Use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa: case studies of selected African universities

The use of ICT in education in Africa should be discussed with regard to the global goal of providing Education for All and its impact on the demand of teachers on the continent. According to the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007, Africa needs a 68% increase in teachers so as to realise the second Millennium Development Goal Education for All. Because of the present infrastructure and the prevailing problems that Africa faces, it is unlikely that this demand for teachers can be met to enable Education for All by 2015. Today it is acknowledged that Africa needs new and improved methods in teacher training which will not only ensure that the demand for teachers is met but also provide teachers with quality training. Accordingly, the use of ICTs in teacher education and their potential in supplementing teacher training, especially where the traditional education systems are unable to meet the demand, is increasingly being considered. In this dissertation, efforts have been taken to explore: how ICTs are being used in African universities; what initiatives both local and international are being taken to enable implementation of ICTs in teacher education; how students training for the teaching profession in the Sub-Saharan countries are being prepared in the use of these new technologies; and how students and their trainers view the introduction and influence of these media in their learning and teaching. The literature review of this study shows that although ICTs, especially the computer, are no longer a phenomenon in African universities, they are however, still tools that can be afforded by a few, because of both financial constraints and lack of training. Furthermore, these results show that the use of ICT in teacher education is still at a low level and there are many barriers to its implementation on a large scale. Results from the case studies indicate that although a comparably big percentage (46.8%) of student teachers use ICT applications in preparing their assignments, a high percentage (ranging from 70 - 85%) have never received ICT training in their studies in any of the most common applications such as word processing. Interviews with teacher trainers revealed that there is a general concession that the use of ICT has an added value in teacher training, especially as: ICT facilitates gathering, organising, and finding information; it encourages and enables students to do independent research work and to do course work on their own; ICT widens teachers knowledge horizon; and as most ICT applications are interactive they make learning and teaching very interesting, holding students attention and supplementing learning resources such as textbooks. Teacher trainers, however, also agreed that the successful implementation and use of ICT would require that attitudes towards ICT among stake holders become more positive and that improving the technical infrastructure would make integrating ICT in teacher training much easier. Combined responses of students and teacher trainers show that training in and use of ICT in teacher education in the universities which took part in the survey still is at a relatively low level. Although only half of the students indicate they received training in this at their home institutions and actually make use of it, text processing using WORD is the most widely trained and used ICT application. There is indication that more than half of the students have access to ICT applications in their computer laboratories, while almost 80 % of the students also visit Internet cafes to use ICT applications. Nevertheless, findings indicated evidence of gender equality in use and access of ICT in these institutions with female to male participation of 83:103. This is also reflected in the interviews with lecturers (3:4). Although the ratio of female to male participation is not exactly 50:50, the proportion of female participation is higher than in other statistics on gender inclusion in Africa

Ct Scan Findings in Patients Presenting with Headache at the Radiology Department Muhimbili National Hospital, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

It is estimated that more than one hundred thousand people suffer from headache all over the world. Headache is one of the main sources of discomfort. The IHS classifies headache into primary (without any organic cause) or secondary (with an established cause an established cause). Primary headache includes migraine, cluster. With these types of headaches no imaging modality has proved to be necessary. With current literature, the migraine headache can be investigated with MRI and gives positive results. For secondary type of headache hemorrhage has been established as one of the factors. This is attributed to hypertension which is on the rise in Tanzania. Other factors include brain atrophy and tumors which can be primary or secondary. To evaluate the causes of secondary headache by the use of CT scan at MNH in 2011. This will help to determine the most prevalent cause of headache in patients. Also to determine the most prevalent cause of headache in general and the pattern of presentation on the imaging modality. This was an observational study whereby a sample of 85 subjects were taken. Characteristic of the type of headache was noted as documented in the request form. The underlying conditions were outlined. Evaluation for the cause of headache was done using a helical PHILLIPS CT 8 planner scan machine (Phillips, Eindhelsen, Netherlands).Collected data was analyzed using SPSS programme version 15. For the continuous data mean and standard deviation were considered while for the categorical was by proportion and percentage. The association between headache and the risk factors will be established using chi square and linear regression to establish the statistical significance. The study included 85 patients, with more females than males. The study showed that the prevalence of positive findings among patients that presented with headache was 31.9%. The most prevalent pathology found was sinusitis which was located in the maxillary sinus. Among the CT scan findings and the suspected diagnosis, brain metastasis showed to have strong correlation. Both sinusitis, brain atrophy and brain infection had positive correlation and brain infarction had negative correlation between the clinical deduced diagnosis and the CT scan findings. Some study subjects had pre existing morbidity and the most frequent one was hypertension. No significant difference was noted among patients who had hypertension and those who had not as far as the CT SCAN findings (P 4.254). There were neurological complaints apart from headache and the commonest one documented was loss of consciousness. This however did not have an effect on the CT scan findings whether normal or abnormal (P 0.016). CT scan has a role in determining the cause of headache. Primary headache is more common than secondary headache. More emphasis should be put to women presenting with headache. The commonest cause of secondary headache is maxillary sinusitis. ix Recommendations More emphasis should be given to female patients presenting with headache especially above the age of 40. Also cancer patients should undergo CT scan when presenting with first time headache due to high likelihood having brain metastasis

Carry-over effect of Thidiazuron on banana in vitro proliferation at different culture cycles and light incubation conditions

Thidiazuron (TDZ) is an active cytokinin that was shown to induce increased shoot proliferation and habituation in black walnut, Phaseolus lunatus and evergreen azalea, which are tree species but has not been widely investigated in bananas. Unlike other cytokines commonly in use that are adeninebased, TDZ is a urea based cytokinin and therefore is  non-degradable by cytokinin-oxidase enzymes in plant tissues. This quality causes TDZ to be persistent in tissues hence transforming them from cytokinin dependence to cytokinin autonomy. This therefore makes use of TDZ cost effective but there is lack of information on this quality in banana micropropagation. A study was therefore conducted to investigate the carry over effect of varying concentrations of TDZ and 22.2 mM benzylaminopurine (BAP) as control on proliferation of five banana cultivars on a hormone free medium under various incubation conditions. The results showed that TDZ had a carry-over effect that enabled shoots to continue proliferating on a hormone free medium as the culture cycles increased and that this effect was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of BAP. Accumulation of TDZ to high levels resulted in suppression of shoot proliferation but on exposing such tissues to a cytokinin-free medium insubsequent subcultures would result in increased shoot proliferation and elongation. The results further showed dark conditions enhanced higher proliferation rates than light conditions in some cultivars suggesting that banana in vitro proliferation is a photomorphogenically responsive processthat is enhanced under dark conditions

Investigating perceptions of students' language needs at a Rwandan institution of higher learning

The site of this research is the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). The research was undertaken to investigate first year students' perceived English language needs in order to study successfully at KIST. The research was intended to pave the way for differentiated English language syllabuses for students of varying English proficiency. It sought to answer the following questions: (1) what are students' perceived language needs in order to study through the medium of English at KIST? (2) To what extent does the current English language programme address these perceived needs? And (3) what are the differences in students' perceived language needs at different levels of proficiency? The research was carried out in an interpretive paradigm using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It took the form of a case study utilising questionnaires to collect data. Questionnaires were administered to students, mainstream subject lecturers and English lecturers. The student sample consisted of 212 students chosen from the four previously identified levels of proficiency (beginner, elementary, intermediate and advanced). The lecturer samples consisted of seven subject lecturers and eleven lecturers in English. The research tools used to collect data were administered questionnaires and document analysis. The chi-square statistical test was used to analyse quantitative data especially in establishing differences that appeared between dissimilar proficiency levels. Findings have shown that, although English is no longer a credit-bearing course, students are still interested in learning it. Students expressed a high positive perception for learning language structures, listening and speaking, and a need for reading and writing. However, although it was possible to establish stakeholders' (students, subject lecturers and lecturers in English) perceptions of students' needs, it was not easy to establish what students' real needs and difficulties in English are. Attempts to get valid answers to my questions were not conclusive. Although this research has implications for the future of English language teaching/learning at KIST there is a need for further investigation of students' needs. An important starting point would be to begin a debate at KIST about the whole issue of students' needs. Such research would exploit research tools/methods not used in this research (e.g focus group interviews and observations)

The Influence of Livestock grazing on Plant Species Diversity and Distribution at Kiranjeranje Ward-Kilwa District

The relationship between environmental variables and plant species Diversity and distribution in Kiranjeranje ward was studied using multivariate gradient analysis. Vegetation data were collected in 30 established plots using the stratified random sampling method. For each plot established environmental data on edaphic factors and anthropogenic disturbances were also collected. The plant species were classified using a computer program TWINSPAN and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) in which three major plant communities were identified. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed that Grazing intensity(r =-0.9439), silt(r = -0.7282), sand(r=0.7886) and clay(r = -0.7607) are Environmental variables with much influence on species distribution in the study area The Shannon - Weaver species diversity index was used to find the a- species diversity of the plant species .The ungrazed community had the highest a- species diversity (2.36577), followed by the moderately grazed community (2.35142) and the heavily grazed community had the lowest value (1.84805), this is due to the fact that overgrazing results into removal of plant species and severe depletion of vegetation resources The study recommends development of sustainable grazing system that combine traditional pastoral knowledge, scientific management principle and pastoral local institution, Also a long-term conservation plant in necessary to ensure grazing dos not threaten existing vegetation and biodiversity

Generation of cell suspensions of East African highland bananas through scalps

The improvement of East African highland bananas (EAHBs) using conventional breeding methods is difficult due to their biology and therefore focus on improving them has shifted to exploring methodsfor establishment of embryogenic cell suspensions, which can then be targeted, for genetic transformation. Shoots of four cultivars namely ‘Musakala’, ‘Kibuzi’, ‘Mbwazirume’ and ‘Lwadungu’ were transferred to a multiplication media modified by adding a combination of N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) at concentrations of 24.8/0.45, 16.2/1.14, 14.4/3.50, 12.4/4.55, 10/5.68 mM forscalp generation. These media are referred to as M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5, respectively. Two other treatments designated as M6 and M7 with concentrations of 10 mM TDZ and 100 mM BAP, respectivelywere included for comparison purposes. The scalps developed were excised and inoculated into liquid induction medium supplemented with either BAP or Zeatin to generate cell suspensions. Scalpformation was achieved earlier and at much lower concentrations of combined BAP and TDZ than when singly applied. Combinations of 12.4/4.55 and 10/5.68 M BAP/TDZ produced the best scalps. Thestructure of the cell suspension and the rate of cell growth were found to be dependent on the cultivar regardless of the hormone treatment in the induction medium. Cultivars ‘Musakala’, ‘Kibuzi’ and ‘Mbwazime’ produced cell culture of clustered and aggregated cells and high cell numbers, which are a prerequisite for embryo cells development

Mannitol in diuretic resistant nephrotic syndrome: a case report

A 6 year old presented with generalized oedema to Kagando hospital, Uganda, and was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome. Despite treatment with a fluid restriction, prednisolone and furosemide, the oedema worsened and the weight increased. Mannitol was added to the treatment regime and the oedema improved. The patient was able to be discharged four days later without any diuretic therapy. The case highlights the use of mannitol in the treatment of diuretic resistant oedema with nephrotic syndrome. It provides an alternative therapy for the resource-poor setting to the expensive albumin-furosemide combination often used elsewhere

In silico analysis of the effects of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms on the human macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene and their possible role in human African trypanosomiasis susceptibility

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 10,000 cases being reported per year. The Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) which is encoded by a functionally polymorphic gene is important in both innate andadaptive immune responses, and has been implicated in affecting the outcome and processes of several inflammatory conditions. A recent study in mice to that effect showed that MIF deficient and anti-MIF antibody treated mice showed lowered inflammatory responses, liver damage and anaemia than the wild type mice when experimentally challenged with Trypanosomes. These findings could mean that the transcript levels and/or polymorphisms in this gene can possibly affect individual risk to trypanosomiasis. This is especially of interest because there have been reports of spontaneous recovery i.e self-cure/resistance in some HAT cases in West Africa. Prior to this discovery the general paradigm was that trypanosomiasis is fatal if left untreated. The aim of this study was to gain insights into how human genetic variation in forms of nonsynonymous SNPs affects the MIF structure and function and possibly HAT susceptibility. NsSNPs in the mif gene were obtained from dbSNP. Through homology modeling, SNP prediction tools, protein interface analysis, alanine scanning, changes in free energy of folding, protein interactions calculator (PIC), and molecular dynamics simulations, SNP effects on the protein structure and function were studied. The study cohort comprised of human genome sequence data from 50 North Western Uganda Lugbara endemic individuals of whom 20 were cases (previous HAT patients) and 30 were controls (HAT free individuals). None of the 26 nsSNPs retrieved from dbSNP (July 2015) were present in the mif gene region in the study cohort. Out of the eight variants called in the mif coding region there was only one missense variant rs36065127 whose clinical significance is unknown. It was not possible to test for association of this variant with HAT due to its low global MAF that was less than 0.05. Alanine scanning provided a fast and computationally cheap means of quickly assessing nsSNPs of importance. NsSNPs that were interface residues were more likely to be hotspots (important in protein stability). Assessment of possible compensatory mutations using PIC analysis showed that some nsSNP sites were interacting with others, but this requires further experimentation. Analysis of changes in free energy using FOLDX was not enough to predict which nsSNPs would adversely affect protein structure, function and kinetics. The MD simulations were unfortunately too short to glean any meaningful inferences. This was the first genetic study carried out on the people of Lugbara ethnicity from North Western Uganda

Computer aided approaches against Human African Trypanosomiasis

The thesis presented here is divided into two parts under a common theme that is the use of computer based tools, genomics, and in vitro experiments to develop innovative ways of tackling Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT). Part I of this thesis focused on the human host genetic determinants while Part II focused on the discovery of novel chemotherapeutics against the parasite. Part I is further sub-divided into two parts: The first involves a Candidate Gene Association Study (CGAS) on an African population to identify genetic determinants associated with disease and/or susceptibility to HAT. The second involves studying the effects of missense Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs) on protein structure, dynamics, and function using Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) as a case study. Part II is also sub-divided into two parts: The first involves a computer based rational drug discovery of potential inhibitors against the Trypanosoma the folate pathway; particularly by targeting Trypanosoma brucei Pteridine Reductase (TbPTR1) which is an enzyme used by trypanosomes to overcome T. brucei Dihydrofolate Reductase (TbDHFR) inhibition. Lastly the derivation of CHARMM force-field parameters that can be used to accurately model the geometry and dynamics of the T. brucei Phosphodiesterase B1 enzyme (TbrPDEB1) bimetallic active site center. The derived parameters were then used in MD simulations to characterise protein-ligand residue interactions that are important in TbrPDEB1 inhibition with the goal of targeting the cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) signalling pathway. In the CGAS we were unable to detect any genetic associations in the Ugandan cohort analysed that passed correction for multiple testing in spite of the study being sufficiently powered. Additionally, our study found no association of the Apo lipoprotein 1 (APOL1) G2 allele association with protection against acute HAT that has been previously reported. Future investigations for example, Genome Wide Association Studies using larger samples sizes (>3000 cases and controls) are required. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine that is important in both innate and adaptive immunity that has been shown to play a role in T. brucei pathogenicity using murine models. A total of 27 missense SNVs were modelled using homology modelling to create MIF protein mutants that were investigated using in silico effect prediction tools, molecular dynamics (MD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Dynamic Residue Network (DRN) analysis. Our results demonstrate that mutations P2Q, I5M, P16Q, L23F, T24S, T31I, Y37H, H41P, M48V, P44L, G52C, S54R, I65M, I68T, S75F, N106S, and T113S caused significant conformational changes. Further, DRN analysis showed that residues P2, T31, Y37, G52, I65, I68, S75, N106, and T113S are part of a similar local residue interaction network with functional significance. These results show how polymorphisms such as missense SNVs can affect protein conformation, dynamics, and function. Trypanosomes are auxotrophic for folates and pterins but require them for survival. They scavenge them from their hosts. PTR1 is a multifunctional enzyme that is unique to trypanosomatids that reduces both pterins and folates. In the presence of DHFR inhibitors, PTR1 is over-expressed thus providing an escape from the effects of DHFR inhibition. Both TbPTR1 and TbDHFR are pharmacologically and genetically validated drug targets. In this study 5742 compounds were screened using molecular docking, and 13 promising binding modes were further analysed using MD simulations. The trajectories were analysed using RMSD, Rg, RMSF, PCA, Essential Dynamics Analysis (EDA), Molecular Mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) binding free energy calculations, and DRN analysis. The computational screening approach allowed us to identify five of the compounds, named RUBi004, RUBi007, RUBi014, RUBi016 and RUBi018 that exhibited antitrypanosomal growth activities against trypanosomes in culture with IC50 values of 12.5 ± 4.8 μM, 32.4 ± 4.2 μM, 5.9 ± 1.4 μM, 28.2 ± 3.3 μM, and 9.7 ± 2.1 μM, respectively. Further when used in combination with WR99210 a known TbDHFR inhibitor RUBi004, RUBi007, RUBi014 and RUBi018 showed antagonism while RUBi016 showed an additive effect. These results indicate that the four compounds might be competing with TbDHFR while RUBi016 might be more specific for TbPTR1. These compounds provide scaffolds that can be further optimised to improve their potency and specificity. Lastly, using a systematic approach we derived CHARMM force-field parameters to accurately describe the TbrPDEB1 bi-metal catalytic center. For dynamics, we employed mixed bonded and non-bonded approach. We optimised the structure using a two-layer QM/MM ONIOM (B3LYP/6-31(g): UFF). The TbrPDEB1 bi-metallic center bonds, angles, and dihedrals were parameterized by fitting the energy profiles from Potential Energy Surface (PES) scans to the CHARMM potential energy function. The parameters were validated by means of MD simulations and analysed using RMSD, Rg, RMSF, hydrogen bonding, bond/angle/dihedral evaluations, EDA, PCA, and DRN analysis. The force-field parameters were able to accurately reproduce the geometry and dynamics of the TbrPDEB1 bi-metal catalytic center during MD simulations. Molecular docking was used to identify 6 potential hits, that inhibited trypanosome growth in vitro. The derived force-field parameters were used to simulate the 6 protein-ligand complexes with the aim of elucidating crucial protein-ligand residue interactions. Using the most potent ligand RUBi022 that had an IC50 of 14.96 μM we were able to identify key residue interactions that can be of use in in silico prediction of potential TbrPDEB1 inhibitors. Overall we demonstrate how bioinformatics tools can complement current disease eradication strategies. Future work will focus on identifying variants identified in Genome Wide Association Studies and partnering with wet labs to carry out further enzyme-ligand activity relationship studies, structure determination or characterisation of appropriate protein-ligand complexes by crystallography, and site specific mutation studie

Social Mobilization and Compliance with Mass Treatment for Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination in Kenya

This study aimed to establish the role of social mobilization in mass drug administration (MDA) uptake during the National Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Kenya. MDA for LF based on diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and albendazole using community-based treatment approach has been conducted for three years (2003, 2005 and 2008) in Kwale and Malindi districts. In each district, one high and one low, compliance locations were selected based on 2008 MDA data. From the four locations, nine villages were systematically sampled and a total of 965 randomly selected household heads interviewed. Sixteen focus group discussions with adult and youth male and female groups and separate in-depth interviews with eighty opinion leaders and eighty LF patients with clinical manifestations, purposively selected were conducted. Semi-structured interviews were held separately with fifteen community drug distributors, five health personnel and four LF coordinators also purposively selected. The results showed that knowledge about MDA for LF was not significantly associated with compliance (P>0.05). Seventy three percent in low and 78% in high compliance villages knew about MDA. The most common source of MDA information given by 49% of respondents in high and 40% in low compliance villages were the community drug distributors (CDDs). The content of MDA information received influenced compliance (P< 0.001), 71% in high compared to 61% in low compliance villages received correct information. The frequency of receiving MDA information also influenced compliance (P< 0.001), 65.5% in high compared to 50% in low compliance villages received the correct information at least once before treatment. Opinion towards the source of MDA information was also associated with compliance, 46% in high compared to 43% in low compliance villages considered the source as adequate (P< 0.001). The study results show that for MDA to be successful, information dissemination should be done by all stakeholders with the health personnel taking the lead role so that more adequate and factual content is relayed. Community sensitization and mobilization should be done repeatedly for all to get the information in good time to comply with treatment. Keywords: Compliance; Lymphatic Filariasis; Mass Drug Administration; Social Mobilizatio