ABSTRACT Antibiotics are among the most counterfeited anti-infectious medicines in developing countries due to high demand. Amoxicillin is among the most prescribed, affordable and easily accessible antibiotic in Kenya. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic hence commonly used for chemotherapy. Administration of poor-quality medicine possess the potential risks of treatment failure, emergence of resistance, side effects, and /or death to patients. This study sought to determine the quality and id...
ABSTRACT Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of illness and death among children in developing countries, where an estimated 1.3 billion episodes and 4 to 10 million deaths occur each year in children less than 5 years of age. The study envisioned to determine the genetic basis of extended spectrum β-lactam (ESBL) resistance in E. coli isolated from children aged below 5 years attending Thika Level 5 Hospital Kiambu County in Kenya. Faecal samples were obtained from 384 children present...
ABSTRACT Parasites play an important role in ecosystems including shaping the populations and communities of their hosts. Majority of arthropod parasites transmit vector-borne zoonotic diseases, some of which are transmissible to humans and livestock. Birds are a host to a variety of arthropod parasites. Despite their importance, parasites continue being excluded in most ecological inventories. For example, the diversity of avian fauna in Kenya is fairly well known yet little is known about t...
ABSTRACT The ashes of different types of agricultural biomasses from Githurai market and rice husks collected from Mwea, have been analyzed for their inorganic elements content using both Atomic Absorption and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopic Techniques. The results show that ash content of various agro-waste ranges from 3.31± 0.10% to 23.92±0.39% with rice husks having 23.92±0.39%. Further analysis on the ashes show that some biomaterials contain very high levels of K2O and Na2O, for inst...
ABSTRACT Trees are very important in Thiririka sub-catchment of Kiambu County in Kenya for reasons such as income generation, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, charcoal production, erosion control, among many others. Eucalyptus spp. (E. grandis, E. saligna and E. globulus) remain part of the dominant tree species planted in the Thiririka sub-catchment. Although these species are planted in various spatial patterns in the sub-catchment to meet the demand for fuel wood, ...
ABSTRACT Both HIV and TB as well as substance use cause profound dysregulation in the production of inflammatory cytokines such as adiponectin, interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Although there are marked immunologic alterations in HIV and TB co-infected patients, IFN-γ, IL-10 and adiponectin levels, and their association with clinical correlates of disease such as CD4 counts, HIV-1 viral loads and BMI has not been examined in Kenyan HIV and TB co-infected non-injection su...
Abstract Water soluble components derived from black tea contain active antibacterial compounds, that can be utilized in combined antibiotic-herb therapy to combat bacterial resistance. This strategy is more advantageuos than using single therapy as it is more effective and has minimal side effects. However, it is not clear if the major bioactive compounds interacts with other water soluble compounds, which inturn affects their interaction with antibiotics. This research therefore aimed at co...
ABSTRACT Plant extracts with medicinal value have been used to treat many diseases that can either be bacterial, fungal or parasitic among many others. Plants with medicinal value produce certain chemical elements known as phytochemicals that have antimicrobial activity. Enteric bacterial pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms that are usually located in the intestinal tracts of either animal or human beings. The pathogenic members are usually associated with infections that are charact...
ABSTRACT The study of excitation of helium atom by positron impact has drawn considerable attention since the prediction of existence of the positron by Dirac in 1928.This is due to the fact that the study of atomic collisions forms the basis for understanding of many scientific phenomena in the planetary atmosphere and Astrophysical science. In this study the excitation of helium atom to the is state by positron impact using the Distorted Wave formula has been done. Previously, studies have...
ABSTRACT Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a major constraint to livestock health and production. The disease has for years continued to contribute towards economic and developmental setback in the sub-Saharan Africa. Tsestse flies belonging to Glossina species are the main vectors for transmission. They are attracted to livestock and wildlife hosts where they feed on blood meal contaminated by trypanosomes, the disease causing parasites. Host ageing urine has been shown to be the sourc...
ABSTRACT Solar energy is deemed the single energy resource that is continuously decreasing in price (by 75%), increasing in utility and could effectively contribute to sustainable watershed management. In Kenya, there is an observed acceptance of Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Home Systems (SHS) as the best-fit form of energy to meet rural energy demand. This could potentially displace rural predisposition to woodfuels and paraffin and cumulatively, reduce environmental vulnerability. Photovolt...
ABSTRACT The contamination of water by toxic heavy metals is a worldwide environmental problem. Global environmental changes have dramatically increased the environmental “load” of heavy metals. Therefore, there is need to find an economical method to remove pollutants from water. Onion skins are known to contain flavonoids which are polyphenolic. Quercetin is an example of flavonols, which is mainly in onions. Therefore, onion skins can bind metal ions enabling adsorption. This study eva...
ABSTRACT Due to an increased risk of malaria during pregnancy, WHO recommends a strategic framework for malaria prevention and control during pregnancy in areas of stable transmission in Africa such as Malawi. One of the central policies is intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP). However, the emergence of SP resistance calls into question its effectiveness for IPTp. It has recently been demonstrated that 12 years after the withdrawal of chlor...
ABSTRACT Malaria is devastating diseases afflicting humans, in Kenya; the disease is endemic in areas around Lake Victoria and along the southern coast. Untreated malaria in school children, result in anaemia, reduced ability to concentrate and learn in school and if fallen sick may lead to school absenteeism. Insecticide treated nets (ITN) have been shown to provide significant protection against Plasmodium infection. Available data show that the overall prevalence of Plasmodium and anaemia...
ABSTRACT The study focused on the possible oxidation of various nitrogen bases by molybdenum(II) and tungsten(II) halocarbonyls, formation of zerovalent aminecarbonyl metal complexes and mode of coordination of nicotine to molybdenum and tungsten. Aminecarbonyls of the type M(CO)3L3 (M=Mo, W; L= CH3NH2, CH3CH2)2NH), M(CO)4TMEDA and M(CO)5nicotine were prepared by a reaction of the halocarbonyls [M(CO)4X2]2 (M=Mo, W; X=Br or Cl) with selected nitrogen bases. The crystal structurse of Mo(CO)4TM...