ABSTRACT Lake Baringo waters and sediments are being impacted negatively by metal contaminants sourced from the lake’s watershed posing a human and environmental health concern. The main objective was to determine the concentration of heavy metals cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in water and sediments, and to characterize sediments in terms of grain size and total organic carbon and relate them to the heavy metal levels encountered at the sampled sites. 5 sites were s...
ABSTRACT East African Sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata) is a dioecious shrub growing to 1-7 m tall depending on environmental factors and genetic variation. Sandalwood is widely exploited for extraction of oil, which is used in the fragrance, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. Efforts are being made to domesticate the species in order to reduce pressure from its natural habitat. However, little is known in regard to its ecological factors, range of oil yields and quality across its distri...
ABSTRACT Heavy metal pollution in the environment is a problem experienced all over the world. Whereas heavy metals exist naturally in the environment, heavy metal pollution is associated with anthropogenic activities. Pollution studies reveal that the aquatic ecosystems in Kenya and the fish that inhabit these ecosystems are contaminated with heavy metals. Literature also reveals that exposure to levels of heavy metals above the recommended doses may possibly cause various adverse health ef...
ABSTRACT Nzoia River Drainage Basin is a major sugar production region in Kenya. Various pesticides are applied in this area to control weeds and boost sugar productivity. However, use of herbicides for weed control leads to increased chemical loads in the environment whose effects could be disastrous to the biotic component. The use of pesticide adapted microorganisms in the degradation and detoxification of many toxic xenobiotics, especially pesticides, is an efficient tool for the deconta...
ABSTRACT The truncated ecosystems of the Tana River County are highly vulnerable to climate change and variability due to their low adaptive capacities and high dependence on climate sensitive resources. Inadequacy of long term climate information is a serious constraint for long-term planning for enhanced food security and minimization of the adverse impacts of climate change and variability. This study was motivated by the need to downscale climate information using modelling procedures ba...
ABSTRACT Increase in maternal employment over the past 25 years has led to an increase in reliance on child care for young children from birth to 5 years of age. Non parental child care is now the norm for young children on a regular basis, with at least 44% of infants in child day care for more than 30 hours a week. Economic deprivation has led mothers especially in low income residential areas in Naivasha to return to work soon after delivery and since they do not have enough money to hire...
ABSTRACT FROM SALISBURY TO HARARE : THE GEOGRAPHY OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY FINANCE UNDER CHANGING IDEOLOGICAL CIRCUMSTANCES This study is based on the assumption that money 'powers the urban system'. Its focus is the geography of public finance in Harare and ideologically inspired change in urban management. The context is the changing circumstances attendant upon the transfer of power from minority White settler colonial rule to Black majority rule in Zimbabwe. The ruling ZANU-PF party professed ...
Abstract Background: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality both in the developed and the developing nations. Acute heart failure (AHF) is a syndrome characterized by hospital admission for heart failure as defined by the presence of acute dyspnea and the presence of heart failure signs by physical examination with at least 2 of the following: rales, edema, elevated JVP, hepatomegaly and ascites. AHF can occur de novo or as worsening of symptoms in...
Abstract Prevalence of and risk factors for falls in older people in an urban community in South Africa Sebastiana Zimba Kalula February 2012 Background. Falls are a major cause of disability and mortality in older people. Little is known of the extent and gravity of the problem in South Africa. Methods. A cross-sectional study with a 12-months follow-up was conducted on 837 randomly sampled, ambulant community-dwelling subjects aged ≥ 65 years to determine the prevalence and incidence o...
ABSTRACT Does the inclusion of the cost and burden of adverse drug reactions associated with drug-resistant TB treatment affect the incremental cost-effectiveness of new treatment regimens? A case study from the introduction of bedaquiline in South Africa National TB Programme Kathryn Lou Bistline South Africa has one of the world’s highest burdens of TB, HIV/TB co-infection, and drug-resistant TB. Second- line TB treatment is less effective, more expensive, and more toxic than treatment fo...
ABSTRACT Water pollution is the change in physico-chemical and biological properties of water quality that is harmful to living things. It is caused by pollutants drawn from point and non point sources of pollution including industrial and agricultural effluents. It can also be attributed to inappropriate use of chemicals and haphazard disposal of waste. It has become a global concern due to the lethal and sublethal effects on fauna and flora. Sosiani River traverses Eldoret town, draining ef...
ABSTRACT In rural Kenya, wood remains important for both construction and fuel wood. Since most rural people in high potential areas experience deficit in fuel wood and other wood products, there is need to increase production through employment of on-farm production technologies that ensure sufficient supply. Adoption of Agro forestry technologies in rural Kenya has been promoted by both the government and NGOS in order to achieve wood sufficiency. However the adoption of Agro forestry tech...
Mangrove deforestation and degradation through anthropogenic activities accelerates climate change process. Carbon capture and storage in mangroves is about 3-5 times more per unit area than any vegetated ecosystem. Studies which experimentally determine differential emissions are globally limited and completely non-extent in Kenya. This study sought to establish the contribution of human activities on carbon emissions from mangrove ecosystems along the Kenyan coastline using two heavily...
Beekeeping is among the livelihood diversification strategies likely to be affected by climate variability. Changes in climatic variables in varying degrees will affect the productivity of bees because honey production depends on temperature and rainfall. Variation in temperature and rainfall influence the activity of honeybees. The study focused on the relationship between climate variability and honey production for the pastoral communities. Social survey research design was applied an...
ABSTRACT Increased human population pressure and climate change constitute the global underlying root causes of accelerated and devastating land degradation processes in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). River Loboi watershed, located at the lower part of the Lake Baringo Catchment, is not an exception. The area is characterized by severe soil degradation that has resulted in excessive vegetation deterioration. This study set to assess the land degradation menace in the river Loboi waters...