[en] It is well recognised worldwide that science and technology is central to creating wealth and improving the quality of life. Indeed, the main difference between the developed countries and developing countries is the level of science, technology and innovative developments and applications. It is therefore necessary to undertake deliberate efforts to ensure that science science and technology is adequately and effectively applied if sustainable national economic development is to be achieved. Recognizing the role of Science and Technology in social economic development of the nation, the government of the URT has provided an enabling environment for the application of Science and Technology in its endeavour to bring about the desired national advancements. (author)

[en] Thirty four new Apatite Fission Track (AFT) ages and 32 track length distributions from samples of basement rocks flanking the Pangani rift, East African Rift System (EARS) are presented, in an attempt to elucidate the uplift and erosion of the rift flanks. The ages fall in the range of 207±15 to 48±4 Ma, spanning from Early Jurassic to Early Tertiary. These ages are much younger than the last thermal event in the Mozambique belt that form the basement complex and are interpreted to represent the most recent tectonic events. Track length (TL) distributions suggest that uplift and erosion of the rift flanks are related to three different tectonic events, which are also recorded by the sedimentary units within the adjacent coastal basins. These included the Triassic/Early Jurassic, Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary tectonic events. Erosion and isostatic rebound have modified the tectonically induced topographic patterns and the highly elevated plateaus flanking the Pangani rift represent an erosional surface referred to as the 'Gondwana surface' of eastern and central Africa. ^The present AFT data suggest that initial exhumation of the 'Gondwana surface' from temperatures above 383.15 K to temperatures less than 333.15 K, in this area, took place during Early Jurassic times, but the final sub-aerial exposure of the surface did not take place until Early Tertiary. (author)

[en] Rice is the most preferred staple food in Zanzibar. It is grown by most household in rural areas and forms a very important crop terms of food security. The main ecology of its production is rain fed condition which is faced with so many constraints such as low yield potential (with an average yield of 1.5t/ha), weed infestations, stem bores attack, RYMV and rice blasts. The objective of this trial was to evaluate rice mutant lines to determine suitable varieties for recommendation to farmers. On-station and on-farm field experiments were conducted both in Pemba and Unguja to evaluate rice mutant materials under rain fed lowland conditions. This trial was part of rice improvement programme through IAEA/URT/5/020 project 'enhancing crop productivity through radiation technology'. Twenty-four mutant lines of Supa and Salama were obtained from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and were grown in the first season when twelve lines were selected for a second season evaluation. Six superior lines were then evaluated under farmers' fields in Pemba and Unguja. The results of yield and yield components showed that Supa BC line ( a back cross of mutant 100 with Supa) was the best line (p=0.05). Many farmers in the tested rice irrigated schemes are now using Supa BC as their new preferred variety even though it has not been released officially. It is therefore recommended that more sites are tried with the variety so that it can be officially released as a new variety and therefore recommended to be used nationwide.(author)

[en] Air pollution studies in Africa are limited and the influence of ambient air quality on buildings and constructions have not been investigated in the larger part of Sub-Saharan Africa. The increasing burden of emission from industry, traffic and coal power plants on ambient air pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa necessitated reviewing previous and current studies. In South Africa a 20-year exposure program, focusing on the effect of ambient exposure on various metals and alloys, showed that the amount of rainfall, relative humidity, atmospheric pollution, wind speed, solar radiation and structural design are some of the factors controlling atmospheric corrosion. Tanzania, being among the Sub-Saharan African countries and partly bordered by Indian ocean, the main source of marine atmosphere, experiences corrosive degradation on metal roofing and cementitious materials. This paper describes the exposure site set-up and will report on some preliminary results of air quality and its relation with the meteorological conditions, as well as surface changes observed, for the year one of exposure. These will thereafter be compared to the completed European and Asian studies, as reported by CLRTAP and RAPIDC respectively. (author)

[en] The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania recognizes that science, technology and innovation (STI) are vital to our economic and social progress. In an increasingly globalised world, it is recognised that high levels of investment in research and innovation are essential, both for economic competitiveness and to yield innovations in areas such as agriculture, health, natural resources, environment and energy sectors and make tangible improvements to the quality of our life. The government also realizes the need to provide an enabling environment for competition and innovation which in turn creates pressure for improvements in efficiency, quality and productivity. The development of a knowledge economy is a key challenge that is facing Tanzania today. It is essential that the country strives to build a truly knowledge based society. Such a society will offer new opportunities for economic and social advancement. It is therefore important that for a knowledge translation and disseminations are created and strengthened. The context to this is that knowledge is the currency for development.(author)

[en] In the experiment with Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and the Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) analysis, the x-ray from the tube in a either secondary target or total reflection mode is used in to excite the sample. In the de-excitation process characteristic x-rays from the sample are detected by a semiconductor Si (Li) detector. Using the pre-amplifier and associated electronics, signals from different energy x-rays are arranged in ascending energy order in the multi-channel analyzer. The peaks have facilitated the identification of elements in the sample and their concentrations. In this paper the description of the experiments are given and samples such as aerosol, serum and water are given as typical examples. In making such analysis achievement can be made on safety of the air we breath, the food we eat and the water we drink from pollution and contamination. (author)

[en] The population is increasing resulting in more energy demand while the fossil fuel is decreasing. As such, there is a need to explore alternative source of energy for the increasing population. In this paper, the authors are proposing biogas as an alternative renewable source of energy that can be utilised in two different applications as independent power provider (IPP). In the first application biogas can be used direct for cooking, lighting etc. while in the second application the chemical energy of biogas can be converted into electrical energy. The study investigates the costs for the six different categories of household power utilisation in terms of installation and running and/or maintenance cost of three renewable energies such as hydro electric, biogas and solar. A 4 kW and 10 kW hot air engines running at 2000 and 2500 rpm respectively rpm simulated so as to generate electricity using biogas as a source of energy. The biogas gasholder capacity ranges from 41 % to 52%. It was observed that any combination with hydroelectric power has relatively low capital and/or installation costs than biogas and solar but higher running cost. For biogas energy to be feasible it requires efficient appliances and reliable biogas plants using local available materials. (author)

[en] Due to high rate of deforestation and environmental degradation caused by felling of trees for fuel, it is imperative that alternative energy resources be sought and exploited. This country, is rich in coal reserves estimated at 1.2 -1.9 billion tonnes, enough to serve the country for many years to come, but coal usage for domestic purposes i.e, cooking and crop drying is still not common in this country and therefore efforts are needed to promote its utilization. The paper discusses the problem of fuel wood use in Tanzania and the efforts made so far to develop the capacity for coal utilization as an alternative fuel to fuel wood. In addition, the paper highlights the experiences of formulating entrepreneurship in developing coal- biomass briquettes as a technology transfer model. The production and tests carried out on coal-biomass utilization technology, has shown that there is a breakthrough and potential for coal biomass utilization at domestic and institutional levels in Tanzania.(author)

[en] Wind Energy is one of the renewable power sources that is currently used in a commercial scale for various end-uses such as pumping water deep wells and electricity generation. A precise knowledge of wind speed characteristics is an essential for the efficient planning and implementation of any wind energy project. In Tanzania the use of wind energy in generating electricity has not yet taken place due to lack of knowledge on prospective sites with high wind energy potential. The main objective of this paper is to review some attempts that have been made to explore the wind energy potential in Tanzania and the corresponding prospective sites that have been earmarked so far. (author)

[en] The objective of this study is to evaluate dot blot and phage based methods for detection of drug resistant tuberculosis. (author)