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Childhood dietary exposure of aflatoxins and fumonisins in Tanzania: A review
Get PDFThis research article published by Taylor & Francis Online, 2020Aflatoxins (AFs) and Fumonisins (FBs) are common contaminants of maize, from secondary metabolites of fungi. Presence of AFs and FBs in maize-based complimentary food is evident in various studies conducted in Tanzania and elsewhere. Consequently, Infant and Young children (IYC) aged between 6 and 24 months in Tanzania who consume monotonous maize-based foods are at a high risk of exposure to these toxins. The AF or FB exposures have been linked to low awareness and inadequate knowledge or limited skills of IYC feeding practices among mothers and caregivers. This review reveals that more researches are needed to identify appropriate feeding practices in Tanzania to improve child growth. Meanwhile, stakeholders should direct efforts on education to subsistence farmers including mothers and caregivers on interventions to minimize mycotoxin contamination of cereal and nut-based complementary foods in the country
Challenges and opportunities toward sustainable consumption and value addition of cashew apples in Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by SAGE publications, 2020Cashew apple is an important healthy fruit due to its high nutrient contents, particularly vitamin C. However, its full potential is yet to be realized in low technological countries. This paper explores farmers’ consumption habits, processing methods, and utilization constraints faced. Also, osmotic-solar dried product was developed. In an exploratory survey, 600 farmers across the surveyed districts were interviewed. The study revealed that the majority of farmers consume raw cashew apples, with 61.9% consuming more than five fruits a day and about 56.0% consuming almost every day during the season. About 43.7% of farmers traditionally process cashew apple porridge and alcohol. Lack of knowledge on post-harvest handling (86.2%), and processing technologies (82.7%) were mostly claimed to hamper the utilization. The developed dried products retained 59.4% of total acidity, 37.4% of total ascorbic acid, and 68.5% tannins. In addition, the product received better sensory scores and overall acceptability. Though solar drying relies heavily on weather conditions, where possible it could be a better alternative to traditional methods. The combination of blanching, osmotic dehydration and solar drying could provide economically feasible value added products to both urban and rural settings and ultimately reduce the post-harvest losses and unleash their economic potential
Understanding factors influencing distribution and density of a micro-Lepidoptera moth, Tuta absoluta (Gelechiidae) and its impact in tomato agroecological zones of Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Bioscience Research, 2020Field survey was conducted from August to November 2016 and repeated from January to April 2017 to
study population, distribution and damage by tomato leaf miner (TLM) (Tuta absoluta Meyrick 1977) in
156 farms in agroecological zones of Tanzania. A pheromone trap/farm was deployed in tomato or other
Solanaceae’s crops for examining moth of T. absoluta stuck in each trap and to determine damage by
TLM. Results indicated that TLM is present in 13 regions with the highest population in Southern zone
(Iringa), Northern zone (Arusha) and East-Central (Morogoro) with catches averaging 357.8±25.5,
279.9±12.1, 298.7±11.4 and 173.1±10.1 moths/trap in dry season respectively whereas lowest count
amounting 13.3±1.0moths/trap was observed in western zone (Mwanza) during rainy season. Tomato
was the most damaged crop with high mines averaging 90.0 ± 0.0% damage in Iringa and the low of
30.0±5.7 % realized in Mwanza. Tuta absoluta was found attacking 10 more plant species besides tomato
with damage incidence averaging 83.3 ± 3.7% in Solanum lycopersicum, 60.0±0.0% in Solanum
tuberosum, 30.0±0.0% damage in weed (Solanum incanum) and the lowest damage averaging 0.0±0.0%
was observed in capsicum annuum. Based on these findings, it is evident that, T. absoluta is expanding
its geographical range and hosts resulting into high damage and yield loss affecting farmers’ livelihood
in Tanzania. This study informs farmers on the proper use of pheromone traps for early detection,
scouting, weeding, crop rotation, use of biological control agents for effective management of the pest to
reduce losses and environmental impact due to extensive use of synthetic pesticides
A Review on the Status of Breast Cancer Care in Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Multidisciplinary Cancer Investigation, 2020Tanzania continues to enjoy stability and growth in different sectors similar to other
countries; however, some challenges persist in the health sector, especially in the
area of cancer care. The current study aimed at reviewing social economic status
(SES), as well as factors contributing to the increased burden of breast cancer (BC)
in Tanzania. The current study reviewed different literature ranging from nationally/
internationally published statistics, academic publications, health information of
non-governmental organizations, academic researchers, and other sources of health
information to better understand the socioeconomic and BC care status in Tanzania.
The current review showed that BC is still the second most prevalent malignant disease
in Tanzania, and most of the patients referring to medical centers are in the advanced
stage of the disease due to shortage and unaffordability of health care services. The
majority of health-related interventions and investments target infectious diseases,
including HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, as well as maternal and child health-related
conditions, compared to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as BC. In spite of
some setbacks and improvements in healthcare facilities (e g, novel techniques for early
detection), the best way to address BC care is affordable fees for clinical and laboratory
investigations, accessible treatment, palliative care, follow-up, rehabilitative care, and
better management and allocation of resources
Online discussion platforms for effective collaborative learning in higher learning institutions in Tanzania
Get PDFA Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master’s in
Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson Mandela
African Institution of Science and TechnologyThe implementation of the 2030 vision to provide a 12-years free primary and secondary
education and higher education loan scheme offered by the government will increase
students’ enrolment in higher learning institutions. Nonetheless, higher education system
profoundly depends on fixed lecture theatres–these and insufficient public discussion squares
are among the challenges faced by Tanzanian higher education. In response, higher learning
institutions have introduced cement seats in universities’ environment; however, they serve as
learning squares in arid seasons and before odd hours. Additionally, they have introduced
information and communication technology solutions like learning management systems;
nonetheless, these have ended being used as traditional repositories and appear not to tailor in
the direction of the technology used by students.
This study mainly aimed to develop online discussion platform for enhancing effective
collaborative learning for students in higher learning institutions. It used a mixed-method
research design to collect data from 96 respondents from five higher learning institutions in
Arusha region. Analysis using Chi-square statistical test indicated that residence was not
among the factors contributed to the recommendation of the online discussion platform.
Furthermore, the platform was designed and implemented using scram agile software
development methodology and Laravel Pre-processor framework. It was tested and met
specified requirements.
Finally, education stakeholders, the Tanzania Commission for Universities and higher
learning institutions should work on these findings and should adapt and use the online
discussion platform to sustain the challenges of small number of staff and insufficient public
discussion areas in higher learning institutions in Tanzania
Data visualization tool for student dropouts in Tanzania
Get PDFA Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson
Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyEducation is a crucial sector and key component of many governments’ agenda. Despite that,
students dropout has been among the persisting challenges in education, being experienced
from basic education levels to colleges and universities. This work presents a study on data
visualization in education and a glimpse of data visualization in other domains, and suggests
a web based data visualization tool for student dropouts in Tanzania, targeting primary and
secondary schools. It also presents users’ feedback regarding the developed web-based tool.
This study collected data from the Government Basic Statistics Portal and the President’s
Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG). Rapid prototyping
was employed to develop the proposed web-based data visualization tool for interactive
visualization of the prepared data. Moreover, focus group discussions and questionnaires
were used to gather feedback from the users, whereby majority agreed that data visualization
is useful for understanding data and providing insights for reporting and decision making.
Most users further agreed that the developed tool was easy to use, useful and recommendable.
The various challenges that came up during the course of this study enlightens on the need for
sound data collection practices and the need for good visualization literacy. The results from
this study will be beneficial for decision makers in education domain by providing a wide
range of options to visually compare and observe variations in the student dropouts trends,
thus facilitating informed decisions. Moreover, this study will be useful source of information
for further research in dropout prediction and modelling
Growth comparison of Banana cv. Mchare (Huti Green) under full and deficit irrigation conditions in Northern Highlands, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2020Drip irrigation in banana farms is an uncommon practice as compared with other horticultural crops. Records
for East African Highland Banana (EAHB) diploid (AA subgroup) cv Mchare-Huti Green (HG) cultivated under
drip irrigation remain unavailable in the study area. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of
drip irrigation on banana growth and bunch yield in the research site situated at 3°23′ 58″ S and 36°47′ 48″ E
at an altitude of 1,188m above sea level in Arumeru District, Arusha Region, northern highlands of Tanzania .
We investigated the performance of HG under Full irrigation (FI) and Deficit Irrigation (DI) treatments, to
assess the influence of drought on banana growth parameters and bunch yield. The results exhibited
significant differences within and between treatments of most tested variables. The mean bunch weight in FI
was (28.3± 1.75kg plant-1) and DI (19.6±0.97kg plant-1) at (p<0.05) and fresh Aboveground biomass (AGB) in
FI (78.81±2.61kg plant-1) and DI (59.23±1.06kg plant-1) at (p<0.05). The correlation coefficient in this study
for growth parameters and bunch weight versus AGB indicated significant closer association exemplified by
pseudostem girth, pseudostem volume height and bunch weight, with correlation 0.44 to 0.73. Conversely, for
bunch weight and its components, correlation ranged from 0.30 to 0.50. The variation in allometric growth
parameters calls for integrated soil water management in banana production to ensure the optimal level of
available moisture for better performance from the vegetative phase to the generative phase
Year Round Feed and Fodder Availability in Smallholder Dairy Farms across High and Low Altitude Areas in Eastern Africa
Get PDFThis research article published by the Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 2020, Volume 42 [Issue 7]Feed-year strategies involve matching the cycles of dairy production with the changing availabilities of all sources of nutrients over time. Therefore, an understanding of seasonal variation in availability of forage resources is important in future planning and development of appropriate technologies to assure resilience of smallholder dairy systems to seasonal changes. This study was carried out to: 1) evaluate the current pattern of seasonal variation in forage availability in smallholder dairy farms, and 2) assess seasonal variation in year-round forage based feeding strategies in smallholder dairy farms in Eastern Africa. Data was collected from a purposive representative sample of 400 smallholder dairy farmers through cross-sectional and observational studies. The Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST) was used to capture the season’s effect (wet and dry) across high and low altitude areas in Kenya and Tanzania from 2016-2018. Data were analyzed using the generalized linear model (GLMM) procedure of SPSS 21.0 (Chicago, IL, USA), using models that included the fixed effects and random effects; and FEAST Version 2.21. Results showed that location (country), agro-ecological zone and season had a significant influence (p ≤ 0.05) on year-round rainfall variability. Availability and utilization of concentrate feeds, green and dry crop residues, improved fodder, pasture and legume forage throughout the year, were significantly influenced (p ≤ 0.05) by location, agro-ecological zone, seasons and production systems. Correlation between the forage resources revealed highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) and positive relationships in availability and usage across the two countries. From this study, rainfall variability was crucial in determining sources and year-round variation in availability and utilization of forages. Therefore, different seasonality driven site, region or country specific year-round feeding interventions and strategies could be applied depending upon type, source, quantity (availability) and quality of feeds to overcome seasonal milk fluctuations in smallholder dairy farms in Eastern Africa
Modeling the Transmission Dynamics of Bovine Tuberculosis
Get PDFThis research article published by Hindawi, 2020Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a bacterial and zoonotic disease which is transmitted through consumption of unpasteurized milk and uncooked meat and inhalation of aerosols. In this paper, a deterministic mathematical model is formulated to study the transmission dynamics of bTB in humans and animals. The basic reproduction number R0 is computed to determine the behavior of the disease. Stability analysis shows that there is a possibility for disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium to coexist when R0 = 1. To determine parameters which drive the dynamics of bTB, we performed sensitivity analysis. The analysis shows that the rate at which dairy products are produced, the rate of transmission of bTB from animal to animal, and the rates at which human acquires bTB from infectious dairy products and animals drive the transmission of bTB. However, the disease decreases as the rate of consumption of dairy products decreases. To control bTB, education campaign, inspection of dairy products, treatment of infected humans, and quarantine of infected animals are recommended
Development of a natural product rich in bioavailable OMEGA-3 DHA and EPA using locally available ingredients in Tanzania
Get PDFA Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master’s in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and
TechnologyPoor mental health remains a serious public concern worldwide. The most vulnerable
individuals are children and adolescents in developing countries. Nutritional deficiency of
Omega-3 DHA and EPA has long been recognized as a major contributing factor for mental
health illnesses. Provision of ready-to-use natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA
could address this problem. However, most commonly used products are expensive and
contain less or no preformed Omega-3 DHA, making them less suitable for prevention of
mental illnesses in resource-poor countries. The main objective of this study was to develop a
natural product rich in preformed Omega-3 DHA and EPA from locally available
ingredients. Linear programming (LP) was used to formulate a natural product rich in
preformed Omega-3 DHA and other essential nutrients using locally available ingredients
other than fish and dairy products. Laboratory analysis was then performed to validate the
nutritional value of the LP-formulation using standard analytical methods. The relative
difference between the LP tool calculated values and the laboratory-analysed values were
calculated. Sensory testing was also done to evaluate consumer acceptance of the final
product. Optimal formulation contained 220 mg of preformed Omega-3 DHA+EPA, enough
to meet the RDI for children aged 2-10 years. The LP analysis further showed that the cost of
present product is USD 0.15/100 g, which is 50% lower than that of Plumpy’nut. Laboratory
analysis revealed similar results as that of LP at P=0.05. These findings indicate that readyto-use
natural
food
rich
in
preformed
DHA
and
EPA
can
be
developed
from
locally
available
ingredients