University of Zambia

About: University of Zambia is a education organization based out in Lusaka, Lusaka, Zambia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 2593 authors who have published 4402 publications receiving 122411 citations. The organization is also known as: UNZA.

Zinc, lead and copper tolerance in the grass stereochlaena cameronii (stapf) clayton

Abstract: SUMMARY Stereochlaena cameronii, a grass widely distributed in south central Africa, possesses tolerance towards heavy metals. Its tolerance and accumulation of zinc, lead, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium as well as sulphur have been studied and compared with similar phenomena in two other local metal-tolerant grasses, Cynodon dactylon and Trachypogon spicatus, as well as in some herbs and trees. The grasses accumulate high levels of copper in their roots in contrast with the herbaceous plants which accumulate the metal in their leaves. Distribution of other metals between roots and leaves is variable and is related to soil composition. Heavy-metal tolerance in Stereochlaena cameronii does not appear to be dependent directly on sulphur or nitrogen metabolism. In S. cameronii from zinc-rich soil, the zinc is largely in insoluble form in the roots, but in plants from other soils about half of this metal is in soluble form.

Accumulation and biological effects of metals in wild rats in mining areas of Zambia.

Abstract: The lead–zinc (Pb–Zn) mine in Kabwe City and the copper–cobalt (Cu–Co) mine in the Copperbelt Province are major mining areas in Zambia To examine the effects of metal pollution on wildlife, wild black rats (Rattus rattus and Rattus tanezumi) were captured in Kabwe and Chingola (in the Copperbelt Province), and in Lusaka (a noncontaminated site) Wild black rats in Kabwe accumulated significantly higher concentrations of Pb and Cd in various organs than rats from Lusaka In Chingola, significantly higher concentrations of Cu, Co, Pb, and Cd were accumulated in wild black rats than in rats from Lusaka These results were in accordance with metal accumulation patterns in soil From toxicological aspects, concentrations of Pb and Cd in rats were generally low However, metallothionein-1 (MT-1) and metallothionein-2 (MT-2) mRNA expression levels in wild black rats from Kabwe were significantly higher than those in rats from Lusaka A generalized linear model (GLM) showed that concentrations of Zn and Cu had positive effects on the MT-1 and MT-2 mRNA expression These results suggest that wild black rats in Zambian mining sites were exposed to metals that accumulated in their organs, causing biological responses such as MT mRNA induction GLM indicated that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA expression could be a marker for Cr exposure

The impact of a hybrid social marketing intervention on inequities in access, ownership and use of insecticide-treated nets

Abstract: Background An ITN intervention was initiated in three predominantly rural districts of Eastern Province, Zambia, that lacked commercial distribution and communication infrastructures. Social marketing techniques were used for product and message development. Public sector clinics and village-based volunteers promoted and distributed subsidized ITNs priced at $2.5 per net. A study was conducted to assess the effects of the intervention on inequities in knowledge, access, ownership and use of ITNs.

Trends in upper gastrointestinal diagnosis over four decades in Lusaka, Zambia: a retrospective analysis of endoscopic findings

Abstract: There a shortage of robust information about profiles of gastrointestinal disease in sub-Saharan Africa. The endoscopy unit of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka has been running without interruption since 1977 and this 38-year record is largely intact. We report an analysis of endoscopic findings over this period. Written endoscopy records from 29th September 1977 to 16th December 2014 were recovered, computerised, coded by two experienced endoscopists and analysed. Temporal trends were analysed using tables, graphs, and unconditional logistic regression, with age, sex of patient, decade, and endoscopist as independent variables to adjust for inter-observer variation. Sixteen thousand nine hundred fifty-three records were identified and analysed. Diagnosis of gastric ulcer rose by 22 %, and that of duodenal ulcer fell by 14 % per decade. Endoscopically diagnosed oesophageal cancer increased by 32 % per decade, but gastric cancer rose only in patients under 60 years of age (21 % per decade). Oesophageal varices were the commonest finding in patients presenting with haematemesis, increasing by 14 % per decade in that patient group. Two HIV-related diagnoses, oesophageal candidiasis and Kaposi’s sarcoma, rose from almost zero to very high levels in the 1990s but fell substantially after 2005 when anti-retroviral therapy became widely available. This useful dataset suggests that there are important trends in some endoscopic findings over four decades. These trends are not explained by inter-observer variation. Reasons for the divergent trends in incidence of peptic ulceration and apparent trends in diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal cancers merit further exploration.

Silent privatisation of customary land in Zambia: opportunities for a few, challenges for many

Abstract: The conversion of customary land into leasehold tenure has sparked intense debates in Zambia and beyond. Growing interest in land in the last decade and half has led to a spike in demand for land a...