Impact of school lunch programmes on nutritional status of children in Vihiga district, western Kenya

Malnutrition exists in some form in every country. Protein Energy malnutrition is the commonest and the most devastating form of  malnutrition among children under five  years of age and school children. This suggests that interventions in the  school aged children can help reduce levels of malnutrition and its related effects on childrens’ health and education. School feeding  Programmes (SFP), which have been initiated in many countries including Kenya, have been shown to improve academic  performance and nutritional status in developing and industrialized countries.  However, the effects of School Lunch programmes  (SLP) in Vihiga District have not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of SLP in  improving the  nutritional status of school children in Emuhaya Division of Vihiga district, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to compare  the nutritional status of participants (children who participate in the school lunch) and non-participants (children who do not  participate in the school lunch) and to assess the diet quality of the school and home lunch. It was hypothesized that the  nutritional status of participants was better than that of the nonparticipants. Three hundred and twenty pupils (index children) and their parents were randomly selected for the purpose of the study. Anthropometric measurements, 24-hour recall, interview  schedules and observed weighed technique were the instruments used in data collection. Using Statistics, frequencies, means,  correlations and multiple regressions were generated and used to analyze socio-economic data and effect of SLP on nutritional  status. Food composition tables and Epi Info version 6 were also employed to  analyze the diet quality of the school and home  lunch and anthropometric data  respectively. The results indicated a positive association between the school lunch and  nutritional status. The diet quality of the school lunch and nutritional status of participants were significantly higher than that of the non-participants. SLP had a positive significant effect on the nutritional status of participating children. More schools and parents in similar environments should therefore be encouraged to  venture into the SLP because of their positive outcome on nutritional status as well as the diet quality of participating children.Key words: School Lunch Programmes, Nutritional statu

Non-oxidative conversion of methane into various petrochemical grades over tunable tri-metallic Fe-W-Mo/HZSM-5 catalyst systems

Most mono-metallic catalysts applied in non-oxidative conversion of methane exhibit low catalyst activity and limited selectivity towards useful petrochemicals. In this study, a series of thermally stable and tunable 5.4 wt% metal/support Fe-W-Mo/HZSM-5 catalyst systems were synthesized, characterized, and applied in non-oxidative conversion of methane in a custom-made stainless-steel reactor at various process conditions. Analysis of products from the reactor was done using Shimadzu 2014 gas chromatograph. Varying the amount of Fe, W, and Mo on HZSM-5 greatly influenced catalyst activity in terms of methane conversion and product distribution. When the quantities of Fe and W were increased to 2.25 wt% each and the quantity of molybdenum reduced to 0.9 wt% in the overall 5.4 wt% metal/ HZSM-5 catalyst, the resultant catalyst system became most active in methane conversion (17.4%) at 800 °C. Reducing the quantity of Fe and W each to 1.35 wt% and increasing Mo to 2.7 wt% in the overall 5.4 wt% catalyst, the resultant catalyst system became less selective towards C2 hydrocarbons and coke, but highly selective towards xylene and benzene. Therefore, this study demonstrates that varying metal loading presents an opportunity to tune the 5.4 wt% binary Fe, W, and Mo on HZSM-5 to achieve desired methane conversion and product distribution

Synergetic effect of iron and tungsten on molybdenum‐doped HZSM‐5 zeolite in catalytic methane dehydroaromatization

Abstract Methane dehydroaromatization is a viable route for production of carbon and valuable petrochemicals. Unlike Fischer–Tropsch and methanol synthesis processes which have been scaled up to commercial level, development of methane dehydroaromatization to commercial level has been hampered by various challenges. In this work, a 5.4 wt. % trimetallic (Fe‐W‐Mo/HZSM‐5) catalyst has been synthesized, characterized, and applied in catalytic methane dehydroaromatization reaction. A gas chromatograph was used to analyze both liquid and gaseous products from the reactor. Based on 0.0013 moles of reacted methane after 240 min time on stream at 750 °C, GHSV 960 mlg‐1cath‐1, and atmospheric pressure, a 5.4% Mo/HZSM‐5 catalyst recorded 7.9% methane conversion, 10.6% C2 hydrocarbon selectivity, 51.8% benzene selectivity, 9.8% toluene selectivity and 27.8% coke selectivity. Doping Mo/HZSM‐5 with Fe reduced methane conversion by 4.0%, increased C2 hydrocarbon selectivity by 1.7%, reduced benzene selectivity by 6.2% and increased toluene and coke selectivity by 1.8% and 2.8% respectively. Doping Mo/HZSM‐5 with W increased methane conversion by 7.3%, reduced C2 hydrocarbon selectivity by 2.1%, reduced benzene selectivity by 7.6% and increased toluene and coke selectivity by 0.3% and 9.4% respectively. When iron and tungsten were loaded onto Mo/HZSM‐5, catalytic activity of the tri‐metallic catalyst in methane conversion reduced by 2.0%, C2 hydrocarbon selectivity increased by 2.7%, benzene selectivity reduced by 3.1%, toluene selectivity reduced by 3.7%, and coke selectivity increased by 4.1%. Therefore, this present work demonstrates that metal synergy in a tri‐metallic catalyst plays a role in methane conversion and selectivity towards useful hydrocarbons

Video of Procedure

This component contains a video of our research procedures (survey) for our replication

Video of Procedure

This component contains a video of our research procedures (survey) for our replication

CREP #24-50 replication of Muenks et al (2020) at Avila University

A CREP replication of Study 1 from Muenks et al (2020) "Does my professor think my ability can change? Students' perceptions of their STEM professors' mindset beliefs predict their psychology vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class

Materials

This page contains the materials for CREP Project #24-50: A replication of Muenks et al (2020) at Avila Universit