Infrequent small bowel intestinal bacterial overgrowth in malnourished Zambian children.

There is evidence that children with malnutrition have an increased frequency of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) due to impaired gastric acidity, impaired intestinal motility, and dysbiosis. Children with malnutrition respond to antibiotic therapy but it is not clear if this effect is mediated by treatment of SIBO. We set out to determine the frequency of SIBO in children of varying nutritional status in a poor community in Lusaka, Zambia. Hydrogen breath testing, following a dose of 1g/kg oral glucose, was used to determine the presence of SIBO amongst the study participants. Forty nine children, 45 of whom had varying degrees of malnutrition, completed a full series of observations at 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Four children (8%) had a rise of 10ppm from baseline, consistent with SIBO. No correlation with nutritional status was observed. In this small study of Zambian children, SIBO was infrequent and unrelated to nutritional status

Drinking Water quality and provision in six Low-Income Peri-Urban Communities of Lusaka, Zambia

Lusaka, Zambia, is a rapidly growing city located on a vulnerable karstic dolomite aquifer thatprovides most of the city\u27s drinking water. Over 65% of residents live in peri‐urban communities withinadequate sanitation leading to widespread groundwater contamination and the spread of waterbornediseases such as cholera. Tofill the water service gap, Water Trusts were created: public/private partnershipsdesigned to provide clean water to peri‐urban community residents. Water Trusts extract groundwatervia boreholes, treat it with chlorine, and distribute it to residents via public kiosks. We investigatedthe efficacy of drinking water provision to residents in six of Lusaka\u27s peri‐urban communities with WaterTrusts. Water samples were collected from Water Trust boreholes and kiosks, privately owned boreholes,and shallow wells during four sampling efforts. To assess potential risk to human health, water samples wereanalyzed forEscherichia coli(E. coli) and nitrate. Shallow wells were significantly more contaminatedwithE. colithan Water Trust boreholes, kiosks, and private boreholes (Tukey‐adjustedpvalues of9.9 × 10−6). Shallow wells and private boreholes had significantly higher nitrate‐N concentrations(mean of 29.6 mg/L) than the Water Trust boreholes and kiosks (mean of 8.8 mg/L) (pvalue = 1.1 × 10−4). In2016, a questionnaire was distributed to Water Trust managers to assess their ability to meet demands.In the six communities studied, Water Trusts served only about 60% of their residents. Water Trusts providea much safer alternative to shallow wells with respect to nitrate andE. coli, but they struggle to keeppace with growing demand

Modeling land use/land cover changes using quad hybrid machine learning model in Bangweulu wetland and surrounding areas, Zambia

Wetlands are among the most productive natural ecosystems globally, providing crucial ecosystem services to people. Regrettably, a substantial 64 % –71 % of wetlands have been lost worldwide since 1900, mainly due to changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This issue is not unique to Zambia's Bangweulu Wetland System (BWS), which faces similar challenges. However, there is limited information about the LULC changes in BWS. Furthermore, finding accurate and cost-effective methods to understand LULC dynamics is complicated by the multitude of available techniques for LULC classification. Non-parametric methods like Machine Learning (ML) offer greater accuracy, but different ML models come with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Combining multiple models has the potential to create a more precise LULC classification model. Open-source software like QGIS and spatial data like Landsat also play a significant role in this endeavour. The primary objective of this study was to enhance the accuracy of modeling LULC changes in wetland areas. Six ML models: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Naive Bayes (NB), Decision Tree (DT), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest (RF), and K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) were used for LULC image classification of Landsat 8 (2020 image) and Landsat 5 (1990, 2000, and 2010 images) in QGIS. Four models: SVM, NB, DT, and KNN, performed better than the other models. Consequently, The Quad (4) hybrid model was created by fusing the maps from these four models with the highest performance. Results revealed that the fusion of the four classified maps of the SVM, NB, DT, and KNN (Quad hybrid model) showcased superior performance compared to the individual models with Kappa Index scores of 0.87, 0.72, 0.84 and 0.87 for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020, respectively. The analysis of the LULC changes from 1990 to 2020 showed a yearly decline of -1.17 %, -1.01 %, and -0.12 % in forest, grassland, and water body coverage, respectively. In contrast, built-up areas and cropland increased at rates of 1.70 % and 2.70 %, respectively. This study underscores the consistent growth of cropland and built-up areas from 1990 to 2020, alongside the reduction of forest cover and grassland. Although the water body experienced a gradual decrease over this period, the decline was minimal. Long-term monitoring will be essential for evaluating the success of interventions, guiding conservation efforts, mitigating negative impacts on the wetland ecosystem, and determining whether the reduction in water bodies is a sustained trend or a short-term phenomenon

Integrated Hydrologic-Hydrodynamic Inundation Modeling in a Groundwater Dependent Tropical Floodplain

The rapid development of free and open-access hydrological models and coupling framework tools continues to present more opportunities for coupled model development for improved assessment of floodplain hydrology. In this study, we set up an Upper Zambezi hydrological model and a fully spatially hydrological-hydrodynamic coupled model for the Barotse Floodplain using GLOFRIM (GLObally applicable computational FRamework for Integrated hydrological– hydrodynamic Modelling). The hydrological and hydrodynamic models used are WFLOW and LISFLOOD-FP, respectively. The simulated flows generated by the wflow model for the upstream gauge stations before the Barotse Floodplain were quite similar and closely matched the observed flow as indicated by the evaluation statistics; Chavuma, nse = 0.738; kge = 0.738; pbias = 2.561 and RSR = 0.511; Watopa, nse = 0.684; kge = 0.816; pbias = 10.577 and RSR = 0.557; and Lukulu, nse = 0.736; kge = 0.795; pbias = 10.437 and RSR = 0.509. However, even though the wflow hydrological model was able to simulate the upstream hydrology very well, the results at the floodplain outlet gauge stations did not quite match the observed monthly flows at Senanga gauge station as indicated by the evaluation statistics: nse = 0.132; kge = 0.509; pbias = 37.740 and RSR = 0.9233. This is mainly because the representation of both floodplain channel hydrodynamics and vertical hydrological processes is necessary to correctly capture floodplain dynamics. Thus, the need for an approach that saves as a basis for developing fully spatially distributed coupled hydrodynamic and hydraulic models’ assessments for groundwater dependent tropical floodplains such as the Barotse floodplain, in closing the gap between hydrology and hydrodynamics in floodplain assessments. A fully coupled model has the potential to be used in implementing adaptive wetland management strategies for water resources allocation, environmental flow (eflows), flood control, land use and climate change impact assessments.Water Resource

Type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence and risk scores in treated PLWHIV: a cross-sectional preliminary study

Abstract Objective This was a preliminary study whose objective was to estimate the prevalence and risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among people living with HIV (PLWHIV) based on diabetes risk assessment scores. Results The study was composed of 234 PLWHIV with median age (interquartile range, IQR) of 44 (36, 52) and a female preponderance of 66%. The median risk scores (IQR) for developing T2DM was 5 (2, 9). Based on the risk scores, 5% of PLWHIV were at high risk for developing T2DM close to 3.4% actual prevalence in the study population. This study demonstrated the importance of using a cheap and fast method for identifying high risk individuals for developing T2DM

A review of coupled hydrologic-hydraulic models for floodplain assessments in Africa: Opportunities and challenges for floodplain wetland management

Floodplain wetlands are a fundamental part of the African continent’s ecosystem and serve as habitat for fish and wildlife species, biodiversity, and micro-organisms that support life. It is generally recognised that wetlands are and remain fragile ecosystems that should be subject to sustainable conservation and management through the use of sustainable tools. In this paper, we propose a synthesis of the state of art concerning coupled hydrologic and hydraulic models for floodplains assessments in Africa. Case studies reviewed in this paper have pointed out the potential of applying coupled hydrologic and hydraulic models and the opportunities present to be used in Africa especially for data scarce and large basin for floodplain assessments through the use of available open access models, coupling frameworks and remotely sensed datasets. To our knowledge this is the first case study review of this kind on this topic. A Hydrological model coupled with Hydraulic Model of the floodplain provides improvements in floodplain model simulations and hence better information for floodplain management. Consequently, this would lead to improved decision-making and planning of adaption and mitigation measures for sound floodplain wetland management plans and programmes especially with the advent of climate change and variability.Water Resource

Testing the validity and reliability of the shame questionnaire among sexually abused girls in Zambia.

PURPOSE:The aim of the current study is to test the validity and reliability of the Shame Questionnaire among traumatized girls in Lusaka, Zambia. METHODS:The Shame Questionnaire was validated through both classical test and item response theory methods. Internal reliability, criterion validity and construct validity were examined among a sample of 325 female children living in Zambia. Sub-analyses were conducted to examine differences in construct validity among girls who reported sexual abuse and girls who did not. RESULTS:All girls in the sample were sexually abused, but only 61.5% endorsed or reported that sexual abuse had occurred. Internal consistency was very good among the sample with alpha = .87. Criterion validity was demonstrated through a significant difference of mean Shame Questionnaire scores between girls who experienced 0-1 trauma events and more than one traumatic event, with higher mean Shame Questionnaire scores among girls who had more than one traumatic event (p = .004 for 0-1 compared to 2 and 3 events and p = .016 for 0-1 compared to 4+ events). Girls who reported a history of witnessing or experiencing physical abuse had a significantly higher mean Shame Questionnaire score than girls who did not report a history of witnessing or experiencing physical abuse (p<.0001). There was no significant difference in mean Shame Questionnaire score between girls who reported a sexual abuse history and girls who did not. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a two-factor model of the Shame Questionnaire, with an experience of shame dimension and an active outcomes of shame dimension. Item response theory analysis indicated adequate overall item fit. Results also indicate potential differences in construct validity between girls who did and did not endorse sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS:This study suggests the general utility of the Shame Questionnaire among Zambian girls and demonstrates the need for more psychometric studies in low and middle income countries

Sub-Analysis: Multidimensional Rating Scale Model with Unstandardized Parameters for Girls who Endorsed Sexual Abuse vs. Unidimensional Rating Scale Model with Unstandardized parameters for Girls who Did Not Endorse Sexual Abuse.

<p>Sub-Analysis: Multidimensional Rating Scale Model with Unstandardized Parameters for Girls who Endorsed Sexual Abuse vs. Unidimensional Rating Scale Model with Unstandardized parameters for Girls who Did Not Endorse Sexual Abuse.</p

The Shame Questionnaire Items and Exploratory Factor Analysis Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix of Shame Questionnaire.

<p>Bold indicates factor loading > .40. Parentheses indicates sub-analyses of factor loadings for girls who endorsed sexual abuse, factor loadings for girls who did not endorse sexual abuse.</p><p>*Factor loadings for girls who did not endorse sexual abuse are only listed in factor 1.</p><p>The Shame Questionnaire Items and Exploratory Factor Analysis Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix of Shame Questionnaire.</p