HKMU_Newsletter_Vol_4_2008 - Hubert Kairuki Memorial University

Transcription

HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
9/17/08
11:52 AM
Page 1
A Newsletter of Hubert Kairuki Memorial University
and the Mission Mikocheni Hospital
Issued by the Marketing and Public Relations Office, P. O. Box 65300, DSM Tel: +255 22 2700021/4 Fax: +255 22 2775591
E-mail: mpro@hkmu.ac.tz, Website: www.hkmu.ac.tz, Volume 4, June 2008
Part of the DNA analyzing equipment in the Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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HKMU Main Building (above), and the New Students’ Hostel (below)
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HKMU Newsletter Volume 4, June 2008
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Editorial Note
Contents
HKMU Fifth Graduation Ceremony ..............................................................
4
HKMU students participate at the Celtel Africa Challenge ..................
7
Hon. Prof. Jumanne Maghembe urges HKMU to
increase enrolment ............................................................................................
8
TEA Board impressed by HKMU development ...........................................
9
Vice Chancellor of HKMU honoured in Namibia .................................... 10
Dear readers, welcome to the fourth issue
of our Newsletter, a Newsletter of Hubert
Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU), and
the Mission Mikocheni Hospital (MMH).
The Newsletter is intended, among other
things, to inform its readers about the
progress made by both the University and
the Hospital, and about the series of events
that took place at our complementary
institutions during the year. It is also
expected to serve as an avenue through
which the University and the Hospital can
receive public views and recommendations
on our various activities.
We would like to receive, from our
esteemed readers, suggestions for
improving our future issues. We also invite
contributions in the form of articles,
reports, condensed research results, and
other categories of information, for
inclusion in our Newsletters.
We wish all of you pleasant reading.
News items/suggestions can be addressed
to:
Abraham Mwalugeni,
Marketing and Public Relations Officer,
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University,
322 Regent Estate,
P.O.Box 65300, Dar Es Salaam.
Tel: 255 22 2700021/4,
Fax: 255 22 2775591,
Email: mpro@hkmu.ac.tz
Visit our website: www.hkmu.ac.tz
Editorial Committee
1. Prof. Keto Mshigeni- Chairman
2. Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu-
Vice Chancellor’s Annual Address to all Students ................................... 11
Prof. Sylvester Kajuna’s trip to the United Kingdom ........................... 14
Drs. Sukhjeet Bharya, Joan Njeri, Nassir Lekudele,
and Avelina Temba: More HKMU Graduates to Emulate....................... 16
9th Anniversary of the Late Prof. Hubert Kairuki ..................................... 17
MMHEN Commemorating the 8th Anniversary of the departure
of Mwalimu Nyerere ........................................................................................ 18
Mr. William Sabaya thanked for his exemplary service ........................ 19
Africa’s Unsung Treasures: Some Reflections,
by Prof. Keto Mshigeni ..................................................................................... 20
Eat Mushrooms: Live Healthier, Happier, and Longer,
by Prof. Shu-Ting Chang ................................................................................. 24
What your smoking does to the person next to you,
by Ahmed Shabhay ........................................................................................... 29
Noise Impact on People, by Dr. Joseph Mugendi ................................... 32
Factors associated with low utilization of
condoms among adolescents, by Amiri Mmaka ...................................... 35
Combating the cervical cancer scourge, by Dr. Joe Kabyemela ........ 36
Drive and Survive, by Stanslaus Ngadaya ................................................ 40
The Earth’s Seaweeds, Mushrooms and Other Neglected Biota, by
Prof. Keto E. Mshigeni, Prof. Sylvester Kajuna, Mr. Jonathan Karoma,
Dr. Edward Moshi, Prof. Shu-Ting Chang,Prof. Guo Jun, Prof. Burton
Yang, and Ms. Bertha Mamiro ..................................................................... 44
Fifty Two Tips on Easy Ways to Lose Weight ............................................ 48
Staff Promotions ............................................................................................... 50
Words of Wisdom: Ten Commandments for a Happy Marriage.......... 51
Humour/Jokes ..................................................................................................... 51
Pictorial Highlights 2007 Graduation Ceremony...................................... 52
Events in Pictures ............................................................................................. 54
Pictorial Highlights 2008 Sports and Cultural Day ................................. 58
Member
3. Prof. Sylvester Kajuna- Member
4. Mr. Abraham MwalugeniSecretary/Public Relations Officer
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HKMU Fifth
Graduation
Ceremony
n 24th November 2007, Hubert
Kairuki Memorial University
(HKMU) successfully hosted the
5th Graduation Ceremony, and conferred
degrees, and awarded diplomas and
certificates to a total of 76 graduands.
26 graduands were conferred the
Doctor of Medicine Degree, 1 graduand
was conferred the Bachelor of Science in
Nursing Degree, 1 graduand was
conferred the Postgraduate Diploma in
Paediatrics, 29 graduands were awarded
Diplomas in Nursing, and 19 graduands
were awarded Certificates in Wholistic
Therapeutic Counseling.
O
Among the 76 graduands, 57 were
females and 19 males. Female
comprised 75% of all the graduands,
while males comprised only 25%. The
statistics show a 14% increase compared
with the previous year where we had a
total of 65 graduands. The Vice
Chancellor thanked the University
Chancellor Hon. Ambassador Dr. Salim
Ahmed Salim, for coming to confer
degrees, and to award diplomas and
certificates to deserving graduands
despite his very heavy work schedule. He
also congratulated Dr Salim on the
important dynamic role he is continuing
to play as Chairman of the Mwalimu
Nyerere Foundation, and in the
international community, as the African
Union (AU) special envoy on the Darfur
conflict, as well as his appointment as
AU’s Committee of the Wise.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Keto Mshigeni,
conveyed a special message of
congratulations to all graduands on their
individual and collective achievements.
Prof. Mshigeni also commended the
University’s Lecturers, Professors, and
4
The Chancellor, Hon. Dr. Salim A. Salim, conferring a Doctor of Medicine Degree
to one of the graduands during the Fifth Graduation Ceremony,
held at Karimjee Grounds.
other staff for their facilitating and
mentoring roles. He expressed
appreciation to parents, guardians,
sponsors and friends of the graduands,
for their enabling roles, and also for their
sustained interest and confidence in
the University. Apart from awards of
certificates and diplomas, and
conferment of degrees to the HKMU
graduates, best students were also
awarded prizes and certificates by the
University Chancellor. The occasion
attracted many dignitaries and
academicians from various institutions.
These included Ambassadors and High
Commissioners, Vice Chancellors and
Principals, representatives from various
Universities, hundreds of friends,
neighbours, well wishers and the public.
Reflecting on the achievements of HKMU
during the 10 years of its existence, the
Vice Chancellor pointed out that there
are sufficient grounds for pride, for
gratitude and commendation to the
Founder of the institution, the Late
Professor Hubert Kairuki, and to the
Co-Founder, Mrs. Kokushubila Kairuki, as
outlined below:
Number of enrolled students: When the
University began in 1997, it had an
enrolment of only 4 students. During the
2007/2008 academic year, the total
enrolment had grown to 506 students,
distributed as follows:
Students’
2007/2008
Sn
enrolment
Name of
Programme
statistics
Total
Number of
registered
students
Long Courses
1
2
3
4
5
6
Doctor of Medicine
(MD1-5)
Bachelor of Science
in Nursing (BScN 1-2)
Masters in Medicine
Diploma in
Nursing (Dip 1-2)
Sub total (a)
349
28
5
61
443
Short Courses
Pre- University Entry
Programme
Wholistic
Therapeutic Counseling
44
Subtotal (b)
63
GRAND TOTAL ( a+b)
506
19
The Vice Chancellor,
Prof. Keto Mshigeni, addressing the
audience at the 5th Graduation Ceremony.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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HKMU Graduates:
The feedback we continue to receive
from institutions where HKMU graduates
are now working, and where they have
been admitted for higher degree
studies, is very positive and gratifying:
they are doing very well.
Competition with other students:
At a recent Celtel Africa Challenge
among students from 10 Universities in
Tanzania, HKMU students occupied the
top position among the selected 4
winners, who will now compete at
regional level in January 2008, in
Kampala, Uganda.
Quality of our students:
The increased public awareness on
quality offerings at HKMU has continued
to attract a large number of strong
applicants for admission from within
our country, and also from other
countries. Our university sees the
merits of continuing to reserve ample
space for applicants from the
international community. This stimulates
cross-fertilization of ideas, the sharing
of experiences, and cultural diffusion.
It also catalyses global human
understanding, interaction, and unity.
Since its inception, Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University has admitted
students from countries such as
Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, India,
Kenya, U.K. USA, Namibia, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe, in addition to
those from our country. Some of our
Certificates courses have continued
to attract stakeholders from a wide
spectrum of professionals. The
University’s course in Wholistic
Therapeutic Counseling, for example,
has been attended by a growing
number of individuals, occupying high
management positions, including senior
academics and professionals from
various institutions in the country.
Research development:
With regard to the University’s function
of extending frontiers of knowledge
through research, the Vice Chancellor
reported that: Despite the relatively
heavy work load of the academic staff,
research continued to receive the
University’s attention. Some of the
research
activities involved
partnerships with peers from sister
institutions in Tanzania and abroad.
These included:
•
Collaborative research activities
on malaria, with scientists from
Harvard University, under the
leadership of Prof. Esther D.
Mwaikambo, Vice Chancellor
Emeritus.
•
Collaborative research on
molecular genetics and the
human genome, with scientists
from Yale University Medical
School, under the leadership of
Prof. Sylvester Kajuna, the
University’s
Director
of
Postgraduate Studies and
Research.
•
Additionally, we initiated
discussions and catalysed the
signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding
with
the
Guangdong
Institute
of
Microbiology,
China;
the
Department of Laboratory
Medicine
and
Pathology,
University of Toronto, Canada;
and the Chinese University of
Hong Kong, on the development
of
selected
medicinal
mushrooms as nutriceutical
therapies for improving human
health. This partnership has
provision for staff development.
Visiting Professors:
Following the University’s consultations
with the Academy of Sciences for the
Developing World (TWAS), based in
Trieste, Italy, we secured the short-term
secondment of an eminent Professor,
Dr. Manuel Limonta from Havana,
Cuba, who will help to energise our
University in research and teaching.
Also through the involvement of Health
Span International based in the United
States, we also secured a short-term
secondment of Professor Georg Feichter
of the Institute of Pathology, Basel,
Switzerland, who visited our institution a
few months ago, and who will continue
to collaborate with our University in
some of our research and training
agenda in human Pathology.
Development partners:
Also during the year, HKMU initiated
discussions with other Development
Partners, including the Tokushukai
Medical Corporation in Tokyo, and Touch
Foundation in the U.S.A., which, we
hope, may generate positive results
towards securing support for sustained
growth of the University, the Teaching
Hospital, and the Mikocheni School of
Nursing.
Outline of some of the positive
developments of HKMU during the year:
•
Phase I of the new Students’
Hostel, built through a soft loan
secured from the Tanzania
Education Authority (TEA), was
completed and occupied by our
Part of the academic procession at the 5th graduation ceremony.
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students. It is an excellent
facility.
Lecture Halls and Teaching
Laboratories were expanded,
partly through the loan fund
secured from TEA, and also from
the University’s own funds.
•
•
The Government of the United
Republic of Tanzania, continued
to provide sponsorships and
study loans to students enrolled
for our Doctor of Medicine
programme, through the Higher
Education
Loan
Board.
Currently, 85% of the Tanzanian
students enrolled in the
programme are supported by
Government.
•
During the year the Government
agreed to also offer sponsorships
and study loans to students
enrolled in our Bachelor of
Nursing degree programme.
In his concluding remarks, the Vice
Chancellor, on behalf of the University
Management, thanked the Government
of the United Republic of Tanzania, and
the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA)
for their support, which, he hoped, will
be sustained. He requested various
Development Partners to assist higher
learning institutions so as enable them
realize their objectives, which are
consonant with national aspirations.
The Vice Chancellor urged the
graduands to realise that the call into
the health profession requires: Love for
duty and service; love for learning,
intellectual curiosity about medicine,
nursing, and counseling; strong desire
to help others, and enjoying the
rendering of service to the needy in
society. “As you receive degrees,
diplomas, and certificates bearing the
name, Hubert Kairuki Memorial
University, and as you go out to serve
society, our expectation is that you will
demonstrate these qualities, and
also be characterised by each of the
desirable attributes and virtues, that we
have shared with you during our various
interactions and consultations”,
emphasized the Vice Chancellor.
6
Chairman of the University Council, Prof. Fredrick Kaijage, addressing the audience
at the 5th Graduation ceremony.
Moreover, he urged them to be humble,
honest, and respectful, under all
circumstances. “Humility is the road to
greatness. Honesty is the surest way
to trustworthiness. Respectfulness will
bring you joy and harmony with others.
You will be kind, responsive, and
helpful to others. This will earn you
friends, make you always happy, and
bring you peace of mind. You will be
open-minded, creative, innovative, and
visionary. This will catalyse in you the
power to solve problems and to see
things and solutions which others have
not dreamed of before, in your chosen
field of study”, he concluded.
During the 5th Graduation Ceremony
the Chairman of the Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University Council, Professor
Fredrick Kaijage, also delivered a
powerful, visionary, and motivating
speech.
Addressing the audience, Prof. Kaijage
thanked the Government of the United
Republic of Tanzania for its tireless
support to HKMU. He also thanked
Professors and lecturers of HKMU, for
the hard work and commitment they
have demonstrated, despite the limited
resources of the institution. He advised
the outgoing students to adhere to
highest ethical standards, commitment
to hard work, and to life-long learning.
He also urged them to fight against
unethical behaviours which are
increasing day after day in their
profession. He mentioned specifically
corruption, fraud, and negligence,
as a “Social Cancer” in our society,
which requires immediate attention.
Prof. Kaijage expressed concern on the
deteriorating quality of education in the
country. He additionally requested all
stakeholders to accept that there is a
problem, not only in the low level of
understanding the English language, but
also in our education system at large,
especially at lower levels. He proposed
the use of two languages for teaching
and learning (bilingualism), i.e.,
Kiswahili and English concurrently, and
called for improvement in teaching and
learning facilities at all levels of
education. He finally urged graduands to
take heed of the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
which kills a big percentage of the youth
in the nation every year.
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HKMU STUDENTS
PARTICIPATE AT
THE CELTEL
AFRICA
CHALLENGE
ubert
Kairuki
Memorial
University (HKMU) students
participated at the second
phase of the Competition, having been
amongst the winners of the Celtel Africa
competition at national level. The Celtel
Africa Challenge second phase of the
competition, which was held in
Kampala, Uganda, involved Universities
from Eastern and Southern Africa. The
HKMU team comprised the following
students: Lusubilo Adam (MD3), Clifford
Mwita (MD 4), Asnath Nnko (MD 5),
and Boio Nyamwihura (MD1). The staff
advisers were Dr. Ali Shabhay (Coach),
and Dr. Alphage Liwa (Liaison).
H
The competiton at national level had
involved the following ten Universities:
Ardhi University, University of Arusha,
University of Dar es Salaam, Mzumbe
University, Open University of Tanzania,
Sokoine University of Agriculture,
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, St.
Augustine University of Tanzania,
Tumaini University, and Zanzibar
University. HKMU emerged top among
the selected 4 winners, which qualified
us for the regional competition. The
other winners were: the University of
Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of
Agriculture, and St. Augustine
University of Tanzania.
The competition at regional level had
involved a total of 16 Universities from
East and Central Africa as follows:
Copperbelt University (Zambia), Egerton
University(Kenya), Kenyatta University
(Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam
(Tanzania), Makerere University
(Uganda), Sokoine University of
Agriculture (Tanzania), St. Augustine
University (Tanzania), Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University (Tanzania),
Mbarara University of Science and
Technology (Uganda), Moi University
(Kenya), Mzuzu University (Malawi),
Nkumba
University
(Uganda),
HKMU students in the Celtel Africa Challenge quiz. From right to left are: Lusubilo
Adam (MD3), Boio Nyamwihura (MD1), and Clifford Mwita (MD 4).
Strathmore University (Kenya), Uganda
Christian
University
(Uganda),
University of Malawi (Malawi), and the
University of Zambia (Zambia).
At the opening round of the competition
at regional level, HKMU defeated one
of the oldest Universities in East and
Central Africa, Makerere University.
HKMU proceeded to the quarter finals,
where it was defeated by Kenyatta
University. Only 2 Universities from
Tanzania proceeded to the quarter
finals. These are SUA and HKMU. HKMU
Students are committed to try harder
next time.
For the second time, Egerton University
(Kenya) emerged the winner of the
tournament after defeating Nkumba
University (Uganda) at the final. HKMU
Students who participated at the event
were awarded USD 1500 each, the two
key staff advisors received USD 1,000
each, while the University received USD
10,000.
The HKMU community
congratulates the students who
participated in the competition, on
having represented the University so
ably. We hope our students will perform
even better in future competitions.
HKMU students and their coach, Dr. Ali Shabhay (2nd from right), posed for a photo
during the Celtel Africa Challenge competition in DSM. First on right is one of the
Celtel Africa Challenge organizers.
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HON. PROF.
MAGHEMBE
URGES HKMU
TO INCREASE
STUDENTS’
ENROLMENT
he Honourable Minister for
Education and Vocational Training
(MoEVT), Hon. Prof. Jumanne
Maghembe, has urged HKMU to
increase its students enrolment, without
compromising the quality of education.
Speaking at the HKMU pavilion on the
3rd Exhibitions in Higher Education,
Science and Technology, held from
17th to 19th April 2008, at Diamond
Jubilee Hall, Hon. Prof. Maghembe
remarked that he knows HKMU well,
and was impressed by the information
given by the HKMU exhibitors at the
booth.
T
Prof. Maghembe urged HKMU to think
seriously about increasing the number
of enrolled students because of the
big demand of health professionals,
especially doctors and nurses, in
society, and also due to the increasing
number of students completing high
schools compared with the enrolment
capacity of higher learning institutions
in the country.
Hon.Prof. Jumanne Maghembe (MP),
Minister for Education and
Vocational Training.
8
Hon. Prof. Maghembe at the HKMU Pavilion at the 3rd Exhibition of Higher
Education held at Diamond Jubilee Hall.
HKMU, together with over 50 higher
learning institutions from in and outside
the country, participated in the Third
Exhibitions in Higher Education,
Science, and Technology, organised by
The
Tanzania
Commission
for
Universities (TCU).
The theme for this year’s exhibition was
“Better Life for all Through Higher
Education, Science, and Technology”.
During the occasion HKMU displayed
some of its new facilities used for
research, teaching and learning, and
also general information about the
University, so as to market its activities
and publicize its image.
HKMU was represented by Mr. Stanslaus
Ngadaya (Principal Librarian), Mr. David
Mbelwa (Chief Laboratory Technologist),
Ms. Linda Madete (Admissions Officer),
Mr. Ivan Karkada (Representative of
the Faculty of Medicine), Ms. Minael
Omari (Representative of the Faculty
of Nursing), Dr. Julius Kibbassa
(Consultant/Physician), and Mr. Abraham
Mwalugeni (Marketing and Public
Relations Officer).
Ms. Minael Omar (in red T-shirt) giving information to visitors about one of the
HKMU’s teaching facilities.
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TEA BOARD
IMPRESSED
BY HKMU
DEVELOPMENT
he Tanzania Education Authority
(TEA) Board visited HKMU on
26th March 2008. The purpose of
their visit was to see the educational
infrastructure developed at HKMU,
through the Tanzania Education
Authority (TEA) support. HKMU’s
development activities that received
TEA support funds included the
expansion of lecture centres and
laboratories, construction of a new
students’ hostel, and equipment/
computer provision for the University’s
computer laboratory. In his welcoming
remarks Prof. Keto Mshigeni, the
Vice Chancellor, thanked TEA for the
recognition and the support they had
accorded to HKMU. He also
commended TEA for the noble mission
they are undertaking towards giving
grants and loans for empowering
educational institutions (public and
private), at various levels, in our country.
T
“Yours is a noble mission, because
there is nothing like supporting
education. Education is freedom.
Education is the surest equalizer of the
people in society. Education is the best
provision for old age. Education is
salvation. Education empowers people
with knowledge and capacity to think”.
Professor Mshigeni went on to say,
“Prophet Hosea (Hosea 4:6, in Bible)
must have had this in mind when he
wrote: “People are destroyed for lack of
knowledge’’. “Yours is a noble mission,
because, through your support to our
various educational institutions, you are
empowering our youth with skills to
serve society, and to advance our
nation”. He made reference to a
Greek philosopher, Diogenes, who, long
before Christ, had stated “The
Vice Chancellor Prof. Keto Mshigeni speaking during the meeting with the TEA
Board Members. On his left is TEA Board Chairman Mr. Patrick Rutabanzibwa.
foundation of every State, is the
education of its youth”.
The Vice Chancellor also commended
the Government of the United Republic
of Tanzania for its wisdom to establish
TEA. He commended TEA for its
visionary and an enlightened Board of
Directors: a Board of Directors which
recognises the important role the
Private Sector is playing, and will
continue to play, in promoting the
education and the training of our youth;
and a Board that gives loans and other
forms of support to enable institutions
of higher learning in the country to
advance their visions and missions.
Prof. Mshigeni concluded his speech by
informing the TEA Board of Directors
that through the support that TEA had
provided to HKMU, the institution
had been enabled to accomplish the
following:
i)
Advancing the training of
several staff members at various
levels, including education at
Postgraduate level.
ii)
Equipping the University’s
computer Laboratory, enabling
both students and staff to access
latest knowledge via the
internet, and also making the
students ICT literate, in this age
of globalization.
iii)
Expanding lecture rooms and
laboratories, enabling the
University to enrol more students
in the University’s various
programmes.
iv)
Constructing a new hostel for
students, which has made it
possible for HKMU to provide an
enabling learning environment
for the students: a hostel
accommodating 138 students,
77% of whom are female.
The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
of HKMU Mrs. Kokushubila Kairuki, also
joined the Vice Chancellor, in thanking
TEA for their support to the University.
“We are most grateful to TEA (and
through TEA, to our Government and
other supporters of the TEA fund) for this
support, which in one way or another,
has contributed towards making HKMU
what it is today”, she concluded.
Speaking after the tour of the projects
funded by TEA, the TEA Chairman of the
Board of Directors, Mr. Patrick
Rutabanzibwa, and the TEA Managing
Director, Mrs. Mercy Silla, together
praised HKMU for the proper and timely
utilization of funds from TEA. They
mentioned some incidents where some
of the institutions that were also given
loan funds from TEA, had failed to utilize
TEA loan/funds as has been planned.
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VICE
CHANCELLOR
OF HKMU
HONOURED IN
NAMIBIA
he University of Namibia (UNAM),
has decided to honour Prof. Keto
Elitabu Mshigeni, the Vice
Chancellor of Hubert Kairuki Memorial
University (HKMU), by naming a new
Mariculture Complex at the Sam Nujoma
Marine and Coastal Resources Research
Centre (SANUMARC), along the
Namibian coast at Henties Bay, after
his name. This is recognition of
Prof. Mshigeni’s visionary leadership he
had demonstrated as the Founding
Pro- Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs and Research while working at
the University of Namibia, and as
UNU-UNESCO ZERI Chair for Africa, that
led to the establishment of the research
centre at Henties Bay, Namibia. The
complex/building will be named the
“Keto Mshigeni Mariculture Building”.
T
Prof. Keto Mshigeni
The “Keto Mshigeni Mariculture
Building” will be inaugurated on
25th September 2008, by the Right
Honourable Prime Minister of the
Republic of Namibia, Honourable Nohas
Angula, in the company of the Founding
President of the Republic of Namibia,
and Chancellor of UNAM, H.E. Dr. Sam
Nujoma. Prof. Mshigeni is expected to
attend the inauguration ceremony.
Prof. Mshigeni joined the University of
Namibia in 1991 where he first worked
as a Consultant on the development of
the University. He was subsequently (in
1995) appointed Pro-Vice Chancellor
(Academic Affairs and Research).
During the period 1995-2000, while
serving as Pro-Vice Chancellor, he also
served as Chairman of many University
Committees, and also Chairman of the
United Nations University’s International
Scientific Advisory Council on the ZERI
Programme.
During the period May 2000-January
2006, Professor Mshigeni served as
Regional Director of a UNDP Regional
Project on Sustainable Development
from Africa’s Biodiversity, based at the
University of Namibia, which focused
attention on people’s socio-economic
empowerment from Africa’s seaweeds,
mushrooms, and other selected biota.
Prof. Mshigeni joined HKMU, as Vice
Chancellor, in February 2006.
VISION OF HKMU
The Vision of HKMU is to become a model
private University in Tanzania, and in Africa:
a University that provides highest quality
education, conducts
cutting edge research, and provides exemplary
services to society.
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VICE
CHANCELLOR’S
ANNUAL
ADDRESS TO
ALL
STUDENTS
This speech was delivered by
Prof. Keto Mshigeni, when
addressing HKMU students on
13th February 2008.
irst and foremost, I take this
opportunity to thank God, The
Almighty, for His grace, and for
His blessings, that enabled the
visionary Founder of this institution, the
late Professor Hubert Kairuki, and Mrs.
Kokushubila Kairuki, to bring this
University into being, and to enable
you to be enrolled in the institution, for
your respective degree programmes,
diploma courses, and certificates.
F
As you are aware the vision of the
Founder of this University was to build
an institution characterised by
standards of excellence in the various
course offerings. And he started with
programmes in nursing and medicine,
because he himself was a Medical
Doctor, who was aware of the critical
shortage of professionals in the medical
field. As I had stated in my speech
during the Graduation ceremonies last
year, the University had started small,
but has now grown to its current level
where we now have over 500 students.
From its inception, the motto of the
University has been to maximise
competitiveness, responsiveness and
professionalism. Indeed, every year,
during our meetings with students, we
have been emphasizing that you should
understand and uphold this motto.
During my meeting with students last
year, I outlined a number of key virtues
The University Management at the VC’s meeting with students. The first person on
the right is the HKMUSA Vice President, Nuru Mwambola.
and attributes that our University wants
you to assimilate, to be a part of you,
because we want you to leave the gates
of this University with your degrees, as
SPECIAL GRADUATES, highly marketable
in society: in Tanzania, in Africa, and in
the global community.
The following are some of the virtues I
outlined and elaborated upon during
my meeting with you, our HKMU
students, last year. Today I am
mentioning them again, for the sake of
emphasis:
(i).
Competitiveness.
(ii).
Responsiveness.
(iii). Professionalism, as earlier
stated. Other virtues we want
you to master, and to assimilate,
are:
(iv).
(v).
Accountability: Here you are
being reminded to realise your
in-born talents, to develop them
to full potential, to put them to
use, and also to realise that you
have to be accountable to those
who paid for you, your University
fees, by studying hard.
Time-management: Here you
are being reminded to spend the
gift called time, thoughtfully,
wisely, and carefully. When
going to the lectures, be
punctual, and never miss any
lecture. Plan what you want to
accomplish each day, with care,
and with discipline.
(vi).
Socialisation: “Man” (Homo
sapiens) is a social animal. Treat
everyone you meet with love, with
respect, with dignity. Treat everyone as you treat your best friend.
(vii). Honesty: Cultivate the culture of
telling the truth, always, and the
culture of obeying the dictates of
your conscience.
(vii). Humility: Humble individuals will
always say, “Sorry,” when they
are wrong. They will always be
ready to admit their mistakes,
and to apologize, asking for
forgiveness. A humble person
listens to others, respects
opinions of others, and never
brags. Humility, indeed, leads to
greatness.
(ix).
Creativity: Last year I reminded
you that we were created in God’s
own image. Indeed, we were
given a gift of creative minds. It
was through our Founder’s
creative mind that HKMU came
into being; and that you and I are
here today. Creativity begins with
training your mind to think.
(x).
Being Responsible: In Society
we are often put in charge of
specific duties.
Some are
appointed leaders, to be in
charge of supervising, and
guiding others. If you are a
leader, you are expected to lead
others with honesty, with humility,
with respect, and with dignity.
You are expected to lead others
by example.
11
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questions, and, together, outline
what new developments could be incorporated in the overall vision of our
developing University.
Students’ listening to the Vice Chancellor’s Speech.
I would like to request you to read, once
again, my address to you,
delivered on 14th February, 2007,
which, I will have filed in our University
Library. Today, my speech will be brief,
because I want to have more time spent
on
discussing various issues
which you have brought to the attention
of the University Management. But
before
we come to that, let me state
some problems that we have noted,
amongst some of you, which must be
accorded due attention:
watch their language. We want
you to graduate, well polished in
every way!
(i).
Tendency of some students to
ignore procedures laid down by
the University. All Universities
operate through procedures laid
by Council, Senate, Faculty
Boards, Departments, and the
University Management. During
the Orientation Week, when new
students join the University, these
procedures are clearly outlined
and emphasized. You must
remember the laid down
procedures, and observe them.
(iii). Tendency of some students to
show elements of lack of
discipline, and elements that
disrupt peace and bring
disharmony in the institution.
Please let us work together as a
team, to address this, and to
ensure that we maintain an
atmosphere of peace in the
University, without which you
cannot attain the goals that
brought you to the University,
and without which we cannot
attain the vision of our
Founder. Let us, at this juncture,
remember the NAVAJO, wisdom
that goes as follows: BEFORE
ME, PEACEFUL; BEHIND ME,
PEACEFUL;
UNDER
ME,
PEACEFUL; OVER ME, PEACEFUL;
AROUND ME, PEACEFUL. Let that
be our daily song at HKMU!
(ii).
Tendency of some students to use
impolite,
arrogant,
and
disrespectful language. This was
observed during my meeting
with the student leaders last
week.
As your academic
parents, we advised the leaders
of the students Government to
Having said that, let me now inform our
new students that every year, we have a
day when the Vice Chancellor and all
our staff meet students, to share words
of wisdom, like what I have just done, to
inform the students about new visions
and new developments, and also to
allow our students to ask various
12
Last week, during a meeting with
leaders of your Government, various
questions were asked. Some related to
the Governance of the Institution.
Specifically, there was a request
that student leadership should be
represented in the University Council.
Some of the issues related to our
Academic programmes. Some of the
questions asked were on the University
Library, and the Book Bank. Some were
on the University students Hostel, a very
good and convenient new facility, which
was completed only last year.
During the meeting, referred to, we
informed the student leaders that we
value many of your suggestions and
recommendations. But we also stated
that the University management had
already addressed some of the stated
problems, and that we shall have the
remaining discussed in various Faculty
Boards and committees, so that our
various stakeholders are kept in the
picture, and contribute ideas towards
finding solutions. Indeed I am delighted
that there is provision for student
representation in the various University
committees. If you are a member of
some of those committees, please make
sure you attend punctually, and
productively. You should however know
that our University is in good standing,
and we have been receiving gratifying
compliments on the competence of
former graduates of the University in
their places of work, or where they
have been enrolled for higher degree
studies. Let me emphasize that when you
ask a question, or state a problem, you
will not always get a ready answer right
there. Please allow me to tell a true
story.
During the 1960’s, when I was an
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undergraduate student in the Faculty of
Science, in what is now the University of
Dar es Salaam, very few students opted
for Physics as one of their subjects of
study (This may be a situation similar to
what we observe today in the subject of
Anatomy in our Faculties of Medicine).
In an effort to address the problem, the
then Chairman of the Physics
Department, Professor Dennis Osborne,
who was an eminent geophysicist at the
University, and also the Dean of the
Science Faculty, undertook to promote
interest towards studying Physics by
visiting various Secondary Schools in
Tanzania, and delivering intriguing
lectures on various applications of
Physics in society.
One day, at the end of one of Professor
Osborne’s inspiring lectures, when the
school boys were invited to ask
questions, one bold student, Erasto
Mpemba, raised his hand and asked:
“Sir, if you take two identical containers
with equal volumes of water, one at
35oC (room temperature), and the other
at 100oC (boiling water) and put them
in a refrigerator at the same time, the
one that started at 100oC, freezes first!
Why?” The Professor did not have a
ready answer.
He thought that
perhaps the student was mistaken.
And, in his reply he said: “The facts, as
they are given, surprise me, because
they appear to contradict the Physics
I know. But I will try this experiment,
when I am back in Dar es Salaam,
before attempting to answer your
question.”
Back in the University laboratories,
Professor Dennis Osborne did the
experiment, repeatedly, and confirmed
the observations reported by Erasto
Mpemba.
Actually he published
the results in a science journal. The
experiments were, subsequently,
repeated by many others, and
everywhere, the results were
re-confirmed!! The phenomenon was
named, The Mpemba Effect, after the
inquisitive student. (Please find more
about The Mpemba Effect in the
Internet, and also from the following
two references: E. B. Mpemba and D.
G. Osborne. Cool? Physics Education,
May 1969, 4 (3): 172-175; D.G.
Osborne.
Mind on Ice. Physics
Education, November 1979, 14 (6),
414-417).
From the Mpemba Effect story, you will
appreciate the fact that some types of
questions asked by students, are very
good, but may require a careful study,
and a detailed analysis, before realistic
answers or lasting solutions, are found.
Indeed we encourage you to be
inquisitive, and to ask questions.
Here, I want our students to realise that
Universities are dynamic institutions,
always changing for the better in
response the changing needs of
society. HKMU is, indeed changing
dynamically, and upholding high
standards, judging from the feedback
we receive from our External
Examiners, and from various institutions
where HKMU graduates are now
working, or have been enrolled for
postgraduate studies. Indeed, we are
proud of those of you who, at the
recent Celtel Africa Competition, among
students from 10 Universities in our
country, occupied the top position
amongst the four winners, and who also
competed effectively at regional level,
last month, in Kampala, Uganda. [As
we came to learn later, HKMU students
actually beat Makerere University
students!].
Concluding Remarks:
We have granted you an opportunity to
ask many questions. We have provided
to you many answers based on fact.
Other matters will be discussed in
various committees before solutions are
found. We have given provision for
your leaders to be co-opted into
various committees, as elaborated
during this meeting. Many of you are on
the right track towards upholding the
motto of HKMU as I outlined at the start
of our meeting. Keep on moving along
the right path. We are proud of you! But
we have noted that some of you still have
a lot of work to do, in terms of discipline;
in terms of the respect you show when
addressing your leaders at various
levels; in terms of failure to admit your
mistakes when you are wrong, and to
apologize when expected to do so. We
are your academic parents, and our
conscience will blame us if we fail to
fulfil our responsibility of guiding you
when you are wrong, and also of
mentoring you.
My final appeal is that:
i).
Let us cultivate a culture of
PEACE: Peace before us, behind
us, under us, over us, and around
us!
ii).
Let us cultivate a culture of
RESPECT: respect to our leaders,
to one another, and to ourselves.
iii).
Let us train our TONGUES: to
speak words of truth, of kindness,
of hope, and of dignity!
iv).
Let us be CREATIVE: in the classes
we attend, in the conduct of all
our business in the institution,
in our efforts to create good
harmony with all, and in solving
the problems we encounter
everyday.
v).
Remember that: your lecturers,
your
Chairpersons
of
Departments, your Deans of
Faculties, and the entire HKMU
Management system, are here to
help you attain success in your
studies at HKMU, and in society
when you graduate. Therefore,
FOLLOW THE UNIVERSITY’S RULES
AND PROCEDURES! Thank you for
your attention!
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PROF. SYLVESTER
KAJUNA’S TRIP
TO THE UNITED
KINGDOM
rof. Sylvester L.B. Kajuna from
the Department of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, recently
undertook an academic visit to the
United Kingdom, where he made
several presentations to selected
academic and scientific gatherings at
the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in
London; and at the BioComposites
Centre, as well as the Centre for
Computational Chemistry of the
University of Wales, Bangor Campus.
The visit was fully sponsored by the
British Royal Society in conjunction
with the Tanzania Academy of
Sciences, through a highly competitive
Ghana/Tanzania-UK Science Networking
Scheme.
P
The presentations centred on two
important research programmes taking
place at the HKMU in which Prof.
Kajuna is the Principal Investigator; and
the main purpose of the visit was to
present the preliminary results of the
research studies to the British scientific
and academic fraternity with a view to
enhancing collaboration in matters of
research, and accessing bigger funding
from multinational funding agencies
channelled through the British Royal
Society. The main research programme
that competed against many others
through the Science Networking
Scheme and won the scholarship for
Prof. Kajuna to the United Kingdom
was: Efficacy and safety of NK2 in the
treatment of patients with symptomatic
primary Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Type I (HIV-I) Infection.
We all realize that recent research
advances have provided improved
understanding of the biology of HIV
infection and the pathogenesis of AIDS.
14
Visiting team of Tanzanian Scientists and Researchers at the Biocomposites Centre
and the Centre of Computational Chemistry of the University of Wales UK, in June
2008. From the right is Dr. Charles Nshimo(MUHAS), Prof. Sylvester
Kajuna(HKMU), Dr. Onesmo Minzi(MUHAS), Dr. Radek Braganca (Bangor),
Prof. Olipa Ngassapa(MUHAS), Dr. Paul Fowler (Bangor),
and Ms. Bertha Mamiro (TIRDO).
With the advent of sensitive tools for
monitoring HIV replication in infected
patients, the risk for disease progression
can be assessed accurately and the
efficacy and safety of anti-HIV therapies
can be easily determined. Availability of
potent antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) has
made it possible to design therapeutic
strategies that can accomplish
near-complete
suppression
of
detectable HIV replication but without
actually clearing the disease, thus
requiring
life-long
application.
Furthermore, ARV therapy is not easily
available to all in less-developed
countries: either privately or through
government funded schemes. It is not
the kind of treatment most poor people
could ever afford; nor is it something
that existing health systems in poor
countries are adequately equipped to
support, even with donor funding.
Given the circumstances, our research
team strongly feels that in less
developed countries priority must be given
to innovative treatment interventions
that can permanently eliminate the
disease; are readily available and
affordable; can be easily administered;
and are as, or even more effective than,
conventional ARV treatment.
Under our research programme, we have
been monitoring responses of viral load
and CD4 counts after administration of
NK2. Virological response has been
defined as suppression of viral load to
less than the detection limit, and CD4cell response as an increase of at least
50 cells/μL. Among study participants
who reached viral load of less than
the level of detection, viral rebound
was defined as two consecutive
measurements of more than 400
copies/ml. We used the data of the first
of the two measurements in our analysis.
Our main clinical endpoints were
progression to a new AIDS-defining
event or death. We have also measured
the protective (residual or "prophylactic")
effect of NK2 against opportunistic
infections by looking at the clinical and
biological parameters at 6 months and
12 months after initial treatment.
Toxicological studies with rats and mice
indicate that NK2 is fairly safe and
non-toxic; and our observations in a
cohort of HIV-1-infected patients
indicate that great improvement in
immune function is possible, even in
patients who have advanced HIV
disease. The extent to which NK2 can
suppress the HIV-1 virus and restore
immune function when initiated in
persons at varying stages of HIV disease
is not yet known but certainly presents an
important question for further research.
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Methodology: Under the continuing
study, a further 80 – 100 HIV-1-infected
patients will be randomly assigned
NK2. The project happens in three
overlapping phases. In Phase One we
tested the safety and efficacy of NK2, a
locally developed herbal drug obtained
from seaweed and one terrestrial plant
used in traditional medicine that has
great antiretroviral effect and that
compares so well with conventional
standard ARV therapy. The study design
has been in such a way that any
observed difference between the
treated and the control groups could be
attributed to the real effect of NK2
treatment. In Phase Two, we have been
doing chemical characterization of the
pharmacologically active compounds in
NK2. In Phase Three, which was the
subject of all presentations in the
United Kingdom, we are trying to
elucidate the exact action mechanism
of the “drug” and point out its molecular
point of attack. NK2 seems to have the
ability to inhibit HIV replication in
primary T-cells and monocytes through
modulation of the mitogen-activated
protein kinase p38 (MAPK) while it
blocks HIV-induced T-cell apoptosis – a
critical means of T-cell depletion linked
to AIDS progression. If we could prove
it beyond reasonable doubt, this would
be novel!
Hypotheses:
(i)
NK2 has considerable and
durable antiretroviral effect in
HIV-1infected
patients
measured by plasma HIV-1 RNA
levels and CD 4+ T-cell counts.
(ii)
Inhibition of the serine-threonine
protein kinase p38 pathway by
NK2 severely affects HIV-1
replication.
Rationale:
Effective anti-HIV/AIDS vaccine remains
elusive. Unless a cheap but equally or
more effective alternative treatment is
developed, annual HIV-1 incidents in
poor countries will increase. Traditional
medicine such as NK2 provides hope
for the treatment of AIDS where
allopathic medicine has failed.
Interruption of HIV-1 by p38 inhibitors
underscores the urgent need to explore
herbal drugs that target host cellular
proteins. This will be the first time in
Africa a herbal drug has successfully
been applied to suppress HIV-1
replication, and reduce the viral load to
undetectable levels, while it prevents
selection of resistant mutants during
application.
Project Design and Implementation
Plan
Study Design/Plan:
Phase Three (12 months, overlapping
with Phase Two):
(a)
Further phytochemical screening
of the aqueous extract of NK2
will be carried out.
(b)
NK2 extract will further be
tested for antiviral activity.
It is a fact that multicellular organisms
have three signal transduction molecule
subfamilies of mitogen-activated
protein kinases (MAPKs) that control a
vast array of physiological processes at
cellular level. The extracellular
signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) are
very important in the control of cell
division, and inhibitors of these
enzymes could be explored as anti-HIV
agents. The serine/threonine kinase
p38 MAPK may play a vital role in
HIV-1 infection. In this study we
attempt to look at the ability of NK2 to
inhibit HIV replication in primary T-cells
and monocytes through modulation of
the p38 MAPKs while it blocks
HIV-induced T-cell apoptosis. Several
steps in the replication cycle of the HIV
virus seem to depend on cellular
activation, including activation of the
p38 pathway.
In the absence of activation, viral
replication is blocked due to
incomplete reverse transcription and,
subsequently, a lack of proviral DNA
integration. More importantly, both
reverse transcriptase and protease
resistant escape mutant viruses seem to
be effectively suppressed by NK2 – as
opposed to conventional ARVs. Cellular
expression of phospho-p38 MAPK will
be studied by Western blot analysis.
Blockade of HIV-1 infection induced
apoptosis will be measured by Annexin
V staining. Virological response will be
defined as suppression of viral load
through inhibition of the p38 pathway
by NK2 to less than the detection limit.
This will be our measure of success by
which this project could be evaluated.
The second presentation by Prof. Kajuna
centred on the modulative effect of
Ganoderma lucidum on MicroRNA and
Cytokine MRNA expression in Neoplasia.
Ganoderma lucidum, a basidiomycetes
white rot fungus involved in the process
of lignocellulose degradation in nature,
is known to have antitumour and antiHIV
effects. However, the entire molecular
mechanism through which Ganoderma
lucidum works has not been thoroughly
elucidated. Results from the present
study will shed some light on the
molecular mechanism of Ganoderma
lucidum in the management of tumours
and HIV/AIDS. Tumours are known to
secrete pro-inflammatory chemokines
and cytokines while inducing local
stromal cell elements to do the same.
These chemokines and cytokines act
either directly or indirectly through
stimulation of the vascular endothelium
to recruit leukocytes to the tumour.
Breaking this cycle by inhibiting targets
such as cytokines, chemokines and other
inflammatory mediators, either alone, or
more realistically, in combination with
other therapies, such as anti-angiogenic
or cytotoxic agents, may provide highly
efficacious therapeutic regimens for the
treatment of malignancies or HIV/AIDS.
MicroRNA molecules are pivotal in the
formation (through mRNA) of cellular
proteins
including
inflammatory
cytokines by switching off and on gene
expression, and will be investigated in
this study to reveal the effect of
Ganoderma lucidum on the expression
of cytokine mRNA during tumor
development
and
HIV/AIDS
progression. This study will be partly
conducted at the Human Molecular
Genetics Laboratory of the Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University by Dr. Boniphace
Sylvester through a PhD programme
under Prof. Kajuna’s supervision, and at
the University of Wales, Bangor, in the
United Kingdom.
Apart from Prof. Kajuna, the trip to the
United Kingdom included three more
researchers and scientists from the
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied
Sciences (MUHAS); namely, Prof. Olipa
Ngassapa, Dr. Charles Nshimo, and
Dr. Onesmo Minzi. There was also a
mushroom farming scientist from the
Tanzania Industrial Research and
Development Organization (TIRDO),
Ms. Bertha Mamiro.
15
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DRS. SUKHJEET
BHARYA, JOAN NJERI
NASSIR LEKUDELE,
AND AVELINA
TEMBA: MORE
HKMU GRADUATES
TO EMULATE
r Sukhjeet Kaur Bharya
graduated at Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University (HKMU) in
2004, as a Medical Doctor, and with
an award of the Best Student. She went
to KCMC (Moshi) for the intenship and
she completed successfully. Dr. Bharya
went to the United Kingdom and did the
United Kingdom Medical Board
Examination (PLAB), and got a limited
registration with the General Medical
Council (GMC) of UK. After looking at
her assessments, PLAB scores, and
recommendations, she was awarded
Full GMC Registration in 2007. Due to
her excellent performance, HKMU was
added to the GMC list of approved
Universities in UK.
D
Dr. Sukhjeet Bharya is currently working
in London, specializing in Family
Medicine. She has established a
Medical Company, which specifically,
caters for needs of Medical
Students/Doctors in Tanzania, providing
them with the best medical supplies to
help future Doctors throughout their
careers.
Dr. Sukhjeet Bharya
16
Group Photo of some of the MD’s graduates of 2007.
Across the boarder in Kenya, HKMU
2007 graduates, Sr. Dr. Joan Njeri
Thathi, and Dr. Nassir Lekudere, also did
very well in their internship qualifying
examinations organized by the Kenya
Medical Council Board. "We are
determined to keep the good name of
our University. We were thirty Doctors
from all over the world and only six
passed the Board Examination. Among
them, four had done the examination
before and failed, so we were the only
two who passed with the first trial. Our
clinicals were excellent. The professors
were very impressed. That is why we
would wish that you work hard that our
doctors don't do this examination
because they are as good as those
trained in long established schools.
Please tell the others to work hard and
to waste no time”. This is a quote of a
Dr. Sr. Avelina Temba
message sent by Sr. Dr. Joan Njeri
Thathi, and Dr. Nassir Lekudere.
Last year, Dr. Laili Irani, one of the first
HKMU Graduates completed her Masters
Degree in Public Health (MPH) at
St. Johns Hopkins University in the USA.
Also recently, Dr. Sr. Avelina Temba, one
of the HKMU graduates of 2005, has
been appointed Chief Medical Officer for
the Korogwe District Hospital.
On behalf of the HKMU, the Vice
Chancellor,
Prof. Keto Mshigeni,
congratulates the above-mentioned
graduates, first of all, on their success,
and secondly, on being good
Ambassadors of HKMU in and outside the
country. The Vice Chancellor urges all
HKMU graduates to keep in touch with
the University by all means available at
their disposal.
Dr. Nassir Lekudele
Dr. Sr. Joan Njeri
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 17
9TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE LATE
PROF. HUBERT
KAIRUKI
S
ince his untimely demise on
February 6th, 1999, the late
Professor
Hubert
Kairuki’s
Memorial Day has, for the last eight
years, been marked quietly, mainly by
his family as well as the workers at the
four institutions Prof. Kairuki founded,
Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs,
listening to the BScN students at a Poster Exhibition on
Professor Kairuki’s 9th Memorial Anniversary.
namely: Mission Mikocheni Health and
Education Network (MMHEN), Mission
Mikocheni Hospital (MMH), Hubert
Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU),
BScN students of the faculty of Nursing,
and the Mikocheni School of Nursing
organized a Poster Exhibition on
(MSN).
“Critical analysis of selected popular
Nursing Theories, and their applicability
According to a statement issued by the
in situational Nursing practice, in a
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees,
developing country, like Tanzania”.
delivered a public lecture entitled
“Coming to Grips with Cervical Cancer”.
Dr. Kabyemela’s lecture, which was
of a world-class standard, was followed
by
Mrs. Kokushubila Kairuki, Prof. Kairuki’s
an
interactive
discussion
by
participants. Besides serving as a
Memorial Day will, from now onwards,
The late Prof. Kairuki was a Specialist
be marked publicly with a flurry of
Obstetrician and Gynecologist who did
public and community activities in
a lot to improve women’s health in
celebration of the life, times and
Tanzania. The free mobile mother to
achievements of this visionary medic,
child health clinics currently conducted
academician, philanthropist, missionary,
by Mikocheni Hospital are held in
entrepreneur, and nationalist, the Late
remembrance of Prof. Kairuki’s concern,
Prof. Hubert Kairuki.
commitment, and professionalism,
consultant
Gynaecologist
at
the
Aintree Centre for Women’s Health
and
Liverpool
Women’s
Hospital,
Dr. Kabyemela serves as an Honorary
Clinical Lecturer at the Liverpool
University School of Medicine, UK.
which he displayed in his bid to provide
This year’s commemoration involved the
quality service to mothers and children
testing of women from Mikocheni
of all walks of life in Tanzania.
Village for indications of cervical
cancer. The testing was conducted by
The highlight of Prof. Kairuki’s Memorial
doctors at Mission Mikocheni Hospital
Day was marked by the First Hubert
free of charge, as a community service
Kairuki Memorial Lecture, held at
which Mission Mikocheni Hospital
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University on
offers, and as part of MMH’s free
6th
mobile mother-to-child health service
presented by Dr. Joe Kabyemela, MD,
it offers, once a week. HKMU students
MRCOC and Consultant Obstetrician and
also participated effectively on the Prof.
Gynaecologist with the Aintree Centre
Kairuki Memorial Day. For example,
for Women’s Health, UK. Dr. Kabyemela
February
2008,
which
was
The Late Prof. Hubert Kairuki
17
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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11:53 AM
Page 18
MMHEN
COMMEMORATING
THE
8TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE
DEPARTURE OF
MWALIMU JULIUS
KAMBARAGE
NYERERE
e, the management and staff
of the Mission Mikocheni
Health and Education Network
(which incorporates Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University, Mission Mikocheni
Hospital, and the Mikocheni School of
Nursing) take this opportunity to express
our fond memories, gratitude, and
pride, to have been nurtured by our
departed FATHER OF THE NATION,
Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
W
As our entire nation commemorates the
8th year since Mwalimu was called over
by our Creator, we wish to put on
record, the following unique attributes
that Mwalimu displayed, which we are
using as a compass, as we guide the
students passing through our institution,
and as we deliver health and education
services to society:
The Late Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere
18
This is a statement issued by the Chairperson
of the Board of Trustees of HKMU,
Mrs. Kokushubila Kairuki on 14th October
2007, in commemorating the 8th Anniversary
of the departure of our beloved Father of the
Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
1).
Mwalimu was abundantly blessed
with unique virtues of HONESTY,
INCORRUPTIBILITY, HUMILITY and
CHARISMA.
2).
Throughout, he set superlative
records
of
OUTSTANDING
LEADERSHIP and HIGH MORAL
STANDARDS.
3).
In all his undertakings, he proved
to be an amazing fountain
of
WISDOM,
KNOWLEDGE,
INTELLECT, and FARSIGHTEDNESS.
4).
He was profoundly ANALYTICAL;
he was a REALIST; he was a
PRAGMATIST; he was a great
PHILOSOPHER.
5).
He was KIND, PIOUS, INSPIRING,
RESPECTFUL, SIMPLE, FIRM and
FAIR.
6).
He was blessed with unmatched
NOBILITY in his IDEAS, and
with LUCIDITY of thought and
ELOQUENCE.
7).
He was a MAN OF PRINCIPLES,
always
showing
serious
commitment towards advancing
the education of his people, and
uplifting the well-being of the
poor and the oppressed in
society. Most of our senior
leaders today are products of his
sound education policies.
8).
He displayed unique mastery
of SELF-DISCIPLINE, WRITING
SKILLS, and an exemplary sense
of TIME MANAGEMENT.
9).
He demonstrated unique abilities
in planting and nurturing seeds of
UNITY in society: nationally,
regionally, continentally, and
globally.
10). He was a truly ILLUSTRIOUS son
of Tanzania, Africa, and the
entire Developing World.
It is not surprising, therefore, that
Mwalimu became a unique mentor who
was trusted globally. Indeed, he was
Chairman of the South Centre, at the
time of his departure. He brought
honour to our country, respect and
dignity to our continent, and left us with
a wealth of leadership ethics through his
many writings.
But what is most surprising to us, at
Mission Mikocheni Health and Education
Network, is the fact that despite the
heavy demands on his time, e.g.,
towards leading Tanganyika to
independence, towards pioneering the
union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar,
giving birth to present day Tanzania,
towards playing an active role during
the birth and growth of OAU (now the
African Union), and towards the
liberation of other regions of Africa
against colonial rule, etc., he still
managed to create time for worship and
for glorifying his Creator, and for
re-writing every verse in the Biblical
Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, John,
and Acts of the Apostles, in poetic
Swahili, for our spiritual upliftment.
These Biblical writings constitute one of
his unique amazing contributions to
society, not known to many!
We salute Mwalimu!
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 19
MR. WILLIAM
SABAYA
THANKED FOR
HIS EXEMPLARY
SERVICE
ubert
Kairuki
Memorial
th
University on 11 July 2007,
issued
a
statement of
appreciation for glorious services
rendered by Mr. William Sabaya, in
remembrance of his exemplary service
as the Founding Executive Secretary of
the then Higher Education Accreditation
Council (HEAC), and later of Tanzania
Commission for Universities (TCU).
H
In a statement which was signed by the
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Keto Mshigeni,
and the Chairperson of the Board of
Trustees of HKMU, Mrs. Kokushubila
Kairuki, which was presented to Mr.
Sabaya, it was stated, “HKMU feels very
much honoured and proud to present to
Mr. Sabaya a statement of expression
of our gratitude, as a permanent
record, for the exemplary services he
rendered to HKMU, and to Tanzania at
large, during the years of his service”.
During the ten years we interacted with
you, we witnessed that throughout the
period, you set a legacy characterised
by high standards of ethics, excellence,
and professionalism. Indeed, we can
boldly say that what you mean to HKMU
is all inscribed in your first name,
WILLIAM. To us, in the name:
W: Stands for the superlative wisdom
you have always generously shared with
us; for your prompt willingness to
render assistance to us whenever
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of HKMU Mrs. Kokushubila Kairuki (left),
followed by Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu( DVCAC), together, presenting a framed
Statement of Appreciation to Mr. William Sabaya for his exemplary service.
requested to do so; and for your
warmth of heart during the interactions.
I: Reflects the inspiration you always
render to others; the sharp intellect
that you always apply towards
addressing issues brought your way;
and the scientific inquisitiveness you
always show towards disentangling
complex issues.
L: Mirrors the love you always display
towards helping others, and towards
discharging whatever duties are
brought to your attention with standards
of excellence.
M: Encapsulates your strong mastery of
all the good attributes characterizing the
great Mwalimu in you, permeating all
levels of education.
HKMU vividly and gratefully recalls that
you always and consistently encouraged
us, when others would discourage us,
during those formative years of the
institution. We will always remember
you. You will always be in our Hearts”.
L: Echoes the lofty goals of
achievement that you set for yourself in
all your missions and endeavours, and
which you always accomplish admirably
and superlatively.
I: Signifies your inborn innovativeness,
and your incalculable ability to deliver,
even under the most challenging
circumstances.
A: Reminds us of the high degree of
affluence you display in the content of
your character and charisma.
Mr. William Sabaya
19
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 20
AFRICA’S
UNSUNG
TREASURES:
SOME
REFLECTIONS
recall, with indescribable nostalgia,
my childhood days at Mamba, a
village at an altitude of 1600
metres above sea level, on the
south-eastern slopes of Pare mountains
in Tanzania's Kilimanjaro Region.
Evergreen, with our natural forests
then intact, with rivers and rivulets
emanating from the montane forests,
with many gorgeous interlocking spurs,
the scenery was just spectacular. The
elders in the village enthusiastically
shared with us their vast knowledge on
the rich treasure of biota found in the
ecosystem, and about their traditional
uses. These included uses as sources
of strong fibres (e.g., from the ishari
plant) for making ropes, for building
houses, and for many other applications;
wild guavas, wild bananas, many other
types of edible wild fruits; and a wide
range of tree types, shrubs, herbs,
mushrooms and lichens, that were,
since times immemorial, used for
human or for livestock nutrition, for
treating wounds and various types of
ailments that afflicted society; or for use
as indigenous pesticides (e.g., leaves
of the leguminous plant, Tephrosia
vogelii, locally known as mkala) that
killed destructive crop worms and
weevils. Little did we then know that the
vitamin C content of our wild guavas is
several times higher than that of
oranges! These unsung treasures are
fast disappearing with our vanishing
tropical forests, woodlands, and
indigenous cultures! Indeed, that is the
pattern across Africa.
I
In the tropical Rain Forest belt of West
Africa (in Ghana, Nigeria, Cote
d'Ivoire), the indigenous people
traditionally harvested leaves and fruit
20
By Keto E. Mshigeni,
Professor of Botany and
Vice Chancellor
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University
Prof. Keto E. Mshigeni
berries of a wild plant that grew in the
under-canopy of natural forests, for
various uses. Its broad leaves were used
for wrapping food and other products,
and were sold in local markets; and its
berries, which were exceedingly sweet
(and hence its nickname, "sweet prayers
plant"), were traditionally used as a
sweetener, or as a taste-modifier in
various food preparations. Many of the
indigenous people are not aware that
the sweetberry plant, Thaumatococcus
daniellii (Benn) Benth is a unique gift of
nature that they should treasure: the
sweetness of its berries is due a rich
content of a heat-stable protein,
thaumatin, whose crystals are 2000 to
3000 times sweeter than those of
sucrose!
Today, the traditional uses of sweetberry
plant leaves and fruit berries, are
rapidly declining. Imported polythene
bags and synthetic sweeteners, are
increasingly replacing the superior
traditional uses of its leaves and
fruits. There are justifiable fears that
uncontrolled deforestation in the region,
may wipe out the unique treasure
(and other biota) from our biosphere!
However, there have been new
developments. Thaumatococcus has
now been cloned by international gene
hunters, and the extraction of thaumatin
from its berries, has been patented by
foreign multinationals (e.g., United
States Patent 4011206).
There is a need for creating scenarios
whereby Africa's treasures bring
maximum benefits to her people.
Africa's scientists should be more alert,
more assertive, more intrusive, and
more aggressive, towards securing
Fig. 1. Termitomyces titanicus mushroom on top of a pick-up truck: a giant
edible mushroom growing in termite nests, forming a fruiting cap of about
one metre in diameter [Photo by Dr. Cousins Gwanama].
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 21
research and development funds from
our Governments, and also towards
competing for global research funds.
This will enable us to promote greater
public awareness on the need for
recovering Africa's disappearing and
lost treasures. It will also pave the
way, towards promoting sustainable
livelihoods amongst our povertystricken
millions
in
society.
Additionally, it will catalyse a
momentum towards speeding up policy
legislation on the conservation of our
numerous, unique, little known biota,
e.g., through intensified agroforestry,
and promoting more global (southsouth and south-north) partnerships.
Here I have in mind biota such as
Termitomyces titanicus, a giant edible
mushroom (Fig.1), whose fruiting cap
spans a diameter of one metre, making
it the largest termite mushroom in
the world; Conraua goliath, a
giant edible frog in the River Congo
ecosystem, the largest frog in the
world; and Terfezia pfeillii, the Kalahari
truffle mushroom, whose taste is
superlatively sublime, and whose
potential for penetrating global trade is
very promising.
I recall also, my childhood days, when,
during the night time, sitting by the
fire-side, we would ask our elders
many questions on the types of religious
worships they practised before
Christianity, Islam, and religions from
other continents diffused into our
African communities. And we came to
learn that my ancestors on the Pare
mountains of Tanzania, also believed in
God, whom they referred to as Kilunge.
Actually, they had a code of ethics of
"do's" and "don'ts" (e.g., don't steal,
don't kill, don't tell lies, don't commit
adultery, etc.), quite similar to the Ten
Commandments preached by Christian
Missionaries, and those advocated by
other religions. They even had a day of
rest (called Nguta by the Pare people),
that was equivalent to the Jewish
Sabbath.
We would ask them questions on what
raw materials they used to make the
traditional iron hoes, axes, spear
heads, and arrow heads. From their
answers, we established that our
African ancestors were very innovative,
and knew how to make steel from iron
ore. That was long before the advent of
colonial disturbances to the indigenous
cultures.
We would also ask them questions on
the ceremonies they performed when
burying the dead in a family. But,
when, one day, I requested my parents
to show me graveyards where my
grandparents had been laid to rest,
when it was their turn to go the way of
all flesh (I never had the good luck of
seeing either my maternal or my
paternal grandfather), I
noticed
expressions of sadness and agony when
I read their body language! I came to
learn, that both grandparents had been
forced go to war, to fight on the side
of German colonial masters, during the
1914-1918 World War! Both never
came back! Many times, when I dream
about them, totally in the dark about
what might have happened to them,
I shudder and tremble! To me, the
two are amongst my most precious,
irreplaceable, lost treasures!
Germany. Another invaluable Egyptian
treasure is the Rosetta Stone. The stone
was first removed from Egyptian soils by
soldiers of Emperor Napoleon's army, in
1799, during the Napoleonic wars.
When the British won the war, the
Rosetta Stone was seized by the British,
and taken to the British Museum,
London, where it is still housed,
attracting millions of tourists every year.
The Rosetta Stone is so uniquely
treasured, because from it, in 1822,
ancient writings inscribed in hieroglyphics,
were deciphered. Thus it provided
the missing key towards reading and
understanding ancient messages
inscribed in hieroglyphics, inside the
famous and mysterious Egyptian
pyramids. This made it the world's most
famous rock! The terra-cotta sculptures,
the Queen Nefertiti bust, and the Rosetta
Stone, are of the returnable category of
Africa's treasures.
Africa's treasures that were taken away
by the powers that were prevailing
during the colonial era are of two broad
categories: those that are redeemable,
recoverable, and returnable to their
original owners; and those (like my lost
grandparents) that are un-returnable.
A colossal number of these are now
housed in museums across Europe,
where they attract thousands
(sometimes millions) of tourists every
year, generating substantial income
to the museums housing them. These
include numerous priceless terra-cotta
sculptures plundered from Mali,
Nigeria, and other countries in West
Africa; and many others.
But perhaps the most intriguing of
Africa's unsung treasures, now housed in
museums of the industrialised world, is a
uniquely rich collection of fossilised
dinosaur skeleton excavated from
Tendaguru hill, 70 km north-west of the
township of Lindi, in South-east
Tanzania. The treasure first came to light
when, in 1907, a German mining
engineer, Bernhard Sattler, while
prospecting for minerals during the
period of German colonial rule in
Tanzania, was shown by the indigenous
people, bones of immense size.
Expeditions of German scientists soon
thereafter returned to Tendaguru. Under
the leadership of Werner Janensch and
Edwin Hennig, and assisted by some
500 indigenous people, between 1909
and 1913, excavations of an unusually
rich preservation of dinosaur skeleton,
were made in Tendaguru. A total of
225,000 kg of fossilised bones were
uncovered.
One of the most famous treasures taken
away from Africa (from an Egyptian
pyramid), is the bust of an ancient
Egyptian queen, Queen Nefertiti, now
housed in Berlin's Altes Museum, in
The largest and most arresting treasure
in the Tendaguru dinosaur excavation, is
the complete fossilised skeleton of what
turned out to be a giant Brachiosaurus
brancai, the most gigantic dinosaur
21
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 22
collection ever made. Deserving a
befitting page in the Guinness Book of
Records, the stunning palaeontological
wonder from Tendaguru is mounted in
the Museum of Natural History in Berlin,
where I first saw it in 1992 (Fig. 2).
The unique treasure is the tallest
mounted dinosaur skeleton ever found
in the world, and represents the largest
known beast that ever walked on
planet Earth. Standing 12 m tall, and
23 m long, with a posture
resembling that of a giraffe, the
Tendaguru dinosaur is suspected
by some authorities to belong to
a new genus of dinosaur,
Giraffatitan! Our mounted
dinosaur skeleton in Berlin, is
the most attractive collection in
the museum, and is visited by
thousands of tourists every year.
In the earlier paragraphs of this
synthesis, a generalised taxonomic
classification of the Earth's various
unique treasures, was presented: Some
of the treasures are returnable to
their places of origin. Some are
irredeemable. The Rosetta Stone in the
British Museum was said to be
returnable to Cairo. The Tendaguru
Brachiosaurus in the Museum in Berlin is
also returnable to Tanzania.
conceived as a common world heritage.
Yet, there are still gross inequalities in
the reaping of the benefits emanating
from the innumerable treasures
extracted from the planet Earth. The
people of Africa would immensely
benefit from seeing the mounted
fossilised bones of the transcendently
enormous Tendaguru dinosaur (now
housed in Berlin), to get a mental
picture of the unimaginable, vegetarian,
monstrous beast, that once
roamed on our continent. But
flying to the Museum in Berlin is
beyond our people’s dreams:
absolutely unaffordable.
With relentless persistence,
however, with the right spirit,
with good-will, with visionary
minds, and with the adoption of
a give-and-take attitude, many
When World War I was waged in
conflicts can be resolved
1914, German palaeontologists
amicably; and solutions to
and geologists were unable to
insurmountable problems, can
continue their treasure-hunting
be precipitated. It was through
expeditions in Tanzania. When
the adoption of such strategies
the Germans were defeated by
and progressive attitudes, that a
the British, some of their
life-size replica of the Rosetta
Tendaguru dinosaur fossil finds
were captured by the British,
Stone housed in the British
and are now housed in the
Museum, London, was made
British Museum. When the
and mounted in the Cairo
British took over Tanzania from
Museum, in Egypt. It was
German colonial rule, teams of
through similar mutually agreed
British treasure hunters also
arrangements that the treasured
visited Tendaguru (1924skull of the extraordinarily brave
1931), and further enriched
Chief Mkwavinyika Munyigumba
their
dinosaur
museum
Fig. 2. Fossilised complete skeleton
Mwamuyinga (commonly known
collection. The Tendaguru
of a giant Brachiosaurus brancai dinosaur from
as Chief Mkwawa) of the
dinosaur excavations, indeed, Tendaguru hill, Tanzania, mounted in the Natural History
Wahehe people of Tanzania,
unveiled a very rich diversity
Museum, Berlin, Germany [Source: Postcard presented to
the author by the Berlin Museum staff
which German colonial rulers
of dinosaurs, including a
in 1992: gratefully acknowledged].
new species of stegosaur
took away and housed in
(Kentrosaurus
aetheopicus
Bremen, Germany, in 1898
Hennig). Such a unique site,
(following the fierce war of
I realise that we are now treading on a
with such a rich preservation of stunning
colonial resistance which he had led),
path of an increasingly globalising
dinosaur treasures that lived so many
was returned in 1954, and mounted at
world, where international symbiosis and
(150 million) years ago, should surely
the Mkwawa Memorial Museum, in
mutual understanding among nations, is
be seen as a natural history museum of
Kalenga, Iringa, Tanzania! Indeed, I see
the new world order. We are moving on
its own kind, which our entire world
also the merits of having the skeleton of
a new road where north-south and
community should jealously guard,
the Tendaguru dinosaur returned, for
south-north traffic is increasingly being
protect, and conserve; and which
mounting at the envisaged Tendaguru
balanced. We live in an era, when the
should be designated as a UNESCO
UNESCO World Heritage site in Tanzania.
Earth's treasures are increasingly being
World Heritage Site!
22
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It is encouraging and gratifying to note
that many right-minded leaders in
the industrialised world, also agree
(and believe) that the many plundered
African treasures should be returned
to their places of origin. For example,
the proposal on the return of Chief
Mkwawa’s skull from Germany to
Tanzania, was first mooted by a British
Administrator of the then German
East Africa (H.A. Byatt) soon after World
War I. The matter was indefatigably
further pursued by another British
Administrator after World War II (Sir
Edward Twining, then Governor of
Tanzania), who, himself, in 1953,
visited the Bremen Museum, identified
Chief Mkwawa’s skull from amongst 84
skulls from Tanzania in the museum
then (a skull with a bullet hole), and
successfully exerted a push for its return
to its country of origin, the following
year. Thus there is a good basis for my
hope on the return of Tanzania’s
Tendaguru
dinosaur
treasures.
And,...sometimes I ask myself, “…
Could the skulls of my missing
grandfathers be in that number of 84
reported by Sir Edward Twining?” The
answer is blowing in the wind of my
mind!
In concluding this synthesis, I
would like to make the following
recommendations on the way forward:
•
African scientists, engineers,
and technologists, through their
national academies of science,
and their various Universities, be
more proactive, and establish
symbiotic partnerships with their
peers in the industrialising and
industrialised countries, with a
view to establishing joint
research teams to unravel the
many unknowns about Africa’s
neglected, untapped and
under-utilized biotic and abiotic
treasures, and to turn them into
profitable, value-added sources
of new foods, medicines, feeds,
agrofertilizers, fuels, and other
products, for the sustained
socio-economic development
of Africa’s and the Earth’s
inhabitants, and especially the
poverty-stricken masses where
the treasures primarily originated.
•
•
African Governments, through
appropriate diplomatic channels,
and through relevant organs
of the United Nations, be
supported towards mapping out
appropriate strategies through
which their unique, invaluable,
rare, national treasures that are
now housed in museums of
industrialised nations, will be
returned to their countries of
origin, for the benefit of the
original owners of the treasures,
for public education, and for
permanent preservation as our
common world heritage.
African
Governments,
in
partnership with governments
of other industrialising and
industrialized nations, establish
a special training and research
fund for developing a critical
mass of African human capital
in the basic sciences, in
engineering fields, and in
technology disciplines, and
facilitate the formation of more
intensive collaborative research
towards unravelling more hidden
treasures from the Tendaguru
palaeontological hotspot, and
also from other promising sites
in Africa. This is likely to lead to
a better understanding of the
Earth’s dim and distant past.
Acknowledgements: I am most grateful
to the staff of the Museum of Natural
History, Berlin, who, during my visit
there in 1992, kindly presented to me
a postcard bearing a photograph of
the Tendaguru Brachiosaurus brancai
dinosaur, which served as the source of
Fig. 2, which is hereby acknowledged.
I am grateful also to Dr. Cousins
Gwanama of Lusaka, Zambia, who
kindly provided the photograph of
the giant Termitomyces titanicus
mushroom, (which is known to grow in
Iringa, Tanzania), which appears on
Fig 1 in this synthesis. Additionally,
I sincerely thank my colleagues
Mr. Jonathan Karoma and Dr. Paschalis
Rugarabamu, who kindly read the draft
of this contribution, and made very
useful suggestions. I appreciate the
many unique opportunities bestowed
upon me over the years: opportunities
that enabled me to acquire a
rudimentary grasp of our continent’s
enormous resources, most of which are
still imperfectly understood.
References
1. MSHIGENI, K.E. 2000. Highlights on
Africa’s natural resources
heritage. In:Mshigeni, K.E.,
G.E.
Kiangi,
and
E.
Bisanda(Eds.) Revitalising
Science and Technology Focus
in Africa: a new hope for
liberating the continent from
the poverty trap. University of
Namibia, Windhoek. Pp. 522.
2. ROBERTS, J.M. 1995. History of the
World. Penguin Books. 1151
pp.
3. SCHMIDT, P.R. and R.J. McINTOSH.
1996. Plundering Africa’s
Past. Indiana University Press,
280 pp.
4. SCHMIDT, P.R. and T.C.PATTERSON
1996. Making Alternative
Histories: the practice of
archeology and history in
non-Western Settings. School
of American Research Press.
312 pp.
23
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EAT
MUSHROOMS:
LIVE HEALTHIER,
HAPPIER, AND
LONGER
irst of all, it may be interesting to
have a charming mushroom poem
as a beginning for this lecture:
“Without leaves, without buds, without
flowers: yet, they form fruit. As a food,
as a tonic, as a medicine: the entire
creation is precious” (Chang & Miles,
1989). The first sentence describes
the morphological and physiological
characteristics of mushrooms; and the
second sentence states the nutritional
and medicinal properties of mushrooms.
Mushrooms have been found in
fossilized wood that is 300 million years
old (Nature, 1997). Almost certainly,
prehistoric man had used mushrooms
collected in the wild as food. The
number of recognised mushroom
species has been reported to
be 14,000 (Hawksworth, 2001).
Mushroom industry can include:
F
•
Mushroom production (used
mainly for food):Mushroom
Science;
•
Mushroom products (used mainly
for nutriceuticals - dietary
supplements) - Mushroom
Biotechnology;
•
Wild mushrooms (collected from
the wild): with great potential for
further development.
Mushroom Industry should include
cultivated edible mushrooms, medicinal
mushrooms and wild mushrooms.
By Prof. Shu-Ting Chang, Emeritus
Professor of Biology, The Chinese University
of
Hong Kong, China
Public Lecture delivered at HKMU,
December 2007.
Prof. Shu-Ting Chang
Recent years have seen a surge of commercial interest in mushroom industry in the
world. The current market value is estimated at US$28-30 billion for edible
mushrooms, and at US$9-10 billion for medicinal mushroom products. In addition,
there is an estimated value of about US$3.5-4 billion for wild mushrooms.
Mushrooms as components of human food:
The nutritional qualities, as well as medicinal and tonic attributes of mushrooms, have
long been acclaimed. However, it is important to make it well-known how healthy
mushrooms are and, in fact, how beneficial mushroom consumption can be. Published
data on the protein content of three popular edible mushrooms show values ranging
from 3.5 to 4.0% of their fresh weight. This means that the protein content of edible
mushrooms is about twice that of asparagus and cabbage, and 4 times and 12 times
those of oranges and apples, respectively. On a dry weight basis, mushrooms
normally contain 19 to 35% protein, as compared to 7.3% in rice, 13.2% in wheat,
39.1% in soybean, and 25.2% in milk. With regard to crude protein, mushrooms rank
below most animal meats, but are well above most other foods, including milk, which
is an animal product.
Comparative composition of selected mushroom species (Chang & Miles, 2004)
Component
Agaricus
bisporus
Lentinula
edodes
Pleurotus
spp
Moisture
78.3-90.5
90.0-91.8
73.7-90.8
Crude protein
23.9-34.8
13.4-17.5
10.5-30.4
1.7-8.0
4.9-8.0
1.6-2.2
Total carbohydrate
51.3-62.5
67.5-78.0
57.6-81.8
N-free carbohydrate
44.0-53.5
59.5-70.7
48.9-74.3
Total dietary fibre
8.0-10.4
7.3-8.0
7.5-8.7
Ash
7.7-12.0
3.7-7.0
6.1-9.8
Energy value
328-368
387-392
345-367
Crude fat
All data are presented as percentage of dry weight, except moisture (percentage of
fresh weight) and energy value (Kcal per 100g dry weight).
24
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Essential amino acid contents of selected mushrooms* (Beelman et al., 2003)
Nutritional value of mushrooms:
Agaricus
bisporus
Lentinula
edodes
Pleurotus
spp
Cystine
23
24
28
Methionine
33
29
35
Threonine
111
98
106
Valine
121
124
112
91
79
82
Leucine
153
133
139
Lysine
143
122
126
Tyrosine
283
265
219
Phenylalanine
107
91
111
Component
Isoleucine
*mg/100 g FW
Agaricus
bisporus
Lentinula
edodes
Energy: The daily requirement of energy
for adults comes up to approx.
2200 - 2600 kcal. Energy is mainly
supplied by lipids (fats) and carbohydrates.
Average energy (kcal.) content in 100 g
vegetable and fruit (fresh):
Fatty acid content of selected mushrooms (Huang et al. 1989)
Percentage
A specific food with a usual daily portion
of 100 to 150 g provides 15% and
more of the daily requirement of an
essential substance that is regarded as
especially valuable. Nutritionists and
authorities in Germany generally accept
this statement. For example 100 g steak
provides more than 30% of the daily
protein requirement. Meat is therefore
regarded as a foodstuff which is
especially valuable in providing protein.
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Leek
Pleurotus
spp
% of saturated fatty acids
19.5
19.9
20.7
% of unsaturated
Fatty acids
80.5
80.1
79.3
Commonly eaten mushrooms:
The mushrooms mostly used as a relish in human diet are Agaricus bisporus (button
mushroom), Pleurotus spp. (oyster mushroom), and Lentinula edodes (shiitake
mushroom).
17
39
32
23
38
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
31
105
27
52
78
Average energy (kcal.) content in 100g
fresh mushrooms
White (Button) mushroom
Oyster (Pleurotus) mushroom
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
mushroom
40
39
35
Covering the energy demand by
100-150g
fresh
mushrooms
(Corresponding to the common daily
portion of 1.5 - 1.7%).
By the way, to make you aware of how
few calories you burn, please note the
examples below (kcal) for different
activities per hour.
Activities and energy demand
Fig 1: A display of selected mushrooms most commonly used for human
consumption, or for medicinal applications.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
cycling (fast)
530 kcal
cycling (slowly)
175 kcal
boxing
800 kcal
fencing
510 kcal
running
490 kcal
rowing (competition) 1120 kcal
riding (slowly)
98 kcal
riding (galloping)
470 kcal
playing table tennis
310 kcal
dancing (foxtrot)
266 kcal
dancing (waltz)
140 kcal
25
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Activities and energy demand
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
reading (loud)
eating
sitting quietly
singing (loud)
peeling potatoes
washing the dishes
sewing (by hand
or machine)
ironing
dressing/undressing
Average potassium content in 100 g fresh mushrooms
White mushroom
450 mg
Oyster mushroom
230 mg
Shiitake mushroom
260 mg
42 kcal
28 kcal
28 kcal
56 kcal
42 kcal
70 kcal
Thus one covers the potassium demand by eating 100-150g
fresh mushrooms (corresponding to a common daily portion of
21- 32%).
28 kcal
70 kcal
63 kcal
Vitamins:
Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine): The daily requirement of vitamin
B-1 for adults comes to approx. 0.4-1.2 mg. Vitamin B-1
is mainly supplied by liver, pulse, and yeast.
Mineral Nutrients:
Sodium: The daily requirement of sodium for adults comes up
to approx. 2000mg. Sodium is mainly supplied by meat and
fish.
Average sodium content in 100g vegetable and fruit (fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Celeriac
Carrot
Spinach
16 mg
26 mg
23 mg
5 mg
100 mg
70 mg
24 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
2 mg
22 mg
4 mg
5 mg
2 mg
6 mg
8 mg
Average sodium content in 100g fresh mushrooms
White mushroom
9 mg
Oyster mushroom
21mg
Shiitake mushroom
6 mg
The sodium demand is covered by eating 100-150g fresh
oyster mushrooms.
Sugar in mushrooms: In contrast to plants, mushrooms lack
starch. Instead of glucose mushrooms contain mannitol.
Mannitol has half the sweetness of cane-sugar and it is
therefore regarded as a sugar-substitute for diabetics.
Diabetics are allowed to eat 200g mushrooms daily without
risk.
Potassium: The daily requirement of potassium for adults
comes up to approx. 1600 mg. Potassium is mainly supplied
by vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish.
Average potassium content in 100g vegetable and fruit
(fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Celeriac
Carrot
Spinach
26
261 mg
300 mg
216 mg
240 mg
370 mg
240 mg
526 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour Cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
112 mg
500 mg
275 mg
186 mg
195 mg
226 mg
210 mg
Average vitamin B-1 content in 100g vegetable and fruit
(fresh):
Lettuce
0.06 mg
Apple
0.05 mg
Kohlrabi
0.05 mg
Banana
0.16 mg
Cabbage
0.04 mg
Lemon
0.06 mg
Tomato
0.10 mg
Sour cherry
0.05 mg
Leek
0.10 mg
Grape
0.05 mg
Carrot
0.05 mg
Apricot
0.02 mg
Spinach
0.08 mg
Melon
0.05 mg
Average vitamin B-1 content in 100g fresh mushrooms
White mushroom
Oyster mushroom
Shiitake mushroom
0.10 mg
0.18 mg
0.06 mg
Thus one covers the Vitamin B-1 demand by eating 100-150g
16-24%).
Vitamin B-2 (Riboflavin): The daily requirement of vitamin B-2
for adults comes to approx. 1.0 - 1.5mg. Vitamin B-2 is
mainly supplied by liver, kidney, heart, meat, and fish.
Average Vitamin B-2 content in 100g vegetable and fruit
(fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Leek
Carrot
Spinach
0.10 mg
0.05 mg
0.06 mg
0.06 mg
0.06 mg
0.15 mg
0.20 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
0.05 mg
0.08 mg
0.02 mg
0.02 mg
0.05 mg
0.03 mg
0.02 mg
Average vitamin B-2 content in 100g fresh mushrooms
White mushroom
0.47 mg
Oyster mushroom
0.65 mg
Shiitake mushroom
0.27 mg
Thus one covers the Vitamin B-2 demand by eating 100-150g
30 - 45%).
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Vitamin B-3 (Niacin): The daily requirement of vitamin B-3 for
adults comes up to approx. 12 mg. Vitamin B-3 is mainly
supplied by liver, meat and fish.
Average Vitamin
(fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Leek
Carrot
Spinach
B-3 content in 100g vegetable and fruit
0.50 mg
0.30 mg
1.00 mg
0.50 mg
0.53 mg
1.00 mg
1.00 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
0.50 mg
0.50 mg
0.10 mg
0.30 mg
0.40 mg
0.70 mg
0.20 mg
Average vitamin B-3 content in 100g fresh mushrooms.
White mushroom
5.50 mg
Oyster mushroom
6.00 mg
Shiitake mushroom
1.10 mg
Thus one covers the Vitamin B-3 demand by consuming
100-150g fresh mushrooms (corresponding to a common daily
portion of 34 - 51%).
Vitamin B-5 (Pantothenic acid): The daily requirement of
vitamin B-5 for adults comes to approx. 8.0 mg. Vitamin
B-5 is mainly delivered by liver, kidney, meat, and pulse.
Average vitamin
(fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Leek
Carrot
Spinach
100-150g fresh mushrooms (corresponding to a common
daily portion of 38 - 58%).
Vitamin D-3 (Calciferol): The daily requirement of vitamin
D-3 for adults comes to approx. 5.0 mg. Vitamin D-3 is
mainly supplied by fish and meat.
Average Vitamin D-3 content in 100g vegetable and fruit
(fresh):
Lettuce
0.00 mg
Apple
0.00 mg
Kohlrabi
0.00 mg
Banana
0.00 mg
Cabbage
0.00 mg
Lemon
0.00 mg
Tomato
0.00 mg
Sour cherry 0.00 mg
Leek
0.00 mg
Grape
0.00 mg
Carrot
0.00 mg
Apricot
0.00 mg
Spinach
0.00 mg
Melon
0.00 mg
0.11 mg
0.20 mg
0.10 mg
0.02 mg
?? mg
0.30 mg
0.11 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
0.09 mg
0.15 mg
0.20 mg
0.08 mg
0.06 mg
0.12 mg
0.08 mg
White mushroom
2.25 mg
Oyster mushroom
2.10 mg
Shiitake mushroom
??mg
100-150 g fresh mushrooms (corresponding to a common
daily portion of 27-41%).
Vitamin B-9 (Folic acid): The daily requirement of vitamin
B-9 for adults comes to approx.0.2 mg. Vitamin B-9 is mainly
supplied by liver, spinach, fruit, and yeast.
Average Vitamin
(fresh):
Lettuce
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Tomato
Leek
Carrot
Spinach
White mushroom
0.027 mg
Oyster mushroom
0.127 mg
Shiitake mushroom
0.025 mg
0.025 mg
?? mg
?? mg
0.037 mg
?? mg
0.064 mg
0.066 mg
Apple
Banana
Lemon
Sour cherry
Grape
Apricot
Melon
0.006 mg
0.013 mg
0.004 mg
?? mg
0.005 mg
0.003 mg
0.024 mg
Average vitamin D-3 content in 100g fresh mushrooms.
White mushroom
1.88 mg
Oyster mushroom
2.35 mg
Shiitake mushroom
2.00 mg
Thus one covers the Vitamin D-3 demand by consuming
100-150 g fresh mushrooms (corresponding to a common
daily portion of 36~ 67%).
Selenium: The daily requirement of selenium for adults comes
to 20 to 100 μg. Selenium is mainly supplied by meat, liver,
kidney, and fish.
Average selenium content in 100g vegetable and fruit (fresh):
Lettuce
1 μg
Apple
1 μg
Potato
2 μg
Banana
1 μg
Paprika
4 μg
Orange
1 μg
Tomato
1 μg
Sour cherry 1 μg
Garlic
6 μg
Peach
1 μg
Carrot
1 μg
Plum
1 μg
Spinach
1 μg
Grape
2 μg
Average selenium content in 100g fresh mushrooms
White mushroom
28 μg
Oyster mushroom
10 μg
Shiitake mushroom
10 μg
27
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Nutrients in which mushrooms reach the value of meat
Nutrients
meat
mushrooms
100g fresh
100g fresh
Selenium
3.70-30.0 mg
4.0-28.0 mg
Copper
0.05-0.16 mg
0.3-0.4 mg
Vitamin B-2
0.15-0.21 mg
0.4-0.5 mg
Vitamin B-3
4.50-8.10 mg
5.0-9.8 mg
Vitamin B-5
0.60-0.90 mg
2.1-2.7 mg
Summary on human health benefits of eating mushrooms:
Medicinal value: Humankind has constantly searched for new
substances that can improve biological functions and thereby
make people fitter and healthier. Mushrooms have long been
considered to have potent medicinal value. In 2002,
worldwide sales of medicinal mushrooms and their products
were estimated at US$10 billion.
In regional terms, Asian, and European consumption
accounted for approximately 98% of the market, with North
America contributing less than 2%. Medicinal mushrooms, and
particularly mushroom extracts, are said to bolster the immune
system and are effective for preventing and fighting diseases.
It is hoped that Americans will be able to follow the Asian and
European example of regarding mushrooms as an integral part
of a health diet.
Many bioactive substances with immunomodulating effects
have been isolated recently from mushrooms. These
include polysaccharides, high-mol-weight polysaccharides,
low-mol-weight protein bound to polysaccharides, lectin
(glycoprotein), triterpenoids and fungal immunomodulatory
protiens (Fips). These bioactive compounds are extracted from
fruit bodies (77.2%), from mycelium (20.8%), and from broth
(2.0%).
•
Mushrooms have a low energy level: that is beneficial for
weight reduction.
•
Mushrooms have a low purine level: that is beneficial for
diet of persons suffering from metabolic diseases (gout,
rheumatism).
•
Mushrooms have a low glucose level, and more
mannitol: that is especially suitable for diabetics.
•
Mushrooms have a very low sodium concentration: they
are thus, suitable for the diet of persons suffering from
high blood pressure.
•
As we have seen mushrooms have a high content of
several vitamins. That is an important orthomolecular
aspect. That means a significant part of the daily
requirement of different essential vitamins can be
covered by consuming mushrooms.
•
Mushrooms have a high content of some minerals
(potassium, phosphorus):
that is an important
orthomolecular aspect as well.
•
Finally mushrooms have a high content of some trace
elements, especially of selenium, which is regarded as
an excellent antioxidant.
I have worked on several aspects of mushrooms for over 46
years, and I sincerely believe in the sayings: “Eat mushrooms,
live healthier, happier and longer,” and, “No fungi, No fun,
No future".
MISSION OF HKMU
The Mission of HKMU is to educate
liberally and broadly, to qualify men
and women to advance frontiers of
knowledge through research, and to
provide consultancy and advisory
services to the public.
28
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 29
WHAT YOUR
SMOKING DOES
TO THE PERSON
NEXT TO YOU
By Ahmed Ali Shabhay, Fourth Year
Medical Student, HKMU
M
beliefs,
ost of us prefer not to smoke
either because of the health
Mr. Ali Shabhay
risks smoking pose, religious
or we perceive it as an
smoke? For most of us at a certain point
subjecting ourselves to these risks? So
addictive behaviour thus we wouldn’t
in time, we have been passive smokers.
how exactly does this smoke affect the
want to engage ourselves in it. To most
But does passive smoking pose any risk.
passive smoker?
of us when one would talk about
What exactly is contained in this smoke?
smoking we would only think of
According
cigarettes. But smoking includes
Environmental
smoking pipes, cigars, and even weed.
Some of these have been banned
health effects of passive smoking,”
coronary circulation in healthy young
commercially because of the health
tobacco smoke contains over 4000
adults,” it is enlightened that some of
effects its victims experience. When a
chemicals in the form of particles and
the immediate effects of passive
non smoker is asked, “Do you smoke?”
gases. Many potentially toxic gases are
smoking
they would confidently answer “No!” or
present in higher concentrations in side
headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness
“Never!” When one rephrases the
stream smoke than in mainstream
and nausea. Adults with asthma can
question and asks, “Are you an active
smoke, and nearly 85% of the smoke
experience a significant decline in lung
or passive smoker?” Mostly the answer
in a room result, from side stream
function when exposed, while new cases
would either be “What do you mean?”
States
In an article published in JAMA journal
Agency
(2001) by Otsuka R. entitled “Acute
(1992) document entitled “Respiratory
effects of passive smoking on the
to
the
United
Protection
1
Who actually is an active smoker or a
passive smoker? How many of us are
familiar with these terms? Passive
smoking or involuntary smoking or
second hand smoking, is referred to as
breathing other people's smoke. The
non-smoker breathes "side stream"
smoke from the burning tip of the
cigarette and "mainstream" smoke that
has been inhaled and then exhaled by
the smoker. Second hand smoke is a
major source of indoor air pollution.
From the above description of a passive
smoker, most of us by now have
realised our new status in society. How
many of us share rooms, work, travel,
study, hang out, with people who
eye
irritation,
of asthma may be induced in children
smoke.
or one would just look at you with no
reply.
include
whose parents smoke. Short-term
In the same document by the United
exposure to tobacco smoke also has a
States Environmental Agency (1992),
measurable effect on the heart in
it is further enlightened that, the
non-smokers. Just 30 minutes exposure
particulate phase includes tar (itself
is enough to reduce coronary blood flow.
composed of many chemicals), nicotine,
benzene, and benzo (a) pyrene. The
In the longer term, passive smokers
gas phase includes carbon monoxide,
suffer an increased risk of a range of
ammonia,
dimethylnitrosamine,
smoking-related diseases. Non-smokers,
formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and
who are exposed to passive smoking in
acrolein. Some of these have marked
the home, have a 25 percent increased
irritant properties, and some 60 are
risk of heart disease and lung cancer.2
known or suspected carcinogens. The
A
Environmental
Government-appointed
Protection
Agency
major
review
by
the
British
Scientific
(EPA) in the USA, has classified
Committee on Tobacco and Health,
environmental tobacco smoke as a
concluded that, passive smoking is a
class A (known human) carcinogen,
cause of lung cancer and ischaemic
along with asbestos, arsenic, benzene,
heart diseases in adult non-smokers,
and radon gas. Did we know that by
and a cause of respiratory disease,
merely sitting close to a smoker we are
cot death, middle ear disease, and
29
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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11:53 AM
Page 30
In most home set ups, either the father
or a guest comes and lights up a
cigarette. In the same sitting room there
are children or there could be a
pregnant mother. Should we continue to
keep ashtrays in our homes? Isn’t it time
to declare our homes smoke free zones?
Should we continue to expose our
children
to
scientifically
proven
carcinogens? It has been documented
that passive smoking increases the risk
of lower respiratory tract infections such
as
bronchitis,
pneumonia
and
bronchiolitis in children. One study
found that in households where both
parents smoke, young children have a
asthmatic attacks in children (Report of
smoking on the risk of heart disease may
the Scientific Committee on Tobacco
have
and Health, Department of Health,
researchers found that blood cotinine
1998).
levels
been
under-estimated.
among
non-smokers,
The
were
associated with a 50-60% increased
A more recent review of the evidence
risk of heart disease.3
72
per
cent
increased
risk
of
respiratory illnesses.5 Passive smoking
causes a reduction in lung function and
increased severity in the symptoms of
asthma in children, and is a risk factor
for new cases of asthma in children.6
by the British Government-appointed
Scientific Committee on Tobacco and
From the above researches and
Health found that the conclusions of its
scientific publications, it clearly shows
initial report still stand; i.e. that there is
the detrimental effects on one’s health
a “causal effect of exposure to second
hand smoke on the risks of lung cancer,
ischaemic heart disease, and a strong
link to adverse effects in children”.
(Second hand smoke: Review of
evidence
since
1998,
Scientific
Committee on Tobacco and Health
(SCOTH) Department of Health, 2004).
A review of the risks of cancer from
exposure to second hand smoke by the
International Agency for Research on
passive smoking impacts. But is passive
smoking fatal? Yes! According to
Professor Konrad Jamrozik, formerly of
Imperial College London, who has
estimated that domestic exposure to
second hand smoke in the UK, causes
around 2,700 deaths in people aged
Passive smoking is also associated with
middle ear infection in children as well
as possible cardiovascular impairment
and behavioural problems.7 Infants of
parents who smoke, are more likely to
be admitted to hospital for bronchitis
and pneumonia in the first year of life.
More than 17,000 children under the
age of five, are admitted to hospital
every year because of the effects of
passive smoking (Smoking and the
20-64, and a further 8,000 deaths a
Young, Royal College of Physicians,
year among people aged 65 years or
1992).
older. Exposure to second hand smoke at
work is estimated to cause the death of
Passive smoking during childhood
more than two employed persons per
predisposes children to developing
smoking is a cause of lung cancer in
working day across the UK as a whole
chronic obstructive airway disease and
never smokers”. (Tobacco smoke and
(617 deaths a year), including 54
cancer as adults (Smoking and the
involuntary smoking, IARC Monographs
deaths a year in the hospitality industry.
Young, Royal College of Physicians,
on the evaluation of carcinogenic
This equates to about one-fifth of all
1992).
risks to humans Vol. 83. Lyon, France,
deaths from second hand smoke in the
may also impair the olfactory function in
2004). A study published in the British
general population, and up to half of
children. A Canadian study found that
Medical Journal suggests that, previous
such deaths among employees in the
passive smoking reduced children’s
Cancer (IARC) noted that “the evidence
is sufficient to conclude that involuntary
studies of the effects of passive
30
4
hospitality trades.
Exposure to tobacco smoke
ability to detect a wide variety of odours
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
9/17/08
11:53 AM
Page 31
compared with children raised in
non-smoking households.
8
The law will also protect non-smokers
and
educate
smokers
on
the
2. HACKSHAW A. K. et al. The accumu-
lated evidence on lung cancer
importance of quitting smoking. He said
and
Passive smoking may also affect
the government will help to "create an
smoke. British Medical Journal
children’s
development.
environment that will help to make the
1997, 315: 973-88.
A US study found deficits in reading and
society a non-smoking one". Cigarettes
reasoning skills among children, even
manufactured in and outside the
at low levels of smoke exposure (Yolton,
country will have to adhere to
K et al, Exposure to environmental
international standards and will have
tobacco smoke and cognitive ability
to carry a warning in both English and
among US children, Abstracts Online,
Kiswahili, on the negative effects of
cotinine measurement. British
May 2002).
mental
environmental
tobacco
3. WHINCUP, P. et al. Passive smoking
and risk of coronary heart disease
and stroke: prospective study with
Exposure to passive
cigarette smoking. How many of us are
Medical Journal Online, First June
smoking during pregnancy is an
aware of this Law? Don’t we still see
2004.
independent risk factor for low birth
cigarettes being lit in public places?
weight (Health effects of exposure to
How many public places have been
4. JAMROZIK, K. Estimate of deaths
declared “No smoke zones” How many
among adults in the United
shop owners turn away under aged
Kingdom attributable to passive
when they request of cigarettes? How
smoking. British Medical Journal,
many parents still smoke in their living
published online 1 March 2005.
environmental tobacco smoke, Report
of the California EPA, NCI, 1999). One
study has also shown that babies
exposed to their mother’s tobacco
smoke before they are born, grow up
with reduced lung function.9 Parental
smoking is also a risk factor for sudden
infant death syndrome (cot death).
So what protection is there to the
general public from this silent killer?
The good news is that smoking in
public places has been banned in
Tanzania, under a law that came into
rooms with their children around? This
is a challenge to all of us to make our
environments smoke free. Most of us
regard the emission of gases from
industries, cars and power plants as the
only
environment
pollutant,
but
smoking is a major source of indoor air
5. STRACHAN, DP and Cook, DG. Parental
smoking and lower
respiratory
illness in infancy and early
childhood. Thorax 1997, 52:
905-914.
pollution.
Respiratory
6.EPA/600/6-90/006F.
Research needs to be done by medical
health effects of passive smoking.
personnel to establish the exact burden
United
passive smoking has on our society.
Protection Agency, 1992 &
Practising doctors should not only base
Health effects of exposure to
and many other public places. It is also
their questions on smoking history of
environmental tobacco smoke.
an offence to sell tobacco products to
in-patients with respiratory diseases,
persons under the age of 18. The
but also inquire about the history of
government has called for the setting
exposure to smoking. Society needs to
up of special smoking areas at places of
be alerted more about this matter. Lets
work. Tobacco advertising on radio,
each of us play a role in our capacities
Television and in newspapers has also
to address the challenge.
effect on 1 July 2003. Under the
Tobacco Products (regulation) Act
2003, it is illegal to smoke inside
public transport, hospitals, schools
been prohibited. A statement by the
Country's Health Ministry said that the
States
Environmental
Report of the California EPA. NCI,
1999.
7.WHO/NCD/TFI/99.10. International
Consultation
on
ETS
and
Child Health. World Health
Organisation, 1999.
Reference:
aim of the Act is to reduce the use of
tobacco products in the country,
1. LAW MR. et al. Environmental
8. NAGERIS, B. Effects of passive
in order to reduce the occurrence of
tobacco smoke exposure and
smoking on odour identification in
diseases that are brought about by
ischaemic heart disease: an
children. J Otolaryngol. 2001,
smoking.
evaluation of the evidence.
30 (5): 263-5).
31
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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11:53 AM
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NOISE
IMPACT ON
PEOPLE
ound impacts humans in very
many ways. It warns him/her of
danger, and it arouses and
activates humans and even animals.
Sound can elicit joy and sorrow,
(Miller, 1974). Virtually across all
human races and cultures, sound is
used to calm and amuse babies. Noise,
which is excessive intensify of sound
under certain circumstances, can annoy
and disrupt human behaviour (Passchier
et al., 2001). Absolute silence can
make some people feel uneasy,
apprehensive or even experience
disillusionment.
S
Over one and quarter century ago,
‘man’ learned to use sound for his/her
advantage. Galton, a cousin of Charles
Darwin, was the first scientist to invent
an ultrasonic device in 1883. This
device was a whistle which worked on
pneumatic pressure principles (Halacy,
1967). The whistle was later called the
“Galton Whistle.” Humans could not
hear it but his dog could, thus he used
it to call his dog, to call other pets and
for signaling to sheep dogs. Bats have a
natural echolocation ability which helps
them to detect sounds and location of
bugs. This ability enables them to hunt
bugs even at night.
By Dr. Joseph K. Mugendi
Senior Lecturer in Internal
Medicine and Psychiatry - HKMU
Dr. Joseph Mugendi
In the Bible, the power of sound is
mentioned. In the book of Joshua
chapter 6, verse 12, it is mentioned that
the Israelites were locked out of the town
of Jericho. High wall surrounded Jericho.
The Israelites were instructed by Joshua
to blow many trumpets one day, and the
Bible describes “walls tumbling down
due to the shrill blasts of the many
trumpets.”
The Measurement of Sound: The range
of sound from just audible to deafening
is so great. Recourse is made to a logarithmic scale basing on the “Bell”
(named from Alexander Graham Bell),
who is famed for his invention of the
telephone. The ‘Bell’ represents a tenthfold increase in sound intensity and is
divided into ten decibels (dB). A decibel
is a ratio. The values are:-10-12 W for
sound energy, and 2 x 10-5 N/M2 for
sound pressure. Sounds result from
various frequency components in the
audible range (30Hz to 18 kHz), in
young persons.
Bats navigate environment even at night because of their echolocation ability.
32
The international organization for
standardization (ISO) recommendation
(1999), determines levels of occupational
noise exposures. Ninety decibels for 8
hours would have the same effect as one
of 93 dB for four hours, or 102 dB for
thirty minutes. The ISO admires that
personnel in certain noisy working
environments, be given personal noise
dose meters, calibrated to indicate a
percentage of daily dose exposed to. The
level of hearing for each ear can be
assessed by using a manual or automatic
pure tone audiometer.
Noise Induced Hearing Loss: Exposure to
more than 60 – 80 dB, results in a
temporary shift in the threashold of
hearing. There is individual variation.
The shift of hearing is most marked in the
2-6 kHz frequency range. When the
intensity of noise is sustained, there
occurs increasing hearing loss. Loud
music also causes physical damage
to the inner ear, Lewis, (2001). A rock
music band may generate a sound
pressure level of 120 dB, and instead of
amusing, it can disturb some people.
A single intense noise exposure may
result in permanent hearing loss.
Firing of heavy guns is an example of
intense noise emission. Repeated
exposures for years, even if it is
moderately high noise can also result in
hearing loss. Examples of aetiological
sources of noise induced hearing loss
include power tools, for instance
percussive tools or jack-hammer,
motor sports, pop concerts, discos,
ship-building industry, and aerospace
activities.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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The Pathology of hearing loss due to Noise: There occurs gradual destruction of hair
cells in the organ of corti in the inner ear. The organ of corti contains more than
500 hair cells per millimeter, of its 34 millimeter length. The lower part which is
responsible for the perception of a high percentage of high frequency sound, is
particularly susceptible to damage. The precise mechanisms of hearing damage are
not entirely clear but include mechanical disruption or parts being torn out (Glaister
1987).
dBO
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Figure 1: Example of sound levels.
a
b
c
d
i
=
=
=
=
=
absolute silence
quiet library
quiet office
conversation
rocket launch
Rocket Launch
e
f
g
h
=
=
=
=
heavy city traffic
car horn
jack hammer
rock music band at close range
In an environment of noise, the organ of corti cells work at an excessive rate leading
to local metabolic function disorder. This may lead to cell death and loss of hearing
function. The organ of corti cells are highly specialized. Once destroyed, they cannot
thus regenerate. In such a case loss of hearing is permanent. Moderate noise at an
intensity level of 80 dB or higher, if sustained for prolonged periods, can cause
permanent hearing loss. Intermittent noise at lower intensity levels can be harmful too.
In a library, noise as low as 40 and above dB may interfere with the readers’
Blasting Rock Music Band.
concentration. Noise can disrupt sleep.
A car horn may generate noise which
may be of a level of 90 dB sound
pressure, and may make people feel a
sudden tightening in their guts. Space
rocket launching emits a sound pressure
level in excess of 180 dB.
Noise level has increased in recent times
and thus it is a concern for an
increasing number of people. Noise is
particularly bothersome, especially if
nothing seems to be done to control it.
Joseph (2008) has pointed out that
noisy bars are still irking Abbas Kandoro,
the Dar es Salaam Regional
Commissioner. Kandoro had ordered
noisy bars to turn down their music, but
they seem not to heed his call. He is said
to be considering revoking the noisy
bars licences.
Research has shown, for instance that
children who lived in environments of
high noise in New York City near a busy
highway, did considerably worse on
reading tests than those who were not
similarly exposed to such noises (Cohen,
et at.,-1981). In another study,
children who lived in the corridor of the
Los Angeles International Airport, where
more than 300 jets roared over the
children in the air corridor, had higher
blood pressures than children who
lived away from such levels of noise
(Cohen, et al., 1981). In the USA, an
organization called “Hearing Education
and Awareness for Rockers” (H.E.A.R.)
was founded by rock musicians, whose
hearing was damaged by exposure to
high volumes of rock music.
33
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Such hearing loss is common among
Rock musicians and limits what they are
able to do later in their lives. Thus noisy
environments such as production
factories and aviation grounds, may
pose threats to people’s hearing.
•
Promptly responding to early
symptoms of hearing loss by
attending a clinic for hearing
acuity assessment.
5. JOSEPH, S. 2008. Noisy Bars still irk
Kandoro. The African, Tanzania
Thursday, May 1 pp. 3.
•
There are a variety of hearing
aids, but some tend to distort
sound
and
may
need
acustomization.
6. ISO Recommendation Report 1999.
Acoustics
Assessment
of
occupational noise exposure for
hearing conservation purposes.
•
It is important to observe
hearing surveillance regularly.
Some authorities suggest checks
at every four months, especially if
there are some symptoms
suggestive of noise-induced
hearing loss.
7. KING, P. J. 1978. Otorhinolaryngology
in aviation medicine. Vol. (eds).
G. Dhenin and T.C.D. Whiteside
pp. 232. Tri-Med Books London.
Symptoms and Signs of Noise Damage
to Hearing:
•
Increasing difficulty of hearing.
•
Ringing or buzzing in ears.
•
Slight muffling of sounds.
•
Difficulty in understanding
speech, hearing the words but
not understanding them.
•
Problems of hearing conversations
in groups of people.
•
Loss of perception of loud
speech.
•
Perception of distorted radio or
television sounds. This means
speech
discrimination
is
disturbed.
•
•
•
Distance and direction of sound
are misjudged. This can pose a
risk of accidents at home and on
roads.
Tinnitus: in one study, 30% of
cohorts has suffered from
tinnitus.
Disturbance of balance.
Management of Noise Induced Hearing
Loss:
As is always the case, prevention is
better than cure, so:
Reflections:
•
•
•
Noise in the environment can
be controlled by statutory
regulations. In the UK, for
instance,
the
Government
restricts the level of noise in the
environment. In China, the use
motor vehicle horns is strictly
controlled.
10.TAYLOR, W. Pearson J. Mair, A. and
Burns, W. 1965. Study of noise
and hearing in jute weaving. J.
Acoust. Soc. Am. Vol. 38, pp.
113 – 120.
11.PASSCHIER, W. et al 2001. Public
Health Impact of large airports.
Review of Environmental Health,
vol. 15 pp. 83 – 96.
The government
regulate
noise
environment.
12.BURNS, W. and Robinson, D. W.
1970. Hearing and Noise in
Industry. London, H. M. S. O.
needs to
in
the
References
1. COHEN, S. et al, 1981. Aircraft noise
and children: Longitudinal and
cross-sectional evidence on
adaptation to noise and the
effectiveness of noise abatement.
J. Personality of social Psychology
vol. 40 pp. 331 – 345.
The source of the noise needs to
be prevented or avoided.
2. LEWIS, R. et al 2002. Life 4th
edition. New York. Mc Grow –
Hill.
•
Airports need to be planned
to be at sites not too close to
residences.
3. MATLIN, M. 1988. Sensation and
perception, 2nd edition. Boston,
Allyn & Bacon.
Members of rock bands may use
ear plugs during playing for
concerts.
4. HALACY, D. S., Jr. 1967. Nine roads
to tomorrow. Wisconsin. E. M.
Hale & Co. pp. 110 – 126.
34
9. MILLER, J. D. 1974. Effects of noise
on people. J. Acoust. Soc. Am
vol. 56 pp. 729 – 764.
There needs to be campaigns
for awareness of the impact of
noise on people. Noise in the
environment of residential areas
in increasing because of motor
vehicles and music and so on.
•
•
8. KRYTER, K. D. 1970. The effects of
noise on man. Academic Press.
N. Y & London.
13.CHADWICK, D. L. 1971. Occupational
hearing loss and the ocologist.
In Robinson, D. W. (ed)
Occupational Hearing Loss.
London & New York. Academic
Press.
14.GLAISTER, D. H. 1987. In
Wealtherall, D. J.; J. G. G.
Ledingham and D. A. Warrell
(eds) Oxford Textbook of
Medicine 2nd edition. Oxford
University Press.
15.SANTROCK, J. W. 2003. Psychology,
7th edition. Boston, Mc Graw –
Hill.
16.TAYLOR, W. et al 1965. J. Acoust.
Soc. Am. Vol. 38 pp. 113 - 120
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
9/17/08
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FACTORS
ASSOCIATED
WITH LOW
UTILIZATION OF
CONDOMS
AMONG
ADOLESCENTS
By Amiri Mmaka, Assistant lecturer, Faculty
of Nursing, HKMU
Mr. Amiri Mmaka
cross sectional study aimed at
identifying factors leading to
low condom use among adolescents in the study area, assessing the
knowledge related to condom use
among adolescents, and soliciting
adolescents’ opinion on what should be
done to enhance condom use
behaviour among adolescents, was
conducted in Temeke Municipality from
June to July 2006. A total of 270
adolescents aged 13-24 years (187
males and 83 females) from 24 streets
of 8 wards in Temeke Municipality were
interviewed using questionnaires that
consisted close and opened-ended
questions. Results show that 98% of
adolescents had information about
condoms and their functions. However
(58%) did not know the correct time to
put off a male condom after use. Ninety
percent did not know how to use a
female condom and 92% did not know
how to keep a condom for maximum
efficiency.
A
In addition, 164 (60.7%) of the
adolescents had penetrative sex, of
whom, only 61 (37.2%) had used
condoms. Ninety percent of adolescents
who had used condoms reported less
sensation, dislodge (loose) of condoms
during sexual intercourse, itching on
sex organs and painful sex during use
of condoms. Those adolescents who did
not use condom at their first sexual
intercourse reported to be afraid or shy
to buy or ask for a condom from
sources, or did not know how to
use condoms, or did not know the
importance of using condoms, or that
condoms were not available, or had no
money to buy a condom. Other findings
were that 88.5% of adolescents who
had used condom at their first sex
reported to have used condoms at their
last sexual intercourse.
The opinions given by the respondents
on how to enhance condom use
behaviour among adolescents include:
provision of more education on
HIV/AIDS/STIs and early pregnancies
prevention (59%), condoms should be
provided to adolescents freely (25%),
teach proper condom use in schools
(14%), condoms should be distributed
in homes, working areas and in schools
(13%), condoms should be sold or
Pieces of male condoms.
distributed by adolescents/youths and
provide condoms of different sizes.
It is concluded that some of the factors
contributing to the low utilization of
condoms among adolescents aged 13 to
24 years in Temeke Municipal are
ignorance of adolescents on the
importance of condom use in the
prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually
transmitted diseases, and early
pregnancies; ignorance on the quality of
condoms, on minor side effects of
condoms, and on the accessibility
(affordability, availability, acceptability
of condoms and condom service
providers) of condoms. This ignorance is
a challenge for programmes aiming at
promoting condom use. There is a need
for us to look into strategies for
addressing these identified barriers for
condoms use among adolescents.
A piece of female condom.
35
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COMBATING
THE CERVICAL
CANCER
SCOURGE:
GETTING TO
GRIPS WITH
THE PERENNIAL
KILLER
By Dr. Joe Kabyemela, Aintree centre for Women’s
Health; University Hospital Aintree & Liverpool
Women’s Hospital
Public Lecture delivered at HKMU, February
2008.
Dr. Joe Kabyemela
Cervical cancer: the statistics
Worldwide, over 500, 000 new cases
are diagnosed and 270,000 women die
of cervical cancer every year. This
accounts for 9% of all female cancer
deaths annually. The majority of these
deaths occur in developing countries.
Cervical cancer is the commonest
diagnosed cancer in Southern Africa and
Central America. In the UK, cervical
cancer accounts for 1% of all cancers
diagnosed and accounts for 1100
deaths a year. In the United States,
approximately 12,000 women are
diagnosed with the disease annually and
around 4000 die every year.
Cervical cancer mortality trends:
Cervical cancer screening: Over the past
three decades, incidence and mortality
rate of cervical cancer in the United
States have declined by over 50%. In
the UK, cervical cancer mortality rates in
2005 (2.6 per 100,000 females) were
over 60% lower than they were 30
years earlier (7.5 per 100,000 in
1975). In Iceland, mortality from
cervical cancer declined by 80% in 20
years after introduction of systematic
cervical screening. Even in developed
countries, cervical cancer is still
strongly associated with socio-economic
status.
36
Cervical cancer mortality trends
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 37
Systematic cervical screening:
In 1943, George Papanicolaou, M.D., published his work on
the diagnosis of cervical cancer by an examination of cells
removed from the surface of the cervix. In the UK, there was ad
hoc cervical screening from the early 1960s. The National
Health Service (NHS), cervical screening programme was set up
in 1988, with computerised call-recall systems. Every woman
in the target age group (25 – 65 years) is automatically
invited for screening. Recall is every 3 years for women of
25 – 49 and every five years for those aged 50 – 65. Trained
practice nurses do the screening. Since 2003, the traditional
Pap smear has been replaced by ‘liquid based cytology’ (LBC)
predispose to cervical cancer with subtypes 16 and 18
accounting for 70% of all cervical cancers. Subtypes 6 and 11
account for 90% of genital warts. Almost 100% of cases of
cervical cancer begin with HPV infection
HPV: Other cancers
Malignancy
Penis
Vulva/vagina
Anus
Mouth
Oropharynx
%age attributable to HPV
40
40
90
≥3
≥ 12
Liquid based cytology (LBC):
Sample collected using a brush with a detachable head. The
head with the sample is detached into the specimen pot with
the preservative. In the laboratory, the fluid with the sample is
spun to separate and remove contaminants e.g. Pus,
inflammatory cells and mucus. The remaining cervical cells are
then made into a thin layer on a slide and read under a
microscope as normal. Adoption of this method has reduced the
recall rate from 1 in 10 to 1 in 100.
Penile warts
Anal Cancer
Penile cancer
Vulval warts
Traditional Pap Smear
Oropharyngeal cancer
Cervical Cancer-pathogenesis:
Most HPV infections resolve spontaneously. For those infected
with the high risk subtypes, roughly 5-10% will develop
persistent HPV infection. In the United States, it is estimated that
40% of young women are infected with HPV within 3 years of
starting sexual activity. Up to 80% of women acquire the HPV
infection at least once during their lives.
Brush for LBC
Persistent HPV infection:
Cervical cancer-Pathogenesis: The causal link between the
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and cervical cancer was
established beyond doubt. The HPV is the leading sexually
transmitted infection (STI) in the UK, US and probably the world.
There are over 100 strains and subtypes of HPV. A third of
these are sexually transmitted. At least 13 genotypes are
regarded as high risk. Subtypes 16, 18, 31, 33 and 45
Persistent HPV infection disrupts the normal cell turnover at the
transformation zone. With the cells multiplying perpetually,
pre-cancerous cells form. The pre-cancerous cells could, in the
long run, invade underlying tissue: Invasive cancer. The process
from HPV infection to cancer is very slow, taking many years,
even decades. Other (related) risk factors are early age of
becoming sexually active, multiple sex partners, unprotected
37
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Studies have consistently shown that VIA’s
sensitivity is as good as or better
than that of the Pap smear. However,
specificity may be lower. Both sensitivity
and specificity are above 80%.
However, like the Pap smear, visual
inspection is subjective. Supervision is
needed for quality control of visual
inspection methods. VIA might not be
very reliable in post-menopausal women
Dr. Joe Kabyemela delivering his lecture on cervical cancer at HKMU
sexual intercourse: condoms estimated
to give around 70% protection against
HPV and the Concomitant STIs
Prevention:
Primary Prevention is through total
abstinence or vaccination against HPV.
Secondary Prevention can be achieved
through regular screening, and
treatment of pre-cancerous lesions. All
developed countries have cervical
screening programmes in place. The
vast majority of cervical cancer deaths
are in developing countries, largely
because of lack of screening
programmes. Since the 1960s, overall,
in the developed countries, cervical
cancer incidence has decreased by over
60%, largely because of screening
programmes.
Limited
resources
(supplies, trained personnel, equipment,
quality control, health care infrastructure,
and effective follow-up procedures) is
blamed for lack of similar success in
developing countries.
Secondary Prevention: Bingham A,
Bishop A, Coffey P, et al., published a
paper in 2003 which showed that less
than 1% of eligible women in Kenya
and India had ever undergone any
cervical screening. This compares to
over 75% in developed countries.
There is evidence that women and even
health-care workers in developing
countries have little or no information
on the disease. Ideally, the most
effective screening method would be
38
inexpensive, painless, simple to
perform, socially and culturally
acceptable, accurate, with no adverse
effects, and able to provide immediate
results. That does not yet exist.
Screening-VILI: VILI stands for Visual
Inspection with Lugol’s Iodine. Lugol’s
iodine is applied to the cervix, and this is
inspected for non-staining areas. Results
of VILI are immediately available,
offering the advantage of treatment or
follow-up care without delay. This
method has shown promising results both
in sensitivity and specificity, but data on
VILI are still limited.
Screening: VIA
•
Visual inspection with acetic acid
(VIA)
Other Screening Methods:
HPV DNA testing
•
Currently available : Hybrid
Capture 2 (HC2).
•
Also called ‘direct visual
inspection’ or cervicoscopy
•
Detects DNA from 13 high risk
genotypes.
•
An alternative to cytologic
examination in low-resource
settings.
•
A sample of cells collected from
the vagina or cervix using a swab
or brush.
•
Applying 3-5% acetic acid
(vinegar) to the cervix using a
spray or cotton swab.
•
Laboratory processed.
•
Highly objective.
•
Very good in identifying those
who already have cervical
disease and those at high risk of
developing it.
•
Particularly valuable in women
over 30.
•
Remains quite expensive.
•
Observing the cervix with a naked
eye after 1 minute.
•
Obvious
acetowhite
areas
adjacent to the TZ would be
regarded as positive for at least
pre-cancerous cells.
•
VIA does not require a laboratory
or intensive staff training and
results are immediately available.
Acetowhite
HPV DNA Testing: The Fast HPV Test: It
has been developed by a Dutch
Normal cervix
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 39
company Qiagen. It is in final stages of
development. It is expected to be
commercially available later this year
(2008). Developed specifically for
low-resource countries. It will be able
to detect DNA from 14 high-risk types
of HPV. Results will be available in
2 - 3 hours. The test equipment will be
portable, with the option of battery
power.
HPV Testing: Higher sensitivity and
Positive Predictive Value for CIN when
compared to cytology. (Sensitivity is
10% higher). Higher false positive rate
(lower specificity) especially for
younger women (less 30 years).
HPV Testing-Advantages:
•
Objective: No intra-observer
variations.
•
Self-sampling feasible.
•
High sensitivity especially for
those over 30.
•
Offers possibility of having long
intervals between screening.
HPV Testing-Disadvantages:
•
Cost (until now).
•
High-tech molecular diagnostic
laboratory requirement (until
now).
•
Not ideal for the young women
where HPV infection might be
transient.
•
Delayed results requiring a
repeat visit, unsuitable for
low-resource settings (until
now).
The Fast HPV Test: Kits have proved
stable when stored in non-refrigerated
environments for up to 8 months. They
can withstand temperatures of 40°C for
up to a month. Study in China showed
that the test can correctly diagnose
between 86% and 90% of all cases of
HPV, if cervical cells were collected
by a trained worker (72-81% if
self-collected by the woman). In a
modelling test, it was estimated that, if
adopted, and if each woman had
3 tests in her life-time with 5 year
intervals, incidence of cervical cancer
would be cut by 56%.
Screen and Treat: For developing
countries, the screening programmes
adopted in the rich North are nonviable. Screen and treat programmes
are being adopted by several
low-resource countries. Women who
test positive on visual or HPV DNA tests
do not undergo further diagnostic
testing; instead, they are treated
immediately. Data from South Africa
and Ghana show that VIA and cryotherapy, in one or two clinical visits, without
an intermediary colposcopic diagnostic
step, is a very cost-effective strategy.
Treatment: Pre-cancerous lesions:
Survival rates for women treated for
pre-cancerous cervical lesions is close
to 100%. The standard treatment
remains loop electrosurgical excision
procedure (LEEP) or ablation via
cryotherapy. For lesions less than
20 mm in size, cryotherapy is 100%
effective. Cold knife cone biopsy is only
used in an odd case where the two
methods would not be suitable or
adequate.
Treatment: Invasive disease: Survival
rate for early disease (Stage 1A) is over
90%. Treatment usually involves a
hysterectomy and/or radiotherapy. In
very early disease, surgery to preserve
fertility (where desired) is an option.
For advanced disease, palliation is by
using radiotherapy with only a limited
role for chemotherapy in selected
cases. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy
facilities are often not available
to many affected women in developing
countries. This leaves them in
excruciating pain in the final weeks and
months of their lives. Even in developed
countries, 5 year Stage III survival is
around 30%. It is less than 5% for
Stage IV.
Primary Prevention: Vaccination:
Vaccination against the high risk HPV
subtypes is now available. By summer
2006, 75 countries had approved the
use of Gardasil®. Gardasil® is a
quadrivalent vaccine protecting against
infection by subtypes 16 and 18
(responsible for 70% of all cervical
cancers) as well as 6 and 11
(responsible for 90% of all genital
warts). Cervarix™ by GSK was also
approved in 2007. It protects against
subtypes 16 and 18.Both are
administered in the form of injections.
Three injections are given in intervals
over a course of six months.
The Vaccines consist of VLPs, assembled
from the capsid protein L1, the major
coat. This is an empty capsid devoid of
any DNA. It is morphologically identical
to the native virion and contains
the major neutralising epitopes.
The vaccines have proved highly
immunogenic, generating high titres of
anti-L1 neutralising antibodies. There is
evidence that antibody levels persist at a
high concentration for ‘many years’.
Vaccination Programme: In the UK,
vaccination programme kicks off later
this year (2008). Girls of 12 (first year
of secondary school) will be vaccinated.
A catch up programme is in place to
vaccinate those aged 13 – 16 as well.
The vaccine is recommended for women
up to the age of 26. Those outside the
target age group can get it privately, if
appropriate.
HPV vaccination: The aim is to get girls
vaccinated before they become sexually
active, and are exposed to the virus. In
the UK, 38% of children will have had
sex by the age of 15. The figures are
22% in France, and 16% in Spain
(United Nations International Children’s
Fund). The vaccines have been shown to
be almost 100% effective in preventing
Continue on page 43
39
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DRIVE AND
SURVIVE
he number of road accidents in
Tanzania is increasing very rapidly.
Indeed, the state of accident
affairs is alarming. There is need
therefore, from all parties concerned to
take action. No sensible authority can
afford to be silent in a situation of this
magnitude. Certainly the formation of
various boards and associations in our
society which show concern in matters
related to road safety is a healthy sign
that our community is mature enough,
and is heading in the right direction.
Road safety is a concern of everyone,
you and me, and specifically all road
users. All stakeholders in this scenario
must play their rightful role to make sure
that our roads become safe heavens for
every one of us.
T
As long as there are road users
accidents will certainly happen no
matter what degree of precaution will
be exercised. All that is required of
stakeholders is to make sure that the
number of accidents on our roads is
brought to a minimum by any means
possible. To achieve this, we need a
high degree of coordination and
cooperation. There are organs which are
established for the betterment of
road safety namely: Tanzania Road
Association, National Board on Road
safety, and The Road Safety Unit, to site
a few. These organs should spearhead
programmes intended to put in place
sound safety regulations.
A car that was involved in a road accident.
It is a positive sign too, that many
people have taken note of this situation.
Notwithstanding the objectives of
these organs, there is one common
denominator. That all these organs are
interested in one way or another to arrest
and eventually bring to the
minimum both the number of accidents
and victims. One can go on further to
sub-divide the major objectives into
minor ones, such as: firstly to create an
environment whereby the general public
can restore the confidence lost through
many years of accident prone situations;
secondly to inculcate an attitude among
the people that road safety is a priority
and a responsibility of all road users;
thirdly to formulate and implement
corrective measures intended to make
our roads safe; and fourthly, to create an
atmosphere of cooperation among
all stakeholders who shoulder the
heavy responsibility of organizing and
supervising road users.
Bodies that have a direct responsibility
on road safety are Traffic Officers;
Legislators; and various Transport
Licensing Boards, who should come up
with new suggestions on improving
traffic regulations. One notices that some
of the traffic regulations and ordinances
in force may be highly outdated and
need replacement.
Mr. Stanslaus J. Ngadaya
40
It is being proposed that an independent
organ be formed whose primary
responsibility should be to monitor any
traffic irregularities and advise the
government on appropriate ways to
rectify the situation. The main objective
of the proposed organ should be to take
charge of all matters related to road
safety at national level. It will assume an
advisory and coordinating role. In brief
some of the duties of such an organ
could be summarized here as follows:
•
To examine and grant accreditation to all driving schools in the
country.
•
To approve course content and
instructors serving in the driving
schools.
•
To test and grant driving licences
to qualifying candidates.
•
To disqualify reckless drivers
and, impose a punishment
term associated with the
disqualification.
•
To upgrade driving licences after
applicants have lodged requests
to do so.
•
To device any suitable method
or procedure intended to be
beneficial to road users.
•
To examine the existing
regulations and give advise on
appropriate changes, modifications,
or replacement, where appropriate.
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As it stands now the activities related to
traffic and transportation are spread
among many organs, and these
responsibilities are not coordinated or
controlled by one organ. For example,
the traffic police are responsible for
learner driver testing; yet the revenue
department issues a driving licence.
The existing driving licences have no
provision for recording traffic offences.
This means that a habitual traffic
offender holds a clean driving licence.
It may not be easy to find out a reckless
driver from his driving licence
alone. Our system has no provision for
disqualifying a bad driver. Bad drivers
who have money to pay for penalty
fines are perpetually on the road
despite their notorious behaviour.
An institution may easily employ a bad
driver because there is no accessible
database which can detect a notorious
driver. In other words our system can
harbour notorious drivers who go
unchecked partly due to lack of
coordination and non-existence of an
appropriate database. Transport
associations and bus owners are keen
to protect their members at whatever
cost while paying little or no attention
to passenger safety and interests. For
instance, who takes care of the safety
and welfare of accident victims once an
accident happens, let alone the follow
up on compensations, if anyone merits
such. Insurance companies are keen to
protect their purse and will not show up
unless a strong claim is lodged, and
backed up with litigation. It would,
indeed, appear that almost all regular
passengers travel at their own risk.
Many victims seem to suffer as a result
of road accidents while insurance
companies and bus owner’s remain on
business, displaying a defensive
attitude if there are claims that are
logged.
Passengers’ interests are hardly
represented when passenger vehicle
owners negotiate their business
interests and draw up business plans,
including fixation of fares. Bus owners
have an association and a common
stand, but passengers do not. In this
way many accident victims go without
compensation. It is believed that if
passengers had a corresponding
association, such an organ stand for
passenger interests and other
stakeholders. Any person or body
wanting to carry out business connected
with transport sector will have to abide
by regulations proposed by the
national traffic organ.
Causes of Accidents:
Psychology tells us that to correct one’s
behaviour, one must be know and
realize that he is wrong. He must also be
willing to change. Then there must be
forces compelling him to make the
desired change. However, the following
highlights will assist defaulters adjust to
the anticipated changes:
•
Efforts must be made to make
sure that all road users
understand the regulations fully.
•
Comprehensive and sustainable
educational programmes should
be designed and taught at all
times, beginning from school age
to adulthood, to all peoples of all
walks of life.
•
Willingness and commitment for
change for all stakeholders in the
sector.
•
Visitation of our regulations to
see if they comply with our
present day expectations.
•
Weaknesses which, in the past,
have presented problems, must
be dealt with effectively, for the
sake of road safety. The best
example of this is incompetent
drivers being found with fake
driving licences.
•
There must be machinery to
disqualify reckless drivers so that
they are eventually out of the
road.
•
Driving licences should, by
themselves, portray drivers’
professional
ability
and
performance.
According to the National Road Safety
Council, there are many causes of
accident. Five principal causes have
been singled out, as follows:
1.
Causes associated with the
human element, including
intoxication, incompetence, non
adherence to traffic vehicles
regulations, etc.
2.
Defective, improperly attended
to vehicle and overloading.
3.
Bad roads and bad road
designs, including omission of
road warning signs.
4.
Failure on the part of road users
to adhere to traffic rules, and
inadequate traffic supervision.
5.
Drivers’ incompetence,
inappropriate licensing.
and
In this paper we shall examine one
cause after another, showing the
weaknesses, and suggesting possible
remedies.
Human Element:
Research has shown that human
element alone is responsible for about
54% of all traffic accidents in the
country. Under the human element is
included any cause that is associated
with errors deriving from the person.
This includes errors such as
incompetence, intoxication, negligence,
non-observance of the regulations, etc.
It is not easy to get rid of this error, and
it will necessarily take time to correct it.
Road user education is likely to be the
principal remedy.
Unless these are seriously taken into
consideration there will be little or no
change in the degree of road safety.
Defective Vehicles:
Defectives vehicles have been sited as
the second cause of accidents in
Tanzania. It should clearly be
emphasized that in no way should
defective vehicles be allowed to
operate, especially passenger vehicles.
Passengers deserve safety for their lives
41
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 42
steps to rectify this situation.
Otherwise our roads will
perpetually pose serious dangers.
It should be noted also that there
are long stretches of roads
that connect towns and other
destinations that bear no mileage
signs. One might think that these
are trivial, but to new users of the
roads, the information is very
vital.
and their property. This should be seen
as a human right. Remember that
operators of passenger vehicles are
businessman and their major interest is
profit. Many of them are ready to do
anything to earn profit without any
regard to safety. Someone along
the line must therefore defend the
powerless passengers. They are
powerless because there is no organ or
body which stands for their interest.
forces that play when a vehicle is
in motion? The question of
equilibrium and the balance of
forces is an important feature
to be understood by drivers,
especially those driving heavy
duty vehicles.
•
Traffic signals. Probably this is
an area where most drivers
understand. There is little
complaint about this. However, it
may wise to ensure that from
time to time, drivers are given
refresher courses, to revitalize
their understanding on the
various signals.
•
About the law. It is important that
every road user, and specifically
drivers, know what the law of the
land requires about insurance,
road ordinances etc.
Non-adherence to traffic regulations.
Bad Roads:
Bad roads have been sited as one of the
main causes of accidents in Tanzania.
Road elements that contribute to
accidents can de subdivided into the
following categories:
•
•
•
•
•
42
Width of the road. Some roads
are too narrow for two vehicles
to pass conveniently. This is
especially so for many of the
feeder roads and also for roads
in rural areas. The width of the
road is a very important factor.
Narrow roads are potentially
hazardous at night.
Road surface. Where a road has
a slippery surface, or has
numerous potholes, it poses a
danger to vehicles. This scenario
is common in Tanzania, both in
cities and towns.
This type of cause is fourth in rank
according to the National Road Safety
Council. This cause is broad in nature
and encompasses many aspects. Some
of the aspects are shortly dealt with
below:
•
•
Road design and construction.
Let the expert comment on this
type of problems. However, it is
quite noticeable even to a lay
man, that sharp corners should
be eliminated.
Lack of warning signals. It is a
common feature to see many
portions of our roads without
warning signs. Sometimes
important features such as
bridges and sharp bands have no
warning signs. This situation
poses serious dangers for road
users, especially for those
visiting for the first time.
Let it be known that public roads
are used by many people,
including visitors. It will be
appreciated that the relevant
authorities take the necessary
•
Ignorance. Under this category,
one finds drivers who appear
competent, but, who are infact
ignorant of regulations and
ordinances. It is important that all
road users, and specifically
drivers, should know the rules of
the game before they are issued
with driving licences.
Incompetence. When someone
comes for a driving test it is
assumed that he/she knows the
abc of driving. But actually, those
presenting themselves for driving
tests have varied backgrounds.
Some of driving schools fail to
make sure that their candidates
are well seasoned in driving
techniques. Who can ascertain
the quality of the driving schools
if there is no coordinating body?
Could this be a loophole for
unqualified persons earning a
fake licence?
Know your vehicle. A good
workman knows his tools well.
For a driver to be entrusted
with a vehicle, that is a great
responsibility. If that is so, he
should, in turn know his vehicle.
How much do most drivers know
about their vehicles? Drivers
should understand the basics of
Drivers:
There are some drivers plying on our
roads but who are notorious and
dangerous. Unfortunately, the present
day traffic regulations do detect them.
Such should be barred from driving. This
can be achieved if the system allows
record of offences. Time has come to
install a database for the record of
traffic undertakings for the sake of
taking regulatory measure at national
level.
Precautionary Measures:
Even if all
precautions are taken,
nonetheless, accidents will occur. A
reckless driver may hit you on the side,
or from behind. Whatever may have
been said about avoiding accident, the
concerns everyone driver on public
roads. If you are involved in an
accident, remember safety comes first.
Assist victims and avoid obstructing
anyone. Then report the matter to the
nearest police station. Inform your
insurance company. Do not be a hit and
run driver, for the consequences you are
posing may be very serious. Make sure
that your driving licence expires before
you do.
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Looting of Accident Victims: One very
serious traffic offence is members of the
public who engage in looting accident
victims of their property. The entire
Tanzania public should be educated on
this issue with all seriousness and
commitment. It is both bad morals, and
an offence for anyone who takes away
any property belonging to accident
victims. Maybe the magnitude of the
problem has not captured the notice of
high officials to a degree that warrants
an extra call for immediate action.
What type of attitude are we
inculcating to our people if such serious
offence is left unabated? It is high time
that the government takes a keen
interest to stop this ugly and brutal
assault, once and for all. It is ashaming
for a country like Tanzania, which has a
such a good humanitarian record, to
have some of its citizens engaged in a
barbaric assault of this nature. This
article gives you some food for thought:
Drive and Survive!
From page 39
COMBATING THE CERVICAL CANCER SCOURGE:
GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE PERENNIAL KILLER
dysphasia and subsequent cervical
cancer. In addition, it is effective in
preventing, the related, albeit less
common, vulval and vaginal cancers.
The vaccination is aimed to be
universal.
Where to, from here...
•
Aggressive education about
the disease to the population
at large.
•
•
Huge potential in Fast HPV
Testing, which becomes
available later in the year
(secondary prevention).
•
Screening using templates
adopted by developed nations
not realistic. In England alone,
the programme costs £157
million annually (Pop: 50
million).
•
Acquiring facilities for treating
pre-cancerous lesions using
cryotherapy in district hospital
settings is clearly achievable.
•
Bigger centres should be able
to offer colposcopy services
Bibliography.
1. MAUNDER,D A C & Pearce T C. Bus
accidents: an additional
burden for the poor.
CODATU conference,
Mexico City, April 2000.
2. RWEBANGIRA T, Pearce T & Maunder
D.A. Public transport
safety in Tanzania. A
technical report, Transport
Research Laboratory,
2000,UK.
3. PEARCE T . The causes of bus
accidents in five
emerging nations. A
Technical Report;Transport
Research Laboratory,
2000, UK.
4. MINISTRY OF WORKS, UR Tanzania.
National Road Safety
Strategy 2006 – 2011.
Dar es Salaam, December
2005.
Simple screening methods
such as VIA feasible within the
existing budgetary confines
(secondary prevention).
•
•
and beyond.
Institutions like the HKMU can
develop into centres of
excellence providing the full
spectrum of services where
required.
Political leaders should take
the initiative to explore the
possibility of getting the HPV
vaccine at preferential rates for
national programmes aimed at
universal coverage. It is a moral
issue.
What do they have in common?
Ludwig van Beethoven, Bill Gates, Che
Guevara, Sir Edmund Hillary, Mahatma
Gandhi, Nelson Madiba Mandela,
Martin Luther King Junior, Mother
Teresa, and Georgios Papanikolaou.
Each of them had a dream. They all
did not allow extreme, seemingly
insurmountable obstacles, dim their
dreams. They had the tenacity to
persevere.
Their
achievements
benefited millions and outlived or will
outlive them. In all that they remained
human, humble and unassuming. They
are true icons. I see the founder of
HKMU as an equivalent icon in
Tanzania’s health sector.
HKMU MOTTO
The HKMU Motto is
to maximise
competitiveness,
responsiveness, and
professionalism.
43
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THE EARTH’S
SEAWEEDS,
MUSHROOMS, AND
OTHER NEGLECTED
By Keto E. Mshigeni 1, Sylvester Kajuna 1, Jonathan Karoma 1, Edward Moshi 1,
Shu-Ting Chang 2, Guo Jun 3, Burton Yang 4, and Bertha Mamiro 5.
BIOTA:
THEIR CULTIVATION
FOR INCOME
GENERATION, HEALTH
ENHANCEMENT, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
Hubert Kairuki Memorial University,
Centre for International Services to Mushroom Biotechnology, Department of
Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China.
3
Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangzhou, China.
4
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto,
Canada.
5
Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization, Dar es Salaam.
1
2
BIOREMEDIATION
Seaweeds:
Samuel Coleridge’s dictum in ‘The
Ancient Mariner’, “… Water, water
everywhere,” could also apply to
seaweeds. These chlorophyll-bearing
plants occur in all bodies of seawater
on Planet Earth. The biota display a
remarkable diversity in size, growth
forms, photosynthetic pigments,
photosynthetic food reserves, modes of
propagation, and habitat requirements.
They grow attached to rocks at various
depths in the sea, where they display a
wide array of colours, by virtue of
the different types and levels of
concentration of the photosynthetic
pigments found in their tissues. Some
are dominantly green, others are
blue-green; some are brown, others
are red; some are yellowish, others are
pinkish, etc. Some are filamentous,
others are ball-like; some are
sheet-like, others are tree-like; some
are only a few centimetres in size,
others attain sizes of up to 10 (to 40)
metres, forming quite thick forests in
the sea. Seaweeds also display a wide
range of variability in the chemistry of
their cellwall products. Many also show
unique abilities to selectively absorb
and to concentrate a wide array of
minerals found in the ambient
seawater. These minerals include vital
elements such as iodine and selenium.
When used as agricultural fertilizers,
seaweeds thus restore to the soil the
Earth’s minerals that are washed into
the sea by rivers.
44
About four decades ago, realising the
potential economic benefits of seaweeds
in rural village communities along the
Tanzania coast, Mshigeni (1969, 1973,
1976) researched on the possibility of
pioneering the cultivation of the
Eucheuma seaweed in Tanzania. With
research funding support from the
International Foundation for Science
(IFS), Stockholm, Sweden, and the
United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) in the late 1970’s
and early 1980’s, Mshigeni’s seaweed
farming vision was successfully realised
in Tanzania in the early 1990’s. Today,
small-scale seaweed farming is one of
the most important socio-economic
activities along the Tanzania coast,
playing a particularly important role in
providing
informal
employment
opportunities, especially to women in
society (MINISTRY OF NATURAL
RESOURCES AND TOURISM, 2005,
pp. 4-5).
The seaweed farming activities in
Tanzania have, up till now, been
confined to the Eucheuma red seaweed,
whose agronomy was introduced by
Mshigeni (1976),who is now at Hubert
Kairuki Memorial University. But, infact,
there are many other seaweeds in our
marine waters with great potential for
development as commercial sources of
agrofertilizers, industrial hydrocolloids,
and potent biomedical nutriceuticals.
Leading seaweeds with potential for
development as sources of medicinal
biocompounds include species of the
seaweed genus Sargassum, whose
tissues are endowed with a rich content
of iodine (a cure for goitre) and various
important unique polysaccharides
(including fucoidan), some of which
display strong anti-cancer potency,
while others have been reported to be
effective in boosting the body’s immune
system. Worldwide, seaweeds and
seaweed natural products in commerce,
are valued to be in excess of US$ 6
billion annually (Mshigeni, 2004).
Africa’s share in the world’s seaweed
trade is dismal. But its potential is
enormous.
Mushrooms:
Unlike algae, mushrooms must grow on
organic matter since they lack
photosynthetic pigments. They too,
occur in a wide diversity of ecosystems,
in virtually all the world’s climates. The
fungi referred to as mushrooms also
display a wide diversity of growth forms
and sizes. Many are edible, very
nutritious, and very tasty. In poor rural
village communities, mushrooms are
referred to as the poor man’s meat. But,
in fact, nutritionally, they are superior to
meat. When used as vegetables,
mushrooms supply us with high quality
protein that contains all the essential
amino acids needed in human diet.
Additionally, they are rich in vitamins, in
inorganic mineral nutrients, and in fibre.
Mushrooms are low in cholesterol, and
many of their members are increasingly
being shown to contain potent
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Other intriguing mushrooms occurring in
Africa belong to the genera Ganoderma,
Schizophyllum, and Auricularia, which
display strong medicinal attributes.
Elsewhere, these have been developed
on a commercial scale, and are farmed
to serve as sources of medicinal
nutriceuticals and other highly
marketable products.
International Co-Operation on a Joint
Research and Development Innovation
on Ganoderma Medicinal Mushroom
and Related Biota in Tanzania
surprises were, indeed, encountered.
In northern Zambia, in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, and in some regions
of Tanzania, a gigantic edible
mushroom growing in association with
termite nests, Termitomyces titanicus,
has been reported (UNDP, 2004). The
fruiting body of the giant mushroom
forms a cap one metre in diameter,
making it the largest termite mushroom
in the world, as already stated in
the contribution by Keto E. Mshigeni,
in earlier pages (Fig 1. in the
contribution). Growing during the
Christmas season, Termitomyces
titanicus is, as it were, God’s Christmas
gift to Mankind.
Development of the Co-Operation:
The planned development was
stimulated by good research results
generated by a UNDP Africa Regional
Project titled “Promoting Sustainable
Development in Africa from the
Continent’s Biodiversity” (UNDP 2004).
Our earlier work revealed that China is
the world’s leader in the production and
processing of edible and medicinal
mushrooms. Through Prof. S.T. Chang
mentioned earlier, Hubert Kairuki
Memorial University (HKMU) was
introduced to the Guangdong Institute of
Microbiology, in Guangzhou, China,
which has considerable experience in
the farming and processing of edible and
medicinal mushrooms. The strengths of
the Institute in Guangzhou were verified
by Prof. Keto E. Mshigeni, Vice
Chancellor of HKMU, when he visited
China in June, 2007.
Africa’s Kalahari ecosystem offers
another intriguing surprise. Whereas
most mushrooms surface up during the
rainy season, the Kalahari truffle
mushroom, Terfezia pfeillii, appears
weeks after the last rain. Growing
underground in association with roots
of certain semi-desert plants, the
Kalahari truffle mushroom is conceived
by the indigenous people of Namibia as
God’s given manna from the soil
(Mshigeni 2001a). The potential for
developing Africa’s truffle mushrooms
for poverty eradication, needs to be
intensively researched. Elsewhere,
truffle mushrooms are sometimes
auctioned at tens of thousand (USA)
dollars per kg!
During Professor Mshigeni’s visit to
China, contacts were also established
with a leading scientist from the
Department of Laboratory Medicine
and Pathobiology, University of
Toronto, Canada, whose Laboratory has
collaborative research and development
activities with Guangdong Institute of
Microbiology, and who also showed an
interest towards undertaking joint R&D
activities on edible and medicinal
mushrooms and other biota with HKMU.
The discussions that were held in
Guangzhou in June 2007, led to the
development of a Memorandum of Joint
R&D activities on mushroom resource
development in Tanzania. Also during
Fig. 1: A mushroom farmed at Kinyerezi Dar es Salaam.
biocompounds that enhance the body’s
immunoresponse system. Some of the
mushroom natural products increase
resistance to disease, and in some
cases, cause regression of the disease
state.
Recent years have witnessed a notable
surge of commercial interest in the
world’s mushroom industry. This is both
for edible and medicinal mushrooms.
Many species of mushrooms are now
farmed.
The current world trade for mushrooms
and mushroom products as already
stated in the contribution of Emeritus
Prof. S.T. Chang (appearing in earlier
pages of this volume of our Newsletter)
is estimated to be over 40 billion
annually (Chang 2007). There is great
potential for further developments in
the area of wild mushrooms. As more
research is undertaken on mushroom
bioresources of tropical ecosystems,
discoveries of new edible and
medicinal mushrooms, increasingly
come to light.
Recent studies that were supported by
the UNDP Africa Bureau, confirmed that
Africa has a very rich mushroom
diversity (Mshigeni and Chang, 2001;
Mshigeni, 2001b; 2003; UNDP
2004). In these studies many pleasant
45
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the discussions, it was agreed that Prof.
S.T. Chang, a leading world authority on
mushroom biology and medicinal
mushrooms, be co-opted in the Joint
R&D innovation, as a scientific advisor.
Scope of the Joint Ganoderma
Mushroom Research and Development
Innovation
The collaborative R&D innovation will
initially focus on the Ganoderma
medicinal mushroom which, in China,
has been used for enhancing human
health for several thousand years,
where it is now farmed as a cash crop
and processed into a wide range of
value-added products which, as stated
earlier, are highly marketable globally.
The products include nutriceutical
capsules and other vital biomedical
products. The joint venture will
encompass elements of Ganoderma
mushroom technology diffusion, and
will lead to the development of
state-of-the-art Ganoderma lucidum
farming production systems in selected
suitable, pollution-free localities in
Tanzania. In this innovation, we shall
make use of the huge tonnage of
lignocellulosic agricultural and forest
crop residues generated by our
farmers, which are currently often
discarded as waste. We shall build
upon the experience of the Guangdong
Institute of Microbiology, and
preliminary Ganoderma farming trials
earlier undertaken by the Tanzanian
Industrial Research and Development
Organisation (TIRDO) within the
framework of the UNDP Africa Regional
project referred above, which was
pioneered under the leadership of
Professor Mshigeni, and which had
shown strong promise.
The joint R&D activity will also
include
Ganoderma
mushroom
processing, to produce nutriceutical
capsules and other products. We also
plan to undertake clinical test studies
on Ganoderma to verify its reported
potency on the improvement and
maintenance of human health, building
upon the experience of preliminary
Ganoderma lucidum clinical test trials
46
earlier undertaken with support from
UNDP Africa, after securing the
necessary national ethical clearances.
The Ganoderma lucidum clinical tests
will use an appropriately structured
testing protocol, and will adhere to
approved WHO standards. Highest
quality Ganoderma lucidum capsules will
initially be provided by our Guangdong
collaborating partners for use in the
clinical test trials to be administered to
HIV/AIDS, cancer and other categories of
patients with weakened immune
response systems. During the project
implementation period, a processing
plant for the production of Ganoderma
capsules and other value-added
products, will be put in place in
Tanzania.
The joint R&D innovation on the
Ganoderma mushroom, will also
embrace an important element of
research and local capacity building
through training and infrastructural
development. The collaborating partner
from the University of Toronto will
provide technical support to HKMU and
other Tanzania partners for the
biochemical research component of the
innovation. In all the undertakings,
intellectual property rights pertaining to
Ganoderma and related biota will be
observed. During the development
phase, the key Tanzanian partner that
will implement the vision jointly with
HKMU, is TIRDO. It is anticipated
that other partners will join HKMU later.
Thus the innovation is planned to be a
public-private partnership venture.
During the initial phase of the Joint R&D
development innovation, the focus will
be on the Ganoderma medicinal
mushroom, with a view to establishing
efficient and profitable mushroom
farming and processing activities in
Tanzania, both for domestic and global
markets. Along the way, the work will be
expanded to include edible mushrooms,
selected seaweeds, and other biota.
One of our collaborative team’s visions is
to generate iodized edible mushrooms
for distribution to regions where millions
of inhabitants are afflicted by goitre and
related disorders. We plan to do so by
using selected iodine-rich seaweeds, as
a component of substrates used in
growing selected mushrooms. Our
preliminary research results show that
this is doable.
Conclusion,
Discussion,
and
Recommendations:
Tanzania’s seaweed and mushroom biota
include species that can profitably be
farmed by our rural people, once
adequately trained and provided with
basic enabling tools. When used as
human food, mushroom nutritional,
medicinal, and tonic attributes are
highly acclaimed. The protein content of
some mushrooms is up to 35 % (dry
weight basis). Mushroom lipids are
rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Many
mushrooms contain a wide spectrum
of
bioactive
substances
with
immunomodulating effects. They have a
low energy level, and are therefore
recommended for people who need to
have weight reduction. They have a low
purine level, and are therefore
beneficial for people suffering from
gout. They have a low glucose level,
and are therefore beneficial for people
with diabetes. They have a low level of
sodium, and are thus suitable diets for
people suffering from high blood
pressure. They have a high content of
some vital trace elements, especially
selenium, which is an excellent
antioxidant. Seaweeds too, display
innumerable benefits to the body, when
used directly as food or as a food
supplement. Many of their biocompounds
also serve as potent antioxidants. Some
seaweeds are rich in protein (e.g., the
edible red seaweed Porphyra which is
farmed in Japan, etc., is over 30%
protein), and contain a high concentration
of vital mineral nutrients. Some are
important sources of vital biocompounds
with anti-tumour potency. Some of the
most gigantic seaweeds in Africa, occur
in the coastal waters of Namibia and
South Africa that experience the chilling
influence of the cold Benguela current.
In this ecosystem, Laminaria seaplants of
10 m length, are not uncommon. In
communities where people regularly use
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
9/17/08
11:53 AM
Page 47
seaweeds as food supplements,
endemic public health disorders such
as goitre, some types of cancers, and
high blood pressure, are very rare.
Republic
of
Tanzania.
Tanzania Coastal Management
Partnership in collaboration
with ACDIVOCA SEEGAAD
Project. 47 pp.
In the light of the facts outlined in this
synthesis, it is recommended, that
African governments, various UN
agencies, and Africa’s various
Development Partners, pay greater
attention to Planet Earth’s neglected
seaweeds, mushrooms, and related
biota, with a view to generating more
economic benefits from them,
and enhancing their sustainable
development through joint R&D
partnerships, like the one outlined in
this Newsletter.
4.MSHIGENI, K.E. 1969. The
economic importance of
seaweeds: can these plants
contribute to the economy
of Tanzania? Jour. Geogr.
Assoc. Tanzania, 4:4-20.
Literature Cited:
1. CHANG, S.T. 2003. Development
of the Mushroom Industry in
China, with a note on
possibilities for Africa.
Discovery and Innovation, 15
(3/4): 125-133.
2. CHANG, S.T. 2007. The World’s
Mushroom Resources. In:
Mshigeni,
K.E.,
O.D.
Mwandemele, and G.E. Kiangi.
Proceedings
of
the
Consultative Workshop on
Sustainable
Development
from Africa’s Biodiversity,
Windhoek: pp 28-37.
3. MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES
AND TOURISM. 2005.
Seaweed
Development
Strategic Plan. The United
5.MSHIGENI, K.E. 1973. Exploitation
of seaweeds in Tanzania: the
genus Eucheuma and other
algae. Tanzania Notes and
Records, 72: 19-36.
6.MSHIGENI, K.E. 1976. Seaweed
farming in Tanzania: a
possibility in Tanzania’s
coastal Ujamaa villages.
Tanzania Notes and Records,
79/80: 99-103.
9. MSHIGENI,
K.E.
2001b.
Unrealised Wealth in Africa’s
Biological Resources: the
power of mushrooms and
related biota. University of
Namibia, Windhoek, 31 pp.
10. MSHIGENI, K.E. 2003. Africa’s
mushrooms:
a
neglected
bioresource whose time has
Discovery
and
Innovation, 15 (3/4): 121124.
come.
11. MSHIGENI, K.E. 2004. Seaweeds
and other marine and coastal
resources: neglected treasures
with potential for poverty
eradication. In: UNDP Africa
Bureau. 11 pp.
12. MSHIGENI, K.E. and S. T. CHANG
7.MSHIGENI, K.E. 1991. Seaweeds in
medicine and pharmacy: a
global perspective.
In:
Mshigeni, K.E. (Ed.), Proc.
Intl Conf. on Traditional
Medicinal Plants, Arusha,
Tanzania. Dar es Salaam
University Press: 326-332
8.MSHIGENI, K.E. 2001a. The Cost of
Scientific and Technological
Ignorance, with special
reference to Africa’s rich
biodiversity. University of
Namibia, Windhoek, 50 pp.
2001. MUSHROOMS: Their
Biology, Nutritional and
Medicinal
Properties,
Cultivation Technologies, and
Perspectives on Mushroom
Research and Development.
University
of
Namibia,
Windhoek. 150 pp.
Sustainable
Development from Africa’s
Biodiversity. UNDP Africa
Bureau. 34 pp.
13. UNDP.
2004.
Health - Tips
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Reduce the amount of tea you consume.
Do not eat bread which has only just been toasted.
Keep your distance from hand phone chargers.
Drink more water in the morning, less at night.
Do not drink coffee twice a day.
Reduce the amount of oily food you consume.
Best sleeping time is from 10 pm at night to 6 am in
the morning.
Do not have huge meals after 5 pm.
Do not take alcohol more than one glass/cup/serving a
day.
10. Do not take pills with cool water.
11. Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine
before sleeping.
12. Getting less than 8 hours of sleep affects your health.
People used to napping will not get old easily.
13. Answer the phone by left ear. It'll spoil your brain
directly by using right ear.
14. When battery is down to the last grid/bar, do not
answer the phone, the radiation is 1000 times.
15. Do not use headphones/earphone for long period of
time. Rest your ear awhile after 1 hour.
47
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 48
FIFTY TWO TIPS ON EASY WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT
Shared by Mr. Amiri Mmaka, Assistant lecturer, Faculty of Nursing, HKMU
Overweight is associated with chronic
diseases like high blood pressure and
diabetes. People who are overweight
are advised to gradually cut down their
body weight. But gyms for exercising
are not often accessible. There are also
limiting factors of time, availability,
exercising, and cost.
There are however, 52 easy weighty loss
tips you can apply to lose at least 1
kilogramme per week. One kilogram
may not sound like a lot, especially if
you have a lot of weight to lose. But
consider this: four sticks of butter are
equal to one kilogramme.
An obese person
Imagine four sticks of butter gone from
your waist, thighs, or butt! And, if you
were to lose only one Kilogramme each
week for a year, you would weigh
52 Kilogrammes less! Hey, the year is
going to pass whether you lose the
weight or not, so why not use some of
the following 52 tips on ways to lose
weight, one kilo at a time, and watch
your excess weight melt away!
1.Skip the cheese on your sandwich,
salad or burger.
2. Opt for mustard instead of mayo.
3. Leave a few bites on your plate.
4. Eat less red meat and more fish,
poultry, or vegetarian meals.
5. Grill, char, broil, bake, roast or boil –
JUST DON'T FRY!
6. Experiment with fat-free condiments,
herbs and spices to keep healthy
food from becoming bland.
7. Eat a three-course meal. Start with a
broth- or tomato-based soup or
green salad, move on to a
healthy main course, and finish
with a sweet, succulent fruit for
dessert.
8. Have your salad dressing on the side.
Dip your fork into the dressing
before each forkful of greens.
48
9. Spread your toast (whole wheat, of
course!), with an all-fruit spread
instead of butter or margarine.
10. Switch from whole or 2% milk to
fat-free (skim).
11. Cut out the soft drinks and juice and
guzzle more water.
12. Order thin crust pizza, easy on the
cheese and extra veggies.
13. When dining on pasta, pick tomatobased sauces like marinara or
pesto over cream-based ones like
Alfredo or clam sauce.
14. Need to chew? Go for a flavorful
piece of sugarless gum.
15. Walk briskly for 30 minutes. Take
your pooch for motivation and
company (he'll love you for it!).
16. Turn on the stereo and dance around
your living room for half an hour.
17. Wash all the windows in your house,
inside and out.
18. Write down every bite you put in
your mouth. You might be surprised at things you eat mindlessly.
19. Think about how you feel before you
binge. Are you tired, angry, sad,
or maybe nervous? Instead of
stuffing those feelings down with
unhealthy food choices, try taking a nap, writing in your journal,
or relaxing in a bubble bath.
20. Don't weigh yourself too frequently.
The number on the scale doesn't
mean as much as the number on
the tag inside your jeans!
21. Weigh yourself enough. Most experts
recommend a once-weekly
weighing in to keep tabs on how
you are progressing.
22. Take up knitting – or crossword puzzles or home manicures. By keeping your hands occupied you will
be less likely to graze in front of
the television.
23. Set reachable goals to help you stay
motivated. For example: lose five
pounds; walk three days in a
week; drink all your water today.
24. Reflect on your past successes.
Remembering past achievements
will give you a “can-do” attitude.
25. Get support. Find a buddy who has
similar goals, ask your spouse for
positive reinforcements, or join a
weight-loss group near your
home or online.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 49
26. Lift while you sit. Grab a pair of
weights or even a couple of cans
of vegetables, and continuously
lift them during your favorite TV
show.
27. Brush your teeth as soon as you are
done eating for the day. You
won't want to ruin that mintyfresh breath!
28. Reward yourself for a job well
done. No matter the number on
the scale, if you've stayed on
programme the whole week give
yourself a nice little gift. It might
be something tangible like a
new pair of earrings, or something free like an evening in the
tub with a stack of magazines,
no interruptions allowed. ANYTHING BUT FOOD!
29. Forgive yourself for slip-ups. You
are only human. If you binge or
go off programme, take note of
what might have caused your
reaction, think about what you
would do differently, learn from
it and go on.
30. Instead of drinking a glass of fruit
juice, eat a piece of fruit. You'll
be taking in less calories and
more fiber.
31. Get a pedometer and log at least
2000 steps more than you normally would.
32. Wash and wax your car by hand.
33. Craving chocolate? Savor five
chocolate kisses.
34. Choose brown rice over white.
35. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. Your blood sugar will stay
more stable and you will be less
likely to binge later in the day.
36. Get your Z's. You will have more
self-control if you aren't sleepy
all day, and fatigue can cause
metabolic
and
hormonal
changes that actually cause
weight gain.
37. Make a list of reasons why you
want to lose weight
38. Find little ways to get more exercise. Park farther from the store,
take the stairs, get off the bus
one stop early.
39. Serve your food on a salad plate
instead of a dinner plate. You'll
feel like you are getting more
food.
40. Spice it up! Spicy foods like chili
peppers or curry actually boost
your metabolism.
51. Don't keep foods in the house that
you can't say no to.
52. Make time. You might not think there
are enough hours in the day to
exercise, but there are. Find
them, whether it means you miss
your favorite soaps, the beds
don't get made, or you have to
get up a little earlier in the morning. You are worth it! And you'll
have so much more energy!
Reference:
41. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving whenever possible.
42. Eat a healthy meal or snack prior to
grocery shopping so you will be
less tempted to make fattening
purchases. And stick to the outer
perimeter of the store as much
as possible (usually this is produce, meats, and dairy).
1 ALEXANDER A, 2000. 52 Ways to lose
a pound a Week. Available from:
www.prevention.com
2 GROSS T, 2006. How to Lose Weight:
52 Easy weight Loss Tips .
Available from:
www.associated.com/article/.
43. When eating out, order from the
appetizer menu, or share a plate
with a friend.
44. Alternately, ask for a to-go box with
your meal and put half in the
box immediately.
“Believe
45. Avoid alcohol whenever possible.
46. Take your kids to the park and play,
play, play! You will all be healthier and happier for it.
47. Start your morning with a brisk
walk or a workout video. You will
jump start your metabolism, and
set a healthy tone for your day.
48. Realize it's a lifestyle change. Once
you get out of the dieting mindset and make healthy choices
you can live with, the weight loss
becomes second nature.
49. Measure your foods. You might be
surprised to learn you are actually eating two (or more) servings.
50. Plan ahead. Meter snacks into
appropriate serving sizes; pack
your lunch the night before; create a menu for a week's worth of
dinners.
It
Or Not!
You Are
What
You Eat,
And
Drink.”
49
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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STAFF PROMOTIONS
During 2007/2008 the Board of Trustees of Hubert Kairuki Memorial University,
members of staff, as recommended by the University Council:
approved the promotion of the following
Dr. Paschalis Rugarabamu (from Senior Lecturer to
Associate
Professor
of
Community Health).
Dr. Sylvester L.B. Kajuna (from Senior Lecturer to
Associate
Professor
of
Biochemistry), Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology.
Ms. Elizabeth Z. Mika - (from
Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer),
Department of Fundamentals
of Nursing and Basic Sciences.
Mr. Ivan R. Karkada - (from
Lecturer to Senior Lecturer),
Department of Physiology.
Dr. Sylvester M. Boniphace (from Assistant Lecturer to
Lecturer), Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology.
Ms. Rehesina Senkoro (from Assistant Lecturer to
Lecturer), Department of
Parasitology.
Mr. Stanslaus Ngadaya (from Senior Librarian to
Principal Librarian).
Mr. Kaizilege Karoma - (from
Network Administrator to
Senior Network Administrator).
These promotions are a result of recognition of exemplary work in teaching, research, and scholarly publishing, and meeting the
stipulated staff promotion criteria, which are consonance with international standards. Work is in progress on peer review of
publications and other academic contributions of more staff members. When the peer assessment exercise is complete, appropriate
recommendations will also be presented to Council and the HKMU Board of Trustees for consideration.
The Vice Chancellor (and the HKMU Community at large), congratulates the staff who have been promoted, in recognition of
their good work, and encourages other staff to also strive, with vigour, to conduct research, and to publish their research results in
scholarly journals, conference proceedings, etc.
50
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 51
WORDS OF WISDOM:
THE POWER OF “M”
RULES AFRICA
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A
HAPPY MARRIAGE
Shared by Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu, DVCAC
The letter M is not only midway along the alphabet
range, but the power of M also rules Africa. 33% of
sitting African Presidents have one of their names
starting with the letter M.
Shared by Prof. Keto Mshigeni, Vice Chancellor, HKMU
1.
Never both be angry at the same time.
2.
Never yell at each other, unless the house is on fire.
3.
At least once everyday, say something nice and
complimentary to each other.
4.
You may neglect the whole world, but never each other.
5.
If you have done something wrong, be ready to admit your
mistake, and ask for forgiveness.
6.
If you have to criticize, do so lovingly, and never in public.
7.
If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your spouse.
8.
Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.
9.
Never bring up mistakes of the past.
10.
It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong is
the one who does the most talking.
You will accomplish all the above if you make 1 Corinthians
13: 1-13 your daily song.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Marc
Mbasogo
Mbeki
Meles
Mohammed VI King
Mrisho
7. Mswati III King
8. Muammar
9. Mubarak
10. Mugabe
11. Museveni
12. Mutharika
13. Mwai
14. Mwanawasa
15. Mohamed
16. Mogae
17. Menezes
18. Mamadou
Madagascar
Equatorial Guinea
South Africa (Mandela)
Ethiopia (Mengistu)
Morocco
Tanzania (Mwinyi, Mkapa,
Mwalimu)
Swaziland
Libya
Egypt
Zimbabwe
Uganda (Milton)
Malawi (Muluzi)
Kenya (Moi)
Zambia
Comoro
Botswana (Masire)
Sao Tome(Manuel)
Niger (Mainassara,
Mahamane)
HUMOUR / JOKES
Home Boys
Many Africans have been travelling abroad to
seek green pastures. Many are nurses who
eventually take their husbands with them.
Unfortunately, most of these men can't find
decent jobs and find themselves doing the rat
race or funny jobs, just to make ends meet.
So one of them finds a job as a zoo attendant.
But as there are not many wild animals in
UK zoos, the institution decides to hire
people, and have them pretend to be zoo
animals; dressed in real animal skins, so as to
keep zoo attendance figures up. Our African
friend happily takes up one of the jobs,
dresses up in a monkey skin doing all sorts of
acrobatics, swinging from tree to tree. As he
is busy entertaining people, he accidentally
falls in a lion’s den. The lion roars so loudly
that the "Monkey" shouts MAMAA WEE!!
NISAIDIENI!! NAFA LEO! Then the lion
approaches the ALMOST DEAD "monkey"
and says "ACHA KELELE WEWEEE,
MIMI M-BONGO MWENZAKO..."
For the residents, the event on that day
almost doubled ticket sales, because people
thought it was a unique thing to see a
monkey chat with a lion. Yet till now,
nobody knew that those animals were truly
HOME BOYS!
51
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Events in
During the Visit of Guangdong dele
Guangdong delegates, when they
visited the Mikumi National
park.
Prof. S.T. Chang delivering a
lecture at HKMU.
54
Prof S.T. Chang (5th from right),
and some delegates from
Guangdong
Institute
of
Microbiology
who
visited
HKMU.
Prof. S.T. Chang in a mushroom
farm at Kinyerezi DSM.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 55
s in Pictures
delegates to HKMU in December 2007
Chinese visitors: when they
visited the Mwenge Carving
Centre DSM.
Guangdong delegates
MMHEN Management
getting dinner.
and
staff
Guangdong delegates presenting
a gift to the HKMU Chairperson
of the Board of Trustees, Mrs.
Kokushubila Kairuki, and to the
Vice Chancellor Prof. Keto
Mshigeni,
witnessed
by
the DVCAC, Prof. Paschalis
Rugarabamu.
Mr. Jonathan Karoma, on behalf of
MMHEN, presenting a book on Tanzania,
as a gift to the Guangdong delegates.
55
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 56
Events in
A group photo of HKMU Faculty of
Nursing Academic Staff with their certificates after attending a leadership
course organized by USAID on the
Virtual Leadership Development
Program (VLDP) On July 2007. At
the back (white shirt) is the DVCAC
Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu who was
the Chief Guest.
Chief Justice of the United Republic
of Tanzania, His Lordship,
Augustino Ramadhani, receiving a
gift during the HKMU Singing
Concert held at HKMU.
56
Visitors getting information from
Dr. Julius Kibbassa at the
HKMU booth at the 3rd
Exhibition of Higher Education
held in April 2008.
Prof. Paschalis Rugarabamu
(DVCAC) giving a Best Worker
certificate to Mr. Raphael Zakayo.
HKMU NEWSLETTER 6
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Page 57
s in Pictures
Mr. Safari Sillo, the University
Bursar receiving a certificate of
attendance from Prof. Keto
Mshigeni, the Vice Chancellor,
after successful completion of the
advanced course in computer
applications, conducted at
HKMU.
Prof. Paschalis RugarabamuDVCAC, talking to the TEA
Board Members when they visited HKMU in March 2008.
Prof. Mshigeni (second from
right) attending the international symposium of edible fungi
research held at the Guangdong
Institute of Microbiology, China
in June 2007.
Group photo of HKMU staff who
participated at the 3rd Exhibition of
Higher Education held in April 2008.
57
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Hubert Kairuki Memorial University
322 Regent Estate P.O. Box 65300 Dar es Salaam.
Tel: 255 - 22 - 2700021/4 Fax: 255 - 22 - 2775591
Email: secvc@hkmu.ac.tz, mpro@hkmu.ac.tz
Website: www.hkmu.ac.tz

HKMU_Newsletter_Vol_4_2008 - Hubert Kairuki Memorial University

Transcription

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