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The relationship between feeding practices and stunting among children under two years in Tanzania mainland: a mixed-method approach
Get PDFThis research article was published by Bulletin of the National Research Centre Volume 48, 2024Background
Proper infant and young child feeding practices have gained attention over the years as one of the interventions to reduce childhood stunting. However, there is still a gap in research to determine these relationships in children under two years and the reasons for improper feeding.
Objective
This study aimed to assess the relationship between feeding practices, stunting and barriers among children under two years.
Methodology
Utilizing a mixed-method approach, the study involved secondary analysis of 1806 records of children aged 6–23 month, from the Next Generation Nutrition Program conducted in Tanzania (2015–2019). Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were employed. Frequency distribution tables were utilized to describe study participants stratified by their stunting status. Subsequently, modified Poisson regression models identified predictors of stunting. Qualitative analysis encompassed deductive and inductive approaches, to extract themes that address the behaviors contributing to inappropriate feeding practices.
Results
Stunting prevalence was 28.8% among children aged 6–23 months, with the majority (65%) of stunted children aged 1 year or older. Dietary diversity was low: 88.3% and 86.3% of stunted and non-stunted children, respectively, consumed less than 5 food groups. Surprisingly, early initiation of breastfeeding, time of stopping breastfeeding, and minimum dietary diversification were not significantly associated with child stunting (p-value > 0.05). Barriers to proper feeding practices identified were inadequate knowledge of feeding, maternal condition, economic hardship, cultural issues, and seasonality.
Conclusion
Early breastfeeding and minimum dietary diversity were not significant predictors of stunting. However, the mother’s age and height > 150 cm reduced stunting risk while child sex, age, birth weight, marital status, and place of delivery also influenced stunting risk. It is crucial for initiatives to emphasize good feeding practices while addressing the complex factors that may hinder optimal feeding practices in this age group to reduce childhood stunting effectively
Electrosorption of paraquat pesticide on activated carbon modified by aluminium oxide (Al2O3) with capacitive deionization
Get PDFThis research article was published by Desalination, Volume 572, 1 March 2024Composite electrode materials for removing paraquat from contaminated water were synthesized by loading aluminium oxide (Al2O3) onto activated carbon (AC) via co-precipitation method. The composite properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Capacitive deionization batch experiments compared the electrosorption of paraquat herbicide by the composite electrode and the pristine activated carbon. The performance of the composite electrodes showed that the removal efficiency and adsorption capacity depend on the aluminium oxide loading, applied potential, flow rate, and charging time. At 1.2 V, a flow rate of 15 mL/min, a charging time of 3 h and 20 mg/L PQ initial concentration, the composite electrode (AC/Al2O3-1:1) demonstrated a removal efficiency, electrosorption capacity, and energy consumption of 95.5 %, 1.27 mg/g, and 0.055 kWh/m3, respectively, compared to 62 %, 0.83 mg/g, and 0.11 kWh/m3 for the unmodified AC. The presences of other ions/pollutants were found to have negligible interference on PQ pesticide removal as the removal efficiency and electrosorption capacity of the AC/Al2O3-1:1 composite in both artificial (95.5 %, 1.27 mg/g) and natural water (87.5 % 1.17 mg/g). The study confirmed that composite electrode can reused several times, as there was no significant decrease in its regeneration efficiency even after multiple cycles
Exploring innovation and collaboration in the leather processing industry through the case study of the KIWANGO Leather Cluster
Get PDFThis research article was published by Discover Applied Sciences, Volume 6, 2024In the era of Industry 4.0, fostering innovation through strong collaboration among universities, industry, and government is crucial. However, the Tanzanian economy has faced challenges due to, among others, weak links between these entities. To address this, Sida initiated the Innovation Systems and Cluster Development Program (ISCP-Tz) in partnership with the University of Dar es Salaam. This was followed by a program at COSTECH focused on fostering innovation for socio-economic development. As part of these programs, 15 clusters, including KIWANGO Leather, were selected for documentation of their experiences. KIWANGO Leather exemplifies successful collaboration between cluster firms, the university, local government, and research institutions. Operationalizing guidelines for collaboration led to cooperative innovations, knowledge exchange, internships, and long-term partnerships established through Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The cluster's experiences highlight a less-linear, inclusive innovation process with positive outcomes. Thus, this paper not only illustrates a less linear, inclusive innovation process, but also its results can motivate actors in emerging innovation ecosystems in the Global South to adopt and scale up suggested approaches for knowledge co-creation benefitting sustainable development. By adopting these approaches and fostering collaborative networks, countries can leverage their resources and expertise to drive innovation, create economic growth, and address societal challenges
Modelling the dynamics of Spodoptera frugiperda infestation in maize production with control strategies
Get PDFThe ongoing demand for maize is driven by its nutritional value, ability to meet the food re
quirements of a increasing world population, its impact on ensuring a stable food supply, and
the growing international investments in ethanol as a renewable fuel source. Nevertheless,
the invasion and extensive spread of the Spodoptera frugiperda pest cause substantial losses
in maize yields, resulting in a diminished standard of living and an economic downturn for
those involved in maize production. This study formulates the systems of differential equations
to simulate the dynamics of a model encompassing both Spodoptera frugiperda and maize
biomass. The model considers the presence of predators and the application of best farming
practices. The model demonstrates six equilibrium points, and they are locally asymptotically
stable provided that the essential conditions are satisfied. Global stability for models’ equi
libria are established by Lyapunov functions. Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) and Partial
Rank Correlation Coefficient (PRCC) multivariate analysis were utilized to pinpoint the sen
sitive parameters that influence the pest. The predators attack rate and best farming practices
was the most sensitive parameter, when increases maize biomass increases while pest popu
lation significantly dencreases. Numerical simulations indicate that, during the initial phases,
combining natural enemies with best farming practices emerges as a successful intervention
by directly decreasing the pest population and fostering sustainable pest control. The optimal
control strategy which combines farming education campaign and predator selection awere
ness on eggs and larval reduced pest infestation in early stages. Thus, to control the pest, we
recommend that more efforts be directed to reduce eggs and larval populations and improving
farming methods through education campaign
The enhanced performance of NaFe2PO4(SO4)2/C electrode materials in the desalination of brackish water by capacitive deionization
Get PDFThis research article was published by Materials Letters Volume 377, 15 December 2024In this study partial substitution of phosphates in Na3Fe2(PO4)3/C (NFP/C) by sulphates to prepare Na2Fe2(PO4)2SO4 (NFP2S/C) and NaFe2PO4(SO4)2/C (NFPS/C) was carried out by dissolution-evaporation method. The idea is to adjust the properties of NFP/C owing to the differences in the inductive effect and sizes of sulphates and phosphates which results the obtained NFPS/C to record excellent electrochemical and desalination performance. Several characterization techniques used to analyse the synthesized materials confirm the successful doping and structure integrity. Electrochemical study reveals NFPS/C to exhibit the highest capacitance of 127.4 F/g when scanned at 10 mV/s. The results show that when the potential of 1.2 V is applied to desalinate 500 mg/L salt solution the salt removal of about 17.3 mg/g is achieved by NFPS/C while NFP/C attaining 9.8 mg/g. The NFPS/C was then tested in the desalination of real Ocean water and promising results obtained. The salt removal performance presented makes the developed materials promising for application in brackish water desalination by capacitive deionization
Valorization potentials of phosphate tailings at Minjingu mines in Northern Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article was published by Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy . volume 124 ,Jul. 2024Sedimentary and igneous rocks are the two primary sources of phosphate that are mined and beneficiated to fertilizer. During the beneficiation process, phosphate is lost into the tailings. We investigated phosphate concentrations in tailings dumps at Minjingu mine, Tanzania using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to quantify the chemical compositions. The phosphate content in the tailings varied from 12.91% phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) in Tailings 2 to 19.61% in Tailings Dump 1. The naturally occurring phosphate concentration in rocks ranges from 3% to 35%, and phosphate tailings from various locations with P2O5 concentrations as low as 6.46-12.65% have been beneficiated to commercial fertilizer. Our investigation revealed that phosphate concentrations in Minjingu tailings may be sufficient to be recovered for commercial applications. Suitable recovery methods are discussed, and we recommend that beneficiation should be performed to minimize the loss of phosphate into tailings. Further research is needed to identify the optimal beneficiation methodology
Development of mobile-based recommender system for smallholder dairy farmers to increase their production in Tanzania
Get PDFDairy farming is a branch of agriculture which is devoted to the production of milk and the
processing of dairy products. Small holder farmers are individuals producing small amounts
of products on small land holdings of less than two (2) hectares. This study aimed to make a
recommendation model using association rules to suggest recommendations for dairy farm
management to smallholder farmers based on their farm details. The key objectives were to
identify requirements of the recommendation model, to develop the recommendation model,
to deploy and validate the model as an end user mobile tool. The study was conducted in
Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions in Tanzania. Systematic random sampling was used for data
collection, Apriori algorithm was used in recommendation model development and
incremental methodology was used in mobile application development. A recommender
system was developed through association rules mining to provide recommendations to the
smallholder dairy farmers that help them to increase their production using strategies
available from fellow farmers in the same cluster. These association rules were used to help
small holder dairy farmers to move from low milk production (9.15 3.25 litres) to medium
milk production (11.08 4.29 litres) and then to high milk production (14.45 5.12 litres)
gradually. The Dairy Recommender System mobile application with a recommendation
model deployed in the backend was developed for farmers to easily get information on how
to improve dairy farming practices
Mitigation of Fluoride Contamination in Drinking Water Supply Sources by Adsorption Using Bone Char: Effects of Mineral and Organic Matrix
No full textThis research article was published by Water Volume 16, 2024This study focused on fluoride (F−) contamination of water sources in Bahimi village, Cameroon. After the first investigation, results revealed that all water samples collected had elevated concentrations of fluoride ions (2.3 ± 0.1) mg/L to (4.5 ± 0.2) mg/L above the WHO guidelines (less than 1.5 mg/L). To mitigate the F− levels, the use of bone char (BC) as an adsorbent material was proposed and its performance was tested. BC was prepared from bovine bones at different calcination temperatures (350 °C, 450 °C, 550 °C and 650 °C) and residence times (1 h and 2 h). The prepared materials were characterized in detail by SEM/EDS, BET, FTIR, and XRD. The BET findings indicated that the surface area of BC samples decreased with increasing calcination temperature and residence time. At a lower heating temperature and holding time (350 °C, 1 h), the prepared BC exhibited a higher specific surface area (112.3 ± 0.3) m2/g and adsorption capacity for F− in the sampled water. Also, the batch adsorption experiments showed that the optimized adsorbent dose of 8 g/L facilitates the reduction in the F− level of the sampled water below the acceptable limit level (1.5 mg/L) within 5 min of treatment. The presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in natural water has a positive effect on the removal of F− in BC resulting in a high adsorption performance range of (72.5 ± 1.4)% to (80.3 ± 0.6)%. It was found that the adsorption of Ca2+ on the BC surface occurs via cation exchange with Na+. However, an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the treated water limited the application of BC. Overall, the study presented a cost-effective adsorbent for the removal of this recalcitrant ion in the water source
Development of a web-based record management system for primary cooperative societies in Tanzania: a case of Kilimanjaro region
Get PDFCo-operative societies in Tanzania play a vital role in the country's economic development,
serving as a means to combat poverty and enhance members' economic prospects. However,
the current in-house methods of documentation and record-keeping in co-operatives poses
challenges for stakeholders such as District Co-operative Offices (DCOs), Regional Co-
operative Offices (RCOs), the registrar of co-operatives, and researchers. Manual processes or
limited-access summary reports hinder real-time data availability for management and decision
making. This study addressed these challenges by developing a Centralized Record
Management System (CRMS) for District Co-operative Offices and their members. To collect
user requirements, administered questionnaire was used among District Co-operative Offices
(DCOs). the Registrar of cooperatives and researchers in the co-operative arena. The study
revealed that both hard and soft copies were used for record’s keeping purposes
interchangeably. Physical files such as clip and spring files, as well as file cabinets, were
commonly used for storing hard copies, while electronic files in various formats (e.g., word
processors, spreadsheets, pdf, and images) were employed for digital record-keeping. Both
manual tools (pens and papers) and electronic tools (computers, smartphones, and cameras)
were used for data processing. Following careful analysis of user requirements, CRMS was
designed and implemented using a Joint Application Development Model incorporating an
Evolutionary Prototyping (EP). The developed CRMS facilitates online registration and
approval of cooperative societies, reporting of cooperative data to the DCO, DRCO and
Registrar, and disseminate the generated cooperative reports to the stakeholders. By
implementing the CRMS, primary co-operative societies can benefit from streamlined
processes and improved access to data, ultimately fostering their growth and contributing to a
more transparence and thriving co-operative sector
Development of an accessible augmented reality application to enhance indoor navigation: a case of higher learning institutions
No full textThis study focused on developing an accessible Augmented Reality (AR) application to enhance
indoor navigation, using a case study of learning institutions. A case of The Nelson Mandela
African Institution of Science and Technology and Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State
University institutions were selected for this study. The project’s objectives included gathering
requirements for the development and understanding of the challenges faced by students, staff, and
visitors who can be visually or non-visually impaired while navigating indoors in unfamiliar
buildings. The project's significance lies in its potential to enhance indoor mobility, and
accessibility, save time, and foster innovation in education technology. The application aims to
create a more inclusive learning environment by improving indoor navigation. Primary data were
collected through interviews and focus group discussions, creating a foundation requirement for
developing the application. The study used Scrum Agile methodology to develop the application
and web portal from the collected user requirements. The application was designed to run on
smartphones and further, a web-based portal was designed for staff to update their visitor
availability status. Development tools such as Unity, Microsoft Visual Studio, PHP, Python, and
APIs were used. This study highlights the challenge of indoor navigation in higher learning
institutions and the limited effectiveness of current solutions, especially for people with disabilities
particularly the visually impaired. Leveraging AR technology, known for enhancing real-world
perception by overlaying virtual content on top of users' real-world views, a user-friendly and
accessible indoor navigation application was developed. 80% of the results demonstrated the
effectiveness and usability of the application, with positive feedback from users highlighting its
potential to transform the indoor navigation experience. In conclusion, the study underscores the
need for further research to enhance indoor navigation, localization, and accessibility for a diverse
range of users and use cases.