ABSTRACT The Ghanaian ecosystem plays host to various lagoons which serve different purposes. The most important of them is being home for different types of fish species. Examples are Sarotherodon melanotheron (Cichlidae) which is popularly called blackchin tilapia and Tilapia guineensis (Bleeker) also known as redchin tilapia. Quality assessment was done to ascertain the level of pollution in water and sediment samples from Sakumo, Chemu and Kpeshie lagoons. Physicochemical parameters (pH,...
ABSTRACT Cerebral malaria occurs due to abnormality in the function of the brain endothelium. This signifies that the brain endothelium plays a crucial role in the outcome of malaria in children. Regulated balance between angiopoietin-1 and angiopoeitin-2 is responsible for the control of normal endothelial cell function. The angiopoietin-Tie-2 system has been shown to regulate endothelial cell function and vascular integrity. Endothelial Protein C Receptor (EPCR) and Thrombomodulin (TM) are...
ABSTRACT Bats are nocturnal mammals found everywhere except in the Antarctica and Arctic regions. They are important for the maintenance of the ecosystem in terms of pollination and seed dispersal, particularly in tropical regions, as well as in controlling insect populations that would otherwise be pests. Bats have been reported as reservoir hosts for several pathogens including viruses such as Ebola, Nipah, Hendra and Lyssa. The purpose of the study was to document the parasites that infes...
ABSTRACT This thesis provides an assessment of the effectiveness of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana implemented by Act 650 and L.I 1809, 2004. This assessment is done by taking the Akuapem South Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, selected health facilities in the NsawamAdoagyiri Municipality and Akuapem South District that provides health insurance services and health insurance users as case study. The selected health facilities are the Nsawam Government Hospital, Pokrom H...
ABSTRACT Education is at the heart of development. Educating her citizenry is one of the burdens of the government over the past years. Falling standards of education in Ghana has brought about an implementation of an educational policy known as the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) Programme by the Ghana Government. This bold educational policy had resource implications. It is against this background that Ghana Government solicited for assistance from external sources. The A...
ABSTRACT A very good reason why calculation of dose distribution is important is that it is essential to plan and replicate the treatment prior to the actual delivery of the radiation dose to the tumour. In modern radiation therapy, computer software is used for performing treatment planning. Different algorithms are employed at every stage of treatment including dose calculation algorithms. The dose calculation used for the HDRplus TPS is the TG43 formalism and just like every other TPS, th...
ABSTRACT Oryza glaberrima is a local rice variety that is native to West Africa. Its tough texture androbustness produces milled rice with a large quantity of broken grains when dehusked (polished) accounting for the huge gap in quality. Consequently, imported rice is much more consumed inGhana than locally cultivated and milled rice. The objective of this study was to add value tolocal rice by developing and characterizing a rice-based baby food from low grade locally milledand parboiled ri...
ABSTRACT Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes are able to infect the mosquito even at levels below microscopic detection and are responsible for malaria transmission. Gametocytes are exposed to immune pressure from the host and as a result, the host is able to develop antibodies against these gametocytes. However, it has not been determined whether naturally acquired immune response against gametocytes have a direct correlation with the presence of sub-microscopic gametocytes in the peripheral ...
ABSTRACT Ghana like most developing countries is undergoing a rapid population growth and this affects and limits the effectiveness of environmental structures. Cholera epidemics have been an ‘annual ritual’ and communities within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) record the highest number of cases. This study assesses the households’, communities and local governments’ preparedness and response to cholera epidemics in indigenous communities in La and Chorkor. The research u...
The pyridyl based Schiff base ligands from 2-aminopyridine and benzaldehyde and 2-aminopyridine and 2, 4-dihydroxylbenzaldehyde were synthesized by: 1. For Schiff base from 2-aminopyridine and benzaldehyde; Distillation of Benzaldeyde to ensure maximum purity from possible contaminant like water and ammonia, and refluxed with freshly prepared 2-aminopyridine. The refluxing was done with ethanoic acid catalyst at a time and without catalyst. The process was followed up with Thin Layer Chromato...
ABSTRACT The sedimentary record, as revealed in sediment cores, can be used to reconstruct the past history of contaminant input into the aquatic environment. This is because contaminant inputs equilibrate rapidly with sediment supply, and the sediment column represents a continuous sequence of sediments that are associated with contaminant accumulation. With radiometric techniques, it is possible to date recent sediments over a period corresponding to about five half-lives (approximately 10...
ABSTRACT Rice production in Ghana is faced with the major challenge of low patronage. This is due to its poor physical and sensory quality rendering it ‘low grade’ rice. Among the many local varieties of rice in Ghana, Viwonor is perceived to be a low grade rice whereas Jasmine 85 a high grade. Large quantities of rice are imported to address the issue of quality and quantity gap. Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is a serious nutritional problem facing many countries including Ghana. Co...
ABSTRACT The suitability o f five Schistosoma genus-specific monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) (Sh3/34.10, Sh3/38.2, Sh4/14.3, Sh5/32.30 and Sh5/34.10) in detecting schistosome antigens in infected human and cattle was evaluated. These antibodies were employed in various diagnostic assays to diagnose human and animal schistosomiasis. Extant MoAb secreting hybridoma cells were first propagated in culture to produce the MoAbs. The culture supernatants containing secreted antibodies were analysed b...
ABSTRACT The important role of antibody-mediated mechanisms in protection from clinical malaria has been demonstrated by passive transfer experiments but the targets of protective immunity are not clearly defined. A number of antigens are however in various stages of testing as possible vaccine candidates. Polymorphism in these antigens, which has been reported to be an immune evasion mechanism, has hampered the development of these antigens as vaccines since antibody responses against one a...
ABSTRACT Background: Cholera has been endemic in Ghana, since it was first detected in 1970. Outbreaks have often started in slums of the city especially Accra. In spite of the overwhelming nature of cholera outbreak that has resulted in high mortality and morbidity, there is little information on the reservoir of the causative agent. It has however, been shown that long-term survival of the bacteria may be attained in watery environments or in humans with no signs of cholera. Consequently, ...