ABSTRACT Studies show there is less ear damage by insect pests and increased soil fertility from maize/legume intercropping system. These are two main benefits with pre-harvest potential on ear rots incidence and severity which result into mycotoxins reduction. Therefore, in a two season study, impact of push-pull technology (PP), maize desmodium intercrop edged by Brachiaria or Napier grass, was assessed on incidence and severity of four common ear rots: Fusarium, Gibberella, Diplodia and As...
ABSTRACT The Northwest Olkaria prospect, Oserian Sanctuary, is part of the Greater Olkaria Geothermal Area located within the Kenyan rift valley in Nakuru County. It is bounded by the longitudes 360 15′E and 360 12′E with an estimated area of 30 km2. Studies previously done did not adequately cover the area to the North West hence no geophysical data is available on the resistivity of key concealed geothermal structural features like thin massive heat sources and shallow faults based on s...
ABSTRACT Control and management of human African trypanosomosis faces many challenges including limited available drugs that are stage specific and also toxic, treatment failures and post treatment CNS and cardiac pathology which might be fatal. Because of ethical considerations, trypanosomosis and drug trial studies are conducted using animal models which have drawbacks. It is therefore important to develop models that can address the current drawbacks and also develop enzymatic disease stag...
ABSTRACT There is an urgent interest initiated to develop clean energy resources with the aim of reducing exposure to environmental pollutants and explore model fuels that can hasten the achievement of clean energy combustion. In order to optimize the pyrolysis of binary transport fuels, diesel blends of ratios 1:1, 3:2 and 2:3 were each pyrolyzed at a contact time of 5 seconds in a quartz reactor at 1 atmosphere pressure, at a model temperature of 500 ºC. The surface morphology of the parti...
ABSTRACT Agrochemical industries are faced with inadequate supply of molasses that is the main raw material for ethanol production creating a need to develop an alternative feedstock. The use of sweet sorghum will alleviate the problem. Three sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) genotypes, EUSS10, EUSS11, and EUSS17 were tested against five controls, SS21, SS17, SS14, ACFC003/12 and SS04 to evaluate their ethanol yield potential, stability, and adaptability in Busia, Siaya and Kisumu Cou...
ABSTRACT Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a major global public health concern with 36.9 million people infected. The HIV health burden is most felt in Sub-Saharan Africa, where about 70% of the infection occurs. The unprecedented scale-up of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved the management of HIV and reduced HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. However, long term sustainability of this success requires treatment monitoring and surveillance of emerging...
ABSTRACT Spontaneously fermented milks are integral to human diets in many African communities. These products have found their way into the informal market posing a public health concern because their quality and safety is not ascertained. Consequently, there is need to isolate and identify microbial strains with superior fermentative qualities and attributes of health qualities as starter cultures to commercialize production as well as profile potential microbial hazards. The aim of this st...
ABSTRACT Studies have shown a decreased risk of atherosclerosis linked to the intake of fruits and vegetables rich in bioactive phytonutrients. This study investigated the effect of crude beet root betalains on low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation induced by hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Crude betalains antioxidant potential was determined by use of 2, 2 – diphenyl - 1 – picrylhyrayl radical (DPPH assay) and was compared to lycopene and ascorbic acid. HOCl oxidizing ability and betalains a...
ABSTRACT Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common type of liver cancer arising from progressive transformation of pre-cancerous dysplasia macronodules and hepatocytes is ranked as the fourth leading cause of death globally and a fifth cause of death in Africa. Several risk factors for HCC have been identified that include dietary and life style risks, significant genetic family history and predisposition to genetic mutation. It has been hypothesized that codon 249 of p53 gene is more suscepti...
ABSTRACT The synthesis and characterization of zeolite and its application in adsorption of nickel from aqueous solution was investigated. Synthesis of zeolite was performed at 90 oC for 8 h. The size of the resulting crystals increased with an increase in the water content of the reaction mixture. The synthesized zeolite was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. Crystal structure of the product was determined as zeolite X by XRD. The...
ABSTRACT Contamination of drinking water sources remains a big challenge and many people lack access to safe potable water. In Njoro Sub-county the main water sources are rivers, man-made wells (protected and unprotected), boreholes, rainwater and springs (protected and unprotected). Although Escherichia coli (E. coli) is an indicator organism for fecal contamination of water, some E. coli strains have acquired the ability to cause intestinal (gastroenteritis) and extraintestinal diseases in ...
ABSTRACT Prolonged and severe droughts have affected many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, increasing cases of crop failure, hunger and destruction of habitats. Kenya has experienced worse droughts since the turn of the 20th century, with increased frequency in the recent decades. This study assessed effects of drought on household livelihoods and adaptation strategies in Laikipia West sub-County. The specific objectives of the study were to: analyze temporal drought trends in Laikipia West ...
ABSTRACT Malaria control through insecticide application has significantly been compromised by the advent of resistance to the insecticide in the Anopheles mosquito vector. These developments have necessitated the need to bio prospect for and understand the mode of action of novel insecticide introduction. Larvicidal potential in extracts from Aloe plants on Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Aedes aegypti third instar (two days old) larvae were evaluated. Extracts were obtained from Aloe tu...
ABSTRACT Reuse of fluoride saturated bone char as a way of reducing fluoride in domestic water was investigated. The study was aimed at determining the most effective solution (NaOH, Na2CO3, NaHCO3 or Na3PO4) to use in the regeneration of fluoride saturated bone char. Effect of temperature on regeneration and removal capacity of regenerated bone char is also reported. Samples of 40 grams of bone char per 50 mL solution were used in determination of effectiveness of different sodium solut...
ABSTRACT The sun emits ultraviolet radiation in the form of ultraviolet-A (UV-A), ultraviolet-B (UV-B), and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) bands. Ultraviolet light has the potential to boost vitamin D2 production in mushrooms which are the only non-animal food source of vitamin D for humans. The ergosterol in mushrooms, a component of fungal cell membranes which serves the same function as cholesterol in animal cells, can be converted into vitamin D2 by exposure to controlled UV light. However, mushroo...