Towards Scientific Literacy for Basic School Pupils: Which Profile Dimensions are Emphasised in the Ghanaian Basic Science Curricula?

This paper examines the extent to which the specific objectives in the basic school science curricula reflect the notion of scientific literacy as envisaged by the curriculum developers. The specific objectives for teaching, learning and assessment were analysed using a consensus building approach to identify objectives addressing the three profile dimensions emphasised in the two curricula. The findings revealed that far more emphasis is put on knowledge and understanding in the upper primary and junior secondary school science curricula than the curriculum developers had intended. Also, the anticipated percentage weights of the three profile dimensions are inconsistent with what obtains in the two curriculum documents. The curriculum developers therefore need to address the issue of how much content is necessary to emphasise the development of science attitudes and process skills at the primary school level and application of knowledge at the junior secondary school level as envisaged. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 4 2006: pp. 1-1

Identifying metabolite markers for preterm birth in cervicovaginal fluid by magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Introduction Preterm birth (PTB) may be preceded by changes in the vaginal microflora and metabolite profiles. Objectives We sought to characterise the metabolite profile of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) of pregnant women by 1H NMR spectroscopy, and assess their predictive value for PTB. Methods A pair of high-vaginal swabs was obtained from pregnant women with no evidence of clinical infection and grouped as follows: asymptomatic low risk (ALR) women with no previous history of PTB, assessed at 20–22 gestational weeks, g.w., n = 83; asymptomatic high risk (AHR) women with a previous history of PTB, assessed at both 20–22 g.w., n = 71, and 26–28 g.w., n = 58; and women presenting with symptoms of preterm labor (PTL) (SYM), assessed at 24–36 g.w., n = 65. Vaginal secretions were dissolved in phosphate buffered saline and scanned with a 9.4 T NMR spectrometer. Results Six metabolites (lactate, alanine, acetate, glutamine/glutamate, succinate and glucose) were analysed. In all study cohorts vaginal pH correlated with lactate integral (r = -0.62, p\0.0001). Lactate integrals were higher in the term ALR compared to the AHR (20–22 g.w.) women (p = 0.003). Acetate integrals were higher in the preterm versus term women for the AHR (20–22 g.w.) (p = 0.048) and SYM (p = 0.003) groups; and was predictive of PTB\37 g.w. (AUC 0.78; 95 % CI 0.61–0.95), and delivery within 2 weeks of the index assessment (AUC 0.84; 95 % CI 0.64–1) in the SYM women, whilst other metabolites were not. Conclusion High CVF acetate integral of women with symptoms of PTL appears predictive of preterm delivery, as well as delivery within 2 weeks of presentation

Teachers' views on the role of science practical activities in the teaching of science in Ghanaian senior secondary schools

Ghana, like many other countries, has a strong tradition of doing practical work in senior secondary school science. In line with this tradition, the Senior Secondary School (SSS) science syllabuses issued by Curriculum Research and Development Division, and the West African Examination Council emphasise attainment of scientific knowledge, development of laboratory skills, and attitudes. This study surveyed the views of 50 science teachers' in 10 SSS in the Central Region of Ghana on the role science practical activities play in the teaching and learning of science using a questionnaire. Teachers' views on the role of science practical activities were mainly that of using them to support the teaching of scientific knowledge, and to some extent the development of attitudinal and laboratory skills. There was little emphasis on the use of science practical work to develop students' cognitive skills. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 2(2) 2004: 1-

The Value of Schooling in Africa: Listening to voices at village level

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Lactobacillus crispatus dominant vaginal microbiome is associated with inhibitory activity of female genital tract secretions against Escherichia coli.

Female genital tract secretions inhibit E. coli ex vivo and the activity may prevent colonization and provide a biomarker of a healthy microbiome. We hypothesized that high E. coli inhibitory activity would be associated with a Lactobacillus crispatus and/or jensenii dominant microbiome and differ from that of women with low inhibitory activity.Vaginal swab cell pellets from 20 samples previously obtained in a cross-sectional study of near-term pregnant and non-pregnant healthy women were selected based on having high (>90% inhibition) or low (<20% inhibition) anti-E. coli activity. The V6 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. Filtered culture supernatants from Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus iners, and Gardnerella vaginalis were also assayed for E. coli inhibitory activity.Sixteen samples (10 with high and 6 with low activity) yielded evaluable microbiome data. There was no difference in the predominant microbiome species in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women (n = 8 each). However, there were significant differences between women with high compared to low E. coli inhibitory activity. High activity was associated with a predominance of L. crispatus (p<0.007) and culture supernatants from L. crispatus exhibited greater E. coli inhibitory activity compared to supernatants obtained from L. iners or G. vaginalis. Notably, the E. coli inhibitory activity varied among different strains of L. crispatus.Microbiome communities with abundant L. crispatus likely contribute to the E. coli inhibitory activity of vaginal secretions and efforts to promote this environment may prevent E. coli colonization and related sequelae including preterm birth