Antimicrobial Resistance in Human and Animal Pathogens in Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania: An Urgent Need of a Sustainable Surveillance System.

A review of the published and unpublished literature on bacterial resistance in human and animals was performed. Sixty-eight articles/reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia were reviewed. The majority of these articles were from Tanzania. There is an increasing trend in the incidence of antibiotic resistance; of major concern is the increase in multidrug- resistant Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholera, non-typhoid Salmonella and other pathogens responsible for nosocomial infections. The increase in methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers in the countries under review confirms the spread of these clones worldwide. Clinical microbiology services in these countries need to be strengthened in order to allow a coordinated surveillance for antimicrobial resistance and provide data for local treatment guidelines and for national policies to control antimicrobial resistance. While the present study does not provide conclusive evidence to associate the increasing trend in antibiotic resistance in humans with the use of antibiotics in animals, either as feed additives or veterinary prescription, we strongly recommend a one-health approach of systematic surveillance across the public and animal health sectors, as well as the adherence to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)-OIE (World Organization of animal Health) --WHO(World Health Organization) recommendations for non-human antimicrobial usage

AIDS in dental practice in the tropics

No Abstract

The Factors Affecting Consumer Traits, Online Marketing Tools in Impulsive Buying Behavior of Online Fashion Stores, Bangkok Thailand

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting consumer traits, online marketing tools in the impulsive buying behavior of online fashion stores in Bangkok, Thailand. In this study, the researchers aim to determine which factors will be the most effect on ideal self-congruence, fashion consciousness, positive emotion, materialism, product attributes, online platform quality, and online sales promotion toward impulsive buying in the market platform of online fashion. A total of 400 participants, which contain specific characteristics such as experiencing participating fashion online platform, aging over 18 years old, and multinationalism who live in Bangkok was used as target population. Both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used in data analysis such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation (S.D.), and multiple linear regression (MLR) to describe demographic profile and the causal relationship between variables. In this study, results revealed that ideal self-congruence, fashion consciousness, materialism, product attributes, online platform quality, and online sales promotion have a positive significant effect on impulsive buying at a p-value less than .05, meanwhile, the positive emotion has failed to support the null hypothesis. This hypothesis testing applied that there has no significant effect on impulsive buying in online fashion stores in Bangkokian

Assessment of sharps waste management practices in a referral hospital

Sharps waste is part of infectious waste generated in health facilities, management of which is critical. This study aimed at assessing the sharps waste management practices in a referral hospital. The study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data on sharps waste containers (SWCs) management in generation rates was collected for 60 days, while waste incineration data was collected from 65 randomly selected days. This study gives a picture on how sharps wastes are managed from generation to final disposal. The average weight per used safety box observed in this study (1.54 kg/box) was far above the average weight of a normally filled safety box (0.79 kg/box) indicating that most of the safety boxes are overfilled at MNH. The overfilling of SWCs at MNH was at an average of 10.7% of all the SWCs collected, with a maximum value of 30%, indicating a problem in sharps waste management within the hospital. The sharps waste generation rate observed in a referral hospital (40.8 kg/day) was higher than values reported in district hospitals, but the sharps waste proportion in the infectious medical waste incinerated at MNH was low (at 4% on average). Increasing sharps waste proportion in the waste load increased the incinerator performance in terms of fuel effectiveness. The amount of ash collected from the incinerator per day was observed to be minimal compared to literature data. The final ashes were 5.4% of the total waste loaded, which indicates that the incinerator is more effective in weight reduction, rated at 94.6% efficient.Keywords: Sharps waste, sharps waste container, overfilled safety box, sharps waste proportion, infectious waste, incinerator ash, fuel effectivenes

Perceptions of staff and students concerning support offered to students the MA (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS) at the University of South Africa

The MA Social Behaviour Studies in HIV and AIDS as a postgraduate degree requires students to work and conduct research independently. The purpose of the study was to gauge the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of second year students and key personnel concerning student support. A mixed methods research design was used. It was found that students and staff regarded support in a positive light, although concerns about insufficient resources were expressed. Students expressed needs for specific academic and research support. Staff tended to romanticise the reasons for students enrolling for the degree. Possible conflicting expectations of the degree and the amount and type of support offered were found between the staff and the students and also among various staff members.Social WorkM.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV-AIDS

Assessment of the Small-scale Food Processing Subsector in Tanzania and Uganda

Assessment of the Small-scale Food Processing Subsector in Tanzania and Ugand

Participatory research results from training with the Mabinti Tushike Hatamu out-of-school girls program: Tanzania 2015

The Mabinti Tushike Hatamu (Girls let’s be leaders!) program is designed to test and evaluate strategies for reducing the vulnerability of out-of-school adolescent girls in Tanzania aged 10–19 years to HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, and unfavorable life outcomes. MTH is led by the Tanzania AIDS Commission, implemented by Restless Development, and supported by UNICEF. The Population Council developed a strategy for Restless Development to capture the richness of its activities. The Council designed a training session and a companion toolkit in participatory action research for community volunteers, aged 19–23 years, to use within their girl groups. This report describes the findings from two trainings that took place in April 2015

APPROPRIATENESS OF MNEMONIC TECHNIQUES ON FREE RECALL LEARNING OUTCOMES IN PUBLIC UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MACHAKOS SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

The purpose of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of mnemonic techniques on free recall learning outcomes in primary schools in Machakos Sub-County, Machakos County, Kenya. A 2x4 factorial design was used to test the appropriateness of three mnemonic techniques on free recall learning outcomes. Stratified sampling was to select one school from each of the three educational zones of Machakos Sub-County. Purposeful sampling was used to select four schools with mean grades between 279-281 marks in 2017 KCPE results. Random sampling was used to assign intact groups experimental and control groups. A sample size of 317 pupils was selected from standard seven pupils to participate in the study. The following research instruments were used: observation schedules for monitoring treatment process, Questionnaires for testing pupils’ satisfaction level and test scores for measuring free recall learning outcomes. The validity and reliability of the instruments was established by piloting the research instruments in Kathiani Sub-County. The reliability of the research instrument was determined through the split-half correlation method. The treatment process involved exposing pupils to learning using three mnemonic instruction conditions. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the data. Post-hoc pair wise comparison (LSD) was done to test which groups had significant difference. The results were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. The study had the following findings: No significance differences (F(3,318)= 2.26, P> 0.05) were found in free recall learning outcomes between learners who were taught using the three mnemonic techniques hence none of the three mnemonic techniques was found to be more appropriate for free recall learning tasks. The study recommended that, teacher trainees need to be trained on how to teach using mnemonic techniques and similar study should be replicated with samples drawn from students in secondary schools, colleges and Universities.  Article visualizations

Oral Health Status Of Handicapped Primary School Pupils In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Background: There is hardly any information regarding oral health status of handicapped primary school pupils in Tanzania. Determination of their oral health status could help in planning sustainable intervention programmes for this disadvantaged group. Objectives: To determine caries and periodontal status and treatment needs of handicapped primary school pupils in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Uhuru Mchanganyiko and Buguruni special schools, Dar es Salaam. Results: The sample consisted of 179 (55.8%) males and 142 (44.2%) females aged between 7 and 22 years. Majority (71%) were deaf followed by blind (17.8%) and mentally retarded (8.7%). Six (1.9%) pupils were both deaf and blind, while one (0.3%) pupil was blind and mentally retarded. Forty one (12.8%) pupils had at least one decayed deciduous tooth, with the mean (dmfs) ranging from 0.25 to 3.24. The deaf had the highest mean decayed surfaces, followed by the mentally retarded and the blind. There was only one (0.3%) pupil who had a filled deciduous tooth. Thirty three (10.3%) pupils had decayed permanent teeth and 31 (9.7%) had missing permanent teeth. None of the decayed permanent teeth were restored. The blind had the lowest mean deciduous surfaces (DS) scores of between 0 and 1.0. In the mentally retarded group the mean DS ranged from 0.25 to 1.75. About 73.5% of the studied group had bleeding of the gums, with the blind having the highest mean bleeding index scores (p < 0.001) and about 82.8% of the pupils had calculus, with highest mean scores mainly among the blind (p= 0.008). Conclusion: The caries prevalence among handicapped primary school pupils was quite low. However, there was relatively high level of gingival bleeding and calculus. Regarding treatment needs, 23% required dental fillings mainly of one and two surface restorations and 82% required scaling and polishing. Despite these treatment needs these pupils had not received any dental attention. East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (3) 2008: pp. 113-11

Emergency pulpotomy in relieving acute dental pain among Tanzanian patients

BACKGROUND: In Tanzania, oral health services are mostly in the form of dental extractions aimed at alleviating acute dental pain. Conservative methods of alleviating acute dental pain are virtually non-existent. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to determine treatment success of emergency pulpotomy in relieving acute dental pain. METHODS: Setting: School of Dentistry, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Study design: Longitudinal study. Participants: 180 patients who presented with dental pain due to acute irreversible pulpitis during the study period between July and August 2001. Treatment and evaluation: Patients were treated by emergency pulpotomy on permanent posterior teeth and were evaluated for pain after one, three and six week's post-treatment. Pain, if present, was categorised as either mild or acute. RESULTS: Of the patients with treated premolars, 25 (13.9%) patients did not experience pain at all while 19 (10.6%) experienced mild pain. None of the patients with treated premolars experienced acute pain. Among 136 patients with treated molars 56 (31%) did not experience any pain, 76 (42.2%) experienced mild pain and the other 4 (2.2%) suffered acute pain. CONCLUSION: The short term treatment success of emergency pulpotomy was high being 100% for premolars and 97.1% for molars, suggesting that it can be recommended as a measure to alleviate acute dental pain while other conservative treatment options are being considered