Understanding the Role of HBA/HBD Variations on Deep Eutectic Solvent Properties and Activity Using Acetylsalicylic Acid as a Model Drug

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are emerging as a versatile class of solvents, attracting considerable attention for their unique solvent properties and potential applications. This study examines the effects of variations in combinations as well as molar ratios of hydrogen-bond acceptor (HBA) and hydrogen-bond donor (HBD) on the structure of DES. It further explores the structure-activity relationship, measured using the rate of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) degradation in the solvent. The project is based on the model that variations in HBA/HBD combinations and their relative molar ratios impact the solvent structure (hydrogen bonding), observable in physicochemical measurements, infrared (IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. It is posited that the structure of the solvent influences its activity, as measured using the rate of degradation of ASA in the solvent. Physicochemical measurements, IR and NMR spectra were employed to elucidate the structural changes in the solvents. Clustering analysis was employed to visualize the structural relationship of the solvent studied via systematic variations in HBA and HBD Correlation analysis was also employed to reveal the association between the measured physicochemical parameters and activity. For studies involving the impact of mole ratio variation on the structure and activity of the solvent, choline chloride (ChCl)-water in the ratios 1:2, 1:5 and 1:10 was used. Both physicochemical measurements as well as spectroscopic measurements revealed differences in the structure of the solvent with ChCl-water 1:2 being structurally distinct from ChCl-water 1:5 and 1:10. Activity studies revealed that acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was most stable in ChCl-water 1:2 and activity negatively correlated with ChCl fraction, density, basicity, and viscosity. Distinct structural differences were also observed when different HBD and HBA were paired. Activity was observed to be lowest in solvents where water was used as HBD as compared to ethanol and methanol. When either water or ethanol was used as HBD, activity was lowest in ChI as compared to ChCl and ChBr. Again, activity negatively correlated with density and positively correlated with basicity. Overall, the data supports the pivotal role of HBA/HBD combinations in shaping DES structure and its subsequent activity. The insights gained are crucial for optimizing solvent selection, especially in applications like enhancing drug stability, using aspirin as a benchmark.

Factors Associated with Haemoglobin Prevalence among Ghanaian Children Aged 6 – 59 months.

This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of anaemia and to investigate various factors associated with haemoglobin (Hb) prevalence in children aged 6–59 months in Ghana. The data set used was based on a longitudinal study from the fourth round Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). This was a national survey conducted by Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to monitor the progress of women and children. A sample of 7,626 children under-five years across the country between 2009 and 2011 were selected for the survey. Multiple logistic regression and bootstrap technique for parameter estimates were used to determine the relationship of biological, socio-economic, nutritional and other factors associated with Hb concentration. The prevalence of anaemia among children between 6 – 59 months in Ghana found in this study was 64.7% which is quite high even though lower than the 2008 GDHS rate of 78%. This is so because it is still higher than the WHO cut-off point of 40% making it a serious public health concern. The highest rate of 36.2% occurs within the 6 – 23 months. The factors observed to be highly significantly associated with anaemia among these children included malaria prevalence (p-value=0.000), age of the child (p-value=0.000), household economic status (0.000), region of residence (p-value=0.000), mothers educational level (p-value=0.000) and sex of the child (p-value=0.000). All other factors considered such as area of residence and ethnicity were not significant (p-values > 0.05). In a nutshell, children who are born to more advantaged women who have high educational levels, economically sound, live in areas that are not infested with malaria, live in the southern part of Ghana and are females have low probability of becoming anaemic than their counterparts who are disadvantaged and live in malaria prone environment. Keywords: Haemoglobin, Prevalence rate, Anaemia, Malaria, Socio-Economi

Barriers to Buruli ulcer treatment completion in the Ashanti and Central Regions, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Buruli ulcer is a chronic ulcerating skin condition, with the highest burden found in Central and West Africa where it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations. Treatment is demanding, comprising eight-weeks of daily antibiotics, regular wound care and possible surgical intervention. Treatment completion is key to optimising outcomes, however the degree of and barriers to this are not well understood. Recent change from injectable treatment (SR8) to oral treatment (CR8) has made it feasible to further decentralise care, potentially improving treatment access and completion. However, the impact of this and of other demographic and clinical influences on treatment completion must be explored first to ensure appropriate models of care are developed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A retrospective clinical notes review and secondary data analysis of records from patients diagnosed between 1 January 2006-31 December 2018 at four district hospital clinics in the Ashanti and Central Regions, Ghana. Univariable analyses and multivariable logistic regression were performed to assess the association between explanatory variables and treatment completion. There were 931 patient episodes across the four clinics with overall treatment completion of 84.4%. CR8 was associated with higher treatment completion compared to SR8 (OR 4.1, P = 0.001). There was no statistically significant association found between distance from patient residence to clinic and treatment completion. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Improved treatment completion with CR8 supports its use as first line therapy and may enable decentralisation to fully community-based care. We did not find an association between distance to care and treatment completion, though analyses were limited by data availability. However, we did find evidence that distance to care continues to be associated with more severe forms of disease, which may reflect the higher costs of accessing care and lower awareness of the condition the further a patient lives. Decentralised care must therefore also continue to support community engagement and active outreach to identify cases early

Classroom Factors that Affects the Performance of Integrated Science Students at the Junior High School in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana

The purpose of the study was to find out the opinions of public and private Junior High School science teachers on the classroom factors that affect performance of students in integrated science in public and private junior high schools in the Kumasi metropolis. The study used descriptive survey designed. The sampling procedure employed for the study was both random and purposive sampling. While the integrated science teachers were purposively sampled due to their subject they teach, the students were randomly selected. Questionnaire and interview were used for data collection. It was found out that integrated science teachers to be aware that classroom factors such as teacher-student relationship, availability of science resource materials, teaching methods employed by teachers, class size, supervision and physical infrastructure are likely to affect performance of students in integrated science at the J.H.S. level. Again, the findings revealed that the selected public schools within the Kumasi metropolis were well resourced with the following: adequate physical infrastructure, adequate science resource materials, adequate science text books and adequate trained science teachers as against their private school counterparts with inadequate physical infrastructure, inadequate science resource materials, inadequate science text books and few trained science teachers. It was recommended that effective supervision must be performed regularly by heads of schools during integrated science lessons. The heads of the public JHS especially, those in the Kumasi metropolis must be made to regularly ensure that their science teachers teach very well during integrated science lessons. Keywords: Laboratory, Performance, Classroom factor

The Effect of Culture on the Teaching and Learning of Science at the Basic Schools in Ghana

The purpose of the study was to investigate how culture influences the teaching and learning of science at the basic schools in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region, East Akim Municipality of the Eastern Region and the Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The research design used for this study was descriptive survey. The sampling procedure employed for the study was the purposive sampling. A total of three hundred and thirty (330) subjects were selected, made up of three hundred (300) students and thirty (30) science teachers. The instruments used for collecting data for the study consisted of questionnaire, interview and observation schedules. It was found out that students had cultural knowledge they use in explaining phenomena. Teachers were aware of student’s cultural knowledge especially in explaining concepts. It was recommended that teachers should teach their students bearing in mind their cultural knowledge and incorporate that in their teaching. Keywords: Culture, Cultural knowledge, Scientific concept, Taboos

Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Ghanaian Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants continue to be used in various cultures of the world as safe therapeutic agents against various issues including pain and inflammation which underlie almost every disease process. In Ghanaian traditional medicine, various parts of several plants have been used alone or in combination of therapies for the treatment of various painful inflammatory conditions. In this chapter, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic (antinociceptive) properties of selected medicinal plants from Ghana are reviewed. Evidence of pharmacological activities of crude extracts and fractions in in-vitro and in-vivo models, bioactive anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive compounds isolated as well as possible mechanisms of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive action are discussed

User Awareness and Usability of Research Support Platforms amongst undergraduates at Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) in Ghana

Abstract The study examined the awareness and usability of online library research support platforms among undergraduate students at Kumasi Technical University in Ghana. 126 respondents were sampled and respectively drawn from all the seven faculties that consist of the student population. A descriptive survey method was employed to obtain data from the various faculties using a questionnaire. Analysis of data gathered was carried out using Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS), version 20 and excel 2016 for descriptive statistics using percentages. The results revealed that the majority of the students were not aware of the online library research support platforms available at the university library. They could not state the online library research support platforms they recently used at the university library or outside the university library. Also, the frequency at which they used the research platforms were not inspiring. It was further established that the research platforms were not easy to be used by undergraduate students. However, some of the respondents were satisfied with the research platforms and found them to be user-friendly. The study recommends that University Library should consider new ways of creating awareness to attract the new generation of students into the university library. For instance, introduce multimedia technologies that shall allow students to interact, create many open spaces with internet cables where other technological equipment and devices can be connected

Novel Strategies for Malaria Vaccine Design

The quest for a licensed effective vaccine against malaria remains a global priority. Even though classical vaccine design strategies have been successful for some viral and bacterial pathogens, little success has been achieved for Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of malaria due to its diversity and ability to evade host immune responses. Nevertheless, recent advances in vaccinology through high throughput discovery of immune correlates of protection, lymphocyte repertoire sequencing and structural design of immunogens, provide a comprehensive approach to identifying and designing a highly efficacious vaccine for malaria. In this review, we discuss novel vaccine approaches that can be employed in malaria vaccine design

The Views of Students on the Integration of Indigenous Industrial Activities in the Teaching and Learning of Integrated Science

The main aim for this study is to investigate the views of students exposed to teaching science by integration of indigenous industrial activities in the teaching and learning of selected concepts of matter in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study concentrated on the second year Junior High School students of Kaneshie Kingsway ‘2’ JHS of Kaneshie Kingsway Cluster of Schools in the Okaikoi South Metro of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.The study employedposttest-only non-equivalent control group design of the quasi-experimental research design. The researcher employed the purposive sampling technique for this study, making up of   43 males and 47 females. The instruments used for collecting data for this research were test, questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedules. The findings from this research indicated that students have positive view about the usage of teaching science by integration of indigenous industrial activities in the teaching and learning of selected concepts of matter. Keywords: Indigenous Industrial Activities, Traditional Approach, Indigenous Knowledge, Enculturation. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-10-06 Publication date: April 30th 202

Inter-Laboratory Comparability of Clinical Chemistry Testing: A New Perspective

Background/Aim: Existing external quality assurance proficiency testing may not reflect routine ‘real-world’ daily testing proficiency. The overall aim of the study was to conduct an inter-laboratory comparability testing of some routinely measured clinical chemistry analytes by selected private medical laboratories using the mentor-adept approach. Methodology: Aliquots of freshly separated plasma from a single individual (1ml) each were sent to each of the selected labs and a Teaching hospital for same-day testing. All samples were sent as ‘‘blinded-samples’’ (labelled with anonymous names, ages and attached lab request forms with clinical diagnoses) so that they would be tested as real patient samples. Results: All the labs met the acceptability criteria range for both the z-score and Precision Index. However, many of the labs had their total analytical errors for the tests outside the allowable total error ranges with both European and CLIA recommendations. Conclusion: There are relative similarities in the z-score (inter-laboratory bias) and Precision Index (inter-laboratory precision) among the labs. However, many of the labs did not meet recommended analytical goals for total analytical errors on individual samples run in a day. In the light of the findings, it is highly recommended that though laboratories should be aware of conduction of periodic external quality assurance exercises, such exercises should be done using “blinded-samples” as utilized in this current study without prior notification of the day and time of testing