ABSTRACT The idea of pool testing originated from Dorfman during the World War II as an economical method of testing blood samples of army inductees in order to detect the presence of infection. Dorfman proposed that rather than testing each blood sample individually, portions of each of the samples can be pooled and the pooled sample tested first. If the pooled sample is free of infection, all inductees in the pooled sample are passed with no further tests otherwise the remaining portions o...
ABSTRACT Chloroquine (CQ) drug was replaced in 1998 by Sulfadoxine - Pyrimethamine (SP) and later Artemisinin Based Combination therapy (ACT) as a first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Kenya. This was due to development of resistance to CQ in Plasmodium falciparum Welch, 1897 malaria parasite. This study set out to determine the prevalence of the CQ resistance in malaria endemic Tiwi and Mbita towns of Kenya. Blood sample were collected from out-patient candidates with uncomplicat...
ABSTRACT Rapid human population growth, increased demand for food supplies and intensified land use has led to reduced crop rotation and hence reduction of soil fertility. The decline in soil fertility has in turn intensified the extent of Striga infestation, causing the parasite to become a threat to food production. The Striga species decimates tropical crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, rice and cowpeas. Maize is specifically attacked by Striga hermonthica. In this study, biochemical m...
ABSTRACT Shortage of food in the world today has resulted from changes in agricultural land use practices among other factors including climate change, population growth and urbanization. In Kenya, over the past four decades there has been reducing number of people practicing agriculture in the country. Though agriculture is the main economic activity in the country, the increasing population and human settlement into the agricultural regions has led to the sub-division of the rural agricult...
ABSTRACT The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Convention on Economic and Social Cultural Rights underpin freedom from hunger and dignified lives for all. The study aimed at developing an innovative methodology for assessment of realization of the right to adequate food at household level and its validation; investigation of realization of the right to adequate food and its influence on food security, perception of rights to adequate food among pastoral and small farm h...
ABSTRACT Molecular characterization and pathogenicity of two isolates of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, one resistant to melarsoprol and the other sensitive to melarsoprol were investigated in Swiss white mice. The two trypanosome populations had been isolated from sleeping sickness patients in Uganda. The study aimed at investigating whether there are any molecular and pathogenesis differences between the two isolates. Each form of parasite was inoculated into eighteen mice at 104 trypanos...
ABSTRACT Vegetable oils are triglycerides extracted from plants. Deep frying is one method which involves submerging the food in hot oil. When this oil is overused it undergoes a series of chemical reactions which may affect human health. This has made it important to study the oxidative stability of selected vegetable oils as relates to the different types of food fried. The main objective was to determine the relative thermal oxidative stability of the palm, corn, peanut, soybean, and sunf...
ABSTRACT Polyethylene (PE) is a polymer of ethylene (ethene) used in the manufacture of packaging bags. The considerable growth in use is due to the beneficial properties it has over other alternatives. These include, extreme versatility, it is light, extreme durability, resistance to chemicals, water and impact, good hygiene properties for food packaging, excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties and relatively inexpensive. However PE disposal is a challenge, resulting in the u...
ABSTRACT Tsetse flies are the cyclical vectors of African trypanosomes, flagellated protozoa parasites that cause sleeping sickness in man and nagana in cattle, diseases collectively known as African trypanosomiasis. Vector reduction and chemotherapy are the main strategies for controlling trypanosomiasis but their limitations necessitate improvement of current and/or development of novel methods. Tsetse has three maternally transmitted bacterial endosymbionts namely Wigglesworthia, Sodalis ...
ABSTRACT Human malaria is the most important disease in tropical countries in terms of morbidity and mortality. Malaria transmission involves complex interactions between Plasmodium falciparum and Anopheles gambiae. For successful establishment of invasion/infection of the Anopheles gambiae midgut the parasite must overcome the immune responses of the vector. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) are a family of zinc metalloendopeptidases known to disrupt subendothelial membranes, destroy tight ju...
ABSTRACT The legume species Lablab purpureus L. Sweet grows in most tropical environments. It is used as a cover crop and green manure and provides a high–protein food for humans and livestock feed. The study was carried out to analyse flavour components and molecular diversity of Kenyan lablab accessions. Twenty four accessions from the National genebank and farmers were evaluated for odour and bitter taste intensities using sensory tests. Analysis of cyanogenic glycosides was carried out...
ABSTRACT Recently, there has been a considerable attention on modeling overdispersed binomial data that occur in toxicology, biology, clinical medicine, epidemiology and other related fields using a class of Binomial mixture distribution. Specifically, Beta-Binomial (BB) and KumaraswamyBinomial distribution (KB) in this class have been extensively used to model the overdispersed Binomial outcomes. A new three parameter binomial mixture distribution namely, McDonald Generalized Beta-Binomial ...
ABSTRACT Maize production in sub-Saharan Africa remains low and the yields are on the decline. This has been attributed to a variety of factors which include soil nutrient depletion and Striga infestation. Soil phosphorous, nitrogen and Striga hermonthica are the major constraints to maize production in Nyanza Province of Kenya. The yields are typical of low input systems ranging below 1.0 t ha-1 against a potential of 5.0 t ha-1 per season. In an attempt to overcome these constraints, field...
ABSTRACT Vector control in the highlands of western Kenya has resulted in a significant reduction of malaria vectors. This has made the current entomological parameters being used to measure transmission to become insensitive and challenging. Antibodies to the Circum-sporozoite protein (CSP) have been associated with transmission intensity and have corresponded well with EIR. The study objective was to determine the association between the level of circum-sporozoite protein and merozoite sur...
ABSTRACT Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) is an important disease causing losses of up to 70% in the most susceptible cultivars. Its effects include: reduced root quality due to pitting, root constriction and necrosis, and reduced number and weight of tuberous roots. To contribute to CBSD management, a study was conducted to: (i) Screen East African cassava landraces and F1 populations for CBSD resistance; (ii) Analyse symptom expression and virus accumulation in CBSV graft inoculated cas...