Volume 1 Issue 1

Research Article

Low-cost ride-on toy cars for children living with mobility disability in low- and middle- income countries

Edwin khundi

Many children with disabilities, most especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Malawi, face mobility related challenges. Different studies recommend the use of ride-on-toy cars to increase mobility and socialization of children with disabilities. Besides, the ride on toy cars can also be used by able bodied children for r...

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Research Article

Solid Waste Composition and Waste-to-Energy Options at the Malawi University of Science and Technology in Malawi

Mapereka Francis Chagunda Hope Chamdimba Esther Mulipa Austin Nyirenda

Lack of understanding of solid waste composition and generation rates is one of the major bottlenecks to the adoption of waste- to-energy technologies. Therefore, this study analyzed solid waste composition and generation rates at the Malawi University of Science and Technology. In addition, the study examined the potential waste-to-...

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Research Article

Multi-Temporal land use change detection analysis using landsat data: The case of Lilongwe City

Brino Kapatamoyo Vincent Katonda Steven Gondwe

Land use land cover (LULC) studies have played a significant role in sustainable urban planning and development. In this study, Remote Sensing and GIS was used to detect and analyse LULC change for the years 1998, 2008 and 2018 in Lilongwe city. The maximum-likelihood algorithm was adopted for supervised classification Landsat TM...

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Review Article

T Cell Subsets and COVID-19: Function and Dysregulation Effect

Chikondi Malamba-Banda Chisomo Kafamau Tiyamike Nthandira Austine Kumwenda David T. Mzinza Gama P. Bandawe Wilson L. Mandala

T cell responses are an important component of the human immune response to viral infections and specifically for viral clearance, establishing memory recall and inducing antibody responses. In SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals, lymphopenia and/or T-cell exhaustion somehow contributes towards the development of severe diseases. In contrast, long-live...

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Short Communication

The limitation of the gravity inversion method based on the Parker-Oldenburg algorithm in determination of the basement topography

Chikondi Chisenga Emmanuel Chinkaka

This short communication discusses a 2013 publication by Oruç et al., (2013) who presented a structural interpretation map of the Erzurum Basin in eastern Turkey using curvature gradient tensor, and inferred the basement topography using gravity inversion method. In our comment, we show the limitation of the gravity data they used and the flawed ap...

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Review Article

Current knowledge in enhancing moisture content for sandy soil through application of pristine rice husk biochar and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA): Can coupling biochar and PVA do better?

Gift Gladson Moyo Zhiquan Hu

Biochar and super-absorbent polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) possess numerous unique properties that are increasingly used in soil amendment applications. A number of studies and reviews done on singular utilization of rice husks biochar and PVA have proven effectiveness of these carbonaceous materials. Subsequently, a combined application...

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Research Article

Banana bunchy top virus (Babuvirus; Nanoviridae) detected in all banana growing districts of Malawi

Willard Mbewe Andrew Mtonga Pilirani Pankomera Louis Mwamlima Harold katondo Antony Nyirenda Frank Phukaphuka Lucky Mataka Harold Mbalame Richard Thole Vivian Kayira Gama Bandawe

Banana bunchy top disease, caused by Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), is a serious disease that affects the productivity of bananas globally. The disease is responsible for the current reduction of banana production in Malawi, and there are ongoing efforts to resuscitate the local banana industry. National surveys were conducted in 2020 and 2021 in...

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Research Article

Laboratory and field production of bioethanol from cassava peel-waste using dilute acid low temperature hydrolysis and fermentation processes

Davies E. Mweta Joseph Kumphanda Joseph Issa

In tropical countries, agricultural wastes such as cassava peel are potential raw materials for production of bioethanol because they are renewable, cheap and widely available. This study investigated the potential of cassava peels as raw materials for ethanol production following dilute acid hydrolysis and fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisi...

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Research Article

Application of environmental indexing for water quality assessment – case of Nasolo River, Blantyre

Blessings Mtchuka Francis Chauluka Emmanuel Chinkaka Harold Yapuwa

Water quality is critical to ecosystem health as it threatens biodiversity when degraded by anthropogenic or geogenic activities. As an urban river, the Nasolo River can be impaired by various anthropogenic activities arising from urbanization and industrialization. This study assessed the effects of the activities above on the Nasolo River in Blan...

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