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Usability Testing of a Web Portal for Ornamental Plants and Flowers in Arusha, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research Vol. 10 No. 3 (2020): June 2020The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption has steadily advanced in the horticulture sector in Tanzania. This study aims to test and give feedback regarding the usability of a developed web portal prototype for ornamental plants and flowers in Arusha City. The stakeholders are botanists and researchers who search for plant and flower information (taxonomy), small scale farmers, herbalists, and the Arusha City Council. The assessments were organized and conducted in groups where each stakeholder was given access to the web portal for 2 days. Questionnaires were distributed to get feedback from each participant (a total of 48 participants). Multicriteria satisfaction analysis was chosen to measure user satisfaction measuring usability factors such as service quality, technical quality, information quality, and system quality. The overall obtained results had a mean score above 3.5 (70%) on a five-point scale Likert scale analysis
Molecular species identification of bushmeat recovered from the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania.
Get PDFThis research article published by PLOS ONE, 2020Bushmeat harvesting and consumption represents a potential risk for the spillover of endemic zoonotic pathogens, yet remains a common practice in many parts of the world. Given that the harvesting and selling of bushmeat is illegal in Tanzania and other parts of Africa, the supply chain is informal and may include hunters, whole-sellers, retailers, and individual resellers who typically sell bushmeat in small pieces. These pieces are often further processed, obscuring species-identifying morphological characteristics, contributing to incomplete or mistaken knowledge of species of origin and potentially confounding assessments of pathogen spillover risk and bushmeat offtake. The current investigation sought to identify the species of origin and assess the concordance between seller-reported and laboratory-confirmed species of origin of bushmeat harvested from in and around the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. After obtaining necessary permits, the species of origin of a total of 151 bushmeat samples purchased from known intermediaries from 2016 to 2018 were characterized by PCR and sequence analysis of the cytochrome B (CytB) gene. Based on these sequence analyses, 30%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI: 24.4-38.6) of bushmeat samples were misidentified by sellers. Misreporting amongst the top five source species (wildebeest, buffalo, impala, zebra, and giraffe) ranged from 20% (CI: 11.4-33.2) for samples reported as wildebeest to 47% (CI: 22.2-72.7) for samples reported as zebra although there was no systematic bias in reporting. Our findings suggest that while misreporting errors are unlikely to confound wildlife offtake estimates for bushmeat consumption within the Serengeti ecosystem, the role of misreporting bias on the risk of spillover events of endemic zoonotic infections from bushmeat requires further investigation
Influence of Tobacco Plant on Macronutrient Levels in Sandy Soils
Get PDFThis research article published by MDPI, 2020Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is associated with great uptake of soil macronutrients.
Following the need to understand the macronutrients levels before and after tobacco cultivation,
research was conducted in loamy sand soil of Sikonge, Urambo, and sand soil of Tabora, Tanzania.
The initial macronutrients levels in the soil were compared with those measured after unfertilized
and fertilized tobacco. Results showed that unfertilized tobacco plant influences the increase of
nicotine to the rhizosphere, the macronutrients Ca (135%) > N (25%), decrease in the order of S (81%)
> P (49%) > Mg (12%) > K (11%). The sole effect of nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) and
calcium–ammonium–nitrate (CAN) 27% fertilizers increased further nicotine, Ca (25%) > N (20%) > S
(8%) > Mg (4%) > P (3%), and decreased K (3%) in the rhizosphere. Both tobacco plant and NPK +
CAN fertilizers on the rhizosphere increased Ca (193%) > N (50%) and decreased S (80%) > P (48%) >
K (14%) > Mg (8%). Leaf concentrations in fertilized tobacco increased Ca (197%) > K (28%) > P (27%)
> S (26%) > N (18%) > Mg (12%). Therefore, tobacco plant increases soil N and Ca but decreases P, K,
Mg, and S
A fractional-order Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense model with vector saturation and temperature dependent parameters
Get PDFThis research article published by Springer Nature, 2020Temperature is one of the integral environmental drivers that strongly affect the distribution and density of tsetse fly population. Precisely, ectotherm performance measures, such as development rate, survival probability and reproductive rate, increase from low values (even zero) at critical minimum temperature, peak at an optimum temperature and then decline to low levels (even zero) at a critical maximum temperature. In this study, a fractional-order Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense model incorporating vector saturation and temperature dependent parameters is considered. The proposed model incorporates the interplay between vectors and two hosts, humans and animals. We computed the basic reproduction number and established results on the threshold dynamics. Meanwhile, we explored the effects of vector control and screening of infected host on long-term disease dynamics. We determine threshold levels essential to reducing the basic reproduction number to level below unity at various temperature levels. Our findings indicate that vector control and host screening could significantly control spread of the disease at different temperature levels
Performance investigation of the slaughterhouse wastewater treatment facility: a case of Mwanza City Slaughterhouse, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Water Practice & Technology, 2020The present study engaged onsite operations and laboratory analysis for Mwanza City Slaughterhouse (MCS)
wastewater to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment of a newly installed facility. The MCS wastewater
treatment facility is integrated with various units-biodigester, aeration unit, retention, clarifier, and a constructed
wetland. During the initial runs, the MCS facility removed 87.5%, 92.2%, 43%, and 65.4% of effluent biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium, and nitrate, respectively. After conducting
effective plant operations for five months, the removal efficiencies of BOD5, COD, ammonium, and nitrate
improved to 97.4%, 98.3%, 97.4%, and 97.6%, respectively. In the present study, the unit-by-unit performance
values achieved as a result of alterations to the facility’s running conditions are presented. The MCS wastewater
treatment facility was found to be energy-positive, as it produced an average of 158.2 m3 biogas per day. This
amount of biogas, if converted to electricity, would be sufficient to run the facility operations. Generally, the
MCS wastewater treatment facility attained the best performance as per design, achieving the effluent levels recommended by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)
Evaluating the level of ammonia and sulfide in the liquid phase during anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse waste operating at mesophilic scale digester—the impact of inhibition and process performance
Get PDFThis research article published by AIMS Press, 2020The performance of experimental batch-reactor loaded with slaughterhouse waste at mesophilic temperature was investigated as well as the inhibition of both ammonia and sulfide concentration in the aqueous phase. The digester was operated for 68 days by evaluating the process stability basing on controlling parameters such as pH, volatile fatty acids and alkalinity in relation to the methane produced. The maximum CH4 content of 69.6% was achieved at 0.37 VFA/Alkalinity ratio and pH of 7.51 during day 37 of anaerobic digestion. However, a sudden increase of ammonia nitrogen in the digester from day 44 to day 68 decreased the methane content about 62.15% from 65% to 24.6%. Similarly, as the amount of sulfide content decreased in the liquid phase, gaseous H2S was elevated up to 132 ppm in the 68th day. During this time, it was observed that the ratio of VFA/Alkalinity decreased to 0.16, with a very low concentration of VFA, which was 150.92 mg/L. This phenomenon indicated that all the acids produced were consumed by methanogens and ammonia inhibition was at the highest rate due to the increase of ammonia nitrogen concentration in the last days of digestion. Furthermore, among of peculiar characteristic shown by slaughterhouse waste is the ability to maintain the pH above 7 without the addition of any buffering agent throughout the AD process. Meanwhile, the evaluation of the level of both ammonia and sulfide in the aqueous phase revealed that the inhibitory effect of ammonia concentration was higher than sulfide concentration
Molecular identification of Salmonella Typhimurium from village chickens based on invA and spvC genes
Get PDFThis research article published by Veterinary World, 2020Aim: This study aimed to identify Salmonella enterica serovars by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on virulence
genes invasion A (inv A) and Salmonella plasmid virulence C (spvC).
Materials and Methods: DNA extraction of eight bacteria isolates was done using the PowerSoil® DNA Isolation Kit. The
amplification of invA and spvC genes was done using conventional PCR. The positive PCR products were purified using the
GeneJET Purification Kit and then sequenced using ABI 3730 XL automated genetic analyzer. The sequences obtained were
compared for similarities with other Salmonella serovars deposited on the NCBI GenBank using BLASTN.
Results: Four out of eight samples were amplified by primers FS139/RS141 that target invA gene with products of about
284 bp, and three out of four of the same invA positive samples were also amplified by primers FSPV-1/RSPV-2 targeting
spvC with a product of about 571 bp. One sample was not amplified by primers FSPV-1/RSPV-2 as it lacked virulence
plasmid. Analysis of sequences indicated 100% homology with closely related serovars of S. enterica subspecies enterica
serovar Typhimurium.
Conclusion: Salmonella Typhimurium that contained invA and spvC genes are pathogenic and virulent strain
Effects of Selected Pesticidal Plants on Termites Affecting Maize Production in Arusha, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Scientific Research Publishing Inc., 2020Investigations under laboratory and field conditions were carried out with
purpose of understanding the effects of pesticides of Cupressus lusitanica,
Tephrosia vogelii, Eucalpytus dalrympleana, Lantana camara and Azadirachta
indica in the control of termites which affect maize production in Arusha,
Tanzania. Termites were collected before and during maize season of 2018
and identified at the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI) laboratory.
A total of 5279 out of 5307 termite species identified belong to genus Macrotermes, 23 species to genus Odontotermes and 5 species were unknown. The
results entailed that the area is rich in species of genus Macrotermes. Moreover, concentrations i.e. 5 g, 10 g and 20 g of each botanical were tested for
Macrotermes spp. mortality and repellency ability in the laboratory using a
completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The results
showed that 98.33% Macrotermes spp. mortality was caused by T. vogelii followed by 93.33% recorded from E. dalrympleana after 24 hours. Besides, C.
lusitanica repelled Macrotermes spp. by 97% followed by 95% recorded from
T. vogelii and E. dalrympleana each. For field trials, 20 g of each botanical
was applied using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates. The results obtained from field indicated that T. vogelii was more effective to protect maize with an average of 6 maize stands and 3.4 kg of dry
total weight of maize grains next to positive control per plot. Also, average of
4 maize stands and 3 kg dry total weight of maize grains were recorded from
treatments of E. dalrympleana and C. lusitanica each. Such results highlight
the potential of developing bio-termiticides from T. vogelii, C. lusitanica and
E. dalrympleana to control Macrotermes spp
Are Asian elephants afraid of honeybees? Experimental studies in northern Thailand
Get PDFThis research article published Springer Nature Switzerland AG., 2020In many parts of South and Southeast Asia, rural farmers living at the borders of protected areas frequently encounter Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) raiding their crops and threatening farmers lives and livelihoods. Traditional deterrent methods often have limited success as elephants become habituated or alternate their movement and behavior. While African bees (Apis mellifera scutellate) have been shown to effectively and sustainably deter African elephants (Loxodonta africana) little is known about their Asian counterparts. We conducted two experiments to estimate the effectiveness of bees as an Asian elephant deterrent method. We analyzed the behavioral reaction of seven captive Asian elephants when confronted with a fence of A. mellifera hives blocking their way to a desired source of food. In addition, we explored the defensive reaction of five A. cerana hives and six A. mellifera hives to an artificial disturbance during both day and night time. The elephants crossed the beehive fence in 51% of the cases, the probability of crossing increased over time and the number of exposures had a significant effect on an elephant’s crossing probability, indicating that elephants became habituated to the presence of the beehive fence. In the bee experiment, only one out of five A. cerana hives and one out of six A. mellifera hives reacted to the disturbance during the daytime, while during nighttime, none of them reacted defensively after being disturbed. We, therefore, conclude that neither A. mellifera nor A. cerana bees are likely to be effective in deterring wild Asian elephants from entering crop fields
Estimating Conveyance Efficiency and Maize Productivity of Traditional Irrigation Systems in Usa River Catchment, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Hindawi, 2020Estimating the conveyance efficiency of traditional irrigation schemes systems is very important. It is because of understanding the
volume of water lost along with the transportation facility, enhancing water usage and productivity, hence making better decisions
about the utilization of water resources. (e objective of the study was to determine water abstraction permit compliances and
estimate conveyance efficiency and crop and water productivity of traditional irrigation systems in northern Tanzania. (e task
involved measurement of irrigation water flows to determine the amount of water abstraction, inflow (head) and outflow (tail)
between the canals to determine the conveyance efficiency of the main, secondary, and tertiary canals of the traditional irrigation
systems. Moreover, water and yield obtained at the farm level were determined. Results indicate that approximately 72% of water
transported reaches the destined farm which produced maize (Zea mays L) yields of 1054.5 kg/ha, 892.4 kg/ha, and 875.156 kg/ha
at downstream, midstream, and upstream which equals 0.41 kg/m3, 0.15 kg/m3, and 0.09 kg/m3, respectively, while about 28% of
water is lost along the canals through evaporation, seepage, and deep percolation and overtopping. Consequently, water measured
at furrow intakes in total was 3, 500 L/s, equal to 23% more than the permitted amount of 2856.14 L/s at Usa River Catchment.
Interventions to minimize water losses starting at the furrow’s intakes are urgently required in the current trend of the increasing
demand for water resources for food production and schemes performance. Subsequently, more effective conveyance technologies
and water management strategies other than canal lining are required