Built-operate-transfer (BOT) model for public universities in Ghana for accelerating infrastructural development

Abstract: At independence, many countries look to reform education to accelerate economic and social development. Ghana is no exception, and after independence government saw in education the keys to social and economic development. Quality and availability of school infrastructure is one of the numerous problems confronting Ghana's education delivery. The purpose of this research is to find out infrastructure delivered by the private sector in our state Universities. The main objectives of this study were to assess the effectiveness of public private partnership in infrastructure development at the state public universities in Ghana, and also find out the number of infrastructure undertaken by the private sector; and to find out which of the PPP model is appropriate for the development of infrastructure in the state public universities. Data will be collected using the Delphi and field questionnaire survey. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Nvivo will be used to analyze data from the field questionnaire survey and Delphi respectively. This is a preliminary survey study on an ongoing Ph.D. study

Level of Awareness of Effects of the Use of Cosmetic Bleaching Products among Women: A Case Study of Bolgatanga Municipality of Ghana

This study intends to find out the level of awareness of the harmful effects of cosmetic bleaching products among women in Bolgatanga municipality of Ghana. The study also investigated the motives for skin bleaching as well as observing any physical manifestation of bleaching effects on the skin. Structured questionnaire was the main instrument used for the data collection. The questionnaires were administered in ten (10) selected communities in the Bolgatanga Municipality from which one hundred and twenty (120) women were randomly selected. The results showed that 39.2% of the women interviewed used cosmetics bleaching products, 9 women representing 7.5% experienced related side-effects and 82.4% had no knowledge on the side effects of these bleaching products. Chi-square analysis showed that lack of formal education could account for their ignorance. High amount of sunshine in addition to skin bleaching could serve as a predisposing factor which would lead to the contraction of skin cancer. The knowledge of the effects of cosmetic bleaching products is an imperative measure in maintaining a healthy skin. Keywords: women, cosmetics, bleaching products, skin

Post Occupancy Evaluation of School Refurbishment Projects: Multiple Case Study in the UK

Buildings inevitably deteriorate with time. Schools buildings are no exception and require refurbishment at times. Despite the UK Government announcing the £1 billion funding for rebuilding 50 schools over 10 years starting 2010–2021, it is common practice for builders and designers to, upon completion of a building project, move on to the next development without considering how the completed building performs. This research undertakes a post occupancy evaluation (POE) of three schools in the West Midlands, UK with specific focus on building services, viz., heating, lighting, and air conditioning and ventilation. The research adopted a mixed philosophical approach of interpretivism and post-positivism to conduct inductive reasoning. A questionnaire that collected both quantitative and qualitative primary data was distributed to the end-users of the schools. Data was analysed using the Cronbach’s alpha, one sample t-test and Kruskal–Wallis test to identify any differences between the questionnaire responses. Findings revealed that building users demanded greater control of the internal environment thus contradicting the current trend for automated ‘intelligent systems’ approaches. This research represents the first work to consider the contractor’s perspective towards developing a better understanding of client satisfaction with the school buildings. Moreover, the POE result represents a notable pragmatic advancement to knowledge that will influence the contractor’s knowledge and understanding of client satisfaction, and where to improve upon these

A multiplex PCR assay for the differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex reveals high rates of mixed-lineage tuberculosis infections among patients in Ghana

In low-resource settings with high tuberculosis (TB) burdens, lack of rapid diagnostic methods for detection and differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a major challenge affecting TB management. This study utilized comparative genomic analyses of MTBC lineages; M. tuberculosis, M. africanum Lineages 5/6 and M. bovis to identify lineage-specific genes. Primers were designed for the development of a Multiplex PCR assay which was successful in differentiating the MTBC lineages. There was no cross-reaction with other respiratory pathogens tested. Validation of the assay using clinical samples was performed with sputum DNA extracts from 341 clinically confirmed active TB patients. It was observed that 24.9% of cases were caused by M. tuberculosis, while M. africanum L5 & L6 reported 9.0% and 14.4%, respectively. M. bovis infection was the least frequently detected lineage with 1.8%. Also, 27.0% and 17.0% of the cases were PCR negative and unspeciated, respectively. However, mixed-lineage TB infections were recorded at a surprising 5.9%. This multiplex PCR assay will allow speciation of MTBC lineages in low-resource regions, providing rapid differentiation of TB infections to select appropriate medication at the earliest possible time point. It will also be useful in epidemiological surveillance studies providing reliable information on the prevalence of TB lineages as well as identifying difficult to treat cases of mixed-lineage tuberculosis infections

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Hygienic Practices among Food Vendors in Educational Institutions in Ghana: The Case of Konongo

food

Contractors management team roles for project cost control in Ghana

Abstract: Project cost control is one of the key management practices that are crucial to the survival of every construction company in a country. The involvement, good cooperation and good coordination of the contractors' in-house management team roles are essential to achieve maximum good management practice as well as maximum profit. The objectives of the study were to identify the various roles in-house team members play for successful project cost control and to develop a model to show the interdependencies of the roles among the contractor's team for effective cost control. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative approach. The population and sample sizefor this study comprised all registered members of the Ashanti Region branch of Association of Building and Civil Contractors of Ghana (ABCCG) who wereforty-one (41) members in good standing with response rate of 90%. Likert scale from 'always to never' was used to evaluate the roles of the contractors' team. The survey indicated that the project manager is responsible for checking cost performance, timely co"ective measures and taking plan based on actual cost. The quantity surveyor also prepares detailed estimates, cash flow forecasting, financial reporting, gathers cost data by checking invoices. The store keeper/manager also does inventory control, controlling of materials, and minimizing wastage of materials at construction site. A model developed shows that project manager links up all the professionals by coordination with the contractors' management team to achieve maximum good management practice as well as maximum profit

Analysis of <i>Mycobacterium ulcerans</i>-specific T-cell cytokines for diagnosis of Buruli ulcer disease and as potential indicator for disease progression

<div><p>Background</p><p>Buruli ulcer disease (BUD), caused by <i>Mycobacterium (M</i>.<i>) ulcerans</i>, is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy. BUD causes necrotic skin lesions and is a significant problem for health care in the affected countries. As for other mycobacterial infections, T cell mediated immune responses are important for protection and recovery during treatment, but detailed studies investigating these immune responses in BUD patients are scarce. In this study, we aimed to characterise <i>M</i>. <i>ulcerans</i>-specific CD4+ T cell responses in BUD patients and to analyse specific cytokine-producing T cells in the context of disease severity and progression.</p><p>Methodology/Principal findings</p><p>For this case-control study, whole blood samples of BUD patients (N = 36, 1.5–17 years of age) and healthy contacts (N = 22, 3–15 years of age) were stimulated with antigen prepared from <i>M</i>. <i>ulcerans</i> and CD4+ T cells were analysed for the expression of TNFα, IFNγ and CD40L by flow cytometry. The proportions and profile of cytokine producing CD4+ T cells was compared between the two study groups and correlated with disease progression and severity. Proportions of cytokine double-positive IFNγ+TNFα+, TNFα+CD40L+, IFNγ+CD40L+ (p = 0.014, p = 0.010, p = 0.002, respectively) and triple positive IFNγ+TNFα+CD40L+ (p = 0.010) producing CD4+ T cell subsets were increased in BUD patients. In addition, TNFα+CD40L-IFNγ- CD4+ T cells differed between patients and controls (p = 0.034). TNFα+CD40L-IFNγ- CD4+ T cells were correlated with lesion size (p = 0.010) and proportion were higher in ‘slow’ healers compared to ‘fast healers’ (p = 0.030).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>We were able to identify <i>M</i>. <i>ulcerans</i>-specific CD4+ T cell subsets with specific cytokine profiles. In particular a CD4+ T cell subset, producing TNFα but not IFNγ and CD40L, showed association with lesion size and healing progress. Further studies are required to investigate, if the identified CD4+ T cell subset has the potential to be used as biomarker for diagnosis, severity and/or progression of disease.</p></div

TNFα+CD40L-IFNγ- CD4+ T cells are correlated with size of lesions in Buruli ulcer disease.

<p>Cytokine producing CD4+ T cells were determined as for <a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005415#pntd.0005415.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a> and analysed in regards to type of lesion (<b>A</b>, <b>B</b>) or surface area of lesions <b>(C</b>, <b>D</b>) or widest diameter of the lesions (<b>E</b>). Multiple cytokine producing are shown in (<b>A</b>, <b>C</b>); TNFα+CD40L-IFNγ- and CD40L+IFNγ- are indicated in (<b>B</b>, <b>D</b>). P—values of non-parametric Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> analyses (A, B) and Spearman correlations (C–E) are presented.</p

Description of the study population.

<p>Description of the study population.</p