Factors influencing the use of anemia preventing measures among antenatal clinic attendees in the Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana

Anemia in pregnancy is a key public health problem worldwide. It results from a wide variety of causes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended specific measures to help prevent anemia during pregnancy, which countries are required to integrate into their antenatal care. This study was designed to determine the factors influencing the use of anaemia preventing measures among antenatal clinic attendees in the Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana. A cross sectional study was conducted among pregnant women attending the clinics after 36 weeks of pregnancy. Demographic data and information on use of all interventions were obtained using a structured questionnaire. The factors associated with the use of the interventions were identified using multiple logistic regression. The use of all anemia preventing interventions among pregnant women was found to be 30%. The study identified that use of all anemia preventing measures among pregnant women is quite low. Provision of antihelmithics to pregnant women and their health education on the benefits of the use of anaemia preventing measures would help increase the usage of the interventions.Keywords: Anemia in pregnancy, anemia prevention in pregnancy, Kintampo North, Ghan

Performance of lightweight granulated glass concrete beams reinforced with basalt FRP bars

This paper presents an investigation into the flexural behaviour of basalt FRP reinforced concrete beams through experimental and analytical methods. To achieve the research objectives, four concrete beams reinforced with steel and four identical concrete beams reinforced with BFRP bars were tested under four-point bending. The main parameters examined under the tests are the type of concrete (lightweight foam glass concrete and normal concrete) and the type of longitudinal reinforcement bars (BFRP and steel). Test results are presented in terms of failure modes; deformation crack pattern and the ultimate moment of resistance are presented. The experimental results are analysed and compared to predictive models proposed by ACI 440.1R, 2006 and BS EN 1992, Eurocode 2, for deformations and ultimate flexural capacities of the steel and BFRP reinforced concrete beams. The experimental results indicated that the flexural capacity decreased for the beams reinforced with BFRP bars compared to that of a corresponding beam reinforced with steel bars. Both types of beams failed in the modes predicted. The prediction models underestimated the flexural capacity of BFRP reinforced concrete beams. The increase in foam glass aggregate content was observed to reduce the cracking load by almost 10-40% and 25-50% for steel and BFRP reinforced concrete beams, respectively. The flexural capacities of BFRP reinforced beams were underestimated by using equations stipulated in ACI 440.1R and Eurocode 2 codes of practice. © 2019 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved