Effects of strength-training trials for children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of strength-training on lower limb muscles and motor activity among children and adolescents with spastic Cerebral Palsy. METHODS: A comprehensive search of full text published studies in English was performed. Electronic databases were searched with no limit for year of publication. Terms used included: exercise, children, youth, disability, treatment, strength training, spastic cerebral palsy, muscle strength, training program, therapeutic exercise, gait training, and physical function. Reference lists of retrieved articles were also examined to identify additional studies. To be included, studies had to be: randomised controlled trials evaluating strength training outcomes on children and adolescents with spastic CP. Those with intellectual disability were excluded. Evaluation for quality: Trials were rated for methodological quality using the PEDro scale independently by the 2 researchers. RESULTS: Of 4 selected trials, 1 an abstract was excluded, 3 full articles were included. Trials methodological quality ranged from 6 to 8 on PEDro scale. Two studies reported significant muscle strength changes following strength training, with effect sizes ranging from d equal to 1.17 to 1.78 and another reported improved gait and perceived body image. CONCLUSION: Trials demonstrate that strength-training improves strength of targeted muscle and motor functioning. More rigorous trials on larger samples should evaluate the impact of specificity in strength-training and cost-effectiveness of programs

Physical activity levels among young people with physical disabilities in selected high schools in Kenya and their perceived barriers and facilitators to participation

Purpose: To determine the levels of and potential contributing factors to participation in physical activity among young people with physical disabilities attending high school in Kenya. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, using a pre-piloted and validated self-administered questionnaire, was carried out in a purposively selected sample of 234 young people with physical disabilities drawn from three inclusive high schools in Kenya. The questionnaire comprising outcome measures for physical activity levels, barriers, and facilitators to physical activity participation was administered to the young people. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and both descriptive and inferential statistics were done. Results: Almost half of the children in the sample were inactive. Key barriers to physical activity were found to be: fear avoidance and disability, lack of time and the need to rest. Finding ways to exercise that are enjoyable, and not being in good health were associated significantly to gender (p<0.05). Likewise, age was significantly associated with gaining peer acceptance, as was encouragement from family and having disability (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results indicate there is a need, for activity counselling and provision of local disability-friendly and/or conducive environments to increase physical activity participation in this sample. All stakeholders should be enlisted in making recommendations and designing physical activity programmes for young people with disabilities in their schools

Principals’ Gender and Management Effectiveness in Secondary Schools: Case of Mtito Andei Division, Kenya

Educational leadership has a critical role in the transformation of society, and for change to happen, effective leaders are key. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of principals’ gender on management effectiveness in secondary schools in Mtito-Andei Division, Kenya. The study sought to establish the relationship between the Principals’ gender and their effectiveness in management of the discipline, staff, students and school finance.  The study used ex-post facto research design.  Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents for the study. The sample size was 28 principals and 140 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedules and was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Conceptually, the chi-square test of independence statistic was computed. In hypotheses the four scores in management of discipline, management of staff personnel, management of students and management of financial resources were converted from continuous data to discreet data (categories) respectively and then Chi-square used to test the hypotheses. The researcher adopted a significance level of 0.05. The results of the data analysis show that there was a significant relationship between the principals’ gender and effectiveness in management of discipline. It was also found out that there was no significant relationship between the principles gender and their effectiveness in personnel management, student management and financial management.. The study recommends that the teachers’ employer (The Teachers’ Service Commission) should consider gender while promoting deputy principals to become principals in order to ensure that there is gender equity in the secondary schools. Keywords: Principals’ Gender, Management effectivenes

The strategically located land index support system for human settlements land reform in South Africa

Creating sustainable human settlements is fundamental in fostering spatial and socio-economic integration in South Africa. Policy makers are often faced with the problem of identifying strategically located land for human settlements land reform in South Africa. To date there is no tool or standard framework that assist the government to identify land that is strategically located for land reform. This study proposes the use of geographic in- formation systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) data and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to develop a strategically located land index (SLLI) deployed in a web viewer to identify land that is smart for human settlements land reform. The study demonstrates that using the GIS and EO and the GIS webserver are invaluable tools in facilitating streamlined, coordinated, standardised and evidence-based decisions for human settle- ments land reform. However, there is need for capacity building in government departments responsible for land reform and development planning

Translation and adaptation of the stroke-specific quality of life scale into Swahili

Background: Stroke care requires a patient-centred, evidence-based and culturally appropriate approach for better patient clinical outcomes. Quality of life necessitates precise measuring using health-related quality measures that are self-reported and language appropriate. However, most of the self-reported measures were devised in Europe and therefore not considered contextually appropriate in other settings, more so in Africa. Objectives: Our study aimed to produce a Swahili version by translating and adapting the stroke-specific quality of life (SSQOL) scale among people with stroke in Kenya. Method: We used a questionnaire translation and cross-cultural adaptation. The pre-validation sample of 36 adult participants was drawn from 40 registered people with stroke, from the Stroke Association of Kenya (SAoK). Quantitative data were collected using both English and Swahili versions of the SSQOL scale. The mean, standard deviation (s.d.) and overall scores were calculated and are presented in tables. Results: The back translation revealed a few inconsistencies. Minor semantic and equivalence alterations were done in the vision, mood, self-care, upper extremity function and mobility domains by the expert review committee. Respondents indicated that all questions were well-understood and captured. The stroke onset mean age was 53.69 years and the standard deviation was 14.05. Conclusion: The translated version of the Swahili SSQOL questionnaire is comprehensible and well-adapted to the Swahili-speaking population. Clinical implication: The SSQOL has the potential to be a useful outcome measure for use in Swahili-speaking patients with stroke

Investigation of water recycling in an anaerobic digester

Abstract: Anaerobic digesters (AD) are important biogas production units that convert waste to energy. In this paper, the water recycling will be investigated in the digestate of the AD as a way to utilize the scarce resources. Mostly, the digestate are put in dry bed for water vaporization and recovery of the solid bio-fertilizer. This paper focusses not only on extracting of the solid content, but it also focusses on capturing water such that it can be reused in the anaerobic digestion system. The tests that were performed are the accumulated mass, water quantity and water quality tests. The experimental matrix for testing were also designed. In the results, it was determined that most suitable material was 60 micrometre stainless steel mesh. This material was found to have a separation efficiency of 44% while recycling 77% of the water from liquid digestate. The material’s properties had a high durability, high corrosion resistance and high strength. This made the material long lasting and efficient for real life applications and due to its low corrosion, the recycled water does not have material impurities. The filtered water can be fed back into the digester while the filtrate can be used as a fertilizer

Waste to energy technologies from organics fraction of municipal solid waste

Abstract: With rapid economic growth and increased urbanization, South Africa faces the problem of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal and pressing the need for waste to energy recovery. Nowadays, renewable energy is the key consideration in the discussion of the sustainable worldwide energy system that reduces global climate change, human health problems, and environmental degradation. Sustainable development requires the sustainable supply of clean and affordable renewable energy. The renewable energy source such as bioenergy, solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal is usually viewed as sustainable energy sources that drive economic development. Wastes are convertible to useful energy through waste to energy (WtE) technologies. In this study, renewable energy technologies from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and their relation to sustainable development are discussed. Via the application of the simple multi-attribute rating (SMART) technique of multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as a decision support tool, the most preferred model option for WtE technology was selected from a list of potential alternatives available in the market base on environmental, sociocultural, technical and economical consideration. From our investigation into the City of Johannesburg Landfill, the OFMSW had the highest fraction that comprises of 34% in portion. From MCDA-AHP results, anaerobic digestion was the most preferred technology of choice, taking into consideration environmental preservation as the ultimate goal

Optimising biogas production from anaerobic co-digestion of chicken manure and organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Abstract: In this study, it was observed that in experimental work under laboratory scale using conventional biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay, the loading rate ratio 4:1 had optimum biodegradability rate than other ratios which were investigated, while the loading rate ratio of 1:1 had optimum biogas and methane yield after 15 days hydraulic retention time. It was concluded that chicken waste (CM) monodigestion has higher biodegradability rate compare to organic fraction municipality solid waste (OFMSW) mono-digestion. Co-digestion of OFMSW and CM stabilizes conditions in digestion process such as carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio in the substrate mixtures as well as macro and micronutrients, pH, inhibitors or toxic compounds, dry matter and thus increasing biogas production. It was concluded that the organic waste generated in the municipal landfills could be co-digested with CM to produce methane which can be used as a source of environmentally friendly and clean energy for the transport sector, industries and residential homes

Impact of substrate composition in biomethane production under thermophilic conditions

Abstract: In this investigation, the anaerobic digestion (AD) results from different substrates were evaluated. By means of two co-digestion processes with cow dung, it was observed a good performance in the first process and a poor production trend in the second one. NaOH was used as chemical absorbent in two different bottles in the CO2 fixing unit to compare the volume of biomethane produced. A batch anaerobic codigestion was carried out in 500 mL digesters which were placed into a water bath at 45°C and maintained at the initial pH of 7. Important AD factors such as pH, Carbon and Nitrogen ratio (C/N), concentration, substrate composition were observed. Through an ultimate analysis, amount of Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N), and Sulphur (S) were also discussed. The toxicity of other elements found in substrates appeared higher in the second process than in the first. It was concluded that inhibitory elements identification and control before furthering any biogas production process were primordial

Renewable energy potential of anaerobic monoand co-digestion of chicken manure, goat manure, potato peels and maize pap in South Africa

Abstract: The energy sector is an essential part of a country’s economy – it drives innovation and advances industrialisation. Coal is the primary source of energy in South Africa. Coal contributes 95% of energy production; coal-fired power also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and is thus a hazard to human health and the environment. This calls for an energy mix that is renewable, sustainable, and affordable and that is carbon neutral (climate action). We investigated the potential of anaerobic monoand co-digestion of goat manure, chicken manure, potato peels, maize pap, and cow manure inoculum for mesophilic recovery of renewable energy using the biomethane potential test. The substrates were characterised through proximate and ultimate analyses to determine the composition preferable for mono- and co-digestion. The key considerations in the determination of both the yield and production rate of methane from digestion of biomass are the substrate composition and characterisation. A high percentage of volatile solids favoured optimum biomethane production as highly volatile components provide microbes with balanced nutrients that enhance metabolic processes to produce biomethane. The mono-digestion process produced lower biomethane than did co-digestion. Higher production of biomethane by co-digestion was due to the balance of the micronutrients and macronutrients that favoured microbial metabolism and regulation of pH. Significance: • The results highlight the need for appropriate techniques in combining energy and waste management. Biogas could provide solutions for some of South Africa’s energy necessities, particularly in rural areas that have abundant biogas substrates in the form of waste from goats and chickens, as well as from kitchen waste