Browsing by Author "Miraji, H."
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Item Prevalence and factors associated with designer cathinones and amphetamine use among Outpatients attending methadone clinic at Mwananyamala hospital Dar es salaam, Tanzania(Elsevier, 2023) Ripanda, A.S.; Srivastava, B. B. L.; Nyundo, A. A.; Miraji, H.; Vuai, S. A. H.Designer cathinone and amphetamines are synthetical analogues of stimulant phenethylamines, including ring-substituted cathinones that are claimed to have effects similar to those of cocaine, hence, intentionally or unintentionally used for recreation purposes and as a substitute. The information regarding designer cathinone and amphetamines use is publicly limited.Item Research trends in emerging contaminants on the aquatic environments of Tanzania(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2016) Miraji, H.; Othman, O. C.; Ngassapa, F. N.; Mureithi, E. W.The continuity for discovery and production of new chemicals, allied products, and uses has currently resulted into generation of recent form of contaminants known as Emerging Contaminants (ECs). Once in the aquatic environment ECs are carcinogenic and cause other threats to both human’s and animals’ health. Due to their effects this study was aimed at investigating research trends of ECs in Tanzania. Findings revealed that USA and EU countries were leading in ECs researches, little followed by Asia, South Africa, and then Zambia. Only few guidelines from USA-EPA, WHO, Canada, and Australia existed. Neither published guidelines nor regulations for ECs existed in Tanzania; rather only the occurrence of some disinfection by-products and antibiotics was, respectively, reported in Arusha and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. As these reports had a limited coverage of ECs, henceforth, these findings constitute the first-line reference materials for ECs research in Tanzania which shall be useful for future monitoring and regulation planning.Item A review on the occurrences of persistent organic pollutants in corals, sediments, fish and waters of the Western Indian Ocean(Elsevier, 2021) Miraji, H.; Ripanda, A.; Moto, E.Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) present a class of synthetic chemicals that include organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins. They are characterized by environmental persistence, transboundary mobility, lipophilicity, and bioaccumulation that may induce fatality especially to top ranked biota due to biomagnification. The oceanic ecosystems are essential pools through which POPs accumulate. Despite the abundance and biotic effects caused by POPs, data on their occurrences as well as the fate of persistent organic pollutants in corals, sediments, fish and waters of the Western Indian Ocean are still scarce. The present review evaluates the status quo, equilibrium distribution of POPs among oceanic ecosystems, and future perspectives of POPs in the Western Indian Ocean. It was observed that some POPs such as DDT and PCBs reported across Africa were more of transformation products than fresh entities. Coastal corals and ocean waters were more contaminated than offshore areas as an indication of terrestrial anthropogenic-based pollution. The Indian Ocean ecosystem, especially fishes, had POPs residuals, whereby DDT and its metabolites were identified as the most frequently occurring POPs. This puts all the interacting ecosystems at high risk through biomagnification. Thus, the reduction of terrestrial contamination and monitoring the trends of POPs in oceanic compartments are necessary for the sustainability of the marine ecosystem.