using deep tissue penetrating NIR fluorescence analytical methods