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This article focused on the under-researched concept of work intensification among domestic workers. Domestic work in Zimbabwe remains a primary source of employment for rudimentary qualified women in both rural and urban areas. This prompted the need for this research to understand better two essential dimensions of an employer-worker relationship, work intensification and job satisfaction. The sample comprised 25 participants, of whom 15 were domestic workers, and 10 were employers of domestic workers. The research used a qualitative approach to understand better the dynamics of work intensification among rural women employed as domestic workers in rural Zimbabwe. Our findings show that employers bring about work intensification in domestic work settings. This is further exacerbated by unpaid overtime hours. Moreover, work intensification in the studied sample deteriorates job satisfaction and relations between employer and employee. As a result, productivity dwindles in the long term because of exhaustion and burnout.

Purpose: The study aimed at establishing the economic loss caused by Human - wildlife conflict amongst small scale farmers and government. To achieving the purpose, the research was mainly guided by three objectives. To estimate the economic value of damage in agriculture, to estimate the economic value related with control by killing of problematic animals and effectiveness of response strategies in addressing Human - wildlife conflict. Methodology: The study utilised descriptive research design where primary data was collected from key informants by applying semi-structured interview guide using convenient sampling. Purposive sampling during focus group discussion meetings using focus group discussion guides was administered in Human - wildlife conflict hot spot areas. The researcher further used secondary data to gain more understanding and gather adequate information about the area of study. Therefore, 70% of the affected households from Department of National Parks and Wildlife Human - wildlife conflict SMART raw data was used. Subsequently, Descriptive Statistics, using averages and totals to analyse quantitative data, was used while qualitative data was analysed using Content and Thematic Analysis. Findings: The summary of the results showed that economic damage in agriculture was quite enormous affecting farmers with K180, 317.00 being the highest in the damage range of 25-50 percent. Regarding the estimation on economic value related with problematic animal control by killing, it was established that the government of Zambia incurred huge revenue loss amounting to K 4,318,049.86 if such animals or trophies were sold. On the effectiveness of response strategies, the majority of the participants stated that few measures were put in place to solve Human – wildlife conflict. In Zambia, several researchers and scholars have reviewed Human – wildlife conflict phenomena. However, there has been no study that has sought to establish economic implication on small scale farmers and revenue loss to the government through control by killing of problematic animals. This study therefore seeks to fill this knowledge gap looking at estimation of economic implications of Human – wildlife conflict in the study area. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The results of this study could influence formulation of appropriate mitigation measures and policies for wildlife conservation and revenue recovery from controlled by killed of such animals in Zambia.

Social media has positioned itself as one of the most effective and efficient engines of disseminating both social and business information throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of social media in enhancing business activities of SMEs in Gwanda town. The study used a qualitative research methodology where 23 participants who were drawn from 7 organizations were interviewed using face to face interviews. A combination of purposive and convenience sampling techniques was used to select the 7 organizations and 23 participants who participated in the study. Thematic data analysis was utilized to analyze the data that was solicited using a 14 item interview guide. The study established that to a larger extent social media is a business enabler. Social media improves the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations by promoting an easy flow of information within departments and with external stakeholders. Social media increases the profitability and the general performance of SMEs and directly and indirectly reduces operational costs. Social media helps managers to keep workers updated about the developments taking place in the organization. It was also found that to a lesser extent social media hinders the performance and growth of organizations since it can easily be abused by employees who spend most of the business time chatting and conversing with friends and relatives on issues that are not related to work.

Background: Wheat and maize flour still represent the bulk ingredient in complementary foods. There is an increasing interest in traditional cereal grain-based products due to their positive health effects. The positive health benefits include; more protein and fiber content than modern grains and most are naturally gluten-free. Aims: To identify available traditional grain-based complementary food options used for children aged 6-23months in Africa, including the effects of various processing techniques on the nutritional value of the food products. Material and Methods: We searched SciELO, Google Scholar, AGORA, JSTOR, MedLine, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Wiley Online, and PubMed databases for the following (a) studies on the formulation of homemade or commercialized traditional grain-based complementary feeding porridges, (b) studies where traditional grains such as sorghum, finger millet, guinea millet, and pearl millet were used as the main ingredient. In addition, we evaluated the food processing techniques used, the resultant nutritional quality, and the acceptability of the product. Results: Thirteen eligible studies were identified. Traditional grains used frequently as complementary foods for children aged 6-23 months in Africa were pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), millet (Panicum miliaceum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor. L), and finger millet (Eleusine coracana). The most common techniques to improve the nutrition content of the foods were: fermentation, germination, and addition of legumes. Additionally, minor investigations have been carried out on effectiveness of these porridges in reducing malnutrition prevalence in this age group. Conclusions: In overall more studies are required with the focus on investigating the development of novel strategies to improve the nutritional profiles, safety, and acceptability of traditional grain-based complementary foods. Furthermore, their effectiveness to improve nutrition status of children needs to be investigated. Keywords: Complementary food, Infants, Traditional Grains, Africa.

At low temperatures, uniaxial perovskites exhibit a spontaneous polarization with a permanent dipole moment. The broken symmetry state involves an order parameter and dielectric properties of the materials which are strongly dominated by a one-dimensional physics. For the last sixty years there has been growing interest in these crystals for potential applications in communication technology. Very recently, renewed interest to ferroelectric memory devices has been remarkable with particular emphasis on miniaturized devices. This new perspective comes along with great challenges, one of which is the critical size for stable domains in thin ferroelectric crystals. Since the polarization switching involves a pre-existing spontaneous polarization, it is of fundamental importance to address the question of conditions under which polarized domains can develop in a ferroelectric thin film. From previous articles, it has been observed that most studies focus on numerical simulations which is a good approach but for the fact that numerical simulations involve approximation of physical quantities, which is limitation to comparing experimental with theoretical studies. This motivated the authors to look purely at an analytical approach taking advantage of the new mathematical approach in the study of nonlinear systems. In this work, the authors have considered the question from an analytical point of view, focusing on an interesting model introduced by Lu and Cao. We propose an analytical counterpart of the numerical simulations done in this previous study.

Background: Malaria is a life threatening parasitic disease that is entirely preventable and curable. Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups to this deadly disease. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is needed to reduce morbidity and mortality. Haematological changes that occur during malaria infection have been suggested as a potential predictor that can aid in the diagnosis of malaria infection. Methods: A cross sectional study involving 276 pregnant women with signs and symptoms of malaria was conducted at Regional Hospital Buea (RHB) from April to July 2018. Baselines characteristics of the study population were collected. Blood (4 ml) was collected from each pregnant woman and dispensed into an EDTA tube. Identification of malaria parasite was done using a rapid diagnostic test (Care StartTM). Complete blood count was performed using an automated haematology analyzer (Mindray®, BC-5300). Results: Out of the 276 pregnant women, 98 (35.51%) had malaria. A total of eighty eight (31.88%) of the pregnant women were anaemic, with forty eight (17.4%) being malaria infected and forty (14.5%) non-malaria. The mean (± SD) of total white blood cell count in the malaria infected group was 5.9 (±2.4) and was significantly different (p = 0.039) from that of non-malaria infected (6.7[±1.9]) population. Red blood cells significantly (p = 0.001) decreased in malaria infected patients (3.7 [± 0.6]) as compared to non-malaria infections (4.2 (±1.0). The mean (± SD) of platelets counts in malaria infected group was significantly different from that of non-malaria infected pregnant women. Conclusion: Pregnant women infected with malaria exhibited changes in haematological parameters with low platelets (thrombocytopenia) and Haemoglobin concentration being the most significant predictors of malaria in our study area. These parameters could improve malaria diagnosis when used in combination with other clinical diagnosis.

Intestinal helminthes infections are among the most prevalent of chronic human infections worldwide. These infections are common among people who work under very poor conditions most of the time without protective hand gloves, shoes and uniforms in the field. A cross-sectional study was done to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthes among Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC) workers and their compliance to anti-helminthic treatement form November 2017 to April 2018. It involved 102 workers aged18-45 years attending CDC cottage Hospital in Tiko. A cross-sectional study was done in which demographic data and data related to predisposing factors and preventive measures was collected using a simplified questionnaire, stool samples were collected pre and post treatement. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of stool samples was carried out in the hospital laboratory. Out of 102 people, a total of 81 (79.4%) people were infected with one or more species of intestitinal helminthes and there was significant difference in the infection with respect to various helminthes species (0.004). Among the 81 infected cases, 58(71.6%) were infected with single helminth species and 23 (28.4%) were infected with more than one species (coinfection). Intestinal helminths varied significantly among the participants with prevalences of 24.5% for T. trichuris, 6,9% for Hookworm, 0.9% for S. japanicum, 24.5% for S. haematobium, 34.3% for A. lumbricoides and 7.8% for S. mansoni (P

Background: Antinutritional factors present in food may reduce the bioavailability of nutrients and cause harmful effects to human health. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of traditional processing methods on protein digestibility, nutrient and antinutrient constituents of seeds of Bauhinia petersiana. Subjects and Methods: The seeds were processed by soaking in water, boiling or roasting before analyzing protein digestibility, nutrient and antinutrient compositions. Results: Soaking resulted in no significant changes in the content of moisture, protein, fiber, phytates and trypsin inhibitor activity and significant reductions in fat, ash and tannins. Roasting resulted in no significant change in the content of moisture, ash, protein, and fiber and significant reductions in fat, phytates and trypsin inhibitor activity. Boiling resulted in a significant increase in the content of both protein and fiber and reduction in fat, ash, tannins, phytates and trypsin inhibitor activity. Mineral content of zinc, magnesium and calcium was not changed by soaking, roasting or boiling of the seeds. The calculated phytate: zinc molar ratios for both the raw and processed seeds were greater than 10, the limit for optimal absorption of zinc in the small intestine whereas phytate: iron molar ratios were less than 14, the limit for optimum absorption of iron in the intestines. In vitro digestibility of proteins in the seeds was increased when the seeds were soaked, roasted or boiled. Conclusions: Boiling the seeds of B. petersiana before consumption would effectively remove undesirable antinutrients while maintaining the nutrient content of the seeds and improving digestibility of proteins. Keywords: Legume, nutrient, antinutrient, digestibility, phytate.

Background: Influenza is the major public health of concern that accounts for up to one million of total health related global death annually. Objectives: To determine epidemiological trend and associated demographic factors for influenza cases in Tanzania from 2016 to 2019. Methodology: The cross-section study design was conducted using secondary data obtained from laboratory information system from 2016 to 2019. Logistic regression model was used to check the significant predictors for influenza. Results: A total of 7260 samples were collected between 2016 to 2019 from clients with median age of 4 years [IQR=25; 26-1], most samples were from patients aged under five years. Most samples (19%) collected from Mwananyamala hospital. Overall sample collection was lower in 2016, but increased from 2017 to 2019. Trend shows strong evidence of correlation between SARI and ILI case definition on influenza positivity (r=0.78[0.60-0.799]). Laboratory confirmed cases was 17% with higher prevalence of influenza A [12% (881/7260)] as compared to influenza B [5% (373/7260)]. We observed the seasonality of influenza where higher number of cases occurred in rainy and cold seasons (January to June) than the rest of other months. When bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was done, the factors of age, case definition type and sentinel site were significantly associated with influenza positivity (p Conclusion and recommendations Having known the seasonality of the disease apprise the proper allocation of resources for the surveillance activities. Since Influenza viruses may have pandemic potential, surveillance and data review activities are inevitable to create epidemiological awareness for prompt public health action.

Background Globally, seasonal epidemics are estimated to result about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 290 000 to 650 000 respiratory deaths yearly. In order to facilitate early detection of Avian Influenza (AI), Tanzania through the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) initiated a sentinel surveillance system in 2008, for determining the disease burden and detect any new strain capable of causing pandemic.: Objectives:To assess the usefulness of the system, its attributes as well as to ascertain if the system meets its objectives. Methodology: Data were collected through review of documents and interview of key stakeholders involved on the entire cascade of the system. Case definition (ILI and SARI), results and demographic characteristics of each patient were obtained from Laboratory Information System at National Influenza Laboratory (NIL). The system attributes were evaluated using Centre for disease prevention and control updated guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance system (2007)- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Results : A total of 1731 samples were collected from influenza suspects in 2019 from sixteen sentinel sites where 52.7% were male. Laboratory confirmed cases were 21% (363/1731) with PVP of 21%. Most patients detected for influenza A; those presented with ILI symptoms were more likely to have influenza B than those with SARI. 55% met the TAT, 40% of case-based forms were incomplete filled, data consistency was poor with 23% discrepancy. Data accuracy was good with an average performance of 100%. Conclusion and recommendations: The System has met its objectives regarding that it is useful, sensitive, flexible, stable, well representative and able to generate accurate data by the average performance of 100%, which entails to a realistic estimation for the burden of influenza disease in the country.