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Relevance of biogas technology to Vhembe district of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Biogas is a clean and renewable form of energy available to low-income households through anaerobic digestion of readily available organic waste. A biodigester converts fermentable organic matter into a combustible gas and organic manure. Anaerobic digestion is a process of subjecting the material to microbial decomposition in the absence of air, yielding finally, methane, carbon dioxide, and water inside the biodigester. In the recent years, biogas has attracted wide attention in view of the fuel crisis and the environmental pollution associated with the fossil fuel, and its importance as an efficient and non-polluting energy source is now well appreciated. The objectives of this desktop study are to investigate the relevance of biogas technology use for substitution of solid fuels in rural areas of Vhembe district, the subsequent health co-benefits, and the constraints to adoption of domestic biogas technology in South Africa. The correlating factors influencing decisions in the sustainable adoption and utilisation of biogas technology in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province in South Africa are examined. In this study, the sampled households involved 72 biogas users and 128 non-users. The sampling techniques was purposive and simple random. The study was based on primary data that was elicited using open and closed-ended questionnaires. The logistic regression model was employed for data analysis. The energy demand of low-income South African households for cooking with fuelwood was found to be 27?MJ/day and the total energy demand 68?MJ/day. Approximately 625 000 households in Vhembe district can potentially benefit from bio-digester fed with cattle and pig waste, on the basis of livestock numbers. Most governments worldwide are now considering locally accessible, available, and renewable substitute energy options.

SUBMITTER: Rasimphi TE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7083760 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Relevance of biogas technology to Vhembe district of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

Rasimphi T E TE Tinarwo D D

Biotechnology reports (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 20191220

Biogas is a clean and renewable form of energy available to low-income households through anaerobic digestion of readily available organic waste. A biodigester converts fermentable organic matter into a combustible gas and organic manure. Anaerobic digestion is a process of subjecting the material to microbial decomposition in the absence of air, yielding finally, methane, carbon dioxide, and water inside the biodigester. In the recent years, biogas has attracted wide attention in view of the fu ...[more]

PMID: 32211307

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Skin-related diseases affect every individual irrespective of age, gender or social status. Since time immemorial, humans have explored natural resources from their environment for the maintenance of the skin. This explorative survey was conducted to document the natural resources (plant and non-plant materials) used for folk cosmeceuticals by rural communities in Vhembe district municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. METHODS:The research was conducted in six communities namely: Tshakuma, Shigalo, Tshamutilikwa, Luvhimbi (Masikhwa), Khakhanwa, and Folovhodwe in Vhembe district. Random and convenient sampling was used to access the target population. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to interview 71 participants that comprised traditional practitioners, herbalists and laypeople from the study area. Collected data were analysed using both quantitative (for e.g. frequency, use-value and relative frequency of citation) and qualitative (thematic) analytical methods. RESULTS:A total of 52 plants from 27 families and 22 non-plant materials were used as folk cosmeceuticals in the study area. The most cited plants included Dicerocaryum zanguebarium (Pedaliaceae), Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) and Helinus integrifolius (Rhamnaceae). Trees and shrubs were the most common plant-life form while leaves were the most popular plant part. Pig fats, red ochre (Luvhundi soil) and ashes were the most cited non-plant materials. These documented natural resources are frequently prepared by crushing and mostly used to heal wounds. CONCLUSION:Traditional knowledge concerning folk cosmeceuticals is mostly held by elders. The high number of natural resources documented is an indication that Vhembe district is rich in ethnopharmacological knowledge. Scientific investigation of the efficacies and safety of these natural resources is highly recommended as a drive aimed at innovations with benefits to the rural communities who are the custodians of this valuable knowledge.

Project description:BackgroundTermites are an important food resource for many human populations around the world, and are a good supply of nutrients. The fungus-farming 'higher' termite members of Macrotermitinae are also consumed by modern great apes and are implicated as critical dietary resources for early hominins. While the chemical nutritional composition of edible termites is well known, their microbiomes are unexplored in the context of human health. Here we sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene of gut microbiota extracted from the whole intestinal tract of two Macrotermes sp. soldiers collected from the Limpopo region of South Africa.ResultsMajor and minor soldier subcastes of M. falciger exhibit consistent differences in taxonomic representation, and are variable in microbial presence and abundance patterns when compared to another edible but less preferred species, M. natalensis. Subcaste differences include alternate patterns in sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic Euryarchaeota abundance, and differences in abundance between Alistipes and Ruminococcaceae. M. falciger minor soldiers and M. natalensis soldiers have similar microbial profiles, likely from close proximity to the termite worker castes, particularly during foraging and fungus garden cultivation. Compared with previously published termite and cockroach gut microbiome data, the taxonomic representation was generally split between termites that directly digest lignocellulose and humic substrates and those that consume a more distilled form of nutrition as with the omnivorous cockroaches and fungus-farming termites. Lastly, to determine if edible termites may point to a shared reservoir for rare bacterial taxa found in the gut microbiome of humans, we focused on the genus Treponema. The majority of Treponema sequences from edible termite gut microbiota most closely relate to species recovered from other termites or from environmental samples, except for one novel OTU strain, which clustered separately with Treponema found in hunter-gatherer human groups.ConclusionsMacrotermes consumed by humans display special gut microbial arrangements that are atypical for a lignocellulose digesting invertebrate, but are instead suited to the simplified nutrition in the fungus-farmer diet. Our work brings to light the particular termite microbiome features that should be explored further as avenues in human health, agricultural sustainability, and evolutionary research.

Project description:Background:Pyrethroids are the most widely used insecticides globally for domestic, agricultural, and malaria vector control. In 10 countries, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) is also used for the latter. Thus, high exposure to pyrethroids and DDT have been reported among women and children from rural and/or malaria-endemic areas. Experimental studies suggest that fetal exposure to pyrethroids, particularly cypermethrin, and DDT may have sex-specific growth effects. However, epidemiologic investigations are scarce and inconsistent and have not considered postnatal environment or susceptibility factors. Methods:In 665 mother-child dyads participating in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies, and their Environment (VHEMBE), a rural South African birth cohort with high insecticide exposure, we examined associations of maternal peripartum uri-nary pyrethroid metabolites and serum DDT concentrations with child anthropometrics at 3.5 years using multivariable linear regression. We investigated effect modification by child sex, maternal nutrition and HIV status, and household poverty. Results:Pyrethroid metabolites cis-3-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclopropane carboxylic acid (cis-DBCA), cis-3-(2,2,-dicholorvinyl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclopropane carboxylic acid (cis-DCCA), trans-DCCA, and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) were quantified in nearly all mothers. A 10-fold increase in cis-DCCA concentration was associated with 0.21 kg/m2 lower body mass index (95% confidence interval = -0.41, -0.01), with similar estimates for other cypermethrin or permethrin metabolites (trans-DCCA and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid). In stratified analyses, stronger associations were observed with lower weight, body mass index, arm circumference, and weight-for-height among boys relative to girls. Associations with cis-3-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl-cyclopropane carboxylic acid, a metabolite specific to deltamethrin, were weaker or absent. No substantial associations were observed with DDT. Discussion:In a population with ubiquitous pyrethroid exposure, maternal concentrations of metabolites of cypermethrin and permethrin were associated with thinness at 3.5 years.

Project description:BackgroundHospital pharmacists are important in antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP), a global strategy to combat antibiotic resistance (ABR). South African public hospitals have limited ASP implementation. This study describes Limpopo Provincial Hospital pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward ASP implementation.MethodA questionnaire to explore pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding ASP implementation comprised 43 questions hosted online. A link was sent by invitation e-mail to eligible respondents in November 2021. Five questions on respondents' demographics, 15 questions on ASP knowledge, 10 Likert scale questions on attitude, and 13 on ASP practices were included. Mean (standard deviation (SD)) knowledge and attitude scores and a median (interquartile range (IQR)) practice score was calculated. Associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi-square/Fisher's exact analysis (p < 0.05), with Cramér's V as effect size.ResultsThe survey yielded 35 responses (13.1%). Twenty (57.1%) respondents were female. Seventeen (48.6%) respondents were between the ages of 31 and 40 years. The mean knowledge score of respondents was 9.8 (2.6) (N = 34), with knowledge gaps on One Health and socioeconomic determinates of ABR. Ten (29.6%) respondents thought One Health discouraged multi-sector collaboration, and nineteen (55.9%) respondents thought ASP was the only strategic response to ABR. Sixteen (47.1%) respondents did not know that poor access to clean water accelerates ABR and seventeen (50.0%) did not know that poverty could be a determinant for antibiotic use. The mean respondent attitude score was 8.0 (1.7) (N = 28). Twenty-seven (96.4%) respondents agreed that ASP was necessary and agreed to participate in ASP respectively. All 28 (100.0%) respondents agreed to lead an ASP. The median (IQR) respondents' practice score was - 2.0 (IQR: -6.0-5.8) (N = 16). Respondents were inconsistently (never, sometimes, every time) participating in multi-disciplinary forums (6/16, 37.5%) and expressed a desire for training (11/13, 84.6%) on ASP through in-service (7/27, 25.9%). Respondents thought ASP training should include medical officers (12/29, 41.4%) and nurses (9/29, 31.8%). Knowledge score was associated with gender (p = 0.048; V = 0.416) and attitude score (p = 0.013; V = 0.556).ConclusionOur study found pharmacists had good knowledge and a positive attitude toward ASP implementation but poor ASP practices. A multi-disciplinary in-service training could address identified knowledge and practice gaps.

Dataset Information

Relevance of biogas technology to Vhembe district of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

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Relevance of biogas technology to Vhembe district of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

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