CHEMICAL AND THERMAL STABILITY OF RICE HUSKS AGAINST ALKALI TREATMENT

Chemical and thermal stability of rice husks against alkali treatment with 2 to 8% w/v NaOH are presented and discussed in this paper. The thermal stability of the rice husks was examined by using a thermal gravimetric analysis instrument. Chemical stability was evaluated by examining the organic components of rice husks using proximate analysis. The results indicated that the proportion of lignin and hemicellulose in rice husks treated with NaOH ranging from 4 to 8% decreased significantly by 96% and 74%, respectively. The thermal stability and final degradation temperatures of the alkali-treated rice husks were also lowered by 24-26°C due to degradation of hemicellulose and lignin during alkali treatment. Absence of the onset degradation zones in the alkali-treated rice husks was a further indication that hemicellulose and other volatile substances degraded during alkali treatment. This leads to a conclusion that alkali treatment of rice husks with more than 4% NaOH causes a substantial chemical degradation of rice husks, which subsequently decreases their thermal stability

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Contribution of agricultural marketing co-operatives (AMCOS) in poverty alleviation: a case study of cashew nut farmers in Mtwara region

This study assesses the contribution of Agricultural Marketing Co-operatives (AMCOS) in poverty reduction to cashew nut farmers. The study was conducted in Mtwara region, in southern Tanzania. The two Divisions of Newala District namely Newala and Kitangari were purposefully selected followed by random selection of seven wards. A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect primary data from 200 farmers, and seven Agriculture Marketing Cooperative Societies. Secondary data were collected from CBT, TANECU and Newala District Council (NDC). Descriptive and quantitative analytical techniques were employed. The findings indicate that farmers obtained an average of Tsh 276 087; 331 752 and 403 187 as income to their family for 2006/07; 2007/08 and 2008/09 respectively. This income trend was due to their involvement in the AMCOS marketing channels from three crop seasons 2006/07 – 2008/09. Results indicate that cashew nut farmers depend mainly on agricultural production as their sole source of income and wellbeing. Farmer’s gross margin analysis indicates a gross margin of Tsh 24 947 per 80 kg bag of raw cashew nut. Socio-economic factors which were found to influence cashew nut farmers’ participation in the AMCOS market channel were: age of the household head, education level of the household head, household size, gender of the household head, marital status of the household head, price information and distance from the AMCOS godown. Age of the farmer, size of the farm and gender were statistically significant influence (P < 0.05). As the farm size increases farmers opt for engaging in AMCOS market as a reliable market channel. Thus, the study recommends that farmers have to be trained on the importance of using the AMCOS marketing channel in order to ensure safe and reliable market for their produce

Knowledge of stroke among hypertensive patients in selected hospitals in the Tanga region, Tanzania

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio)Lack of knowledge about stroke in general and specific knowledge of the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of stroke results in the late presentation of patients at hospital. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge of stroke among hypertensive patients in the Tanga region of Tanzania. To investigate this, a cross-sectional survey using a quantitative research design was used.South Afric

Contribution of agricultural marketing co-operatives (AMCOS) in poverty alleviation: a case study of cashew nut farmers in Mtwara region

This study assesses the contribution of Agricultural Marketing Co-operatives (AMCOS) in poverty reduction to cashew nut farmers. The study was conducted in Mtwara region, in southern Tanzania. The two Divisions of Newala District namely Newala and Kitangari were purposefully selected followed by random selection of seven wards. A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect primary data from 200 farmers, and seven Agriculture Marketing Cooperative Societies. Secondary data were collected from CBT, TANECU and Newala District Council (NDC). Descriptive and quantitative analytical techniques were employed. The findings indicate that farmers obtained an average of Tsh 276 087; 331 752 and 403 187 as income to their family for 2006/07; 2007/08 and 2008/09 respectively. This income trend was due to their involvement in the AMCOS marketing channels from three crop seasons 2006/07 – 2008/09. Results indicate that cashew nut farmers depend mainly on agricultural production as their sole source of income and wellbeing. Farmer’s gross margin analysis indicates a gross margin of Tsh 24 947 per 80 kg bag of raw cashew nut. Socio-economic factors which were found to influence cashew nut farmers’ participation in the AMCOS market channel were: age of the household head, education level of the household head, household size, gender of the household head, marital status of the household head, price information and distance from the AMCOS godown. Age of the farmer, size of the farm and gender were statistically significant influence (P < 0.05). As the farm size increases farmers opt for engaging in AMCOS market as a reliable market channel. Thus, the study recommends that farmers have to be trained on the importance of using the AMCOS marketing channel in order to ensure safe and reliable market for their produce

Abstracts of Tanzania Health Summit 2020

This book contains the abstracts of the papers/posters presented at the Tanzania Health Summit 2020 (THS-2020) Organized by the Ministry of Health Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC); President Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG); Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, Elderly, Gender, and Children Zanzibar; Association of Private Health Facilities in Tanzania (APHFTA); National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA); Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC); &amp; Tindwa Medical and Health Services (TMHS) held on 25–26 November 2020. The Tanzania Health Summit is the annual largest healthcare platform in Tanzania that attracts more than 1000 participants, national and international experts, from policymakers, health researchers, public health professionals, health insurers, medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, private health investors, supply chain experts, and the civil society. During the three-day summit, stakeholders and decision-makers from every field in healthcare work together to find solutions to the country’s and regional health challenges and set the agenda for a healthier future. Summit Title: Tanzania Health SummitSummit Acronym: THS-2020Summit Date: 25–26 November 2020Summit Location: St. Gasper Hotel and Conference Centre in Dodoma, TanzaniaSummit Organizers: Ministry of Health Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC); President Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG); Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, Elderly, Gender and Children Zanzibar; Association of Private Health Facilities in Tanzania (APHFTA); National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA); Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC); &amp; Tindwa Medical and Health Services (TMHS)