Socio-Economic Impacts of Computer Viruses in Tanzania

This paper reports on a research project conducted with an objective of identifying and assessing various approaches used by different computer users (Management, System Administrators and end users) in Tanzania to combat computer viruses (CVs), and to assess users' awareness level on CVs. Specifically, the study aimed at assessing the awareness level on CVs to the Tanzanian business community; analyze the socio -economic impact caused by CVs in Tanzania and; assess existing methods, capacity and limitations on controlling CVs in Tanzania. Data was collected using both questionnaires and interview from financial institutions such as NBC and BOT, and telecommunications sector such as TTCL and VODACOM. Other institutions where data was collected included the higher learning institutions such as UDSM, DIT & IFM, Government institutions such as the Government Chemist, and COSTECH and Non-governmental institutions such as REPOA and ESRF. After data analysis, it was found out that majority of the surveyed organisations were aware of CVs and about half of them employ client-server technique to successfully deal with the threat. These organisations spend between US$ 12,000 to 40,000 per year to deal with CVs. This cost is mainly for paying licence fees for anti-viruses and for data back-ups. Some organisations rely on pirated anti-virus which are unreliable and in most cases lead to disasters and losses of data and production time. It was concluded that CVs control should be given the highest priority to all JCT users. Also a policy on CVs should be well written and be instituted. Knowledge exchange on Anti-viruses' configuration should be enhanced among System Administrators within Tanzania. CVs control training should be done frequently to all workers. The use of an inert operating system such as Linux to control the spread of CVs should be promoted for use in workstations and for newly established organizations. Budget for CVs control should be considered at early stages

Inheritance of resistance to Cercospora leaf spot disease of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]

Open Access ArticleCercospora leaf spot (CLS) caused by Pseudocercospora cruenta (Sacc.) is an important disease affecting cowpea production in Nigeria. Understanding the genetic nature of CLS is an important step in developing an effective breeding strategy. This study investigated the inheritance of CLS disease in cowpea under natural epiphytotic field condition involving two CLS resistant parents (IT99K-573-1-1, IT99K216-24) and a CLS susceptible parent (UAM09-1055-6). The parental lines, F1, BC1P1, BC1P2, F2 and F3 generations were used to study the genetic nature and to detect SSR markers closely linked with the CLS resistance gene(s) using bulked segregant analysis (BSA). The result showed that F1 populations involving UAM09-1055-6 × IT99K-573-1-1 and UAM09-1055-6 × IT99K-216-24 were resistant to CLS in the 2 crosses suggesting the presence of gene dominance in the control of the disease. The observed segregating ratio of F2 populations fits the Mendalian ratio 3:1. The plants reaction to the disease in the backcross progeny test involving the resistant parent were all uniformly resistant, whereas those involving the susceptible parent segregated into ratio 1:1. The F3 generations, which segregated into ratio 1:2:1 further confirmed that resistance was controlled by a single dominant gene in the crosses studied. Heritability estimates varied from 81 to 97%. BSA showed that SSR marker code named RB24 of lima bean and validated on F2 population discriminated between resistance and susceptibility to CLS. Hence RB24 could be a useful marker for marker-assisted selection in CLS resistance breeding in cowpea

Elemental Composition Analysis of Soil Samples from Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

This study analysis the elemental composition and concentration of elements in the soils of the study area to ascertain degree of elemental enhancement in the soil resulting from anthropogenic activities with possible soil contamination, human health and environmental detriment. The study area was divided into eight grids and two soil samples per grid from over burden to a depth of 900mm was collected randomly in each grid. The samples were prepared using standard methods and analyzed with a linear accelerator. The number of detectable elements and their quantitative information was extracted from the elemental spectral signatures. . The result showed a high concentration value in some elements in the soil samples above values of elemental concentrations in soils from other reported studied region. In addition, Aluminium, Strontium, Barium, Gallium etc also showed an extremely high value in their concentration that exceeds the world wide mean range upper limit values in crustal soil study published. The study indicates some degree of potential contamination and therefore necessitate a regular periodic monitoring study to reduce potential health detriment to humans and the environment to as low as reasonably possible

An intra-COVID-19 assessment of hand hygiene facility, policy and staff compliance in two hospitals in Sierra Leone: is there a difference between regional and capital city hospitals?

Although hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective intervention to reduce the spread of infections, there are limited data on HH facilities, policy, and compliance in sub-Saharan Africa. This cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing HH using the WHO HH self-assessment framework, HH technical reference manual, and a modified infection control self-assessment tool in two hospitals in Sierra Leone. Only 10% and 9% of regional and capital city hospitals had running tap water, respectively. Veronica buckets were the resources for HH in 89% of units in the regional hospital and 92% of units in capital city hospital. Constant supply of soap and alcohol-based hand rub was available in 82% and 68%; and 74% and 79% of units in the capital city and regional hospitals, respectively. Only 10% of the units in both hospitals had hand-drying facilities and functional sinks. Overall HH compliance for the two hospitals was 18.6% and was higher in the regional (20.8%) than the capital city (17.0%) hospitals. The HH levels for the capital city and regional hospitals were 277.5 and 262.5 respectively. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still challenges with HH compliance in Sierra Leone. It is, therefore, necessary to strengthen the HH multi-modal strategy

Spatial Distribution of Radiometric and Dosimetric Parameters in Soil Samples from Selected Areas in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Radiation from radioactive materials/radionuclides in the environment enhanced by anthropogenic activities is presently of a great concern globally. The objective of this study is to determine the radiometric and dosimetric parameters from soil samples collected randomly from the study area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The samples were prepared using standard methods and analyzed with a high resolution Hyperpure Germanium Detector configuration (HPGe). The results showed the clay samples to have higher activity concentration to the sands samples with activity concentration of clay samples ranging between 68.99±9.05 –189, 42±21.11Bq/kg and the sand samples with activity concentration range of 17.95±5.87 – 38.59±7.43Bq/kg. The activity concentration spatial distribution map in clay lithologies showed 2 peak values trending north-west, while the sand lithology showed a single peak central distribution. The result also showed the values of the absorbed doses with the 8 clay samples values ranging between 59.09 - 155.25nGy/h and sand samples values between 17.90 – 33.92nGy/h. The spatial distribution of the dose showed 2 peak central distribution in clay samples and north-east trending distribution of high peak values for samples with sand lithologies.  In addition, the results showed an effective absorbed dose of range of 0.235-0.0616mSv/y for samples with clay lithology and 0.0071-0.0135mSv/y for samples with sand lithology The activity concentration of all the samples studied are below the 1000Bq/kg international reference limit  for Radium 226, Thorium 232, uranium 238 and 10,000Bq/kg for potassium 40. The absorbed dose rate and annual effective absorbed dose are also below the international reference limits published by ICRP, 2007 and UNSCEAR, 2000 publications. Also, effective activity maximum limit of 370Bq/kg for input raw materials for public building is not exceeded

Lower Limb Amputation at the 34 Military Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone: Causes and Indications.

The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing substantially. This overall increment leads to the growth in the number of individuals with diabetic complications including lower limb amputation. In low-income countries like Sierra Leone, lack of access to adequate health care, poverty and social stigma attached to “amputation” all prevent people from seeking early medical treatment for diabetic foot.The purpose of this study was to document the causes and indications of lower limb amputations and to make appropriate recommendations to the health sector of Sierra Leone.This retrospective study was conducted at 34 Military Hospital, one of the major referral hospitals in Freetown, between January 2011 and December 2014. A team of medical staff was trained to extract data. The operating theatre and ward case records were searched for information (age, gender, cause and indication for amputation) of all the patients who underwent amputation during this period. The findings were statistically documented in tables.Twenty-seven patients (24 males and 3 females) were involved in the study. The age distribution was 15-65 years (Mean 43). Majority (77.7%) of the patients presented with gangrenous and infected diabetic feet, 18.5 % was due to Road Traffic Accident and 3.8% due to complication of HIV infection. The commonest level was transtibial amputation 85% and 67% was right sided. Hospital stay was 20-50 days (average 35). There was no postoperative mortality.As most amputations were done for diabetic feet, there is need for diabetes sensitization and prevention campaigns for the general public and improvement of diabetic care for individual patients including proper glycemic control and risk factors prevention. Increased funding is required by the health sector of Sierra Leone to implement these measures. Prevention of road traffic accidents by training/educating the drivers should also be considered by Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority.

Rumors of disease in the global village: outbreak verification.

Emerging infectious diseases and the growth of information technology have produced new demands and possibilities for disease surveillance and response. Increasing numbers of outbreak reports must be assessed rapidly so that control efforts can be initiated and unsubstantiated reports can be identified to protect countries from unnecessary economic damage. The World Health Organization has set up a process for timely outbreak verification to convert large amounts of data into accurate information for suitable action. We describe the context and processes of outbreak verification and information dissemination

Adoption of improved soybean and gender differential productivity and revenue impacts: evidence from Nigeria

Open Access Journal; Published online: 06 May 2022Despite the considerable soybean varietal improvement and dissemination efforts in Nigeria and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, empirical evidence on farm-level yield and revenue impacts of improved soybean varieties (ISVs) from a gender perspective are limited. In this paper, we analyze the impact of the adoption of ISVs on soybean yield and net revenue, and the associated gender differential effects in northern Nigeria. We use the endogenous and exogenous switching treatment effects regression frameworks to estimate the impacts. We find that the adoption of ISVs significantly increased soybean yield and net revenue of the soybean-producing households by 26% and 32%, respectively. In addition, we find that the gender gap in yield between male and female-headed soybean-producing households was small, with a yield gap of about 1%. However, we find a substantial gender gap in soybean net revenue, as the net revenue of female-headed households was lower by about 20%, as compared to male-headed households. Overall, our findings show that policymakers and their development partners can leverage varietal improvement to boost the yields of both male- and female-headed households. However, closing the gender gap in crop income necessitates reducing the disparity in market linkages so that the female farmers can equally have better market access

Physical purity of cowpea seeds from trained community based and licensed seed producers in three states of Nigeria

Open Access Article; Published online: 15 Sep 2021The study was conducted to compare two main sources of cowpea seed, Community Based Seed Producers (CBSP) and Licensed Seed Producers (LSP) for physical purity indices. From each seed source in every state, 15 seed samples of between 2 to 3 kg were collected for seed quality analysis. The collected seed samples were bulked according to variety, state, and seed source and then reduced to a working sample of four (4kg) using a modified halving method. The 4 kg was then divided into four equal parts as replicates. Seed purity was measured by sorting 1 kg of each working sample. The treatments were laid out in a completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications in the Molecular Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. The experiment was set up as a factorial combination on pure seeds, using 2 (seed source) × 3 (States) × 3 (varieties). Data were collected on the following parameters; Percentage Pure Seed, Percentage Inert Matter, Percentage Offtypes seeds, Percentage Field Insect Damaged Seeds, Percentage Rain Damaged Seed, Percentage Weevil Damaged Seeds and Percentage Seeds Moisture Content and was analyzed was carried out using Minitab, version 2017. Seeds from the different states were statistically comparable. However, for varieties, cowpea seeds were not comparable except for rain damage and inert matter. On seed source, community-based seed producers performed below the licensed seed producers with respect to seeds damaged by rain, field insect damage, inert matter, weevil damage, pure seeds and moisture content. They were however, comparable in terms of off-types and mater. The two seed sources however, met the minimum standard required for cowpea seed certification by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) with respect to off types and inert matter and hence could be used as an alternative seed source without any serious disadvantage of seeds purity. Therefore, we concluded that farmers can obtain seed from community-based seed producers without any serious disadvantage in terms of purity of seed lot