Changing Perception through a Participatory Approach by Involving Adolescent School Children in Evaluating Smart Food Dishes in School Feeding Programs – Real-Time Experience from Central and Northern Tanzania

The study aimed to test the prospects for, and acceptance of, pigeonpea and finger millet-based dishes in a school feeding program for 2822 adolescents’ in Central Tanzania. The focus was on incorporating nutritious and resilient crops like finger millet and pigeonpea through a participatory approach involving series of theoretical and practical training sessions, for the period of 6 months on the nutritional quality and sensory characteristics of these two unexplored foods in Tanzania. Sharing knowledge on the nutritional value of these crops and involving students in the acceptance study changed their negative perception of finger millet and pigeonpea by 79.5% and 70.3%, respectively. Fifteen months after the study period, schools were still continued feeding the dishes and more than 95% of the students wanted to eat the finger millet and pigeonpea dishes at school. Around 84.2% of the students wanted to include pigeonpea 2–7 times a week and 79.6% of the students wanted to include finger millet on all 7 days in school meal. The study proved that it is possible to change food perceptions and bring about behavior change by sharing knowledge on their benefits and by engaging the consumers through a participatory and culturally appropriate approach

Interventions to reduce pesticide exposure from the agricultural sector in Africa: a workshop report

Despite the fact that several cases of unsafe pesticide use among farmers in different parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited evidence regarding which specific interventions are effective in reducing pesticide exposure and associated risks to human health and ecology. The overall goal of the African Pesticide Intervention Project (APsent) study is to better understand ongoing research and public health activities related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable target-specific situations or use contexts. A systematic review of the scientific literature on pesticide intervention studies with a focus on Africa was conducted. This was followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in pesticide research or management in the African region to learn about barriers to and promoters of successful interventions. The project was concluded with an international workshop in November 2021, where a broad range of topics relevant to occupational and environmental health risks were discussed such as acute poisoning, street pesticides, switching to alternatives, or disposal of empty pesticide containers. Key areas of improvement identified were training on pesticide usage techniques, research on the effectiveness of interventions targeted at exposure reduction and/or behavioral changes, awareness raising, implementation of adequate policies, and enforcement of regulations and processes

Excluding pregnancy among women initiating antiretroviral therapy: efficacy of a family planning job aid

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Guidelines for initiating ART recommend pregnancy testing, typically a urine test, as part of the basic laboratory package. The principal reason for this recommendation is that Efavirenz, a first-line antiretroviral medication, has the potential of causing birth defects when used in the first trimester of pregnancy and is therefore contraindicated for use by pregnant women. Unfortunately, in many African countries pregnancy tests are not routinely provided or available in ART clinics, and, when available outside clinics, are often not affordable for clients.</p> <p>Recently, the World Health Organization added a family planning job aid called the 'pregnancy checklist,' developed by researchers at Family Health International, as a recommended tool for screening new ART clients to exclude pregnancy. Although the checklist has been validated for excluding pregnancy among family planning clients, there are no data on its efficacy among ART clients.</p> <p>This study was conducted to assess the clinical performance of a job aid to exclude pregnancy among HIV positive women initiating ART.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Non-menstruating women eligible for ART were enrolled from 20 sites in four provinces in Zambia. The pregnancy checklist was administered followed by a urine pregnancy test as a reference standard. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were estimated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 200 women for whom the checklist ruled out pregnancy, 198 were not pregnant, for an estimated negative predictive value of 99%. The sensitivity of the checklist was 90.0%, and specificity was 38.7%. Among the women, 416 out of 534 (77.9%) did not abstain from sex since their last menses. Only 72 out of the 534 women (13.4%) reported using reliable contraception. Among the 416 women who did not abstain, 376 (90.4%) did not use reliable contraception.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The pregnancy checklist is effective for excluding pregnancy in many women initiating ART, but its moderate sensitivity and specificity precludes its use to completely replace pregnancy testing. Its use should be encouraged in low resource settings where pregnancy tests are unavailable or must be rationed. Family planning methods should be available and integrated into ART clinics.</p

Characterization of polymer–quarry dust composite for structural applications

This study explores the utilization of quarry dust in producing polymer composite for roofing tiles application. Quarry dust was incorporated into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) in various weight proportions (5 %, 20 %, 40 %, 60 %, and 80 %). Experimental tests that were conducted include the melt flow index (MFI), microstructural analysis, water absorption, Shore D hardness, and Charpy impact strength. The PP+60 wt.% quarry dust had the highest MFI value of 24.5 g/10 min hence easy to process. The water absorption for 60 % and 80 wt.% composition was found to be significantly high as compared to other proportions. The Shore D hardness increases with an increase in the amount of quarry dust with the highest Shore D hardness value of 82 attained for samples having 80 wt.% quarry dust. For the impact strength, only 5 wt.% composition of quarry dust in both polymer composites had a higher value than the pure polymer with PP+5 wt.% quarry dust exhibiting a higher impact strength of 69.6 kJ/m2. This work demonstrates that the properties of waste plastics can be improved by using quarry dust as reinforcement, suiting green construction applications such as the production of roofing tiles

Data on the effect of high-pressure torsion processing on secondary cast Al–10%Si– Cu piston alloy: Methods, microstructure and mechanical characterizations

The dataset presented here shows the microstructure and mechanical properties of secondary (recycled) cast aluminum-silicon (Al–Si) piston alloys processed through severe plastic deformation technique, known as high-pressure torsion (HPT). The HPT processing was undertaken for 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 10 turns of the lower anvil (rotating at constant speed of 1rpm) while the upper anvil maintained at a normal pressure of 3.0 GPa. The data on microstructural evolution obtained at the central region and edge of the circular (disk) HPT sample were obtained using optical and scanning electron microscopy and these data are presented here. The data on the analysis of the particle shape, sizes and distribution from the micrographs using ImageJ software are also presented. Data on mechanical properties characterized using Vickers microhardness measurement across the surface of HPT sample are also shown. Pictures depicting the microhardness measurement scheme, high-pressure torsion facility and sample nomenclature are presented.</p

Measuring and Influencing Behavior Change in Dietary Intake: Integrated Photovoice Approach in Nutrition Interventions in Eastern Kenya

A study conducted in two wards of Tharaka Nithi subcounty in Kenya documented the impact of using photovoice as a learning tool to build awareness about diets in order to influence behavior change, as well as a method to measure dietary intake. After a year’s nutrition awareness drive using Smart Food branding, in the intervention area, a total of 60 participants from intervention and control areas were identified for the photovoice exercise. The analysis showed household and women’s dietary diversity scores to be higher in the intervention group by 35% and 45%, respectively. An estimate of nutrient intake revealed a higher intake of calories, protein, calcium, iron and zinc ranging from 70% to 205% in the intervention group. Qualitative feedback on the photovoice approach reflected increased nutrition awareness and behavior change. Results showed the efficacy of the approach in evaluating diets while simultaneously improving participants’ realization of what they were consuming using images captured and a one-on-one dis-cussion with nutritionists. The improvement in dietary diversity scores reflected the effectiveness of this creative participatory and branded approach in imparting a strong message on and enthusiasm for learning about nutrition, resulting in behavior change