University of Zimbabwe

About: University of Zimbabwe is a education organization based out in Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 4378 authors who have published 6800 publications receiving 160720 citations. The organization is also known as: UZ & University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms and spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Zimbabwe.

Abstract: The prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms in ticks from Zimbabwe was determined using the hemolymph test. Amblyomma hebraeum had the highest prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms. Other species with rickettsia-like organisms included Amblyomma sparsum, Amblyomma variegatum, Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, Ripicephalus simus, Haemaphysalis leachi, Amblyomma rhinocerotis, and Hyalomma truncatum. Ticks with no demonstrable rickettsia-like organisms infection were Boophilus decoloratus, Haemaphysalis spinulosa, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis on samples of hemolymph-positive ticks showed the agent of African tick-bite fever to be present in A. hebraeum, Rickettsia conorii to be present in Rhipicephalus simus and Haemaphysalis leachi, and a spotted fever group rickettsia similar to that in Hyalomma marginatum marginatum ticks from Morocco and Portugal to be present in Hyalomma marginatum rufipes.

Risk factors for prematurity at Harare Maternity Hospital, Zimbabwe

Abstract: Prematurity remains the main cause of mortality and morbidity in infants and a problem in the care of pregnant women world-wide. This preliminary study describes the socio-demographic reproductive medical and obstetrical risk factors for having a live pre-term delivery (PTD) in Zimbabwe. This case-control study examined risk factors for PTD at Harare Maternity Hospital between March and June 1999. The frequency of PTD among live birth was 16.4%. Prior history of stillbirth or abortion was associated with PTD (adjusted relative risk [ARR] 1.50; 95% CI: 1.06 2.11). Nutritional factors including drinking a local non-alcoholic beverage (mahewu) during pregnancy and mother’s increasing mid-arm circumference reduced the risk of PTD (ARR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60 0.93 and ARR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.92 0.99 per cm of circumference respectively). Obstetric conditions including eclampsia anaemia ante-partum haemorrhage and placenta praevia were infrequent but when present were strongly associated with PTD (ARR = 3.57; 95% CI: 1.67 7.63; ARR = 4.12; 95% CI: 1.80 9.43; ARR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.86 5.00 and ARR = 3.30; 95% CI: 1.34 8.14 respectively). Malaria although less frequent nonetheless was associated with an increased risk of PTD (ARR = 2.93; 95% CI: 1.70 5.04). These results suggest that in addition to established obstetric risk factors nutrition and malarial infection are important. About 43% of the mothers initiated prenatal care after 28 weeks of gestation. Addressing prematurity in this population will require earlier initiation of prenatal care to allow for early detection and management of complications of pregnancy and improving nutritional status of reproductive age with locally available foods. Further exploration of the potential benefits of mahewu is warranted. (authors)

Universality, multiplicity, and the effect of iron impurities in the Belousov–Zhabotinskii reaction

Abstract: In experiments on the Belousov–Zhabotinskii reaction in a flow reactor we have observed dynamical behavior that is described well by one‐dimensional maps with a single maximum. A sequence of period doubling bifurcations was observed as a parameter was varied, and beyond the accumulation point for the period doubling sequence there was a sequence of periodic states that has the same symbolic dynamics as the states of the U (universal) sequence of Metropolis, Stein, and Stein (1973). However, in another experiment with malonic acid from a different vendor, we found that some states with particular symbol sequences occurred in three different parameter ranges rather than in one range as in the U sequence. Analysis of the effect of impurities in the reagents showed that some impurities (e.g., Fe3+ and esters of malonic acid) at concentrations of only a few ppm produced dramatic changes in the dynamics; such impurities are contained in commercially available malonic acid. Experiments with purified malonic acid...

Detection of land cover changes around Lake Mutirikwi, Zimbabwe, based on traditional remote sensing image classification techniques

Abstract: Land cover changes around Lake Mutirikwi in 1984–2011 were mapped from Landsat images using traditional image classification methods including the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. The possibility of mapping the coverage and abundance of surface floating aquatic weeds was also tested. Landsat images from 1984, 1995, 2001 and 2011 were used to compute a normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), which was then used as a proxy for indicating areas infested by surface floating aquatic weeds. Forest and shrubs covered 310.8 km2 in 1984, but had deteriorated by 24.87% to 77.3 km2 in 2011, while the area under cultivation increased by 51.44% between 1984 and 2011. Runoff from surrounding farms could be responsible for washing soil nutrients into Lake Mutirikwi, enriching its water. A large aggregation of surface floating aquatic weeds concentrated upstream along tributaries of Lake Mutirikwi, mainly the Mucheke which received sewage from Masvingo town, with less coverage in the central parts of the l...