Macroporous Polymer Synthesis and Characterization: The Role of Molecular Recognition in the Regioselectivity of Sucrose Reactions

Molecular recognition has recently emerged as a unique technique for making synthetic polymers with selective binding cavities which can stereoselectively and regioselectively bind to a template molecule in a fashion similar to natural enzymes and antibodies. Its industrial applications in chemistry and biomedicine have been recently exploited. Typical examples include the resolution of amino acids, enantio-separation of racemates and bioactive molecules, selective binding of metal ions and in HPLC investigations. Our research is focused on applying molecular recognition studies to improve the regioselectivity of sucrose reactions. Sucrose is an abundant industrial raw material of immense industrial importance however, its full commercial utilization is severely limited by the lack of regioselectivity in many synthetic reactions. This is due to the eight reactive hydroxyl groups on the sucrose molecule. Our strategy is to use a molecule of similar structure to sucrose, in our case, p-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside, to serve as a template. From this, a monomer, p-nitrophenyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-methacryloyl-α-D-glucopyranoside is synthesized and copolymerized with styrene and divinylbenzene to form a three dimensional cross-linked polymer matrix. Removal of the template molecule from the polymer matrix by hydrolysis would create cavities on the polymer whose functional groups can recognize and bond to the template molecule and ultimately with the glucose end of sucrose. This way we can block the hydroxyls on the glucose part of sucrose from further reactions whilst a number of reactions can be done with the fructose hydroxyls. Alternatively a reaction might possibly be performed on the sucrose in the cavity. Not much attention has been given to the set of experimental conditions necessary for the synthesis of polymer imprints which are macroporous, spherical and have a high surface area. In order for the polymers to be selective a macroporous state is very desirable since it permits access to a large surface area and thus a larger number of cavities. This thesis deals with the task of finding the necessary conditions for the synthesis of macroporous polymers, their characterization and surface area measurement

Macroporous Polymer Synthesis and Characterization: The Role of Molecular Recognition in the Regioselectivity of Sucrose Reactions

Molecular recognition has recently emerged as a unique technique for making synthetic polymers with selective binding cavities which can stereoselectively and regioselectively bind to a template molecule in a fashion similar to natural enzymes and antibodies. Its industrial applications in chemistry and biomedicine have been recently exploited. Typical examples include the resolution of amino acids, enantio-separation of racemates and bioactive molecules, selective binding of metal ions and in HPLC investigations. Our research is focused on applying molecular recognition studies to improve the regioselectivity of sucrose reactions. Sucrose is an abundant industrial raw material of immense industrial importance however, its full commercial utilization is severely limited by the lack of regioselectivity in many synthetic reactions. This is due to the eight reactive hydroxyl groups on the sucrose molecule. Our strategy is to use a molecule of similar structure to sucrose, in our case, p-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside, to serve as a template. From this, a monomer, p-nitrophenyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-methacryloyl-α-D-glucopyranoside is synthesized and copolymerized with styrene and divinylbenzene to form a three dimensional cross-linked polymer matrix. Removal of the template molecule from the polymer matrix by hydrolysis would create cavities on the polymer whose functional groups can recognize and bond to the template molecule and ultimately with the glucose end of sucrose. This way we can block the hydroxyls on the glucose part of sucrose from further reactions whilst a number of reactions can be done with the fructose hydroxyls. Alternatively a reaction might possibly be performed on the sucrose in the cavity. Not much attention has been given to the set of experimental conditions necessary for the synthesis of polymer imprints which are macroporous, spherical and have a high surface area. In order for the polymers to be selective a macroporous state is very desirable since it permits access to a large surface area and thus a larger number of cavities. This thesis deals with the task of finding the necessary conditions for the synthesis of macroporous polymers, their characterization and surface area measurement

Kenya-Malawi Biomass Energy Project Summary Report

This project is intended to carry out an engineering, social and economic evaluation of food processing in the rural areas of Malawi and Kenya. The aim is to collect the information necessary for designing a clean and low-cost energy system for co-generation of heat and electricity from agricultural waste to support food processing. the objective of this research is to survey the following aspects: Technical: The existing energy-intensive food processing industries in the partner countries. Social: Current and historic social resources: e.g. the designers, operators and beneficiaries of the existing processes; Locally available skills for designing and operating alternative energy solutions. End-user: Current and historical regional usages of the agricultural products; Local views on existing problems and their desired goals

“Because of mchango, I give my baby gripe water so he sleeps and stops crying”: Exclusive breastfeeding and parents’ concerns about colic-like symptoms in infants under 6 months in Lake Zone, Tanzania

Background Effective social and behavior change strategies for exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rely on understanding how families interpret infant behavior and provide care. Little research thoroughly explores household use of non-prescribed medicine for infants under 6 months in rural Tanzania, which can interrupt EBF and may have other harmful unintended effects. Aim To explore parents’ use of non-prescribed medicine in response to infants’ colic-like symptoms during the EBF period. Methods We conducted thematic analysis of a series of qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 36 mothers and 30 fathers of infants 0-6 months in Lake Zone, Tanzania. Here, we focus on emergent themes related to concerns about colic-like symptoms and global implications for public health practitioners. Results Parents reported concerns about excessive crying and perceived infant abdominal pain, attributed to a potentially serious disease state locally known as mchango. Most parents gave non-prescribed medicines (e.g. gripe water, oral traditional medicine, and/or other commercial medicines) to treat or prevent mchango and associated symptoms, often including infant crying. After receiving supportive counselling on soothing techniques, most were willing to avoid giving non-prescribed medicines. Some reported continued challenges attributed to mchango symptoms, namely inconsolable crying. Conclusion While symptoms of mchango reported in this study overlapped with colic symptoms, literature in Tanzania suggests, in some cases, mchango is perceived to have spiritual origins and potentially be dangerous if left untreated. Empathetic counseling can offer parents knowledge and skills to manage colic-like symptoms without using non-prescribed medicines. Health workers need clear messages and training on risks of non-prescribed medicines and Tanzanian legislation banning its promotion and distribution

Early Initiation and Exclusivity of Breastfeeding in Rural Zimbabwe: Impact of a Breastfeeding Intervention Delivered by Village Health Workers.

Background: Suboptimal breastfeeding contributes to >800,000 global child deaths annually. Optimal breastfeeding includes early initiation (EI) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 mo. Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that an intervention targeting context and infant age-specific barriers to EI and EBF will achieve a higher EI and EBF prevalence than those of women participating in the concurrently conducted 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (Z-DHS). Methods: We designed an intervention to promote EI and EBF, and implemented it within the Sanitation Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial in rural Zimbabwe. Intervention modules were delivered at 4 perinatal time points by government-employed village health workers. We compared EI and EBF prevalence among SHINE women who provided outcomes at 1 mo (n = 2442) and 3 mo (n = 2728), with women in the 2015 Z-DHS. Results: In cross-sectional analyses EI prevalence was 86.6% and 64.3% in the SHINE and Z-DHS samples, respectively; absolute difference (95% CI) = 22.4% (17.5%, 27.3%). EBF prevalence was similarly high (>80%) in both surveys during the first month of life; during 1 to <2 mo, 2 to <3 mo, 3 to <4 mo, 4 to <5 mo, and 5 to <6 mo, EBF prevalence was, respectively, 85%, 90%, 90%, 84%, and 75% in SHINE, and 71%, 65%, 35%, 26%, and 25% in Z-DHS; absolute difference (95% CI) = 50.2% (34.7%, 65.7%) at 5 to <6 mo. Cesarean delivery, mother's belief that intimate partner violence was sometimes justifiable, and having a male infant negatively modified the effects of the intervention. Conclusions: The SHINE intervention achieved a high prevalence of EI and EBF. Concurrently addressing gender norms will be critical to make further progress. Formative studies to identify context- and infant age-specific barriers to EI and EBF may inform improvement of breastfeeding practices elsewhere. Important work remains to scale up this intervention beyond a research setting. SHINE was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01824940.Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP1143707)United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID/UKAID)Wellcome Trust (093768/Z/10/Z and 108065/Z/15/ZSwiss Agency for Development and Cooperatio

Measuring wealth in rural communities: Lessons from the Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial.

BACKGROUND: Poverty and human capital development are inextricably linked and therefore research on human capital typically incorporates measures of economic well-being. In the context of randomized trials of health interventions, for example, such measures are used to: 1) assess baseline balance; 2) estimate covariate-adjusted analyses; and 3) conduct subgroup analyses. Many factors characterize economic well-being, however, and analysts often generate summary measures such as indices of household socio-economic status or wealth. In this paper, a household wealth index is developed and tested for participants in the cluster-randomized Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial in rural Zimbabwe. METHODS: Building on the approach used in the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), we combined a set of housing characteristics, ownership of assets and agricultural resources into a wealth index using principal component analysis (PCA) on binary variables. The index was assessed for internal and external validity. Its sensitivity was examined considering an expanded set of variables and an alternative statistical approach of polychoric PCA. Correlation between indices was determined using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and agreement between quintiles using a linear weighted Kappa statistic. Using the 2015 ZDHS data, we constructed a separate index and applied the loadings resulting from that analysis to the SHINE study population, to compare the wealth distribution in the SHINE study with rural Zimbabwe. RESULTS: The derived indices using the different methods were highly correlated (r>0.9), and the wealth quintiles derived from the different indices had substantial to near perfect agreement (linear weighted Kappa>0.7). The indices were strongly associated with a range of assets and other wealth measures, indicating both internal and external validity. Households in SHINE were modestly wealthier than the overall population of households in rural Zimbabwe. CONCLUSION: The SHINE wealth index developed here is a valid and robust measure of wealth in the sample

Environmental enteric dysfunction and child stunting

In 2017, an estimated 1 in every 4 (23%) children aged < 5 years were stunted worldwide. With slow progress in stunting reduction in many regions and the realization that a large proportion of stunting is not due to insufficient diet or diarrhea alone, it remains that other factors must explain continued growth faltering. Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a subclinical state of intestinal inflammation, can occur in infants across the developing world and is proposed as an immediate causal factor connecting poor sanitation and stunting. A result of chronic pathogen exposure, EED presents multiple causal pathways, and as such the scope and sensitivity of traditional water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions have possibly been unsubstantial. Although the definite pathogenesis of EED and the mechanism by which stunting occurs are yet to be defined, this paper reviews the existing literature surrounding the proposed pathology and transmission of EED in infants and considerations for nutrition and WASH interventions to improve linear growth worldwide

Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters were defined as the catchment area of between one and four village health workers employed by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. Women were eligible for inclusion if they permanently lived in clusters and were confirmed pregnant. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to standard of care (52 clusters), IYCF (20 g of a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement per day from age 6 to 18 months plus complementary feeding counselling; 53 clusters), WASH (construction of a ventilated improved pit latrine, provision of two handwashing stations, liquid soap, chlorine, and play space plus hygiene counselling; 53 clusters), or IYCF plus WASH (53 clusters). A constrained randomisation technique was used to achieve balance across the groups for 14 variables related to geography, demography, water access, and community-level sanitation coverage. Masking of participants and fieldworkers was not possible. The primary outcomes were infant length-for-age Z score and haemoglobin concentrations at 18 months of age among children born to mothers who were HIV negative during pregnancy. These outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We estimated the effects of the interventions by comparing the two IYCF groups with the two non-IYCF groups and the two WASH groups with the two non-WASH groups, except for outcomes that had an important statistical interaction between the interventions. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01824940. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2012, and March 27, 2015, 5280 pregnant women were enrolled from 211 clusters. 3686 children born to HIV-negative mothers were assessed at age 18 months (884 in the standard of care group from 52 clusters, 893 in the IYCF group from 53 clusters, 918 in the WASH group from 53 clusters, and 991 in the IYCF plus WASH group from 51 clusters). In the IYCF intervention groups, the mean length-for-age Z score was 0·16 (95% CI 0·08-0·23) higher and the mean haemoglobin concentration was 2·03 g/L (1·28-2·79) higher than those in the non-IYCF intervention groups. The IYCF intervention reduced the number of stunted children from 620 (35%) of 1792 to 514 (27%) of 1879, and the number of children with anaemia from 245 (13·9%) of 1759 to 193 (10·5%) of 1845. The WASH intervention had no effect on either primary outcome. Neither intervention reduced the prevalence of diarrhoea at 12 or 18 months. No trial-related serious adverse events, and only three trial-related adverse events, were reported. INTERPRETATION: Household-level elementary WASH interventions implemented in rural areas in low-income countries are unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia and might not reduce diarrhoea. Implementation of these WASH interventions in combination with IYCF interventions is unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia more than implementation of IYCF alone. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, Wellcome Trust, Swiss Development Cooperation, UNICEF, and US National Institutes of Health.The SHINE trial is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP113707); UK Department for International Development; Wellcome Trust, UK (093768/Z/10/Z, 108065/Z/15/Z and 203905/Z/16/Z); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; US National Institutes of Health (2R01HD060338-06); and UNICEF (PCA-2017-0002)

Effectiveness of internal financial control policies in public sector institutions: The case of the Ministry of Defence Zimbabwe

The research assessed the effectiveness of internal financial control policies in Public sector Institutions, focusing on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the period 2010 to 2013. The study was necessitated by the need to improve effectiveness of internal controls in the Zimbabwean Public Sector. This was in light of the severe budget over-runs, misappropriation of funds and negative audit reports. The main objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of internal financial controls in place within the public sector. This was done through an assessment of the usage of and adherence to internal controls, coupled with uncovering the challenges and potential strategies associated with implementing and using effective internal controls. Relevant literature was reviewed in line with the mentioned objectives. This led to the methodology section. A survey with 92% response rate was used for the research and questionnaires were used to gather data from the respondents. The respondents were all employees at the MOD. Interviews were conducted with the Chief Internal Auditor and one Director to obtain in depth answers and also to clarify unclear responses thus improving validity and reliability of results. Major findings were that despite general adherence to internal controls, the internal controls in place are not effective. The findings also included challenges faced in using internal controls and identified potential strategies to enhance effectiveness of internal controls. The study also revealed the importance of creating a conducive environment for effective implementation of internal controls. There is no obvious flouting of control procedures put in place. The conclusion reached was that the internal controls at the MOD are ineffective. It was also concluded that there is reasonable adherence to the usage of internal controls in place despite the existence of several challenges such as outdated manuals, lack of inadequate funding and lack of appropriate training. The study recommended that management must continuously update policy and procedure manuals used and at the same time institute the necessary training to bring about effectiveness of internal controls. It was also recommended that management should professionalise the MOD through recruiting, training and development of qualified personnel. Furthermore, continuous dialogue with Ministry of Finance was suggested to reduce excessive budget overrun