ABSTRACT Salmonellosis is one of the most common and widely distributed group of enteric diseases in the world today. It causes high mortality and morbidity especially in developing countries. This study was aimed at identifying the factors that predispose people to salmonellosis. In addition the study was meant to isolate Salmonella, and determine its antimicrobial sensitivity and test the effectiveness of water treatment for the control of salmonellosis. To identify the predisposing factors...
ABSTRACT Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is present in 36 sub-Saharan African countries. The disease is easier to treat in early stage than late stage when treatment with melarsoprol is responsible for significant fatality. Therefore there is need to develop a diagnostic test for early detection before progression of the disease into the late stage. Currently available tests have poor sensitivity. Thus highly sensitive methods are needed for the detection of the parasite in human blood. T...
ABSTRACT Medicinal plants have been used since time immemorial to treat and prevent human ailments. WHO indicates that up to 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine. Infections caused by bacteria and fungi have become a major health problem globally accounting for over 50,000 deaths every day. It is estimated that more than 70% of the pathogenic bacteria are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics commonly used to treat them. Conventional drugs are expensive and have s...
ABSTRACT Plastic materials, particularly polyethylene (PE) are the major source of environmental pollution. High density polyethylene (HDPE) is an essential industrial material in Kenya which is hard and non-biodegradable and hence persists in the environment for longer times. Wider application of HDPE in packaging and agriculture has raised serious issue of waste disposal and its pollution. In order to mitigate this, structural modification through blending with biopolymers is deemed to pro...
ABSTRACT Pollution of water bodies by heavy metals and biomass wastes is increasing as Kenya becomes industrialised. The conventional methods of cleaning wastewater are expensive. They include ion exchange, bio sorption, solvent extraction, precipitation among others. New and cheaper technologies are emerging that utilizes locally available biomass inform of activated carbon. The aim of this study was to determine the best carbonisation and activation conditions of temperature, time and phos...
ABSTRACT Soil is the natural basis for plants growth as it not only provides support, water and minerals, but also helps to aerate the roots for proper development. However, due to the ever-growing population, available land is becoming a challenge. Urbanization also leads to insufficient surface for food production, as the arable land is used for settlement. This has further been exacerbated by erratic climatic conditions. Due to such limitations, this has compelled other options to be cons...
ABSTRACT Proper management strategies for huge amounts of crop residue generated from agricultural farms need to be obtained. Composting is a good strategy in rice straw management. Traditional methods of composting rice straw are limited in timely production of good quality compost due to its recalcitrant nature. There is need to develop and formulate microbial starter cultures that are adapted to local climatic conditions to ensure efficiency in using microorganisms in composting. This st...
ABSTRACT The effect of inflation on the stock market has attracted many studies. Fisher theory postulates that the real rate of returns on common stocks do not depend on inflation, indicating that stocks should be independent of inflation. The studies have attempted to investigate how inflation affects the stock market and the studies have mainly used the aggregate stock market index. However, the use of aggregate indices may mislead on the actual performance of sector-specific indices. The ...
ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous organic chemicals consisting of two or more aromatic rings. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has identified 16 priority PAHs are carcinogenic and mutagenic. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that their levels not to exceed 50 ng/L in water. Nairobi city is the economic and industrial hub for Kenya with increasing industrialization and urbanization. This increase has led to water and air pollutio...
ABSTRACT The knowledge of the distribution of the radionuclides and their levels in the environment is paramount in assessing the effects of radiation exposure from either terrestrial or extraterrestrial sources. Human population and other living organisms are exposed to radiation from naturally occurring radionuclides in soil, building materials, food, volcanic eruptions and other environmental materials. Natural background is of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin. Terrestrial sources ...
ABSTRACT Tinea capitis is a worldwide public health problem that affects children below 15 years of age and requires identification of the specific causative fungal agent. The hair and skin of the scalp are associated with symptoms and signs of inflammation and hair loss. Poor hygiene, low standards of living, sharing of hair devices or garment, climate conditions and overcrowding are some of the predisposing factors contributing to frequent transmission of the infection. Several previous st...
ABSTRACT Chewing of Khat, which typically consists of the young leaves and shoots of the Catha edulis plant for its stimulant effects, is rampart in East, Central and Southern Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iraq, Iran Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Khat contains more than 40 alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Most of the effects of chewing Khat are thought to come from two phenylalkylanines-cathinone and cathine which are structurally related ...
ABSTRACT Information on the potency of many African medicinal plants against microorganisms is scanty, and in the current wave of antimicrobial resistance against chemotherapeutic drugs, there is need to search for plants that could be having phytochemicals that are resistance-free, affordable and with fewer and less side effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the phytochemical properties with respect to antimicrobial effects of the crude and pure components from extracts o...
ABSTRACT A novel mGuide turn-by-turn Android mobile application for GPS outdoor voice navigation has been developed and presented, which is adapted for visually challenged people. The application was developed in response to the challenges of outdoor navigation by visually impaired persons. The application optimizes five map servers to give the best navigation information at any particular instance and loads map tiles very fast due to superior rendering procedures of the open street maps; lo...
ABSTRACT African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) have been recommended as the most affordable source of minerals and vitamins for African families. They can be used to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies but have been underutilized due to lack of nutrition information, leading to consumption of the lesser nutritious exotic vegetables. Vihiga County is endowed with these AIVs but cases of micronutrient deficiencies remain a challenge. The potential of these AIVs as sources of micronutrients is ...