Circulating Naturally-Occurring Anticoagulants before Treatment and after Recovery from SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Ghana

Background: Disturbance in naturally-occurring anticoagulants may contribute to the hypercoagulable state in COVID-19. This study determined the plasma antigen levels of protein C (PC), protein S (PS), antithrombin-III (AT-III), and thrombomodulin (TM) before treatment and after recovery from COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted from February to August 2022 at Kumasi South Hospital, recruited sixty-five RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 participants. A venous blood sample was taken for full blood count (FBC) analysis using a 3-part fully automated haematology analyzer, and PC, PS, AT-III, and TM antigen levels measured using ELISA. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Severe COVID-19 participants had relatively lower haemoglobin (p<0.001), RBC (p<0.001), HCT% (p<0.001) and platelets (p<0.001), but higher RDW-CV% (p=0.013), WBC (p<0.001), and absolute lymphocyte counts (p<0.001) compared to those with the non-severe form of the disease. The overall prevalence of anaemia among the participants was 58.5%, and 32 (84.2%) and 6 (15.8%) of the anaemic participants had mild and moderate anaemia respectively. Protein C (p<0.001), PS (p<0.001) and ATIII (p<0.001) levels were lower among the severe COVID-19 participants than in the non-severe group. But severe COVID-19 group had higher TM levels (p<0.001) than the non-severe group. Again, participants had higher haemoglobin (p<0.001), RBC (p<0.001), HCT% (p=0.049), absolute neutrophil count (p<0.001) and platelets (p<0.001) after recovery from COVID-19 than the values on admission. Additionally, after recovery, participants had higher levels of PC (p<0.001), PS (p<0.001), and ATIII (p<0.001), but reduced TM (p<0.001). Conclusion: Severe COVID-19 patients had higher PC, PS, and AT-III, but lower TM levels. The changes in circulating anticoagulants may contribute to the hypercoagulable state of COVID-19. Blood cell indices are negatively affected during COVID-19. Complete recovery from the SARS-CoV-2 infection normalised the haematological indices. Assessment of naturally-occurring anticoagulants and the provision of anticoagulants are recommended in the management of COVID-19.   Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2022-04-04-01 Full Text: PD

Structural Adjustment in Africa A Performance Review of World Bank Policies under Uncertainty in Commodity Price Trends: The Case of Ghana

The main purpose of this paper is to argue that Ghana's economic recovery under SAP would have been much brighter if policy makers had not made some obvious errors in the application of the theory of 'comparative advantage' and in the selection, timing and sequencing of commodities for export. Agriculture is the dominant sector of the Ghanaian economy. It generates 43% GDP, over 50% of export earnings, and provides 70% of employment. As a result any policy lapse in this sector is bound to affect economic performance negatively. The paper draws attention to a critical evaluation of agricultural sector policies. Specifically, it argues that cocoa sector policies and implementational priorities were misplaced, thus compromising economic recovery. It is suggested that Ghana's economic recovery would have been much brighter if policy makers had been able to predict the cocoa price slump of the 1980s and 1990s and had sought to diversify the commodity export base of the economy away from cocoa exports. It is suggested, further, that diversification of the export base should be taken seriously so that the economy can move away from dependence on cocoa exports. In the past, violent fluctuations in cocoa export earnings created problems of economic instability for Ghana which, in turn, led to political instability, economic chaos and a virtual collapse of the economy in 1981. Diversification would go a long way to stabilize commodity export earnings and secure stable economic growth. Diversification by itself is not enough if supply response and institutional development in the rural sectors are low. Economic and noneconomic factors should therefore be included in designing models for economic recovery. It is recognized that commodity diversification by itself is not enough to do the trick. Recent research by institutional economists have shown that the most important variable which accounts for economic growth is institutional innovations brought about by superior political organization and administrative competence in government. It is suggested that for Ghana (Africa) to solve the problem of low supply response in agriculture, she must find a way to develop efficient institutions, for example, by lowering transaction costs. The study provides empirical examples of institutional innovations and growth. The suggestions developed in this paper, to ensure a viable SAP with the help of government intervention may be summarized as follows: (i) a superstructure of an agrarian development strategy 'with an institutional development face', for example a cooperative movement, must be put in place; and (ii) an agriculture-led growth strategy 'with an equity face' where the internal terms of trade are biased towards the agrarian sector, must be followed before rapid industrialization is begun

Saga of African Underdevelopment: A Viable Approach for Africa\u27s Sustainable Development in the 21st Century

The Saga of African Underdevelopment examines in careful detail the economic conditions in Africa during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The authors argue eloquently that most of the development paradigms that were used to transform African economies, under free trade imperialism or under colonial and postcolonial periods were incompatible with the African system of thought and traditional production systems or mode of production. Following this, they propose a bold development strategy to reverse the dismal economic performance of African countries in the post independence period.https://scholar.dominican.edu/books/1030/thumbnail.jp

Implicit Attitudes Toward Ageing: A Case of Funeral Advertisements in the Ghanaian Print Media

Through the agency of the media, individuals within a community absorb impressions, images, ideas and sounds that mirror society’s attitude towards old age. The study explored implicit attitudes towards old age in the print media as depicted in funeral advertisements in Ghana. Data was gathered from print advertisements (funeral announcements from the Daily Graphic) for two (2) years. The research studied only funeral announcements that displayed the age (60 years upwards) at which a person died and captured the picture of the dead person depicted on the funeral announcement poster (either at a later stage of their lives, younger age or both). A content analysis revealed some major themes; Celebration of life, Celebration of profession, Celebration of achievement, Blessing and other sub-themes. Although these themes suggest a positive attitude towards old age, it was however observed that some of the pictures used in the advertisements were those taken at an earlier stage in the life of the dead person. Results are discussed with reference to relevant theories and related studies