Gender, Land and Food Access in Ghana’s Suburban Cities: A Case of the Adenta Municipality

The disparity in land and food access in Ghana often overlooks the possibility of an underlying gender disparity. This paper explores and interrogates the disparity between land and food access with respect to gender and the evolution of this relationship over the years as a result of the settlement expansion and urban growth within the Adenta Municipality in Ghana. Adopting a mixed pairwise approach of combining spatial analytical tools, vulnerability indexing and resilient indicators, the paper examines the levels and rates of land accessibilities within the stream of modern cities. It assesses the land market system complexities within developing economies and attempts to address the potential threats of gender-land access gaps. The paper finally assigns weights of ranks to model the phenomenon and recommends trends that can facilitate predictions and early cautionary systems for effective urban land governance in Ghana. The paper concludes that though it is noticed that women engage in power structures on a daily basis, this both benefits and burdens them, depending on their socio-cultural status and other factors in terms of access to land and food

Automatic Multiple Choice Examination Questions Marking and Grade Generator Software

This paper discusses a feasible software solution that enables automatic marking andgrading of scripts. Technology keeps expanding, and more advanced innovations arebeing implemented with time. The marking and allocation of grades for examina-tion scripts through human efforts are gradually becoming a thing of the past. Hence,machines and software applications are introduced to make the entire marking andgrading of examination scripts more efficient, fast, and less tedious. Computer visionis an artificial intelligence (AI) knowledge domain that ensures devices obtain usefulinformation from digital images, videos, and other visual inputs. Image processingand recognition, a unique part of computer vision alongside the python program-ming language and the OpenCV library was employed for this project. These are themost used in developing most recent applications that utilize, to some extent, arti-ficial intelligence to attain specific desired results. The result of the project seeksto develop a maintainable android software application that uses image processingtechnology to scan patterns or images and grades results of multiple-choice questionscripts based on a set marking scheme. This ensures that desired results are obtainedwhile increasing efficiency and productivity

Urinary Lysosomal Enzyme Activities and Albuminuria in Ghanaian Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Renal tubular lysosomal enzyme activities like alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) have been shown to increase in patients developing diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis. This study aimed to determine the activities of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and alanine aminopeptidase and albumin concentration in urine samples of patients with type 2 diabetes. One hundred and thirty (65 type 2 diabetic and 65 nondiabetic) subjects participated in this study. Blood samples were drawn for measurements of fasting blood glucose, albumin (Alb), lipids, and creatinine (Cr). Early morning spot urine samples were also collected for activities of alanine aminopeptidase (AAP), N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), and concentration of albumin (U-Alb) and creatinine (U-Cr). Both NAG/Cr and AAP/Cr were significantly increased in diabetic subjects compared to controls (p < 0.001). There was positive correlation between NAG/Cr and Alb/Cr (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and between NAG/Cr and serum creatinine (r = 0.441, p < 0.001). A negative correlation was found between NAG/Cr and eGFR (r = -0.432, p < 0.05). 9.3% and 12% of diabetics with normoalbuminuria had elevated levels of AAP/Cr and NAG/Cr, respectively. We conclude that measuring the urinary enzymes activities (NAG/Cr and AAP/Cr) could be useful as a biomarker of early renal involvement in diabetic complications

Sharing the salt bowl: counterion identity drives N-alkyl resorcinarene affinity for pyrophosphate in water

N-Alkyl ammonium resorcinarene chloride receptors, NARX4, have been shown to act as high-sensitivity detectors of pyrophosphate (PPi), a biomarker of disease, in aqueous media through the chloride-to-PPi exchange [NAR(Cl)4 to NARPPi]. The nature of the anion of the macrocyclic NARX4 (X = Cl−, Br−, triflate OTf−) receptor greatly influences the PPi-affinity in aqueous media. The binding affinity for [NAR (Cl)4] is 3.61 × 105 M−1, while the NAR (Br)4 and NAR (OTf)4 show stronger binding of 5.30 × 105 M−1, and 6.10 × 105 M−1, respectively. The effects of upper rim ammonium cation, –N+H2R substituents (R = 3-hydroxypropyl, cyclohexyl, benzyl, or napththalen-1-ylmethyl), of the macrocyclic resorcinarene hosts have also been evaluated. The highest affinity was obtained using 3-hydroxypropyl groups due to the additional hydrogen bonds and the naphthyl upper-rim group that provides a larger hydrophobic surface area and favorable stacking interaction (i.e., π–π and CH–π). We note that two PPi molecules can bind to the more selective receptors through an additional interaction with the lower rim hydroxyls, making the resorcinarene a divalent binder. Comparing PPi with other phosphate anions (PO43−, AMP, ADP, and ATP) shows that the receptors are more selective for PPi due to the size and charge complementarity. Experimental (1H, 31P NMR, and isothermal titration calorimetry), and computational analyses support the reported trends for PPi selectivity even in highly competing aqueous media

Naphthalene-functionalized resorcinarene as selective, fluorescent self-quenching sensor for kynurenic acid†

Kynurenic acid is a by-product of tryptophan metabolism in humans, with abnormal levels indicative of disease. There is a need for water-soluble receptors that selectively bind kynurenic acid, allowing for detection and quantification. We report here the high-affinity binding of kynurenic acid in aqueous media to a resorcinarene salt receptor decorated with four flexible naphthalene groups at the upper rim. Experimental results from 1H NMR, isothermal titration calorimetry, and electronic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies all support high-affinity binding and selectivity for kynurenic acid over tryptophan. The measured binding constant (K = 1.46 ± 0.21 × 105 M−1) is one order of magnitude larger than that observed with other resorcinarene receptors. The present host–guest system can be employed for sensory recognition of kynurenic acid. Computational studies reveal the key role of a series of cooperative attractive intra- and inter-molecular interactions contributing to an optimal binding process in this system

Cities and floods: a pragmatic insight into the determinants of households’ coping strategies to floods in informal Accra, Ghana

Floods are common events that confront many cities in the developing world. Ghana, a developing country, is persistently challenged with flood events, especially in its major cities. In informal Accra, for instance, despite the severity of flood effects and its associated threats, poor informal residents continue to stay. As a result, these poor urban dwellers have developed local coping strategies made up of mitigation and reactive measures to manage and adapt to flood hazards through their preceding experiences. In this article, we have embraced the convergent parallel mixed method of case study design to echo and explore (1) the major effects of preceding floods on informal households, (2) the local informal coping strategies adopted by households to mitigate and respond to flooding and its effects in the future and (3) the determinants of the coping strategies of households that underpin their continual stay in spite of flood risks in Alajo, an urbanised suburb in Accra metropolis noted as one of the slum communities that easily flood in Ghana. Our analysis has used a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collected from both secondary and primary sources as well as a conceptualised model known as disaster resilience of place. The key findings (Alajo has low degree of adaptive resilience to major floods which might occur in the future because of the lack of social learning in the coping strategies developed through several years of lessons learnt from perennial floods) and proposals (local coordination in implementing the coping strategies to flooding, state support of the local strategies and adoption of rainwater harvesting) also make contributions to managing urban floods in informal settlements in the developing world.https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v11i1.60

Know to Predict, Forecast to Warn: A Review of Flood Risk Prediction Tools

Flood prediction has advanced significantly in terms of technique and capacity to achieve policymakers’ objectives of accurate forecast and identification of flood-prone and impacted areas. Flood prediction tools are critical for flood hazard and risk management. However, numerous reviews on flood modelling have focused on individual models. This study presents a state-of-the-art review of flood prediction tools with a focus on analyzing the chronological growth of the research in the field of flood prediction, the evolutionary trends in flood prediction, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each tool, and finally identifying the significant gaps for future studies. The article conducted a review and meta-analysis of 1101 research articles indexed by the Scopus database in the last five years (2017–2022) using Biblioshiny in r. The study drew an up-to-date picture of the recent developments, emerging topical trends, and gaps for future studies. The finding shows that machine learning models are widely used in flood prediction, while Probabilistic models like Copula and Bayesian Network (B.N.) play significant roles in the uncertainty assessment of flood risk, and should be explored since these events are uncertain. It was also found that the advancement of the remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) and cloud computing provides the best platform to integrate data and tools for flood prediction. However, more research should be conducted in Africa, South Africa and Australia, where less work is done and the potential of the probabilistic models in flood prediction should be explored

MOBILE PHONES FACILITATION OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION INITIATIVES: HEALTH STUDENTS INITIAL PERSPECTIVES

Students are regarded as frequent users of mobile phones which has proven to be a convenient and acceptable method to promote healthy lifestyle. Students usually engage in relatively high levels of risky behavior and make unhealthy lifestyle choices, a study that investigates how health students access health information is necessary. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study which was undertaken among third-year nursing students from three nurses training institutions in Ghana. A total of 270 students participated in the study. Most of the respondents who were currently subscribers of the health messages reported that they usually received health information on reproductive health issues, nutrition, and practicing safe sex. Most of the health students revealed that they needed more information on safe sex, diet, managing weight, and stress management. The results also show that health students are likely to remember and share short messages with friends. The findings serve as an ‘eye-opener’ for health educators and mobile service providers concerning factors that should be taken into consideration when framing health text messages that will attract health students

Investigating the Asymmetric Effect of Economic Growth on Environmental Quality in the Next 11 Countries

This study investigates the asymmetric cointegration and causal relationships between economic growth, carbon emissions, and energy consumption in the next eleven (11) countries over the period 1972–2013. The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds testing approach and nonpragmatic Granger causality tests are employed. This research’s empirical results have entrenched vital relationships that have significant policy implications. We affirm nonlinear cointegration among the variables in Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, and Vietnam. The long-run asymmetric effect outcomes indicate a definite boom in economic growth, significantly increases carbon emission in Turkey, and a decline in Vietnam. Additionally, a positive shock to energy consumption significantly increases the carbon emission in Bangladesh, Iran, and Turkey, but a decrease in emissions in Vietnam. Findings from the Wald test reveal a long-run asymmetric effect between carbon emission and economic growth in Bangladesh, Iran, and Vietnam, and for Iran, an asymmetric short-run impact. Long-run and short-run asymmetric effects between carbon emission and energy consumption in Bangladesh and Iran. In terms of asymmetric causality results, bidirectional causality between carbon emission and economic growth was noted in Bangladesh and Turkey, and a unidirectional causality from economic growth to carbon emission in Egypt and South Korea. Energy consumption causes carbon emission in Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, South Korea, and not vice versa. We determined a bidirectional asymmetric causality relationship between carbon emission and energy consumption in Vietnam and a unidirectional causality link from carbon emissions to Turkey’s energy consumption