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Qualitative Cost-Benefit Analysis of Using Pesticidal Plants in Smallholder Crop Protection
Get PDFThis research article was published by MDPI in 2021Assessing the potential drivers of farmers using pesticidal plants for crop protection is
essential for wider adoption. However, few studies have focused on collaborative assessments of the
underlying trade-offs when using pesticidal plant extracts for pest control. Smallholder farmers in
northern Tanzania involved in farmer driven research assessing pesticidal plants evaluated the costs,
benefits, trade-offs and areas for future investment. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic
information from 77 farmers and their views on pest problems and crop protection in common
bean production. This was followed by small focus group discussions (n = 9) using a participatory
framework to elucidate the costs and benefits of adopting pesticidal plant technology. A multiple
correspondence analysis showed that pesticidal plant use was associated with men greater than
50 years old, and synthetic pesticide use was associated with younger aged farmers and women.
Farmers who used synthetics generally did not report the presence of common pest species found in
common bean production, whereas farmers who used pesticidal plants were associated with more
frequent reports of pest species. This participatory cost–benefit analysis highlighted that tools and
processing challenges were the main costs to using pesticidal plants. The main benefit reported
when using pesticidal plants was a general improvement to family health. Farmers expressed
overall a positive outcome when using pesticidal plants for crop protection and recommended that
future investments focus on improving access to tools and education regarding plant processing and
extraction to improve uptake of the technology by smallholder farmers
Advancement and practical applications of rhizobacterial biofertilizers for sustainable crop production in sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFThis research article was published by BioMed Central in 2021Agricultural intensification continues in Africa in attempts to meet the rising food demands of the equally rising
population. However, most arable lands in the region are characterized by nutrient deficiency and over-reliance on
synthetic fertilizers which consequently contributes to increased production costs, environmental pollution, and
global warming. Decades of research on plant–rhizobacterial interactions have led to the formulation and commer-
cialization of rhizobacterial biofertilizers globally for sustainable soil and crop health. Nevertheless, this promising
technology has not received much attention in Africa and remains largely unexplored due to several constraints. This
article discusses the practical applications of rhizobacterial biofertilizers for sustainable crop production in sub-Saha-
ran Africa. The challenges of soil infertility and the use of conventional synthetic fertilizers in crop production in Africa
are critically evaluated. An overview of the potential of rhizobacteria as biofertilizers and alternatives to synthetic
fertilizers for soil fertility and crop productivity in the continent is also provided. The advantages that these biofertiliz-
ers present over their synthetic counterparts and the status of their commercialization in the African region are also
assessed. Finally, the constraints facing their formulation, commercialization, and utilization and the prospects of this
promising technology in the region are deliberated upon. Such knowledge is valuable towards the full exploitation
and adoption of this technology for sustainable agriculture for Africa’s food security
Combining Multiple Assays Improves Detection and Serotyping of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus. A Practical Example with Field Samples from East Africa
Get PDFThis research article was published in the Journals Viruses, Volume 13, Issue 8, 2021Multiple serotypes and topotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) circulate in endemic areas, posing considerable impacts locally. In addition, introductions into new areas are of great concern. Indeed, in recent years, multiple FMDV outbreaks, caused by topotypes that have escaped from their original areas, have been recorded in various parts of the world. In both cases, rapid and accurate diagnosis, including the identification of the serotype and topotype causing the given outbreaks, plays an important role in the implementation of the most effective and appropriate measures to control the spread of the disease. In the present study, we describe the performance of a range of diagnostic and typing tools for FMDV on a panel of vesicular samples collected in northern Tanzania (East Africa, EA) during 2012–2018. Specifically, we tested these samples with a real-time RT-PCR targeting 3D sequence for pan-FMDV detection; an FMDV monoclonal antibody-based antigen (Ag) detection and serotyping ELISA kit; virus isolation (VI) on LFBKαVβ6 cell line; and a panel of four topotype-specific real-time RT-PCRs, specifically tailored for circulating strains in EA. The 3D real-time RT-PCR showed the highest diagnostic sensitivity, but it lacked typing capacity. Ag-ELISA detected and typed FMDV in 71% of sample homogenates, while VI combined with Ag-ELISA for typing showed an efficiency of 82%. The panel of topotype-specific real-time RT-PCRs identified and typed FMDV in 93% of samples. However, the SAT1 real-time RT-PCR had the highest (20%) failure rate. Briefly, topotype-specific real-time RT-PCRs had the highest serotyping capacity for EA FMDVs, although four assays were required, while the Ag-ELISA, which was less sensitive, was the most user-friendly, hence suitable for any laboratory level. In conclusion, when the four compared tests were used in combination, both the diagnostic and serotyping performances approached 100%
Managing non-revenue water in Mwanza, Tanzania: A fast-growing sub-Saharan African city
Get PDFThis research articles was published in Journals Scientific African Volume 12,2021,High non-revenue water (NRW) and unreliable water supply services are major challenges
in operations of the water infrastructure of most fast-growing cities in developing coun-
tries. In this study, an analysis of the existing distribution network was carried out to
investigate its performance concerning water loss reduction and system improvement. A
high percentage of NRW (50%) was found in a selected district metering area (DMA) com-
pared to the city’s entire network (37%). About 87% of the NRW was contributed by real
losses in the DMA, while about 52% of the nodal junctions had pressure above the recom-
mended thresholds. The high pressure was responsible for the observed leakages and pipe
bursts in the DMA. Optimization of pressure by using pressure-reducing valves as well as
changing the network topology minimized the potential leakages to 46%. Also, flow veloci-
ties in about 83% of the pipes were found inadequate leading to poor water quality due to
water stagnation. Low velocities were due to oversized indicating incidence of unplanned
spatial and temporal expansion of the distribution network. This study, therefore, revealed
that a comprehensive zone by zone assessment of water distribution network can improve
the management of non-revenue in unplanned urban areas which is in line with ensuring
the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
A Review Development of Digital Library Resources at University Level
Get PDFThis research article was published by Hindawi 2021This study considered the development, awareness, adoption, and usage of digital library (DL) resources at the university level. To develop and implement a successful electronic library resource system, it is vital to review the success factors and identify the most important technological aspects of DL resources. Electronic library information technology was described and grouped into several categories that influence user satisfaction in a DL context. These are open access to information, the facility of access, uncomplicated interface design, high quality of the communication process, Internet performance, performance assurance service, ease of communication via social network, and patron-driven acquisition. With these important features of DL services, the simplicity of accessing online information and the performance of DL utilities have become of paramount importance. Several research works were therefore reviewed and evaluated to determine the usability of DL services; thereafter, the design of the DL discovery system was developed through Blacklight open-source software
How can we realise the full potential of animal health systems for delivering development and health outcomes?
Get PDFThis research article was published in the Europe PMC in 2021Animal health services play an essential role in supporting livestock production, with the potential to address the challenges of hunger, poverty, health, social justice and environmental health as part of the path towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) defined in the United Nations, 2030 Agenda. However, the provision of animal health services remains chronically underfunded. Although the aspiration that ‘no one will be left behind' is core to the SDG agenda, animal health service provision still fails to meet the basic needs of many of the poorest livestock owners. This review draws largely on experience from Tanzania and highlights the obstacles to equitable provision of animal health services, as well as identifying opportunities for improvement. Delivery models that rely on owners paying for services, whether through the private sector or public?private partnerships, can be effective for diseases that are of clear economic importance to animal keepers, particularly in more market-orientated production systems, but are currently constrained by issues of access, affordability, availability and quality. Substantial challenges remain when attempting to control diseases that exert a major burden on animal or human health but are less well recognised, as well as in the delivery of veterinary public health or other public good interventions. Here, the authors propose solutions that focus on: improving awareness of the potential for animal health services to address the SDGs, particularly those concerning public and environmental health; linking this more explicitly with advocacy for increased investment; ensuring that the voices of stakeholders are heard, particularly those of the rural poor; and embracing a cross-cutting and expanded vision for animal health services to support more adaptive development of livestock systems
Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity, and Its Associated Factors Among Health-care Workers, Teachers, and Bankers in Arusha City, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Dovepress, 2021Background: Tanzania is one of the developing countries experiencing an increasing trend
of overweight and obesity among adults. Working adults have been identified as a high-risk
group more exposed to the predictors of overweight and obesity than the general population.
However, limited studies have been done in this group. This study aimed to identify the
prevalence of overweight and obesity and its associated risk factors among health-care
workers, teachers, and bankers in Arusha city council.
Subjects and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers, teachers, and bankers. A total of 305 working adults aged 18–60 years
participated in the study. A modified World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach
for chronic disease risk factor surveillance was used to collect data about socio-demographic
characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, dietary practices and anthropometric measurement. The
Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to collect information about level
of physical activities. The anthropometric measurement and level of physical activities were
calculated and ranked according to WHO guidelines.
Results: Overall, 68.9% (31.1% overweight and 37.8% obese) of working adults were
overweight or obese. Age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR=7.73; 95% CI: 1.93–30.87]), gender
(AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.30–5.21), marital status (AOR=2.47; 95% CI: 1.11–5.50), years
spent with the current institution (AOR=4.59; 95% CI: 1.38–17.80), using private car or
public transport to and from work (AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.10–5.39) and sedentary work
(AOR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.04–5.71), were significant factors associated with overweight or
obesity.
Conclusion: The study identified a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in Tanzania
compared with previous studies. The results from this study are useful for the education
sector, financial institutions and health sector on designing workplace wellness programs to
reduce the burden of overweight and obesity among this working category
TB or not TB? Definitive determination of species within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in unprocessed sputum from adults with presumed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
Get PDFThis research article was published by Tropical Medicine and International Health Volume26, September 2021Objectives
Differences among Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) species may predict drug resistance or treatment success. Thus, we optimised and deployed the genotype MTBC assay (gMTBC) to identify MTC to the species level, and then performed comparative genotypic drug-susceptibility testing to anti-tuberculosis drugs from direct sputum of patients with presumed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by the MTBDRplus/sl reference method.
Methods
Patients with positive Xpert® MTB/RIF (Xpert) results were consented to provide early-morning-sputum for testing by the gMTBC and the reference MTBDRplus/sl. Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test compared proportions. Modified Poisson regression modelled detection of MTC by gMTBC.
Results
Among 73 patients, 53 (73%) were male and had a mean age of 43 (95% CI; 40–45) years. In total, 34 (47%), 36 (49%) and 38 (55%) had positive gMTBC, culture and MTBDR respectively. Forty patients (55%) had low quantity MTC by Xpert, including 31 (78%) with a negative culture. gMTBC was more likely to be positive in patients with chest cavity 4.18 (1.31–13.32, P = 0.016), high-quantity MTC by Xpert 3.03 (1.35–6.82, P = 0.007) and sputum smear positivity 1.93 (1.19–3.14, P = 0.008). The accuracy of gMTBC in detecting MTC was 95% (95% CI; 86–98; κ = 0.89) compared to MTBDRplus/sl. All M. tuberculosis/canettii identified by gMTB were susceptible to fluoroquinolone and aminoglycosides/capreomycin.
Conclusions
The concordance between the gMTBC assay and MTBDRplus/sl in detecting MTC was high but lagged behind the yield of Xpert MTB/RIF. All M. tuberculosis/canettii were susceptible to fluoroquinolones, a core drug in MDR-TB treatment regimen
Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Chicken Diseases Detection
Get PDFThis research article published by the International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2021For many years in the society, farmers rely on
experts to diagnose and detect chicken diseases. As a result,
farmers lose many domesticated birds due to late diagnoses or
lack of reliable experts. With the available tools from artificial
intelligence and machine learning based on computer vision and
image analysis, the most common diseases affecting chicken can
be identified easily from the images of chicken droppings. In this
study, we propose a deep learning solution based on Convolution
Neural Networks (CNN) to predict whether the faeces of chicken
belong to either of the three classes. We also leverage the use of
pre-trained models and develop a solution for the same problem.
Based on the comparison, we show that the model developed
from the XceptionNet outperforms other models for all metrics
used. The experimental results show the apparent gain of transfer
learning (validation accuracy of 94% using pretraining over its
contender 93.67% developed CNN from fully training on the
same dataset). In general, the developed fully trained CNN comes
second when compared with the other model. The results show
that pre-trained XceptionNet method has overall performance
and highest prediction accuracy, and can be suitable for chicken
disease detection application
Assessment of fluoride removal in a batch electrocoagulation process: A case study in the Mount Meru Enclave
Get PDFThis research article published by Elsevier B.V., 2021The presence of excessive amounts of fluoride than prescribed standards has been reported
in various sources of domestic water supply around the slopes of Mount Meru and other
parts in Tanzania. Efforts to remove the excessive fluoride have been carried out using
various technologies. In this study, electrocoagulation experiments were carried out to assess its efficiency on fluoride removal. The fluoride concentration tested ranged from 1.37
to 48 mg/L in both synthetic and natural waters. The voltage applied in the electrocoagulation (EC) process ranged from 0 to 50 V while maintaining pH values of 4 to 9. The
representative experimental results for the Ngarenanyuki river water with initial fluoride
concentration of 29.5 mg/L accomplished a removal efficiency of 90% at an optimal electrolysis time of 30 min, an applied voltage of 30 V and an optimal pH of 6. The method
showed efficient fluoride removal in water to allowable limits by World Health Organization (WHO) and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) (1.5 mg/L). Despite the voltage applied
(30 V), the pH at neutrality remained unchanged thus making the process more efficient.
At this voltage (30 V) the process has been reported previously also to have the capability
of disinfecting the water and hence rendering such water safe for us