Agro-Waste-Derived Hybrid Biochar Exhibits High-Efficiency Removal of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds

This research article was published by Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Volume 236, 2025Poor waste management of the products and products used in water sources becomes a problem for living organisms’ health. Using biosorbent from agro-waste materials becomes the solution for waste management and wastewater treatment. This study investigated the removal of progesterone from aqueous solutions using a biochar adsorbent derived from mixed banana and mango peels. The biosorbent shows high progesterone removal of 97.8 ± 0.02% at 700℃ preparation temperature at an optimal biosorbent concentration of 0.50 g and pH of 8. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order model. Isotherm analysis revealed that the adsorption data best fitted the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.96), with a maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of 307 mg g−1, indicating multilayer adsorption with a heterogeneous surface. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was 652 m2g−1 with abundant functional groups verified by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The Scanning Electron Microscopy image (SEM) indicated that the biochar is porous, contributing to its effectiveness as an adsorbent. Thermodynamics results indicate that the spontaneous nature of adsorption reveals the process. The findings proved the potential of using agricultural mixed waste-derived biochar containing various chemical and physical characteristics as an effective and sustainable adsorbent to remove endocrine disruptors. This technique addresses environmental concerns about water hormone pollution and promotes sustainable waste management practices, but the gradual decrease in adsorption efficiency highlights the importance of optimizing the biochar's chemical composition and structural reliability to maximize its performance

Consumption of Mixed Indigenous Vegetables: A solution to low hemoglobin levels among pregnant women in Babati, Tanzania

This research article was published in the Journal of Current Research in Nutrition and Food SciencePregnancy-related anemia is a critical health issue affecting a larger number of pregnant women in Tanzania affected. The study examined the impact of consuming locally grown indigeneous vegetables on iron intake and anemia prevention. The study utilized a cross-sectional design to investigate the impact of consuming locally grown indigenous vegetables on iron intake and anemia prevention among 340 pregnant women in Babati District, Tanzania. Participants were recruited from antenatal care services at four health facilities within the district. Dietary assessments were conducted to evaluate food consumption patterns and Dietary Diversity Scores (DDS).were calculated to determine the variety of food groups consumed. Indigenous vegetables were analyzed for the iron, vitamin C, and phytate content to assess their nutritional composition. Statistical analyses conducted included Chi2 (χ2) tests and Spearman rank correlations to evaluate the relationships between socio-demographic factors, dietary practices, and anemia prevalence. The prevalence of anemia was 45%, with a significant association between anemia and maternal age (P < 0.04, χ2 = 6.43), as older women (36–49 years) were less likely to be anemic compared to younger women (≤35 years). Marital status also correlated with anemia (P < 0.04, χ2 = 4.1), with married women showing a lower prevalence. Dietary diversity was limited, with only 55.6% of participants consuming five or more food groups (DDS ≥ 5). Indigenous vegetables, such as sweet potato leaves and amaranth combined with lemon juice, showed high vitamin C content (43.2 ± 0.26 mg/g), enhancing iron absorption. Hygiene practices like hand washing after toilet use were associated with reduced anemia risk (P < 0.0022, χ2 = 9.352). This study highlights the importance of indigenous vegetables, dietary diversity, and good hygiene in reducing anemia among pregnant women in rural Tanzania, emphasizing the need for nutrition education and improved access to iron-rich foods

Ecological Consequences of Antibiotics Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Understanding Sources, Pathways, and Potential Implications

This research article was published by Emerging Contaminants, 2025In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the increasing use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine, combined with inadequate waste and water management systems, has intensified the problem of antibiotic pollution. Untreated or partially treated wastewater from industries, agricultural runoff, residential areas, and healthcare facilities is frequently discharged into the environment, often used for irrigation, contributing to antibiotic accumulation, the spread of resistance genes, and the rise of antibiotic resistance, posing serious threats to public health and environmental sustainability. The region's climatic conditions favour the survival and proliferation of microbial communities, including pathogens. Additionally, the high prevalence of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, which often necessitate antibiotic use, further amplifies the issue. Systemic challenges, including poor waste management, inadequate or absent wastewater treatment infrastructure, weak regulatory enforcement, and the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics, exacerbate the crisis. Limited healthcare access often results in self-medication and improper antibiotic use, accelerating resistance spread. Evidence shows antibiotics in surface water, groundwater, effluents, food crops, environmental samples, and aquatic organisms, indicating their potential circulation through the food chain. However, a lack of comprehensive data on antibiotic pollution and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems in SSA hampers a thorough understanding of its scope and long-term effects. Addressing this crisis requires identifying contamination hotspots, evaluating ecological impacts, and establishing robust, region-specific regulatory frameworks to ensure environmental and public health safet

Multiporate Poaceae pollen grains observed in the recent fossil record from the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem and Lake Victoria region

This research article was published by Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology Volume 333, 2025The analysis of fossil pollen from sediments is used to understand past vegetation and land cover variability. The observations of multiporate Poaceae pollen from sediments have received little attention in the literature and causes and rates of occurrence have few estimates, and the rates observed in the sediments are much lower than estimates observed from modern plants in Asia. Pollen analysis of the uppermost sediments from Speke Gulf, Lake Victoria, eastern Africa, showed relative abundances of Poaceae between 65 and 75% during the past centuries. A total of 19 of the ∼ 11,000 Poaceae pollen grains observed had conspicuous morphological variations and were documented. More consistent presence of abnormal grains occurred since the mid twentieth century, at the same time of increased anthropogenic environmental stressors. Multiporate pollen grains of Poaceae have been previously observed in Asia, South America, and northern Africa, predominantly in the Panicoideae subfamily. Morphological variations may present an added challenge for automated pollen identification techniques and descriptions of fossil pollen

Efficiency of honey–grape blend in reducing radiation-induced mucositis in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

This research article was published in AIMS Medical Science, Volume 12, Issue 1, 2025This study assessed the efficacy of a honey–grape blend in reducing the severity and onset of radiation oral mucositis (ROM) in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Oral mucositis is an acute side effect caused by chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the head and neck region. ROM affects patients’ quality of life and treatment expenses. Various pharmaceutical and natural remedies, such as sucralfate, aloe vera, and amifostine are used to mitigate the effects of ROM. However, the available modalities’ efficacy is low and is associated with many side effects. Materials and methods: This cohort study was conducted at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute and Besta Polyclinic in Tanzania. The study included 73 patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated from March 2024 to August 2024. The World Health Organization mucositis grading system was used to assess patients’ progress weekly. Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 27. Results: Delayed onset (15% Grade 3 for the honey–grape group and 45% Grade 3 for the control group at 28 days) and reduced the severity of ROM (only 20% Grade 3 with no Grade 4 for the honey–grape group while for the control group, it was 25% Grade 3 and 20% Grade 4 at 45 days) (p-value < 0.001). Body weight changes at starting and after completion of radiotherapy were observed (2.65 kg average weight loss for the control group and 1.8 kg, 0.45 kg weight gain for the honey group and honey–grape blend group). Prevalence between genders was 62% males and 38% females. Conclusions: Honey and honey 91 blended with grapes can minimize the severity and delay the onset of ROM in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer. More studies are needed, since no study has been conducted addressing the efficacy of honey–grape blends in reducing ROM severity

Harnessing traditional principles and guidelines for utilization compliance and sustainability of Maasai Alalili systems in northern Tanzania

This research article was published by Sustainable Environment Volume 11, 2025Resilience in Indigenous communities and their lands faces challenges from multiple fronts, including climate change, biodiversity loss, altered biogeochemical flows, and socio-cultural transitions. Innovative solutions like Indigenous local knowledge featuring the community repositories that could enable policy practice are needed to explore, shift, and articulate such trajectories towards sustainable and desired futures. The study used a mixed-method approach to gather information on the extent to which Maasai communities practice traditional principles and guidelines for sustainable management of the Alalili systems. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques facilitated data collection from literature review, direct field observation, key informant interviews, focused group discussions, and household surveys, which were analyzed using Chi-square and t-tests, narrative, and descriptive techniques. The findings indicate a variation between the traditional principles and guidelines reported from the surveyed literature and those recorded from the field survey. We found that the literature sparingly reported six aspects of the traditional principles and guidelines, whereas the field survey from the community comprehensively reported four harmonized aspects. More than 50% of the surveyed Alalili systems are currently not complying with documented management principles and guidelines from the literature and community traditions, thus increasing their proximity to the effects of degradation. We reveal that the probability of compliance is higher in the private Alalili category. We recommend their official recognition by policymakers and putting them into practice as a conservation initiative for supporting future rangeland sustainability and the pastoral communities’ livelihood development

Harnessing traditional principles and guidelines for utilization compliance and sustainability of Maasai Alalili systems in northern Tanzania

This research article was published by Sustainable Environment , Volume 11, 2025Resilience in Indigenous communities and their lands faces challenges from multiple fronts, including climate change, biodiversity loss, altered biogeochemical flows, and socio-cultural transitions. Innovative solutions like Indigenous local knowledge featuring the community repo- sitories that could enable policy practice are needed to explore, shift, and articulate such trajec- tories towards sustainable and desired futures. The study used a mixed-method approach to gather information on the extent to which Maasai communities practice traditional principles and guidelines for sustainable management of the Alalili systems. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques facilitated data collection from literature review, direct field observation, key informant interviews, focused group discussions, and household surveys, which were analyzed using Chi-square and t-tests, narrative, and descriptive techniques. The findings indicate a variation between the traditional principles and guidelines reported from the surveyed literature and those recorded from the field survey. We found that the literature sparingly reported six aspects of the traditional principles and guidelines, whereas the field survey from the community comprehen- sively reported four harmonized aspects. More than 50% of the surveyed Alalili systems are currently not complying with documented management principles and guidelines from the literature and community traditions, thus increasing their proximity to the effects of degradation. We reveal that the probability of compliance is higher in the private Alalili category. We recom- mend their official recognition by policymakers and putting them into practice as a conservation initiative for supporting future rangeland sustainability and the pastoral communities’ livelihood development

Integrated rapid risk assessment for dengue fever in settings with limited diagnostic capacity and uncertain exposure: Development of a methodological framework for Tanzania

This research article was published by PLOS Negleted Tropical Diseases Volume 19,2025Background Dengue fever is one of the world’s most important re-emerging but neglected infectious diseases. We aimed to develop and evaluate an integrated risk assessment framework to enhance early detection and risk assessment of potential dengue outbreaks in settings with limited routine surveillance and diagnostic capacity. Methods Our risk assessment framework utilizes the combination of various methodological components: We first focused on (I) identifying relevant clinical signals based on a case definition for suspected dengue, (II) refining the signal for potential dengue diagnosis using contextual data, and (III) determining the public health risk associated with a verified dengue signal across various hazard, exposure, and contextual indicators. We then evaluated our framework using (i) historical clinical signals with syndromic and laboratory-confirmed disease information derived from WHO’s Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) technology using decision tree analyses, and (ii) historical dengue outbreak data from Tanzania at the regional level from 2019 (6,795 confirmed cases) using negative binomial regression analyses adjusted for month and region. Finally, we evaluated a test signal across all steps of our integrated framework to demonstrate the implementation of our multi-method approach. Results The result of the suspected case refinement algorithm for clinically defined syndromic cases was consistent with the laboratory-confirmed diagnosis (dengue yes or no). Regression between confirmed dengue fever cases in 2019 as the dependent variable and a site-specific public health risk score as the independent variable showed strong evidence of an increase in dengue fever cases with higher site-specific risk (rate ratio = 2.51 (95% CI = [1.76, 3.58])). Conclusions The framework can be used to rapidly determine the public health risk of dengue outbreaks, which is useful for planning and prioritizing interventions or for epidemic preparedness. It further allows for flexibility in its adaptation to target diseases and geographical contexts

Simulation and Experimental Performance Analysis of Portable Locally-Made Solar-Powered Cooler for Vaccine Storage

This research article was published by Advances in Science and Technology Volume 160, 2025Poor storage conditions, particularly exposure to extreme temperatures, can significantly compromise vaccine efficacy, making them ineffective or harmful. This highlights the urgent need for adequate storage infrastructure and monitoring systems, especially in remote areas with limited healthcare resources. This study evaluates the performance of a locally-made solar-powered cooler designed for vaccine storage in such environments. A digital AKO thermostat was integrated to control the compressor according to specified temperature limits, alongside a data logger for continuous temperature monitoring and a fluke device for DC and voltage measurements. The experimental results, validated against existing literature, were reliable and accurate. Key findings reveal that the cooler can reduce temperature to -14.9°C within 180 minutes, surpassing the performance of previous models that attained a temperature of -10°C after 144 minutes. The optimal insulation thickness for maintaining a cooling temperature of -15°C was determined to be 0.07 m using polyurethane insulation material, compared to 0.129 m with Feather Fiber, reflecting a 45.7% increase in efficiency at an ambient temperature of 42°C. Similar results were observed at an ambient temperature of 32°C. Modeling outcomes provided valuable guidance for the experimental design and comparative analysis

Transforming Maasai Landscapes: Land Cover Changes and Their Implications for Pastoralism and Conservation

This research article was published in the Research Square, 2025Land cover change, particularly in landscapes inhabited by pastoralist communities like the Maasai, is a growing concern due to its environmental and socio-economic implications. The Maasai regions in Tanzania have experienced signi cant land cover shifts in recent years, which can affect biodiversity, ecosystem services, and traditional livelihoods. Despite the importance of these landscapes, there is limited understanding of how speci c land cover types, such as rangelands, croplands, and tree cover, have changed over time, and what the drivers behind these changes are. To address this gap, this study examines the extent and nature of land cover changes in Maasai landscapes between 2017 and 2023. The study speci cally focuses on the conversion of rangelands to other land uses, such as tree cover, croplands, and built areas, as well as the shifts from trees to cropland and built areas. By analyzing these trends, the study aims to provide insights into the factors driving land cover change and their implications for land management in the region. The ndings reveal substantial transitions, including the conversion of 451,514 hectares of rangeland to tree cover, 152,064 hectares to cropland, and 10,181 hectares to built areas. These results highlight the urgent need for strategies that support sustainable land use while considering the ecological and socio-economic importance of Maasai landscapes