The relationship between quality and economic value of fresh sweet potato and dried cassava products in Mwanza, Tanzania

This report outlines the relationship between quality and economic value for fresh sweet potato and dried cassava in the urban markets of Mwanza in north west Tanzania. These two crops form an increasingly important part of food security and, through the marketing of surpluses, of income generation for poor householders. The work reported in this report used a combination of participatory and more formal statistical methodologies in order to gauge relationships between quality and value of the marketed produce

Health Effects of Radiation Exposure to Human Sensitive Organs Across Some Selected

The interaction of ionizing radiation with human body, either from external sources (i.e. outside the body) or from internal contamination of the body by radioactive substances, leads to biological effects which may later show up as clinical symptoms. The nature and severity of these symptoms and the time at which they appear depend on the amount of radiation absorbed and the rate at which it is received. This study aimed at assessing the Health Effects of Radiation Exposure to Human Sensitive Organs across Some Selected Mining Sites of Plateau State Nigeria. Finding of this study have revealed that the mean Dorgan values for the lungs, ovaries, bone marrow, testes, kidney, liver and whole body for different mining points of Plateau State are 0.29, 0.26, 0.31, 0.36, 0.28, 0.21 and 0.30 mSv/y respectively. From the findings presented, it can be concluded that the background radiation in Plateau State is not an issue of health concern in regards to sensitive organs and may not course immediate health effect except when accumulated over long period of time which may cause cancer to the indoor members on approximately seventy years of exposure

Studi Pendekatan Perencanaan Kota Kawasan Perkantoran Kabupaten Karimun

Penataan ruang sebagai salah satu sistem perencanaan tata ruang, pemanfaatan ruang, dan pengendalian pemanfaatan ruang merupakan satu kesatuan yang tidak terpisahkan antara yang satu dan yang lain dan harus dilakukan sesuai dengan kaidah penataan ruang. Permasalahan yang saat ini terlihat dari hasil observasi awal, dapat dijumpai beberapa masalah, yaitu : jarak tempuh yang jauh, draenase yang kurang baik, akses transportasi yang tidak ada, kurang nya Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH) di area perkantoran. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menciptakan dan mewujudkan sebuah perkantoran yang memiliki jarak tempuh yang mudah dan sebagai wadah tempat pelayanan masyarakat. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriftif dimana penulis menggambarkan secara detail mengenai Perencanaan kota kawasan perkantoran Kabupaten Karimun. Hasil penelitian ini dapat dilihat bahwa kawasan perkantoran Kabupaten Karimun memiliki tata ruang yang baik, namun masi perlu ada perbaikan dari akses jalan, lahan parkir dan jalur pejalan kaki yang masih belum memenuhi standard

Transfer Factor of Heavy Metals due to Mining Activities in Plateau State, Nigeria (Health Implications on the Inhabitants)

Accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils is instigated by industrial and other human activities such as mining, smelting, cement-pollution, energy and fuel production, power transmission, traffic activities, intensive agriculture, sludge dumping and melting operations. Plants received heavy metals from soils through ionic exchange, redox reactions, precipitation-dissolution, and so on. Which implies that the solubility of trace elements based on factors like minerals in the soil (carbonates, oxide, hydroxide etc.), soil organic matter (humic acids, fulvic acids, polysaccharides and organic acids), soil pH, redox potential, content, nutrient balance, other trace elements concentration in soil, physical and mechanical characteristics of soil, soil temperature and humidity, and so on. In this study, the soil-edible plant and soil-water Transfer Factor (TF) for various metals showed that the TF values differed slightly between the locations. On soil-edible plant transfer, the mean TF for different heavy metals in soil-edible plants decreased in the following order: As (0.6) mg/kg > Cd (0.1) mg/kg > Cr (0.06) mg/kg > Pb (0.003) mg/kg > Ni (0.001) mg/kg. The total TF for different location decreases in the following order: Barkin Ladi (1.0) mg/kg > Jos South and Jos East (0.7) mg/kg > Bassa and Mangu (0.6) mg/kg. On soil-water transfer, the mean TF for different heavy metals in soil-edible plants decreased in the following order: Cd (0.001) mg/l > As (0.0007) mg/l > Cr (0.0005) mg/l > Pb (0.0001) mg/l and Ni (0.0001) mg/l. The total TF for different location decreases in the following order: Jos South (0.003) mg/kg > Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Jos East and Mangu (0.002) mg/kg. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the water and edible plants in the study area are good for public consumption, even though, regular checking of heavy metals in the study area is recommended

Concurrent validity between a portable force plate and instrumented walkway when measuring limits of stability

Background: Balance deficits underlie a number of disorders and can exacerbate the primary condition if not addressed. Limits of stability, usually evaluated via force plates, can provide valuable information about balance and associated insufficiencies. A portable instrumented mat used clinically to measure gait characteristics has recently shown potential for limits of stability assessment. The mat also affords the ability to measure proactive control of limits of stability and quantitative information specific to stepping when limits of stability are exceeded. This study examined concurrent validity between the Bertec BalanceCheck Force Plate, an established instrument for measuring limits of stability, and the ProtoKinetics Zeno Walkway. Methods: A total of 51 adults (mean age 25.5 [standard deviation: 7.5] years; 72.5% female) without known disabilities leaned as far as possible in anterior, posterior, rightward and leftward directions while standing in narrow and natural stances on the force plate and walkway. Results: Pearson correlations for the force plate and walkway showed significant positive agreement for all directions tested in the narrow (r range = 0.657–0.878) and natural stances (r range: 0.928–0.936). Conclusions: Findings lend evidence of instrument interchangeability when measuring limits of stability. The results demonstrate evidence of concurrent and construct validity in support of the use of the Zeno Walkway as a measure of limits of stability