ABSTRACT Study of electron impact excitation of autoionizing states of alkali metal atom is very important because it can explain the near threshold features observed in the ionization curves of these atoms. Many theoretical methods, for example, R-matrix, close coupling and distorted wave methods have been used for this study. In the distorted wave method no calculations have been performed for electron impact- excitation of cesium atom using complex distortion potential. That is why in thi...
ABSTRACT Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by increased adipose tissue mass due to positive energy balance. The epidemic of obesity is currently on the rise probably due to increasingly sedentary lifestyles combined with easy availability of palatable, high-fat foods. It presents modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairements, anxiety and motor deficits. Globally, its prevalence has shown a startling increase in all age groups and have been associated with increased mo...
ABSTRACT Cereals are major food commodity used in Kenya and their quality determines their suitability to human and animal health. The presence of mycotoxins in cereals and their products is a serious emerging threat to quality of cereals based foodstuff. The main classes of mycotoxins found in cereals are aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivarenol and trichothecenes. Though aflatoxins are the most toxic mycotoxins, ochratoxin A (OTA) is a possible carcinogen of class 2B. In this st...
ABSTRACT Hepatitis, especially B, C and Syphilis co infections are very common among HIV infected individuals and their manifestation is a growing public health concern. These diseases share similar modes of transmission with HIV. However, at earlier stages these infections are myriads that mirrors one another hence they are easily missed. Due to this particular challenge, the infection prevalence of the cases is not fully known in most areas of the country, with rural settings of Nyandarua ...
ABSTRACT Iron is the single element used in industries in larger quantities than all the other metallic elements combined. This is because of the very wide applications of the metal in manufacture of machinery, vehicles, utensils, trains and train rails, ships and bars used in re-enforced concrete. Whereas the element occurs in more than 80 minerals, only a small number is important as a source of iron. However, even these must be concentrated to make them suitable for putting in a blast fur...
ABSTRACT Throughout their lives, human beings are continually exposed to radiation from terrestrial radionuclides particularly 40K, 238U, 232Th and their decay products. The radiation, usually in the form of gamma rays and alpha particles, is largely attributed to building materials for instance rock and concrete mainly used in developed countries and cities around the world, or soil which is principally used in most parts of rural Africa. Radiation exposure from terrestrial sources may be m...
ABSTRACT Scientific evidence on infant and young child feeding practices from developing countries show that progress is possible when effective strategies and sufficient resources are applied. However, significant gaps in complementary feeding continue to undermine child health. There is limited scientific data on complementary feeding practices and its relation to nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months old in Kenya’s urban slums. The study therefore investigated complementary fe...
ABSTRACT The low levels of thiocyanate (SCN) normally present in body fluids increase with chronic exposure to cyanide. Cyanide (CN- ) is a fast-acting, potentially deadly chemical which prevents or inhibits cellular respiration and inactivation of cytochrome oxidase killing the cell. Humans are exposed to cyanide from dietary, industrial, environmental and other sources. Tobacco smoking is an important source of cyanide exposure. After absorption, cyanides are readily distributed in the bod...
ABSTRACT Tick-borne infections of livestock are wide-spread in Africa and present a great constraint to livestock development, particularly in the improvement of local breeds. This problem is compounded by the high susceptibility of foreign breeds of livestock being used to improve livestock productivity in many African countries. Brown Ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, is the most economically important of the 40-70 African tick species. This is due to the fact that it is a highly eff...
ABSTRACT Obesity are on the increase and is a major public health concern globally. Currently, there is a surge in overweight and obesity among the HIV-positive population in Africa. Overweight and obesity are associated with increased rates of chronic diseases globally. However, the identification and understanding of factors associated with overweight and obesity among persons living with HIV (PLHIV) remain uninvestigated in Kenya. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight ...
ABSTRACT Plant-parasitic nematodes, in particular Meloidogyne spp., cause significant yield reduction in commercial pineapple (Ananas comosus) worldwide. In Kenya limited studies have been conducted on nematodes in pineapple although the main commercial producer in Kenya has sole mandate to use Telone II (1, 3-Dichloropropene) indicating the seriousness of the problem. The current study was conducted to provide an update on the occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in commercial pineapple f...
ABSTRACT In this study the effects of applying variable pressure gradient to a MHD fluid flowing between two plates in an inclined magnetic field was carried out. It involved an unsteady hydromagnetic fluid flowing through two plates where the upper plate was porous and moving with a constant velocity in a direction that is contrary to fluid flow direction. The lower plate was non-porous and stationary. In the past years, research studies relating to MHD fluid flow through plates have been do...
ABSTRACT Malaria remains the most important public health problem in the tropics. Each year, about 500,000,000 and 2,700,000 malaria cases and related deaths, respectively, are reported globally with Africa accounting for 90%. In Kenya, more than 4 million people are infected annually, the majority being children under five years and pregnant women. The disease is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted through bites of infected female anopheline mosquito. It is the mo...
ABSTRACT Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is currently second, after cancer, as the most frequent cause of death among HIV-positive subjects in areas of the world where Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) is widely available. Dyslipidemia is an important adaptable cardiovascular risk factor that is a widespread clinical feature of HIV-infected patients in the present era of HAART. Peanuts are a rich source of magnesium, folate, fibre, α- tocopherol, copper, arginine and resveratrol. ...
ABSTRACT Phlebotomine sand flies are the vectors of Leishmania species, the causative agents of leishmaniases that are a global health problem and are usually endemic in developing countries affecting predominantly the poor in society. Complementally control measures through use of biodegradable, safe and species selective natural compounds are urgently needed. Plant based compounds are safe in most biosystems. Some synthetic chemical insecticides are toxic, expensive and discriminate use may...