Major Limb Amputations: A Tertiary Hospital Experience in Northwestern Tanzania.

Major limb amputation is reported to be a major but preventable public health problem that is associated with profound economic, social and psychological effects on the patient and family especially in developing countries where the prosthetic services are poor. The purpose of this study was to outline the patterns, indications and short term complications of major limb amputations and to compare our experience with that of other published data. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre between March 2008 and February 2010. All patients who underwent major limb amputation were, after informed consent for the study, enrolled into the study. Data were collected using a pre-tested, coded questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5 computer software. A total of 162 patients were entered into the study. Their ages ranged between 2-78 years (mean 28.30 ± 13.72 days). Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 2:1. The majority of patients (76.5%) had primary or no formal education. One hundred and twelve (69.1%) patients were unemployed. The most common indication for major limb amputation was diabetic foot complications in 41.9%, followed by trauma in 38.4% and vascular disease in 8.6% respectively. Lower limbs were involved in 86.4% of cases and upper limbs in 13.6% of cases giving a lower limb to upper limb ratio of 6.4:1 Below knee amputation was the most common procedure performed in 46.3%. There was no bilateral limb amputation. The most common additional procedures performed were wound debridement, secondary suture and skin grafting in 42.3%, 34.5% and 23.2% respectively. Two-stage operation was required in 45.4% of patients. Revision amputation rate was 29.6%. Post-operative complication rate was 33.3% and surgical site infection was the most common complication accounting for 21.0%. The mean length of hospital stay was 22.4 days and mortality rate was 16.7%. Complications of diabetic foot ulcers and trauma resulting from road traffic crashes were the most common indications for major limb amputation in our environment. The majority of these amputations are preventable by provision of health education, early presentation and appropriate management of the common indications

Bowel Perforation Secondary to Illegally Induced Abortion: a Tertiary Hospital Experience in Tanzania.

Bowel perforation though rarely reported is a serious complication of induced abortion, which is often performed illegally by persons without any medical training in developing countries. A sudden increase in the number of patients in our centre in recent years prompted the authors to analyze this problem. The study was conducted to describe our own experiences in the surgical management of these patients. This was a retrospective study involving patients who were jointly managed by the surgical and gynecological teams at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) for bowel perforation secondary to illegally induced abortion from January 2002 to December 2011. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.0. A total of 68 patients (representing 4.2% of cases) were enrolled in the study. Their ages ranged from 14 to 45 years with a median age of 21 years. Majority of patients were, secondary school students/leavers (70.6%), unmarried (88.2%), nulliparous (80.9%), unemployed (82.4%) and most of them were dependent member of the family. Previous history of contraceptive use was reported in only 14.7% of cases. The majority of patients (79.4%) had procured the abortion in the 2nd trimester. Dilatation and curettage (82.4%) was the most common reported method used in procuring abortion. The interval from termination of pregnancy to presentation in hospital ranged from 1 to 14 days (median 6 days ). The ileum (51.5%) and sigmoid colon (22.1%) was the most common portions of the bowel affected. Resection and anastomosis with uterine repair was the most common (86.8%) surgical procedure performed. Complication and mortality rates were 47.1% and 10.3% respectively. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, gestational age at termination of pregnancy, delayed presentation, delayed surgical treatment and presence of complications were significantly associated with mortality (P<0.001). The overall median length of hospital stay (LOS) was 18 days (1day to 128 days ). Patients who developed complications stayed longer in the hospital, and this was statistically significant (P=0.012). Bowel perforation following illegally induced abortion is still rampant in our environment and constitutes significantly to high maternal morbidity and mortality. Early recognition of the diagnosis, aggressive resuscitation and early institution of surgical management is of paramount importance if morbidity and mortality associated with bowel perforation are to be avoided

Geochronology and structure of the eastern margin of the Tanzania Craton east of Dodoma

The precise position, nature and U-Pb zircon geochronology of the eastern margin of the Tanzania Craton has been studied in the Mpwapwa area, some 60 km east of Dodoma, central Tanzania, in a number of field transects over a ca. 45 km strike length of the craton margin. The rocks to the east of the Tanzania Craton in this area either belong to the Palaeoproterozoic Usagaran belt, or the “Western Granulite” terrane of the Neoproterozoic East African Orogen, according to different authors. The eastern part of the craton is underlain by typical Neoarchaean migmatitic grey granodioritic orthogneisses dated by ICP-MS at 2674 ± 73 Ma. There is a gradual increase in strain eastwards in these rocks, culminating in a 1 to 2 km wide, locally imbricated, ductile thrust/shear zone with mylonites indicating an oblique top-to-the-NW, transpressional sense of movement. East of the craton-edge shear zone, a series of high-grade supracrustal rocks are termed the “Mpwapwa Group”, in view of uncertain age and regional lithostratigraphic correlations. There is an apparent east-west lithological zonation of Mpwapwa Group parallel to the craton margin shear zone. In the west, immediately adjacent to the craton, the group consists of typical “shelf facies” metasediments (marbles, calc-silicates, quartzites etc.). U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from two Mpwapwa Group quartzite samples from this marginal zone contain only Archaean detritus, constraining their maximum depositional age to > ca. 2.6 Ga and suggesting that the group is Neoarchaean in age. The shelf rocks pass eastwards into garnet and kyanite-bearing semi-pelitic gneisses interlayered with bimodal mafic-felsic gneisses, where the mafic amphibolite gneisses may represent meta-basalts and the felsic rocks may have meta-rhyolite, -granite or –psammite protoliths. Massive garnet-clinopyroxene amphibolite layers in the Mpwapwa Group gneisses may have been intrusive mafic sills and possibly correlate with the Palaeoproterozoic Isimani Suite, which outcrops south of the study area and includes 2 Ga eclogites. Zircons from a quartzo-feldsapthic gneiss sample from the bimodal gneisses were dated and showed it to be a probable Neoarchaean rock which underwent metamorphism during the Palaeoproterozoic Usagaran event at ca. 1950 Ma. This event was broadly coeval with subduction, closure of an ocean basin and eclogite formation further south and led to the initial juxtaposition of the two Archaean blocks. The metamorphism probably dates the tectonic event when the Archaean Mpwapwa Group rocks were juxtaposed against the orthogneissic Tanzania Craton. The Mpwapwa Group was intruded by weakly foliated biotite granite at 1871 ± 35 Ma. Zircons in the granite have metamorphic rims dated between 550 and 650 Ma that grew during the East African orogenic event

A multi-approach and multi-scale study on water quantity and quality changes in the Tapajós River basin, Amazon

We analyzed changes in water quantity and quality at different spatial scales within the Tapajós River basin (Amazon) based on experimental fieldwork, hydrological modelling, and statistical time-trend analysis. At a small scale, we compared the river discharge (Q) and suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) of two adjacent micro-catchments ( < 1 km2) with similar characteristics but contrasting land uses (forest vs. pasture) using empirical data from field measurements. At an intermediary scale, we simulated the hydrological responses of a sub-basin of the Tapajós (Jamanxim River basin, 37 400 km2), using a hydrological model (SWAT) and land-use change scenario in order to quantify the changes in the water balance components due to deforestation. At the Tapajós’ River basin scale, we investigated trends in Q, sediments, hydrochemistry, and geochemistry in the river using available data from the HYBAM Observation Service. The results in the micro-catchments showed a higher runoff coefficient in the pasture (0.67) than in the forest catchment (0.28). At this scale, the SSC were also significantly greater during stormflows in the pasture than in the forest catchment. At the Jamanxim watershed scale, the hydrological modelling results showed a 2 % increase in Q and a 5 % reduction of baseflow contribution to total Q after a conversion of 22 % of forest to pasture. In the Tapajós River, however, trend analysis did not show any significant trend in discharge and sediment concentration. However, we found upward trends in dissolved organic carbon and NO− 3 over the last 20 years. Although the magnitude of anthropogenic impact has shown be scale-dependent, we were able to find changes in the Tapajós River basin in streamflow, sediment concentration, and water quality across all studied scales

A Comparison of Pharmacokinetics of two Tablet Formulations Containing Artemether / Lumefantrine – Quality Criteria for Malaria Treatment Assurance

\ud Treatment of non-severe malaria remains a challenge to endemic areas including Tanzania. Since November 2006, Coartem® an artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) containing artemether-lumefantrine (ALu), replaced sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) as first line drug for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Tanzania because of emergence and spread of SP resistance to Plasmodium falciparum. Currently a number of generic artemether-lumefantrine drugs are available in resource limited settings such as Tanzania and yet few pharmacokinetics (PK) and bioequivalence (BE) data in these populations are available. Considering the liability to substandard manufacturing, there is a need to assess quality of generic ALu tablet formulations. We assessed the quality of the most prevalent generic artemether-lumefantrine tablet formulation available in the Tanzanian market using clinical study for bioequivalence. Survey of available generics of artemether-lumefantrine tablet formulations was carried out in retail pharmacies in Dar es Salaam in which the most widely available generic was sampled (Artefan® from India) for quality assessment. The randomized, 2-treatment cross over study was conducted in 18 healthy Tanzanian male volunteers. Each volunteer received Artefan® (test) and Coartem® (reference) formulation under fed condition separated by 42 days of drug-free washout period. Serial blood samples were obtained over 168 hours after oral administration of each treatment. Quantitation of lumefantrine plasma levels was done using HPLC with UV detection. Formulation lumefantrine bioequivalence was assessed in accordance with the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA) bioequivalence criteria. All eighteen enrolled volunteers completed the study and both test and reference drug formulations were well tolerated. The mean ± SD for lumefantrine primary PK parameters for bioequivalence Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ under fed condition for artefan.\u

Assessment of the Performance of Grinding Circuit for Buzwagi Gold Mine

It&nbsp; had&nbsp; been&nbsp; reported&nbsp; by&nbsp; the&nbsp; managementof&nbsp; Buzwagi&nbsp; Gold&nbsp; Mine&nbsp; (BGM)thatgrinding&nbsp; circuit&nbsp; was&nbsp; designed&nbsp; to&nbsp; produce&nbsp; final&nbsp; product&nbsp; size&nbsp; of&nbsp; 125&nbsp; μm,&nbsp; which&nbsp; hadnot been achieved for a long period of time under both, low to normal (i.e. 450-600t/h)&nbsp; and&nbsp; high&nbsp; (i.e.&nbsp; &gt;&nbsp; 650&nbsp; t/h)&nbsp; throughputs.Also,&nbsp; the&nbsp; performancebehaviourof&nbsp; thecircuit&nbsp; had&nbsp; not&nbsp; been&nbsp; reviewed&nbsp; after&nbsp; long&nbsp; time&nbsp; of&nbsp; operation.&nbsp; Hence,&nbsp; an&nbsp; evaluationstudy&nbsp; was&nbsp; conductedin&nbsp; order&nbsp; to&nbsp; recommendimprovementin&nbsp; mine&nbsp; operations.&nbsp; Thestudy&nbsp;&nbsp; was&nbsp;&nbsp; realized&nbsp;&nbsp; through&nbsp;&nbsp; threecircuit&nbsp;&nbsp; survey&nbsp;&nbsp; campaigns&nbsp;&nbsp; and&nbsp;&nbsp; laboratoryexperimentations.&nbsp; From&nbsp; the&nbsp; surveys,&nbsp; size&nbsp; distributions&nbsp; and&nbsp; solids&nbsp; contents&nbsp; of&nbsp; thesamples were determined for all selected circuit streams. Furthermore,grindabilityand&nbsp; work&nbsp; indices&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; ores&nbsp; were&nbsp; determined&nbsp; through&nbsp; standard&nbsp; Bond&nbsp; tests.&nbsp; Thestandard Bond tests data revealed increased Bond work indices for currently treatedores&nbsp; vs.&nbsp; those&nbsp; during&nbsp; design,&nbsp; indicating&nbsp; change&nbsp; in&nbsp; ore&nbsp; hardness&nbsp; over&nbsp; the&nbsp; years.Consequently,&nbsp; a&nbsp; periodic&nbsp; review&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; ore&nbsp; blends&nbsp; was&nbsp; recommended&nbsp; as&nbsp; hardermaterial requires more energy,which increases operationcosts. Such reviews couldhelp&nbsp; in&nbsp; establishing&nbsp; better&nbsp; ore&nbsp; blending&nbsp; and&nbsp; optimum&nbsp; throughput&nbsp; for&nbsp; existing&nbsp; plantdesign.&nbsp; Furthermore,&nbsp; the&nbsp; SAG&nbsp; mill&nbsp; circuit&nbsp; indicated&nbsp; varying&nbsp; feed&nbsp; sizes&nbsp; (i.e.xF,80=102 to 185 mm) which could be rectified by closer monitoring and control of ratiosfor&nbsp; theSemi-Autogenous&nbsp; Grinding&nbsp; (SAG)mill&nbsp; feeders&nbsp; drawing&nbsp; the&nbsp; ore&nbsp; from&nbsp; thestockpile.&nbsp; The&nbsp; ball&nbsp; mill&nbsp; performance&nbsp; was&nbsp; poorasindicated&nbsp; by&nbsp; only&nbsp; 5-9&nbsp; %&nbsp; of&lt;125μ m&nbsp;&nbsp; (target&nbsp;&nbsp; product)&nbsp;&nbsp; in&nbsp;&nbsp; the&nbsp;&nbsp; discharge.&nbsp;&nbsp; This&nbsp;&nbsp; had&nbsp;&nbsp; a&nbsp;&nbsp; direct&nbsp;&nbsp; impact&nbsp;&nbsp; onhydrocyclones,&nbsp; where&nbsp; significantly&nbsp; poor&nbsp; performance&nbsp; indicators&nbsp; were&nbsp; observed;coarser&nbsp; overflow&nbsp; xP,80:&nbsp; &gt;200&nbsp; μ m&nbsp; as&nbsp; well&nbsp; as&nbsp; cutsize,&nbsp; xT:&nbsp; &gt;200&nbsp; μ m.&nbsp; Also,&nbsp; the&nbsp; Bondefficiency&nbsp; factors&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; range&nbsp; of&nbsp; 48-61&nbsp; %&nbsp; were&nbsp; obtained,&nbsp; indicating&nbsp; an&nbsp; inefficientoperation&nbsp; that&nbsp; could&nbsp; only&nbsp; achieve&nbsp; targets&nbsp; by&nbsp; lowering&nbsp; the&nbsp; current&nbsp; throughput.Hence, an optimization study of the existing design through computer modelling andsimulation&nbsp;&nbsp; isrecommended.Through&nbsp;&nbsp; simulation&nbsp;&nbsp; ofmulti-effects,&nbsp;&nbsp; a&nbsp;&nbsp; deeperunderstanding&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; efficiency&nbsp; problems&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp; BGM&nbsp; grinding&nbsp; will&nbsp; be&nbsp; facilitatedand also may provide possible solutions

Alien Registration- Peters, Alphonce L. (Houlton, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/34571/thumbnail.jp

Effect of initial stocking size of the predatory African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) on recruits, growth performance, survival and yield of mixed-sex Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in concrete tank culture system

This article is available at www.Springerlink.comProlific breeding and production of high percentage of recruits are main problems in mixed-sex Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture in earthen ponds. The current study assessed the efficiency of different sizes of African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in controlling recruitment in mixed-sex Nile tilapia cultured in tanks and its effect on growth performance, percentage survival and yield. Three treatments consisting of triplicate ponds stocked with mixed-sex Nile tilapia in monoculture and in polyculture with large (62.50 ± 3.26 g) and small (40.00 ± 2.68 g) African sharptooth catfish were fed on a 297.50 g kg-1 crude protein diet for 126 days. Results showed that, the number of recruits was significantly lower in larger African sharptooth catfish predator than smaller ones and monoculture of Nile tilapia. Polyculture with larger African sharptooth catfish resulted in significantly higher growth performance of Nile tilapia. Large African sharptooth catfish in polyculture reduced the amount of small, low-value recruits, while the yield of large and high value Nile tilapia was increased. This study revealed that fish farmers can reduce prolific breeding, obtain higher growth performance and produce larger size of marketable Nile tilapia by predominantly stocking ponds with large African sharptooth catfish predator of at least 60 g.Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) through ‘‘KILIMO KWANZA’’ programm

The Structure of the Iraqw Noun Phrase

The structure of the noun phrase (NP) is demonstrated to differ among languages. Albeit studies that paid attention on Southern Cushitic languages in general and Iraqw in particular, their contribution is selective to the general grammar of the language while the structure of the NP is scarcely described. This study contributes to the description of the language through an empirical explanation of the elements and the morphosyntactic properties of the NP in the language. It describes the orders of the elements, their co-occurrence, and constraints to illuminate the structure of the NP of the language. It draws on the data collected through elicitation and text collection. The qualitative analysis of the data obtained revealed that Iraqw NP demonstrates four different peculiar characteristics (i) the Iraqw NP is constituted of the head noun with or without dependents. The dependents of the NP are possessives, demonstratives, indefinite markers, the distributive determiner, adjectives, quantifiers, numerals, genitive constructions, and relative clauses. The dependents follow the head noun, except the distributive determiner, which precedes the head noun. (ii) The attested order of the dependents is N\u3e[Poss\u3eDem/Indef]\u3e[Gen\u3eAdj\u3eNum/Quant]\u3e[Rel]. (iii) Possessive, demonstrative, and indefinite markers are non-lexical words that occur immediately after the head noun. (iv) In spontaneous speech, the NP with up to three dependents is preferred

Challenges and Solutions in Software Testing Practices: A Systematic Review in Tanzanian Software Development Companies

Purpose: Software testing is an integral phase in the software development lifecycle, ensuring the delivery of high-quality software products. However, software development companies in Tanzania grapple with significant challenges in their software testing practices. This systematic review aims to identify, analyze, and propose potential solutions to these challenges. The primary objective of this study is to address the research question: "What are the challenges related to the existing software testing practices in software development companies?" Methodology: The study conducted an extensive literature search and analyzed relevant studies published between 2010 and 2023. Findings: Inadequate Testing Resources: Many companies contend with limited budgets, time constraints, and insufficient personnel dedicated to testing. Lack of Collaboration between Developers and Testers: Effective collaboration between developers and testers is paramount for successful software testing. Lack of Automated Testing Tools: Automation plays a pivotal role in enhancing testing efficiency and effectiveness. Unfortunately, many Tanzanian companies lack access to essential automated testing tools. Inadequate Test Coverage: Comprehensive test coverage, encompassing aspects like input validation, boundary conditions, and error handling, is often lacking. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Implementing Agile Methodologies. Agile methodologies foster collaboration, communication, and flexibility, creating an environment conducive to effective software testing. Using Cloud-Based Testing Tools. Cloud-based testing tools provide access to a diverse array of testing resources without necessitating extensive local infrastructure. Adopting Continuous Integration and Deployment Practices. Continuous integration and Deployment practices guarantee that software changes undergo thorough testing and swift deployment. Improving Test Case Design and Prioritization: Engaging stakeholders in the testing process and employing risk-based testing approaches. This systematic review sheds light on the challenges confronting software development companies in Tanzania concerning software testing practices and offers practical solutions to surmount these hurdles