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Development of Navigation System for Blind People based on Light Detection and Ranging Technology (LiDAR)
Get PDFThis research article was published by International Journal of Advances in Scientific
Research and Engineering (ijasre) 2022The use of blind-aided navigating systems has become very essential in the 4th industrial revolution. The essence of this is to
improve navigating autonomy for the blind. Although, navigation challenges are not of serious concern to people with eye defects.
However, this is a major concern for blind people due to the time-consuming navigation process. These limitations necessitate the
use of walking sticks, dogs, or people to navigate their path. This project provides a blind navigation system based on Light
Detection and Ranging Based Navigation System for Blind People (LiDAR). The components of this fabricated device involve a
charging system, a LiDAR sensor, a microcontroller, a calling stick, two buzzers, a switch vibration motor with an RF transmitter,
and a receiver to give object detection and real-time assistance to the blind. The mode of its operation is by detecting obstacles
along the route of a blind person and giving a notification via the buzzer and the vibration motor. Also, during emergencies, the
buzzer rings and informs the visually impaired person using the device. On the other hand, the microcontroller and other modules
in the device have a continuous ongoing relationship which is beneficial to the user. Another appreciable benefit of this device is
the ability to recharge the battery component, the device is of low-cost, quick, simple-to-use, and novel solution for the blin
Rainfall and temperature changes under different climate scenarios at the watersheds surrounding the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Elsevier, 2022Considering the high vulnerability of Northern Tanzania to climate change, an in-depth assessment at the local
scale is required urgently to formulate sustainable adaptations measures. Therefore, this study analyzed the fu-
ture (2021-2050) changes in rainfall and temperature under the representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5
and RCP8.5) for the watersheds surrounding the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) at a spatio-temporal scale
relative to the observed historical (1982-2011) period. The climate change analysis was performed at monthly
and annual scale using outputs from a multi-model ensemble of Regional Climate Models (RCMs) and statistically
downscaled Global Climate Models (GCMs). The performance of the RCMs were evaluated, and the downscaling
of the GCMs were performed using Statistical Downscaling System Model (SDSM) and LARS-WG, with all the
models indicating a higher accuracy at monthly scale when evaluated using statistical indicators such as corre-
lation (r), Nash-Sutcliff Efficiency (NSE) and percentage bias (PBIAS). The results show an increase in the mean
annual rainfall and temperature in both RCPs. The percentage change in rainfall indicated an increase relative to
historical data for all seasons under both RCPs, except for the June, July, August and September (JJAS) season,
which showed a decrease in rainfall. Spatially, rainfall would increase over the entire basin under both RCPs with
higher increase under RCP4.5. Similar spatial increase results are also projected for temperature under both RCPs.
The results of this study provide vital information for the planning and management of the studied watershed
under changing climatic conditions
Towards agricultural sustainability: Status and distribution of copper in Usangu agro-ecosystem, Tanzania
Get PDFThis research article published by Elsevier, 2022Despite the positive role of copper (Cu) in plants and animals, excessive amounts have environmental and health
effects. Cu has been excessively accumulating in agricultural soils worldwide due to increased agrochemicals and
wastewater use in farming. The increased Cu concentration in soil negatively impacts soil microbes and plants,
affecting crop productivity and environmental quality. Here, the status and spatial distribution of Cu in Tan zanian agro-ecosystem were characterized as its information are currently missing. The study assessed 198 soil
samples from 10 irrigation schemes and 3 land use, where total and bioavailable Cu were determined and
contamination status assessed. The variable Cu status and distribution were observed among studied land use
where paddy farming areas had higher total (5892.36 μg/kg) and bioavailable Cu (3342 μg/kg) than total and
bioavailable Cu concentration in maize farming areas (total Cu 1522.09 μg/kg and bioavailable Cu 779 μg/kg)
and conserved areas (total Cu 4415 μg/kg and bioavailable Cu 3267 μg/kg). The bioavailability of Cu for plant
uptake was 52% in maize farming areas, 49.9–63.5% in paddy farming areas, and 48.4–51.6% in reserved areas,
where farming areas had higher Cu bioavailability.
Contrary to other agro-ecosystems worldwide, all Cu concentration values studied in the Usangu agro ecosystem are within the acceptable limit (100000 μg/kg). However, this should not have to be taken for
granted or ignored; there is a need to set strategic management to maintain Cu levels in agro-ecosystem within
acceptable limits to ensure environmental quality, food safety, and sustainability
Macroinvertebrates
Get PDFthis book chapter is published in Ecology to Conservation Management ,a book called Fundamentals of Tropical Freshwater Wetlands page number 307 to 336This chapter introduces the diversity and community composition of macroinvertebrates occurring in wetlands with emphasis on the permanent and temporary wetlands in the Afrotropical region of the world. The chapter explores factors shaping the composition of macroinvertebrate communities of the permanent and temporary habitats, and the structuring role of dispersal mechanisms. The diversity and composition of macroinvertebrates is contrasted between different regions of the world and between permanent and temporary wetland types. Furthermore, the role of macroinvertebrates as indicators of habitat quality, ecosystem functions, and services provided by macroinvertebrates in wetlands is explored. Finally, the threats to macroinvertebrates in wetlands are highlighted
Integrated machine learning based quality measurement model for maternal, neonatal and child health services in Tanzania
Get PDFA Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree
of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Communication Science and Engineering of the
Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyThe high maternal and neonatal mortality rate has remained a challenge for most developing
countries. Scholars link the high death occurrences to the poor quality of health services provided
to pregnant women and children. It is further revealed that most deaths could be prevented if
women and children could access high-quality maternal, neonatal and child health services.
Quality measurement, a process of using data to evaluate healthcare plans and performance, is
essential in improving the quality of health services and reducing mortality rates. However, most
developing countries and Tanzania lack effective approaches to measure and report the quality of
Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health services provided. The Lack of an effective quality
measurement approach limits the quality measurement processes and may jeopardize the quality
measurement results. Additionally, failure to establish the quality of health services hampers
healthcare plans and governance of healthcare supplies and other resources. The available quality
measurement approaches require trained data collectors, dedicated datasets and the physical
presence of quality measurement personnel at each health facility; therefore, labour intensive and
resource inefficient. This study proposed and developed an integrated machine learning-based
quality measurement model for maternal, neonatal and child health services in Tanzania. The
study employed a machine learning technique, a K-means clustering algorithm, and a dataset
selected from the national health information system and data warehouse: “District Health
Information System (DHIS 2)”. The developed model clustered the Maternal, Neonatal and Child
Health (MNCH) dataset into two groups (clusters), and cluster analysis was performed to discover
the knowledge about the quality of health services in each cluster formed. The study also
performed model validation to establish the usefulness of the developed integrated machine
learning-based model for quality measurement in MNCH. This study brings to the body
knowledge an integrated machine learning-based quality measurement model for maternal,
neonatal and child health services and a list of important indicators for quality measurement, the
essential inputs for an effective quality measurement process. The current quality measurement
model requires only data to measure the quality of health services readily available in DHIS 2,
making the quality measurement model resource-efficient and ideal for quality measurement in
resource-constrained countries such as Tanzania
Smart System for Controlling and Monitoring Water and Turbidity Levels in Dam Reservoir using Micro-Controller Technology
Get PDFThis research article was published by Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, Volume 8, Issue 1, January - 2022A micro-controller-based technology has been developed for monitoring and controlling the water quality and quantity in dam
reservoirs by using various sensors. This system is able to automatically detect and measure the changes in water and turbidity
levels of incoming water for hydropower production. In this project, an Arduino UNO micro-controller and GSM Technology
control the operations of the system through sending messages and regulating automatic water valves according to the instant
status of the dam water. The developed prototype has four units: sensing unit, processing unit, displaying unit, and alerting unit.
In the sensing unit, the ultrasonic sensor continuously monitors the change in water levels and the turbidity sensor takes turbidity
measurements of incoming water. In the processing unit, the detected data are collected and fed to the microcontroller for further
processing. This technology is expected to reduce the time and cost incurred during the hydropower plant operations by using a
small amount of manpower and will facilitate fast information collection
Modeling nosocomial infection of COVID-19 transmission dynamics
Get PDFThis research article was published by Elsevier, 2022COVID-19 epidemic has posed an unprecedented threat to global public health. The disease has alarmed the
healthcare system with the harm of nosocomial infection. Nosocomial spread of COVID-19 has been discovered
and reported globally in different healthcare facilities. Asymptomatic patients and super-spreaders are sough to
be among of the source of these infections. Thus, this study contributes to the subject by formulating a
mathematical model to gain the insight into nosocomial infection for COVID-19 transmission dynamics. The
role of personal protective equipment is studied in the proposed model. Benefiting the next generation
matrix method, 0 was computed. Routh–Hurwitz criterion and stable Metzler matrix theory revealed that
COVID-19-free equilibrium point is locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever 0 < 1. Lyapunov
function depicted that the endemic equilibrium point is globally asymptotically stable when 0 > 1. Further,
the dynamics behavior of 0 was explored when varying . In the absence of , the value of 0 was 8.4584
which implies the expansion of the disease. When is introduced in the model, 0 was 0.4229, indicating the
decrease of the disease in the community. Numerical solutions were simulated by using Runge–Kutta fourth order method. Global sensitivity analysis is performed to present the most significant parameter. The numerical
results illustrated mathematically that personal protective equipment can minimizes nosocomial infections of
COVID-19
IoT-based control and monitoring system of a solar-powered brushless dc motor for agro-machines – the case of a Tanzanian-made oil press machine
Get PDFA Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Embedded and Mobile Systems of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyThe impulse in designing local agricultural machinery for curbing post-harvest losses in most
African countries particularly Tanzania is unmatched. Locally made agricultural machines have
proven to elevate the life of many small-scale farmers, which has increased the need to incorporate
machine drives and controls to ease the process and operations. With potentials in Solar Energy,
powering machine drive systems that operate in off-grid areas has been the best solution. Using the
principles of Internet of Things (IoT) together with advancement in motor designs and readily
available off the shelf microcontrollers such as the Raspberry Pi and Arduino UNO in the market,
we achieve machinery that caters for our needs and the local content. Mobile apps play a huge role
in industrialization where monitoring and even controls of machines can be performed by the
mobile phones. This project incorporated Agile-Scrum methods to develop a control and monitoring
system for a locally made avocado oil extraction machine that is powered by a solar system with
1600W panel arrays and 800Ah battery pack, and uses a Brushless Direct Current Motor coupled
with electric solenoid valve, relay modules and a controller unit assisting on the control process and
collecting crucial motor operation data such as voltage and current. The designed Mobile app ‘Blue’
acquire motor operation data from the Raspberry Pi via Bluetooth technology, delivering data to
cloud server for later analysis. Easing data acquisition in off grid areas when engineers, technicians
or operators have a physical access to the stations. It was concluded that this novel design would
provide an effective control and monitoring mechanism with an acceptance on reliability, usability
and effectiveness of up to 85.65% for a plethora of locally-made machinery that available in the
market which still uses the manual means of operation emphasizing ease of use and productivity,
thence joining hands with the global world on attaining some of the Sustainable Development
Goals
Status and potential role of rangeland insect pollinators for pastoralist livelihood diversification in northern Tanzania
Get PDFA Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyPollinators provide ecosystem services that support other living organisms. However, they are
currently threatened by land use changes including habitat fragmentation. In Tanzania, Maasai
rangelands are under pressure from population increase, habitat fragmentation and decline in
grazing areas that cause overgrazing. Little is known about local Maasai knowledge on pollinator
communities and how they are affected by grazing management in semi-arid rangelands in
Tanzania. Semi structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions
were used during the survey in order to understand local knowledge of insect pollinators. Findings
revealed varied pollinator identification skills, with males having higher skills (χ
2 = 6.319, P =
0.042) compared with females. Honey bee, Apis mellifera was the most important pollinator as
reported by 93% of males and 78% of females. Beekeeping contributed to livelihood
diversification for 61% of respondents, with women participating more frequently in this activitiy
than men (χ
2 = 46.96, P = 0.0001). Ultraviolet (UV) white, yellow and blue pan traps were used
to trap insects in four different grazing management, namely private and communal enclosures,
wet and dry season grazing areas. Pan trapping was further supplemented by a standardized sweep
netting method. Findings showed that environmental factors and grazing management affected
insect pollinators. Insect abundance, diversity and richness varied with seasonality, whereby the
mean number of insect abundance was significantly higher (χ² = 136.77, P < 0.0001) during the
wet (148 ± 70.57) compared with the dry season (17 ± 7.14). Moreover, flower abundance (χ² =
3.5, P = 0.05) and percentage herbaceous cover (χ² = 5.99, P = 0.015) influenced pollinators.
Private enclosure management category contained significantly more pollinators (χ² = 27.63, P <
0.001) compared with the communal dry grazing area. The study also investigated pollinator-plant
interactions to understand the foraging preference of bees and other pollinators. Aspilia
mossambiensis and Justicia debile were the most preferred plants. The most common visitors were
honey bees and butterflies. Pollinator networks showed that enclosures contained larger networks
compared with open rangelands. The study concludes that the Maasai community have limited
knowledge of pollinator ecosystems services. In addition, traditional range management especially
the use of enclosures is an important tool towards the conservation of insect pollinators in semi arid rangelands threatened by overgrazing and degradatio
A thermal camera based continuous body temperature measurement system for pandemic emergencies
Get PDFA Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Award the Degree of Master of Science in Embedded and Mobile Systems of The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyIn medicine, high body temperature is a symptom that characterize an abnormity of human
body. By checking body temperature, it allows doctors to well monitor the effectiveness of
treatment and also can show that human health is not normal. During pandemic period like
COVID-19, high temperature was a sign that allows a doctor to recommend people to pass to
COVID-19 test in order to ensure their conditions. However, most of existing system required
human interaction while social distance was one of measures taken by World Health
Organization (WHO). In COVID-19 pandemic people are afraid to travel because they think
that they can be contaminated. Airport considered first to check if passengers have a normal
body temperature or not as is the first symptom of COVID-19 even if they have their COVID
test certificate. However, the existing system which was used to do this exercise of body
temperature sampling was not fair because it could be away of contamination. Scrum Agile
software development method has been used from the requirements phase to test and Validation
of the developed system. To come out of the problem settled, a thermal Camera based
Continuous Body Temperature Measurement system for Pandemic Emergencies has been
developed. This system is contactless of body temperature sampling in real time. Passengers
are required to pass in corridor to the waiting room where the system is implemented and
measure everyone who pass in. when a high body temperature more than 38 is detected, the
system alert airport staff in charge by sending notification with a picture of the person with
high temperature. Temperature of passengers to the airport has to be sampled without contact,
or line up in real time. The developed system through its options gives the possibility to
administrators to generate report, to produce an alarm when high temperature detected which
were absent in existing system. It has been an answer for time management, minimization of
errors when writing report and increased health security. The system has been liked by
passengers and administration at different borders and airport of Burundi