The Role of the Pastor in a Multi-Church District in East Zimbabwe Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Problem Some Seventh-day Adventist Church members in Chiremba West District, Harare, East Zimbabwe Conference, complained that 1, the district pastor, was not ministering to them effectively. The district has a total of seven organized churches and a membership of 5.135 (E.Z.C. Church Membership Record Book, 2008). Despite the high membership, members\u27 expectations are that I attend all family or church programs. The purpose of the project was to discover the professional role for the pastor in a multi-church district, and also to uncover the expectations that church members have of their pastor in a multi-church district. Defining those expectations enables the pastor to understand how he can minister most effectively to the district. Method Seventh-day Adventists in Chiremba West District 18-70 years of age were put into focus groups of seven to ten individuals, and questionnaires were administered to them as a way of collecting data (see appendices A-T). The research method used was descriptive qualitative. The research was approved by the Institutional Review Board (Protocol number 08-089). A balance of men and women, educational achievement, and age was more or less maintained in the sample. Results Church board members, elders, and the church members in Chiremba West District joined and participated in different ministries that were introduced by the district pastor. Priesthood of all believers was seen and experienced in Chiremba West District. Bum out is now the thing of the past to the district pastor. Conclusions The church members in Chiremba West District are happy that their pastor is spending more time in church administration, training church members for ministry, and visitations. Of those who were interviewed, more than 50% agreed that the pastor\u27s role is to empower and engage his church members in ministry consistent with the gifts given them by the Holy Spirit

Biliary Atresia – An Easily Missed Cause of Jaundice amongst Children in Uganda

Back ground: Biliary atresia is characterized by biliary obstruction, it has an incidence of 1:15000 and presents with jaundice, acholic stools / dark urine and hepatomegaly. This disease rapidly leads to liver cirrhosis and liver failure if untreated surgically. The main objective was to establish the epidemiology of patients presenting with biliary atresia and immediate surgical outcome. Methods: A review of a prospective data base for pediatric surgical admissions from January 2012 to December 2015 was made and examined all the entries for children admitted with biliary atresia. Results: In this study 46 patients were recruited with an age range at admission of 2 weeks to 3.5 years and a peak age of 2 months. During the four years, 14 Patients had portoenterostomy done and of these 5 died within 7 days after surgery. Thirty two (32) patients were not operated, 18 of them died and 13 were still alive by the close of 2015. Conclusion: A big number of children with biliary atresia presented late with decompensated liver functions having lost time in peripheral health facilities being managed for medical jaundice.Key words: Biliary atresia, Uganda, Jaundic

Effects of Feed Moisture Content, Soybean Ratio and Barrel Temperature on Physical and Functional Properties of Extruded Maize-Soybean Flour Blends

The effects moisture content, temperature and soybean ratio on expanded product characteristics of extruded maize-soybean blends were studied. Response surface methodology was used to study the effects of extrusion conditions on extrudate properties taking barrel temperature (BT), feed moisture content (FM) and soybean flour ratio (SR) as factors. Expansion ratio (ER), water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), hardness and colour (b* - (+) yellowness) of the extrudates were determined. BT and FM had significant effects on ER (p < 0.05). At low FM levels, ER increased with BT. It was observed that both FM and BT significantly affected WAI and WSI. WAI increased as FM increased. Increasing FM to 20% resulted in a decrease in WSI, beyond which an increase was observed. Hardness increased significantly as feed moisture content increased. High SR content significantly increased the extrudate hardness. FM had no significant effect on colour. Colour increased as the SR and BT increased. Significant regression models explained the effects of SR, FM, and BT on all response variables. All of the response variables' R2, were higher than 0.89. Keywords: Maize, Soybean, moisture content, extrusion

Developmental features and yields of three promising upland rice varieties in Zimbabwe

Three upland rice varieties: NERICA 1, 3 and 7 that were proved to be promising by previous trails in Zimbabwe, were selected as experimental materials to evaluate their developmental features and yields in irrigated conditions. The results indicate that plant height increased sharply first, and then slowly until the highest values that kept invariant. Tiller number per hill showed S-shaped curves which increased and reached relatively stable values first, then decreased slightly and finally increased again to produce the second time tiller. The leaf number per plant was apparently went up and down, which ascended to the peak values and then started to descend. NERICA 1 had many features which differed from NERICA 3 and NERICA 7, such as early maturing, short plant height, multiple tiller and multiple leave. It had the highest number of panicles and grains among the three varieties though it had nearly the same grain weight with NERICA 3 and NERICA 7. These results will be helpful to release these varieties in Zimbabwe.Keywords: Developmental feature, upland rice variety, yield, yield components, ZimbabweAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(21), pp. 3208-321

Survival and Acidification Potential of Lactobacillus Plantarum MNC 21 Stored in Air-Dried Sorghum Flours

Increased commercialization of indigenous fermented foods requires availability of affordable starter cultures. The starters should also maintain functionality when stored at ambient conditions, especially where erratic power supply makes constant refrigeration unachievable. This study evaluated the survival of Lactobacillus plantarum MNC 21 starter culture air-dried (at 25 or 30°C) in sorghum flour and stored at 25°C for 30 days. Two sorghum varieties (malted and un-malted) were used. To determine their fermentation efficiency during storage, sterile sorghum malt slurries were inoculated with the dried culture and fermented at 30°C for 24 h. Acidification potential was determined at 5 days intervals by measuring microbial counts, pH and titratable acidity. Microbial concentrations dropped from 8-9 log cfu/g on day 0 to 1 log cfu/g on day 30. Sorghum variety and whether it was malted or un-malted did not affect culture survival. Culture dried at 25°C had better survival during the first 10 days (8-9 log cfu/g) than that dried at 30°C (8 log cfu/g) but survival between days 20-30 was similar (1-4 log cfu/g). The acidification potential (ability to reduce pH to ≤4.5) decreased with storage time: 4 h (day 0), 24 h (day 15), &gt; 24 h (day 20) to no acidification (days 25-30). Air drying of starter cultures in sorghum flours coupled with storage at ambient temperatures could be adopted as a short-term preservation method. This low-cost technology is suitable for processors in developing countries where maintenance of a cold chain is hampered by unreliable electricity supply.</p

Kombucha Production in Uganda: Quality Aspects and Compliance With Standards

Kombucha is a mildly sweet and acidic fermented tea beverage. Its production and consumption in Uganda have expanded dramatically as a result of its purported nutritional and health benefits. However, there has been little research into the quality and safety of commercially produced Kombucha in Uganda. This study evaluated the quality and safety of certified (n = 27) and uncertified (n = 16) Kombucha on the market. It also assessed the knowledge and practices of Kombucha processors with certified (n = 4) and uncertified (n = 4) products in Uganda. A HACCP plan for Kombucha processing was also developed and validated with one processor. All products passed the Kombucha requirements for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium). However, 60.47% of the products did not meet the quality and safety specifications for Kombucha failing to meet the acidity (n = 3), alcohol content (n = 14), and yeasts and molds (n = 15). The majority of the processors (n = 6) had very good scores (&gt; 75%) for knowledge and practices related to food safety but did not know the importance of sanitizing equipment. Half of the processors did not know about HACCP, its prerequisites, and the Kombucha specification. Four processors did not use objective methods to test product readiness. Half of the processors did not follow the Kombucha specification and had no HACCP plan. A HACCP plan with three CCPs and five CPs was developed and validated. This study, therefore, informs Kombucha processors and regulators on the safety and quality of Kombucha on the market and the importance of HACCP plan development and implementation in achieving product quality.</p

APPLICATION OF REFRIGERATED AND FROZEN SORGHUM MALT SLURRIES IN THE PRESERVATION OF STARTER CULTURES FOR OBUSHERA FROM UGANDA

Industrial production of traditional fermented beverages is limited by lack of quality commercial starter cultures. Saccharomyces cerevisiae MNC21Y and Lactobacillus plantarum MNC21 can be used to ferment cereal beverages such as Obushera.  These cultures are unavailable as commercial starters due to lack of appropriate propagating and distributing procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of refrigerated and frozen sorghum slurries as carrier media for the starters. Starters were propagated in sorghum slurries (30°C for 24 h) and stored at 5°C and -18°C for 90 days. Viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus plantarum was determined by cell counts after surface plating and pour plating, respectively. Fermentation ability was determined by inoculating sorghum slurries with starters and monitoring pH, acidity and flavor development. Viability was higher for starters stored at 5°C (S. cerevisiae: 6 log cfu.g-1 and Lb. plantarum: 7-9 log cfu.g-1during 90 days) than those at -18°C (S. cerevisiae: 2 cfu.g-1 and Lb. plantarum: 4 log cfu.g-1after 30 days). Refrigerated starters acidified Obushera (pH £ 4.5) faster (10-20 h) than frozen ones (18-24 h). Refrigerated or frozen S. cerevisiae + Lb. plantarum starters in sorghum malt slurries can remain viable for at least one or three months, respectively and produce Obushera with characteristic flavors

Soccer-based promotion of voluntary medical male circumcision: A mixed-methods feasibility study with secondary students in Uganda.

The Ugandan government is committed to scaling-up proven HIV prevention strategies including safe male circumcision, and innovative strategies are needed to increase circumcision uptake. The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a soccer-based intervention ("Make The Cut") among schoolboys in a peri-urban district of Uganda. The intervention was led by trained, recently circumcised "coaches" who facilitated a 60-minute session delivered in schools, including an interactive penalty shoot-out game using metaphors for HIV prevention, sharing of the coaches' circumcision story, group discussion and ongoing engagement from the coach to facilitate linkage to male circumcision. The study took place in four secondary schools in Entebbe sub-district, Uganda. Acceptability of safe male circumcision was assessed through a cross-sectional quantitative survey. The feasibility of implementing the intervention was assessed by piloting the intervention in one school, modifying it, and implementing the modified version in a second school. Perceptions of the intervention were assessed with in-depth interviews with participants. Of the 210 boys in the cross-sectional survey, 59% reported being circumcised. Findings showed high levels of knowledge and generally favourable perceptions of circumcision. The initial implementation of Make The Cut resulted in 6/58 uncircumcised boys (10.3%) becoming circumcised. Changes made included increasing engagement with parents and improved liaison with schools regarding the timing of the intervention. Following this, uptake improved to 18/69 (26.1%) in the second school. In-depth interviews highlighted the important role of family and peer support and the coach in facilitating the decision to circumcise. This study showed that the modified Make The Cut intervention may be effective to increase uptake of safe male circumcision in this population. However, the intervention is time-intensive, and further work is needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention conducted at scale