ABSTRACT Nearly two decades into the outbreak, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa with complex spatio-temporal variability within countries Based on epidemiological evidence, several broadly distinctive HIV/AIDS prevalence patterns have been reported reflecting a variety of factors such as sophistication in surveillance systems, political attitudes, openness towards recognition, and release of AIDS information. This thesis examines the geography of clinical AIDS in...
ABSTRACT Quality assurance (QA) in all aspects of radiotherapy reduces the number of instances of accidental dose misadministration. Reduction of such errors and uncertainties plays an important role in the outcome of radiotherapy. As part of the audit supported by the IAEA in Ghana this study was designed to review the whole chain of activities in 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) workflow, from patient data acquisition to treatment planning and dose delivery.The study focused on dosimetry ...
ABSTRACT This study used the VAR models to model the Growth Domestics Products (GDP) of Ghana with other two selected macroeconomic such as inflation and real exchange rate for the period of 1980 to 2013. Data were taken from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators and Bank of Ghana. This study employed co-integration test and vector error correction models (VECM) to examine both long-run and short-run dynamic relationships between the GDP and the macroeconomic variables. The time ser...
ABSTRACT In this research work a low pressure steam turbine was designed, constructed and tested for the purpose of studying how electrical power can be generated using low pressure steam from concentrated solar power (CSP) sources. The turbine consist essentially of a two cylindrical casings to which stationary blades are fixed on the inside and a shaft carrying rotating blades (rotors) penetrating between the rows of stators. Steam fed into the turbine passes alternately through the stator...
ABSTRACT The demand for convenience, instant breakfast foods has resulted in importations and some local production of expensive products. Since these are generally high carbohydrate foods, exploring and diversifying the use of underutilized local food resources could provide inexpensive and interesting alternatives. This study investigated the use of locally abundant roots and tuber crops to partially substitute maize as the sole carbohydrate in the production of ready-to-eat breakfast foods...
ABSTRACT Background Snail meat has served as a delicacy and reliable source of protein for man over the years. Despite the increasing price of snails, there is a corresponding increase in demand worldwide. Snails are currently being exploited for other purposes than just food. Russia and Japan are amongst some of the countries that use live snail (slime) for beauty therapy. In Ghana, almost every ethnic group consumes snails. There are undocumented reports of varied uses of the snail haemoly...
Abstract Buruli ulcer (BU) is a bacterial infectious disease of the subcutaneous fat caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, resulting in chronic, devastating, necrotizing consequences. M. ulcerans produces a polyketide-derived macrolide toxin called mycolactone, required for the organism’s virulence. The disease manifests initially as a painless pre-ulcerative subcutaneous nodule, a plaque or as a rapidly progressing oedema. The oedema, the severe form breaks down to form characteristic ulcers w...
ABSTRACT Introduction: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) disease still remains a global public health issue. An intriguing observation is the increasing rate of the infection among Female Sex Workers (FSW). HIV Testing Services (HTS) is an essential entry point for any HIV intervention service for FSW and studies like the Integrated Bio-Behavioral Surveillance Surveys (IBBSS) anonymously link the HIV test results of FSW with their respect...
ABSTRACT A variety of physical processes may be characterised mathematically by a function, F say defined by (m>1) independent variables
ABSTRACT This work presents the effects of metakaolin as a supplementary cementitious material in mortars for construction applications. Kaolin from Teleku Bokazo was calcined at 650oC and partially used to replace Portland limestone cement to produce mortars and paste. The metakaolin was successfully used in a cement paste and its effect observed in the different cement replacements proportions. The replacements ranged from 10% - 35% by mass and characterised after 3, 7, 14 and 28 days of cu...
ABSTRACT One of the main challenges for clinical practice and public health surveillance is rapid and accurate identification of food borne pathogens. In Nigeria, the use of sophisticated molecular tools for foodborne pathogens detection has not been extensively adopted. Bacterial strains isolated from food products sold in Lagos, Nigeria, were subjected to phenotypic techniques and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for specie level identification. Bacterial identification was performed using colonial...
ABSTRACT Babesia species are intra-erythrocytic protozoa of the phylum apicomplexa. They are either round or pear shaped, often characterized by a tetrad configuration (Maltese cross). The merozoite stage of Babesia spp have diagnostic significance and are found as intracellular inclusions of infected red blood cells. The trophozoite stages appear as ring forms which measure about 1.0 to 5.0μm. This parasite is transmitted by hard ticks and can cause a zoonotic disease known as babesiosis. H...
ABSTRACT Concerns about the dangers of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) have been a major problem all over the world. Hypertension, which is the commonest CVD is gradually usurping the minds of public health workers globally. The disease is the commonest cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. It is also the commonest cause of heart disease. In this study, we employ the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) modeling approach to model and to forecast hypertension and heart disease cases in the...
ABSTRACT Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a public health problem in Ghana, leading to blindness. Year-round access to Vitamin Arich foods will curb its incidence. This study sought to identify appropriate processing, preservation and fortification methods to enhance E-carotene retention in foods towards VAD alleviation. Carrots were steamed, blanched in water, NaHS03, NaCl or alkali rocksalt (Kanwa) solutions. Amaranthus and Xanthosoma leaves were blanched in a range of kanwa solutions (0-0.1%)...
ABSTRACT Background Onchocerca volvulus is a filarial parasite that causes onchocerciasis or ‘river blindness’. Two strains of the parasite exist in West Africa namely, savannah and forest strains. They differ significantly in epidemiology, disease severity and are specific to different vectors. The savannah strain found in West Africa is associated with blindness while the forest strain, on the other hand, causes less severe ocular diseases even in individuals with high parasite load. In...