High levels of poverty and entrenched gender norms in Northern Ghana increase the risk of adolescent girls leaving school, engaging in child labor, and migrating unaccompanied. Caregivers play a vital role in reducing these risks, but few interventions focus on family-level support for girls' education. The ANZANSI Family Program combines economic empowerment with family strengthening to address child labor. A pilot randomized clinical trial (n = 97) was conducted across 10 schools, assessing caregiver-reported outcomes at baseline, 9 months, and 15 months. Results from linear mixed-effects models showed significant improvements in caregiver educational support at both follow-ups. These preliminary findings suggest caregiver-focused, multi-component interventions are feasible in settings facing resource constraints and educational inequities and may enhance caregivers' involvement in supporting girls' education.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on household food security among urban populations has been widely reported. We assessed the prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity during the pandemic in vulnerable communities in the Northern region of Ghana. Our cross-sectional mixed-methods study comprised 300 caregivers from 16 impoverished communities in Tamale Metropolitan and Sagnarigu Districts. Household food security was evaluated using the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey Module. About one-third (34

In this study, we qualitatively explored how COVID-19 impacted social support among caregivers for adolescent girls in the Northern region of Ghana, as part of a larger mixed-methods cross-sectional study examining the impact of COVID-19 on household financial stability and family well-being. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 caregivers who were randomly selected using a stratified purposive sampling strategy from 300 caregivers who participated in the quantitative phase of the study. Informed by social support theory, we employed thematic analysis with inductive and deductive approaches for data analysis. The results showed that participants’ main source of social support before COVID-19 was informal in the form of emotional and instrumental support from their families, friends, neighbors, and faith-based institutions. However, the participants’ informal support systems decreased during the COVID-19 period due to COVID-19 protocols and restrictions. While formal/governmental social support increased during the pandemic, many caregivers received limited formal support before and after the pandemic. This study adds to the scant literature on social support and its role during the pandemic in low-resource settings, and calls for prioritizing policy interventions that may strengthen the government’s social protection programs as well as preventive programs to strengthen family relations and resilience.

The International Labor Organization estimates that 9.6

Background:Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, together with family context as a contributing factor, often results in unaccompanied rural-urban child migration and high incidence of child labor (24%), leading to heightened vulnerability and risk. In this study, we examined the preliminary impact of a combination intervention that combined family economic empowerment and family strengthening interventions on intention to migrate (primary outcome) and school absence (secondary outcome) among adolescent girls in Ghana. Methods:Longitudinal data from adolescent girls (n = 97) participating in the ANZANSI (resilience in Dagbani -the local language in the study area) pilot study (2019-2022) were analyzed. Adolescent girls and their caregivers were randomized at the school level to two study conditions: bolstered usual care and the ANZANSI combination intervention delivered over 9 months. Data were collected at baseline, 9 months and 15 months post-intervention initiation. We used mixed-effects logistic and linear regression models to examine the impact of the intervention on absence from school and intention to migrate. Findings:At 15 months post-intervention initiation, the ANZANSI group had significantly lower intention to migrate compared to the control group (b = -0.61, 95 % CIs: -1.18, -0.04, p = 0.04). The intervention had no significant impact on school absence. However, the results are trending in the hypothesized direction, indicating that the intervention appears to reduce the likelihood of higher school absences over time, marked by the significant effect of time (χ2 [2] = 6.49, p < 0.04) for the intervention group. Conclusion:These outcome trends support the rationale for a larger trial to test the efficacy of the ANZANSI intervention.

Financial inclusion is critical to poverty reduction, but significant challenges remain. The impact of family economic empowerment interventions has not been tested among adolescent girls at risk of dropping out of school. Additionally, studies exploring adolescent girls' (and their caregivers') experiences with saving and depositing are limited. Hence, we qualitatively explored the saving and banking experiences of Ghanaian adolescent girls and their caregivers (n = 20 dyads) who participated in a combination intervention that included an economic empowerment component. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results showed that most families did not have bank accounts due to lack of knowledge, limited literacy, and the belief that banks were for "rich" people. Forgetting necessary documents was a barrier and program support was a facilitator to account opening during the intervention. Stable income, matched savings, future planning, and small savings were facilitators whereas income fluctuation was a barrier to saving. Fund availability, filling deposit forms, and long lines were identified as challenges and support from bank personnel, relatives, and the program facilitated the depositing process. Our results identify the facilitators and barriers to saving and using bank services; and have programmatic and policy implications in Ghana.

Child labor remains a concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, evidence-based preventive efforts are limited. We analyzed longitudinal data from Ghanaian adolescent girls in a pilot randomized clinical trial testing the preliminary impact of a combination intervention on family cohesion as a protective factor against child labor and school dropout. While there was no statistical difference between the control and intervention groups at 9 months, the results show that family cohesion scores improved significantly from baseline to 9 months for the ANZANSI intervention group. Qualitative results indicated improved family cohesion in the intervention group. Hence, future studies should further examine this promising social work intervention.

During adolescence, youth experience several physical, psychosocial, and cognitive changes. Self-esteem and self-concept are identified as protective factors for adolescents in high-income countries, but studies are limited in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the associations of self-esteem and self-concept with life satisfaction and attitudes toward school using baseline data from 97 Ghanaian adolescent girls at risk of school dropout. Ordinary Least Squares regression models were fitted to examine the association between self-esteem and self-concept on school attitudes and life satisfaction. Self-esteem was positively associated with life satisfaction. Self-concept was associated with more positive attitudes toward school. Hence, self-esteem and self-concept may be critical protective factors in promoting adolescent girls' life satisfaction and positive attitudes toward school.

The International Labor Organization estimates that, globally, 9·6% of children aged 5–17 years are child labourers, and that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of child labour (24%) compared with other regions in the world. The International Labor Organization draws attention to migrant child labourers as an under-reported and highly vulnerable group, a substantial proportion of whom are girls with no formal education. Unaccompanied child migration and child labour are intricately related, as many unaccompanied migrant children need to work to financially survive. 1 Maioli SC Bhabha J Wickramage K et al. International migration of unaccompanied minors: trends, health risks, and legal protection. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2021; 5: 882-895 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar Therefore, unaccompanied child migration often results in hazardous child labour and leads to several disproportionate risks. 1 Maioli SC Bhabha J Wickramage K et al. International migration of unaccompanied minors: trends, health risks, and legal protection. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2021; 5: 882-895 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar

Compressing an image and reconstructing it without degrading its original quality is one of the challenges that still exist now a day. A coding system that considers both quality and compression rate is implemented in this work. The implemented system applies a high synthetic entropy coding schema to store the compressed image at the smallest size as possible without affecting its original quality. This coding schema is applied with two transform-based techniques, one with Discrete Cosine Transform and the other with Discrete Wavelet Transform. The implemented system was tested with different standard color images and the obtained results with different evaluation metrics have been shown. A comparison was made with some previous related works to test the effectiveness of the implemented coding schema.

BACKGROUND:The health system in Ghana is severely underequipped to meet the needs of children with behavioral health problems. A substantial treatment gap exists among individuals with behavioral challenges, necessitating the implementation of an evidence-based intervention to address child behavioral challenges in Ghana. This article presents learning opportunities from the adaptation and initiation process of an evidence-based approach, the multiple-family group (MFG) intervention, aimed at addressing child behavioral challenges in northern Ghana.METHODS:The MFG intervention will be tested and implemented in three schools selected through a clustered randomization process, with 60 child-caregiver dyads per school. Each school will be assigned to MFG delivery by parent peers, MFG delivery by School Health Education Program (SHEP) coordinators, or an intervention where students are supplied only with mental health wellness materials and educational supports. The providers will be assessed on a fidelity measure.RESULTS:The approach of engaging stakeholders in Ghana is anticipated to prove challenging because multiple partners are involved in MFG implementation. Participants are expected to actively participate, however, given some changes to the protocol to adapt it to the Ghanaian context, including the types of MFG facilitators and sample size. Other anticipated challenges include obtaining permission from key partners such as the education authorities, timing of the study within the academic calendar in Ghana, and meeting the high expectations of school authorities for the study.NEXT STEPS:The MFG intervention will be delivered by parent peers and SHEP coordinators at the selected schools.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect the impact of mandibular implant retained overdenture on electromyographic activity of submental muscles during swallowing in edentulous subjects. Materials and methods: Fifteen completely edentulous subjects with problematic lower complete dentures were participated in this study. All subjects received a newly carefully constructed complete dentures and then the lower dentures were changed into mandibular implant retained overdentures by placing two implants on the mandibular canine regions and using ball attachments to retain the overdentures. All the subjects were submitted to surface electromyographic evaluation for the submental muscles without dentures, with complete dentures and with mandibular implant overdenture during swallowing of 10ml of water. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in swallowing duration and electromyographic amplitude of submental muscles after complete dentures insertion and also after insertion of mandibular implant overdenture. Moreover, there was a statistically significant reduction in both swallowing duration and electromyographic amplitude of submental muscles for mandibular implant overdenture when compared to complete dentures. Percentage Overlapping Coefficient showed a non-significant differences between different oral conditions. Conclusion: Rehabilitation of completely edentulous patient with mandibular implant retained overdenture revealed a reduction in swallowing duration and reduction in electromyographic amplitude of the submental muscles during swallowing.

Objectives:The purpose was to determine the influence of maxillary implant overdentures with and without palatal coverage on spirometric parameters.Materials and methods: 14 healthy edentulous patients were participated in this study.All patients were received 4 implants in maxillary arch in canines premolars areas and 2 implants in mandibular canines areas.All patients were received 2 maxillary implant overdentures "with and without palatal coverage" and one mandibular implant overdenture.Locator attachments were used to anchor the overdentures.Spirometry test was performed in three different oral conditions: without prosthesis, with maxillary implant overdenture with palatal coverage, and with palateless implant overdenture.The test was done after 2 months of each overdenture delivery.Spirmetric parameters as, Vital capacity (VC), Peak expiratory flow (PEF), Forced expiratory volume in 1 sec.(FEV1), FEV1/FVC (Forced vital capacity), and Maximum expiratory flow between 25% and 75% (MEF25-75) were evaluated.Results: There was statistically significant reduction in VC, FEV1/FVC, and MEF25-75 for without prosthesis compared to maxillary implant overdenture with or without palatal coverage (p <0.05).Also, there was statistically significant increase in VC, FEV1/FVC, and MEF25-75 for palateless implant overdenture compared to maxillary implant overdenture with palatal coverage (p <0.05).While there were no significant differences between the different oral conditions in FEV1, and PEF (p >0.05). Conclusion:Covering the palate by dental prosthesis had an adverse effect on respiratory function as using the palateless implant overdenture showed improvement in respiratory performance in comparison to maxillary implant overdenture with palatal coverage.

Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate the influence of different occlusal schemes on bolus movement during feeding for complete denture wearers.Methods: Thirty completely edentulous patients were participated in this study.All patients were randomly classified in two equal groups.Group I received a complete denture with bilateral balanced occlusal scheme (BBO) and group II received a complete denture with lingualized balanced occlusal scheme (LBO).Patients were instructed to chew and swallow ¼ of cookie (coated with pudding and barium powder) with and without denture.Masticatory duration, number of chewing cycles, number of swallow, oropharyngeal residue, and penetration aspiration observation were measured by using videofluoroscopic assessment at baseline, 2 weeks and 3 months after denture insertion.Results: Penetration of food into the larynx was significantly founded in edentulous patients without complete dentures.After 3 month of denture insertion, LBO group showed a statistically significant reduction in masticatory duration, and number of chewing cycles (p<0.05)compared to BBO group. Conclusion:The occlusal scheme has been found to be important in swallowing function as lingualized balanced occlusal scheme improve chewing ability and oral preparatory stage of swallowing in comparison to bilateral balanced occlusal scheme after 3 month of denture insertion.

Summary High Resolution processing,Shallow hazard analysis, FWI velocity model building, Shallow hazard interpretation, Drilling mitigation

Background: Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have been used as a source of zinc, in food industry and are applied in cosmetic products, but their accumulation in the tissues causes a hazard toxic effect. Naringenin (Nar) is a member of fla-vanones groups that play an important role in body health in terms of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.Aim of Study: The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible structural changes that occur in the testicular tissue of adult albino rat after single injection of zinc oxide nano-particles and to clarify possible protective role of Naringenin against this toxicity.Material and Methods: 28 adult male albino rats have been used in this work. These animals were divided into three groups. Group Ia (Control –ve): Animals received no chemi-cals. Group Ib (control +ve) rats received oral Naringenin 20mg/kg once daily for two weeks. Group II (Treated group) received single intraperitoneal injection (IP) of Zno-NPs (700mg/kg) (as a single toxic dose in the experiment). Group III (Protective group) rats received Zno NPs (as same previous dose and route) in addition to Naringenin (20mg/kg) orally once daily for 2 weeks. 24 hours after the last administration, rat were sacrificed, carful dissection was performed for gentle removal of both testicles from all groups then processed for light and electron microscopic studies, morphometric exam-ination and statistical analysis. Epididymal sperm was collected for estimation of percentage of sperm Viability and abnormality.Results: By light microscopy, zinc oxide nanoparticles caused massive histopathological changes in rat testes in the form of disorganization of seminiferous tubules, thickening, detachment and separation of basement membranes, widening of interstitial tissues, thickening and congestion blood vessels and pyknosis of sertoli and germ cells. Ultrastructural results confirmed these histopathological changes and revealed the degeneration of Sertoli cells, all germ cells and interstitial cells as well. The statistical analysis of this study supported the results. Administration of Naringenin to treated group provided mild improvement to the testicular tissues against Zno-NPs toxicity.Conclusion: Zinc oxide nanoparticles could result in hazards to the structure of testes. Fortunately co-administration of Naringenin is suggested to reduce such hazards.