Determination of Sugars, Amino Acids, pH and Alcohol in Bamboo Beverage from Southern Highlands, Tanzania

The amounts of sugars and amino acids play significant roles in defining the fermentation process and quantifying the alcohol levels in beverages, while pH affects the biological stability, colour, oxidation rate, and protein stability of alcoholic beverages. This study investigated the sugar content, amino acids, alcohol levels, and pH of bamboo beverage from Tanzania's southern highlands. During storage, the sugars significantly decreased (p < 0.05), especially when kept at room temperature from 52.96 to 0.00 (source 1), 53.35 to 0.00 (source 2) and 53.57 to 0.00 (source 3) g/L for fructose, from 47.93 to 14.78 (source 1), 47.23 to 14.91 (source 2) and 47.61 to 14.77 (source 3) g/L for glucose, and from 0.40 to 0.00 (source 1), 0.36 to 0.00 (source 2) and 0.37 to 0.00 (source 3) g/L for sucrose after six days of storage. A total of 15 amino acids were determined from the bamboo beverage with tyrosine being the most prevalent (597.68 mg/L for source 1, 599.44 mg/L for source 2 and 597.83 mg/L for source 3), followed by valine (261.13 mg/L for source 1, 261.24 mg/L for source 2 and 262.54 mg/L for source 3), threonine (76.69 mg/L for source 1, 76.91 mg/L for source 2 and 77.13 mg/L for source 3), and serine (66.37 mg/L for source 1, 67.23 mg/L for source 2 and 66.68 mg/L for source 3). After six days of storage at room temperature, there was a significant decrease in pH from 4.04 to 3.63. Alcohol content ranged from 3.11 to 9.05% v/v at the room temperature storage. These results might facilitate the optimal use of bamboo beverages, which have been neglected due to lack of scientific information such as amino acid and sugar levels. Keywords:  Bamboo beverage, ulanzi, amino acids, sugars, alcohol conten

Representación de los candidatos electorales y prejuicios mediáticos en Tanzania

The promises of democracy in Tanzania underscore a wide range hopes for the nation, notably with regard to media freedom and freedom of speech. However,  the intensifying privatization of the media that has characterized the last two decades of Tanzania’s emerging democracy has shifted the focus of professional journalists towards high-impact coverage of known government officials (Schudson, 2008), narrowing the breadth of news and political coverage. The agenda-setting effect of this kind of journalism reflects the often biased interests of media shareholders (McCombs & Shaw, 1972) and also affects the visibility of political candidates, hindering just and fair representation in the electoral process. This study used qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the election news coverage in six Swahili mainstream newspapers to examine the relationship between newspaper election coverage and voting outcomes in Tanzania’s 2010 Presidential election. The newspapers were studied during the three months just prior to the Tanzania Presidential election of 2010. The results of this analysis reveal some major shortcomings of electoral media coverage, including prevalent biases and uneven representation.  In addition, there appears to be a significant relationship between newspaper election coverage and voting outcomes. Las promesas de la democracia en Tanzania subrayan una amplia gama esperanzas para la nación, en particular en lo que respecta a la libertad de prensa y libertad de expresión. Sin embargo, la privatización de los medios de comunicación que ha caracterizado las dos últimas décadas de democracia emergente en Tanzania ha cambiado el enfoque de los periodistas hacia una cobertura de alto impacto sobre conocidos miembros del gobierno, así como la reducción en la amplitud de las noticias y la cobertura política. El efecto agenda de este tipo de periodismo refleja los intereses a menudo sesgados de los accionistas de medios y también afecta a la visibilidad de los candidatos políticos, lo que dificulta una representación justa y equitativa en el proceso electoral. En este trabajo se aplicó análisis de contenido cualitativo y cuantitativo sobre la cobertura de noticias de las elecciones en seis de los principales periódicos escritos en Swahili, con el fin de examinar la relación entre la cobertura realizada en los periódicos y los resultados electorales de las elecciones presidenciales de Tanzania en 2010. Se analizaron los periódicos durante los tres meses anteriores a las mencionadas elecciones. Los resultados revelan algunas deficiencias importantes en la cobertura electoral de los medios analizados, incluyendo prejuicios prevalecientes y una representación desigual de los candidatos. Además, parece apuntarse una relación significativa entre el tipo de cobertura de las elecciones realizada por los periódicos y los resultados de votación

Assessment of Biochemical Changes during Fermentation Process for Production of Traditional Fermented Cassava Meal “Mchuchume”

“Mchuchume” is a ready to eat fermented cassava food whose production is accomplished by a consortium of microorganisms, some of which may be probiotic in nature and others pathogens to humans and of no use in the fermenting system. This work made characterization of biochemical changes evolved at different times in local (open) and biotechnological (closed) fermentation methods. The study also assessed organoleptic properties of final products. Acidification was observed in the retting water as pH ranged from 6.32 to 4.25 and titratable acidity from 0.02% to 0.32%. A decrease in total reducing sugars (6.59 to 4.03 mg/g) in fermenting pulp and an increase in total soluble solids (0.4 to 3.2°B) in retting water were observed. Cyanide detoxification occurred by decreasing cyanogenic potential from 72.72 to 5.18 mg/kg, while products organoleptic characters from two fermentation methods were not statistically different except for the case of aroma. Aseptic retting of cassava tubers using closed fermentation utilizing Lactobacillus delbrueckii starter cultures produces “mchuchume” which is safe from cyanide, dusts and microbiological contaminants at reduced processing time. Keywords: Cassava; mchuchume; fermentation methods; biochemical change

Larvicidal activities of five Kotschya species against Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Culicidae: Diptera)

Resistance of mosquito vectors to the commonly used chemical insecticides is posing threats to human health. It is becoming necessary to identify safe, eco-friendly and effective alternative sources of larvicides in order to reduce mosquito menace. HPLC profiling of the chemical constituents in the stem and root bark ethanol extracts had similar pattern of chemical constituents except for K. aeschynomenoides which indicated to have large quantity of polar compounds compared to others. In this study, the ethanolic extracts and powders of five Kotschya species were tested against Culex quinquefasciatus Say. Chemical profiling of the stem and root bark ethanol extracts from K. speciosa, K. thymodora, K. platyphylla, K. aeschynomenoides and K. strigosa did not show any major differences in terms of their chemical composition. At 0.5 mg/ml, the root and stem ethanol extracts from K. speciosa, K. thymodora and K. strigosa exhibited high larvicidal activity (≥ 70%) on the 8th day post treatment. Stem powder of K. thymodora and root powder of K. speciosa and K. strigosa had activity comparable to their respective extracts at 0.2% w/v and 0.4% w/v at the same exposure time. This suggests that Kotschya species contain same or related compounds in varying quantities that are responsible for larvicidal activity.Keywords: Fabaceae, Kotschya strigosa, K. speciosa, K. thymodora, K. platyphylla, K. aeschynomenoides, Larvicidal, Culex quinquefasciatu

Physico-chemical Properties of Mechanically Extracted Banana Juice at Different Ripening Stages

This paper presents the findings of a study on physico-chemical properties of low viscosity banana juice from five banana cultivars: Pisang Awak (PSA) an ABB genome, Yangambi km5 (YKM5) an AAA genome and cultivars from AAA-EA genome, namely Mbilabile, Ndeshi and Mlonga. Low viscosity banana juice was extracted using improved mechanical method at five ripening stages. The physico-chemical properties significantly varied according to cultivars and ripening stages (p < 0.05). Yields, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and pH were in the range of 19.50–74.03%, 7.33–27.64 ºBrix, 0.37–0.76% malic acid equivalent and 4.09–4.70, respectively. Yields decreased in the order of Mbilabile > Ndeshi > Mlonga > YKM5 > PSA whereas the total soluble solids increased as follows Mlonga < Mbilabile < Ndeshi < YKM5 < PSA. Furthermore, ashes and mineral contents decreased with ripening stages whereas the low viscosity banana juice was rich in potassium and magnesium. Finally, the study recommends stage 5 of the ripeness as ideal for producing low viscosity banana juice. Keywords: Mechanical extraction, Banana cultivar, Ripening stage, Tannin, Banana juic

Modeling solutions to Tanzania's physician workforce challenge.

BACKGROUND:There is a great need for physicians in Tanzania. In 2012, there were approximately 0.31 physicians per 10,000 individuals nationwide, with a lower ratio in the rural areas, where the majority of the population resides. In response, universities across Tanzania have greatly increased the enrollment of medical students. Yet evidence suggests high attrition of medical graduates to other professions and emigration from rural areas where they are most needed. OBJECTIVE:To estimate the future number of physicians practicing in Tanzania and the potential impact of interventions to improve retention, we built a model that tracks medical students from enrollment through clinical practice, from 1990 to 2025. DESIGN:We designed a Markov process with 92 potential states capturing the movement of 25,000 medical students and physicians from medical training through employment. Work possibilities included clinical practice (divided into rural or urban, public or private), non-clinical work, and emigration. We populated and calibrated the model using a national 2005/2006 physician mapping survey, as well as graduation records, graduate tracking surveys, and other available data. RESULTS:The model projects massive losses to clinical practice between 2016 and 2025, especially in rural areas. Approximately 56% of all medical school students enrolled between 2011 and 2020 will not be practicing medicine in Tanzania in 2025. Even with these losses, the model forecasts an increase in the physician-to-population ratio to 1.4 per 10,000 by 2025. Increasing the absorption of recent graduates into the public sector and/or developing a rural training track would ameliorate physician attrition in the most underserved areas. CONCLUSIONS:Tanzania is making significant investments in the training of physicians. Without linking these doctors to employment and ensuring their retention, the majority of this investment in medical education will be jeopardized

The Role of Context in Language Development for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parent and preschool teacher ratings of the 10 noun categories of MacArthur-BatesCommunication Development Inventory (CDI) were used to study expressive languagein 2–4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (N= 58) across the homeand preschool context. There was no significant difference in the total number of wordsthe children said in the two contexts, but the children said significantly more words inthe noun categories “Furniture and rooms” and “People” at home. Only one third of thewords the children said were said both at home and in the preschool, while the other twothirds were said only at home or only in preschool. This suggests that what words thechildren use across contexts differ substantially and that their vocabulary is larger than itseems when measured only in one context. This novel study highlights the importanceof assessing the language in children with ASD in multiple contexts in order to bettermeasure their vocabulary and to design appropriate language interventions.publishedVersio

Effects of Drying, Packaging Conditions and Storage Time on Proximate Composition of Chia Seeds (Salvia hispanica)

The effects of drying, packaging conditions and storage time on proximate composition of chia seeds were investigated. Chia seeds were dried at 63 °C for 30 min (low-temperature long time–LTLT) and at 75 °C for 30 s (high-temperature short time-HTST) using dry oven, air/vacuum-packed and stored for ten weeks. The effect of heat processing (drying) on chia seeds had significant difference (p < 0.05) in ash, fiber and fat contents while there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in moisture and protein contents. Except for fiber content, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in moisture, ash, fat and protein of chia seeds dried at LTLT and HTST before storage. During storage time, there was significant decrease of proximate composition of chia seeds and the decline was the lowest in raw chia seeds followed by seeds dried at HTST and the highest by seeds dried at LTLT. In both drying conditions, ash, fat and protein contents were significantly greater in vacuum than in air packaging although the impact was vice versa for moisture and fiber contents. On the expense of improved shelf life, palatability and digestibility expected as effect of drying, this study suggests HTST and vacuum packaging for storage of chia seeds. Keywords: Chia seeds; proximate composition; drying; packaging condition; storage

Formulation development and optimization of taste masked generic fast dissolving zinc sulphate tablets

Zinc sulphate tablets are indicated for the management of diarrhoea in children regardless of the cause. In Tanzania, there is only one pharmaceutical industry manufacturing zinc sulphate tablets and only 44% of children in need of zincsulphate tablets get access to them. Fast-disintegrating tablets of zinc sulphate were prepared by direct-compression method after incorporating the superdisintegrant polyvinyl pyrollidine cross-linked. Different types of experiments and evaluation parameters for tablets were assessed. Design expert software version 7 was used to optimize the formulation. Tablets containing polyvinyl pyrollidine cross-linked showed excellent disintegration time, friability and hardness compared to formulations containing other superdisintegrants. Tablets with 30mg/60mg sodium saccharin/strawberry had a palatable taste. Assay was within 95% to 105%, disintegration time was less than 60 seconds, and hardness was between 3.0 kg/cm2 to 4.0 kg/cm2, which comply with official US Pharmacopeia requirements. Therefore, a taste masked generic formulation of 20 mg zinc sulphate fast dissolving tablets with accurate dose and palatable taste was successfully developed and optimized.Keywords: Zinc sulphate monohydrate, Fast disintegrating tablets, Disintegration tim