Oil yields for Allanblackia parviflora (tallow tree) in Ghana: the effects of oil extraction methods, tree morphology and environmental characteristics

This study provided understanding of the oil yields from Allanblackia parviflora fruits in Ghana. The study sought patterns of variations in oil yield between 157 trees, 16 communities and 3 ecological zones. Ecological zone and soil properties were considered as surrogates for growing conditions associated with tree and fruit morphology. Kernel and seed oil yields were determined using the manual screw press ranged from 31.3 to 61.8% and 0.2 to 36.8%, respectively. Large variations were observed between individual trees, and significant oil yield differences were observed between the 16 communities. There were no relationships between oil yields and soil properties, even though tree-to-tree differences were observed. The farmers’ estimated ages of the trees predicted kernel oil yields: very young and very old trees revealed medium and low kernel oil yields, respectively. Kernel oil yields were also seen to be influenced by ecological zone. Most of the low kernel oil yielding trees were identified in the semi deciduous forest zone (SD), and more trees in wet evergreen forest zone (W) were identified as very high kernel oil yielding trees. Trees selection for domestication can be based on tree phenotype and providing environmental conditions similar to the wet evergreen forest zone

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF TUTORS ON THE INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION

The purpose of the study was to examine demographic characteristics of tutors on the integration of information and communication technology in teaching and learning in the Colleges of Education in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used to conduct the study. The purposive sampling technique was used in the selection process. The sample size was 120 tutors. Independent sample t-test and One-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that there is a significant difference between male and female tutors in their use of ICTs in teaching and learning in the public Colleges of Education in Ghana. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference between tutors with different age and their integration of ICT in teaching and learning. The findings again, indicated that there is no significant difference between the level of academic qualification and the use of ICTs among tutors. The results revealed that there is a significant difference between the use of ICTs among tutors based on their teaching experience. The study recommended that female tutors who could not effectively integrate ICT into the teaching and learning should be identified and supported to integrate ICT into the teaching of the subject. The study recommended that appropriate pedagogical models suitable for the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning should be developed by curriculum designers to assist tutors in their urge to employ them in the teaching and learning process. The study again, recommended that management of the public Colleges of Education in Ghana should seek sponsorship from internet service providers in Ghana to provide free or affordable and reliable internet connectivity in the colleges to facilitate effective use of ICTs in the teaching and learning in the Colleges of Education. Article visualizations

Actualising women’s participation in politics and governance in Africa: The case of Kenya and Ghana

Almost two decades into the 21st century, women are still not accorded a place of prominence in politics and governance, particularly in Africa. Using the examples of Kenya and Ghana, this article undertakes a critical analysis of the implementation of women’s right to participation in political and decision-making processes in Africa with a view to highlighting progress made, challenges faced and possible solutions to these challenges. Women’s right to participation in political life is enshrined in article 9 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (African Women’s Rights Protocol). The article argues that while some progress has been made towards implementing the above right, much more still needs to be done to achieve effective and transformative participation by women. The progress revealed is mainly in the domestication by national laws of the relevant international obligations. However, the article also notes a significant disconnect between the normative framework and actual participation of women. The two case studies expose an unimpressive lack of political will and persistent societal perceptions, together contributing to the failure to move beyond codification of laws to improvements in actual practice. With lessons learnt from these two countries, this article argues for collaborative effort among African countries to promote genuine intra-Africa learning allowing African states to share experiences, consolidate gains and innovate around common challenges. By so doing, African states can consolidate efforts towards breaking the current inertia and accelerate the actual implementation of article 9 of the African Women’s Rights Protocol. Overall, the article cast a spotlight on the need to refocus debates from standard-setting to actual implementation necessary to achieve transformative equality

Academic Self-Concept and Academic Performance of College of Education Students

The study examined academic self-concepts (ASC) and academic performance of College of Education students in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was adopted using a sample of 229 students. An original ASC scale by Liu &Wang (2005) was adopted and used for the study. Independent sample T-test and multiple linear regression were the tools used in testing the hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that there is no statistically significant gender difference in ASC of College of Education students. The study further revealed that ASC did not predict academic performance of College of Education students. The study recommends that, stakeholders such as teachers and parents must consider a variety of factors that can influence the development of a healthy ASC and must also encourage, monitor, and supervise students to put in some effort in their studies because effort promotes academic performance. The study again, recommends that academicians should hold workshops and seminars to students in developing a stronger self-concept so that they can improve their abilities and lead a successful life in the future. Students with low ASC may benefit from counseling sessions in order to enhance their academic standing. It may be suggested that curriculum designers pay attention to the relevance of self-concept and create courses that will encourage students to think critically and thoroughly in order to improve their self-concept. Keywords: key words, academic self-concepts and academic performance DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-24-06 Publication date:August 31st 202

Study of the Molecular Recognition of Aptamers Selected through Ovarian Cancer Cell-SELEX

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, and the ovarian clear cell carcinoma subtype (OCCA) demonstrates a particularly poor response to standard treatment. Improvements in ovarian cancer outcomes, especially for OCCA, could be expected from a clearer understanding of the molecular pathology that might guide strategies for earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment.Cell-SELEX technology was employed to develop new molecular probes for ovarian cancer cell surface markers. A total of thirteen aptamers with K(d)'s to ovarian cancer cells in the pico- to nanomolar range were obtained. Preliminary investigation of the targets of these aptamers and their binding characteristics was also performed.We have selected a series of aptamers that bind to different types of ovarian cancer, but not cervical cancer. Though binding to other cancer cell lines was observed, these aptamers could lead to identification of biomarkers that are related to cancer

Evaluation of antibiotic prescribing for ambulatory patients seeking primary dental care services in a Public Hospital in Ghana

Background: 1 in 10 of all antibiotic prescriptions globally are for dental conditions with 80% of them being inappropriate making it a potential source of antimicrobial resistance. The study aims to evaluate antibiotic use among ambulatory patients seeking dental care services in a Public Hospital in Ghana. Methods: A retrospective clinical audit was conducted by extracting the medical records of all patients seeking dental primary care at the ambulatory care clinic of Keta Municipal Hospital (KMH) from January 2020 to December 2020 using the hospital’s electronic database. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed on the data collected. Results:1433 patient medical records were extracted from the hospital electronic data within the study period. The mean age of the patients identified was 39 years with almost two thirds being female. Over 90% of them were attended to by a dental nurse. 88.6% of the patients received antibiotics and 87.5% of antibiotics prescribed were non-compliant with Ghana Standard Treatment Guidelines. Again, three-quarters of the dental conditions were managed with dual antibiotics comprising of amoxicillin and metronidazole. Antibiotic prescription was associated with the age, gender, the type of prescriber and the type of dental condition diagnosed. Conclusion: There is a high usage of antibiotics for dental conditions managed at the outpatient section of the hospital. Development of local guidelines supported by education of dental clinician especially dental nurses on empiric selection of antibiotics for common dental conditions is a suitable target for AMS team to address in KMH

Selection of Aptamers Specific for Adipose Tissue

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, affecting more than one tenth of the world's population. As such, adipose tissue is being increasingly recognized as an important therapeutic target for obesity and related metabolic disorders. While many potential targets of adipose tissue have been established and drugs developed, very few of those drugs specifically target adipose tissue without affecting other tissue. This results from a limited knowledge of both cell-surface markers and physicochemical traits specific to adipocytes that might otherwise be exploited by circulating drugs.Here we report the use of cell-SELEX technology to select two aptamers that can specifically recognize mature adipocytes: adipo-1 and adipo-8. Adipo-8 shows high affinity for differentiated, mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes with a K(d) value of 17.8±5.1 nM. The binding was sustained upon incubation at 37°C and insulin stimulation, but was lost upon trypsin treatment. The binding ability was also verified on frozen tissue slides with low background fluorescence and isolated adipocytes.Aptamer adipo-8 selected from a random library appears to bind to mature differentiated adipocytes specifically. This aptamer holds great promise as a molecular recognition tool for adipocyte biomarker discovery or for targeted delivery of molecules to adipocytes

Activities in Namibia to limit the impact of COVID-19 versus Europe and Iran and the implications for the future

Introduction and aims: Considerable differences in prevalence and mortality rates from COVID-19, with higher rates among European countries and Iran versus African and Asian countries in part due to early and extensive prevention measures. There has been considerable controversy surrounding hydroxychloroquine, with resultant misinformation increasing prices and suicides. Growing concerns also with unintended consequences of lockdown and other measures. Consequently, a need to investigate changes in utilisation and prices of relevant medicines during the pandemic in Namibia with its proactive approach to guide future decision making. Community pharmacists play a key role in this respect. Methods: Questionnaire survey among 55 pharmacists from March to end June 2020. Results: Proactivity among some pharmacists to plan for the pandemic with increased stocks. Limited increases in utilisation of antimalarials and antibiotics in Namibia versus other countries enhanced by restrictions on self-purchasing in Namibia, reflected in limited price rises and shortages. Higher use of Vitamin C/ immune boosters in Ghana and Nigeria versus Namibia reflected in higher price rises, with increased utilisation and prices of PPE across all countries. Encouragingly lower increases in herbal medicines in Namibia versus Ghana. Concerns though with unintended consequences. Conclusion: Encouraging to see continued low prevalence and mortality rates from COVID-19 in Namibia and limited increase in utilisation of antimalarials and antibiotics with prescribing restrictions. Concerns with rising rates of malaria and other infectious diseases following lockdown need addressing. Pharmacists can help plan for the future, educate the public during pandemics, help with vaccinations and general medicines management

Antimicrobial point prevalence surveys in two Ghanaian hospitals : opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship

Background: Improved knowledge regarding antimicrobial use in Ghana is urgently needed to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This includes point prevalence studies (PPS) in hospitals. Objectives were: (i) provide baseline data in two hospitals (Keta Municipal Hospital – KMH and Ghana Police Hospital – GPH) and identify priorities for improvement; (ii) assess the feasibility of conducting PPS; (iii) compare results with others. Methods: Standard PPS design using the Global PPS paper forms, subsequently transferred to their template. Training undertaken by the Scottish team. Quality indicators included rationale for use; stop and review dates, and guideline compliance. Results: Prevalence of antibiotic use was 65.0% in GPH and 82.0% in KMH. Penicillins and other beta-lactam antibiotics were the most prescribed in both hospitals, with third generation cephalosporins mainly used in GPH. Antibiotic treatment was mainly empirical and commonly administered intravenously (IV), duration was generally short with timely oral switching, and infections were mainly community acquired. Encouragingly, good documentation of the indications for antibiotic use in both hospitals and 50.0-66.0% guideline compliance (although for many indications no guideline existed). In addition, almost all prescribed antibiotics had stop dates and there appeared no missed doses. The duration of use for surgical prophylaxis was generally more than one day (69.0% in GPH and 77.0% in KMH). Conclusions: These two hospitals were the first in Ghana to use the Global PPS system. We found the PPS was feasible and relatively rapid, achieved with limited training. Targets for improvement identified included broad-spectrum antibiotics, duration of treatment and high empiric use

An assessment of the current level of implementation of the core elements of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in public hospitals in Ghana

Introduction. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming a threat to global public health. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme (ASP) is one of the five strategic areas in the Ghana National Action Plan to fight this menace. Assessment of the core elements of ASP in a hospital setting has been identified as a pragmatic way of identifying the barriers and facilitators for its effective implementation. Method. The World Health Organization’s toolkit for assessment of the seven core elements of ASP in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries was used for this situational analysis of public hospitals in two regions of Ghana. The core elements included leadership commitment, accountability and responsibility, pharmacy expertise, AMS actions and interventions, education and training, and periodic monitoring and surveillance. Data collected using a checklist were imported into STATA version 14 for descriptive and bivariate analyses. Results. 15 public hospitals were assessed with the toolkit. Most of them were primary health care facilities (n=12, 80.0%), had bed capacities between 100 to 199 beds, less than fifty medical doctors (n=12, 80.0%), less than five pharmacists (n=10, 66.7%), and between 100 to 199 nurses. Performances in four out of the seven core elements were most deficient and they included leadership commitment, pharmacy expertise, AMS actions (interventions) implemented, monitoring and surveillance of antibiotic use and bacteria resistance rates. Pharmacist-led ASPs were also found to be associated with their formal training on AMS. Key barriers identified included lack of skilled human resources, lack of available time for AMS-related duties and poor laboratory infrastructure. Conclusion. There was sub-optimal performance for almost all the core elements of ASP in the public hospitals in Ghana hampered mostly by lack of skilled human and financial resources. Pharmacists must be empowered through formal training and certificate programs in infectious disease management and AMS principles and strategies to enhance their contribution towards ASPs in hospitals The results from this study should encourage nationwide assessment of ASPs across hospital settings in Ghana to better evaluate the level of their implementation and address potential barriers to guide AMS policies and ASP strategy development towards the fight against AMR