Determination of threshold values and heavy metal pollution assessment of soils in an industrial area in Ghana.

Industrial activities have the potential to pollute soils with a wide variety of heavy metals (HMs). In Ghana, however, assessment of HM pollution of soils in industrial areas remains limited. Accordingly, HM soil pollution in one of the industrial areas in Accra, Ghana was assessed.

Legal situation and consumer acceptance of insects being eaten as human food in different nations across the world-A comprehensive review.

Insect consumption is a traditional practice in many countries. Currently, the urgent need for ensuring food sustainability and the high pressure from degrading environment are urging food scientists to rethink the possibility of introducing edible insects as a promising food type. However, due to the lack of the standardized legislative rules and the adequate scientific data that demonstrate the safety of edible insects, many countries still consider it a grey area to introduce edible insects into food supply chains.

Promoting insect farming and household consumption through agricultural training and nutrition education in Africa: A study protocol for a multisite cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Edible insects are a sustainable source of high-quality animal protein. Insect farming is gaining interest globally, particularly in low-income countries, where it may provide substantial nutritional and economic benefits. To enhance insect farming practices in Africa, new farming systems are being developed.

Insects as food and medicine: a sustainable solution for global health and environmental challenges.

Insects are a significant source of food for millions of people worldwide. Since ancient times, insects in medicine have been contributing to the treatment of diseases in humans and animals. Compared to conventional animal farming, the production of insects for food and feed generates significantly less greenhouse gas emissions and uses considerably less land.

Liquid metal cooled fast reactor thermal hydraulic research development: A review.

The growing interest in fast reactors demands further innovative technologies to enhance their safety and reliability. Understanding thermal hydraulic activities required for advanced reactor technology in design and development is key. However, knowledge of Heavy Liquid Metal (HLM) coolants technology is not mature.

Factors associated with head injury among survivors of motorcycle crashes: a case-control study in northern Ghana.

Introduction: the increasing use of motorcycles in northern Ghana is associated with a high incidence of motorcycle crashes and resultant head injuries. This study sought to determine factors associated with head injuries among survivors of motorcycle crashes in northern Ghana.

Methods: a prospective unmatched case-control study was conducted at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH).

Numerical simulation for the control rod assembly drop time evaluation in a LFR.

During scram, the Control Rod Assembly (CRA) is quickly dropped into the core and as well, if any of the operating limits are exceeded, the CRA is dropped into the core within a stipulated time to shut down the reactor power as soon as possible. In this study, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach was used to investigate the CRA drop dynamics of a lead-based research reactor. To simulate the flow field around the CRA in the guide tube, a 3-dimensional model of the CRA in the LBE-filled guide tube was developed and discretized; and the averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the dynamic mesh method were adopted.

Effect of different helmet types in head injuries: a case-control study in northern Ghana.

Background: Motorcycle helmet use is low in Ghana and many helmets are non-standard. There are limited data on the effectiveness of the different helmet types in use in the real-world circumstances of low-income and middle-income countries. This study assessed the effect of different helmet types on risk of head injury among motorcycle crash victims in northern Ghana.

Breast cancer treatment and outcomes at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the presentation, treatment and outcomes of breast cancer among women in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Design: Retrospective medical record review.

Setting: Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Increasing the use of continuing professional development courses to strengthen trauma care in Ghana.

Unlabelled: Injury is a major cause of death and disability in Ghana. Strengthening care of the injured is essential to reduce this burden. Trauma continuing professional development (CPD) courses are an important component of strengthening trauma care.

Risk factors for surgical site infections in abdominal surgeries in Ghana: emphasis on the impact of operating rooms door openings.

Major surgery carried out in low- and middle-income countries is associated with a high risk of surgical site infections (SSI), but knowledge is limited regarding contributory factors to such infections. This study explores factors related to patients developing an SSI in a teaching hospital in Ghana. A prospective cohort study of patients undergoing abdominal surgical procedures was conducted at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Surveillance of surgical site infection in a teaching hospital in Ghana: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Surveillance systems for surgical site infections (SSIs), as a measure of patient safety, help health institutions devise strategies to reduce or prevent them. No surveillance systems exist to monitor SSIs in Ghana.

Aim: To establish a system for monitoring trends and detecting outbreaks in order to create awareness of and control SSIs.

Assessment of heat transfer correlations in the sub-channels of proposed rod bundle geometry for supercritical water reactor.

There are heat transfer correlations for heat transfer analysis in single tube geometries after several experimental and theoretical heat transfer studies in these single tube geometries. This is not the case for heat transfer analysis in rod bundle geometry with regard to proposed square fuel assembly of the Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) European Atomic Energy (EURATOM) design. Thus limited heat transfer studies exist on rod bundle geometry at supercritical pressures.

The TEAM (Trauma Evaluation and Management) course: medical student knowledge gains and retention in the USA versus Ghana.

Introduction: Trauma and injury are significant contributors to the global burden of disease, with 5 million deaths and 250 million disability-adjusted life years lost in 2015. This burden is disproportionally borne by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Solutions are complex, but one area for improvement is basic trauma education.

Perception of risk for hypertension and overweight/obesity in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Background: This study examined the association between perception of risk for hypertension and overweight/obesity.

Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey.

Setting: Out-patient department of the Central Regional Hospital in Cape Coast, Ghana.

In-Country Training by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons: An Initiative that has Aided Surgeon Retention and Distribution in Ghana.

Background: Prior to 2003, production of new surgeons in Ghana was limited. In 2003, the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) initiated the first wholly in-country training and credentialing of surgeons. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of in-country training of surgeons in Ghana.

Breast-i Is an Effective and Reliable Adjunct Screening Tool for Detecting Early Tumour Related Angiogenesis of Breast Cancers in Low Resource Sub-Saharan Countries.

Background: What cheaper alternative breast screening procedures are available to younger women in addition to clinical breast examination (CBE) in Sub-Saharan countries? In 2009, we first described BreastLight for screening and reported high sensitivity at detecting breast cancer. Due to limitations of BreastLight, we have since 2014 been using the more technologically advanced Breast-i to screen 2204 women to find cheaper screening alternatives.

Methodology: First, the participant lies down for CBE and then, in a darkened room, Breast-i was placed underneath each breast and trained personnel confirm vein pattern and look out for dark spot(s) to ascertain the presence of suspicious angiogenic lesion(s).

Multi-centre point-prevalence survey of hospital-acquired infections in Ghana.

Background: There is a paucity of data describing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Africa.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and distribution of HAIs in acute care hospitals in Ghana.

Methods: Between September and December 2016, point-prevalence surveys were conducted in participating hospitals using protocols of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Pattern of Breast Cancer Distribution in Ghana: A Survey to Enhance Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Background. Nearly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ghana are in advanced stages of the disease due especially to low awareness, resulting in limited treatment success and high death rate. With limited epidemiological studies on breast cancer in Ghana, the aim of this study is to assess and understand the pattern of breast cancer distribution for enhancing early detection and treatment.

Burst abdomen in pregnancy: A proposed management algorithm.

Management of the burst abdomen is complex due to the co-morbidities associated with it. When coupled with intraabdominal sepsis and pregnancy, it becomes even more difficult due to the ethical issues that have to be considered when managing both mother and child. Due to the paucity of literature on this subject, a management algorithm has been proposed which aims at tackling this delicate issue.

District-level hospital trauma care audit filters: Delphi technique for defining context-appropriate indicators for quality improvement initiative evaluation in developing countries.

Introduction: Prospective clinical audit of trauma care improves outcomes for the injured in high-income countries (HICs). However, equivalent, context-appropriate audit filters for use in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) district-level hospitals have not been well established. We aimed to develop context-appropriate trauma care audit filters for district-level hospitals in Ghana, was well as other LMICs more broadly.

The influence of age on the outcome of treatment of elderly patients with colorectal cancer.

Objectives: We investigated factors associated with post-operative mortality rates in those aged ≥60, and in particular, the relative survival of age bands within this group.

Methods: Secondary analysis of a large comprehensive cohort of the elderly treated for colorectal cancer in the North of England during 1998-2003. We investigated seven risk factors associated with 30-day and 6-month post-operative mortality from colorectal surgery.

Migrated biliary stent presenting as a sigmoid diverticulitis-case report.

This is a case report of a patient with biliary stent migration resulting in sigmoid diverticulum perforation. We report the case of a patient who presented with symptoms of diverticulitis 18 months following biliary stent insertion for bile leak following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This rare complication of biliary stent placement should be included in differential diagnosis of any patient that presents with lower quadrant abdominal pain after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with stent placement.

Epigastric hernia in pregnancy: a management plan based on a systematic review of literature and a case history.

Symptomatic epigastric hernia is rare in pregnant women. A case history, management of which prompted a systematic review of the literature and proposed plan for treatment of such cases, is hereby presented. There is paucity of information on management of this condition in the standard literature as searches in Pubmed, Science Direct, Hinari, Medline, African Journal Online, Bioone as well as Cochrane library revealed.