Governance, Local Governments and the Constituency Development Catalyst Fund in Tanzania

Ernest T. Mallya,Flora Lucas Kessy 연세대학교 빈곤문제국제개발연구원 2013 Journal of Poverty Alleviation and International D Vol.4 No.2

Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) are decentralization initiatives which send funds from the central government to each constituency for expenditure on development projects intended to address particular local needs. A key feature of CDF schemes is that members of Parliament typically exert control over how funds are spent. This paper provides an overview of CDFs and whether they have made any difference in the management of public resources and in governance in Tanzania. It highlights the controversies the CDFs have raised including the questions raised by civil society organizations about the legitimacy of the legislative arm doing work meant for the executive. The findings show that the CDFs are yet to make an impact, are little known to the people whom they are meant to benefit, and have not adequately addressed the aspects of transparency and participation.

Influence of Alkali and Silane Treatment on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Grewia serrulata Fibres

JAIN, Bhupesh,MALLYA, Ravindra,NAYAK, Suhas Yeshwant,HECKADKA, Srinivas Shenoy,PRABHU, Shrinivasa,MAHESHA, G.T.,SANCHETI, Gaurav The Korean Society of Wood ScienceTechnology 2022 목재공학 Vol.50 No.5

Grewia serrulata fibres were chemically treated with 3%, 6%, and 9% NaOH for the duration of 4 h. Additionally, the NaOH-treated fibres were also treated with 3 - (trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (silane). Properties such as density and tensile strength of the treated fibres were compared against the untreated fibres. The highest density was obtained in the case of 9% NaOH + silane treated fibres, which was 26.47% higher than untreated fibres, implying effective removal of hemicellulose. Likewise, the highest tensile strength was also obtained in the case of 9% NaOH + silane treated fibres. The increment observed in the tensile strength of the natural fibres was related to the removal of impurities, hemicellulose, and stress-raisers as well as deposition over the fibre surface that smoothed it. These observations were further validated by estimating changes in chemical constituents due to chemical treatment along with characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis.

Validation of APACHE II scoring system at 24 hours after admission as a prognostic tool in urosepsis: A prospective observational study

Sundaramoorthy VijayGanapathy,VIlvapathy Senguttuvan Karthikeyan,Jayaram Sreenivas,Ashwin Mallya,Ramaiah Keshavamurthy 대한비뇨의학회 2017 Investigative and Clinical Urology Vol.58 No.6

Purpose: Urosepsis implies clinically evident severe infection of urinary tract with features of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). We validate the role of a single Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score at 24 hours after admission in predicting mortality in urosepsis. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was done in 178 patients admitted with urosepsis in the Department of Urology, in a tertiary care institute from January 2015 to August 2016. Patients >18 years diagnosed as urosepsis using SIRS criteria with positive urine or blood culture for bacteria were included. At 24 hours after admission to intensive care unit, APACHE II score was calculated using 12 physiological variables, age and chronic health. Results: Mean±standard deviation (SD) APACHE II score was 26.03±7.03. It was 24.31±6.48 in survivors and 32.39±5.09 in those expired (p<0.001). Among patients undergoing surgery, mean±SD score was higher (30.74±4.85) than among survivors (24.30±6.54) (p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed area under curve (AUC) of 0.825 with cutoff 25.5 being 94.7% sensitive and 56.4% specific to predict mortality. Mean±SD score in those undergoing surgery was 25.22±6.70 and was lesser than those who did not undergo surgery (28.44±7.49) (p=0.007). ROC analysis revealed AUC of 0.760 with cutoff 25.5 being 94.7% sensitive and 45.6% specific to predict mortality even after surgery. Conclusions: A single APACHE II score assessed at 24 hours after admission was able to predict morbidity, mortality, need for surgical intervention, length of hospitalization, treatment success and outcome in urosepsis patients.

Assessment of CT numbers in limited and medium field-of-view scans taken using Accuitomo 170 and Veraviewepocs 3De cone-beam computed tomography scanners

Matheus L. Oliveira,Guilherme M. Tosoni,David H. Lindsey,Kristopher Mendoza,Sotirios Tetradis,Sanjay M. Mallya 대한영상치의학회 2014 Imaging Science in Dentistry Vol.44 No.4

Purpose: To assess the influence of anatomic location on the relationship between computed tomography (CT) number and X-ray attenuation in limited and medium field-of-view (FOV) scans. Materials and Methods: Tubes containing solutions with different concentrations of K2HPO4 were placed in the tooth sockets of a human head phantom. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were acquired, and CT numbers of the K2HPO4 solutions were measured. The relationship between CT number and K2HPO4 concentration was examined by linear regression analyses. Then, the variation in CT number according to anatomic location was examined. Results: The relationship between K2HPO4 concentration and CT number was strongly linear. The slopes of the linear regressions for the limited FOVs were almost 2-fold lower than those for the medium FOVs. The absolute CT number differed between imaging protocols and anatomic locations. Conclusion: There is a strong linear relationship between X-ray attenuation and CT number. The specific imaging protocol and anatomic location of the object strongly influence this relationship.

Assessment of CT numbers in limited and medium field-of-view scans taken using Accuitomo 170 and Veraviewepocs 3De cone-beam computed tomography scanners

Oliveira, Matheus L.,Tosoni, Guilherme M.,Lindsey, David H.,Mendoza, Kristopher,Tetradis, Sotirios,Mallya, Sanjay M. Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology 2014 Imaging Science in Dentistry Vol.44 No.4

Purpose: To assess the influence of anatomic location on the relationship between computed tomography (CT) number and X-ray attenuation in limited and medium field-of-view (FOV) scans. Materials and Methods: Tubes containing solutions with different concentrations of $K_2HPO_4$ were placed in the tooth sockets of a human head phantom. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were acquired, and CT numbers of the $K_2HPO_4$ solutions were measured. The relationship between CT number and $K_2HPO_4$ concentration was examined by linear regression analyses. Then, the variation in CT number according to anatomic location was examined. Results: The relationship between $K_2HPO_4$ concentration and CT number was strongly linear. The slopes of the linear regressions for the limited FOVs were almost 2-fold lower than those for the medium FOVs. The absolute CT number differed between imaging protocols and anatomic locations. Conclusion: There is a strong linear relationship between X-ray attenuation and CT number. The specific imaging protocol and anatomic location of the object strongly influence this relationship.

Coexistence of osteoporosis, sarcopenia and obesity in community-dwelling adults – The Yishun Study

Benedict Wei Jun Pang,Shiou-Liang Wee,Kenneth Kexun Chen,Lay Khoon Lau,Khalid Abdul Jabbar,Wei Ting Seah,Daniella Hui Min Ng,Queenie Lin Ling Tan,Mallya Ullal Jagadish,Tze Pin Ng 대한골다공증학회 2021 Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia Vol.7 No.1

Objectives: To 1) report prevalence of ‘osteosarcopenia’ (OS) and osteosarcopenic obesity (OSO) entities using evidence-based diagnostic techniques and definitions, 2) examine if OSO offers additional predictive value of functional decline over its components, and 3) identify associated factors in a multi-racial Southeast Asian population. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 542 community-dwelling adults (21e90 years old), and assessed anthropometry, cognition, functional performance, and selfreport sociodemographic, health and lifestyle questionnaires. Low muscle mass, and the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 criteria, were used to assess sarcopenia. Obesity was defined using percentage body fat and fat mass index. Osteopenia/osteoporosis was determined using lumbar spinal bone mineral density. Associated factors were examined using logistic regression, and OSO’s value investigated using linear regressions with functional performance. Results: OS and OSO prevalence were 1.8% and 0% (21e59 years), 12.9% and 2.8% ( 60 years), 17.3% and 4.1% ( 65 years), and 25.5% and 7.0% (75 years), respectively. OSO entity as defined was not a significant predictor (P > 0.05) and did not improve explanations for functional decline over sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity. Age, sex, race and body mass index (BMI) were associated with OS, while age, sex, race and alcoholism were associated with OSO. Conclusions: Our results do not support OSO as a distinct entity in relation to functional decline. Aside from biological age, sex, and race, amenable lifestyle factors such as BMI and alcohol intake are important variables that can influence the co-existence of osteopenia/osteoporosis, sarcopenia and obesity.