Abstract: Accurate and reliable information on the distribution of tsetse habitats is crucial for the effective management of African Trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. However, conducting large-scale surveillance of tsetse flies to develop distribution maps is impractical due to vast areas infested and limited resources available. To address this challenge, we evaluated the applicability of tsetse habitat models developed in the intensively sampled Shimba Hills National Reserve in Kenya...
Abstract: Background: Capacity strengthening of rural communities, and the various actors that support them, is needed to enable them to lead their own malaria control programmes. Here the existing capacity of a rural community in western Kenya was evaluated in preparation for a larger intervention. Methods: Focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews were carried out in 1,451 households to determine (1) demographics of respondent and household; (2) socio-economic statu...
Abstract: There has been a considerable recent interest in the criteria by which animals choose mates and in the extent to which mating systems tend to be based on mutual mate choice. In this study, we consider Evarcha culicivora, a salticid spider from East Africa. This species has some unusual characteristics, including active display by females as well as males, males that kill females more frequently than females kill males and wide intrasexual variation in body size. For females, larger...
Abstract: Females of Anopheles gambiae Giles normally oviposit in a large number of fresh, small, sunlit, and spatially spread temporary pools. Such pools are associated with lower levels of predation compared to large, longerlasting habitats. We compared oviposition levels on preferred (water collected from natural anopheline larval habitats) and non-preferred (distilled water) aqueous substrates by gravid females that contained different densities of conspecific eggs or early and late inst...
Abstract: Phlebotomine sand flies transmit many viral protozoan and bacterial pathogens of public health importance. Knowledge of the ecologic factors influencing their distribution at local scale can provide insights into disease epidemiology and avenues for targeted control. Animal sheds, termite mounds and houses are important peri-domestic and domestic habitats utilized by different sand flies as resting or breeding habitats. However, our knowledge for selection of these habitats by sand...
Abstract: Eswatini was the frst country in sub-Saharan Africa to pass a National Malaria Elimination Policy in 2011, and later set a target for elimination by the year 2020. This case study aimed to review the malaria surveillance data of Eswatini collected over 8 years between 2012 and 2019 to evaluate the country’s eforts that targeted malaria elimination by 2020. Coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) for vector control and data on malaria cases were provided by the National Malaria...
Abstract: Macphail’s “null hypothesis,” that there are no differences in intelligence, qualitative, or quantitative, between non-human vertebrates has been controversial. This controversy can be useful if it encourages interest in acquiring a detailed understanding of how non-human animals express flexible problem-solving capacity (“intelligence”), but limiting the discussion to vertebrates is too arbitrary. As an example, we focus here on Portia, a spider with an especially intric...
The transmembrane proteins known as ion channels play a role in controlling and preserving the ionic concentrations across the cell membrane. Modeling the flux of ions in and out of these channels on an atomic level is essential for understanding several neurological diseases and related pharmaceutical discoveries. Recent experimental research has provided information on the channel's physical structure which can be used to create realistic ion transport models. Different trajectories exist f...
This paper looks at a movement-based assay to analyze adaptability in Caenorhabditis elegans locomotion behavior. A series of sinusoidal microchannels of fixed wavelength and varying amplitude, with the width being similar to the body diameter of the organism, are used for this purpose. The worms are allowed to enter the channel from the input and transition towards the output port. In sections that are similar to the worms' undulations, the movement is fast and steady. However, as the channe...
Abstract This research was carried out to study the mycological deterioration of stored maize in different storage facilities within Enugu metropolis. The study was carried out in some selected markets and homes in Enugu State, Nigeria this involved a cross-sectional study which covered four (4) different market locations (Akwata, Gariki, New market, Abakpa market and two (2) different homes (Thinkers corner and Ugwuaji) with different storage methods (storage in gallons and in kitchen chimne...
Abstract This study was conducted to determine the level of fruits and vegetable contamination with medically important geohelminths and gastrointestinal protozoan parasites in Oyi Local Government Area. A total of 600 fruits and vegetables were purchased from the daily markets located in five communities in the study area in the morning hours from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. They were washed with saline water and examined microscopically for helminths and gastrointestinal protozoan parasites by sed...
Abstract This study investigated the accessibility and use of family planning information (FPI) by rural people in Kilombero District, Tanzania. The purpose was to examine the entire infrastructure required for accessing and using FPI in a rural setting. The study surveyed 120 respondents using questionnaire, interview protocols and observation guides. The respondents included women and men of reproductive age, and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinic staff. The study revealed that there i...
ABSTRACT Aims: Poaching of wildlife is a major challenge in their conservation, including endemic ones like Procolobus gordonorum Matschie. Local communities in Udzungwa and Magombera poach for subsistence and small scale commerce. The Community poultry project adjacent to Magombera forest contributed towards enhancing the conservation of wildlife species through providing community with poultry as an alternative livelihood where meat and income can be generated in legal and convenient metho...
ABSTRACT Investigation on accumulation of selected heavy metals of Zinc, Mercury, Copper, Lead, Chromium and Nickel in sediment, water and muscle tissues of Clarias gariepinus (African catfish) and Oreochromis esculentus (Singida tilapia) fish was done in Lake Rukwa, Tanzania. Samples were obtained from transects of 100 m long extending from Luika and Songwe River mouths to offshore. Water and sediment samples were collected directly from the study sites while fish were obtained from fisherf...
ABSTRACT Cymbopogon citratus, commonly known as lemongrass due to its lemon fragrance when crushed. Due to the presence of many phytochemicals in lemongrass, their use in the treatment of illnesses has increased. The antimicrobial activity of Cymbopogoncitratus (Lemongrass) was evaluated on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes and Candida albicans. The extract was obtained using two solvents; ethanol and methanol. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was test...